"It's not what you think, don't worry."
Seeing her frown deepen, Huo Tingzhou reached out to smooth it away.
"This training session is mainly for the All-Army Competition in October. The drills will be held at the base on the island—it’s completely safe."
"All-Army Competition?"
Jiang Si’s eyes widened in surprise. "The kind I’ve read about in the newspapers?"
Rumor had it that during the competition, each military region would send representative units to participate.
From infantry to navy, air force, special forces, and militia—
nearly every branch of the military would be involved.
"Yes, exactly that kind," Huo Tingzhou confirmed with a nod. "This year’s competition will be held in Capital City."
Hearing it would take place in Capital City, Jiang Si immediately perked up. "Can family members attend to watch?"
"Of course," Huo Tingzhou replied.
"That’s wonderful!" Jiang Si couldn’t hide her excitement. "Then I’ll bring Suisui and Zhaozhao to cheer you on."
Come to think of it, she had never actually seen him pilot a fighter jet before.
"Alright."
Watching her animated expression, Huo Tingzhou’s heart softened.
With everything out in the open, both of them felt much more at ease.
After a night of passionate exertion, Jiang Si fell into a deep sleep.
The next morning, Huo Tingzhou drove her to the Ministry of Construction.
By the time they arrived, the meeting room was already filled with people. Aside from Professor Li and Deputy Minister Xu, whom she had met before,
all the other leaders from the ministry and the core members of the project team were present.
Professor Li spent a considerable amount of time introducing everyone in the room.
Once the greetings were over and everyone had taken their seats, Professor Li got straight to the point.
Just as Jiang Si had guessed, after thoroughly investigating the theft of the design plans,
the Ministry of Construction, following careful deliberation, had officially decided to appoint her as the chief designer of the project.
In truth, before this decision was finalized, the project team and the ministry’s leadership had faced immense pressure and skepticism.
The reason was simple: Jiang Si was far too young.
Her publicly known experience in architecture was practically nonexistent.
The only things on record were her extraordinary talent for drawing
and the fact that her mentor was Professor Yu Bai'en, deputy chief engineer of the First Research Institute at the Seventh Ministry of Machine Building.
Beyond that, there were only scattered rumors.
It was said she had only developed an interest in architectural design during high school.
Afterward, the Jiang family had hired several top experts in the field as her private tutors.
All in all, she had only studied for three years.
While her design proposal was undeniably the best among all submissions—whether in terms of professionalism, innovation, or attention to detail—
she had no tangible projects to her name.
Put simply, her talent remained at the "theoretical" stage.
Handing such a high-stakes, internationally scrutinized project to an inexperienced young woman
was an enormous risk.
But time was running out.
They now had two options: trust her abilities and appoint her,
or replace her and start over from scratch.
Over this issue, the ministry’s leaders had held more than a dozen closed-door meetings.
Yet neither side could convince the other.
In the end, it was Professor Li who broke the deadlock, slamming his hand on the table during one meeting.
He asked everyone present, "In design, who among us didn’t start from zero, moving from theory to practice step by step?"
The room fell silent.
Professor Li continued, "Since we launched this open call and promised fairness, and her design is indisputably the best, then the project should be hers!"
"We can’t let fear of risk discourage talent or undermine our principles!"
Then, looking at the leaders, he made a solemn pledge.
"As for technical oversight and construction coordination, Dean Gao and I, along with the entire project team, will supervise every step. We won’t allow a single misstep!"
It was Professor Li’s unwavering conviction and guarantee that ultimately persuaded everyone, leading the ministry to entrust the project to Jiang Si.
Still, in private, an old friend couldn’t help asking Professor Li,
"You’ve only met that girl a few times. Is it worth risking your reputation and energy for her?"
"Besides, she’s not even your student. Why go to such lengths?"
Why indeed?
Professor Li had asked himself the same question.
But the moment he did, the answer was already clear.
Patting his friend’s shoulder, Professor Li said, "When you reach our age, you’ll understand."
They could falter, but the legacy of their predecessors must not.
Meeting a young talent so gifted and full of potential was rare. Even if she wasn’t his own disciple, Professor Li was willing to guide and protect her.
Of course, Professor Li didn’t mention these details.
As he handed the contract to Jiang Si, he explained the salary terms in detail.
This, in fact, had been one of the most debated issues during their discussions.
Typically, the salary grade for a chief designer falls within Technical Levels 1 to 3.
The minimum monthly wage should be 240.5 yuan, but the problem was that Jiang Si hadn’t participated in any professional title evaluations.
In the 1970s technical staff salary scale,
her highest education level was only high school.
Although she was an external staff member of the city’s public security system, this didn’t fall under the technical salary system, making it difficult to categorize her.
After much deliberation, the Ministry of Construction came up with a compromise.
After explaining all this, Professor Li said to Jiang Si, "Your salary will be temporarily set at 207 yuan, which corresponds to Technical Level 4."
"In addition, you’ll receive a monthly position allowance of 20 yuan. As Capital City is the capital, there’s an additional regional allowance of 10 yuan."
"Furthermore, there’s a monthly nutrition subsidy of 10 yuan and a housing allowance of 5 yuan."
All these combined would roughly equal the salary of Technical Level 3.
After covering these details, Professor Li mentioned some other benefits.
For instance, medical expenses would be fully reimbursed during her employment.
The unit would also assign her an assistant to handle errands, document organization, and other tasks.
If she needed to travel, she could request a vehicle from the unit at any time.
There were also some implicit perks, such as receiving the title of "Advanced Worker" and a third-class merit citation upon project completion.
She might even be invited to attend National Day celebrations, among other honors.
Jiang Si had no major objections to the salary or benefits—in fact, they exceeded her expectations.
She had also reviewed the contract and found no significant issues.
She asked the question that concerned her most: "Do I need to come to the unit every day?"
"No," Professor Li replied. "There’s a mandatory weekly meeting every Monday at 9 a.m."
"For the rest of the week, you’ll need to visit the construction site every other day. If any emergencies arise, someone will contact you directly."
Not having to report to the unit daily was a relief for Jiang Si.
After a moment’s thought, she asked, "When is the project expected to start?"
"Construction must begin by mid-March at the latest," Professor Li said, glancing at her. "But the exact start date depends on you."
"…On me?" Jiang Si was taken aback.
Shouldn’t it depend on the weather?
It was only then that she noticed the faint urgency in the eyes of Professor Li and the other leaders present—
