King of Technology: A Fresh Start in 1983

In the dead of night, Zhang Wei lay in bed.

Clutching the Casio digital watch Qin Shunan had given him, he tossed and turned, unable to sleep.

Finally, he put his hands on either side of the bed and closed his eyes.

In the boundless darkness, he imagined himself as a lonely little boat, drifting on a pitch-black sea.

On the other side, thousands of miles away, lies New York, the land of the Eagles.

And on this very side, just a stone's throw away, lies Xuanwumen Street in Beijing.

There is Qin Shunan, Cornell University, bright blue skies and white clouds, skyscrapers and garden villas.

Although it was far away, it was so clear.

The area in front of me, though very close, is completely unknown.

But what he found incredible and incomprehensible was:

Within this unknown chaos, there exists an immense, unseen, and intangible force.

And this existence, with its powerful attraction, infectiousness, and driving force, is constantly calling to itself.

It made him feel his blood boil, his heart surge with excitement, and he felt an irresistible urge to rush forward...

The next morning, Zhang Wei wandered around for a long time, hesitating, before finally arriving at Li Mingyuan's office.

He took the passport application form out of his pocket and handed it to Li Mingyuan.

"Teacher Li, this is the application form I filled out. Please take a look and sign it if you agree."

After saying that, he looked at Li Mingyuan with unease.

Li Mingyuan glanced through the application form: "Hmm, it's good to have a passport beforehand!"

"This way, when work requires me to go abroad, I can leave at any time, saving me from being scrambling at the last minute."

He picked up his pen and tapped the "Purpose of Departure" section: "You selected self-funded study abroad. If you need to leave for work before you go to study abroad at your own expense, will there be any problems?"

Zhou Yuguang, who was sitting opposite, leaned over and glanced at the visa: "It should be fine. The difference between private and official visas is only when applying for a visa, it has nothing to do with the passport."

Li Mingyuan further confirmed: "The destination you filled in was the United Kingdom?"

Zhang Wei nodded nervously.

Li Mingyuan then asked Zhou Yuguang, "In the future, when Tiangong becomes a large company, there will definitely be many opportunities for it to participate in activities in the United Kingdom."

"But what if we go to Hong Kong first? Or Singapore? Or perhaps some of the events are held in other European countries?"

"This means the destination won't match the one filled in on the departure card..."

"The departure card can be changed later. It's okay, just fill in 'Eagle Country' for now! We can change it later if needed," Zhou Yuguang assured him.

"That's good." Li Mingyuan didn't ask any more questions.

He picked up his pen, wrote "Agreed" in the "Unit Opinion" section of the application form, and signed his name.

Then he took it and looked at it again before handing it to Zhang Wei: "Zhou and I have already reported this to General Manager Chen, and he has agreed."

"There's a problem at the Pengcheng factory that we urgently need to send technicians to solve. You should leave today. Your border pass has already been processed."

"Once you arrive in Shenzhen, just get General Manager Chen to sign and stamp the application form!"

Zhang Wei took the application form with trembling hands, his face filled with disbelief.

How come it went so smoothly?

This was completely different from what he had imagined!

Last night, I practiced countless times the soft and hard tactics I was prepared for, but I couldn't use either of them.

Li Mingyuan and Zhou Yuguang neither tried to persuade him with reason or emotion, nor did they use their power to make things difficult for him.

Instead, she put herself in his shoes and thought of him from beginning to end...

What surprised and puzzled him even more was that Li Mingyuan and Zhou Yuguang seemed to have long forgotten about his plans to study abroad.

Throughout the signing process, he seemed to have subconsciously decided why he was applying for a passport and what his reasons were for going abroad in the future…

Business trips will definitely come first, followed by self-funded study abroad!

This was less a matter of Li Mingyuan and Zhou Yuguang's trust in him, and more a matter of their confidence.

But where does this confidence come from?

If we follow Zhan Yiling's suggestion, this should be used as a touchstone.

Therefore, the test result is clearly 24K gold.

This is enough to prove that Li Mingyuan and Zhou Yuguang, and even Chen Jianghe, are trustworthy, reliable, and worthy of following.

Before Zhang Wei could think any further, Li Mingyuan, who thought the matter was already over, called his name twice, pulling him back to reality from his reverie.

"Okay, Teacher Li, I'll go book the train tickets right away."

"Don't take the train, the journey is too long. I've already booked your plane ticket. We'll leave after lunch."

As soon as Zhao Lin left Li Mingyuan's office and entered the large laboratory, she came over and said, "Hey, I heard you're going to Shenzhen? That's awesome! Is it your first time flying?"

Zhang Wei hummed in agreement and nodded.

Zhao Lin said with a serious expression, "Um, let me tell you, everything on airplanes is extremely expensive..."

"Think about it, it's expensive to transport something from the ground to the sky by plane, isn't it?"

"You have to pay for all the food and drinks yourself, and they don't even give you receipts."

"So, you'd better eat and drink your fill before you board the plane, because the flight is three hours long."

In a daze, Zhang Wei subconsciously asked Zhao Lin, "Have you ever been on an airplane?"

Zhao Lin shook her head: "I've never ridden in one, I just heard about it from others..."

Seeing Zhang Wei's bewildered expression, Zhao Lin couldn't help but laugh: "I was just kidding, look how nervous you are."

"The reason why the airfare is so expensive is that meals are already included. The meals and drinks brought by the flight attendants are free, so please enjoy them without worry."

Then, Zhao Lin earnestly told Zhang Wei, "There are some things you should pay attention to when flying for the first time."

"During takeoff and landing, there are indicator lights and reminders from flight attendants. At this time, you must fasten your seat belt and not move around."

"In addition, you should also pay attention to how you use the toilet."

"First, there's the door. If it has a handle, that's easy. Just grab the handle, twist it, and pull it to open it."

"Many of them don't have handles, they're just plain doors, how are you supposed to open them?"

"You will see a vertical crack in the middle of the door. Push it in through the crack and it will open."

"The top and bottom of the door are sliding tracks, and the gaps between the doors are hinges. The advantage of this design is that it saves space."

"Also, the plane you were on was probably either a Boeing 757 or a McDonnell Douglas MD-82."

"Both types of aircraft are long and narrow, and the lavatories in economy class are located at the rear of the plane, one on the left and one on the right."

"Water on airplanes is very precious. Although it is mainly flushed out by the pressure difference between the inside and outside of the cabin, water is still needed. We must be careful to conserve it when using it."

"The most important point is that airplane toilets are completely different from train toilets; they are separate for men and women."

"Remember, face the direction of the plane's nose, men on the left and women on the right. Don't go into the wrong restroom!"

...

The next morning, when Zhang Wei arrived at the Capital Airport, he felt like a country bumpkin visiting the Grand View Garden, finding everything new and exciting.

If Zhao Lin hadn't repeatedly reminded me yesterday, I really would have been a little dizzy...