Chapter 1479: I Support It

The meeting room went terribly quiet. Air seemed to freeze. Even a piece of hair falling on the ground could be heard.

I will take the position of chairman…

An old popsicle from 100 years ago wants to run for the chairman of East Asia Energy?!

After the first person began to react, a shocking clamor followed immediately.

“You… You want to partic.i.p.ate in the board election?”

Seeing that Lu Zhou didn’t seem to be joking, a man about 50 or 60 years old sitting at the conference table said in an incredulous tone, “But… you just woke up, can you manage such a large company?”

Finally, someone raised their head and questioned Lu Zhou. The questions came like a tide, and they were suddenly out of control.

“That’s right! The market value of East Asia Energy plays a decisive role in the GDP of the entire Pan-Asian Cooperation Region! This is no joke!”

“I agree with Director Zhao! The future of East Asia Energy is not just about its own company, but the savings of millions of shareholders, the hope of billions, and the stability of the economy and industrial production in the entire East Asia region! It’s not that we doubt your abilities… It’s just that you are from the 21st century, both the rules and the environment are different from before!”

“Don’t be so judgemental… I believe that Academician Lu’s starting point is definitely good, it’s just a little emotional. My suggestion is that if you want to intervene in the operation of East Asia Energy, you might as well join the technical development committee of the Board of Directors. Or be the head of the scientific research department… We guarantee that your funding will be the most adequate of all departments.”

“Are you really Academician Lu? The Academician Lu I know is not interested in such troublesome things!”

In addition to those who put their opposing opinions on the table, there were also some that supported him.

But most of the people were not optimistic about him.

Some people questioned his ident.i.ty and began to lead the topic in the direction of whether he was the real Academician Lu or not.

The entire conference table was in chaos. Lu Zhou looked at the two directors who couldn’t wait to speak. A playful smile gradually appeared on his face.

Just a few days ago, the entire Pan Asia was cheering and celebrating his “resurrection”, and those who had benefited from his academic heritage sent congratulatory messages to him.

This included the board of directors of East Asia Energy.

It now appeared that none of the words in the joint letter of congratulations and praise were true.

In just a few days, after he took out his shares that had been frozen for a century and said he wanted to return to the board of directors, their att.i.tudes instantly changed 180 degrees.

And now, these people simply removed their disguises; some even pointed their “guns” at them…

They were spewing out hypocritical remarks left and right.

Just when Lu Zhou was about to speak, Zhong Ziyu, who was standing next to him, suddenly raised his voice to silence the people in the meeting room. He announced in a confident tone, “The AIIB supports Academician Lu’s choice.”

The moment this sentence was uttered, the voices around the conference table were immediately lowered by a few decibels.

After a while, Zhong Ziyu continued speaking in a calm tone, “I will vote in favor of him, on behalf of the Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank.”

There was an uproar in the meeting room.

The noise from the clamor became louder.

Director Zhao, who was about 50 or 60 years old, was as red as a tomato. His saliva flew across the table, smas.h.i.+ng into Zhong Ziyu’s face like bullets.

“Are you crazy? You want to push an old… dormant from a century ago to the position of chairman?! You are not afraid of the direct collapse of the capital market’s expectations of us?”

“That only means that they have no vision.” The man with gold-rimmed gla.s.ses pulled an imperceptible smile at the corner of his mouth as he continued in a calm voice, “Although I don’t believe in fate, this time, I am willing to take a gamble. The establishment of East Asia Energy was inseparable from his wisdom. I believe that under his leaders.h.i.+p, East Asia Energy can be even greater than it was a century ago.”

Whispers sounded from the conference table.

However, before everyone digested the information in this sentence, another voice came from the conference table.

“SoftBank Group agrees!”

After Zhong Ziyu finished speaking, Morinaga couldn’t wait to stand up.

“Although we at SoftBank Group did not experience the great era with Academician Lu, I have admired the legend of the ‘G.o.d of Mathematics’ for a long time.” After looking around at the people at the conference table, he smiled kindly, laughed, and continued, “We admit that such a decision may cause some controversy, but the results of the board of directors’ election have not yet been announced. If you want to sell your shares, you can do so at any time… We want to increase our holdings.”

Director Zhao’s face turned green. Because of AIIB’s statement, the probability of Academician Lu being elected chairman was extremely high.

Not to mention the icing on the cake coming from SoftBank Group…

As for the group of “small shareholders” that wanted the chairman position, they stared at each other with embarra.s.sed expressions on their faces. They couldn’t say a word.

Director Song Yangwei of the Science and Technology Committee of the Board of Directors pushed his gla.s.ses up the bridge of his nose, dragged his trembling body, and stood up. His turbid pupils stared at Lu Zhou as he said in a serious tone, “I want to ask you, the second-generation controllable nuclear fusion you just said… Are you kidding or are you serious?”

Since the establishment of East Asia Energy, they had been researching the technology of the second-generation controllable nuclear fusion, but even after a century, nothing had happened.

Director Song admitted that although there were reasons why East Asia Energy did not take it seriously, the technical difficulty was also undeniable.

Now an old popsicle from more than 100 years ago woke up and said that the second-generation controllable nuclear fusion technology would be the next stage of development of East Asia Energy… He felt something magical was coming.

“That’s a ridiculous question.

“While serving as the chairman, I will concurrently serve as a director of the Science and Technology Committee. I will personally appoint the group’s scientific research director… If there is no suitable candidate, I will also take the position of the group’s scientific research department director.” Lu Zhou said in a calm tone, “100 years have pa.s.sed, and you still think second-generation controllable fusion is a joke. Are you kidding me?”

Song Yangwei: “I didn’t mean that… It’s just—”

“It’s just that it sounds too unrealistic, right?” Lu Zhou interrupted him and continued, “If others think so, I can understand, but you are the head of the East Asia Energy research and development department. I really want to know how you got into your position.”

Lu Zhou continued with a calm tone, “I’ll say it again, I’m not kidding.

“I will solve the second-generation controllable fusion during my tenure.

“That’s all I have to say.”