Chapter 243 Meeting with the Minister
In the evening, Xu Qiang returned to the dormitory.

"Xu Qiang, where did you go this afternoon? We walked around the area for a long time but couldn't find you..." As soon as he entered the room, squad leader Du Xingguo immediately said with a frown.

"I went to Xinhua Bookstore this afternoon. What happened?" Xu Qiang asked.

"This is a telegram from the factory, asking you to leave immediately and report to the Fifth Ministry of Machine Building in BJ." Du Xingguo said as he took out a telegram from his trouser pocket and handed it to Xu Qiang.

"Qiangzi, that's awesome. The department invited you over. It must be something big." Luo Hao, who was soaking his feet on the lower bunk, adjusted his glasses and said with envy.

"Report immediately to the Fifth Ministry of Machine Building in BJ..." Xu Qiang was stunned when he saw the brief line of words on the telegram.

He had just arrived in Shanghai for a few days, but he had to report to BJ. He was surprised at how quickly his superiors summoned him.

As for why the Fifth Ministry of Machine Building asked him to go there, it must be because of the aramid paper. After all, this product can be said to have filled a gap in domestic high-end materials and is a major scientific research breakthrough. It is normal that it has attracted the ministry's high attention.

"Is it because of the military battery you developed before?" Du Xingguo asked.

"No, they must be because of that piece of paper?"

"That piece of paper?"

"It's aramid paper, an important material. The department asked me to go there, it must be because of this matter." Xu Qiang said.

"But your studies here..."

"Xu Qiang is much better than us. He can learn what he learns after listening to the class once. His tutor praised him last time. He is not like us who can only rely on rote memorization." Luo Hao said.

After spending these few days together, Xu Qiang's learning ability surprised the others.

In fact, he and Liu Siying are both gifted students. Their memory and problem-solving abilities are far beyond the reach of others.

Moreover, compared to Liu Siying, Xu Qiang's learning ability is even better. He really has the ability to remember everything he sees. Whether he is listening to a lecture or reading, he can memorize it quickly. And it is not the kind of rote memorization, but the kind that can quickly apply what he has learned to other situations.

Because of this, Xu Qiang felt a little bored after just "hard" studying for a few days. The current TV University course was not difficult for him. In his opinion, he didn't even need to come to Shanghai to study. He only needed a tape recorder and lecture tapes to easily complete self-study.

That's why Xu Qiang went to find Bai Hai today, hoping that he could help him make some connections. To put it bluntly, it's because Xu Qiang has too much free time now.

"That's true..." Du Xingguo nodded, and after a moment he said to Xu Qiang: "Qiangzi, I only received the telegram this afternoon, and I didn't have time to buy a ticket for you..."

"No need, I can buy it myself." Xu Qiang put away the telegram and said, "Thank you, Captain Du, for your concern."

"We are all in the same class, why are you being so polite?"

"That's right. If you're interested, bring us a roast duck from BJ. I've never eaten Beijing roast duck in my life. I heard that Quanjude's roast duck is the best." Luo Hao said with a smile.

"You're going too far!" Du Xingguo rolled his eyes at Luo Hao and said, "Xu Qiang has a hard life too. He only gets a small salary every month. Besides, Xu Qiang is a very loyal guy. If you say that, he will definitely buy it for us. Isn't this costing him money..."

"Hahaha!" Hearing this, Xu Qiang laughed and said, "Actually, Quanjude's roast duck is just so-so. If I can bring it back, I'll bring a few back for you. It's no big deal."

"You talk as if you are so rich. I heard that a roast duck in BJ costs more than ten yuan. If you buy a few of these, your monthly salary will be gone. But don't worry, as long as you can bring them back, we two brothers will give you the money." Du Xingguo said with a disdainful look at Xu Qiang.

"We'll talk about it when the time comes. Anyway, I won't come back empty-handed." Xu Qiang said.

"Is Xu Qiang here?" Liu Lianhua's voice came from the dormitory door.

"Sister Liu, what's the matter?" Xu Qiang responded immediately.

"Aren't you leaving tomorrow? Last time I saw your luggage, the bottom was a little worn out. Take it out and I'll sew it for you." Liu Lianhua said.

"Xu Qiang, we went out and bought a few pounds of sugar-roasted chestnuts this afternoon. I'll bring you a bag later, just in time to eat on the way." Liu Siying walked over and said.

At this time, Liu Siying should have just washed her hair. Her hair was simply tied up behind her head. She had fair skin and a beautiful face. There were still some water droplets on her bangs on her forehead. She looked particularly bright under the light.

"Thank you." Xu Qiang thanked him.

Although he has only been here for a few days, Xu Qiang still feels the warmth of family.

For college students like them who are studying abroad, unity is still very important.

But no matter what, Xu Qiang felt that he was still quite lucky. The people who came to Shanghai to study together were all very enthusiastic, which made Xu Qiang feel warm inside. It was also because of this that he planned to improve his current living environment after returning from BJ next time, at least to rent a bigger house...

……

The next morning, squad leader Du Xingguo and Luo Hao helped Xu Qiang carry his luggage and sent him to the train station.

After the car started, Xu Qiang officially embarked on this trip to BJ.

There were no high-speed trains these days, and airplanes were not available to ordinary people. Ordinary people could only take this kind of green train to travel long distances.

Even though it was a direct train, Xu Qiang still took a full day and night to reach the capital BJ.

In his previous life, Xu Qiang worked and lived in BJ for more than ten years. However, after leaving the train station, the scene in front of him made him feel a little strange.

At that time in Beijing, the Second Ring Road had not been repaired yet, there were few cars and the roads were wide. Bicycles were the main means of transportation for people, and there were no traffic jams at all.

There are not many billboards on the streets, and the pedestrians are dressed simply but look particularly energetic.

Xu Qiang didn't expect that he would have to ask passers-by for directions before he could find the location of the Fifth Ministry of Machine Building.

No. 44 Sanlihe Road in Xicheng District is the location of the Fifth Ministry of Machine Building. The security here is very tight, with several armed guards standing at the gate, looking very imposing.

After explaining his purpose at the gate and having the guard check his student ID, Xu Qiang began to wait outside.

A few minutes later, a middle-aged man in a neat Zhongshan suit came out.

"You are Comrade Xu Qiang, right?"

"it's me."

"Come with me, Minister Zhang wants to see you now." After the middle-aged man said this, he led Xu Qiang into the building of the Fifth Ministry of Machine Building.

On the third floor of the building, after passing through an isolation door and walking for a while, Xu Qiang finally arrived at the minister's office.

"Minister, Comrade Xu Qiang is here." After the middle-aged man entered the office, he first reported to Zhang Zhen, then turned to Xu Qiang and said, "This is our Minister Zhang."

"Hello, Minister Zhang!" Xu Qiang said quickly.

Xu Qiang was somewhat nervous facing Zhang Zhen.

"Put your things down first..." Zhang Zhen motioned Xu Qiang to put down his luggage, and then asked with concern: "It must have been a hard journey from Shanghai to BJ, right?"

"It's not tiring. There are not many people on the bus and I can lie down and sleep." Xu Qiang said.

"Haha, you are a young man after all." Zhang Zhen smiled and continued, "You are in charge of the research and development of aramid paper, right?"

"Yes, Minister Zhang."

"I want to know how you came up with the idea of ​​developing aramid paper? This kind of thing probably won't be used in your factory, right?" Zhang Zhen asked.

"When I was looking up information in the information department, I casually read an English magazine that contained a detailed introduction to aramid bulletproof vests. At that time, I thought this thing was quite good. It is soft to wear and can be bulletproof. It can effectively reduce casualties on the battlefield, so I started a research and development project." Xu Qiang said seriously.

"Is that so?" Zhang Zhen nodded and asked, "As far as I know, you only have a junior high school education and joined the factory as a successor. Where did you learn all that chemical engineering knowledge?"

"I was very interested in chemistry when I was in school. After graduating from high school, in addition to farming, I bought a lot of books on chemistry in my spare time and often went to the county library to borrow books... So this can be regarded as my hobby. I really like the chemical industry."

As the conversation deepened, Xu Qiang gradually began to relax. In his opinion, Minister Zhang was very kind and had no official airs at all. It was very easy to communicate with such a person.

"It's amazing. It's so rare for a self-taught person to reach such a high level." Zhang Zhen sighed, and then said: "I also learned that in addition to aramid paper, you also developed a new type of military battery in the factory. This battery has good performance and can adapt to various extreme temperature conditions. How did you come up with the idea of ​​developing this battery?"

Facing Xu Qiang, Zhang Zhen was full of doubts. After all, there were too many incredible things about this young man in front of him.

Zhang Zhen only learned about Xu Qiang's development of military batteries some time ago, because this product had been awarded the second prize of the Fifth Ministry of Machine Building Science and Technology Progress Award by experts this year. It was not until Zhang Zhen saw Xu Qiang's name on the list of winners that he realized that in addition to aramid paper, Xu Qiang had also developed such a good product.

If a person develops a good product, there may be an element of luck involved, but being able to develop two products with such high technical content in succession proves that Xu Qiang’s success is not accidental, but that he does have strong technical capabilities!
It is precisely because of this that Zhang Zhen attaches great importance to Xu Qiang. He had originally planned to attend the meeting, but after learning that Xu Qiang had arrived, he immediately arranged for the deputy secretary of the party group to preside over the meeting, while he met with Xu Qiang in person.

(End of this chapter)