Chapter 32

Ch32 – The Tour of the Academy of Sciences

The suspended car was very fast. After ten minutes, Ruan Tang stood at the door of the Academy of Sciences with his case.

The place with the Academy's logo looked more like a science park. The area was huge, and even the towering walls couldn't block the high-rise buildings that stood tall. There was no doorman at the door, only one smart terminal, and after pressing his palm on the screen, the smart terminal automatically verified his identity through his biometric information.

"Identity verification is complete… Appointment verification is complete… Welcome Mr. Ruan, please wait a moment." The screen flashed twice, and the verification was completed very quickly. The door opened with a bang.

When Ruan Tang walked in he could see lawns, neatly partitioned. It was lush and green and looked very soft. He stood quietly for less than two minutes, when there came engine sounds to his left.

From the left there came a suspended car completely unlike He Yun Chen's silver suspended car. It was a flashy crimson retro-type flying car. The body was sprayed with brightly-colored lacquer. Ruan Tang almost thought he must have gotten the place wrong. No matter how you looked at it, such an ostentatious and personality-filled car wasn't something that would appear in the rigorous and cold Academy of Sciences.

The big red suspended car swayed in the air and slowly stopped in front of him. Then the car door opened a lofty man seventy percent similar in looks to He Yun Chen stepped out wearing a standard white uniform. It was a regular white lab coat, but on him it looked very smart and handsome. There was a genial smile on his face and he looked very approachable.

"Mr. Ruan?" When He Yun Yi saw Ruan Tang, he felt the sight before him turn bright. He knew that since Ruan Tang used to be an actor, he should look good. Now, although the other party wore some rustic black-rimmed glasses, it couldn't cover up his excellent facial features and quiet temperament. Instead, it made him look more sleek and restrained. As expected from the once film emperor.

"President He, hello, I am Ruan Tang." Ruan Tang said with a smile.

"Hello, hello, welcome to the Academy of Sciences." The two men greeted each other, and He Yun Yi's gaze fell on the case that he was holding in his hand and said, "This is?"

"Inside are soybeans that I soaked yesterday. I thought I might use it when we discuss about the processed soybean products so I took it along. There are also some tofu pudding and pork dumplings that I made when I was broadcasting this morning. To give you and the other researchers a taste."

Hearing this, He Yun Yi suddenly smiled. "Mr. Ruan is really polite." He said this, but still took the small box and put it in the car with great ease, saying: "How can this be so… … Mr. Ruan, get on. I will take you to the research's first floor."

The Academy of Sciences covered a wide area. They were divided into many smaller areas, such as the R&D area, the breeding area, scientific research area, manufacturing area and production area. The center of each section was connected by a suspended passageway. Underneath were lawns and vine covered promenades, to serve as resting areas for the staff.

After verifying their identity through biometric information, the two were allowed to enter the building. There are many people hurrying to and fro wearing the same uniform as He Yun Yi. It was very consistent with Ruan Tang's impression of researchers. It's just that the uniform didn't look very good on them.

He Yun Yi said: "Do you want to go to my office first, or would you like to have a look around?"

Ruan Tang thought about it as he looked at the case he had brought down from the car and said, "Let's go to your office first." After all, it was inconvenient for him to run around with a box.

"Okay, then please, Mr. Ruan, over here." This answer was exactly as He Yun Yi desired, and the smile on his face deepened.

The two took the levitation lift and went straight upstairs to He Yun Yi's office. A lot of people along the way smiled and said hello to He Yun Yi. Even their attitudes towards He Yun Yi was quite friendly. It could be seen the President was very popular at the Academy.

After entering the office and sitting on the soft sofa, Ruan Tang opened the box in his hand and took out the sealed preservation box.

"This is the savory tofu pudding. Big brother He, you can have a taste." He handed it to He Yun Yi. The sauce had already been put in and it was ready to be eaten.

He Yun Yi also wasn't polite. After taking the preservation box, he opened the lid. A savory scent came to the surface. The white and tender tofu pudding was still hot, and it completely melted in his mouth. Together with the meaty broth, it was even more delicious.

"Would you like to add some spiciness?" Ruan Tang's fingers touched the small bottle of chili oil.

He Yun Yi quickly waved his hand. "No need, no need. This is fine."

Ruan Tang smiled and put the chili oil back in the box. It seems that even between brothers there were differences in taste.

"You said this is a savory tofu pudding, are there any other flavors?" In two of three mouthfuls He Yun Yi had finished off the tofu pudding. He Yun Yi put down the spoon and put forth this question.

Ruan Tang replied: "Yes, tofu pudding has a savory version, a sweet version, and even a spicy version. There are many ways to prepare it."

"It seems to be a very promising ingredient. You mentioned semi-finished products made from soybeans last time. Is this one of those?" He Yun Yi raised his eyebrows and ran his tongue around his mouth, chasing after the lingering taste.

"Yes!" Ruan Tang quickly explained the method to make tofu to He Yun Yi and added that the finished tofu could be sold in a plastic boxes. "In addition to tofu, soybeans can also produce a lot of other things. Fermentation can create black bean sauce, salted bean curd, doubanjiang. If it's not fermented, it could be dried to make bean curd skin…"

The more he talked, the more excited he became. He felt that he could already foresee the future in which soy products dominated the world. Thinking about it, soy beans can also produce soybean sprouts. It was a must when making soup. There's also mung bean sprouts. If mung beans were restored, they could quickly become a hit. It was delicious in stir-fry or malatang.

He Yun Yi also listened quite happily. Both hands held his chin and he often responded in agreement. Ruan Tang talked until his throat was a bit dry. Seeing the other's expression, he couldn't help but smile a little embarrassedly. "Sorry, I was too excited."

"Not at all, listening to you has also got me excited." He Yun Yi's lips ticked up. "I'm really starting to suspect that you're are a top chef from another time and space, come across to help us revitalize Ancient Earth food."

This guess was just too spot-on that Ruan Tang's heart couldn't help but give a jump. Faced with He Yun Yi's joking but probing eyes, Ruan Tang felt apprehensive. While thinking that He Yun Chen's simple-minded type was better, he jokingly replied: "Time travel, do you still believe in that?"

He Yun Yi shook his head. "You'd only need to go through a wormhole, but this condition is too difficult to achieve."

Seeing that he'd be exposed if they discussed this further, Ruan Tang quickly took the pork dumplings lying next to him. "And there's this pan fried dumplings. Have a taste."

At the mention of this, He Yun Yi no longer concerned himself with the problem of wormholes and crossings. Instead he stuffed his mouth one by one, eating until his mouth was full of oil, 'so delicious!"

Ruan Tang gave a sigh of relief and said: "The dough used to make fried dumplings can also be mass-produced, that way it will be convenient for everyone to make dumplings at home." Although dough made by a machine would lack chewiness, there would be no change in thickness. However, the advantage was that it was fast and it would save time and effort. Most of the hotels and restaurants from the past used machine-made dumpling skin. Promoting it in the interstellar world would be even easier. After all, not everyone would have the patience to knead dough. If the finished product was available, it would be made even more convenient.

"Mass production?" He Yun Yi suddenly grasped the key point, "Use a machine to make the finished dumpling skins? The steps for kneading the dough should be OK, and even the steps for making dumplings could be handed over to the machine…"

"Yes." More than just dumplings, even noodles and wonton wrappers could be made using machines. It would save a lot on manpower and would be easy to use. Noodles could be boiled and with a little salt, some vegetables and a poached egg on the side, it would be a light and refreshing delicacy — very suitable to popularize.

While Ruan Tang's explanation of the production process was being sound recorded, He Yun Yi also made notes on the light brain and jotted down some of his own ideas. Later, he would bring it to the R&D group and the other members of the team for them to research together machines for producing semi-manufactured goods.

The two sat in the office and talked for nearly four hours in detail. From soy products and dairy products to meat products, from the soy sauce, bean paste, and chili sauce all the way to the seafood sauce. Ruan Tang's most wished for cooking wine was extended to rice wine, white wine and grape wine.

He Yun Yi felt that Ruan Tang's words opened the door to a new world for him. They only needed to use the existing ingredients to make a qualitative leap in the quality of life for the people of the empire. Where else could such a good thing be found?

If Ruan Tang hadn't become so hungry, who knows how long the two of them would have talked.

Ruan Tang had gotten up early and had talked for so long. The food he'd eaten had already been digested. On top of that, his body was still recovering. He was really hungry.

"Should I…offer you some nutrient solutions?" He Yun Yi asked with some embarrassment.

"No need." He quickly politely refused. Towards nutrient solutions his stance was always 'My apologies for declining', "I can eat some tofu pudding."

Fortunately, he brought the entire pot of tofu pudding from this morning. Although it had already gone cold for some time, it still tasted very good. If he'd been making sweet bean tofu pudding, it wouldn't matter even if it was cold.

After the two men wiped out the food in the preservation box, He Yun Yi said. "We've already talked about all that we can on the theory side. Let me take you for a stroll around the Academy of Sciences."

"Okay." He was very curious about the structure of the Academy of Sciences. In a while, he would need to demonstrate the tofu making process. It was good to take a stroll now. Anyway, it was still early, and there was no need to be impatient.