Chapter 328: Spying On The Enemy
Translator: Henyee Translations Editor: Henyee Translations
Liu Hong was helpless.
He knew how to do experiments, and he knew how to kiss a*s, but his emotional intelligence wasn’t high enough to “spy on the enemy”.
However, he had no other options; he had to follow his boss’ orders.
If the supervisor asked him to clean the toilet, he would have to do it.
However, w.a.n.g Haifeng was still “generous” as he paid for Liu Hong’s train ticket to Jinling.
There were many ways to explore the research progress of a research inst.i.tute. For example, the simplest and most barbaric way was to poach the enemy’s employees by offering to triple their salary. Although this sounded unethical, it was the most efficient way.
However, this method was obviously expensive.
Although research funding could be used to pay researchers, having high salaries would be alarming to investors. Research funding was no joke.
No investor would want their money wasted on employees that were overpaid.
Also, it wasn’t like anyone would be dumb enough to ditch Lu Zhou.
A scholar at the international “n.o.bel Prize” level was more attractive than w.a.n.g Haifeng. Therefore, w.a.n.g Haifeng didn’t even consider this method at all. Instead, he asked Liu Hong to investigate.
Honestly, this was the most ineffective and dumb method.
Liu Hong was at the computational materials research inst.i.tute. He was just thinking about how he would complete this impossible task when someone suddenly shouted at him.
“Hey, what are you doing here?”
Liu Hong was shocked by this voice, he turned around and saw a worker here.
“I’m…”
Liu Hong was trying to come up with an excuse when the worker asked, “You’re here for recruitment?”
Liu Hong immediately nodded and replied, “Yeah, yeah! I’m here to apply for a researcher role.”
The worker smiled and asked, “You’re actually here for a job? This place is not easy to get in, what are your qualifications? Did you bring your resume?”
Liu Hong smiled and made up an excuse. “I’ve got a PhD from Zhi University… I didn’t bring my resume. I’m only looking around, and I haven’t decided yet.”
“Zhi University, not bad, not bad. Zhi University’s material department is quite strong,” the worker nodded and said, “but still not as strong as ours.”
Liu Hong wanted to curse at the worker, but he remembered his mission, so he swallowed his words.
He quickly changed the topic.
“How are the benefits here?”
The worker looked at Liu Hong suspiciously and thought why didn’t Liu Hong look at the recruitment guide; the benefits were all written there.
However, the worker still answered the question.
“Different positions have different salaries. A PhD from Zhi University… probably 12,000 yuan per month, and as for research funding and patent rewards, that depends on your abilities.”
12,000 yuan?!
When Liu Hong heard this number, he cursed in his heart.
100,000 yuan per year wasn’t high for programmers, but materials science was different.
Materials science students were always being told stuff like “Materials science graduates can’t find a job” or “How about going into sales instead?”
“… Are the benefits that good?” Liu Hong was intrigued.
“It’s okay, but the benefits aren’t the main part,” said the worker. The worker then added, “Us researchers have to look away from money. Our boss is G.o.d Lu, the guy that won the Adams Chemistry Prize. Our second in command is also nutty, he has a PhD from Ma.s.sachusetts Inst.i.tute of Technology. Who wouldn’t want to work for this lineup?”
This lineup really was nutty.
Liu Hong would be willing to work here for half the salary… Right now, his salary was only at 3,000 yuan per month.
Liu Hong gulped. He was suddenly envious as h.e.l.l.
People loved to compare themselves to others.
He remembered that he was still a PhD student, so he had to provide cheap labor for his supervisor.
Liu Hong suddenly had a crazy thought.
He was still young; he should make some risky choices.
He said, “I… have a question.”
“Ask.”
Liu Hong asked, “Do you guys hire people with master’s degrees?”
The worker looked at him.
I thought this guy had a PhD?
…
Three days after the award ceremony, Lu Zhou was being tagged all over on Weibo.
His fans weren’t happy that Lu Zhou didn’t share his joy on Weibo. Therefore, they were all tagging him in related blogs.
Those t.i.tles of the blog posts were spicy.
[The First Chinese Adams Chemistry Prize Winner?!]
[Shocking! Top Award In Organic Chemistry Was Given To a Mathematician!]
[From “1+1” To “Li+S”, Look At This Guy!]
Lu Zhou looked at his notifications and was dumbfounded.
He was being tagged left and right.
[G.o.d Lu, you’ve changed, you’ve stopped bragging.]
[I’ve waited for two days for G.o.d Lu’s Weibo post, I am disappointed.]
[I have been reading about G.o.d Lu on Weibo all night.]
[G.o.d Lu, you are amazing!]
[…]
Lu Zhou looked at these comments and was confused.
Honestly speaking, he didn’t want to brag.
However, his fans were giving him a hard time.
Lu Zhou finally smiled and took a photo of his gold medal and watch. He wrote a caption and posted the photo, thus sharing his joy with his fans.
As usual, there was a prize for forwarding his post.
The prize was 10 Huawei phones; the brand was reliable and had good quality.
Even though he didn’t care too much about other people’s opinions, he still liked the brand.
Lu Zhou clicked “Send” and put his phone down. He planned to check the post in a minute.
The comment section was slowly growing.
Professor Sarrot sat across from Lu Zhou, and he drank his coffee before he asked, “Speaking of which, did you book your return flight?”
Lu Zhou replied, “Yeah, it’s in three days.”
Sarrot asked, “Do you not want to hang around in San Francisco? If I remember correctly, spring break isn’t over yet.”
“I’m a professor, not a student, what does spring break have to do with me?” Lu Zhou paused for a second before he said, “If I recall correctly, you’re a Cornell University professor, don’t you have to teach cla.s.ses?”
“I have other teachers helping me, I only have to occasionally give a few lectures. It’s not uncommon for well-known professors to work in laboratories, and they don’t have to stay on the Cornell University campus.” Sarrot smiled and said, “Besides, I prefer San Francisco!”
Lu Zhou smiled and said, “Really? I prefer the quietness of Princeton.”
Sarrot heard his phone ringing.
“I have to take this call.”
Sarrot grabbed his phone from his pocket, stood up, and walked to the side.
He placed his phone to his ear and had a weird expression.
His veins were popping out of his face.
Five minutes after, Sarrot ended the call and came back.
Lu Zhou asked Sarrot, “What happened?”
Sarrot clenched his fists as he snapped, “Those b.a.s.t.a.r.ds! I will sue them!”