"No need. We didn't take that much leave, and we're heading back today." Zhao Xingli smiled. "We'll sleep for a while, then go to the county seat to catch the high-speed rail."
Lu Ao frowned. "I'll drive you to the county seat. You look so tired."
Zhao Xingli said, "If it won't inconvenience you, that would be best. These old bones of ours really can't take it anymore."
Looking at him, Lu Ao could not help asking a question that had been bottled up in his heart. "Professor Zhao, why did only a few professors come? Didn't you bring any students to drive and run errands or anything?"
Lu Ao knew that large research institutes like theirs had graduate students. Even if there were no students, there would certainly be junior staff. There was no need for several middle-aged professors to make such an exhausting journey themselves.
Zhao Xingli smiled again. "The students' coursework is demanding too. We haven't decided whether to include these geese in a research project yet, so we came to take a look first. If it doesn't work out, we'll just treat it as a little vacation. Once the project is confirmed, we'll bring students with us next time."
Lu Ao said, "That won't be necessary. Next time, I can just mail you the goose eggs you need."
"If this really becomes a research project, there'll be environmental research afterward as well. We'll have plenty of opportunities to work together." Zhao Xingli stood beside him. "We may have to trouble you again later."
Lu Ao nodded. "If you need anything, you can contact me anytime."
"Hahaha, good. Didn't you lease a whole mountain? Next time we come, we'll bring you fruit trees from our agricultural research institute."
The typhoon came without warning. The province issued a