A Man of Science and Engineering in Troubled Times Wandering in the Late Qing Dynasty

Tang Shaoyi took out an exquisite gold pocket watch from his pocket, opened it and saw that it was already 12:30.He said to Bretten, director of the Ministry of Industry in the British Concession: "Mr. Director, I'm sorry. I know about Li Yu. There must be something wrong, otherwise he wouldn't be late."

Breden said: "It doesn't matter, he is worth waiting for. I really want to see what a Chinese scientist who is famous in Europe looks like."

Tang Shaoyi smiled and said: "You will feel that this trip is worthwhile."

But Xie Yuxi couldn't wait any longer, stood up and said, "I'll go out and have a look."

She went downstairs, looked around on both sides of the street, and then asked the security guard, "Is Li Yu still here?"

The security guard was unclear, so: "Your guests haven't arrived yet?"

Xie Yuxi muttered to himself: "He can't find a place."

So he asked the security guard again: "Have you seen a Chinese person about 1.8 meters high?"

The security guard didn't know much about the concept of "meter", so he asked, "What is 1.8 meters?"

Xie Yuxi had no choice but to raise her hand and gesture: "It's about this tall, and he's neither fat nor thin. Oh, by the way, he's already cut his braids."

The security guard patted his thigh: "There was a Chinese just now. When you mentioned cutting the braid, I remembered it. I thought it was a revolutionary party, so I drove him away."

"You!" Xie Yuxi didn't want to talk nonsense with him, "Where did he go?"

The security guard pointed: "Take two little beggars and go over there."

Xie Yuxi hurried towards the direction pointed, and finally saw Li Yu in the steamed stuffed bun shop.

Li Yu was paying the money, and he said to the two little beggars: "Take these buns and these pieces of silver, and take some more chaff. These things can hold them, and they will make you very hungry."

The little beggar is very grateful: "You are really... hiccup, good man! Hiccup!"

Li Yu said: "Your stomachs are full, hurry back and digest."

The little beggar held his stomach: "I'm going to lie down when I go back. I'm finally full. I don't want to go hungry again."

Xie Yuxi came over and asked a little angrily, "Why did you come here to eat buns?!"

Li Yu spread his hands: "The security guard wouldn't let me in, saying that a foreigner had to lead me in like a dog on a leash."

Xie Yuxi said, "Are you kidding me, how could such a thing happen?"

"If you don't believe me, ask the security guard." Li Yu said.

"Hurry up," Xie Yuxi pulled Li Yu away, "Tang Daotai, Director Bradden, Boss Xu, Mr. Yan, and Mr. Zhang are all waiting for you."

Back at the entrance of Qishilin restaurant again, the security guard looked dumbfounded: "So you are a guest of Mr. Yang."

Li Yu mocked, "No, I'm a dog of a foreigner."

The security guard hurriedly slapped himself across the face: "It's all my fault that I don't know Mount Tai."

The security guard knew that this woman came with the director of the Ministry of Industry Bureau of the British Concession. In this way, Li Yu was a guest of the director of the Ministry of Industry Bureau, but he stopped him, and he estimated that he would be fired the next day.

The security guard said tremblingly, "Master, I really don't know."

There are many such ignorant people as the beggars just now, so Li Yu didn't want to get too entangled.

"Just be your security guard," Li Yu said.

It would be fine if Li Yu scolded him a few words, but the security guard became even more scared when he saw Li Yu's amiable face.In his eyes, it is definitely not an ordinary person who can sit and eat with the director of the Ministry of Industry and the dignified Tianjin Customs Daotai.

This is really a hit.

The security guard actually knelt down: "Master, hit me twice to calm down, don't tell the boss!"

Li Yu hated people kneeling casually, why were their knees so soft.

Li Yu said: "I've said it all, just be your security guard! You are a security guard today, you will be a security guard tomorrow, and you will always be a security guard."

The security guard was only happy when he heard Li Yu's words: "Master, you are so kind! You are really a prime minister who can pull a boat!"

Li Yu didn't want to talk to him too much, so he left with Xie Yuxi.

Xie Yuxi said: "I didn't expect this to happen, isn't he also Chinese?"

Li Yu sighed: "Sometimes the biggest discrimination comes from one's own people."

Xie Yuxi has also seen some discrimination against black people in the United States, but the North of the United States is relatively more tolerant, and it is the South of the United States that really discriminates against people of color at this time.

Xie Yuxi said, "Go up quickly."

After entering the door, Li Yu quickly said, "I'm sorry, I encountered a little episode."

Xie Yuxi was still a little angry: "He arrived a long time ago, was stopped by the security guards, and ran to the nearby steamed stuffed bun stall to eat steamed stuffed buns!"

The incident happened in the British Concession, and Bretten was a little embarrassed: "I will take good care of these stores in the future."

Xu Run also patted the chair: "A janitor made us wait so long, didn't he delay things!"

Tang Shaoyi said: "Didn't Marshal Yuan give you a badge? If you show it, you'll be fine."

Li Yu said: "I really forgot, I must bring it with me next time."

Xu Run said: "Don't worry about that, sir, sit down quickly." Then he called the waiter: "Hurry up and serve!"

Li Yu patted his stomach: "I'm almost full."

Xu Run smiled and said, "What's the matter, I ordered the best dishes."

Xu Run gave everyone another introduction, but fortunately Li Yu knew most of them.

Tang Shaoyi said to Xie Yuxi: "According to Western etiquette, ladies come first, so you should speak first."

Xie Yuxi didn't hold back, and said, "Gentlemen, I think you already know that grandpa set up a fund for education and scientific research. Although it is under my management, the main target in the early stage is Li Yu. Thank you, we are going to build an education system in China, including primary schools, middle schools and universities, and we will be able to study in the United States in the form of scholarships in the future.”

Bretten said: "Mr. Li Yu is proficient in mathematical science and astronomy, and he is also passionate about education."

Li Yu said: "My strength alone is too small, and I need more sparks."

He didn't know that Li Yu also knew engineering.

Li Yu's idea is to do theoretical science by himself, and the people trained by the school are mainly for engineering.

To put it a bit shamelessly, only the best people can do science.Engineering, on the other hand, belongs to the application direction, which can cultivate useful talents faster.

Therefore, Li Yu's strategy is to conduct theoretical research such as mathematical and physical sciences, and then the school will focus on engineering.

Of course, humanities subjects will also be opened accordingly.

Bretten was more interested in Li Yu's scientific achievements: "I heard earlier that you have become a foreign academician of the Royal Society. As far as I know, there are very few foreign academicians at present. The only one I can think of is Mendele from Russia. Mr. Husband, juxtaposed with it is really amazing."

Bretton is an Englishman with great admiration for his Royal Society.

Li Yu said: "It is also because of the special appreciation of Lord Kelvin and President Huggins that this honor is given."

It seems that this Breden is quite easy to talk about, and will not make things difficult.

After talking about the topic, Bretten said: "Sir, you can buy a piece of land for education, of course, but..."

Xie Yuxi also asked, "What are the conditions?"

Bretten said: "I estimate that those who can be trained under your hands must be outstanding talents, so there must be some of them studying in the UK."

Li Yu was taken aback, thinking he was asking for something.After doing this, the school has not yet recruited people, but it has become a favorite.

Li Yu smiled and said, "It's easy to talk about!"

British universities are not weak either.

Xu Run also wanted to do business. Although the land price in Tianjin was far less expensive than that in Shanghai, the land for the school must be large. The value of his land had appreciated a lot, so it must be a big deal.

Xu Run took out a map, "I have a lot of land in my hand, you can choose it."

Li Yu looked at it for a while, then pointed to the southwest corner of the British Concession in Tianjin and said, "Is this all yours?"

Xu Run said: "You really picked a good place. Here, half of it is in the British Concession, and the other half is not. But if you buy them together, I don't think the concession will object."

Li Yu was trying to save money, because he knew that after many years, it would be difficult to distinguish who would be in charge of such a place on the edge of the concession, which was very similar to the fringe area of ​​the Shanghai concession.

But the reason why Li Yu caught this eye at first glance was also because it was very close to Nankai University in later generations, so it was very familiar.

Xie Yuxi also felt that it was okay, not far from the Five Great Avenues, the teaching staff and material supply were guaranteed, and it could improve the school's style.

Xie Yuxi has money, so he can do whatever he wants.

"Boss Xu, make an offer."

Xu Run rubbed his hands, thought for a while and said, "Twenty-three thousand taels."

Xie Yuxi said: "Now it's a piece of wasteland, and it's not all concession land, so it's a bit expensive."

Tang Shaoyi also said: "Boss Xu, lower it a little bit."

"More than 100 acres, the price is not high," Xu Run said, "Well, for the sake of Tang Daotai and Mr. Li Yu, and for the revitalization of education and the prestige of our country, I will reluctantly contribute 2 yuan! How about two?"

Xie Yuxi felt that he couldn't cut it anymore, so he said, "Deal."

2 taels, which is less than 4 U.S. dollars when converted into U.S. dollars. It is considered appropriate to buy such a large piece of land.

Taken together, the average price per mu of land is about 200 taels. Considering the location, it is indeed several times cheaper than in Shanghai.

It's just that when they go to Shanghai to find land to buy, they still have to spend a lot of money.

According to the standard, 100 mu of land is actually the size of a middle school. More than 6 square meters, a standard stadium has more than 1 square meters.In addition, it is not easy to build high-rise buildings now. If only one or two floors of buildings are used as school buildings, there will not be many students that can accommodate them.

It is conservatively estimated that about 200 students can be recruited for each level. If we want to improve the quality of education and provide more supporting facilities, then the goal of 200 students will not be achieved, and 100 students per year is already a threshold.

But the current situation can only be like this, and we will come back slowly in the future.

Xu Run said: "Reminder, the relevant taxes are not included, and you have to pay them."

Taxes are the bulk of the local commissions, almost the same as in Shanghai, up to 7000-3%, that is, [-] taels; plus some other expenses, it is estimated that there are several thousand taels more, and the actual cost is more than [-] taels.

So Breden naturally hopes to see their business deal.

When he came over, on the one hand, he did have the right to review to see who the buyer was; on the other hand, whoever presided over the transaction would benefit the most.

Breeden raised his glass: "American women are so refreshing! Cheers!"