I painted an aircraft carrier on the courtyard house for Dongda University.

Upon hearing this, Liu Haizhong's face turned deathly pale, and he felt as if he had fallen into an ice cellar, completely panicked.

What knowledge did he have of foreign etiquette? In his deeply ingrained mindset, a man and a woman alone in a room, embracing and kissing, could never escape the suspicion of "illicit sexual relations."

At this moment, he was filled with remorse. He never expected that these behaviors, which would cause a huge uproar in China, would be nothing more than traditional etiquette abroad.

Director Wang quickly realized what was happening, his face darkening so much it could drip water, his eyes filled with reproach and displeasure as he questioned Liu Haizhong: "Don't tell me, what you mean by 'misbehaving' is this?"

Liu Haizhong's face instantly fell, and he slumped like a wilted eggplant, stammering, "Director Wang, I... I really didn't know there were such etiquettes abroad. It's all a misunderstanding! You see, it's getting late, so how about we call it a day? I... I'll head back now?"

As he spoke, he tried to slip away and make a quick getaway.

Zhou Weiguo reacted quickly, grabbing Liu Haizhong by the collar and turning to Natasha. He said seriously, "Natasha, what do you think about this? How do you want to deal with him? Tell Director Wang right away. I believe Director Wang will stand up for you."

Upon hearing this, Director Wang also stared nervously at Natasha, silently praying that the foreign guest might report the matter to the foreign affairs department in a fit of anger, causing trouble for the street office.

Natasha seemed to see through Director Wang's concerns and spoke frankly: "Director Wang, I can choose not to report this matter. But Liu Haizhong's actions have deeply disappointed and saddened me, an engineer who came to your country to assist in the construction. I believe you should give me a reasonable explanation. Is that too much to ask?"

Director Wang breathed a sigh of relief and quickly said with a smile, "Comrade, please rest assured, we will definitely give you a satisfactory answer. It's getting late, so we won't disturb your rest any longer. I will discuss the proposed handling of Liu Haizhong with you later. Is that alright?"

Natasha nodded in satisfaction, turned and went back to her room, slamming the door shut.

Seeing that there was no more excitement to be had, the onlookers dispersed.

Only Liu Haizhong looked at Director Wang with a bitter expression and a pitiful expression. Director Wang glared at him fiercely and said sternly, "Tomorrow morning, go to the subdistrict office to receive your punishment!"

……

The next morning, Zhou Weiguo rode his bicycle, with Natasha on the back, towards the steel mill, while Zhu Zi looked on with an expression of being used and abandoned.

Throughout the journey, Natasha completely disregarded the traditional Xia Kingdom concept of "men and women should not touch each other," wrapping her arms tightly around Zhou Weiguo's waist and playfully touching him here and there from time to time.

This sudden display of affection made Zhou Weiguo distracted, and he almost lost his grip on the handlebars, nearly hitting pedestrians several times. Passersby turned their heads and curiously observed the "foreign couple."

Soon, the two arrived at the steel rolling mill.

The gatekeeper greeted Zhou Weiguo warmly and let them in without asking any questions about Natasha's identity.

Zhou Weiguo had no intention of going to the technical department. In his opinion, the workshop was more comfortable, with apprentices serving him tea and water, which was much more comfortable than the office.

Perhaps Colonel Zhang had given prior notice, because the guards didn't question Natasha much about her appearance.

As soon as he entered the workshop, Dashan and Erniu greeted him as usual.

This time, however, the two seemed to be frozen in place, staring intently at Natasha with eyes full of amazement and curiosity.

Zhou Weiguo coughed twice, and the two of them seemed to wake up from their daze, hurriedly handing the large steamed buns in their hands to Zhou Weiguo.

Erniu asked impatiently, "Master, is this the legendary foreigner? She's so beautiful! Is she your wife?"

Seeing this, Dashan quickly pinched Erniu's buttocks, making Erniu grimace and stomp his feet in pain.

Zhou Weiguo smiled and defused the situation: "From now on, we'll call her Comrade Natasha."

Natasha, however, was displeased and said coquettishly, "For the country, they are your disciples. According to custom, shouldn't they call me 'Master's Wife'? Don't think I don't understand your Xia Kingdom's culture!"

Dashan and Erniu stared wide-eyed at each other, then looked up at the ceiling in unison.

Zhou Weiguo waved his hand helplessly: "Alright, you two go ahead and get busy."

The two felt as if they had been granted a pardon, and they quickly ran to the corner of the wall, squatted down, and began to whisper among themselves.

Erniu: "Brother, she said we should call her 'Master's Wife'!"

Da Shan: "Shut up! Call me whatever Master tells you to call me!"

Erniu: "But that's what Master's wife said..."

Da Shan: "Shut up! Call me whatever Master tells you to call me!"

Erniu: "Brother, Mom said, 'It's like climbing a mountain for a man to pursue a woman, but like piercing a thin veil for a woman to pursue a man...'"

Da Shan: "Shut up! Call me whatever Master tells you to call me!"

Erniu: "Brother, Mom also said that no matter how tough a man is, he'll go limp when he sees his wife..."

Da Shan: "Shut up! Call me whatever your master's wife tells you to!"

After some hesitation, Erniu, carrying steamed buns, and Dashan, holding a teacup, ran up to Zhou Weiguo and Natasha, shouting in unison, "Master's wife, have some steamed buns! Have some tea!"

Zhou Weiguo couldn't help but chuckle, amused by their reactions.

Natasha smiled broadly, her eyes crinkling with charm, and said happily, "Good, good, good! My good disciples, your master's wife accepts you! But remember, this title can only be used in private; you mustn't say it in front of outsiders, understand?"

Zhou Weiguo looked at his two lively apprentices and laughed, scolding them, "You two rascals, call me whatever you want!"

After his apprentices went to work, Zhou Weiguo and Natasha went into the small office in the inner room and locked the door.

Zhou Weiguo then lowered his voice, pulled out a stack of blueprints, and said, "Natasha, you're an engineer too, so give me some advice. We got the Ural M63, RPG-7 rocket launcher, OSV-96 large-caliber semi-automatic anti-materiel sniper rifle, PKM general-purpose machine gun, and the Mengshi jeep from you—which of these should we study first? Which is most important to Xia Guo?"

Natasha glanced at the blueprints and immediately shook her head, saying, "These are not what Xia Country urgently needs right now. For both Xia Country and your steel mill, the most urgent task is definitely to increase steel production and improve steel rolling technology."

Zhou Weiguo looked helpless: "If I knew how, would I need to ask you? Hey, wait, what kind of engineer are you again? Do you know how?"

Natasha said with a smug look, "Nonsense, do you think I've been working at MMK for nothing? Increasing steel production and improving rolling technology are just a small part of my vast knowledge base."

Zhou Weiguo's eyes lit up, and he eagerly asked, "Then tell me quickly, how exactly do we do it?"

Natasha explained in detail: "To increase steel production, updating steelmaking technology is key. Xia still uses open-hearth furnaces for steelmaking, which is too inefficient. The Goose has long adopted oxygen top-blown converter steelmaking technology. In the same amount of time, we can produce more than ten heats of steel, while you can only produce one. Moreover, converter steelmaking can save 30% of coal."