After resting for two days, Qiu Xi began the real business she had come for.
She woke up early and followed Shen Yingjun to the laboratory.
"Little Xi, you work here. Call me if you need anything."
"Okay, Uncle Shen. You go ahead and do your work. I'll find you if something comes up."
"Alright, I'm leaving then."
Once he was gone, Qiu Xi surveyed the laboratory.
The space wasn't large, but it was more than enough for the task.
The equipment and tools were all quite complete.
"Little Flower, give me the formula. I'll test the waters first."
"Okay, Little Xi."
Qiu Xi had asked Little Flower for help before coming. She had conducted experiments in laboratories more than once, and had broken more than a few pieces of equipment. In Little Flower's words, she was a complete spendthrift.
...
"Phew!"
Qiu Xi stared at the failed product before her, lost in thought.
Fortunately, she wasn't a novice with the equipment. Otherwise, even if she spent the entire summer here, this product would likely be a no-go.
"Little Flower, show me the data."
"Here, take a look."
As Qiu Xi read, she recalled the process of her previous attempts.
"The proportions are fine. The materials... I'll double-check them later. As for the temperature, it needs to be controlled better, more stable..."
After several failures, Qiu Xi finally produced a passable finished product.
"Little Flower, quickly, scan it for me."
If Qiu Xi dared to undertake this task, her greatest confidence came from Little Flower's scanning function. Otherwise, she might have been more willing to sell the formula and take the risk, rather than travel all this way herself.
"Beep!"
"Semifinished product, effect lacking. Usable, but not cost-effective."
"Hmm?"
"Where did it go wrong this time?"
As soon as she heard Little Flower's assessment, Qiu Xi immediately grabbed her notebook and began flipping through it.
"Little Flower, show me this data too."
"Am I missing something?"
Logically, it shouldn't be like this!
Sitting in the laboratory, Qiu Xi was utterly perplexed.
"Little Xi, it's getting late. You should go eat."
As she pondered, Technician Zhang knocked on the door.
A person is iron, and food is steel. He had already urged her several times, but the young lady refused to budge.
"Okay, I'm coming."
Unable to figure it out, Qiu Xi decided to stop thinking about it. Perhaps a change of scenery would lead to an epiphany.
"Old Zhang, what's for lunch?"
Having become familiar with Technician Zhang, Qiu Xi now addressed him casually.
However, he didn't seem to mind; in fact, it made him feel more approachable.
"A feast. We won't shortchange you. Hurry up and eat, it'll get cold."
"I've urged you several times, but you just won't move. People these days..."
"Alright, alright, I'm going. I'm going right now!"
Old Zhang's catchphrase had been repeated more than ten times in this short period. If she heard it again, her ears would surely grow calluses.
"Sigh..."
The girl really ran quite fast.
It seems she knows she's hungry!
To avoid delaying everyone, Qiu Xi's lunch was also at the mountain laboratory.
"Old Zhang, why is there no water?"
Just after finishing her meal, Qiu Xi, who wanted to fill her water bottle, found the kettle empty.
"It's all drunk."
"There aren't many people on this mountain, so we don't have a habit of keeping water readily available."
It was for convenience that the laboratory was built near the flower fields. There really weren't many people here.
At least now, besides him, the technician, and the young lady Qiu Xi who was conducting experiments, there was no one else guarding the area.
"Wait for me, I'll go fetch some water and boil it."
Saying this, he picked up the water bucket and was about to head out.
"No, Old Zhang, do we have to fetch water on this mountain?"
Qiu Xi didn't quite understand. Wasn't there water inside the building?
"What else?"
"Since there are few people here now, we can drink the mountain spring water or draw some from the well."
"We don't need the whole tap water system yet."
"..."
"Alright..."
"Then let me go. You rest."
"Forget it, forget it. You're just a young girl. Do you even know where it is? You going?"
"Just sit here. I'll be back soon."
Despite his words, Qiu Xi followed him out.
"Old Zhang, I'm going to be staying here for quite a while. I need to understand the situation."
"Fine, you have a point. Let's go together, and I'll explain it to you along the way."
"Got it~"
"Look, this is it. There's a well here. It was dug for emergencies, but it hasn't been used much."
The mountain was abundant with good water, so there was no need for this emergency supply.
"But we protect it well and use it from time to time."
"That over there is the mountain water, flowing from the upper reaches of the deep mountains. It's quite good, unlike the water outside, which is all polluted."
"If you need water in the future, come here..."
Qiu Xi said nothing, just listened to Old Zhang's monologue.
From beginning to end, he spoke earnestly, seeming to have a thorough understanding of the situation here.
Yes... he spoke with a lot of emotion.
Qiu Xi became curious. "Old Zhang, are you from this village?"
With his rambling, she thought he didn't seem like someone who had been engaged in scientific research for a long time, but rather like an old man who grew up working the land.
"What? You're only finding out now, girl!"
"Don't believe what they say in their introductions, about being hired or specially invited for this and that. Those are just polite formalities. I don't really care for them."
"I grew up in this village, and when I was young, I was interested in flowers and plants, so I studied them specifically."
Old Zhang had indeed worked in laboratories in big cities before, but that was when he was young.
"Coincidentally, Old Shen approached me later, and I was happy to return, so I've been doing this ever since."
Qiu Xi listened, feeling a bit envious. "That sounds quite nice."
"Isn't it!"
"Alright, we've got the water. Let's head back quickly."
"Okay."
...
In the afternoon.
After resting well, Qiu Xi returned to her work to continue striving for her product.
"Something's wrong!"
"Why is it always a semifinished product?"
Upon entering the laboratory that afternoon, Qiu Xi conducted two more attempts.
However, the results were almost identical to the morning's. The effect had improved only slightly.
But for the true finished product that Qiu Xi desired, this improvement was negligible. Qiu Xi, her throat dry from talking to herself, picked up her water cup and gulped down water while her mind raced.
But no matter how much she thought, she couldn't find a clue.
Finally, she ran out of water and slumped down.
Looking at the pile of data, notes, and several semifinished products, Qiu Xi felt helpless.
Thinking, she unconsciously picked up the water cup again and only then realized that after pouring for so long, only a drop of water had entered her mouth.
"..."
When one is down on their luck, even drinking a drop of water feels like a luxury. This was Qiu Xi's most honest thought at the moment.
"Forget it, I can't figure it out anyway..."
Saying this, Qiu Xi picked up the water cup and walked out of the laboratory.
However, when she picked up the empty water kettle again, Qiu Xi froze.
"Is it really gone?"
There was half a kettle of water!
She drank it quite quickly...
Thinking this, she had no choice but to pick up the water bucket and head out.
But when Qiu Xi arrived, she looked at the water dripping from the bamboo pipe and then at the well.
Looking left and right, her mind whirred, and she stood rooted to the spot for a long time.
After a while, she suddenly ran back.
With a thud!
Leaving behind only a solitary small water-collecting bucket spinning in place...