Chapter 93

Chapter 93

"But young comrade, from what I know, this material of yours isn't just for watches—it could be used for aircraft and tanks too, right? How about replicating it? Can it be done?"

True to form, the top leader cut straight to the core. Feng Xia shook her head, then nodded. "It's not hard to replicate, but the core component of my material is titanium. I developed a new process for producing titanium. There's no way anyone in the world can achieve this titanium production process of mine—it's an era-defining technique. Even if they get their hands on a watch and try to copy it, they won't be able to mass-produce it, and the price will definitely be higher than what we sell it for. So there's no point in them even trying."

The top leader laughed heartily. "You're very confident, young comrade. How so? Is your extraction technique really that far ahead?"

Feng Xia stood proud, brimming with self-assurance. "Naturally, Top Leader. We've bought and examined all the titanium raw materials on the market. I'm confident that what I produce can crush them in both purity and price. Leader, you need to have a little more faith in me!"

The leader laughed again, patting Feng Xia's shoulder affectionately, as if she were his own niece. His voice was low and warm. "Good, good, good. Then I must thank our little genius here. I promise you, this watch will be sold to every corner of the world. No famous timepiece will gather dust under my watch."

"Great, I believe in you, Top Leader," Feng Xia said with unwavering determination. After a moment, she added, "I can authorize the use of this material to the country free of charge. As for patents, let's not apply for them now."

For the time being, applying for a patent would mean disclosing the formula and the production process. Feng Xia didn't want other countries to get something for nothing. As for herself, with the reputation she already had, adding another title or losing one made no difference to her.

Her words plunged the room into silence once more. The top leader and Professor Zhu Guangya had considered whether to tell Feng Xia about the patent. After all, it was the kid's own creation—they had no right to bring it up. The last time, when she hadn't published her general solution to the NS equations, and now with another huge surprise, to ask her to remain anonymous yet again—wasn't that too much for a young person? But before they could say anything, she had already spoken up on her own. Zhu Guangya's eyes reddened. How could a fourteen-year-old girl be so considerate?

The top leader felt a deep sense of relief and praised the young girl repeatedly, making Feng Xia laugh until her cheeks ached. After a while, she took the large bag of chocolates the leader had given her and went back in the car.

But the matter wasn't finished. The top leader called his secretary and personally approved Feng Xia's position: "Give her the benefits and treatment of a national-level researcher. She's young and loves to eat, so arrange a nutritionist for her. Also, set her up with a house in the 101 family quarters—safety comes first. We must protect this young comrade's security."

The secretary was inwardly amazed at how highly the leader valued Feng Xia. He noted down all the requirements and moved swiftly to get them arranged, even filling in the gaps himself. Since he was assigning personnel, he also naturally assigned a car. He specifically selected retired military personnel with sharp skills and assigned them to her.

From that moment on, Feng Xia was no longer an ordinary citizen of the Flower Kingdom. In a certain sense, she could be considered a strategic national asset—a treasure of the state.

In the research institute, several university students were exhausted. After the initial excitement faded, they leaned against the laboratory walls and fell asleep sitting up. It was cold now, but they were so worn out that they could sleep even like this.

When Feng Xia entered, she deliberately made some noise to wake them. During this period of working with her, they had truly endured hardship and exhaustion. She was demanding, perfectionistic, and worked tirelessly without sleep. If she didn't rest, how could those under her dare to sleep? They had no choice but to follow her. During the toughest week, they had less than 20 hours of sleep in seven days—about three hours a day or less. Sometimes, while doing experiments, the students couldn't help but cry, but they never dared to let the Demon King see. They cried on the sly and then went back to work.

Fortunately, it was finally over now.

Feng Xia stood at the head of the room, looking at the haggard group. "I know these past two months have been hard on all of you. But our experiments succeeded, and the results are out. You all did a great job, so I've applied for bonuses for everyone—500 yuan each, plus three days of paid leave. Now, come sign the confidentiality agreements, and you can rest. Remember, not a word about this project is to leave this lab. Now, sign."

They signed the agreements in a daze, collected their bonuses in a daze, and only snapped out of it after Feng Xia had left the lab.

Li Wei was the first to open the envelope, counting the banknotes carefully. It really was 500—he wasn't dreaming. The others were in the same state. Five hundred yuan! That was five hundred!

At that time, a jin of meat cost about one yuan and two mao, and that was the inflated New Year price—usually it was about eight mao or one yuan per jin. Five hundred yuan could buy two whole pigs!

To put it another way, as lab assistants, they couldn't even earn five hundred in a year. Wuwuwu, they would never call Feng Xia the Demon King again. She's the God of Wealth! Wuwuwu, they wondered if they'd ever have a chance to work with big shot Feng Xia again. She's so rich, they love her!

Professor Huang, on the other hand, didn't even check his bonus. Feng Xia had told him he would get more—around a thousand or so. He just told Feng Xia to call on him for future special projects, because he truly enjoyed working with her. When he worked with her, research went smoothly, and he felt at ease and motivated. The results were outstanding. Every day he spent on the project with her gave him a sense of purpose and energy, making him feel younger. That was what he liked.

Feng Xia didn't know what to say. She patted the old professor on the arm. "Sure, if you don't find me too demanding, I'll definitely call you next time."

By the time she got home that evening, she found there was another person in the house—a sturdy, dark-faced man. When he saw Feng Xia, he grinned broadly, showing a set of white teeth. "Comrade Feng Xia, nice to meet you. I'm Jiang Long, assigned to be your driver. My surname Jiang—the one for ginger—and my given name Long, meaning prosperity. Hello."

Feng Xia shook his hand and chatted with him briefly. "Where do you live?" she asked.

Jiang Long laughed heartily. "The leadership has arranged a house for you, right next door. Zhang Ying and I are both living there now. Would you like to move in?"

Feng Xia thought for a moment. "All right, I'll move later. I need to let the professor know." With the New Year approaching, Professor Zhu's children would be coming home, so the house would become a bit cramped. It was appropriate for Feng Xia to move out early.

Zhang Ying returned just then, carrying a package. She said it had been sent to Feng Xia from Dongshan. Professor Zhu had taken it to the institute earlier, and now she had brought it back.

Feng Xia looked at the package and thought about how her experiments were done, the results were out, and she had no further need to supervise. She had received a bonus of five or six thousand. She had money and time—what better time to go home?