Chapter Thirty-One: The Shock of the Infrastructure Titan, Efficiency Doubled!

The cold mechanical voice faded deep within He Yu’s consciousness, replaced by a warm current.

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He Yu’s eyelids lowered slightly, concealing the fleeting gleam in his pupils.

A faint, silent smile curved his lips.

An unexpected delight, yet entirely within reason.

He understood better than anyone that the foundation of a great university was never cold steel and concrete. Those materials could only construct a shell; the true soul was the human spirit. It was the immense power forged by countless hands and countless wills united.

This investment was, in his view, the most worthwhile.

And the returns came far swifter and more fervent than he had imagined.

At the construction site of the Valley of Hope, an invisible chemical reaction was raging fiercely.

The air temperature seemed unchanged, yet the breath drawn into the lungs carried a scorching heat.

This place was no longer merely a construction site.

It had become a vast, vibrant magnetic field.

Hundreds of workers—those laborers, long regarded as society’s lowest echelon, their faces blurred by sweat and dust—had now become the core of this magnetic force.

Their eyes had changed.

No longer vacant or weary from toiling merely to survive, now they shone with a light ignited from deep within, heartfelt and blazing.

At half past five in the morning, a sharp whistle pierced the valley’s tranquility.

In the past, it had been a signal to struggle out of bed.

Now, it was a call to charge.

Dormitory doors were flung open one after another, figures rushing forth like soldiers heading to the battlefield, immediately taking their posts. Not a trace of resentment on their faces, only the exhilaration of unrestrained joy.

“Old Zhang, your team wants to beat us today! We figured it out last night—we can be half an hour faster!”

“Talk’s cheap! We’ll see about that!”

The roar of the machines was no longer monotonous noise but a symphony interwoven with power and hope. The workers’ shouts, loud and clear, cut through the mechanical clamor, echoing through the valley.

Those few elite national engineering teams, who had once regarded the young He Yu, an “outsider leading insiders,” with some skepticism, had now utterly shed their last pride and arrogance.

Convinced beyond doubt.

Completely convinced.

In private, among their own, they no longer called him “President He.”

That title was too formal, too distant.

They had found a new, more fitting, heartfelt name—

“The president who truly understands us.”

That afternoon, the valley wind carried a dry, heated dustiness.

He Yu was inspecting an area freshly poured with concrete when a tall, burly figure charged toward him like a gust of wind.

It was the chief engineer, known as “Old Gun.”

His dark face bore a strange reddish hue from extreme excitement, like a glowing iron. In his hand, he gripped a progress report so tightly that the thin paper was distorted and stained with sweat at the edges.

“President!”

The voice came first, before the man had reached him, split by excitement and trembling from heavy breathing.

“President! Good news! Tremendous good news!”

He Yu turned, smiling at the chest rising and falling rapidly from running.

“Oh? What good news has Old Gun so excited?”

“Efficiency! Efficiency!” Old Gun was practically jumping, waving the arm holding the report like a victorious banner.

“Since… since we moved into the new dorms and the meals in the canteen improved, the spirit of the brothers has soared! Completely soared!”

His words tumbled out in a rush, as if trying to expel all the excitement from his chest in one breath.

“Everyone’s working harder than ever! In my thirty years leading engineering teams across the country, I’ve never seen such unity, such recklessness!”

He suddenly pointed toward a distant area where the foundation was being laid, his eyes blazing fiercely under the blazing sun.

“Look over there! That patch! According to our most optimistic original estimate, laying that foundation would take at least a week!”

He paused, seemingly gathering strength, then shouted with all his might.

“Now—three days! Just three days! It’s all done!”

“And that ecological dome’s supporting structure—the toughest technical challenge! Several teams of master craftsmen stayed up all night, reworking the process! Efficiency has doubled!”

Old Gun panted heavily, his chest like an old bellows.

He struggled to steady his breath and approached He Yu, standing firmly before him.

That wild excitement settled into an unprecedented solemnity.

He looked into He Yu’s eyes and spoke each word with crystal clarity.

“President, I want to be upfront with you.”

“At this pace—the reckless pace we’re keeping—the completion time for the first phase of the project…”

He took a deep breath, his voice low but striking as if hammering into the heart.

“Will be at least one month ahead of schedule!”

This promise bore no hint of exaggeration.

Every word was as weighty as a mountain, thunderous and resolute.

Behind it stood hundreds of humble workers, offering to Longhai University and to this “president who truly understands them” their most sincere, most passionate reward.