Chapter 76

Chapter 76

Not to mention Feng Xia and Professor Zhu Guangya burning the midnight oil to write a detailed plan for the liquid lithium battery, the next day, all the professors in the institute's battery project team read it and were full of praise. It was then submitted to the higher authorities, and after their review, the project would be re-established and funded before research and development could begin.

Since it was submitted through a fast-track special channel, the approval process was very fast, expected to be completed in a day or two. Within that time, dedicated officials would also come to question Professor Zhu Guangya, the project leader, or to Feng Xia, because real money was involved and the higher-ups needed to be sure.

Feng Xia got another day of rest.

Professor Chen Yue had already planned to take Feng Xia on a tour of Tsinghua University early the next morning. Tsinghua, a century-old prestigious school, had beautiful cultural landscapes.

She even prepared a trendy student outfit for Feng Xia—a plaid skirt with a shirt top—and braided the little girl's hair into two cute pigtails. The result was adorable. After breakfast, the old lady led the young girl out the door.

After breakfast, the old lady first took her to stroll around Lijiao Lake. During this unusual time, there weren't many students, just a few early-morning joggers. Those who recognized Professor Chen Yue greeted her warmly, and upon seeing Feng Xia, they smiled warmly. A few female students even took out candies from their pockets and handed them to Feng Xia. Everyone was very friendly.

Tsinghua was vast, and after a morning that only allowed a quick visit to a few places, the old lady took her to the cafeteria for lunch. The food was a bit bland but still decent. In the afternoon, she planned to take Feng Xia to Wangfujing to stroll around and buy some things, but the young girl was quickly called away by Professor Zhu Guangya, who rushed over.

Professor Zhu Guangya was really anxious. The approval officials from the higher-ups had arrived, but the project leader was absent—what kind of situation was that?

The approval team consisted of exactly four people, around forty to fifty years old, dressed in plain Mao suits—three men and one woman—with serious expressions. They were currently in a meeting, with the liquid lithium battery project plan spread out on the table. It was obvious they had read it, but their faces remained neutral. The professors, who seemed to deal with them often, calmly sipped tea from enamel mugs, answering whatever the four asked. The atmosphere was quite relaxed.

The nervous ones were the college student assistants outside, who didn't even qualify to enter the meeting room. They huddled like quails outside, five or six of them crouching near the test tube washing area, shivering.

When they saw Professor Zhu Guangya leading Feng Xia over, the more lively ones winked at her, signaling with their eyes that big shots were in the meeting room and she should be careful.

Feng Xia returned a smile, one with the unbridled confidence of youth, which gave them goosebumps.

Entering the meeting room, Feng Xia acted with poise and grace, speaking clearly: "Hello, comrades. I am Feng Xia, the one who proposed the liquid battery, and I will soon be one of the project leaders for the liquid lithium battery." To be honest, this young lady was confident, almost arrogant—but what is youth without a little brashness?

The four approval officers appreciated Feng Xia's confidence. The woman among them spoke first: "Comrade Feng Xia, we all know about you. Your two technical inventions are well-known here. I want to know, how confident are you in this liquid lithium battery project?"

Feng Xia raised an eyebrow and smiled, confident and bold: "One hundred percent. To be honest, I already had an initial prototype of this liquid battery in my previous research, but for various reasons, I didn't continue. Now I'm just walking a road I've already traveled. How could I make a mistake?"

Another male officer said: "It seems Comrade Feng Xia is very confident in this experiment. That's good. But young comrade, take care of your health. The leadership has also mentioned this—don't sacrifice your health for experiments. Your health is your most valuable asset."

Hearing this, Professor Zhu Guangya knew the project had been approved. He smiled warmly as he responded cheerfully: "Rest assured, comrades. This girl lives with me. I'll keep an eye on her to make sure she doesn't stay up all night and stays healthy."

After a few more exchanges, the four left together, and the liquid lithium battery project officially launched.

Life in the research institute was almost monotonous, day after day spent with cold instruments. Every morning when you opened your eyes, you thought about various data; every night when you closed your eyes, you worried about the next day's experiment progress. Such a life was dull and tedious. The only joy came when a project made a breakthrough, a small obstacle was overcome, or a milestone was achieved—each step bringing you closer to success.

Spring passed and autumn arrived. In the blink of an eye, several months had gone by, and the Mid-Autumn Festival was approaching.

Zhang Wei thought about the savory mooncakes his family made and couldn't help swallowing. He wondered how his mother and younger sister, far away in Suzhou, were doing. Had they received the package he sent?

His mind wandered only for a moment.

"Zhang Wei, record the discharge trajectory of the lithium ions. Focus," said his teacher. Zhang Wei immediately snapped back to attention and concentrated on plotting the graph. Their laser printer was imported from the Beautiful Country, and since it broke down and was still being repaired, they had to record the graphs manually.

Zhang Wei mechanically finished recording. Staring at the regular undulating curve, his eyes grew unfocused. He tugged at his teacher's sleeve and said hesitantly, "Teacher, look at this. Does this mean our experiment succeeded?" The teacher took the record book and saw that indeed, the curve undulated regularly and smoothly throughout. If Zhang Wei hadn't made a mistake, this meant the experiment had succeeded. Their liquid lithium battery had been made.

The professor couldn't sit still. He ran over to the instrument himself and personally recorded the graph again. Sure enough, it was correct. They had done it—the liquid lithium battery was a success.

In an instant, the old professor's eyes reddened. Holding the graph, he dashed into the crowd and shouted loudly, "We succeeded! Our experiment succeeded! Look, this is the discharge graph. We made it!"

Professor Zhu Guangya took the graph and confirmed it: the liquid lithium battery was a success. Feng Xia was curled up in a chair, drinking a can of malted milk. The mental strain of the lab was enormous, and she had to drink a large glass of malted milk every day to replenish her energy.

She took the graph from Professor Zhu Guangya, studied it for a minute, and a smile slowly spread across her lips, so dazzling that she seemed to glow.

It had taken them nearly six months, but they had finally created the liquid lithium battery. This meant that the Flower Kingdom had surpassed the Never-Set Empire and the Beautiful Country in battery technology, becoming the true world leader!

For a moment, someone in the institute started singing, and almost everyone spontaneously began singing the national anthem: "Arise, ye who refuse to be slaves..."

The sound rose with the wind, echoing through the sky.