Chapter 262: Caught Everyone Off Guard

In the morning, Lin Qingyan was still asleep; the translation work these past few days had truly worn her out.

After breakfast, Lu Cheng told his mother to let Lin Qingyan sleep longer, saying she had been staying up too late these days and didn't need to be called.

Chen Xianglan rubbed her hands on her apron and happily said, "Mom understands, Mom understands, you also have to take care of your health."

Lu Cheng was startled for a moment—what exactly was "understood," and why worry about health?

Shaking his head, he left Da Za Yuan; Da Hu was climbing the old locust tree again.

Lu Cheng looked up and shouted, "Da Hu, why are you climbing the tree so early? Every day you're either scaling walls or trees. Look at your crotch—your pants are worn down to the point your butt is exposed. What will you do when you have no clothes? Just wait to be naked."

Da Hu, perched on a branch, sniffed and said, "Lu San'er, you say everyone's butt looks the same, so why do we still need clothes to cover it?"

Hearing Da Hu's words, Lu Cheng was greatly shocked.

But one must admit, there's some logic to it.

This kid will definitely be a moldable talent in the future.

To prevent inhaling cotton fluff, Lu Cheng put on a white mask; there were quite a few people like him on the street.

Some didn't wear one; they chose to tuck the mask in their front chest pocket and drape it over the top, thinking it looked more fashionable.

Those who didn't wear white masks were mostly workers, while cadres preferred to stick a fountain pen in their front chest pocket—a fashionable pursuit of each generation.

Taking the bus to the Iron Science Institute, when he entered the Third Research Institute on the second floor, voices came from inside, fiercely debating the design of a component.

Watching everyone argue with flushed faces and thick necks, Wu Qiming sat there smiling, saying that truth needs debate, the more you argue, the clearer it becomes.

Suddenly, a sudden knock on the door interrupted everyone's discussion.

As they all turned their eyes to the door in unison, surprise flashed across their faces, then they started looking at each other.

Standing at the doorway was Lu Cheng, holding a large bundle; it was unclear what was inside—perhaps newspapers, perhaps books.

Seeing Lu Cheng arrive at the institute unexpectedly, Wu Qiming seemed a bit surprised.

Since Lu Cheng last reported to the institute, almost a month had passed, and he hadn't come in the meantime.

Although Lu Cheng then boasted shamelessly, promising to solve the hydraulic oil problem within a month, everyone thought he was just talking big.

A Junior Police Officer had never been involved in design and R&D, so how could he possibly…

As everyone had suspected, Lu Cheng was indeed just talking big; he hadn't returned in a month, which showed that he didn't dare to come, though at least he had self‑awareness, knowing when to retreat.

Not coming is fine; it spares everyone the awkwardness of seeing a layperson sitting here.

Nevertheless, Lu Cheng did come, catching everyone off guard and abruptly cutting off the line of discussion.

The reason Lu Cheng hadn't come for a month was indeed self‑awareness: since everyone considered him a layperson unable to command R&D, showing up before the hydraulic oil issue was resolved would be useless.

"Hey, keep discussing; I listened for a while earlier, and it was pretty good."

Xiao Jia tossed a drawing from his hand and said, "Group Leader Lu, can you understand what we're discussing? Also, why did you come back?"

Lu Cheng walked in on his own, flung the bag of magazines onto the table, instantly stirring up dust, and several people hurriedly stepped aside.

"You ask that? I'm the deputy group leader in charge of developing the snow‑removal machine; why can't I come? Did you all unilaterally fire me?"

Lu Cheng asked this while looking at Wu Qiming.

Wu Qiming cleared his throat, "Group Leader Lu, you're joking; you're the deputy chief commander appointed by Dean Gao. If Dean Gao hasn't spoken, no one has the right to dismiss you."

In fact, before Lu Cheng was to take the deputy chief commander role at the institute, Wu Qiming had explicitly declined to Dean Gao.

Their institute, regardless of the project, has never had a layperson serve as deputy chief commander.

But Dean Gao said that this was personally arranged by Captain Lei of Beijing Station, and he couldn't refuse. At worst, he could just ignore Lu Cheng; if he wants to come, he can, and if he wants to sit and drink tea while reading newspapers, that's fine.

Wu Qiming had no choice but to agree.

"Xiao Jia, the weather's nice today; bring a chair for Group Leader Lu and place it by the window so he can bask in the sun, and also pour him a cup of tea and hand him a newspaper."

Xiao Jia couldn't possibly not understand Wu Qiming's instructions. Since Lu Cheng had arrived and was appointed by Dean Gao as deputy chief commander, they certainly couldn't drive him away; they'd treat him as a transparent person—just let him sit, drink tea, read the newspaper, as long as he doesn't meddle with the work.

"Hey, okay, Director Wu."

Xiao Jia was about to follow Wu Qiming's orders when Lu Cheng stopped him.

"No need for the hassle; I know you researchers value time, so I'll keep it brief—I'm here this time to solve the hydraulic oil issue we discussed last time."

When Lu Cheng spoke, several people in the room exchanged glances, with Xiao Jia being the first to react.

"Group Leader Lu, could you stop making grand statements? You didn't come for a month to discuss with us, and now you show up out of the blue and claim to solve it?"

Facing Xiao Jia's questioning, Lu Cheng didn't argue; he understood that they had reservations, especially since a layperson was coming to command work, and they doubted his ability.

Everyone thought so, out of respect for scientific work and a rigorous attitude.

Lu Cheng looked at Wu Qiming: "Director Wu, how should we put it? By your researchers' rigorous standards, we can't say it's fully solved; we can only say I've found a substitute."

"Substitute?" Wu Qiming frowned slightly.

Although this is a research institute, it doesn't mean every small component must be developed in‑house; they just need to incorporate suitable parts into the drawings—those that can be manufactured are sent to the Directly Affiliated Factory, and those that can't are outsourced to other factories.

Components handed to other factories for production can be called substitutes.

Seeing Lu Cheng's earnest expression, Wu Qiming signaled Xiao Jia, who was about to speak, to hold his tongue.

"Group Leader Lu, you suggested a substitute for hydraulic oil; we had indeed considered it, but we scoured the nation's major hydraulic‑oil manufacturers, and none could meet the extreme‑cold resistance required for our snow‑removal machine."

Lu Cheng continued, "Director Wu, the snow‑removal machine operates in a special environment, whereas most machinery is used under normal conditions. Without demand, there is no innovation."

"Therefore, it's not surprising that you searched the whole country and couldn't find a factory capable of producing it."

Wu Qiming couldn't help but nod; Lu Cheng's analysis made sense.

Without demand there is no creativity; resources are already scarce, so things nobody needs naturally aren't produced, otherwise it would waste productivity.

"Group Leader Lu, since you understand this principle and know that the hydraulic oil for the snow‑removal machine is also a low‑demand product, may I ask where you found the substitute?"