Please Trust Science

When they saw the cup of water in Huang Xiuyuan's hand, the media reporters, the representatives conducting the assessment, and even the third-party inspectors responsible for collecting samples all felt a little queasy.

If they hadn't known where the water came from, they might not have been so reluctant to try it. But they had watched it being filtered from a pool of sewage with their own eyes.

In the end, Wang Xiaobing mustered her courage and took the cup. She tried a tiny sip, and once she got past the mental hurdle, she didn't find it quite so disgusting.

Facing the camera, she said, "It really tastes about the same as C'estbon bottled water. There's no other taste—it's just water."

The camera turned, and she interviewed Huang Xiuyuan again. "Mr. Huang, what technology does this filter use?"

"The specific details involve confidential technology, so I can only say that it uses Nano-molecular osmosis technology to separate water molecules directly from sewage," Huang Xiuyuan replied confidently.

Wang Xiaobing asked another question. "And what does this technology cost?"

"It's already suitable for large-scale application, and the cost is relatively manageable. At the very least, it's lower than traditional sewage treatment methods," Huang Xiuyuan answered vaguely.

As for the exact cost, Huang Xiuyuan had no intention of revealing it. Molecular osmosis membrane technology was being researched both at home and abroad, and the biggest obstacle was its high cost.

If he claimed the cost was very low, it would bring him a lot of trouble.

So he deliberately kept his answer vague. He figured that actual experts wouldn't believe it was low-cost based on a statement like that.

After collecting samples from across the factory, Huang Xiuyuan made one more promise to dispel any lingering doubts: people from all walks of life were welcome to monitor them, and anyone who questioned their claims could come collect samples from the factory's discharge outlet at any time.

Not only had Suiren Company successfully weathered the rumor crisis, it had also seized the opportunity to advertise itself.

That very evening, after Lingnan TV Station and CCTV aired their reports, Suiren Company was back in the spotlight.

Shiguang Blog also featured a series of videos on its homepage—the unedited footage of the interview.

The first round of test results from the three third-party testing agencies soon followed, with the results being released one after another.

At the same time, Suiren Company published a statement in the Shanmei Daily to dispel the rumors. The company also bought a batch of lychees and longans from the Guizhuling area to give to its employees.

That was enough to put the earlier rumors to rest.

On Shiguang Blog,

the interview video featured on the homepage once again drew a lively discussion in the comments.

[Mr. Huang is awesome!] — Fellow Shantou Native

[C'estbon's reputation just took a hit.] — Nongfu Sanquan

[Suiren's technology seems amazing. Could an expert weigh in?] — Nokia Smash Walnut

[Let me say a few words about this. As for who I am, you understand. Anyway, this is the situation right now. The details are there for everyone to see. Because of my position, I have to say a few things. You might not fully understand what I'm saying, but you get the gist. You don't need to guess who I am if you don't know. I've seen plenty of things like this. All I'll say is, those who understand, understand. I won't explain it to those who don't. It's best to keep it to yourself and think it over. All I can say is, there's a lot going on beneath the surface, and many things are involved. Don't ask me what happened; too many interests are at stake, and talking about it wouldn't do either of us any good. You won't be able to find the full story yourselves.] — Edward Nigma

[@Edward Nigma, what the heck are you talking about? Can you speak like a normal person?] — Big Whale Feast

[The technology is currently feasible, but Molecular osmosis membrane technology is very expensive. A single membrane has to be discarded after only a few uses.] — Ye Gaofeng, Boku Guest Scholar

[Please trust science. I've tried it; you all do as you please.] — Carbon-based Cyborg 002

For a while, terms like "Please trust science," "Suiren Company," and "Osmotic Water Purifier" became online buzzwords, with interest in them surpassed only by news about the Olympics.

The interview video kept spreading online, even reaching foreign websites. There, people altered it and claimed that all tap water in Huaguo came from heavily polluted sewage, then circulated the doctored story back into the country.

For instance, the famous masters of distortion at the BBC seized the opportunity to churn out several news stories, deliberately editing out context and turning the truth on its head.

With no foothold in the foreign media landscape, Huaguo could do little about it beyond stepping up its publicity efforts at home.

Busy with the third deep-recycling factory, Huang Xiuyuan only glanced at the reports. He was long used to the notorious double standards and couldn't be bothered dealing with those people.

The work that had been interrupted by the rumors resumed, with the team returning to design and improvements. The engineering group, now expanded to 83 people, had purchased large quantities of components and was busy with the deep-recycling process.

Thanks to Huang Xiuyuan's foresight in developing an industrial software platform of its own for Suiren Company, designing components and planning models had become somewhat easier.

Using the company's own industrial software platform offered more than just the benefit of not having to pay for it. It also allowed the team to stay in constant contact with the Software Laboratory, enriching the database while providing suggestions for improvements.

Components and other designs were sent out to specialized factories for production, then delivered to Guizhuling Industrial Park.

At Guizhuling Industrial Park, the engineering group had set aside two factory buildings specifically for developing and manufacturing equipment.

The equipment development workshop had purchased a batch of metalworking machines. They couldn't manufacture every component themselves, but the machines made it convenient to modify some parts and build simple equipment.

Progress on the new recycling workshop, based on Hexa-conical Spherical Oxygen, Heptagonal Silicon Oxide, Graphene Film, and Nitrogen-16, was exceptionally smooth.

The first deep-recycling workshop was dedicated to recovering resources from wastewater and sewage. It specifically targeted eight heavy metal ions: lead, chromium, cadmium, copper, zinc, nickel, gold, and silver.

These eight heavy metals were commonly found in electroplating wastewater, electronics factory wastewater, and metalworking effluent.

After running a series of simulations, the engineering group discovered that if a recycling workshop handled more than ten types of elements, its recovery efficiency would decrease and the workshop would become more difficult to design.

Therefore, each workshop's selection of target elements would be adjusted according to the unit concentration of the elements to be recovered, as well as their storage requirements and physical and chemical properties.

For example, lead, chromium, cadmium, copper, zinc, nickel, gold, and silver could all be recovered as elemental metals and stored relatively stably at normal temperature and pressure.

They would also gradually design a full set of deep-recycling workshops specifically for sodium chloride, mercury, alkaline solutions, and acidic solutions.

While Suiren Company was busy with research and development,

at the Huayang Energy branch in the city,

the branch manager looked grim. The announcement on Suiren Company's official website had left him even more restless. "Xiao Wu, get those guys out to western Guangdong at once. They need to lie low."

"I'll make the arrangements right away," the security team leader said nervously.

If they were discovered, neither of them would get away unscathed. After all, this incident had made the city look bad, and Suiren Company had filed a report.

They had thought they could deal a crushing blow to Suiren Company and protect the city's liquefied gas market. They hadn't expected the company to be so tough and turn the situation around just like that.

Thanks, everyone, for your support. And thanks to reader "Zhang Kantianxia" for the tip. (ω｀)