In the living room, Li Na was lost in thought, holding a little one with a milky scent.
She got up early today, purposely walking from the neighborhood to here, clearly to give Mo Jingchun a good dose of "caring," hoping it would make him listen carefully in class and focus on learning professional knowledge.
But... why did the outcome differ from expectations, instead pushing Mo Jingchun further down the "dark path"?
The more she thought about it, the more Li Na felt something was off, and her mind couldnât quite wrap around it.
Looking at the wide-open doors at the entrance and across the room, Li Na couldnât help but think that it was too late to say anything now; that guy had already gone to consult Academician Chen Xi.
"Forget it, everyone has their own path to walk." Li Na sighed and shook her head.
Looking at the little Candy with a milky scent in her arms, Li Naâs mood lifted instantly, realizing she was growing fonder of children.
No way, next time she goes home, she must tell her mom to urge her brother and sister-in-law to have a little cutie soon.
Hmph!
Theyâve been married for over a year and still thinking about enjoying some carefree yearsâthat canât be right!
Li Na raised her eyebrows, deciding that whenever she had time, sheâd visit her brotherâs company now and then to encourage those two.
On the other side, Mo Jingchun was obediently following behind Academician Chen Xi, holding a notebook with recorded issues.
Chen Xi picked up the glasses case from the table, opened it, took out the reading glasses inside, and said with a cheerful face: "Come, show me the problems you encountered. A love for learning is good. Itâs because of people like you who love learning that the country is getting stronger and more prosperous."
Mo Jingchun awkwardly touched his nose, unsure how to respond to Academician Chen Xiâs words.
If he were as excellent as Academician Chen Xi praised, Mo Jingchun thought heâd laugh even in his sleep.
Chen Xi put on his reading glasses, sat on the sofa, and opened Mo Jingchunâs notebook.
The sight of the handwriting made Chen Xiâs mouth twitch involuntarily.
Despite being an excellent student who loved learning, how could he not write neatly?
Fortunately, although the writing wasnât great, it was clear enough to recognize each character.
"Mo Jingchun, Iâll call you Xiaochun then."
"Tsk! You need to practice your handwriting more in your free time. You canât just absorb new knowledge; having good handwriting is crucial too. As you young people say, having good handwriting can save face in critical moments."
Mo Jingchun: "???"
Before Mo Jingchun could say anything, Academician Chen Xiâs expression turned serious, focusing on each problem in the notebook, not even skipping the issues Mo Jingchun had crossed out.
Beside him, stretching his neck, Mo Jingchun spoke up: "Teacher, those crossed-out ones are problems Iâve already solved by consulting resources; the remaining ones canât be found in books."
"Mm." Chen Xi merely murmured in acknowledgment and continued flipping through the various problems Mo Jingchun had recorded.
About ten minutes later, having reviewed all the issues in Mo Jingchunâs notebook, Chen Xi turned back to the first page.
Then, lifting his head, he met Mo Jingchunâs eyes, and as soon as he spoke, it left Mo Jingchun shocked.
"Youâre researching something like a stabilizer or balancing device, arenât you?"
Seeing the astonishment in Mo Jingchunâs eyes and the disbelief on his face, Chen Xi smiled knowingly. Now, he was very certain Mo Jingchun was indeed researching something akin to a stabilizer or balancing device.
Just as Academician Chen Xi imagined, Mo Jingchun was indeed astonished by him. Chen Xiâs deduction, based purely on the unresolved questions and doubts in Mo Jingchunâs notebook, was spot on, identifying the type of product being researched.
The intelligent anti-shake spoonâcalling it so sounds nice, but at its core, itâs still a balancing device.
Mo Jingchun nodded numbly, swallowed, and replied: "Yes, Teacher, Iâm developing an intelligent anti-shake spoon. Iâm confident in the software algorithm part, and itâs already developed, but as for the hardware, as you can see, Iâm facing various issues."
"An intelligent anti-shake spoon?" Chen Xi nodded. "Thatâs a great innovation."
Being both an academician and an elderly, he was surrounded by old pals whose hands started trembling involuntarily as they aged.
Especially those old pals who suffered strokesâit had long been impossible for them to eat without assistance, relying entirely on others for care.
Thinking of the self-assured little fellow Mo Jingchun, who claimed there were no problems with the software, Chen Xi smiled, deciding not to dampen the young manâs enthusiasm.
The hardware isnât complete yet, suggesting the software might already be fine wasnât realistic; any mature electronic product surely needed final adaptations between software and hardware to be at its best.
Although computing power was strong in this era, the results from simulations were only effective under ideal models. In actual processes, unexpected and unimaginable problems always arose.
Chen Xi pointed to a question in the notebook and said to Mo Jingchun: "Here, I suggest you use screw transmission instead of gear transmission."
"Why?" Mo Jingchun scratched his head, puzzled.
"Good question! Why indeed?"
"Have you considered that while gear transmission has many advantagesâaccurate transmission, high efficiency, compact structure, reliability, and long lifespanâusing gears inside your intelligent anti-shake spoon, have you thought about how many large and small gears it needs to complete the complex anti-shake motions?"
"Do you know mechanical watches?"
Mo Jingchun nodded.
"I do."
Chen Xi looked at Mo Jingchun, smiling as he asked, "Then whatâs your first impression of mechanical watches?"
Mo Jingchun thought for a moment and replied, "Expensive."
"Exactly, expensive. The more precise the timing of a mechanical watch, the more precision its internal gears need, which increases costs."
"The intelligent anti-shake spoon, as a living item rather than a luxury, wouldnât attract buyers if priced too high."
"Now, screw transmission is different; it can adjust the spoonâs shake direction swiftly to achieve balance. Moreover, screw transmission occupies much less space compared to a heap of gears."
Chen Xi joked with a smile, "Surely we canât have people holding spoons with handles as thick as a teacup."
ps: Thanks to Xuan Zhi for the reward.