Chapter 95: Keep the Essence, Discard the Dross

Director Li glanced at her husband and son, then turned to look at Zhou Yimin.

“What kind of opportunity?”

Even Zhao Zhenguo’s wife stopped rocking the baby and looked over, full of curiosity. As a wife, who wouldn’t want her husband to do something big?

“It’s a kind of noodle that’s very popular abroad. You don’t need to cook it—just soak it in hot water for two or three minutes and it’s ready to eat. If Zhenguo’s noodle factory can produce it for export and earn foreign exchange, wouldn’t you call that an opportunity?” Zhao Zhenguo’s father said.

“There’s a noodle like that?” Director Li was surprised.

She had eaten noodles all her life but had never heard of such a thing.

She wasn’t blind to political foresight either. If this really could be exported for foreign exchange, both her son’s noodle factory and her son himself would see a significant boost in status.

Right now, the country’s demand for foreign exchange was unimaginable to most people.

Even knowing it might be at a loss, as long as there was a chance to export and earn foreign exchange, they would go for it.

There was no other way.

Their own country simply didn’t have enough valuable goods to offer.

Yet only Zhou Yimin knew that their country actually had plenty of treasures worth showing off—they just didn’t see their own worth.

Take rare earth elements for example. Before they were valued properly, how many had already been sold off for next to nothing? The amount was incalculable.

“Mom! I asked around. That little country really does have this kind of instant noodle that’s been selling like hotcakes the past two years,” Zhao Zhenguo said excitedly.

Of course, exporting to that country was impossible—relations were hostile and there were no diplomatic ties.

But it wasn’t the only country that ate noodles! There were many possible export destinations.

“But the key question is—can your factory produce it?” Director Li zeroed in on the core issue.

There were plenty of popular products in the world. The question was whether they could make them.

At that moment, Zhou Yimin smiled and said, “It just so happens I saw some relevant records in an ancient book. With a few improvements, it shouldn’t be a big problem. Really, with a few experiments, it shouldn’t be too hard to make. It’s not like it’s some cutting-edge high-tech that needs a research team.”

Director Li was stunned.

If she remembered correctly, back when Zhou Yimin was interviewed about his invention of the hand-pump well, didn’t he say the same thing? That it came from an ancient text?

Apparently, the ancestors really had left behind a lot of valuable knowledge.

It was just a pity so few people had discovered it.

“Yimin, you really do enjoy poring over ancient books!” she sighed.

Zhou Yimin shrugged. “Sometimes when I’ve got nothing to do, I just flip through them and take notes on anything useful. With five thousand years of Chinese civilization, there’s bound to be something valuable in there, right?

When it comes to traditional culture, we should keep the essence and discard the dross.”

We shouldn’t blindly inherit everything, but we shouldn’t reject it all either.

Zhao Zhenguo’s father clapped. “Yimin is absolutely right!”

He too disapproved of people who wanted to throw out everything passed down from their ancestors—labeling it all as feudal remnants.

If something existed, there had to be a reason for it!

Especially Zhou Yimin’s stance on traditional culture: keep the essence, discard the dross.

If this line got published in the newspaper, it would definitely strike a chord with people.

Just look at Zhou Yimin’s two or three inventions—two of them were inspired by ancient books.

Can you really say traditional culture is useless?

“Yimin, when you’ve got time, come to our factory and give us some guidance. Help us improve the production process and get this instant noodle made as soon as possible,” Zhao Zhenguo said eagerly. At this point, he really wanted to poach Zhou Yimin from the steel plant.

But he had enough self-awareness to know that a noodle factory couldn’t compare to a steel plant.

To be blunt, their noodle factory wasn’t even as good as one of the minor sub-factories under the steel plant.

“No rush. Let me try a few things first. Give it a couple of days,” Zhou Yimin replied. He wasn’t going to agree immediately—had to play it cool a little.

“All right, then we of the noodle factory await your grand arrival.”

Zhao Zhenguo was in a very good mood.

But soon, both father and son were shooed into the kitchen by Director Li to cook.

This meal was quite a feast—at least by current standards.

A pot of chicken soup, a plate of roast duck, a dish of stir-fried tofu skin with pork slices, and some tofu.

It was the first time since his transmigration that Zhou Yimin had eaten tofu.

A meal of this caliber was something that even ordinary people might not manage during New Year celebrations.

Under the enthusiastic hospitality of the Zhao family, Zhou Yimin had two or three cups of liquor. After eating and chatting for a while, he took his leave, saying he’d come again next time.

After he left, Zhao Zhenguo immediately rushed back to the noodle factory to find the factory director.

Director Yang was an old acquaintance of his father, and Zhao called him Uncle Yang. It was precisely this connection that had landed him the position of workshop director at such a young age.

Of course, he had some competence too, or he wouldn’t have held on to the role.

Zhao Zhenguo explained the instant noodle concept to Director Yang in detail.

Director Yang was stunned.

It was like listening to a fantasy.

Noodles that didn’t need to be cooked and could be eaten after soaking in hot water for two or three minutes—earning foreign exchange through export?

It all sounded wildly unrealistic.

“Are you sure about this?” he couldn’t help but ask.

“I asked around—there really is such a noodle, and it sells very well abroad. So I suggest we give it a try. What if…”

Director Yang nodded. He understood the significance even better than Zhao Zhenguo did.

“Is your cousin reliable?” he asked.

That caught Zhao Zhenguo off guard.

“Uncle Yang, have you heard of the hand-pump well or the solar stove?”

“Of course! They’re new products from the First Steel Plant. I heard they were invented by someone named Zhou Yimin. I’ve even seen the hand-pump well with my own eyes. Haven’t seen the solar stove yet, though.” Being from one of the major factories in the capital, of course he kept tabs on such things.

“My cousin is Zhou Yimin,” Zhao Zhenguo said calmly.

Director Yang: “…”

Then he got a little excited. “Can you persuade him to come work at our factory? I can give him a—”

Before he could finish, Zhao Zhenguo scoffed. “Give him a department head position? Uncle Yang, I’m not trying to put you down or belittle our factory, but people have to know their own limits!”

What good is a department head position at a noodle factory to Zhou Yimin? It would basically be the end of the line.

Compared to the steel plant, their noodle factory wasn’t even close. At the steel plant, the ceiling was so much higher.

“I’ve invited him to come guide us in a few days. If he really helps us develop instant noodles, Uncle Yang—how do you plan to reward my cousin?” Zhao Zhenguo started negotiating benefits for Zhou Yimin.

Just hand over the concept and technique to the noodle factory for free?

Even though he worked at the noodle factory himself, he wouldn’t allow that. If he dared, the first person who’d blow up on him would be his own mother, the neighborhood office director—she’d never let it slide.

“Well…”

Director Yang started mulling it over.

Job title? The guy already had one, and probably didn’t need another. Money? That felt kind of tacky. Food coupons, liquor coupons—he probably wasn’t lacking those either. After all, he had already invented two products for the steel plant. They must have rewarded him well.

Thinking about it like that… it seemed like the guy didn’t lack anything!

Now that was a headache.

If Zhou Yimin knew, he’d probably say: No—I could actually use all of that.

(End of Chapter)