Chapter 885: Talents who make contributions deserve respect
"The 1960s?" Kasim's eyes widened as he asked, "Isn't this the Chinese leader who personally met with the banknotes?"
"He was personally received by a number of top leaders, including the Prime Minister," Xiao Peng said. "His visit to China coincided with the development and production phase of the CA-770, so it's understandable that he was given one. Now that I understand why the logos on the steering wheel and center console were removed: after all, the two countries had different ideologies at the time, so giving Needham a car like this wouldn't have been a good thing and might have caused him trouble. Look, the fact that he hid his manuscripts in the car seat speaks volumes about this."
After hearing this, Kasim and the others became interested: "What's the story behind this Joseph Needham? What does he do?"
Xiao Peng was troubled after hearing this: "I don't know what to say about him. He's a great biochemist. Before he was 24, he became a Fellow of Caius College, Cambridge. At 31, he published his magnum opus 'Chemical Embryology,' which established his position in academia and earned him a Fellowship of the Royal Society."
"Oh, isn't it enough to just say he's a biological scientist?" Kasin asked in confusion, "Boss, then why can't you explain what he does?"
Xiao Peng spread his hands. "This guy ended up not doing his job properly, right? Because a woman turned his interest from biochemistry to the history of science. He specialized in the history of Chinese science and published a book called 'History of Chinese Science and Technology.' This work took forty-five years to complete, with a total of seven volumes and thirty-four books. It introduces the world to the achievements of ancient China in various fields such as astronomy, geography, physics, chemistry, biology, and medicine. The book was continuously completed until the day he died. Moreover, he was elected a foreign academician of the Chinese Academy of Sciences during his lifetime. His greatest influence now is not his achievements in biochemistry but his research on the history of Chinese science. Oh, and there is also the famous 'Joseph Needham Problem', the theme of which is 'Why did ancient China make so many important contributions to the development of human science and technology, but why did the scientific and industrial revolutions not occur in modern China?'
"Because of a woman?" Kasim's focus was a little strange, and his eyes shone with a strange brilliance!
Xiao Peng looked disgusted. "You get excited when you hear about women. Well, to be more precise, it's his wife's student. His wife is also a biochemist who studies muscles. She was a colleague of Joseph Needham and five years older than Needham. What's her name? Dorothy or something. It's too long to remember, so just call her Li Dafei. She's also a teacher at Cambridge. At the time, there was a Chinese student named Lu Guizhen studying with Li Dawen. When Needham saw Lu Guizhen, they fell in love at first sight and started an extramarital affair. When his wife found out, she didn't get angry. Instead, they started living together shamelessly. 'Needham' and 'Li Dawen' were Chinese names given to them by Lu Guizhen."
"Is this possible?" Kasim's eyes widened after hearing this.
Xiao Peng laughed and said, "What's the big deal? Hawking, despite his ALS, still married a wife. Yang Zhenning married an older man while still young... There are so many strange things in the academic world, but you can't deny their greatness just because of their private lives! Do you find it fun to keep staring at their private lives all the time?"
Kasin sighed and said, "Boss, I'm innocent. I don't understand their academic achievements. If you give me a copy of his book 'Chemical Embryology', I'll fall asleep in minutes. Do you believe it? So I can only focus on their private lives. Believe me, most people are the same as me. Besides... I'm jealous! Why doesn't such a good thing happen to me?"
"Is it a good thing? Is it a good thing?" Xiao Peng pointed at his nose. "Isn't I the best example? Why did we rush out here? Why does the Marriage Law stipulate monogamy? It's to protect men! God knows how Joseph Needham and his three companions fared. They lived together their entire lives, and even had stories of wives and concubines teaming up to fight the mistress... oh no, the mistress. Forget it, I won't dwell on that. I'll just tell you one thing: Joseph Needham was one of the few scholars of his time who objectively evaluated China. His History of Science in China was praised by Nature magazine as 'No other scholar in the entire 20th century has changed people's fixed notions like Needham. He depicted and organized China's past 1,500 years of history with the clarity of a painting.' In short, he was a friend of China. It was because of his numerous contributions that he was valued so highly by our national leaders. These notebooks contain Needham's early manuscripts of History of Science in China."
"Is it worth the money?" Kasim asked a key question.
Xiao Peng curled his lips after hearing this. "Vulgar! You only care about money! Is this something that can be measured by money? Organize all these notebooks for me. I want to put them in my museum... Oh no, donate them to the Huazhong University of Science and Technology."
"Then will this car be donated to them as well?" Kasim asked.
Xiao Peng gave him the middle finger and said, "Donate it! This is mine! No one can take this car away from me. From now on, this car will follow me wherever I go!"
"But..." Kasin said, "The space in the Luna's garage has become much smaller since the ROV operating room was set up. I guess it wouldn't be able to park a car this long. And now there's the boss's SUV in there. You can't let us follow you in a SMART, right?"
"Just have him ditch that car," Xiao Peng said. "SMART? How fuel-consuming is that thing? From now on, I'll buy you a few Wuling electric cars. You should understand environmental protection! Do you understand?"
"Wuling electric car? What is that?" Kasim was puzzled.
"Just think of it as an electric version of SMART," Xiao Peng said bitterly. "Now that the world's population is exploding and energy is in short supply, protecting our environment must start with ourselves."
Kasin nodded and suddenly said, "Boss, do you know? Your Red Flag has a 5.65L V8 four-stroke water-cooled carburetor engine, and it consumes over 20 liters of fuel per 100 kilometers. Not to mention that both of our ships are oil-intensive. If you protect the environment with your car, what about our two ships?"
Xiao Peng's face flushed. "I'm imitating Greta, the 'environmentalist princess'. I try to convince others to be environmentally friendly, but I'm not environmentally friendly myself."
Kasin said, "It's always right to pay attention to environmental protection, right? At least that kid dared to speak out."
After hearing this, Xiao Peng was furious. "We have workers in China's Kubuqi Desert who have been working on desertification control for decades. Thanks to their efforts, one-third of the Kubuqi Desert has been turned into an oasis. But what about Greta? A sixteen-year-old school striker who hasn't made any contribution and who dislikes everyone. Kasim, remember this! Only those who have made contributions are worthy of respect! Look, Joseph Needham was a contributor, and we respect him! And the environmentalist princess? Pah!"
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