Chapter 319 - 160: Adjustment

Chapter 319: Chapter 160: Adjustment

Although he didn’t recognize the student, he smiled and said, "I’m here to see Professor Jiang Miao."

Huang Xinghe guessed, asking, "You don’t have an appointment, do you, Dean?"

A bit embarrassed, Professor Wang then realized that Jiang Miao wasn’t just anyone. Someone that busy every day couldn’t be met on a whim. He quickly asked, "Huang Tongxue, I came in a hurry. How do I make an appointment to see Professor Jiang Miao?"

Huang Xinghe knew this kind of situation would happen, so he could only offer to ask for them. "I’ll go ask Secretary Li. General Manager Jiang usually receives guests at noon. It’s still early, and he’s usually in the lab without his phone. Unless there’s an emergency, you’ll have to wait until noon."

"That’s fine. It’s almost noon anyway."

"Alright then! I’ll go ask first."

Huang Xinghe hurriedly ran inside.

About ten minutes later, he came back out holding a visitor application form and a dozen or so temporary visitor passes.

"Dean Wang, this is the visitor application form. Luckily, General Manager Jiang has some time at noon today. Once you fill it out, I’ll take it to Secretary Li to be filed."

Taking the application form, Professor Wang quickly began filling it out at a nearby dining table.

Another ten-plus minutes passed during the exchange.

When Huang Xinghe returned again, he smiled at the group and said, "Dean Huang, Dean Xiao, and all you researchers, let me take you on a tour of our labs!"

"Won’t this interfere with your work?" Professor Wang had a very good impression of this student, even though he had no memory of him.

Huang Xinghe shook his head. "It’s no problem. I can apply for a temporary reassignment today and act as a guest receptionist."

This was one of the special rules of the Technology Division: if experts or scholars from a scientific field were visiting, an employee from a relevant specialization could be assigned to receive them.

"In that case, we’ll be in your hands, Huang Tongxue."

"This way, please, everyone."

The first place they visited was the tissue culture laboratory.

Ever since the production of tissue-cultured seedlings was moved to the smart greenhouse farm in Red Grass Town, this hundred-plus-mu tissue culture facility had become a true laboratory.

"This is our company’s tissue culture lab. We mainly conduct various tissue culture experiments here. We currently have 23 professional researchers."

Through the glass window, Professor Wang saw the small seedlings being cultivated in flasks. "What crop is this?"

"Bananas."

"And over here?"

"Those are bell peppers..."

After touring the tissue culture lab, Professor Wang and his group came to the genetic modification lab.

Seeing all the expensive laboratory equipment, everyone couldn’t help but show their envy. Even Professor Wang didn’t actually have his own independent biology laboratory.

A laboratory of this caliber would require an investment of at least tens of millions, plus annual maintenance costs. It was difficult for an ordinary researcher’s finances to independently support the operation of such a high-level lab.

A cryo-electron microscope that had just been purchased at the beginning of the year, in particular, had everyone staring, unable to look away.

Coming out of the genetic modification lab, Huang Xinghe didn’t proceed to the edible fungus or biomining laboratories. Those areas involved research on fungi and bacteria and had a very high biosafety level, making them off-limits to outsiders.

Next, he led Professor Wang’s group out the back door to the foot of the Magong Mountain Experimental Planting Base.

"Everyone, this is the experimental planting base for our new crop varieties. Before we enter, there’s something I need to remind you of." Huang Xinghe’s expression turned serious. "Do not pick any of the plants inside. This involves our company’s trade secrets."

Professor Wang, of course, understood how much commercial companies valued their proprietary seedlings. He nodded. "We understand. We won’t make things difficult for you, Huang Tongxue."

"Please follow my lead."

The experimental greenhouses at the foot of the mountain contained crops from the Poaceae family, such as rice, corn, Xiaomi, wheat, sorghum, oats, rye, and barley.

The group saw all sorts of bizarre-looking varieties, but as agricultural professionals, Professor Wang, Xiao Jieshi, and the others weren’t too surprised. After all, they frequently encountered strange mutant strains themselves.

This continued until they arrived at a large experimental greenhouse for banana cultivation.

"These banana varieties have already been patented, so we can pick them. Let me see if any are ripe." Huang Xinghe said with a smile, patting a nearby sign.

The doctoral student, Xiaosong, read the description on the sign with a look of utter surprise. "Is this the nearly extinct Big Mac Banana?"

Another researcher shook their head. "This variety is too fragile. Without solving the issues of Panama disease and Yellow Leaf disease, it can only be grown in a lab like this. The Provincial Agricultural Research Institute previously imported a few seedlings from Siam and cultivated dozens through tissue culture, but in the end, only four are left, barely surviving in the lab."

Meanwhile, Huang Xinghe found a ripe yellow bunch of bananas and cut it down with a knife.

These bananas were originally supposed to start ripening in May, but due to this year’s warm winter, plus the abundant water and fertilizer in the greenhouse, some had been ripening successively since early April.

Carrying the bunch of a dozen or so bananas, Huang Xinghe returned to Professor Wang and the others.

"Everyone, this is one of the new Big Mac varieties our company has cultivated. The taste is similar to the traditional Big Mac, and its resistance is excellent."

Professor Wang took a banana and, while peeling it, asked curiously, "A new variety? How did you solve the Big Mac’s problem of having a single genetic profile and being a triploid that cannot naturally hybridize?"

"Our boss solved it. He used somatic cell hybridization technology."

"Cell hybridization technology? The success rate for that technique is far too low." Professor Wang had finished peeling the thick banana skin—one of the characteristics of the Big Mac banana, its thick peel made it very suitable for long-distance transport.

He took a bite. It was truly extraordinary.

It was also the first time the others had tasted a Big Mac Banana, and its flavor was distinctly different from the Hua Jiao-type bananas currently on the market.

Xiao Jieshi remarked with a sigh, "If this variety could gain resistance to Panama disease and Yellow Leaf disease, it could truly dominate the current banana market."

"Dean Xiao, the variety you’re eating right now can," Huang Xinghe said with a smile.

"What?" Xiao Jieshi suspected he had misheard and quickly asked again, "This variety can resist Yellow Leaf disease and Panama disease?"

"Yes."

After receiving this answer, everyone was completely shocked. They had never imagined that Hailufeng Company possessed this kind of technological reserve, which made Professor Wang and the others look forward to their meeting with Jiang Miao even more.