Courtyard House: I'm an engineer, and a fairy godmother transferred me to a different position.

Fu Gong readily agreed: "That's right, we'll go see Professor Lu later, at least we should arrange a core position for him."

The two were speaking with great enthusiasm, but Liu Guangqi waved his hand to stop them:

"Please don't do that. I'm only temporarily seconded here to assist with the technical challenges; there's no need to be so formal about these hierarchical distinctions."

He glanced at the two of them and said in a calm tone, "Being a team member is actually more comfortable. You can focus on solving technical problems, which is much more reassuring than dealing with meeting documents."

Engineer Cheng shook his head:

"This isn't about hierarchy; it's about putting the right people in the right positions."

Before Fu could persuade him further, Liu Guangqi pointed to the brightly lit doorway ahead.

"Let's discuss that later. Right now, shouldn't we go check out our computers?"

At the end of the corridor, the metal doorplate reflected light slightly.

Behind that are rows of server racks and flashing indicator lights, and also a series of mysteries waiting to be solved.

Just then, a loud voice came from the side.

"Guangqi! We've been waiting for you!"

Professor Lu Hai had appeared nearby at some point, his face beaming with undisguised joy.

As soon as he spoke, Engineer Cheng and Engineer Fu immediately straightened their backs, standing at attention as if they were new recruits meeting their superior.

Lu Hai reached out and patted Liu Guangqi on the shoulder, his tone resolute:

"The three of you don't need to argue anymore. The institute has already decided that Guangqi will be the leader of the algorithm group as soon as he arrives."

His gaze swept over the three men, and he quickly assigned them responsibilities:

"You will focus on breakthroughs and improvements to the core algorithms, Xiao Cheng will be responsible for hardware coordination, and Xiao Fu will specialize in program debugging. This arrangement is the most appropriate."

"Besides, you are a member of the academic committee; no one is more suitable for this position than you."

After a brief pause, Lu Hai smiled slightly, his voice carrying a deeper meaning:

"This wasn't a spur-of-the-moment decision. To be honest, I wanted to reserve this position for you as soon as your name was put on the list of second-generation fighter jet researchers."

"It's a pity you always slip away like a fish, making excuses time and time again."

"Now is the perfect time—"

"Now that you're here, please fill this vacancy."

These words carried weight and conviction, as if the appointment letter had already been firmly placed on the desk.

Upon hearing this, Liu Guangqi felt a slight stiffness in his back.

He quickly shook his head, his tone earnest: "Professor Lu, this really can't be done. I can't take on the responsibility of being the team leader."

How can this be allowed?

If I were to take the lead, where would a senior like you be placed? How could I possibly be qualified for that position?

"Professor Lu," he continued, "I am by nature easygoing and hate being bogged down in trivial matters."

"As the team leader, I have to coordinate the team, report progress, apply for funding... Just thinking about all of this gives me a headache. I also have tasks to complete at the ministry level, so I really can't spare any more energy."

He chuckled as he spoke.

Seeing that Liu Guangqi's attitude was firm and he had no intention of being hypocritical, Lu Hai had no choice but to give up.

Thus, Liu Guangqi, only twenty-four years old, became the deputy leader of the project team as soon as he entered the Institute of Computing Technology.

This was the result of his strong refusal to take on a higher position.

In his view, being in charge was not what he wanted. Once he took that position, he would have to be responsible for everyone—a far cry from his vision of leaving get off work on time and spending time with his family.

Inside the Institute of Computing Technology, Liu Guangqi had just completed his onboarding procedures when Professor Lu Hai led him straight to his assigned project team.

Along the way, this senior academic was gentle and showed no signs of arrogance.

"Guangqi," Lu Hai said with a hint of caution, "most of the people in the group are veteran researchers who have dedicated their lives to this field, and they are inevitably a bit stubborn. As the deputy group leader, you will need to be more tolerant of them in the future."

Liu Guangqi raised the corners of his mouth, his eyes flashing with the sharp glint unique to young people:

"Professor Lu, don't worry. Stubborn people are actually easier to get along with. When it comes to technology, we only care about real skills—that way, I can relax too."

Lu Hai was taken aback by these words, then burst into laughter and patted him on the shoulder:

"Great! That's the spirit I've been looking for!"

Before long, the two stopped in front of a spacious conference room.

The room was clearly made up of several small rooms joined together, making it extremely spacious. It was filled with blueprints, experimental equipment, and scattered electronic components. The air was thick with the smell of solder and old paper.

Twenty or thirty people had already gathered inside, chatting quietly in small groups. Their conversation abruptly ceased when Lu Hai entered with a young man.

Dozens of eyes turned to him simultaneously—

Examining, curious

It also contained a hint of barely perceptible disdain.

After all, Liu Guangqi looks far too young.

Professor Lu Hai walked onto the makeshift platform and tapped the table lightly:

"Comrades, please be quiet."

Once everyone's attention was focused, he pointed to Liu Guangqi beside him and raised his voice:

"Some of you may already recognize the person next to me, but I still want to introduce her formally—"

"Comrade Liu Guangqi!"

The newly elected academician of the Division of Technological Sciences of the Chinese Academy of Sciences last year has officially assumed the position of deputy leader of the computer project team, effective immediately.

"Academician?!"

A low gasp rippled through the crowd, and the casual expressions on many faces froze instantly, replaced by incredulous shock.

Everyone present knew what this title meant—it was a position that couldn't be attained simply by being young and experienced.

Professor Lu Hai was quite satisfied with the crowd's reaction. He paused briefly, then dropped a second, even more significant bombshell.

"In addition, the original author of the stereo transistor technology that everyone has been working on recently, as well as the 'Computer Principles and Design' textbook that everyone has a copy of, is Comrade Liu Guangqi."

Like a boulder thrown into a calm lake, this statement stirred up a storm among the crowd.

"Did he write that textbook?"

"Unbelievable... I thought it was some senior expert returning from overseas!"

"No wonder the name sounded familiar..."

"It was him!"

It's no wonder everyone was so shocked. They usually kept to themselves, spending their time on research and experiments, and rarely paid attention to outside developments unless specifically told so. Even when it came to computer-related information, many of them had never heard of the name "Liu Guangqi".

Only now does everything become clear.

After a brief silence, thunderous applause suddenly erupted, enthusiastic and prolonged, devoid of any formality, only heartfelt admiration and excitement.

Liu Guangqi stood quietly at the front of the stage, taking in everyone's expressions. Only after the applause subsided did he steadily step forward and give the crowd a slight smile.

"Fellow seniors and comrades, I am Liu Guangqi. Standing here, my face alone may not be very convincing."

A lighthearted self-deprecating remark elicited knowing laughter from many.

"All of you here are valuable technical talents for the country. Many of you have been engaged in scientific research for longer than I have ever been here." He changed the subject slightly, his gaze sweeping across the entire room, his eyes focused and calm. "But in this completely new field of computers, we are all groping our way forward in the dark."

"Since the institute and Professor Lu have trusted me and entrusted me with the responsibility of deputy group leader, I will do my best."

"Therefore, I have a request."

His voice was not loud, but every word was clear and reached everyone's ears.

"I welcome everyone to discuss and debate with me about the technical details and specific implementation at any time, even if it means arguing heatedly."

"But in terms of the overall research and development direction—" he paused slightly, his tone calm but undeniable, "we must, and can only, follow my plan."

The audience was silent.

These words were spoken decisively, even somewhat authoritarianly. But no one refuted them—because the person who said them was Liu Guangqi.

Before anyone could respond, he had already taken out a thick stack of documents from his briefcase.

"This is a compilation I recently put together of some ideas and technical roadmaps for second-generation computers. Please take a look."

The documents were quickly distributed. At first, people flipped through them with a scrutinizing eye, but gradually, the only sound in the office was the soft rustling of pages turning.

To be fair, while China's computer industry started late, foreign technology was still in its infancy, with only a limited lead. Liu Guangqi's plan is to catch up within six months to a year, and to surpass them within one to two years.

The first step was to develop the second-generation transistor computer.

Thus, on Liu Guangqi's first day in office, the entire project team was immersed in the technical materials he provided.

Needless to say, frontline computer engineers can see the value of these materials—they are not just empty talk, but solid, systematic thinking. Such a synthesis and foresight are no easy task, let alone for them to complete; even just conceiving of them would be a difficult task.

It is easy to imagine the profound understanding the author had of the principles of computer technology.

The addition of such individuals to the Institute of Computing Technology will undoubtedly become the core force leading them to accelerate breakthroughs.

The paper rustled softly in the conference room.

After everyone received the materials, Liu Guangqi walked to the blackboard at the front and naturally took over the leadership. This was his first day in office, yet he was already standing at the forefront of the research and development team.

"If you've finished reading, please turn your attention to the blackboard." His voice wasn't loud, but every word was clear. "At this stage, our primary task is to unify and optimize the existing instruction set architecture..."

He began to explain, his thoughts clear and progressive.

Having traveled through time, he possessed an entire timeline of computer development etched into his mind. The correct path, the forward-thinking concepts—all shone brightly within his consciousness. With this guidance, the project team would not lose its way. Even if limited by practical conditions and encountering obstacles at a certain technical juncture, the overall direction would never deviate. Following this path would invisibly save them a great deal of time and effort from trial and error.

The large conference room was completely silent.

Everyone listened intently. Those engineers who had once felt a sense of superiority now stood up straight, their pens flying across the pages, afraid of missing a single word.

Time slips by quietly in the flow of knowledge.

The sunlight outside the window shifted from oblique to straight, then gradually veered westward.

"Gurgle..."

I don't know whose abdomen made the first soft rumbling sound.

Liu Guangqi's throat grew dry as he spoke. He paused, picked up his enamel mug, and took a sip of water. His two assistants exchanged glances, one of them raising his hand and saying, "Deputy Team Leader Liu, it seems to be getting late…would you like to have lunch first?"

The sound snapped everyone out of their concentration. Several researchers instinctively raised their hands to check their watches.

"Oh dear, it's almost one o'clock!"

"I was so engrossed in listening that I didn't even notice!"

Liu Guangqi was also taken aback, and looked down to check the time, and sure enough, it was so.

"Okay." He brushed the chalk dust off his palm. "Let's eat first, and continue at two o'clock in the afternoon."

He was about to leave with the others when he suddenly paused – he remembered that he had just started his shift today and had neither brought a lunchbox nor meal tickets.

Fortunately, the assistant stepped forward in time and handed over a brand new aluminum lunchbox and a stack of meal tickets.

"Chief Engineer Liu, these have been collected for you. Would you like to go to the cafeteria yourself, or should we bring them back for you?"

"I'll go by myself." Liu Guangqi took it with a smile, feeling a slight warmth in her heart.

He followed the crowd toward the cafeteria. As soon as he stepped out of the computing room, several computer engineers from his group caught up with him, their eyes gleaming with an insatiable thirst for knowledge.

"Chief Engineer Liu, please wait a moment!" Engineer Cheng quickly approached, his demeanor humble. "There are still a few points about the directions you mentioned that I don't quite understand... I wonder if I could ask you for clarification during the meal?"

Liu Guangqi was speechless.

He finally experienced firsthand the intense passion that permeated the research institute. Even mealtimes were spent engrossed in their studies—it seemed he too had been subtly influenced by this atmosphere. To have almost forgotten to eat while lecturing on his first day was not a good sign. He needed to be more careful in the future, and absolutely could not become completely caught up in this relentless pace of studying, otherwise he might collapse from exhaustion without even realizing it.

Of course, jokes aside.

After getting their food, Liu Guangqi shared a table with Engineer Cheng and the others, eating and answering each other's questions. Among the crowd in the cafeteria, many researchers caught a glimpse of this scene: several senior computer engineers were respectfully asking questions of a young man, and they couldn't help but turn their heads.

Who is that young man?

newcomer?

It actually carries such weight?