Siheyuan: I am different He Yuzhu

"Boom boom boom..."

He Yuzhu, who was processing documents on the table in the office, heard the knock on the door and said casually without raising his head: "Come in."

"Hello, Director He." Lin Qi pushed open the office door and walked in.

When He Yuzhu heard Lin Qi's voice, he quickly put down the pen in his hand, stood up from the chair, walked quickly to Lin Qi's side, stretched out both hands to hold Lin Qi's hands, and said enthusiastically: "Lin Qi, you are here, sit down quickly."

After Lin Qi sat down, He Yuzhu brought a thermos and poured a glass of boiled water for Lin Qi and placed it in front of Lin Qi. "Lin Qi, I didn't expect that it would be so long since the first time we met that we met again."

Lin Qi took the teacup from He Yuzhu, said "thank you", and then said: "I didn't expect it would take so long. Maybe it's just like the old saying that good things take time!"

"By the way, Lin Qi, I remember when we first met in the First Industrial Machinery Department, you seemed to bring your Russian teacher to the meeting. This means that you should be an international student who returned from studying in Russia!" He Yuzhu said with a smile.

Lin Qi nodded and replied, "Director He, I did study abroad in Maoxi."

"I wonder what major you studied at Mao Xiong University?"

"When I studied abroad in Russia, I majored in cotton field mechanization, and my university graduation thesis was on the mechanization of cotton production."

"So where was your college graduation internship?"

“I completed my university graduation internship in Uzbekistan.”

"I know Uzbekistan, a place famous for its cotton production, known as the Silver Kingdom of the Russian Bear. Since you majored in flour field mechanization in college, why are you working in Sijiu City? I don't mean anything else. As far as I know, there are no cotton-growing areas around Sijiu City. Qilu Province does grow cotton, but the climate and environment in Qilu Province are not suitable for large-scale mechanized harvesting?" He Yuzhu expressed his doubts.

"After I returned from studying in Russia in 1957, I was assigned to work in the Ministry of Agriculture and Reclamation. After working there for nine months, I was sent to the Western Regions by Minister Wang to investigate the promotion of the 9 cotton picker imported from Russia."

"Well, our country imported cotton picking machines from Russia. When did this happen? Which leader was so far-sighted?" He Yuzhu asked curiously.

"It was Minister Wang of the Ministry of Agriculture and Reclamation who imported 1952 cotton pickers from Russia in 37. I was shocked when I heard the news, not to mention Director He. In 1956, when I was driving a cotton picker on a farm in Uzbekistan for internship, mechanized cotton picking had not yet been widely popularized in Uzbekistan, and many cotton farms still relied on manual picking."

"Have the cotton pickers imported from the Bear Country been promoted?"

Lin Qi shook his head and said with regret, "No, machine-picking cotton is a systematic project. From cultivation measures to later cleaning and processing, it must be matched with mechanical harvesting. The main problem of the Western Region Agricultural Reclamation Corps is that there is no systematic engineering concept, no cotton varieties suitable for mechanical harvesting, cultivation measures cannot keep up, and there is no later processing equipment to match mechanical harvesting. Defoliants cannot be produced by themselves. The defoliants imported from the bears are highly toxic. In the bears, defoliants are sprayed by machines, but in the Western Region Agricultural Reclamation Corps, it is done manually, which has caused poisoning of farmers and workers and caused panic in the operation."

"The problems you mentioned are all technical problems. It's not difficult to solve them! It's been three years since 1957. What's the situation now?"

"Yes, after completing the research in the Western Regions Agricultural Reclamation Corps, I returned to Sijiucheng again at the end of 1957 and handed my research report to Minister Wang. After understanding it, Minister Wang gave instructions: Since cotton pickers have a future in Western Regions, we must do it step by step. The country needs cotton, and the Western Regions Agricultural Reclamation Corps produces cotton on a large scale. The fundamental way out is mechanization. So I followed Minister Wang's instructions and took charge of the mechanization of the cotton planting and harvesting process."

"I first referred to the cotton picker of the Russian bear and designed our own cotton picker, and successfully harvested cotton at Tari Farm. Later, with the help of teachers from the Department of Chemistry of Western Agricultural University, I successfully trial-produced our own defoliant based on the new defoliant researched by the Russian bear. After large-scale use, it was found that the defoliation effect is very good, and the production cost is much lower than the defoliants purchased from abroad." Lin Qi's expression was a little lost when he said this.

"This is going very smoothly. You have solved two key problems. Why do you seem to be in low spirits?"

"Alas, just after the experiment started, my superiors transferred me to the Agricultural Machinery Department of the Agricultural College of the Western Region Agricultural Reclamation Corps as the director, so I had to give up my research on the cotton picker. At the end of last year, I suddenly received a notice saying that my teacher who studied abroad in Russia came to our country to provide support, and specifically asked me to participate in the national cotton field machinery cooperation, so I came to Sijiucheng. Here I am mainly responsible for translation and design, and I am also responsible for the research and design of cotton harvesting and picking machines and cotton pickers."

"Congratulations, you are back to your old job and can start researching your favorite cotton picker again. How is your research going now?"

"Everything is going well at the moment and is progressing steadily," Lin Qi said with a smile.

"Lin Qi, the reason I called you over at the First Industrial Machinery Department that day was mainly to invite you to work in our machinery factory,"

"I remember that your machinery manufacturing plant is responsible for automobiles. I am engaged in agricultural machinery research. My major is not suitable for me to come to your factory!"

"To be honest, although our machinery factory currently mainly produces cars, we are actually also conducting research on agricultural machinery. However, we are currently mainly researching wheeled tractors. If everything goes well, we should be able to complete the production of the first tractor soon. In the future, we also plan to research combine harvesters. So I would like to invite you to come to our factory to be responsible for agricultural machinery research."

"But there is no cotton grown around Sijiu City. How can I do research here? After completing my current work, I plan to return to the Western Region Province for research." Lin Qi said embarrassedly.

"Lin Qi, listen to me first. Don't rush to make a decision. Judging from the climate in various parts of our country, the climate conditions in the Western Region are very suitable for the biochemistry of cotton. The water, soil, light and heat resources are unique. It is difficult to find a place more suitable for growing cotton than the Western Region in our country. I believe that as long as we give full play to these conditions in the Western Region Province, we will definitely be able to build the Western Region into our country's silver kingdom."

"Although the climate in the Western Region is suitable for cotton planting, there are still many difficulties in building the Western Region into our country's silver kingdom. The biggest problem is that the Western Region is vast and sparsely populated. If the mechanized harvesting of cotton is not promoted, once cotton is planted on a large scale, there will not be enough people to pick the cotton when it is time to pick it. Therefore, mechanical harvesting of cotton must be promoted. However, the cotton picker is a very complex machine. One person's energy is limited. There is no team that can develop a more efficient one. In addition, the industrial foundation of the Western Region is weak. Even if it is developed, it is difficult to achieve large-scale production in the Western Region."

"So my idea is to put the large-scale production of cotton pickers in Sijiu City. In the Western Regions, you can temporarily set up a processing center to adjust the cotton pickers that have been researched. During the cotton harvest season, you can bring technicians to test the cotton pickers in the Western Regions. After the harvest is completed, you can bring the technicians back to Sijiu City to improve the problems found during the cotton picker experiment, and then go to the Western Regions for testing the next year."

"In fact, I feel that we need to solve not only the problem of cotton pickers, but also a series of supporting things that need to keep up. Before the cotton pickers pick cotton, the cotton fields will be sprayed with sand defoliants, but there will still be residues, so we need to build supporting equipment to clean cotton impurities, so that the cotton picked by the cotton pickers can meet the purchasing standards of cotton processing plants."

After listening to He Yuzhu's words, Lin Qi couldn't help but feel that he had met a bosom friend, and said excitedly: "Director He, I didn't expect you to know so much about the cotton industry. How do you know so much!"

"Not only do I know that processing after cotton is picked is critical, but I also know that our country's current cotton varieties are mainly short-staple cotton, while long-staple cotton is the high-end raw material for the textile industry. Therefore, we must not only develop a complete factory production line, but also start from the most basic cotton breeding to cultivate long-staple cotton varieties suitable for our country's climate. Only in this way can our country's cotton planting and textile industry not be restricted and lag behind foreign countries." He Yuzhu said with a smile.

"Lin Qi, I have finished what I want to say. Now I formally invite you to join the Red Star Machinery Manufacturing Factory and work together for the rise of the Republic's cotton planting industry. Are you willing?" He Yuzhu looked at Lin Qi, his eyes full of expectation and trust.

Lin Qi was touched, and he knew what this opportunity meant to him. But at the same time, he was a little hesitant: "Director He, I am willing, but my current organizational relationship is with the Agricultural College of the Western Region Agricultural Reclamation Corps, and I am only temporarily seconded to work in Sijiu City. Can I come to your Red Star Machinery Manufacturing Plant?" Lin Qi said with a worried look on his face.

He Yuzhu smiled and patted Lin Qi on the shoulder: "Don't worry, this is not a problem. As long as you agree, leave the rest to me. Even if you have to beg me for mercy, I will try my best to transfer your organizational relationship to our factory." His tone was firm and decisive.

Lin Qi was moved by He Yuzhu's determination. He took a deep breath and nodded solemnly, "Then I am willing to join your factory and work together for the rise of the Republic's cotton industry!" His face was filled with excitement and enthusiasm.

He Yuzhu smiled with satisfaction: "Great! Welcome to join our Red Star Machinery Manufacturing Plant. I believe that with our joint efforts, we will be able to achieve the rise of the cotton industry." The two shook hands tightly. At this moment, their goals and beliefs were closely linked.