Siheyuan (traditional courtyard house): Starting with the Korean War, returning home to take charge

The issue of costs weighed heavily on He Yuzhu's mind, like a stone.

He'd been pondering Old Zhou's words from Tianjin for days: "A ton of water costs a little over 50 cents, more expensive than tap water." Fifty cents might not sound like much, but with water consumed daily and the factory running every day, it adds up to a considerable sum over a year. He pulled the reverse osmosis membrane brochure from the cabinet and opened it to the first page. He'd read those formulas, those parameters, those process flows countless times, each time telling himself that this thing could reduce costs, reduce them to a little over 20 cents. But brochures are static; equipment is dynamic—it requires people to build it, a factory to manufacture it, and money to invest.

He picked up the phone and dialed the number for the Chemical Research Institute. A young woman answered, speaking quickly, as if she was in a hurry.

"Director He? Our director is at a meeting at the ministry. What can I do for you?"

He Yuzhu held the phone. "When he gets back, have him call me back."

He answered with a "yes" and hung up.

In the afternoon, the phone rang. He Yuzhu answered it, and the voice on the other end was hoarse, with a heavy Northeastern accent, as if he had just come back from outside and his throat hadn't recovered yet.

"Director He, this is Chen Dehou from the Chemical Engineering Institute. You wanted to see me?"

He Yuzhu turned to the page on reverse osmosis membranes in the document and ran his finger over the parameters. "Director Chen, there's something I'd like you to work on."

Chen Dehou paused for a moment on the other end. "What is it?"

He Yuzhu said, "Reverse osmosis membranes. Used for seawater desalination. They're expensive now, costing over 50 cents per ton of water. If we can develop this membrane, the cost can be halved."

There was a few seconds of silence on the other end of the phone. He Yuzhu heard Chen Dehou take a breath, his voice lowering. "Director He, we've never dealt with this before. Do you have any information?"

He Yuzhu said, "Yes. I'll have someone send it over."

Chen Dehou said, "Okay. Let's take a look first."

He Yuzhu put down the phone, took the document out of the cabinet, wrapped it in kraft paper, wrote an address on it, and handed it to Yang Xiaobing. "Deliver it to the Chemical Engineering Institute and give it to Director Chen."

Yang Xiaobing took the paper package and weighed it in his hand. "Commander, this thing is quite heavy."

He Yuzhu didn't answer. He turned around and walked to the window. The sky outside was overcast, looking like it was about to rain. The big-character posters on the courtyard wall had been replaced with new ones, the edges of the paper curling up and rustling in the wind. He looked at them for a while, then drew the curtains. Yang Xiaobing was still standing at the door.

"Is there anything else?"

Yang Xiaobing shook his head. "That's all." He turned and left, his footsteps fading into the distance in the corridor.

The Chemical Engineering Institute spent six months digesting the data. He Yuzhu didn't urge them, but he called every month. For the first two months, Chen Dehou asked about the principles—what is reverse osmosis, how is the membrane made, and what materials are used. He Yuzhu explained the information from the data repeatedly, and Chen Dehou listened, saying "I understand," only to come back a few days later and ask again. In the third month, he asked about the equipment—what machines, what processes, and what testing methods are used. He Yuzhu couldn't answer and told him to figure it out himself. In the fourth month, he called, his voice lower than usual.

"Chang He produced a batch of samples. The performance was poor; the throughput was too low, and the desalination rate was insufficient."

He Yuzhu held the microphone. "Try again."

Chen Dehou said, "Okay."

In the fifth month, he called again. "We changed the material, the flux went up, but the desalination rate went down again."

He Yuzhu said, "Let's keep trying."

Chen Dehou remained silent for a moment. "Director He, could you please come over?"

He Yuzhu has left.

The chemical plant was located in the south of the city. Several gray buildings stood there, their courtyards filled with rusted pipes and tanks piled against the walls like scrap metal. He Yuzhu pushed open the car door, and a pungent smell of chemical reagents wafted out, mixed with the metallic odor, irritating his nose. He stood at the doorway and looked inside. The courtyard was deserted and quiet, save for the whistling sound of the wind blowing through the pipes.

Chen Dehou walked out of the building. He was thin, tall, and slightly hunched. He wore reading glasses, the lenses of which reflected the light, obscuring his eyes. He walked up to He Yuzhu, reached out his hand, and grasped it tightly for a few seconds before letting go.

"Director He, please come in and have a look."

He led He Yuzhu inside. Several lights in the corridor were broken, and the green light from the emergency exit illuminated the water stains on the floor, making patches like a map. He Yuzhu stepped over them, his shoes squeaking as they went, the soles wet. The laboratory was at the very back; as the door opened, an even stronger smell of reagents rushed out, stinging his eyes.

Several technicians in white coats were hunched over the control panel; some were adjusting formulas, some were measuring data, and some were peering through a microscope. No one looked up, no one spoke; only the low, continuous hum of the instruments filled the air, like a swarm of bees flying in the distance.

Chen Dehou walked to a piece of equipment and pointed to the membrane on it. "Director He, this is our eighth batch of samples. The flux is okay, but the desalination rate is a bit low. Take a look."

He Yuzhu walked over, squatted down, and touched the membrane with his finger. It was wet, slippery, and as thin as paper. Pressing his finger down, he could feel the texture of the supporting material underneath. He stood up, walked to the microscope, and peered inside. The surface of the membrane was covered with countless pores of varying sizes, some round, some flat, some connected together, like a torn net.

"The holes are uneven," He Yuzhu said.

Chen Dehou stood to the side and nodded. "Yes. The pores are uneven, so the desalination rate won't be high. We've tried several methods, but none of them work."

He paused, put his hand in the pocket of his white coat, felt around for a few moments, then pulled it out. "Director He, our equipment here isn't up to par; the precision isn't sufficient."

He Yuzhu turned around, walked to the workbench, picked up the formula, and looked it over. The materials were fine, the proportions were fine, but the temperature and humidity weren't controlled, causing the pores to grow haphazardly. He put down the formula, stood in the lab, looking at the technicians hunched over their workbenches, at the old equipment, and at the membrane with uneven pores. Someone looked up at him, then looked down again, continuing to adjust the formula.

"I'll figure out a way to deal with the equipment."

Chen Dehou looked at him, his lips moved as if he wanted to say something, but he swallowed it back. After a few seconds, he finally spoke. "Director He, our budget is tight..."

He Yuzhu interrupted him. "Don't worry about the money. First, figure out the process thoroughly and set the parameters. Once the equipment arrives, we can start working immediately."

Chen Dehou nodded and said nothing more.

The equipment was imported from Switzerland, which took six months. He Yuzhu coordinated with the foreign trade department to approve foreign exchange, sign contracts, and wait for the shipping schedule. During those six months, Chen Dehou didn't call to urge them, and He Yuzhu didn't call to inquire either. He knew they were waiting, and they knew he was waiting too.

The equipment arrived the following spring. Yang Xiaobing went to the chemical research institute and returned with several photos, which he spread out on the table. The equipment in the photos had a silver-white casing that gleamed coldly under the light, and its pipes were densely packed, like an untangled tangled ball of thread.

"Commander, the equipment is installed. Director Chen said that trial production will begin next week."

He Yuzhu picked up the photo, looked at it for a few seconds, and put it down. "What's the difficulty?"

Yang Xiaobing thought for a moment. "Director Chen said that the materials still need to be imported. The purity of the domestic materials is not high enough, and the performance of the membranes produced will be significantly worse."

He Yuzhu put the photos into the drawer. "I'll figure out how to get the materials."