Material Empire

In 1985, Pingyuan County, Beixi City, Anhe Province.

It was a summer noon, the sun was scorching the earth hotly, and cicadas were vying to be the first to sing on the paulownia tree. The narrow streets in Pingyuan County are full of small stalls selling all kinds of cheap industrial products and agricultural by-products. There are colorful and rough-printed celebrity posters pasted outside the door of the street store. In the large four-speaker recorder, Su Rui is yelling at the top of his lungs:

There is no sky and no earth!

There is no home without land!

How can you be without a home!

I wouldn't be here without you...

Outside the gate of the bus station, a slender young man with delicate features was carrying a luggage roll on his shoulders, an army green satchel slung across his chest, and a large canvas bag containing daily necessities and a few books beside him. Standing under a big camphor tree, looking at the strange scene in front of him, there was a helpless wry smile on his face.

The young man's name is Qin Hai, and he has a registration card in his satchel, which reads:

Qin Hai, male, born in 1967, originally from Jiangshan County, Anhe Province, was a 1985 student of casting major of Anhe Agricultural Mechanization School. His grades passed and he was allowed to graduate. Now he is dispatched to Qingfeng Agricultural Machinery Factory, Pingyuan County, Anhe Province...

The registration certificate is quite satisfactory, and it is not surprising that a technical school student is assigned to work in the county agricultural machinery factory. But no one knew that something extraordinary had happened to this ordinary technical school student. A soul traveled from the 21st century and occupied the original owner's body.

Before crossing over, Qin Hai was a young postdoctoral fellow at the Institute of Materials Science, National Academy of Sciences in the early 21st century, and was known as a ghost genius in the entire Academy of Sciences system. There are many experts in the Institute of Materials, and there are many outstanding people, but everyone has their own field of expertise, either in polymers, or in inorganic non-metals, or in superconductivity, or in performance. Only Qin Hai can be called an all-rounder. I don't know why this guy is so energetic. He has been in the rover for several years, and he has published dozens of SCI papers, each of which is not in the same field. After each paper is issued, it will trigger a great academic discussion in a certain field. The number of citations of the paper is so high that his colleagues are jealous.

For such a talent, if he stays steadfastly in the laboratory to produce results and spends a few years, it will be almost easy to become a Changjiang scholar, an outstanding youth, and the like. But Qin Hai is a restless person. Just like his academic restlessness, he is also eclectic in life. During a vacation, he and a group of donkey friends he met somewhere did not know where to climb a snow mountain that had never been conquered, but they encountered an avalanche and the group was wiped out...

Perhaps God couldn't bear to let such a genius he created disappear easily. Qin Hai's soul traveled through time and space, and came to the mid-1980s, where he was reborn attached to a freshly graduated technical school student.

Alas, I finally chose my life...

Qin Hai, who had turned into a technical school student, heaved a long sigh, seeking psychological comfort for himself. Compared with the previous life, the self in this life is much younger, and this can be regarded as the benefit of time travel. Also, it is said that the air in the 1980s was cleaner than that of later generations. Should I enjoy the good life without PM2.5?

Thinking of this, Qin Hai took a deep breath, but before holding back for a second, he blew it all out again.

What a smell! Sulfur dioxide from the coking plant, dimethoate from the pesticide plant, ammonia from the fertilizer plant, acetylene from the calcium carbide plant... Who said there is no pollution in this era!

Qin Hai spat twice, picked up the canvas bag, and walked forward, asking passersby as he walked, Excuse me, how can I get to Qingfeng Agricultural Machinery Factory...

Go forward, keep walking along this road, pass the county and walk another 800 meters, turn left at the gate of the pesticide factory, and then go forward 300 meters, there is a big red iron gate, which is Qingfeng Factory. A cultural person wearing glasses pointed out in detail.

Thank you very much. Qin Hai thanked him and continued on his way.

After walking more than a dozen steps, there were hurried footsteps behind him catching up. Qin Hai looked back, but it was the enthusiastic cultural person who showed the way just now.

Boy, wait, wait.

Why? Qin Hai stood still and asked in surprise.

The cultural man ran up to Qin Hai, gasped for a few breaths, and then said, Young man, I accidentally made a mistake just now. After you pass the county, you have to walk 900 meters to reach the pesticide factory. If you only After 800 meters, turn left and you will fall into the fish pond.

Uh... Qin Hai was speechless, do I look like such a retarded person? He took a serious look at the enthusiastic person, and made sure that the other party was not joking, so he had to thank him again: Thank you, master... It's so dangerous, I'm not very good at swimming...

The enthusiastic people went back with peace of mind, Qin Hai wiped the sweat from his brow, and was about to continue on his way, but was attracted by a dispute not far away on the side of the road.

It's their group, stop them!

Make them refund their money!

Liars! Take them to the Public Security Bureau!

Five middle-aged men dressed as farmers held various farm tools and surrounded a roadside stall, shouting loudly, their voices full of anger. Then, standing up from the stall surrounded by them, a fat man who was about the same age as Qin Hai and had twice the waist circumference of Qin Hai, retorted in a low voice:

What are you talking about, we sell things here every Sunday, how could it be a liar!

Yes, if we are liars, why don't we run away? Another two young people stood up, one tall and one short, echoing Fatty's words, it seemed that the three of them should be together, all belonged to this stall stall owner.

You say you are not liars. Look at this shovel of mine. I bought it from you. It has only been used for a week, and the blade is curled. Your shovel is made of paper! He pushed his shovel up to the tip of the fat man's nose, and asked sharply.

The fat man stepped back half a step so that his eyes could focus on the spade head. After taking a look at it, his tone softened significantly, but he still quibbled with some rotten mouth: Who... Who knows what you used this shovel for, our shovels are all the best ones. Made of steel, the quality is absolutely fine...

What else can I do with a shovel, of course it is shoveling the ground! At my age, I have used dozens of shovels, and none of them are as bad as yours! You said your shovels are made of good steel, and you Isn’t there still some on this stall, let’s try some!” the leading farmer said angrily.

The fat man said: Why do you try the shovel from our stall? Whose fault will it be if it fails?

Your shovel broke when you tried it, yet you dare to say that the quality is fine! the farmers clamored.

Can I eat the vegetables grown by your farmers before paying for them? the young people retorted.

Of course, it doesn't cost money if it doesn't taste good!

...What about the pigs you raise, can you kill them first?

Kill it, kill it, if there is no fat, I will give it away for nothing...

...

The two sides talked to each other, and the air was already full of gunpowder. The three young men obviously lacked confidence in the things they sold, and they refused to agree with each other to test the farm tools on their stall, and at the same time insisted that the farm tools bought by the other party were damaged due to improper use. As for the five farmers who bought fake and inferior goods, they were already furious, and they were even more furious to see the other party being such a rascal.

Everyone put out the fire, what's going on, can I, a passer-by, comment on the truth? Qin Hai walked forward with his luggage, and said to the two sides of the conflict with a smile. He wasn't a nosy person, but seeing that the confrontation between the two sides was so fierce, and they both had their hands in their hands, he was afraid that if they disagreed, their shovels and picks would move and their arms and legs would fly around, so he hurried forward to try to persuade them to fight.

Who are you? Mind your own business. The fat man gave Qin Hai a sideways look and asked dissatisfied. He knew that there was something wrong with his product, and passers-by would know that they were the one who was at fault, so he didn't want others to intervene.

I'm a passer-by, here to persuade you to fight. Qin Hai still said with a smile, seeing that the three young men were unwilling to cooperate with him, he turned his head to the five farmers and said, You guys, you are arguing What, can you tell me?

The farmers are all honest people, and they are all over the age of being competitive. It was not their original intention to argue with the three young men. The farmers were very happy to see someone coming forward to help judge the case. The leading farmer pointed to the shovel in his hand and said to Qin Hai:

You come to comment on this. This is the shovel I bought from them last week. I also blamed me for being cheap. I saw that their shovel was 50 cents cheaper than Zhang Laosan's blacksmith's shop, so I bought it from them. The result After buying it and using it for less than a week, the edge of the blade was curled, what kind of shovel would be so inferior!

Qin Hai took the shovel from the farmer, looked at the edge, tapped it with his fingernails, heard the sound of metal, and said: It is indeed a good piece of steel, if I am not mistaken , This should be No. 65 manganese steel, usually no one is willing to use such a good steel to make a shovel.

Did you hear that, did you hear that! The three young men turned their anger into joy when they heard that Qin Hai was speaking for them, and echoed repeatedly. The fat man stretched out his thick bear paw and patted Qin Hai's shoulder, saying, Brother, you are an expert! You can even tell the steel number.

Don't be happy just now. Qin Hai turned his head, still smiling, I haven't finished my words yet. Steel is indeed good steel, but it's a pity that you ruined it. Let me ask you, what do you think of this steel? After forging the shovel, has it not been quenched?

... Fatty's smile froze on his face, and he stammered after a while before he asked, What are you talking about, what is war...