Chapter 84
capital.
Director Zhu was earnestly advising Yu Zhuli: "The school is truly sincere in wanting to rehire you as a teacher. You can tell us your concerns and conditions, and we can have an open and honest discussion."
“I just… don’t think I’m suited to be a teacher,” Yu Zhuli said softly.
"Ugh! That line again!" Director Zhu slapped his thigh. "Weren't you doing a great job before?!"
Yu Zhuli shook his head. After spending time in the photonic chip project team, he realized what he truly wanted.
After graduating with his doctorate, he felt lost about his future, only knowing that he wanted to continue his research in mathematical theory. His advisor suggested that he take a teaching position at a university, which would provide him with a livelihood while allowing him to focus on theoretical research. He did just that.
However, standing on the podium was not a pleasant experience for him. He felt he was not a good teacher, unable to explain knowledge in a simple and easy-to-understand way, and unable to fully communicate with students to answer their questions.
He is not suited to be a teacher.
Later, Ji Zhixing invited him to join the research on photonic chips, and he went. It was that period of scientific research experience that made him realize that the numbers that could support experiments were more interesting than pure theory.
He finally found his purpose in life.
Before parting, Ji Zhixing asked him about his future plans and extended an invitation to work together. He is now waiting for news from Ji Zhixing.
"When will his private research institute be completed? Huh? And even after it's built, it's hard to say how long it will last," Director Zhu said earnestly. "Take this advice from someone with experience: nothing is more important than stability. Look at the number of people applying for national civil service exams, provincial civil service exams, and public sector jobs—it increases every year. That shows how important job stability is..."
Director Zhu went on to explain all the factors, including fame, benefits, prospects, platform, and environment, but Yu Zhuli remained silent throughout.
Director Zhu was at a loss because of Yu Zhuli's unmoved attitude, but he couldn't just give up. He had come here today with a pledge.
Yenching University has been having a rough time lately. Fan Ji'an, who was originally the pillar of the university, has fallen from grace. Gao Xiao developed a photonic chip but refused to let the university benefit from it. He extended job invitations to Yan Anjin and Ji Zhixing, but both were rejected without hesitation. This is the first time Yenching University has been so disliked.
The neighboring Tsinghua University was thoroughly enjoying the spectacle, mocking Yenching University for its inability to retain talent. So the university president thought of Yu Zhuli, intending to use him to stage a dramatic scene of "spending a fortune to buy bones," showcasing his own courteous and respectful attitude towards scholars.
In the field of partial differential equations, Yu Zhuli is considered outstanding in China and even the world. Moreover, he recently published a paper solving the "clear-sky turbulence" problem, which brought him considerable fame. Therefore, the university actually values him quite a bit, and they didn't expect him to be so opposed to being transferred to the Quantum Information Research Center, writing his resignation letter on the very day he said he would.
The principal was already furious about Gao Xiao's willful and capricious behavior, and seeing the resignation letter only fueled his anger. He felt that Yu Zhuli, who had always been well-behaved, had become just as rebellious as Gao Xiao. He didn't believe Yu Zhuli was truly willing to resign; it was just a charade to force the school to give in. So he insisted on signing the resignation letter to embarrass Yu Zhuli, but unexpectedly, it was the school that ended up embarrassed.
Director Zhu privately harbored some reservations about the principal's narrow-mindedness, but given his position, he had no choice but to obey the principal's orders and come to persuade Yu Zhuli to stay. Of course, he genuinely meant well for Yu Zhuli; given her introverted, socially awkward, and unsociable nature, she was better suited to staying in school. Even with some power struggles within the school, the overall environment was much simpler than in the workplace.
But Yu Zhuli was determined to go to Ji Zhixing's research institute, which was still in its infancy.
Director Zhu returned empty-handed, and the principal was getting restless. From Yan Anjin to Ji Zhixing to Yu Zhuli, this repeated rejection made him seem unpopular—rumors were already circulating that he was considered incompetent.
So the principal, along with Director Zhu and Director Jiao from the Academic Affairs Office, visited again. In front of Yu Zhuli, the principal criticized Director Jiao, saying that he had misunderstood his meaning and therefore had been overly forceful when seeking Yu Zhuli's opinion on the transfer.
The principal was eloquent, but Yu Zhuli remained silent. It wasn't that he intentionally slighted him; he simply felt he had already made himself clear and didn't want to repeat himself. He was exhausted.
Seeing that Yu Zhuli was unmoved by reason, the principal became increasingly annoyed. As the principal of Yenching University, he had never been ignored like this before.
"Youthful arrogance is not..."
Before she could finish speaking, she was interrupted by a phone ringing. Yu Zhuli answered the phone, and her indifferent eyes finally brightened.
"Okay, I'll go tomorrow." Yu Zhuli was very decisive. After confirming the location, she hung up the phone after saying only a few words.
Upon hearing the voice, Director Zhu and Director Jiao exchanged a glance, both guessing who was on the other end of the phone.
When the principal saw that Yu Zhuli looked radiant after hanging up the phone, he knew there was no way to salvage the situation, and he could no longer maintain his facade of being courteous and respectful.
"It seems that Yenching University, a small temple, can't persuade Mr. Yu, such a big shot. I wonder what kind of treatment they've promised?"
Hmph, the salaries of teachers at Yenching University are already at a high level, averaging 16,740 yuan per month, with an average year-end bonus of around 60,000 yuan. Keep in mind that research institutes like the Chinese Academy of Sciences only have an average salary of 10,107 yuan per month and an average year-end bonus of 22,109 yuan.
Young people are easily blinded by ideals and interests; he simply doesn't believe that a fledgling private research institute can offer such good compensation.
But salary and benefits weren't what Yu Zhuli cared about, so he hadn't thought to ask. However, his phone immediately received a contract. Yu Zhuli casually opened it and was stunned.
Director Zhu, sitting next to him, couldn't help but glance at it. Ah! This!
Noticing Director Zhu's unusual behavior, Director Jiao couldn't help but stand up and peek inside, then exclaimed in surprise, "A million-dollar annual salary?!"
The principal sitting opposite him could still maintain his composure and sit upright, but in his heart he was cursing: Doesn't Ji Zhixing know the rules?
Ji Zhixing didn't want to follow the rules; the treatment of researchers was an administrative matter that he rarely took seriously.
Zhu Ren was also puzzled at the time: "Isn't this treatment too high?"
"No!" Ji Zhixing shook his head firmly. "You think it's high because you compare it to researchers in other institutions. But stepping outside this field, what about comparing it to the average income in the entertainment industry? Is it still considered high?"
“How can you compare?” Zhu Ren said.
Even a middle-aged man like him, who doesn't pay much attention to entertainment news, had heard of the legend of a daily wage of 2.08 million. When he heard it, he couldn't help but feel envious, as his life savings were only equivalent to that person's daily income.
Ji Zhixing continued, "Perhaps as a researcher myself, my stance is not very objective. But I think that in terms of contributions to the country, researchers are still more important, and the current salary level is far from commensurate with their contributions."
Zhu Ren couldn't help but nod, marveling at how well aerospace technology had developed in recent years. However, the starting salary at the Capital Academy of Aerospace Science and Technology was around 140,000-150,000 RMB per year before tax; the Shanghai Academy of Aerospace Science and Technology was said to be slightly better, with a starting salary of 180,000-200,000 RMB per year before tax. But compared to the surrounding housing prices of 50,000-60,000 or even 70,000-80,000 RMB per square meter, that was nothing!
“It seems that when people talk about scientists, they always associate them with phrases like ‘content with a simple life.’ But why is that? Don’t they deserve a better life?” Ji Zhixing sighed as he spoke.
Life cannot be sustained solely by sentiments, ideals, and passions. Researchers should be rewarded with substantial material benefits for their contributions. This is a two-way street and a positive incentive.
Of course, the government has gradually introduced many measures to improve the treatment of scientific researchers. However, the degree of implementation of these policies varies from place to place.
"At least for me, I hope that researchers can move forward without any worries!" Ji Zhixing said sincerely.
"I understand." Zhu Ren nodded. Although he couldn't help but think Ji Zhixing was too idealistic, he also admired him. After all, he was a student taught by Old Yan. Back then, Old Yan was willing to give away a quarter of his patent fees, totaling 100 million yuan, to his students in order to start a new trend in the distribution of research benefits in universities. It wasn't incomprehensible that Ji Zhixing wanted to improve the treatment of researchers now.
Zhu Ren spent a lot of time conducting research and referring to the salary and benefits of some large companies to develop a generous tiered salary plan.
Ji Zhixing actually felt that the salary could be raised a bit more, but for now, he would leave it at that. His money still needed to support his research, and it wouldn't be too late to raise salaries collectively once things started to look promising.
...
The King Returns! Ji Zhixing Sets Sail Again in Guangling
The Guangling Daily used a somewhat juvenile headline to report on Ji Zhixing's return to Guangling to establish his personal research institute.
The media has been paying close attention to Ji Zhixing's activities, after all, Ji Zhixing can be considered a "traffic magnet," and any news mentioning him can get a good number of clicks and reads.
Therefore, Ji Zhixing's whereabouts after finishing his photonic chip research became a hot topic for the media. Upon Ji Zhixing's return to Guangling City, the Guangling Daily immediately extended an interview invitation to him.
Ji Zhixing usually dislikes giving interviews, but this time he didn't refuse. He simply postponed it until the research institute was completed and needed to recruit talent, so he could use the media to promote it.
After the interview video was released, related keywords quickly became trending, and comments continued to increase.
"I thought he would stay at the photonic chip research center, but I didn't expect him to start his own research institute."
"Is this... for real? The research institute's name is already registered before being chosen at the last minute?"
"The name 'Zhi Xing Research Institute' is quite good. It references Ji Zhixing's name and also carries the meaning of 'unity of knowledge and action.'"
"Focusing on the energy sector? What does that have to do with photonic chips?"
"It's okay, we'll start from scratch with our research direction."
"How should I put it, it seems like Ji Zhixing is a bit unsettled, doing things haphazardly."
"Speechless. He has already pioneered two fields, and you are using this standard to judge him."
"Yes! Discovering new continents and opening up sea routes are the most difficult things. Ji Zhixing is like smoothing out the most difficult road, so that later generations can run wildly."
"I admire him for daring to step out of his comfort zone."
"Ah! If only I had studied physics or math back then, I would have had the chance to get into his graduate school now! Waaah—"
Wow, am I seeing things? The salary is so high!
"I also doubted whether I was seeing things. There were several levels, but I only saw the bottom one clearly. Does that mean the starting salary is 350,000?"
"It includes five social insurances and three types of insurance, plus various subsidies! Wow! I'm totally tempted!"
"Tsk tsk tsk, they really struck it rich, giving so much."
"I still think that those who do scientific research should be more pure."
"What are you talking about? Does a higher salary mean you can't be pure? Does being poor have to mean you're pure? What kind of brain do you have!"
"If you want that salary, then go apply for the job yourself. If you don't have the ability to do scientific research, then shut the hell up with your sour talk!"
Most onlookers agreed that researchers should receive generous salaries, and the few who made sarcastic or critical remarks were quickly silenced by the barrage of criticism.
At the same time, all sorts of resumes flew into the Zhixing Institute's public email address like snowflakes.
A note from the author:
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