Chapter 37
On the second day of the semester, a new post appeared on the Guangling University forum: "Recruiting! The Zero Gravity Seat Research Club is officially established, and we sincerely invite everyone to join!"
Although the semester has started, classes have not yet officially begun in each college. This post was quickly clicked on by many students who were killing time on their phones.
"A zero-gravity seat? Isn't that Ji Zhixing's competition project?"
"Judging from the signature, this is the organization they founded."
"Aren't they selling patents anymore? How come they're using this project to form a club?"
"Last semester I heard that a company had already quoted 88 million for the patent fee, how could I not sell it?"
"The main post means that the three of them plan to start their own business with this project, so they are recruiting people to work on it together."
"Wow, you've got guts! You just say you don't want 88 million."
"If we actually manage to get the project done, how will the money be split?"
"Didn't the main post emphasize that joining the club is purely for 'practical training'?"
"Wow! Even more ruthless than Zhou Bapi! He wants the horse to run but doesn't feed it."
"Nobody's forcing you to go. If you think it's a waste of time, then don't go."
"They're not willing to spend a single penny on their startup, and instead they're looking for free labor at schools. These three are really something."
"You can't say that, it's definitely a great opportunity for training."
"I saw a sign that promised to 'give priority' to employees when the company is established in the future."
"It's just a carrot dangling in front of a mule. What can three sophomores leading a group of students who haven't even gotten their bachelor's degrees yet possibly produce?"
"Is this project led by Ji Zhixing? I have high hopes for him."
“Exams and scientific research are different after all. Even if we could successfully develop a zero-gravity seat, it would probably take several years. Who can afford to wait that long?”
"Everyone should stay away. There are too many uncertainties. It's not worth it to work for nothing and waste the time you would have spent preparing for civil service or postgraduate entrance exams."
...
Lin Lang had been glued to his phone ever since he posted the message. Seeing the different opinions and mixed reviews, he felt a mix of emotions. It seemed that most people didn't think much of their club. What if they really couldn't recruit anyone?
Throughout the morning, Lin Lang refreshed the forum almost every minute to track the public opinion trends in the recruitment posts.
At noon, Ji Zhixing returned to his dormitory from the library and saw that Lin Lang and Xu Dongyang were both in low spirits, so he guessed that the feedback from the recruitment post was probably not ideal.
Lin Lang showed his phone to Ji Zhixing, who flipped through two pages. Some expressed their willingness to join the company for training, while others said they didn't want to join and work for them for free.
Indeed, the teacher-student relationship is different from the student-student relationship. Ji Zhixing thought to himself.
Graduate students who work on projects with their supervisors are jokingly called "research laborers," but because they can get diplomas and publish papers, they generally feel that receiving only a small amount of subsidies is normal.
Those who join their club probably can't even be considered research workers, since their club doesn't offer any additional value to its members besides practical training opportunities. Moreover, the company is still in its infancy, and the promise of "priority hiring" sounds like nothing more than an empty promise.
The recruitment situation is not very optimistic, and the atmosphere in dormitory 310 is somewhat gloomy.
In the afternoon, recruitment posts from various clubs began to appear on the forum one after another. Every semester, the beginning of the semester is the time when various clubs actively recruit new members. There are literary clubs, drone clubs, robotics clubs, dubbing clubs, Latin dance clubs, etc. Lin Lang was dazzled by the choices. It seemed that every club was more interesting than his. The post from the Zero Gravity Seat Research Club was quickly pushed to the bottom.
Lin Lang quickly switched to his alternate account and typed two simple words, "Support," to push the post up again, but the post's ranking continued to drop slowly.
The recruitment post for the drone club was always at the top.
The Drone Club has always been the most popular club at Guangling University, having been established for several years. Club activities are divided into several difficulty levels, so even newcomers who know nothing about drones can independently assemble a basic drone under the guidance of senior members after a month of club training. It's a very well-run club.
The drone club limits its recruitment to 10 people each semester, but each time at least two or three hundred people apply, a phenomenon that has always been the envy of other clubs.
Lin Lang also joined the ranks of those filled with envy and jealousy: "Oh no! Look how lively the drone club's recruitment post is!"
Ji Zhixing was busy using the computer to re-verify the model they had designed earlier when he heard Lin Lang's words and went over to take a look. It was indeed quite lively.
The thread was filled with replies asking what questions would be asked in the recruitment interviews, whether there would be an increase in recruitment this year, and whether those with drone experience could be specially recruited. These were all obviously high-profile accounts. Unlike their posts, Lin Lang had to occasionally leave a comment with a secondary account to get their posts up from the second page.
They were able to create that lively atmosphere in the morning only because they were the first to post a recruitment thread. Now, with all sorts of clubs posting recruitment threads on the forum, their thread has become deserted.
Xu Dongyang also noticed the date: "Oh no, we're recruiting on the same day as them!" This will definitely have an impact!
Although Ji Zhixing had no club experience, he had heard how popular the Drone Club was, and how many students only considered other clubs after failing to get into the Drone Club. For this reason, many clubs would schedule their recruitment interviews at different times than the Drone Club to avoid not being able to recruit new members.
But none of the three had this experience. Ji Zhixing and Xu Dongyang had never participated in any clubs, and Lin Lang was in the basketball team, which didn't openly recruit new members. None of the three had personally experienced the club recruitment process, so none of them had considered this detail.
Xu Dongyang was filled with regret: "I should have changed the date."
Lin Lang was also annoyed: "But the announcement has already been issued, and it would seem too cowardly to change it at the last minute."
Ji Zhixing comforted them, saying, "There's no point in thinking about it too much. Time can't be turned back, and we can't change everyone's mind. We might as well reconsider the interview questions."
They had no experience in recruiting new members, so the interview questions were simply based on the needs of their project, covering areas such as physics, chemistry, materials science, ergonomics, and electronic automation. To be honest, the questions were quite challenging. However, if their club receives few inquiries, they'll probably have to lower the difficulty of the interview questions.
All three of them couldn't help but worry about the recruitment interviews in two days. Would anyone come? What if there were only two or three people who just wanted to join in the fun?
On the day of recruitment, Lin Lang got up early and went through the same last-minute cramming routine he used before final exams. Then the three of them, carrying the paper, pens, and other materials needed for recruitment, headed towards Hesheng Building with anxious hearts.
The activity room the school arranged for them was in Harmony Building 106 on the west side of the teaching area, specifically on the first floor at a corner, and it was almost twice the size of a regular activity room. Ji Zhixing knew this was a favor from the director and specifically thanked him.
As they approached the Harmony Building, the three could see a long queue in front of the Drone Club's Room 105, while their own Room 106 was completely empty...
Even though they were mentally prepared for the lackluster recruitment event today, they didn't expect it to be this deserted, with not a single person present!
Xu Dongyang murmured, "How could this be..." There were clearly people expressing interest in the post.
Ji Zhixing comforted him and himself, saying, "We set it for 9 o'clock sharp, but it's only 8:40 now. Everyone is probably still on their way."
“But… the drone club is really popular!” Lin Lang said. He had spent a long time browsing the drone club’s recruitment post yesterday, and almost 99% of the comments were from people who were interested and asking about the details of joining the club. Many people didn’t care about the membership fee of up to a thousand yuan.
"Or... should we lower our interview standards?" Xu Dongyang became increasingly uneasy as he thought about it.
"Let's just see how it goes," Ji Zhixing said, pulling his two friends who had stopped to continue walking forward. But he was also hesitant. Should he be content with the status quo or accept whatever came his way?
The three walked along the long line, which stretched out from the entrance of room 105 and had already formed five or six queues under the organization of the drone club members, roughly estimated to be more than two hundred people. When they saw someone passing by, the students in the line all turned their heads to look at them.
The three of them forced themselves to move forward; this was practically a public execution! On the same day of recruitment, one place was bustling with activity, while the other was deserted…
From time to time, Lin Lang's friends called out to him from the group, but Lin Lang pretended not to hear them and didn't dare to turn his head, for fear of seeing their mocking looks.
The first day started off poorly, and even the usually cheerful Lin Lang couldn't help but feel a little frustrated. But thinking about it, it made sense; drones were so much fun! He had wanted to join the club when he was a freshman, but he applied too late and wasn't selected.
Ji Zhixing sighed as well. The drone club offered short-term training that allowed participants to assemble their own drones and control them to soar through the air—an activity that provided positive feedback in a short time, sure to be popular with young people. As for their project, even he himself wasn't sure how long it would take to produce results.
Reaching the door of room 106, Lin Lang took out his key and opened it. A senior from the drone club, who was organizing the queue, recognized Ji Zhixing and walked over, saying, "Why didn't your club send someone to maintain order beforehand? They were all mixed up with our club members earlier, it was a mess."
Huh? They're all mixed up together? Ji Zhixing, Lin Lang, and Xu Dongyang all turned around at the same time, but there was no one there.
Seeing their bewildered expressions, the senior student explained, "There were too many people here, so I took them all to the other door of room 106 to queue up."
Activity Room 106 is located at a corner, occupying two walls on the north and east sides of the Harmony Building, with a door on each side of the right angle.
The three exchanged a glance, each seeing surprise and anticipation in the other's eyes. They walked into the activity room together, quickened their pace to another door, turned the handle, and flung the door open.
Wow! There are so many people! At first glance, there are even more than at the drone club!
When the door to Activity Room 106 finally opened, the students who had been waiting for a long time began to stir.
A senior student standing next to the line shouted, "Line up! Line up! Don't push forward! The more you push, the slower you'll get!"
After the group calmed down a bit, the senior student walked over to Ji Zhixing and said, "Now that you're here, I'll go back to 105. Next time there's an event, remember to send someone in advance to maintain order."
"Okay! Thank you, senior!" They were really inexperienced.
After watching his senior leave, Lin Lang turned to look at the long queue in front of him. There must be four or five hundred people there.
The huge psychological gap made him a little insecure: "Are you here to sign up for the Zero Gravity Seat Research Club?"
"yes!"
"Hurry up, let's start! We've been waiting for an hour!" shouted the students in the front row.
Ji Zhixing checked the time: 8:50. They clearly stated it would start at 9:00 sharp. So, everyone started lining up well in advance? Their club must be that popular!
After their initial excitement subsided, the three quickly began collecting application forms and conducting interviews according to the established procedure.
The interviews were mainly conducted by Ji Zhixing, Xu Dongyang was in charge of registration, and Lin Lang collected the application forms at the door and maintained order.
The interviews began, and the students in line started chatting in small groups again.
"I don't know what questions they will ask in the interview. I only had time to read through their paper yesterday. It was more than 150 pages long and it made my head spin."
"Why didn't they notify us before the holiday? That way we could have made more preparations during the winter break."
"We might have to catch them off guard to test their true skill level."
"They're only hiring 10 people, and so many people have applied. I might not get a chance."
"When I saw the trend in the post yesterday, I thought that no one really had any confidence in their club. I was thinking, how come everyone is so short-sighted?"
"It seems they're saying this on purpose to reduce competition. How cunning!"
"Damn, I saw my classmate. He said yesterday that it wasn't worth working for free, but he came here secretly today."
"He says one thing but does another. My roommate said the same thing, but he spent the whole day in the library yesterday. I saw that all the books he brought back were about materials science."
"I went to the library yesterday too, and the shelves for physical chemistry books were mostly empty. I guess everyone's cramming at the last minute."
Catching a trend is not easy. Even a fool could see the potential of the zero-gravity seat project. Otherwise, why would companies of all sizes have been so eager to pour money into bidding for the patent rights?
Once the research and development is successful, the company will undoubtedly grow rapidly. At that point, even those with master's or doctoral degrees would face fierce competition for a job. Now, while the project is still in its early stages, and they can still call Ji Zhixing "classmate," why not get on board quickly?
Zhang Biao was one of those who came to register. Although he was quite familiar with the students in dormitory 310, he didn't plan to use connections and instead followed the rules to register. He had thought that being from the School of Physics, he would have an advantage in terms of knowledge compared to students from other schools, but he hadn't expected to see several top students from the School of Physics who were receiving scholarships in their junior and senior years. It seemed that he had no hope.
The line moved slowly forward. Zhang Biao saw an acquaintance walk up to him and poked him, saying, "Didn't you say you weren't coming?"
Qi Cheng retorted, "You didn't say you were coming." He had actually hesitated for a long time. According to the rules, he definitely wouldn't be able to register based on his level, but he still thought that Ji Zhixing might make an exception for them because they were classmates. This opportunity was too rare; once he got on board, he would definitely be carried to great heights!
Inside Activity Room 106, Ji Zhixing was conducting interviews one by one.
Sitting opposite Ji Zhixing at this moment was a student from the School of Engineering.
Ji Zhixing asked, inquiring about his expertise, "How much do you know about sliding mode observers?"
"Sliding mode observers can make accurate estimates of unknown disturbances in suspension systems. By designing sliding mode observers with augmented systems, disturbances caused by vibration inputs can be suppressed..."
Ji Zhixing nodded secretly. He had been worried that with so many people, most of them might just be there for the sake of it, but after interviewing twenty or thirty people, he found that they all had a certain level of competence. Some of them clearly had a good foundation, while others had just acquired knowledge on the spot, but he could still see their sincerity.
Because there were so many applicants, Ji Zhixing even adjusted the difficulty of the questions on the spot.
The next person to sit opposite Ji Zhixing was Yi Deng, a third-year student from the Department of Physics.
Ji Zhixing was a little surprised to see him. Yi Deng had won the first-class scholarship for five semesters, and he thought that a top student like him would be aiming for postgraduate studies.
"Aren't you planning to take the postgraduate entrance exam? Our research project might last for a long time," Ji Zhixing reminded him.
"I'm optimistic about your project. Rather than working for my supervisor for three years, I'd rather work with you guys," Yi Deng said frankly. Going to graduate school would just be working for free anyway; after three years, he'd still have to find a job. There was a pre-employment internship opportunity right in front of him, and he felt that with a genius like Ji Zhixing guiding the project, it might not take many years to see results. Then he'd be a company veteran, and even without shares, his compensation would definitely be substantial.
Yi Deng emphasized, "I've thought it all through, and I will never give up halfway!"
"Think it through carefully," Ji Zhixing thought for a moment, then asked a physics-related question: "How do you use the three-dimensional Navier-Stokes equations and the MHD equations in multiplier space?"
Yi Deng answered without hesitation: "The result can be obtained by using the regularity criterion decomposition and energy inequality method. Regarding the Navier-Stokes equations, if the horizontal gradient of the horizontal velocity field..."
Ji Zhixing asked a few more questions, which Yi Deng answered with ease, even offering his own insights. Ji Zhixing felt that this was the applicant he was most satisfied with so far.
There were just too many people signing up. Even though Ji Zhixing had sped up the process and was interviewing people every 3 minutes, there was still a long queue outside as lunchtime approached.
We can't expect everyone to stand in line on an empty stomach, so Lin Lang suggested that everyone go back and come back in the afternoon, but almost no one was willing to leave.
Finally, Ji Zhixing suggested issuing numbered slips according to the queue order, so everyone could come back in the afternoon in that order. This time, everyone agreed. So Ji Zhixing, Lin Lang, and Xu Dongyang quickly tore off several small slips of paper, wrote numbers on them, and distributed them in order.
The interviews lasted for another four or five hours, starting at 2 p.m., and continued until sunset before all the interviews were finally completed.
The three of them returned to their dormitory, exhausted but excited, and discussed things for a long time.
Ji Zhixing said, "What do you think about recruiting two or three more?" Today, everyone's average level exceeded his expectations, especially Yi Deng, a junior from the School of Physics, Xue Hua, a senior from the School of Chemistry, and Ji Su'an, a freshman from the School of Computer Science, all of whom surprised him greatly.
"Moreover, I estimate that after a while, some people will temporarily withdraw for one reason or another."
He saw enthusiasm for the project in many applicants, but enthusiasm is an emotion that is easily lost. He didn't know how long people could maintain this somewhat impulsive enthusiasm after actually participating in the project.
Therefore, it's advisable to recruit a few more people to avoid being caught off guard when someone leaves the company.
Lin Lang and Xu Dongyang both agreed, and the three of them spent an hour deciding on the 12 students they planned to recruit: 4 from the School of Physics, 4 from the School of Chemistry, 2 from the School of Computer Science, and 2 from the School of Engineering.
Lin Lang opened the forum's new member recruitment post and edited the list into it.
Students who had been following the post quickly noticed that the main post had been edited.
"Sigh, I didn't get selected..."
"It's over, I have no choice but to take the civil service exam."
"Waaaaah, I'm about to start looking for an internship, and I can't even pass the on-campus interviews, what am I going to do about the off-campus interviews? Help!"
"I really thought highly of this project, but I didn't get selected. That's it, I'll never have a chance to get a piece of this pie again."
"I won! I can't believe it, I'm so lucky!"
"Is it really necessary? It's just a club, why are you making such a big deal out of it like winning the lottery?"
"It's not that bad, you shouldn't sign up at all. It would be better if everyone could save some time."
"I think the chances of getting rich by following Ji Zhixing's projects are higher than winning the lottery."
On Thursday evening, the Zero Gravity Seat Research Club held its first event, with 12 new members arriving early at Room 106 of the Harmony Building.
Upon seeing Ji Zhixing, the impatient Ji Su'an asked, "Where are we going to do our experiments?" The activity room had only two long tables and a few chairs, with no instruments or materials in sight; it really didn't look like a place for conducting experiments and scientific research.
Ji Zhixing asked everyone to sit around the table and explained, "It's not time to do the experiment yet. Before we officially begin, we need everyone to read through our project paper and understand the basic principles of the zero-gravity seat so that we can grasp the overall direction of the research."
This was Ji Zhixing's first time leading a research activity, and he had no experience whatsoever. However, he was fortunate enough to join Professor Yan's laboratory during the winter break, and now he naturally followed Professor Yan's example, issuing a paper to each of the 12 members.
"This week's task is to read academic papers," Ji Zhixing said.
"When will the experiment begin?" Ji Su'an pressed.
Ji Zhixing observed the expressions of the members and said, "That depends on how long it takes everyone to grasp the core concepts and basic principles of the project."
Sure enough, some members were visibly disappointed.
Seeing this, Ji Zhixing not only didn't make empty promises, but even added fuel to the fire: "Even in the first phase of the experiment, due to limited funds, we cannot test materials on a large scale. We can only use E-exper virtual experiment software and pound synthesis software to test the rough direction first, and then it is possible to purchase instruments and materials according to these directions and officially start the experiment."
This is indeed true, but Ji Zhixing brought it up openly at the first event in order to eliminate members who only had a three-minute attention span as soon as possible, so as not to waste the time of both parties.
Sure enough, several people hesitated upon hearing this, as it was not what they had expected.
However, since no one voluntarily offered to leave the club, Ji Zhixing naturally wouldn't ask anyone to leave either. No one is a perfect research talent from the start; even if they waver at first, if they can persevere step by step, they become their partners.
After presenting the paper and assigning reading tasks, the first activity concluded.
During the second event, the 12 new members still hadn't even gotten close to the experiment; they were too busy listening to Ji Zhixing analyze the paper.
Because the zero-gravity seat project involves multiple fields such as physics, chemistry, materials science, ergonomics, and electronic automation, and the 12 members come from various colleges, the problem of "specialization" is unavoidable. Therefore, Ji Zhixing spent a lot of time explaining the knowledge points in the paper in the simplest and most understandable way possible.
After explaining the key points of physics, Ji Zhixing gave everyone 20 minutes to think and ask questions.
“I have a question,” Ji Su’an raised her hand. “I think the club has recruited people from so many colleges, so it should be to let us all give full play to our strengths, right? For example, I’m studying computer science, so why do I still need to understand physics?”
"Because teamwork is necessary," Ji Zhixing replied. "Of course, we're not asking chemistry students to work on electronic automation or physics students to work on ergonomics. It's just that if you don't have a good understanding of the knowledge in the various fields involved, how will you understand your teammates' needs and make accurate collaborations when conducting experiments and research in the future?"
Ji Su'an didn't say anything more, but she started to have second thoughts. In university, students join various clubs to some extent for entertainment, to relieve academic pressure, and to enrich their extracurricular life. But she never expected that now that she had squeezed into this club, she would have to attend classes, and these theoretical classes would probably have to be attended several times.
Then Ji Su'an spoke up, saying something he would regret for the rest of his life: "Senior, I want to leave the club."
A note from the author:
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