"What do you think … we should do now?"
Lu Zhou looked at Secretary He and went silent.
This was a difficult question to answer.
To put it bluntly, he wasn't an expert in international relations. He was only responsible for scientific research.
Lu Zhou thought for around five minutes before he slowly said, "You shouldn't ask me this question. I'm just a scholar, not a diplomat. The only thing I can guarantee is that this demonstration reactor will be built before 2025. "
Lu Zhou paused for a second and looked at Secretary He.
"If I have to express my opinion, I think the key to this problem is how we plan on using this technology."
He Mingxuan: "… How?"
Lu Zhou nodded and said, "Yes."
It was difficult to monopolize a known technology.
When a technology could be predicted, the difficulty of solving it would be reduced exponentially.
Take the Manhattan Project as an example. It gathered the best scientists from all of the Western countries, except for Germany, and mobilized more than 100,000 people to participate in this project. It cost more than US $2 billion to successfully test the first atomic bomb. President Truman even complained that the cost of developing an atomic bomb was more than enough to buy the entire universe …
Even though Truman's complaint was definitely exaggerated, it still reflected to some extent that the cost of developing an atomic bomb was quite high.
However, the subsequent nuclear tests obviously didn't cost that many resources.
If the "STAR-2" project was ultimately successful, China would enjoy the benefits of the energy revolution and wouldn't be able to monopolize this technology.
The way to maximize the benefits was to use their own technological advantages to expand their influence in the field and become the standard-setters in the field.
Of course, the most important thing was to use fusion energy as a bargaining chip to exchange for political benefits that China needed.
Secretary He went silent for a while and spoke.
"As for the problem you mentioned, we haven't discussed it at the meeting yet."
Lu Zhou nodded and said, "I understand. After all, these things about the future are still very far away.
"But what I want to say is that if we only want to be a participant in the international community, then agreeing to the United States' request in exchange for reasonable benefits is a suitable choice.
"But if, or rather, if, we have the ambition to become the rule makers …"
At this point, Lu Zhou was silent for a while before speaking in a serious tone.
"Then the pain and setbacks on the road to success are unavoidable."
Secretary He couldn't help but hold his breath.
The maker of the rules …
That sounds …
It was a word that made one's heart surge with emotions.
He clenched his fists on his knees and slowly unclenched them. He kept repeating this action and took a deep breath.
Although he was not the decision-maker, he felt that he had to ask on behalf of Director Lu and the country's higher-ups.
Suppressing his racing heart, Secretary He said.
"If we withdraw from the ITER project, how will it affect the STAR-2 project?"
Lu Zhou thought for a moment and replied with certainty, "The influence exists, but it's not big!"
Hearing Lu Zhou's words, He Mingxuan's face finally stretched out a smile.
"With your words, we can rest assured! I will convey your opinion to the higher-ups. "
Lu Zhou nodded.
"You have to do this."
Lu Zhou didn't stay in the office for too long.
Secretary He planned on returning to Beijing immediately. He drank the tea in his cup and got up to leave.
Lu Zhou walked Secretary He downstairs and was wondering if he should say goodbye to Principal Xu before he went back. He happened to bump into Principal Xu, who just came back from outside.
Principal Xu saw Lu Zhou standing downstairs alone. He walked over with a stack of documents in his hand and smiled.
"Are you guys done talking?"
"Yeah." Lu Zhou smiled embarrassedly and said, "Sorry, I borrowed your office for a while."
"It's fine, feel free to use it, your business is more important." Principal Xu waved his hand nonchalantly and handed a document to Lu Zhou. He said, "Since you took over my office, I couldn't deal with official business, so I went to the academic affairs office and completed the procedures for you."
Lu Zhou took the document from Principal Xu's hand and asked, "Procedures?"
Principal Xu smiled and said, "Didn't you tell me you wanted to come back and be a professor? Sign this contract, and you'll be a member of our mathematics department! "
Lu Zhou said, "That fast?"
Principal Xu smiled and said, "The longer the delay, the better. Otherwise, you'll suddenly change your mind."
When Lu Zhou heard this, he smiled and said, "Why would I? Alright then, I'll take this document back and sign it. I'll send it over tomorrow. "
Principal Xu: "You're not even going to ask how much the annual salary is?"
Lu Zhou smiled embarrassedly.
"It's written on the contract anyway, I can just go back and read it. I'm not in a hurry. Or, can you tell me now? "
"I'll tell you now, in case you go back and think it's too little."
Principal Xu smiled and paused for a second. He then said, "Regarding your salary, we actually had a meeting at the end of last year to discuss it. The plan we came up with is an annual salary of 4 million yuan and a housing allowance of 5 million yuan … I know you probably don't care about this money, but this is already the best we can give you. As for research funding, you're the person in charge of a 40 billion yuan project, so I'm guessing you don't need any research funding, so I won't embarrass myself. But if you need anything else, just tell me, we'll do our best to help you! "
Lu Zhou smiled and said, "Why wouldn't I care? This is already higher than my salary at Princeton. "
As one of the top universities in the country, Shuimu University only offered a "Nobel Prize-level scholar" a salary of 1.7 million yuan.
An annual salary of 2 million yuan was basically the upper limit for academician level talents.
As for the tens of millions of yuan that was touted in the newspaper, most of it included the relocation allowance, other benefits, and the most important scientific research funding.
The University of Jin Ling offered him an annual salary of four million yuan, which was almost double the maximum salary. Principal Xu must have been under a lot of pressure and discussion to make such a decision.
For him, an annual salary wasn't important anymore. So much so that he didn't even think about it in the beginning.
However, he was still very touched that his alma mater valued him so much …
…
Once the energy problem was solved, many other problems would be solved. However, more problems would follow.
Let's talk about the immediate problems.
The cake hadn't even been made yet. At most, the aroma of butter coming out of the oven had already made so many people unable to sit still. What would it look like when the cake was really done?
What happened at ITER today was just a preview of the future.
Nighttime.
Inside an office in Beijing.
Director Lu stood by the window and smoked a cigarette. He then looked at his watch.
There was another meeting to be held in about an hour.
Director Lu thought about the recent events and pinched his eyebrows.
Although they had expected the US's actions, the speed of the US's actions still caught most people, including him, by surprise.
It was obvious that the Americans were here to attack the STAR-2 project.
Suddenly, there was a knock on the office door.
Director Lu sighed and put out his cigarette. He then sat down at his desk.
"Come in."
His secretary pushed the door open and walked in.
Director Lu looked at Secretary He and asked, "Have you met with Professor Lu?"
He Mingxuan nodded.
"I met him in the afternoon."
He then reported the content of his conversation with Lu Zhou in the afternoon.
After listening to the secretary's report, Director Lu tapped his finger on the desk and contemplated for a while.
"… Did he say that?"
He Mingxuan nodded seriously and said, "Yes … He promised me that even if China withdraws from ITER, the progress of the STAR-2 demonstration reactor project will not be significantly affected!"
Director Lu's furrowed brows finally relaxed, and he nodded.
"Okay, I got it!"
This guarantee was probably the best news he had heard all day.
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