Chapter 1

In 1985, in Pingyuan County, Beixi City, Anhe Province.

It was a scorching noon, the sun blazing down on the earth, and cicadas chirping competitively on the泡桐 trees. The narrow streets of Pingyuan County were lined with small stalls selling various cheap industrial goods and agricultural products. Outside the shops, colorful, crudely printed posters of celebrities were pasted, and from a four-speaker large cassette player, Su Rui was belting out:

"No sky, no earth!

No earth, no home!

No home, no you!

No you, no me..."

Outside the bus station, a tall, handsome young man stood under a large camphor tree, a rolled-up suitcase on his shoulder, a military-green shoulder bag slung diagonally across his chest, and a large canvas bag containing daily necessities and a few books at his side. He looked at the unfamiliar scene before him, a wry smile on his face.

The young man's name was Qin Hai. In his shoulder bag was a job assignment certificate, which read:

"Qin Hai, male, born in 1967, originally from Jiangshan County, Anhe Province, a graduate of the Casting Department of Anhe Agricultural Mechanization School in 1985, with satisfactory grades, is hereby assigned to work at Qingfeng Agricultural Machinery Factory in Pingyuan County, Anhe Province..."

The job assignment was standard, and it wasn't unusual for a technical school graduate to be assigned to a county agricultural machinery factory. However, no one knew that this seemingly ordinary technical school graduate had already experienced some extraordinary events. A soul from the 21st century had traveled through time and taken over the body of the original owner.

The Qin Hai before the穿越 was a young postdoctoral researcher at the National Academy of Sciences' Materials Research Institute in the early 21st century, known throughout the academy as a "genius." The institute was filled with experts and talented individuals, each excelling in their own fields—some in polymers, some in inorganic non-metals, some in superconductors, and some in performance. Only Qin Hai could be called a polymath. No one knew why this guy had such boundless energy; in just a few years in the postdoctoral program, he had published dozens of SCI papers, each in a different field. Each paper sparked a major academic debate in its respective field, and the high citation rates made his peers envious to the point of red-eyed jealousy.

Such a talent, if he had stayed in the lab and produced results, could have easily become a Changjiang Scholar or an Outstanding Young Scientist after a few years. But Qin Hai was a restless person, just as he was restless in his academic pursuits, he was also unconventional in his life. During a holiday, he went on a climb with a group of unknown hiking friends to a never-conquered snow mountain, only to be caught in an avalanche and wiped out...

Perhaps the heavens did not want such a remarkable talent to disappear so easily. Qin Hai's soul traveled through time and space, arriving in the mid-1980s, and was reborn in the body of a recent technical school graduate.

Sighing deeply, Qin Hai, now transformed into a technical school graduate, gave himself some psychological comfort. In this life, he was much younger than in his previous life, which could be considered a benefit of the穿越. Moreover, it was said that the air in the 1980s was fresher than in later times. Shouldn't he enjoy this PM2.5-free good life?

Thinking this, Qin Hai took a deep breath, but before he could hold it for a second, he exhaled it all.

What was that smell! Sulfur dioxide from the coking plant, Le Guo pesticide from the pesticide plant, ammonia from the fertilizer plant, acetylene from the carbide plant... Who the hell said there was no pollution in this era!

Qin Hai spat a couple of times, picked up his canvas bag, and walked forward, asking passersby, "Excuse me, how do I get to Qingfeng Agricultural Machinery Factory..."

"Go straight down this road, pass the county high school, and walk 800 meters. Turn left at the pesticide plant entrance, and walk another 300 meters. There's a big red iron gate, that's Qingfeng Factory." A bespectacled intellectual on the roadside pointed out the way in detail.

"Thank you." Qin Hai thanked him and continued on his way.

After walking a few more steps, he heard hurried footsteps catching up from behind. Qin Hai turned around to see the helpful intellectual who had given him directions.

"Hey, young man, wait, wait."

"What's the matter?" Qin Hai stopped, puzzled.

The intellectual ran up to Qin Hai, panting for a few breaths before saying, "Young man, I made a mistake just now. After you pass the county high school, you need to walk 900 meters to reach the pesticide plant. If you turn left after 800 meters, you'll fall into a fish pond."

"Uh..." Qin Hai was speechless. Do I look that stupid? He carefully examined the helpful person, confirming that he wasn't joking, and reluctantly thanked him again, "Thank you, sir... That's a close call, I'm not a good swimmer..."

The helpful person went back relieved, and Qin Hai wiped the sweat from his forehead, preparing to continue on his way. However, he was drawn to a dispute not far from the roadside.

"It's them, stop them!"

"Make them refund the money!"

"Scammers! Take them to the police station!"

Five middle-aged men dressed as farmers, holding various farming tools, surrounded a roadside stall, shouting loudly, their voices filled with anger. Then, a fat man, about the same age as Qin Hai but with a waist twice as wide, stood up from the stall and retorted in a deep voice:

"What are you talking about? We sell things here every Sunday, how can we be scammers!"

"Right, if we were scammers, why wouldn't we run away?" Two young men, one tall and one short, stood up to support the fat man. It seemed they were a group, all stall owners.

"You say you're not scammers, look at this shovel I bought from you. After just one week, the blade is already curled. Your shovels are made of paper!" The leading farmer thrust the shovel in the fat man's face, demanding an answer.

The fat man took a half-step back to focus on the shovel. After a glance, his tone softened, but he still tried to argue, "Who... who knows what you used the shovel for? Our shovels are made from the best steel, the quality is absolutely fine..."

"What else could I use a shovel for, of course to dig the ground! I'm this old, and I've used dozens of shovels, none of them as poor quality as yours! You say your shovels are made from good steel, you still have them on your stall, let's test one!" The leading farmer said angrily.

The fat man replied, "Why should we let you test our shovels? Who will pay for the damage if it breaks?"

"Your shovels will break on the first test, and you still say the quality is fine!" The farmers started to clamor.

"Can we eat the vegetables you farmers grow before paying?" The young men countered.

"Of course, if they're not good, we don't pay!"

"Then your pigs, can we kill them first to check?"

"Kill them, if there's no fat, I'll give them away for free..."

"..."

Both sides were heated, the air thick with tension. The three young men clearly lacked confidence in their products, refusing to let the farmers test their tools, while insisting that the damage was due to improper use. The five farmers, already angry about the poor quality of the products they had bought, were even more enraged by the other side's stubbornness.

"Everyone, calm down. What's going on? Can I, a passerby, help mediate?" Qin Hai, carrying his luggage, approached with a smile. He wasn't usually one to meddle in other people's affairs, but seeing the intense confrontation and the weapons in their hands, he feared they might start fighting, so he quickly stepped in to mediate.

"Who are you? Mind your own business." The fat man glanced at Qin Hai, dissatisfied. He knew his products were faulty, and any passerby could see they were in the wrong, so he didn't want anyone to intervene.

"I'm a passerby, here to mediate." Qin Hai still smiled, seeing that the three young men were unwilling to cooperate. He turned to the five farmers and said, "Uncles, what are you arguing about? Can you tell me?"

The farmers were honest and past the age of wanting to win arguments. They weren't really interested in the confrontation with the young men. Seeing someone come to help mediate, they were very happy. The leading farmer pointed to the shovel in his hand and said to Qin Hai:

"Let me explain. I bought this shovel from them last week. I admit I was greedy for the cheaper price, as their shovels were 50 cents cheaper than those from Zhang Lao San's blacksmith shop. But after using it for less than a week, the blade curled. Tell me, what kind of shovel is so poor quality!"

Qin Hai took the shovel from the farmer, examined the blade, and tapped it with his fingernail, listening to the metallic sound. He said, "It is indeed a good piece of steel. If I'm not mistaken, this is 65Mn steel, which is rarely used for shovels."

"Did you hear that, did you hear that!" The three young men, hearing Qin Hai support them, turned from anger to joy, echoing his words. The fat man even patted Qin Hai's shoulder with his thick, bear-like hand, saying, "Bro, you're an expert! You can even identify the steel grade."

"Don't get too excited yet." Qin Hai turned back, still smiling, "I haven't finished. The steel is indeed good, but you've wasted it. Tell me, did you quench the blade after forging it?"

"..." The fat man's smile froze on his face, and after a long pause, he stammered, "What do you mean, what's quenching..."

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