Reborn and become a Great Scientist

Chapter 265: Gift from Nankai University

*
year month day.

Tianli is a railway transportation hub in northern China. It is also the fourth city we arrived on this trip after Harbin, Qianchun and Fengtian.

This city is famous for its large number of concessions, even more than the number of concessions in Sihai, the largest city in the Far East at that time.

According to Dr. Chen's original plan, he only planned to stay in Tianli for one day and then continue his journey back south.

But things changed on the platform of Tianqidong Railway Station. We followed a person who picked us up and walked out of the train station in a daze, and then took a very novel type of transportation powered by human power.

This was the first time I saw someone running in front like a mule and horse, and being pulled by him into the carriage, there were guests who were also human beings.

I felt sorry for their behavior in my heart, but Dr. Chen told me that these people can earn much more money by doing this manual labor than by being farmers at home.

But after arriving at the destination, I still felt a little regretful, so I took out a silver dollar, China's legal currency, and gave it to the driver as a tip.

Neither Dr. Chen nor I exchanged the currency we brought with us into silver dollars after entering China.

All the money I had was given to me by Marshal Zhang personally when I was leaving for Fengtian. He was afraid that we might encounter some places where we would spend money during our journey.

This warlord's son is so generous. I think it must be inseparable from Dr. Chen's personality charm.

Although I didn’t understand the local dialect of Tianli, from his body movements, I felt the driver’s gratitude to me after receiving the tip.

Dr. Chen didn't say anything about tipping. He just pointed out that this silver dollar was more than the driver earned from working for several days combined.

After driving nearly four or five miles in a rickshaw, I felt that we had entered the outskirts of the city.

However, a building complex suddenly appeared in front of me, which changed my view. It seemed that our destination this time was a school.

Nankai University, this should be the first university I visited after coming to China this time.

This new university, which has only been established for a few years, does not have the long heritage of Cambridge University, nor does it have the atmosphere of an American university.

But the students in the university are no different from Europeans and Americans. I can see the light of their dedication to study in their eyes.

The president of the university, Mr. Chang Po-ling, stood outside the school gate to greet us very early, which once again proved how prestigious Dr. Chen is in China.

This school is a private university, but the source of funds for running the school is not donated by some rich people like in the United States, but all raised by President Zhang.

It can be said that President Zhang is the most critical figure in the successful establishment of this university.

I was pleasantly surprised to be able to eat authentic western food at Nankai University. It is said that this German restaurant named Qishilin opened in a concession in Tianjiao.

Even when war broke out in mainland Europe a few years ago, the restaurant was not spared.

A few French people living in Tianli took advantage of the night to destroy the original location of this restaurant.

Fortunately, the building was only destroyed and the chef and staff survived, so I was able to eat such authentic Western food in Tianli.

At the same time, it was also the first time that I learned that the European war actually took place in the Far East, and there was a small-scale second battlefield.

*
year month day.

Not counting yesterday, we will stay in Tianyi for two more days, all of which will be spent at Nankai University.

Today is the first day.

Accompanied by President Zhang, we visited the entire university campus.

Jao Yü-t'ai, head of the Department of Physics, is an international student who once studied in the United States. He received a bachelor's degree from the University of Chicago and a doctorate from Princeton University.

After graduating with a Ph.D., Director Rao accepted President Zhang's invitation to establish a Department of Physics at Nankai University.

He served as our guide during our visit to the school, especially introducing the running conditions of the Physics Department and the various instruments in the laboratory.

Because the teaching staff is very weak, only a few overseas students who returned from Europe and the United States can support the teaching work of the entire physics department, and the same is true for other departments in the school.

Therefore, Nankai University currently only provides undergraduate teaching jobs. According to my subsequent understanding, this is basically the case not only for this school, but also for all universities in China.

Perhaps some schools have launched more in-depth research departments, but if Chinese students want to obtain a doctorate, the only way is to leave their hometowns and enter European and American universities like Dr. Chen and Director Rao.

This also explains one of my questions, why Nankai University has never awarded Dr. Chen an honorary doctorate.

Nowadays, Chinese universities cannot even grant doctorates, so naturally there are no honorary doctorates.

After visiting the school, Dr. Chen gave a lecture in the auditorium of Nankai University to students who were still at the school during the summer vacation.

The content of his speech was very profound and simple. He basically did not talk about the profound and cutting-edge physics knowledge. Instead, as a person who has experienced it, he encouraged his younger compatriots to study hard, strive for future achievements in academic research, and serve the motherland. .

After today's trip, Director Rao of the Department of Physics spent his own money to treat us to a dinner at a small restaurant called Ershipu next to the school gate.

As the name suggests, Ershipu refers to a shop that only sells two types of meat: pork and animal offal.

I am not very intolerant of animal offal. In order to take care of me, an outsider, Director Rao thoughtfully ordered only pork products.

The food here, in terms of ingredient quality and environmental hygiene, cannot be compared with the so-called authentic Chinese food I had at Mr. de Broglie's house in France?
But in terms of taste, I think it is better here.

This is just like the Western meal I had yesterday. Although it is very close to European dining habits, the cooking quality is still a little different.

Director Rao's purpose of inviting guests to dinner was not simple, but he did not want to use Dr. Chen's reputation to benefit himself, but brought two young Chinese people to the restaurant table.

He introduced to Dr. Chen that these were his two favorite students at Nankai University, WU Ta-you and Chern Shiing-shen.

Although these two are freshmen who have just entered school for one or two years, they have shown great talents in physics or mathematics.

Director Rao was afraid that the weak teaching level of Nankai University might delay the growth of the two geniuses, so he implored Dr. Chen to find a way to bring these two students to the UK to study.

Dr. Chen was as approachable as ever. After hearing the names of these two people and Director Rao's request, he nodded and agreed to the matter. He didn't even do the most basic investigation to see if they were worthy of the name.

Because Cambridge University will start school in October, and we still have a series of things to complete in China and France, if we take these two students with us on our return trip, it will delay their study for a year.

So Dr. Chen wrote several handwritten letters on the dining table of this small restaurant with the paper and pen he brought with him, and gave them to Wu and Chen, asking them to ask Zhao and Shi to forward them to Cavendish after they arrived in the UK. The noisy director in the laboratory.He also asked for part of the money I won from the Swedish royal family playing cards on the train to China, and gave it to the two students to pay for their passage to England.

This reminded me inexplicably of the office in the Cavendish Laboratory two years ago, where Dr. Chen took me in, just like today, when I was already desperate at Cambridge University.

Without Dr. Chen, I would not be where I am today, and I am very grateful to him.

……

After listening to Rao Yutai's request, Chen Muwu just asked the two students' names, and without hesitation agreed to take them to study at Cambridge University in the UK, and also provided them with travel expenses to the UK.

This seemed very touching to Oppenheimer, who thought that Chen Muwu was selfless and respectful of others, and did not use proficiency tests to question Rao Yutai's vision.

It's just that Oppenheimer was moved by himself.

The reason why Chen Muwu made the decision after hearing the names of the two students was not because of the reasons that Oppenheimer imagined, nor because of Chen Muwu's sudden joy, but because of these two students. His name is really too thunderous.

The sophomore this year is Wu Dayou, and his other freshman is Chen Shengshen.

Wu Dayou may not be as famous as Chen Shengshen, but he taught two famous students at Southwest Associated University, Yang Zhenning and Li Zhengdao.

In this case, is there any need for a test?

With just these two names, Chen Muwu could take them to Cambridge University with his eyes closed.

Previously, he poached Zhao Zhongyao and Shi Ruwei from Ye Qisun.

Unexpectedly, Rao Yutai gave up the two most powerful students on Nankai campus without even digging this time.

It seems that Mr. Zhang and Mr. Zhang secretly set up a trap for themselves, which actually brought an unexpected surprise to Chen Muwu.

After receiving Chen Muwu's promise, Wu Dayou and Chen Xingshen were very happy, and Rao Yutai was so excited that he wanted to ask the waiter in the shop to make a catty of liquor, but Chen Muwu stopped him from doing so.

But doing so alone is not enough. To poach someone from Nankai University, you have to tell President Zhang the next day. This matter is considered authentic.

The next day, Chen Muwu gave another lecture in the auditorium of Nankai University.

The content this time is different from the previous day. It mainly describes to everyone the situation when he participated in the Olympic Games in France more than two years ago.

After the speech, Du Zhuxuan, the general manager of Tianyi's "Yi Shi Bao" newspaper, took the silver medal that had been produced overnight to the podium of the auditorium and personally presented it to Chen Muwu on behalf of the newspaper.

Chen Muwu did not expect that such an extraneous incident would occur after his speech, but he still thanked the "Yi Shi Bao" for the thoughtful article.

After the speech, everyone moved to the basketball court of Nankai University to watch the school team’s group competition.

Taking advantage of this time, Chen Muwu told Zhang Boling about his plan to take two students from Nankai University to England.

Principal Zhang had no objection to his move and even wanted to persuade Chen Muwu to take a few more students with him.

He also thought of a temporary solution, or else he would organize a surprise exam in the school and let Chen Muwu be admitted on a selective basis.

Chen Muwu, who originally didn't want to disclose to Nankai in advance that he was running a school in Stockholm, had no choice but to tell the truth.

He advised Zhang Boling not to cause trouble for the students in the summer, but to let everyone prepare well and wait until the day of the exam to win the first prize in Sihai.

It was just a normal trip home, but Chen Muwu's walk turned into a lecture about the exam.

The coach of the Nankai basketball school team, Dong Shouyi, is also an American international student and was also invited by Zhang Boling to teach at the school.

Although newspapers called the five main players of the basketball team he trained at Nankai University the "Nankai Five Tigers," basketball in the early years was far less enjoyable to watch than the mature commercial operation of the NBA in the future. few.

Chen Muwu himself was not very interested in basketball. After the chat with Zhang Boling, he went to consult Oppenheimer, an American, and asked him what he thought of the basketball level of the Nankai school team.

If the level is good, it is not impossible to take this team to participate in next year's Olympic Games.

As a result, Oppenheimer's answer poured cold water on Chen Muwu.

He said that these athletes are really good at basketball, but basketball is not an Olympic event at all.

It's true that this was Chen Muwu's wishful thinking from beginning to end, and it was a pity that his joy was in vain.

After watching the basketball game, Zhang Boling handed Chen Muwu the train tickets for him and Oppenheimer to go south from Tianli tonight.

The old president's behavior seemed to be because he was afraid that if he gave Chen Muwu his ticket in advance, he would not stay at Nankai University for so two days.

But if he didn’t stay at Nankai University, where could Chen Muwu go?

Along with the ticket, there was a tuition fee specially prepared by Zhang Boling for Chen Muwu.

He specifically inquired that more than three years ago, when Chen Muwu went to Beida to give lectures, the market price was [-] yuan for two weeks.

But at that time, Chen Muwu was just a fledgling young man, but now Chen Muwu is a world-renowned great scientist. Using the previous price to measure his worth is more like an insult to others.

So Zhang Boling also prepared five hundred silver yuan for Chen Muwu as payment for his two days of lectures at Nankai University.

The money for Beida University was paid by American Minister Shulman, and Hu Shi came forward, so Chen Muwu took it with peace of mind.

But now facing this old educator who is dedicated to running a school, Chen Muwu doesn't want a penny and can't.

After several refusals to no avail, Chen Muwu could only accept the 500 yuan.

But he turned around and gave it to Dong Shouyi, the coach of the basketball team just now, asking him to buy and update some sports equipment for the school.

In addition to tickets and rewards, Nankai also prepared many local specialties for Chen Muwu like Marshal Zhang before him.

But the biggest gift he received from his trip to Nankai University was two young students.

This time Chen Muwu had more luggage. When he went to the train station, he did not take a rubber truck. Instead, the Fengjun headquarters sent a troop transport truck to pick up the luggage, Chen Muwu and Ao from Nankai University. Benheimer, and drove the car all the way to the platform of Tianyu East Station.

Chen Muwu also enjoyed the treatment of the privileged class. Faced with the sideways glances of the waiting staff on the platform who dared not speak out but dared to speak, he felt that he was particularly unfair.

(End of this chapter)