Chapter 157: Chapter 156: Absolute Confidence? You Dare Compete for My Student!

Chen Zhiyuan scoffed.

“Lin Wan Yi, do you think this is child’s play?”

“Even the professor said it’s hopeless, and you say we can’t eradicate it?”

“What? Are you going to use your magical tomato water to drown the pests?”

There were a few laughs around.

Professor Wang also frowned.

Although he had a good impression of Lin Wan Yi, he wouldn’t tolerate nonsense when it came to academic matters.

“Classmate Lin, this is science.”

“The resistance of the bollworm is a global problem. Once it breaks out, physical eradication is the only solution.”

Lin Wan Yi ignored Chen Zhiyuan’s mockery.

She stepped off the field ridge.

Walked straight to the dying cotton plant.

Reached out.

Grabbed the still-wriggling fat worm.

She wasn’t fazed by its filth and disgust.

“Professor.”

She raised her head, looking directly at Professor Wang.

“The pesticides don’t kill because they’ve developed antibodies.”

“Since chemical methods aren’t working.”

“Why not try biological control?”

Professor Wang was taken aback.

“Biological control?”

This term, in this era, was still a highly experimental concept.

Mostly confined to books.

“Are you suggesting raising chickens and ducks to eat the pests?”

Chen Zhiyuan interrupted urgently, full of disdain.

“With such a large field, how many chickens would you need?”

“Miss Heiress is so naive.”

Lin Wan Yi didn’t even glance at him.

She dropped the worm on the ground and stomped it dead.

“Not chickens and ducks.”

“Insect control with insects.”

The entire place fell silent.

Even Chen Zhiyuan forgot to mock her.

Insect control with insects?

Why does that sound so mysterious?

But Professor Wang’s eyes suddenly lit up.

He stepped forward eagerly, looking at Lin Wan Yi.

“Explain further.”

Lin Wan Yi dusted off her hands.

Her voice was calm and methodical.

“Bollworms, though fierce, have natural enemies.”

“Red-eyed Wasps.”

“We can artificially breed Red-eyed Wasps and release their eggs into the field.”

“The wasps will lay eggs in the bollworm eggs, parasitizing and feeding until the bollworms die.”

“This method is low cost, quick effect, and…”

She paused, her gaze sweeping over the dumbfounded crowd.

“Never develops resistance.”

Boom.

It was as if something exploded in Professor Wang’s brain.

Red-eyed Wasps!

Parasitizing!

Could a freshman possibly come up with this plan?

This is clearly a cutting-edge topic the national agricultural research institutes are tackling!

Chen Zhiyuan’s mockery stiffened on his face.

He couldn’t understand Red-eyed Wasps.

But he could read Professor Wang’s expression.

It was… shock.

Ecstasy.

And a look of incredulous awe as if seeing a priceless treasure.

“You…”

Professor Wang’s voice was trembling.

He stared hard at Lin Wan Yi, as if not recognizing this student.

“Where did you learn all this?”

“This… this is not yet publicly promoted technology!”

Lin Wan Yi’s expression remained unchanged.

“I read it in books.”

“With a bit of my own pondering.”

Professor Wang took a deep breath.

He looked at the young, composed girl before him.

The disdain in his heart had long since dissipated.

Replaced by.

A deep perplexity, and a trace of… expectation he could hardly believe.

“Classmate Lin.”

Professor Wang’s voice became extremely serious.

“If you were to lead this pest control effort.”

“How confident are you?”

Lin Wan Yi looked at him and uttered two words.

“Completely confident.”

[Climactic point 1] Confronted with questioning from a top professor, exhibiting extraordinary confidence with “complete assurance”, instantly commanding the entire scene.

Chen Zhiyuan snorted with laughter.

“Completely confident? Lin Wan Yi, are you dreaming?”

“Do you even know what you’re talking about? Do you even know what a Red-eyed Wasp looks like?”

“You’re boasting to the heavens!”

Professor Wang, however, didn’t laugh.

He stared at Lin Wan Yi, as if trying to discern any trace of insecurity on her face.

There was none.

Nothing at all.

Only a calm surface of water.

For a long while.

Professor Wang suddenly slapped his thigh.

“Good!”

He pointed to that patch of withered cotton field, his voice resonant.

“From today on, this experimental field is entirely under your responsibility!”

“Whatever people you need, whatever equipment you require, just tell me directly!”

“As long as you can succeed, I’ll personally recommend you for a national-level research project!”

Chen Zhiyuan’s smile froze on his face.

He couldn’t believe his ears.

“Professor! You’ve gone mad!”

“This is your three years of hard work! And you’re handing it over to a first-year student making wild claims?”

Professor Wang gave him a cold glance.

“Do you have a better idea?”

Chen Zhiyuan was at a loss for words.

“If not, then shut up.”

Professor Wang turned to Lin Wan Yi, his gaze burning.

“Classmate Lin, go ahead!”

…

A first-year student took over the most important experimental field of the Agricultural College.

This news, as if it had grown wings, flew across the entire Beijing University in one day.

Agricultural College, Dean’s Office.

Dean Li held an enamel cup, grinning from ear to ear.

“Old Wang, that was a smart move!”

“By handing over the experimental field to her, you’ve tied her completely to our Agricultural College’s chariot!”

Professor Wang also looked smug.

“Exactly! She’s a talent I’ve personally spotted, with the ability to shape events! We can’t let other faculties snatch her away!”

As they were speaking.

“Bang!”

The office door was suddenly pushed open.

An old professor with glasses and graying hair stormed in, his face full of anger.

It was none other than the mathematics department’s giant, Qian Xuezhang.

“Dean Li! Professor Wang!”

Qian Xuezhang was so angry that he puffed his beard and widened his eyes, pointing at their noses.

“Where’s my person!”

“The math genius I eagerly awaited, and you let her play in the mud?”

Dean Li and Professor Wang exchanged a glance, feeling a slight tension in their hearts.

It’s over.

The competition for talent has arrived.

Shortly after, Lin Wan Yi was also called to the dean’s office.

Upon entering, she saw the three prominent figures in a triangular stance.

As soon as Qian Xuezhang saw her, he immediately put on an amiable expression.

“Classmate Wanyi, come here.”

He took Lin Wan Yi by the hand, lamenting with deep sorrow.

“I heard you haven’t been to the mathematics department library recently?”

“Have you forgotten the light in your eyes when you solved that problem? That’s where you belong!”

Lin Wan Yi gave a polite smile.

“Professor Qian, thank you for your concern. Recently, I’ve used many mathematical models in agricultural research, applying what I’ve learned, and it feels great.”

Professor Wang immediately stepped forward, pulling Lin Wan Yi to his side.

“Did you hear that, Old Qian? Applying knowledge!”

“Wanyi’s talent lies in her ability to perfectly combine theory and practice! Her future is on the vast land, in the granaries of our country!”

[Climax 2] The public “talent grab” by two renowned professors, treating the protagonist as a rare gem, greatly satisfies vanity and a sense of accomplishment.

Qian Xuezhang refused to back down.

“Nonsense! That’s a waste!”

“Her mathematical talent is a once-in-a-century occurrence! It can advance the fundamental sciences of the entire nation! And you want her to calculate how many pounds of cotton a mu of land can yield? What a waste of a resource!”

“You’re the one wasting resources! Food is the most important thing to the people! Ensuring people have enough to eat is more important than anything else!”

Seeing the two professors, whose combined ages were nearly one hundred fifty, about to start a fistfight.

Lin Wan Yi spoke up.

“Professors.”

Her voice wasn’t loud, but it silenced the entire office.

She deeply bowed to the two elders.

“Thank you for valuing me.”

“Mathematics is a precise science, the foundation of all disciplines, and I have deep respect for it.”

She first comforted Qian Xuezhang.

Then, she raised her head, her gaze clear and determined.

“However, Professor Wang is right.”

“I learn knowledge not to keep it locked away, not to perform abstract calculations on paper.”

“I want it to grow in the soil.”

“I want our country’s granaries to be full to the brim.”

“I want every Chinese person to have enough to eat and not go hungry.”

[Climax 3] In the professors’ dispute, the protagonist doesn’t take sides but elevates the theme with the noble aspiration of “ensuring people have enough to eat,” instantly winning everyone over.

Her speech landed like a weighty proclamation.

Qian Xuezhang and Professor Wang were both stunned.

They looked at the girl before them, and in her clear eyes, there wasn’t a hint of selfishness.

Only the deepest love for this land.

Dean Li stepped forward, patting Qian Xuezhang on the shoulder.

“Old Qian, did you hear that?”

“This child has grand ambitions.”

“The faculty meeting has already decided; Classmate Wanyi will focus on agriculture. This is her choice, and we must respect it.”

In the end, under Dean Li’s mediation, the two professors reached a “gentleman’s agreement.”

Lin Wan Yi would specialize in agriculture.

But all mathematical resources, seminars, and forums would remain open to her.

Qian Xuezhang could seek her out for “academic exchanges” at any time.

This “battle of the giants for talent” concluded in a peculiar manner.

But Lin Wan Yi’s name was forever enshrined at Beijing University.

Back at her small standalone building.

Lin Wan Yi looked at the two sleeping children in the cradle, unable to calm her heart for a long time.

The professors’ appreciation was both a pressure and a motivation.

She couldn’t stop at “using insects to control insects.”

She wanted to do more, go further.

She turned on the desk lamp and began poring over the pile of materials borrowed from the library.

Source: Webnovel.com, updated by NovelKeep