Volume One, Chapter Five: That Little Scheme

"I've just read a few books, that's all. I know what this foreign nonsense is," Maimaiti said, waving his hand dismissively while deliberately putting on an awkward expression on his guileless face.

Hearing this, Wang Xiquan’s eyes widened: "Young comrade, you may be young, but you talk a big game. There are only a handful of specialized books on wind power in the Agricultural University library, and they are all in foreign languages. You’ve read them all?"

His skepticism was not unfounded. He had personally retrieved those few books from the archives in Beijing. There were only three in total, and they were constantly being passed around among Ma Wenbin and the others, rarely ever sitting on the library shelves. Naturally, he did not believe Maimaiti could have finished them in such a short time. Of course, he did not rule out the possibility that Maimaiti had other ways of accessing the material.

So, Wang Xiquan followed up: "Then tell me, how exactly does a wind turbine work?"

"I'll have to organize my thoughts for that. Wind power is..." Maimaiti pretended to struggle with his memory, while in reality, he was calculating his next move.

By now, even a regular person would have guessed that this veteran cadre was here to scout for talent. As a transmigrator, Maimaiti was certain the man was looking for someone to develop wind power. If this were a protagonist in one of the industrial power novels he had read, he would probably be boasting about his skills and playing hard to get to secure a bright future. But Maimaiti was no fool. Even if this transmigration was a chance for him to help the nation’s wind power industry avoid years of trial and error and dominate the global market, he had to weigh the pros and cons.

After all, working in wind power in Xinjiang wouldn't mean staying in Urumqi. It would mean heading to Dabancheng, eighty kilometers outside the city, where the wind resources were sufficient for research. If he were unlucky, he might even be sent to Bortala to build small-scale wind turbines for pastoral farms. Regardless of the location, the conditions and benefits were nowhere near those of his current job at the machine factory. To put it bluntly, it was a thankless, grueling task.

"To put it in textbook terms, wind power is based on the law of electromagnetic induction, using turbine blades to convert the mechanical energy of airflow into electricity. A wind turbine is the primary device, consisting of blades, a nacelle, a gearbox, a generator, a tower, a brake, a main shaft, and flanges... Among them—"

Maimaiti’s answer was disciplined and honest. He wasn't about to burn any bridges; after all, wind power research was his specialty, and who knew if he might need to rely on this trade later?

"Among them, the German physicist Betz proposed in 1919 that no matter how you design a turbine, it can only extract at most 59 percent of the wind's energy. This is known as the... um, Betz Limit Law."

After Maimaiti gave a brief description, Wang Xiquan looked impressed. "Young man, you're practically reciting the book *Fundamentals of Wind Power* for me!"

"Thank you, I’m just good at rote memorization."

"However," Wang Xiquan suddenly changed his tone, "knowing the theory and talking on paper isn't enough. The development of wind turbines involves aerodynamics, polymer materials, computer automation, power electronics, and mechanical engineering. It is an emerging interdisciplinary field that has only flourished internationally in the last two decades. For our country, wind power research is still at ground zero. It is no exaggeration to say we are nearly a century behind Europe!"

Wang Xiquan’s sudden display of heartbreak caught Maimaiti off guard. *Wait, I just explained what wind power is, why are you getting all emotional?*

By the time he realized Wang was playing the emotional card, the man had dropped his pretense and looked at him with sincere eyes. "Young man, I won't beat around the bush. I’m here to recruit for the Dabancheng Wind Energy Research Institute. In March, the central government issued the 'Suggestions on Tracking Global High-Tech Development,' and the regional and national water conservancy departments decided to launch wind power research in Xinjiang. At the time, due to funding issues, the regional water bureau didn't take recruitment seriously."

"Having talked to you for this long, I see you are quite handy with mechanical manufacturing, willing to study, and your foreign language skills are solid. How about it? Are you willing to come with me to Dabancheng?"

Maimaiti hadn't expected Wang to be so direct, and he felt a wave of panic. At this stage, he wasn't prepared to agree, nor did he have any intention of doing so.

"Well, I’ll have to think about it, Teacher Wang. After all, my current personnel file is at the water factory. If I go there... I’m afraid I won't be able to adapt."

Maimaiti made up an excuse on the spot. But it was a flimsy one. Even without Wang Xiquan’s prior investigation, anyone could see through it—if you’re a general laborer at a water factory, does it really matter where your file is? Claiming he wouldn't adapt was even more absurd. Maimaiti’s hometown was in Qiareke Town, Shache County, Kashgar—a windy spot on the edge of the desert, very similar to the natural environment of Dabancheng. What was there to be unadapted to?

"Does the young man think the technical staff position at the Dabancheng Wind Energy Research Institute isn't as good as the water machinery factory? I guarantee the conditions will be much better than what you have now." Wang Xiquan smiled, though there was a hint of an edge to it now.

"That's not what I mean, Teacher Wang." Maimaiti bowed his head, trying to think of a polite way to stall.

"Then what do you mean?"

"Teacher Wang, this isn't a small matter. I won't mince words. I’m just a guy who hasn't seen much of the world. Reading books is different from eating naan; it’s easy to talk, but if you ask me to actually do the work—well, this isn't making bread. If I don't know how to do it, I'll just end up being a pack mule. I don't want that. My parents had a hard time finding me a job in Urumqi that doesn't involve being a pack mule, and I don't want to become one just because I moved!"

Maimaiti forced a smile, putting on an air of, "It’s not that I don't want to go, it's that I’m not capable enough."

"The wind farm has nothing right now; everyone will indeed have to do some grunt work for a while. As for your talk about it being just 'talk,' that’s not a problem. Even if you just talk, if you can talk your way into a solution, that’s fine by me."

Wang Xiquan finished with a serious tone, his eyes narrowing slightly as he thought to himself: *So, you’re saying that if I can convince your parents, you’ll be willing to come with me?*