Sun Danhua felt puzzled.
Why was Lu Heng suddenly causing a scene in their agriculture department?
Was he that bored?
After receiving instructions from Director Qi’s office, Sun Danhua was assigned to lead a team to open up a separate experimental field dedicated to researching off-season fruits and vegetables.
Director Qi even mentioned that winter strawberry with a hint of frustration:
“Even in the distant, freezing northern wilderness, a local girl with no higher education managed to grow strawberries in winter. Meanwhile, our prestigious university’s agricultural laboratory must not fall behind. If theory cannot be applied to practice, then our research has no meaning.”
Sun Danhua’s eyes lit up:
“Director Qi, I know about those winter strawberries. I was actually the one who submitted that article to the newspaper.”
“You submitted it?”
“Yes,” Sun Danhua hesitated for a moment before continuing, “Actually, I was also the one who provided the seeds for those winter strawberries.”
Director Qi: “……”
That hit him hard.
“Teacher Sun, if you had this capability, why didn’t you conduct the experiment here at the university first?” There was a hint of reproach in his tone.
Sun Danhua explained:
“Director, I only provided the seeds. The winter insulation technique was developed by that girl herself—it has nothing to do with me.”
“Is that so?”
“Yes. The northeast is far colder than here. In winter, temperatures can drop to minus thirty degrees. Even now, our agriculture department hasn’t developed a method to grow fruits and vegetables in such extreme cold.”
“……” Director Qi felt like his lungs were about to burst from frustration.
But still—
“It seems that girl truly has some real skill.”
“Yes, I was also very shocked.”
Director Qi, who was usually proud, now had a defeated expression on his face.
Sun Danhua suddenly thought of something and said:
“Oh right, Director—this girl is currently in the capital attending a conference. Should I invite her to our department to share her experience?”
“Oh? She’s in the capital?”
“Yes. Isn’t there a scientific conference going on recently? Because of her winter strawberry technique, she even received an award.”
“Let’s go meet her!”
…
At this moment, inside the Liberation Hotel, where the Science and Technology Conference was being held—
The conference lasted a total of three days.
The first day was the opening ceremony and awards presentation. The second day was for various scientific teams to exchange and learn from each other.
So on the second day, the hotel’s club hall was especially lively.
Originally, Jiang Mian didn’t plan to go.
She had enough self-awareness about their rather obscure agricultural research group.
They couldn’t compare with those who were truly engaged in scientific work.
Going there would just mean sitting on the sidelines—boring.
She might as well stay in her room and read materials.
But—
She heard that the organizers had prepared Beibingyang soda, and attendees could receive it for free with their conference badge.
After eating too much lamb the night before, she felt a bit overheated and was craving something cold.
For the sake of that bottle of soda, Jiang Mian finally went out.
She planned to grab the soda and leave immediately.
But for some reason—maybe her belly was too eye-catching—the moment she entered, more than a dozen gazes turned toward her.
“That’s her, the pregnant woman. Yesterday on stage, she wouldn’t let go of Professor Lu.”
“With such a big belly and still acting so improperly, pulling and tugging at a male comrade—how shameless.”
“Exactly!”
Jiang Mian: “…”
Finally, someone “spoke up” for her:
“Don’t say that. She might not have meant it. Probably just came from the countryside and hasn’t seen much of the world. It was her first time on such a big award stage—she got too nervous to stand steady, so she grabbed onto Professor Lu.”
“Pfft—”
“Hahaha—”
A burst of laughter followed.
Jiang Mian’s fists clenched tightly.
Then suddenly, a voice came from the side:
“Hey, look—Professor Lu is here!”