The Grandmother in the Siheyuan

Chapter 401 Sarcasm
Liu Hua said with a smile, "Our Tsinghua University is full of talented people. Can you analyze for me whether the ancient Greek region, with its geographical environment, could support such a large population?"

Before anyone could speak, Liu Hua continued, "In today's society, with such advanced technology, Greek agriculture still cannot feed them, and they still need to import a large amount of food. So, think about it, more than two thousand years ago, how many people could they have fed?"

“That makes sense,” someone said thoughtfully. “The same logic applies to Egypt. Their geographical environment and living conditions don’t seem to be able to support many people. Without so many people, how could they have built the pyramids?”

The seed of doubt has been planted.

"Including Aristotle, which means he wrote tens of millions of words in his lifetime and was proficient in so many disciplines, do you think that's possible?"

Some people countered, "The subjects were simpler back then, so it was normal for one person to master several subjects."

"People back then had limited access to knowledge," Liu Hua said sarcastically. "And where did they write his millions of words of writing? Did they even have paper?"

"Parchment, papyrus."

“Making parchment also requires the skin of lambs. Not just any sheepskin will do. How many words can be written on a single piece of parchment? Even if all the sheep along the Mediterranean coast were slaughtered back then, it still wouldn’t be enough for him to write.”

"Should we have enough papyrus paper?"

“That stuff has to be imported.” Liu Hua shook his head. “And papyrus, think about how long it can be preserved. You’ve all seen photos and real papyrus, so clear and intact. Is it possible that it’s been preserved for thousands of years? Our bamboo slips from thousands of years ago have all become a pile of rotten wood.”

Those attending the lecture are all elites, and elites all have one flaw: they like to be skeptical. Once Liu Hua planted the seed of skepticism, they would spontaneously seek evidence to refute him.

Western history is not history; everything is so vague and ambiguous that they become increasingly skeptical in their search for evidence.

Liu Hua only spoke for an hour, but the public opinion that followed was not something that could be quelled in an hour.

Most people admire the Western world, but deep down he also has a sense of national and familial responsibility.

The reason they yearn for the Western world is because of its advanced civilization. Now that Liu Hua has revealed the truth and planted the seeds, they are hesitant. They are starting to convince themselves that the West is all fake and that they are patriotic.

As for those who seek the West, he is determined to go to the West, but he is too ashamed to admit that he is wrong, so he needs to find evidence to refute Liu Hua's point of view.

The very next day, newspapers and magazines published Liu Hua's lecture, which caused a huge uproar in a wide area.

Western historians immediately came forward to refute Liu Hua, arguing that it was utterly ridiculous for a science and engineering professor to lecture on humanities and history topics.

What do you know about cuneiform script? What do you know about Sumerian civilization? What do you know about Egyptian civilization? What do you know about Greek civilization?
Liu Hua shook his head: "Yes, I really don't understand, but that doesn't stop me from questioning. You don't understand my design, but you can still question me. At least I can ask a few questions in a proper way. Can you ask a few proper questions?"

This is the response Liu Hua gave when a so-called Western historian came all the way to Tsinghua University to question him.

When it comes to academic research, questioning is allowed. If you don't even allow yourself to question, then your knowledge is definitely illegitimate.

Liu Hua allowed him to question himself, but as the saying goes, "a trade is like a mountain," especially when a humanities student questions a science student, a science student he had never even encountered before. He was stunned for three minutes, unable to think of a suitable word to question Liu Hua. Immediately, some people jumped out and began to shout about the pseudo-history of the West, which temporarily suppressed the momentum of the American.

However, Liu Hua also knew that this was only a temporary suppression. He envied the West's present, not his past, because he admired the West's present.

Once he makes up his mind, those who are meant to leave will leave. The only way to retain talent is to become strong ourselves. Thirty years later, we can say no to overseas returnees, and those top scientists who stayed in the West will start to return to China one after another. Even foreigners are coming to work here. This is the manifestation of strength.

In early 1992, Liu Hua's car engine finally passed the acceptance test, but the military had no interest at all because Liu Hua designed an engine for family cars.

Beijing Jeep had come to take a look, but then said it wasn't suitable for them because they mainly produce off-road vehicles.

Two brands came to take a look: one was Tianjin's Xiali, and the other was FAW's Jetta. Xiali was genuinely looking for a reliable domestic engine, while Jetta was somewhat reluctant.

Because the Jetta brand is a mature product that the Germans have refined over many years, eliminating many flaws. They have a mature engine.

However, the higher authorities have given them a task: since they have domestically produced engines, you'd better support them.

When Jetta's technical department came to see it, they were very surprised because its engine was definitely better than Jetta's.

But the technical director at Jetta was incredibly arrogant, looking down on everyone else.

"The engine is indeed good, but it still lags behind Jetta's own products."

Although the domestically produced Jetta brand belongs to FAW, Liu Hua will not give him a friendly look.

"Whether it's good or bad, everyone knows in their hearts." Liu Hua said sarcastically, "The Jetta's engine is definitely not the best, but it is the best broken in with the Jetta car. However, that's not your achievement, it's the achievement of Hans Country. I understand your concerns. They have already broken in the whole car very well. If you rashly spend money on the engine, you don't have the technology to tune it to be so perfect."

A junior leader from the Ministry of Industry who accompanied Jetta was covering his mouth and laughing beside him.

"Liu Ke, you're the ones who sent me here, and after we came, this guy gave us such sarcastic remarks."

Section Chief Liu nodded: "It's indeed not appropriate, but your initial lack of humility made anyone uncomfortable."

The technical supervisor stormed off, and Section Chief Liu felt that Hua apologized and then chased after him.

"Liu Ke, it's not that I'm not giving you face, it's just that with such a joyous occasion, we can't cooperate."

Although Section Chief Liu's administrative rank was not as high as this man's, he didn't give him a friendly look either: "What are you so arrogant about? That guy just now made a hundred million US dollars from Volkswagen in your Hans country last year. Do you have that ability?"

(End of this chapter)