Professor Yuan’s Choice

The sky was growing dark in Jiang City at the Orchard Experimental Base.

Several cars slowly pulled up to the entrance of the Orchard Experimental Base.

Yuan Chenghua pushed open the car door and slowly stepped out. He gazed at the Orchard Experimental Base before him, feeling a slight sense of emotion; after spending some time in the countryside, he had finally returned.

"Teacher, let's go in."

A student came to Yuan Chenghua's side, their eyes filled with respect.

It was a sign of the teacher's high regard for them that he had brought them along on this trip to the countryside.

After all, when they graduated, this experience in the countryside would serve as a resume booster, which was very important for them.

Moreover, having such experience under a highly respected agricultural professor like Professor Yuan would make their future path much easier.

"Hmm!"

Yuan Chenghua nodded and led the way into the Orchard Experimental Base.

He entered the Orchard Experimental Base, went to the office building, and then entered his own office.

Although he had been away for some time, the place was still spotless; it was clear that someone came to clean it every day.

He went to his desk and slowly sat down.

He reached out and touched the thermos nearby; it was still warm, so he poured a cup of water and took a sip.

Afterward, he took a notebook out of the drawer, turned to a blank page, and began to write.

The content he wrote focused on the common problems that farmers had encountered during planting while he was in the countryside.

These problems were very common, yet easily overlooked.

While they might not seem severe or have a major impact on the fruit trees, these issues were like ticking time bombs that could escalate if they encountered the right environment or climate.

Then, the problem would deteriorate rapidly, evolving into more serious diseases.

Therefore, he wanted to create a column addressing these issues and publish it as a warning for those farmers so they could pay attention in the future.

Time slipped away bit by bit. About an hour later, Yuan Chenghua slowly put down his pen. He looked over the notes in his notebook, carefully reviewed them, and after finally confirming everything was correct, he picked up his phone and made a call.

Not long after, a young man knocked on the door and entered.

"Teacher, did you call for me?"

"Hmm, take the content in here and create a column to be published in the agricultural journal."

Yuan Chenghua handed over the notebook.

The young man took the notebook Yuan Chenghua handed him, looking hesitant.

"Is something wrong?"

Yuan Chenghua asked slowly, observing the young man's hesitant expression.

"Teacher, it's like this: even if you publish this content in the agricultural journal's column, I don't think many people will read it. We're in the internet age now; not many people read newspapers or journals anymore."

The young man said to Yuan Chenghua, looking cautious.

Upon hearing this, Yuan Chenghua's arm trembled slightly. He looked at the young man calmly for a moment, then waved his hand somewhat powerlessly, saying, "You go ahead and do it first."

"Alright, Teacher."

The young man didn't say anything else this time and left directly with the notebook.

Watching the young man leave, Yuan Chenghua let out a long sigh.

His student was right; indeed, very few people read newspapers or journals nowadays.

In today's internet-driven society, not only do young people not read journals, but most elderly people have also started using smartphones.

In the past, many people liked newspapers and journals, firstly because they could get news information from them, and secondly because they could use them for entertainment.

But in today's internet age, news information can be accessed much more conveniently via mobile phones. Not to mention entertainment: games, movies, TV series, short videos…

Some elderly people even hold their phones and listen to audiobooks, listening for the entire day.

In such an environment, how many people would still maintain the habit of reading newspapers or journals?

Not to mention others, even he himself spent much less time reading journals than before.

Sigh! Yuan Chenghua sighed once more.

He didn't blame this era; what he lamented was that he hadn't kept up with it.

At this moment, he deeply realized that the popularization and dissemination of agricultural knowledge could no longer rely on journals and trips to the countryside; those methods were no longer very effective.

It was time for a change!

Yuan Chenghua's gaze was deep. At this moment, he thought of Boring Short Videos.

Boring Short Videos, huh! Perhaps this was the opportunity for change.

Buzz, buzz, buzz! While he was thinking, the phone on his desk suddenly vibrated.

Yuan Chenghua picked up the phone, took a look, and his eyes widened in surprise. He answered the call directly.

"Old Tan, what's the matter?"

Old Tan, whose full name was Tan Guoqing, was the president of Jiang City Agricultural University. The two had been friends since their student days.

"You've returned from the countryside, right?"

"Hmm, I just got back today."

"That's good. The CCTV Livelihood Channel has invited you for a personal interview. What about it? Are you going to decline it directly like in previous years?"

Tan Guoqing spoke slowly into the phone, his expression full of helplessness.

He had known this old friend for decades and understood Yuan Chenghua's personality quite well.

He dedicated his whole heart to agricultural research and had absolutely no interest in appearing on television.

He couldn't even remember how many interview invitations Yuan Chenghua had declined.

Just this Livelihood Channel alone had invited him three times. Previously, when the Livelihood Channel's recruiters called Yuan Chenghua's phone, he would hang up without any room for discussion.

Others were the same.

So much so that now, those recruiters didn't even look for Yuan Chenghua anymore; instead, they came to him first.

He was also very helpless; what was the use of coming to him? With Old Yuan's personality, if he didn't want to go, no amount of persuasion would work.

Following the previous process, the response he would get would likely be a refusal or something similar.

After asking the question, Tan Guoqing had already prepared himself to be rejected.

"That's fine. When is it?"

"Hmm… Old Yuan, what did you say?"

Tan Guoqing was stunned for a moment and asked, not quite believing it.

"I said, I can accept the interview. When is it?"

Yuan Chenghua repeated.

"Old Yuan, what's wrong with you? This isn't like you. Did something happen?"

Tan Guoqing still couldn't quite believe it.

He didn't understand why Yuan Chenghua, who had always refused interviews, had suddenly agreed today.

This was truly too unusual!

"Nothing happened. Just tell me the time."

Yuan Chenghua said calmly.

If it were before, he might have refused without hesitation.

These kinds of personal interviews mostly talked about the interviewee's personal experiences and achievements, which didn't really help with the development of agriculture.

So, he had refused all those previous interviews without hesitation.

But now it was different; he had thought of Boring Short Videos.