These rumors had already quietly reached the ears of several examiners.
Combined with the gossip circulating throughout the military compound, everyone had formed a preconceived impression that Lin Shuyao was nothing more than an empty-headed woman using connections to secure a position.
The looks directed at her were filled with scrutiny and distrust.
Lin Shuyao paid no attention to their cold stares.
Calmly, she placed her breeding proposal on the table.
Her posture was straight, her gaze steady, and there wasn’t the slightest trace of nervousness.
Station Director Li let out a soft sigh and spoke first.
“Lin Shuyao, which position are you applying for?”
“Reporting to the leadership, I’d like to apply for a core scientific research position within the station.”
For a brief moment, the interview room fell silent.
Director Li shook his head slightly.
“Then tell us your ideas regarding the improvement of dryland grain varieties in the Southwest region, as well as your specific breeding plans.”
It was an extremely specialized question.
Even ordinary agricultural science graduates might not be able to answer it comprehensively.
The examiners had never expected Lin Shuyao to answer well.
They merely intended to go through the motions and send her away as quickly as possible.
Yet the moment Lin Shuyao began speaking, the room fell silent once more.
She didn’t offer empty slogans or vague theories.
Starting with the pH level and organic matter content of the Southwest’s red soil, moving on to local climate and rainfall characteristics, and then discussing the selection logic behind drought-resistant, high-yield grain varieties, she explained everything clearly and precisely.
Even more impressive, the breeding concepts she proposed far exceeded the traditional methods of the era.
Her approach balanced high yields, disease resistance, and tolerance for poor soil while remaining perfectly suited to the actual agricultural conditions of the Southwest.
She had even considered soil improvement, fertilizer formulation, and field management techniques in meticulous detail.
“This…”
As a crop science PhD, Lin Shuyao possessed nearly fifty years’ worth of agricultural knowledge beyond the current era.
The advanced breeding concepts and scientific cultivation methods stored in her mind were cutting-edge even by future standards.
Every word she spoke was valuable.
Her pace was steady.
Her logic was flawless.
Every statistic and every argument was supported by solid reasoning.
The proposal she had submitted was detailed and thorough, clearly not something hastily assembled at the last minute.
The previously indifferent examiners gradually sat up straighter.
The disdain and skepticism on their faces slowly disappeared.
In their place emerged surprise and admiration.
From time to time, they lowered their heads to review her submitted materials, nodding repeatedly.
Director Li’s eyes brightened.
He followed up with several even more advanced professional questions.
Lin Shuyao answered every one with ease.
Not only that, she often expanded upon them and suggested further optimizations specifically suited to frontier agricultural conditions.
Just as the entire room seemed full of praise for Lin Shuyao, one deputy examiner who had remained silent suddenly darkened his expression.
“Don’t think you can fool us with all these fancy-sounding theories!”
His voice was sharp and cold.
“These theories and data aren’t yours at all!”
Lin Shuyao looked at him in surprise.
“What do you mean by that?”
She was confident there were no problems with her answers.
Everything she had presented was genuine and aligned with the scientific understanding of the current era.
What was this man’s issue?
The deputy examiner sneered.
Flipping through her documents, he said,
“You’re only twenty-two years old, aren’t you? Even if you worked at the Kyoto Academy of Agricultural Sciences, you would never have had access to this level of research. The things you’re talking about simply aren’t knowledge someone like you could possess!”
His words struck the room like a stone thrown into still water.
The examiners who had been praising Lin Shuyao exchanged glances.
The approval in their eyes began to waver.
Everyone understood how the scientific community worked.
Research circles valued seniority and mentorship.
At twenty-two years old, even someone from the Agricultural Academy would find it difficult to fully grasp such advanced breeding theories.
Let alone propose ideas that surpassed the industry’s current standards.
If she truly were that exceptional, how could she have ended up doing miscellaneous work?
Moreover, Lin Shuyao came from a good family background.
From attending a prestigious university to entering the Kyoto Academy of Agricultural Sciences, it was obvious her family had been willing to support her career.
If she really possessed such remarkable talent, she should have already become well-known in the field.
Seeing the uncertainty spread among the others, the deputy examiner became even more confident.
He stood up and pointed at the documents on the table.
“Don’t think we’re easy to fool!”
He spoke with certainty and contempt.
“Earlier, we sent an official inquiry to the Kyoto Academy of Agricultural Sciences to verify your background. Their reply clearly stated that you were nothing more than an assistant responsible for organizing documents and miscellaneous tasks. You never independently participated in any research projects.”
He slapped the papers.
“These so-called breeding theories and precise data of yours are clearly stolen from Professor Chen’s research. You memorized his work and brought it here to deceive everyone, didn’t you?!”
The moment those words were spoken, Su Xiaohong, who had been standing outside the door, suddenly looked enlightened.
Turning to the people beside her, she immediately said,
“I knew she didn’t have any real ability! Professor Chen is one of the Agricultural Academy’s most talented young scholars. His academic foundation is extremely solid. How could someone pushed out of the academy possibly be this capable? She must have plagiarized someone else’s work!”
Quite a few researchers had gathered outside the room.
Lin Shuyao’s affairs had already caused a stir over the past few days.
Most of them disliked her to begin with.
After hearing Su Xiaohong’s words, they became even more indignant.
“You really can’t judge a person by appearances! She looks so proper, yet she’s actually this kind of person!”
“Exactly. People always say city folk are full of schemes. Now we’ve seen it firsthand.”
“If someone like her enters our experimental station, she’ll become a disaster!”
“What can we do? Battalion Commander Lu’s influence is right there.”
This was exactly the moment Su Xiaohong had been waiting for.
She desperately wanted everyone to believe Lin Shuyao was a plagiarist.
Once Lin Shuyao was completely crushed, the coveted core research position would naturally fall into her own hands.
Not content with that, she continued adding fuel to the fire.
“You may not know this, comrades, but Lin Shuyao already had a bad reputation back in Kyoto. She relied on her looks to curry favor with her superiors. Now she’s come to the Southwest hoping to use stolen knowledge to cheat her way into a position. How can someone with such poor character be allowed to conduct scientific research at the experimental station? At this rate, she’ll ruin the entire station!”
For a time, even the examiners who had been inclined to support Lin Shuyao became hesitant.
After all, Chen Zhiheng’s reputation carried significant weight.
And the reply letter from the Agricultural Academy was official documentation.
It was difficult not to believe it.
Director Li frowned deeply.
He looked at the detailed breeding proposal on the table and then at the calm and composed Lin Shuyao.
His heart was full of conflict.
As a practical researcher, he could clearly see that every word Lin Shuyao had spoken contained genuine substance.
Her ideas were unique and insightful.
This wasn’t something that could be achieved by merely copying a few lines from someone else’s work.
Yet with the academy’s written reply serving as evidence, he couldn’t simply ignore it.
Despite all the accusations and doubts surrounding her, Lin Shuyao remained calm.
She neither panicked nor lost her temper.
Lifting her eyes toward the aggressive deputy examiner, she spoke clearly and steadily.
“First, during my time at the Agricultural Academy, I was not merely organizing documents and running errands. I participated in numerous research topics and project developments. Everything I know was earned through years of diligent study and dedicated research.”
“Second, the breeding concepts and technical plans I’ve presented today are entirely different from Chen Zhiheng’s research direction. What I’ve proposed is a specialized improvement plan for the red-soil drylands of the Southwest. It is not a copy of anyone else’s work.”
“Being young does not mean lacking ability. Having little seniority does not mean lacking knowledge.”
“What I’ve presented is a practical and implementable plan—one that can increase yields and help solve agricultural problems faced by the people of the Southwest frontier. That is not something plagiarism can accomplish.”
“If all of my knowledge can be dismissed based solely on another person’s one-sided opinion, then where is the fairness in this interview?”
Her gaze swept across the room.
“Is the experimental station selecting talent based on genuine ability—or merely on the opinions of others?”