Sail across the sea

Chapter 464 You Don't Need to Make a Decision
Gao Fan told Zheng Linong his entire plan, and Zheng Linong offered some suggestions for revision based on his own experience. They eventually reached a consensus: to establish a ten-year plan to gradually dismantle the foreign rare earth refining industry and bring all high-purity rare earth refining business in the world under the control of Chinese companies.

To achieve this goal, a multi-pronged approach is needed. Zheng Linong will coordinate the work at the top, while Gao Fan will handle the operations at the bottom. Of course, Zheng Linong also promised Gao Fan that he would provide full support when needed.

After leaving the Department of Chemical Engineering, Gao Fan returned to school, and his first stop was naturally his dormitory. He laid out all the food he had brought back from the United States on the table, and dormitory 449 began a lively discussion.

Gao Fan's roommates were still very enthusiastic towards him, but they were more reserved, or you could say more composed.

Now that everyone is a senior, the course load isn't as heavy as it was in the previous three years. Everyone is already making plans for after graduation, and some people even need to do some behind-the-scenes work, which makes their conversations reveal a certain air of unease.

The eldest brother, Gu Songtao, the second brother, Hu Dongming, and the fourth brother, He Xujie, all expressed their intention to "get by" in government agencies after graduation. As Peking University students, their destinations would inevitably be central or provincial government agencies. As for whether they would stay in Beijing or return to their provinces, the three of them gave vague and ambiguous answers. Even with his experience from two lifetimes, Gao Fan couldn't figure out their true plans.

Wang Yan, the third student, had been preparing to study abroad since his freshman year of college. He had already taken the TOEFL and achieved a very good score. Before that, he asked Gao Fan to help him find someone in the US to act as his guarantor. Gao Fan mentioned this to Bob, who readily agreed and issued a guarantee letter for Wang Yan. With Bob's guarantee letter, Wang Yan applied for scholarships at several American universities and is currently awaiting the results. He says there shouldn't be much doubt.

Pan Chang, the fifth son, is a native of Beijing. His family has some connections, and they had already secured him a position at the petrochemical company. According to him, his family wants him to start as a regular technician in the company's technical department. How much he can develop later depends on his own abilities; his family won't help him at all.

Seriously, I absolutely will not help.

Okay, the students in dormitory 449 all said they believed it.

Chen Chuanlin, the seventh student, and Wu Zixian, the eighth student, have always been the most diligent in the dormitory, and they are now preparing for the postgraduate entrance examination. In this era, students are not very enthusiastic about taking the postgraduate entrance examination, so the competition is not very intense, and these two are basically able to pass the exam.

After everyone finished discussing their graduation plans, the conversation finally turned to Gao Fan.

"Sixth Brother, you'll probably go straight to the Ministry of Chemical Industry after graduation, right? Is Minister Zheng planning to make you his secretary?" Hu Dongming asked with a hint of envy.

Everyone knew about Gao Fan's relationship with the Ministry of Chemical Industry. Everyone firmly believed that, given Zheng Linong's high regard for Gao Fan, working for the Ministry of Chemical Industry would allow Gao Fan to avoid at least ten years of hard work compared to everyone else.

Gao Fan shook his head and said, "I have no such plans, and Minister Zheng hasn't given me any arrangements. In the first half of the year, our province carried out reforms and separated our labor service company from the factory, establishing a joint-stock company. I am the chairman of the board."

"According to the provincial government, they hope that I will continue to manage this company, so it is impossible for me to work for the Ministry of Chemical Industry."

“Isn’t this just like going straight into business?” He Xujie said. “Going into business is quite popular now, but, Lao Liu, you are a graduate of Peking University, and you are so good at your major. You are also appreciated by Minister Zheng. It’s a pity that you choose to go into business instead of joining the ministry.”

“There’s nothing to regret,” Pan Chang said. “We all know Lao Liu’s company; it’s practically a goldmine. As chairman of such a company, Lao Liu’s life is definitely more comfortable than that of a section chief in the ministry. A section chief in the ministry sounds glamorous, but the salary is so low that you have to pick the cheapest vegetables at the market—it’s not very appealing.”

Gu Songtao said, "The ministries are strict with management, and the units don't dare to give out benefits indiscriminately. The situation in the province is much better. The section chief of our provincial chemical industry department lives a very comfortable life. I heard someone make up a jingle that says if you are a section chief in the province, your salary basically doesn't change, and you basically have to rely on gifts for food and drink. I won't go into the rest. The seventh and eighth elders are still around. Those words are not suitable for children."

Hearing Gu Songtao mention him, Chen Chuanlin asked with a smile, "So, Lao Gu, you're planning to go back to the provincial capital?"

Gu Songtao said, "I'm still hesitating. Besides, even if I go back, I might not be able to get a good job. The Chemical Industry Department is just an average unit in the province."

"Don't bother going to the Chemical Industry Department. Our province's Chemical Industry Department was just abolished and replaced by the Chemical Industry Association," Gao Fan said. "In the next few years, it's very likely that many of the province's functional departments will be abolished."

"What about the Ministry of Chemical Industry?" Hu Dongming asked.

Gao Fan recalled some information from later generations and vaguely remembered that the Ministry of Chemical Industry was abolished in 1998, which was still more than ten years ago. So he said, "The Ministry of Chemical Industry may still exist for a few more years, but judging from the direction of national reform, the power of ministries should become smaller and smaller. Of course, units like the State Planning Commission will always be prestigious."

"I see..." Hu Dongming responded and then fell silent, presumably contemplating his next move.

"Sixth Brother, you don't need to rush to make a decision about job assignments after graduation," Wu Zixian suddenly interjected.

"What do you mean?" Gao Fan asked.

Wu Zixian said, "I heard that the department is planning to give you a spot for admission to graduate school without taking the entrance exam. The paper you co-authored with Yang Kai on the continuous culture of Gluconobacterium oxysporum was published in Science and caused a sensation at the university. Students who can publish papers in Science have no problem being recommended for graduate school without taking the entrance exam."

"So Lao Liu had already planned this all along," He Xujie laughed. "Being recommended for graduate school means he has three more years. If he wants to join the ministry in three years, his starting point will be much higher than it is now."

"Old Liu, good deeds are rewarded," Wang Yan said. "Publishing in Science is no easy feat. How many of our university's professors have published in Science so far?"

"This has nothing to do with good deeds being rewarded; Lao Liu is just good at his studies," Chen Chuanlin commented.

Gao Fan said modestly, "Alas, the main contribution of that article was actually Yang Kai's. I just came up with an idea and then put my name on the article. I had no choice at the time. I heard that some teachers in the department said that I was not doing my job properly and that the department wanted to expel me, so I had to quickly produce an article to give myself an extra layer of insurance."

My updates have been a bit disorganized these past couple of days; I'm fixing it. I don't dare make any promises; in my experience, any promise I make ends meet is bound to fall through... I'll just let it slide for now.