In 1978, I was admitted to Harbin Institute of Technology

Chapter 433 outlines Xie Wei's plan to display 80 tons of gold in the school's open-air area to attract students and project partners.
"Once the gold is transported back, 200 tons will be stored in the vault of the National Bank, and 80 tons will be transported back to the school."

When Liu Debao and the others returned, they were all very excited.

The contract was finalized.

I don't know how much it will cost, but there's no problem getting 280 tons of gold, and the oil will be negotiated directly between Poly and the Ministry of Petroleum.

The settlement price is 44 RMB per barrel.

"Why are you bringing so much gold to the school? Aren't you afraid it will be stolen?"

Ge Jianjun was speechless.

He couldn't understand Xie Wei's thinking—it's said that it's not the theft itself that's scary, but the fact that the thief has his eye on it.

80 tons of gold!

Put them at school?
"We'll have a desk made of gold for the principal, so that when higher-ups come to inspect, they won't say our school is stingy, and that the principal is trying to extort funding with a dilapidated, crippled desk..."

"..."

Everyone was speechless.

Wasn't all of this Xie Wei's suggestion?

When Li Rui was in charge, Xie Wei learned that the professors had broken his desk by banging on it and that the professors had to pay for the repairs. He immediately suggested that the president should do the same – his reasoning being that the president of a prestigious university shouldn't be allowed to have his desk banged on.

then……

"Making an office desk wouldn't cost more than a few tons of gold; the rest can be used to cast the school emblem and place it in the center of the school..."

"..."

Seeing that Xie Wei's words were becoming increasingly outrageous, the leaders got up and left.

"Wait, I'm serious!"

Xie Wei knew that saying this would make him seem pretentious.

But he was serious.

"Do you think it's appropriate for the principal to have a gold desk? What do you think the higher-ups would think if dozens of tons of gold were used to make a school emblem and placed in the school?"

Liu Debao's face looked extremely ugly.

If Xie Wei was joking, they would think it was reasonable.

But if we really did that, wouldn't that be like an old man eating poison?
Other institutions are desperately poor and struggling to survive; other universities are short of research funding and lack sufficient funds for school construction, while Harbin Institute of Technology has placed billions of dollars worth of gold in the middle of the campus...

It's unlikely to have been stolen.

However, the school leaders will definitely get scolded by their superiors—they shouldn't flaunt their wealth!

"Yeah, Xie Wei, leaving so much gold outside the school, in the open, is just too much of a target for hatred!"

Zhang Mingqiu also looked bitter.

If he really did that, his life as the principal would be the most difficult.

"If this is done, I'm afraid it won't be long before the school is overflowing with people begging for alms."

Ge Jianjun also spoke up.

Although he supported Xie Wei in everything he did without reservation, displaying tens of tons of gold in the school for people to see...

"Gold is heavy to begin with, so if someone scrapes off even a small piece..."

Luo Yang's idea is the most realistic.

Gold is dense yet soft; a few grams can be scraped off with a hard tool.

Xie Wei smiled upon hearing Luo Yang's words.

"Class advisor, our school aspires to become the world's number one military industrial university and a cradle for defense science and technology engineers. Those who can get in are all the cream of the crop, with bright futures ahead. If they can be blinded by a little bit of gold when they enter the school, then who can guarantee that they won't be tempted by much larger sums of US dollars in the future?"

Xie Wei's words struck the hearts of the group like a heavy hammer.

Zhang Mingqiu and Liu Debao, in particular, immediately thought of the spy case that had occurred at the school not long ago.

If someone is truly interested in a few grams of gold, they're not worth cultivating at all.

Once someone is in a key position, they can easily be bribed.

The losses will be...

Xie Wei, that kid, really does think about things differently from ordinary people!
The same thought occurred to both Liu Debao and Zhang Mingqiu almost simultaneously.

Although Xie Wei's words made sense, something still felt off.

I can't quite put my finger on what's wrong.

"That's one way. But you can't exactly have someone guarding the gold 24/7 if it's left in the open.

Ge Jianjun asked Xie Wei.

With tens of tons of gold stored outside the school, it would be difficult to remove it without the use of heavy machinery; it's no easy task at all.

"No need. Just install cameras around the area. Also, lay vibration sensors and proximity sensors on the ground, and connect them to the school's security system via the network..."

"Will our school-enterprise cooperation office have to foot the bill again?"

Ge Jianjun looked displeased. "Director Xie, you can't keep using the school-enterprise office's money to cover the experimental expenses for the school's research projects! The school's logistics system should pay for this themselves..."

Before he could finish speaking, he realized something was wrong.

All eyes were on him.

"Uh……"

At this moment, Ge Jianjun was embarrassed.

He is now the vice principal in charge of logistics and also serves as the director of the school-enterprise cooperation office, directly responsible for both.

"Actually, the purpose of displaying these dozens of tons of gold in the school's open-air area, where anyone can see it, is not that at all, but to let the whole country know!"

"what?"

The group stared wide-eyed at Xie Wei, taken aback by his words.

Dozens of tons of gold, enough to make the whole country know?
"Xie Wei, don't you really find school troublesome?"

Luo Yang was mortified.

Xie Wei was the class monitor when Xie Wei, the former dean of students, was the homeroom teacher of the experimental class. He felt that Xie Wei was very responsible for Xie Wei's current crazy behavior. Back then, he, as the homeroom teacher, was just helping to take the blame and clean up the mess. Everything was done according to Xie Wei's ideas.

"What trouble could there be? The People's Republic of China has been liberated for decades. Are we really afraid that people will come to the school and steal these dozens of tons of gold?"

Xie Wei said with dissatisfaction, "Compared with other key universities, our school is admitting fewer and fewer top students every year, to the point that we can't even continue running our experimental classes! Shouldn't you leaders reflect on this?"

That was a very blunt remark.

The leaders' expressions immediately turned ugly.

"Xie Wei, we've discussed this before... Tsinghua and Peking Universities are in the capital and receive more funding; the University of Science and Technology of China is backed by the Chinese Academy of Sciences..."

Zhang Mingqiu's face was full of bitterness.

The school aims to train engineers for the military industry, while the experimental class aims to train members of the academic division!
Apart from Xie Wei's class of '78, each subsequent class was progressively worse.

Last year, the experimental class was canceled, mainly because of the top students.

In the first few years after the resumption of the college entrance examination, those who took the exam had accumulated more than ten years of knowledge. Although their foundation was weak, their technical foundation was also weak, so the learning difficulty was not that great... Later, the students in the experimental class were exposed to the latest research results of the school...

Majors like advanced mathematics and physics cannot be mastered simply by studying hard and arduously.

Xie Wei has not given up on the idea of ​​creating an experimental class.

To create an experimental class, you need a large number of top students, and then select the best from among them for further training.

"Why? It's because our school's research results can't be released to the public!"

"Exactly! Currently, students across the country are all aiming for STEM fields, and top universities like Tsinghua, Peking, and USTC are able to publish their research findings..."

"It's not that we're not strong enough. We have more funding than Tsinghua and Peking Universities, and our technical strength in related fields is no less than that of the Chinese Academy of Sciences. The key is that we don't have the opportunity to promote ourselves, right?"

Faced with Xie Wei's hurtful words, the bigwigs expressed their dissatisfaction.

Many of the research findings could not be made public, not because of the superiors' wishes, but because of Xie Wei's requirements.

They have mature products, but none of them have been launched to the market!
Now Xie Wei actually dares to tell the leaders to reflect on their actions! He has absolutely no shame.

It's truly disheartening.

"Wait! Xie Wei, you've turned billions of dollars worth of gold into a school emblem and displayed it outdoors for everyone to see, you wouldn't..."

Luo Yang suddenly realized what Xie Wei was trying to do.

The others hadn't reacted yet.

Xie Wei smiled and nodded, "We can just display billions of dollars worth of gold on campus for people to visit. Who would think the school lacks funding? Do Tsinghua and Peking University have that? Does the University of Science and Technology of China have that? We do!"

"The problem is how to deal with the accountability from above, and how to resolve the various troubles that arise from doing this?"

Luo Yang asked Xie Wei.

Since Xie Wei brought it up, he must have a solution.

"No need to solve it. At most, the higher-ups will scold us for being pretentious. Besides, there might be more companies coming to us for free... Isn't that more in line with the school's development needs? The more partners who come to us, the better it is for our project."

Xie Wei said calmly.

Currently, universities have not yet expanded their enrollment on a large scale, and the demand for talent has not yet been alleviated.

Due to the lack of access to information, students and parents have very few ways to learn about the school, unless they can frequently see related reports in mainstream media such as television news and newspapers.

The national strategy of vigorously developing the electronics industry, with color TVs as a breakthrough point, had just begun to be implemented. Television ownership was very low, and naturally, fewer people obtained information through television news than through reading newspapers.

Harbin Institute of Technology can't advertise either.

In this way, it can quickly become a household name throughout the country.

"The college entrance exams are over this year. As long as the plan goes smoothly, Iraq will have prepaid 112 tons of gold, and we'll keep 80 tons..."

Xie Wei said calmly.

Liu Debao and the others discussed it and carefully weighed the pros and cons.

"At most, I'll get a scolding and people will think I'm ambitious and eager for quick success. As long as it benefits the school, what's a little criticism on my part?"

Zhang Mingqiu said through gritted teeth.

The fact that he got scolded is definitely the principal's fault.

"Exactly! At worst, we'll just spend more time dealing with those who come knocking on our door to rob us! Like Xie Wei said, our only concern is that people won't know we're rich and won't come looking for us to cooperate. Anyway, the initiative for cooperation is in the school's hands!"

Liu Debao also hardened his heart.

If it weren't for the orders from Iraq, they would have retired long ago.

So what if the school develops and gets a bad reputation?

In time, the criticism will turn into praise.

Will the higher-ups agree?

Luo Yang was somewhat worried.

He also hopes that the school can reinstate the experimental classes, especially since he will first serve as the principal.

"We earned the gold ourselves. The higher-ups won't touch the school's funds; we've even given them more than we were entitled to."

Seeing that everyone agreed, Xie Wei smiled and said.

Leaders in the aerospace system would certainly not ask schools to hand over funds to higher authorities in the name of those higher authorities; the military would be even less likely to do so.

"Alright. I'll go to the ministry..."

Liu Debao glanced at Xie Wei with displeasure, then sighed.

That kid really knows how to stir things up!

Even knowing the consequences, no one can refuse.

"I'll go with you. This has never happened before."

Zhang Mingqiu also didn't give Xie Wei a friendly look.

Xie Wei seemed oblivious, his expression remaining unchanged. "After smelting 80 tons of gold, we can begin preparing the school badge, from casting to embossing. It's a symbol of the school's strength!"

"Let's wait and see."

Liu Debao hurriedly said, "Let's wait for the superiors' opinion first."

"You're really good at causing trouble!"

Luo Yang glanced at Xie Wei, "When you were the class monitor, I just thought you were good at causing trouble, but I never expected you to cause such big trouble..."

"There's nothing we can do about it. Our school doesn't have an advantage in terms of location or its apparent research strength because we can't promote it. The best students are all snatched up by Tsinghua, Peking University, and the University of Science and Technology of China. We can't even compare with schools like Fudan and Zhejiang University..."

Xie Wei was also helpless.

"I'm afraid the higher-ups will think we're doing something heretical and won't allow it!"

Luo Yang was also aware of the situation at the school.

If universities were allowed to publish their research findings, top students from all over the country would be scrambling to get into Harbin Institute of Technology.

"How can this be considered a crooked approach? Previously, the school's admissions and employment office went to various parts of the country to inspect students in advance, and the higher-ups thought we were setting a bad example... And what happened? Now, Tsinghua University, Peking University, USTC, and other universities are vying for top scorers in the national college entrance examination, and they're keeping quiet?"

Ge Jianjun was unhappy.

Xie Wei just sighed silently.

Publicity is very important.

Currently in China, because private enterprises and contract-based enterprises have not yet emerged, even production units have not realized the importance of advertising.

Ultimately, it was because the market economy was just beginning and domestic market competition was not fierce.

The competition among schools today is similar: the focus is on research projects and funding, rather than on students with strong foundations, sharp thinking, or high talent.

The competition among top students by Tsinghua University, Peking University, and the University of Science and Technology of China was sparked by Harbin Institute of Technology.

"What do you think?"

Director Lin looked at Liu Debao and Zhang Mingqiu and said, "Are you really so rich that you're afraid others won't know? Can't you see those department heads outside their offices, carrying their bedding rolls and asking for projects and funding?"

At this moment, Director Lin was so angry he almost laughed.

"Leadership, the school's development has hit a bottleneck due to a lack of talent... The higher-ups won't let us poach people, and we can't compete with top universities like Tsinghua and Peking University because we can't publicly disclose our technological achievements..."

Zhang Mingqiu hurriedly began to explain.

The higher-ups are aware of the situation.

"We're not allowed to poach talent; we're required to cultivate our own. But many of our fields are at the forefront of global science..." Xie Wei said...

"It really is that kid again! He's being silly, and you all join in the silliness?"

Director Lin slammed his fist on the table in anger.

He gets a headache just hearing Xie Wei's name.

But this guy always manages to be "in the right" when he does things, and even when he's not in the right, leaders like Liu Debao and Zhang Mingqiu will always step in to take the blame.

"Sir, this is no joke. On one hand, the school needs publicity for student recruitment. With billions of dollars worth of gold displayed on campus, everyone can see it, and the school's strength needs no further introduction. On the other hand, it's to accelerate the development of supporting facilities. If the school had to develop all the technologies on its own, it would be impossible..."

Zhang Mingqiu directly presented Xie Wei's reasons.

"..."

After listening, Director Lin fell silent.

That makes sense, but displaying a school badge made of 80 tons of gold in the middle of the school just feels like flaunting wealth, and it's hard to accept.

"In that case, I can only express my personal opinion on this matter. In principle, I am not against it... As for how the ministry decides, I cannot interfere."

Director Lin sighed.

That's it!

That's it!

Let's pretend we don't know anything about this.

(End of this chapter)