Even though his research work was very busy, this research project wasn't like the Goldbach's conjecture or the Navier – Stokes equation that he had to solve. He didn't even have time to eat a meal.
Not to mention that it was on the weekend.
However, when Lu Zhou drove to the student apartment building at the University of Pennsylvania, he stood on the asphalt road and waited for a while. Chen Yushan wasn't the only person he saw.
There was also a middle-aged man who looked like his father's age …
"Hello, Professor Lu, I'm Chen Yushan's father. I'm sorry to interrupt your work," said Chen Baohua as he smiled and reached out his right hand.
Lu Zhou was muddled as he shook the man's hand.
"Hello, Uncle Chen."
Chen Baohua nodded and was secretly satisfied.
Not bad, this guy is quite polite.
But very quickly, he realized that he was here to talk business, so he coughed lightly and went straight to the point.
"Shanshan should have told you about the situation, right?"
Lu Zhou: …?
What situation?
However, just as Lu Zhou was about to ask, he saw Chen Yushan's pitiful eyes.
He hesitated for a bit before he changed his mind.
"Yeah, I told you …"
Chen Baohua smiled.
"Okay then, I booked a table at a Chinese restaurant nearby. Let's talk while we eat … Do you want to use your car or Shanshan's?"
Lu Zhou: "… I'll drive mine."
The female driver had never driven an SUV before. Even though Chen Baohua knew how to drive, he didn't have an American driver's license. Therefore, Lu Zhou was the one driving.
After Chen Baohua got in the car, he looked at the driver's seat.
"This car is pretty good, you like SUVs?"
Lu Zhou turned on the GPS and smiled as he said, "It's okay, it's safer … Where's the Chinese restaurant?"
After Chen Baohua set the destination on the GPS, Lu Zhou started the car and drove onto the road.
Lu Zhou looked at Chen Yushan through the rearview mirror.
Lu Zhou: What's going on???
Chen Yushan: I'm sorry! I'll explain it to you in a moment!
Lu Zhou: …?
Because that gaze contained too much information and was too complicated, Lu Zhou couldn't read anything.
Even now, he was still dumbfounded.
They had agreed to have a meal together. How did it turn into a meeting with the parents?
The exchange between Lu Zhou and Chen Yushan didn't escape Chen Baohua's eyes.
Chen Baohua's expression was a bit complicated as he watched the brat flirting with his daughter in front of him.
These two people …
Was it really nothing?
Chen Baohua's mood was as complicated as the expression on his face when he thought about how his daughter had started to hide things from him.
If it wasn't for the fact that he had a mission on him, he definitely wouldn't have given this kid any face.
…
Before long, the car arrived at its destination.
Before entering the private room, Chen Yushan found a chance to secretly pull Lu Zhou aside.
"Sorry!" Chen Yushan put her palms together, closed her eyes, and bowed her head. She sincerely apologized, "I really didn't tell you that it was my dad who wanted to see you! But I didn't know how to tell you on the phone, so … "
Lu Zhou asked, "Is Uncle Chen in mathematics?"
Chen Yushan whispered, "Not really, he's from the Organization Department."
Organization Department?
Even though Lu Zhou was surprised, he nodded thoughtfully after understanding this point.
From what he remembered, the Thousand People Initiative was managed by the Organization Department.
In that case, this Uncle Chen was probably involved in the recruitment of talents?
Lu Zhou didn't know much about the organization, nor was he particularly interested in it.
After Lu Zhou guessed what Uncle Chen wanted to talk to him about, he had an idea in his mind.
After they entered the private room, Chen Yushan sat next to her father, and Lu Zhou sat across from the father and daughter.
Chen Baohua coughed and looked at his daughter. He said in a dignified manner, "Shanshan, go to the bathroom. I'm going to talk to Professor Lu."
"Oh."
Chen Yushan obediently pulled out the chair and was about to get up.
It could be seen that she was the type of obedient girl in the family …
Emm …
I can't imagine!
Lu Zhou threw away the strange thoughts in his mind and coughed.
"Uncle Chen, do you want to talk to me about something private?"
Chen Baohua paused for a second and smiled.
"Not really, I'm just worried about you …"
"Then let Chen Xue … Yushan stay here, I don't have any secrets." Lu Zhou smiled and shook his head.
Lu Zhou felt that it was quite pitiful to leave her alone.
Chen Yushan looked at Lu Zhou gratefully and sat back down.
Obviously, she didn't want to be excluded.
Chen Baohua looked at his daughter and didn't say anything. He cleared his throat and spoke.
"Since you've said so, I'll say it directly."
Chen Baohua knew that it was useless to persuade intellectuals. These people read a lot of books, and most of them had their own opinions and ideas. Therefore, he didn't beat around the bush and went straight to the point.
"The motherland appreciates and needs your talent. We are eagerly looking forward to you returning to China to engage in research.
"In order to show that we value you, we can pay you three times your Princeton salary in the form of a tax-free special allowance.
"Also, we can guarantee that your research funding will be more than three times your current funding, and it will be distributed by the central government in the form of a special fund. Whichever university or research institute you work at, the policy will follow. I can guarantee you on behalf of the Communist Party of China that all of your research work will receive the highest level of attention. "
Finally, Chen Baohua said in a sincere tone, "If you have any other requests, you can tell me. I'll pass on your request to the higher-ups!"
Three times the salary …
Lu Zhou was slightly surprised.
His current annual salary was US $400,000, three times that was US $1.2 million.
If converted to RMB, it would be more than eight million, and it would be in the form of a special allowance.
Even though he was a Fields Prize-level scholar, this treatment was ridiculous.
As for research funding, he didn't apply for much funding at Princeton. However, the fact that it was funded by the central government was very attractive to most researchers. It basically saved him a lot of complicated approval procedures.
Lu Zhou paused for a second before he smiled and spoke.
"I'm fine with the treatment. As for anything else, just give me an academic environment that isn't affected by politics … "
Chen Baohua nodded and remembered this sentence. However, just as he was about to speak, the phone in Lu Zhou's pocket suddenly rang.
He took out his phone and turned off the ringtone. When he saw that it was an unknown number, Lu Zhou didn't want to be interrupted. Therefore, he hung up the phone.
However, two seconds later, before he could put his phone back in his pocket, his phone began to vibrate again.
Why is he so persistent?
Lu Zhou raised his eyebrows and was about to turn off his phone when Chen Baohua coughed and said, "Professor Lu, you should answer the phone first. If it's an emergency, don't delay it because of me."
When Lu Zhou heard this, he smiled and shook his head as he said, "If it's an emergency, the call should be in my office, not here."
There was always someone on duty in his office. If there was an emergency, Vera would tell him immediately.
Based on his experience, this type of call from an unknown number was either a scam call or some strange product promotion.
However, since Chen Baohua said this, Lu Zhou picked up the phone and put it next to his ear.
"Hello?"
A full two minutes passed by after Lu Zhou said "hello".
As he listened to the voice on the other end of the phone, Lu Zhou's expression began to become strange.
Not long after, the call ended.
After hanging up the phone, Lu Zhou looked at his phone screen and went silent for a while.
Even though Chen Baohua really wanted to ask what happened, he didn't know if he should ask or not. Therefore, he could only sit there with Lu Zhou in silence.
Chen Yushan wasn't that meticulous. When she saw the strange expression on Lu Zhou's face, she felt like it wasn't a bad thing. Therefore, she quietly asked, "You … What's wrong?"
After going silent for a while, Lu Zhou looked at the two and hesitated for a bit.
"I …"
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