Chapter 71 Patient Fifteen
Not long after Xie Zeyi left, Suixi arrived before Mrs. Ge. After entering the house, she greeted Miya and Chu Wang first, then said to Zhenzhen, "There's an interesting wine cellar downstairs. Mrs. Ge asked me to take you down to play with it."
After Zhenzhen followed Suixi downstairs, Mrs. Ge strolled slowly from the orchard into the old house.
Chu Wang smiled when he saw her. "I didn't expect that the one having fun down in the wine cellar was Young Master Ye."
Mrs. Ge heard this and chuckled softly, "It's not easy for these two lovers to find a time and place to meet alone."
Miya was surprised to hear this. "Mrs. Ge, is Ye Wenyu really reliable?"
"He looked at the girl with such affection in his eyes that he couldn't hide it. He stood before me and swore solemnly, 'As long as he's here, I'll never let her suffer the slightest bit.' His attitude was quite sincere. What do you two think?"
Miya smiled and shook her head, "I can't tell."
"This has nothing to do with sincerity or not," Chu Wang thought for a moment, "What about my family?"
"So I asked him, 'How are you going to explain this to your family?' His face darkened, and he told me, 'We'll take it one step at a time. If he doesn't agree, his family won't push him too hard.'" Mrs. Ge laughed. "Little did they know that Singaporean Chinese families are even more stubborn than the old-fashioned families in mainland China. Young men, with their devotion and the fervor to protect their lovers—lovable but unreliable, still naive young masters, unable to make their own decisions."
Miya smiled and said, "Worthy of love, but not worthy of trust."
Mrs. Ge said, "They're so passionate about each other. They can't bear to part. Am I really going to break them up? So I say: If you two want to have a passionate life, go ahead. There's nothing wrong with living a passionate life."
Chu Wang frowned as he listened, "What happens next?"
"Let's just wait and see when that kid can stand up straight. By then, the story between these two might just begin, or it might also end."
As she spoke of Zhenzhen and Ye Wenyu, Mrs. Ge's thoughts drifted away. Honestly, if they got together, the Ye and Xue families wouldn't necessarily remember her as the matchmaker; if they didn't, they'd likely blame her, the Ge Mansion, for misleading young people.
She needn't have worried about that.
But lately, she'd been thinking about these three girls a lot: if one day, all the young ladies from the wealthy families in Shanghai and Hong Kong were gathered together, regardless of whether they'd attended foreign schools or had returned from studying abroad, few would be able to match them in terms of manners, interpersonal skills, or beauty and temperament. If the three of them were to appear on stage together, they would surely outshine the rest.
Miya was burdened by her mother's background, but she was outstanding in all other aspects, so there was no need to say more. Among the three girls, Zhenzhen's background was first-class, but she was a little too childish, with the temperament of a spoiled and naive young lady - to some extent, she was 70% similar to the one she had been raised by before she got married.
And the other one - he was just listening to the Governor of Hong Kong say: because of a paper, even the President of the Royal Society of London was alarmed, and he brought assistants and students from the UK to help develop the research institute - this school in the colony actually had more and more meaning to intimidate China and foreign countries.
Professor Xu, the one in front of me, had even included her name in the author column; when the president of the Royal Society came, he even called her over to introduce her. Therefore, she must be quite famous in her own field.
Mrs. Ge couldn't help but laugh. She had intended to devote all her energy to training her to become a top figure in Hong Kong, a top figure at the top of the ivory tower. Unexpectedly, she herself had grown up in a wrong direction. The girl who walked out of the Ge Mansion actually became a promising female scientist.
Nowadays, Hong Kong is full of talented people, and they often walk around her Ge Mansion. I don't know how many couples she has paired up with. If there is an opportunity, she will definitely seize all the good cards in her hand to find a top match for her - not necessarily worse than the Si family.
Is the Si family good?
Everyone said this marriage was perfect, that this third daughter had taken advantage of the chaotic times of the previous dynasty and had benefited greatly from it. But now, looking at the situation, she didn't think so. Young Master Si had become increasingly famous in Europe in the past two years, frequently appearing in newspapers of all sizes, which had brought a lot of glory to his father. And his father—although he now owned a school and his family was considered wealthy—had long been rumored—that Si was a student in Japan—and that in the early years, he seemed to have been advising the old man in Northeast China?
The old man died last year. Not to mention that the Northeast has long been on the verge of collapse, after I take office, how much trust can I give to his father's old ministers?
Thinking of this, Mrs. Ge felt a headache.
He rubbed his temples and glanced at the girl. Chu Wangren, however, was completely oblivious as he picked papayas and peeled bananas, muttering to himself, "Papayas are indeed the sweetest here. I'll pick some papayas and bring two jugs of Feather Wine later. I'll have Ye Wenyu take them to Mrs. Xu when he has time. I wonder if she's feeling better now?"
——
After Rutherford came, although the laboratory was still a laboratory, it was secretly renamed "Baby Project" - I don't know who came up with this name, but it was quite appropriate.
He had been full of energy and spirit in the first few days after his arrival. But within a few weeks, his complexion grew increasingly grim. He heard that the British diplomats hadn't been able to make smooth progress on many of the handover matters. Although he had managed to get the British side of the deal, his understanding of Chinese current affairs was still somewhat shallow.
More than once, he told Xu Shaoqian, "I am extremely disappointed in your government." He also said, "What future does a country like this have, with its entire fortune spent on military expansion, have?"
If diplomatic negotiations fail, the laboratory plan cannot be carried out.
Everyone in the office was in a state of confusion: even after the arrival of the big tiger, there was still no progress in the work at the atomic nucleus level - all work was still focused on the large-scale stellar level.
Meitner was puzzled. "Every profession has its own specialization. We're not interested in cold stars, and we know very little about them. When will the next step be?"
Meitner was probably the most patient of the lot. If even she couldn't sit still, you could imagine how restless the others were.
The daily routine in the laboratory is: a group of idle British soldiers staring at a group of idle scientists all day long.
If they were a little more gentle, more gentlemanly, more handsome, and more humorous, it would be fine. But seeing them showing off all day long really annoyed Chu Wang.
For this reason, she asked Xu Shaoqian one day, "I don't really understand how much use Britain can have."
Xu Shaoqian closed the office door and said with a smile, "Our government has no money, nor do we have so many physicists. The British are coming with their money, scientists, and sincerity. After the terms are agreed, they can also bring some troops to maintain a foolproof plan."
"A foolproof plan?"
"Isn't the most perfect strategy to secretly construct the chain reaction theory before any other country's scientists discover it? Not as a weapon, but as a defense. -- Don't rely on the enemy not coming, but rely on what we have to wait for; don't rely on the enemy not attacking, but rely on what we have that cannot be attacked. If it falls into the hands of any unilateral decision-maker, it will inevitably become the former. If two interested parties supervise each other, it will be the latter. The wise man's considerations must be mixed with severity."
Chu Wang scratched his head.
"Nine Lands." He laughed, "It seems you don't learn from your grandson."
Chu Wang stuck out his tongue, "But we all study physics."
"I think so."
Perhaps knowing Rutherford's sacred status in the minds of future physics students, he would bring Chu Wang with him whenever he met Rutherford.
"This is my most outstanding student. He played a decisive role in the article "The Existence of Neutrons". I believe you, professor, know this." He praised Chu Wang to Rutherford.
Privately, he joked, "I think you must also want to see him more often."
Thanks to Xu Shaoqian's repeated strong recommendations, Chu Wang was fortunate enough to have the opportunity to speak in front of the big boss: "I hope that after future nuclear experiments are carried out, every scientist can be provided with a lead vest - after all, during the world war, X-rays were used for radiotherapy, right?"
After the last heated argument with Xu Shaoqian, she seriously reflected on her careless choice of words. She would never make such a stupid mistake as "World War" instead of "World War I".
Rutherford listened carefully and said calmly and modestly, "I think your proposal is very reasonable. Of course, I would prefer that the funding for the lead vests come from your government when further planning begins."
Chu Wang also accepted this response very calmly and hoped to get support from his own government as soon as possible. However, they are now quite difficult to deal with - even more difficult than the Qing government during the Opium War.
Because of this, she admired Rutherford even more - as the president of the Royal Society appointed by the empire, he held a lot of power. When he was carrying the treasure, he never subconsciously thought about satisfying the empire's selfish desires and expanding its territory; instead, he thought about seeking the welfare of more people. Generals kill people, doctors save lives, they are all fate. In the past, people often heard people say: If scholars discuss military affairs, the country will be destroyed. Now she suddenly felt that this statement was not true: everything in the world can be beautiful, except war; but war is a kind of aesthetic when it falls into the hands of military strategists. And they happen to be the leaders and decision-makers of a country - "One general's success means the sacrifice of thousands of soldiers", think carefully, this is not a very scary thing. They think that things that everyone fears are beautiful. To a certain extent, can't it be called perversion?
What if the person supervising the decision makers behind the scenes was a broad-minded scientist who dedicated his life to the pursuit of peace?
Then he would certainly use all his wealth and knowledge to make decision makers think twice before using troops; and make decision makers cautious when facing powerful weapons.
Thinking of this, she was extremely grateful that she had met Xu Shaoqian and become his student.
He then trusted Xu Shaoqian and encouraged him to complete the article "The Existence of Neutrons".
Even more fortunately, he was the first to think of nuclear fission.
Why can't a scientist who is smart and thoughtful be called a "wise man"?
When she first conceived this idea, she also hoped that there would be such a "wise man" to whom she could share her ideas, who understood physics, understood the times, and took the overall situation into consideration - so that there would be room for discussion.
She really didn't make a mistake.
——
Ever since she moved to the Ge Mansion, Mrs. Ge had always stocked her with fashionable clothes, and, with the addition of a season's worth of Parisian fashions that Mr. Saumur had begged from Mr. Dupont, Chu Wang's style was, for a long time, imitated by the women on the university campus. For example, the round-framed glasses that became popular in early 1927 became the defining student look for a while; then came the dark shirt, white shorts, and knee-high socks. As time went on, Mrs. Ge's clothes became increasingly sophisticated. Because the prices were relatively affordable, the number of people imitating her style gradually decreased.
After all, there was no way for the minority and the majority to achieve mutual understanding. Even though most of the scientists at the forefront of physics in the laboratory recognized the academic prowess of Chu Wang, outside the laboratory, more and more people began to question her.
"She's only a teenager. She hasn't graduated from college, and she hasn't studied abroad. What on earth did she do to deserve such a prestigious professor of physics at the University of Hong Kong to add her name to the title of such a world-famous paper? Genius? That's not possible, is it?"
"She often wears the Zhaojun suit... and she never wears it twice. I heard her father took her sister to Europe. I guess the Lin family must be very wealthy, right?"
At this point, two students expressed their heartfelt contempt: "Paying for papers is a disgrace to the University of Hong Kong!"
Others speculated otherwise. Unlike mainland China, Hong Kong's students were largely unaware of her childhood engagement. For a time, several male students courted her, but were discouraged by her laconic, academically dismissive attitude.
At this point, someone remembered: "Didn't we invite that Aurora University French exchange student to the Peak last time, but she refused? And then we bumped into her again on the mountaintop that night—guess who she was with?"
Chu Wang, never one to assume the worst of others, remained mostly oblivious in the lab. Sometimes she helped Chandra calculate gravity, sometimes she comforted fellow Germans who couldn't write home. More often than not, Xu Shaoqian, driven by the desire to "let her see her idol more often," would try to bring her along whenever Rutherford appeared.
The two of them often went in and out together - and were noticed by others.
Sometimes, these stories would drift through Ye Wenyu and reach Mrs. Xu's ears, regardless of their severity. Boys are naturally more crude. But when Ye Wenyu said this, he was just making a joke about Chu Wang being envied by the female students because of his combined beauty and talent. After all, most people in the physics department had already experienced Chu Wang's physics skills.
After quitting smoking, Mrs. Xu could only eat liquid food. Although she looked much better, she was getting thinner. She couldn't help but want to try the papaya that Ye Wenyu had brought at Chu Wangzhi's request. She asked Wen's mother to squeeze some of the fruit into a puree and then warm it with water before eating.
After hearing what Ye Wenyu said, she was not annoyed, but became even more energetic.
After Ye Wenyu left, she had unknowingly eaten half a papaya worth of puree. Only then did she realize what she had done and called Wen's mother: "This papaya is very sweet. Cut one for Wenjun first... Mr. should be back by now, right? Wash the papaya and save one for him too."
Xu Shaoqian was in high spirits today, having received his acceptance letter for "The Existence of Compact Stars." He returned home early. Upon entering, he saw his wife, seemingly in exceptionally good spirits, had asked Wen Ma to push a chair under the eaves for some fresh air. He hurried over, fetching a thin wool blanket from the hanger by the door and covering her with it. The entire time, Mrs. Xu simply stared at him and smiled.
Xu Shaoqian was already in a good mood, and seeing his wife happy, he couldn't help but smile and asked, "What are you so happy about?"
Mrs. Xu didn't answer, but just pointed at the table and said, "Go taste the papaya and see if it's sweet."
Seeing the neatly cut papaya on the table, Xu Shaoqian walked over with a smile - thinking about the letter of employment, and feeling that his wife was about to recover, he was naturally happy - he ate two slices, but didn't taste anything.
"Is it sweet?" Mrs. Xu asked with a smile.
"Sweet." He answered casually.
"It was bought by Miss Chu Wang, so of course it's sweet." Mrs. Xu continued.
"Hmm." He answered casually, still absent-mindedly.
Mrs. Xu stared at Xu Shaoqian for a while, then said with a smile:
"The papaya is sweet and the person is beautiful, right?"
"What beauty?" Xu Shaoqian thought for a long time before coming back to his senses. "...Hmm, seems to have grown a lot taller? I didn't really notice it."
Continue read on readnovelmtl.com