Returning to hometown to farm: The apocalypse system arrived ten years earlier?

Chapter 319 Jiang Cai'er's Choice
In the end, Jiang Cai'er chose Tsinghua University.

This was the result of her discussion with Li Xiang.

Because in the apocalypse, technology will still be very important. The emergence of extraordinary particles will ultimately only benefit a small group of people, while 99% of ordinary people will still need to rely on technology to live.

Tsinghua University's strong engineering foundation and Qian Xuesen's engineering physics program were better suited to the urgent need for technological breakthroughs in a post-apocalyptic world.

For example, its core major is: Engineering Physics (Nuclear Science and Technology).

In the face of the post-apocalyptic energy crisis, nuclear fusion technology and the development of microreactors are the core of the underground city's energy supply. Li Xiang has already acquired one of the most advanced, yet-to-be-commissioned, aircraft carriers in the United States. The A1B nuclear reactor on board is arguably the most advanced nuclear reactor in the world. However, Jiang Cai'er's quantum computer ability can optimize the nuclear reactor control algorithm, improve energy efficiency, and develop more advanced, smaller nuclear reactors or nuclear fuel cells.

In addition, when communicating with the admissions office, the school agreed that she could study several majors. Jiang Cai'er chose a few, and the school welcomed them all without any objection.

For example, materials science and engineering.

Li Xiang's crystal vein weapon requires the support of materials science. If Jiang Cai'er could provide a more optimized formula, perhaps his success rate and grade in condensing extraordinary items would be greatly improved.

Dungeons also require more advanced alloys that resist corrosion from alien beasts and building materials that can withstand extreme climates.

Li Xiang's "Crystal Vein Armaments" only produce high-quality items, supplying only his own team. But what about all the other dungeons? If Jiang Cai'er succeeds in her studies and develops more advanced materials, those materials could be shared, benefiting all of human civilization.

Of course, sharing doesn't necessarily mean free.

Other fields include biomedical engineering, computer science and artificial intelligence, strategic and security studies, and civil engineering.

Biomedical engineering can develop gene-based drugs and rapid treatment technologies to address radiation sickness and gene mutations. Based on Li Xiang's experience in his previous life, this major is extremely important.

Computer science and artificial intelligence are, needless to say, Jiang Cai'er's forte, but she lacks systematic learning and research. Her knowledge is all self-taught, coming from the internet and various libraries, but some materials, experiences, and knowledge are not necessarily available online.

In other words, she came from an untrained background, and now she needs to learn systematically. Jiang Cai'er believes that studying this major at Tsinghua University will allow her to reach a higher level.

As for strategic and security research, it involves Li Xiang's positioning and expectations for Jiang Cai'er's future.

He hopes that Jiang Cai'er will be able to coordinate the allocation of global shelter resources in the future, including building a global shelter network monitoring system, formulating survival guidelines, and improving macro-decision-making capabilities.

Although the underground cities are scattered, networking is not a problem. Li Xiang's earth-遁 (earth-遁 is a type of magical ability) can spread fiber optic cables all over the world.

Although civil engineering has declined, it will definitely be useful for the expansion and design of new underground cities, and for building bases or even new homes in other worlds and outer space in the future.

Of course, if Jiang Cai'er has the energy, she can also pursue other minors.

Li Xiang also hoped that she could build her own research team at Tsinghua University and recruit some high-end scientific and technological talents and military talents. When the apocalypse came, Jiang Cai'er's research institute would definitely move back. How could Jiang Cai'er do it alone? Wouldn't she work herself to death? Of course, she needed a team.

Tsinghua University was very efficient; the admission notice was delivered very quickly.

Lijia Village was bustling with activity, colorful flags fluttering, gongs and drums resounding, and firecrackers exploding. Inside and outside Jiang Cai'er's house, villagers who had come to join in the fun were everywhere, along with all sorts of relatives, many of whom were distant relatives whom Jiang Cai'er did not recognize and had never seen before.

In addition to the three-bedroom apartment provided by Tsinghua University, the province, city, county, and the county's top high school all offered generous rewards, totaling nearly two million yuan. In the words of the villagers, "He became rich overnight after becoming the top scorer in the national exam."

There's more than enough money for studying.

However, given Li Xiang and Jiang Cai'er's current wealth, these bonuses are merely icing on the cake; they are more of an honor.

Several companies approached Jiang Cai'er to sign advertising endorsement deals, offering starting fees in the tens of millions. After all, Jiang Cai'er has appeared on CCTV News and in various interviews, her fame even surpassing that of Li Xiang, and her looks are top-notch, no less than Luo Feifei's. However, Jiang Cai'er politely declined all of them.

The main reason is that she has plenty of money and doesn't want to be distracted by those chores.

This has been praised by many, and his reputation has actually increased. In particular, some leaders and professors at Tsinghua University are very satisfied with this, believing that this is how promising research talents should be. Those who are obsessed with money, accepting endorsements, and engaging in horizontal collaborations are going astray and ruining their future.

This time, the offer from Tsinghua University and the online popularity of Jiang Cai'er both exceeded people's expectations.

For example, in the past, top scorers in the national college entrance examination never received the privilege of a three-bedroom apartment. At most, they were given a single room in a dormitory. And that apartment was located on the Tsinghua University campus.

Little did anyone know that this time, the president of Tsinghua University had learned of a highly confidential and shocking piece of information: Jiang Cai'er was suspected to be a high-level superhuman, or at least someone with research attributes. Some people predicted that she might become a great scientist who would go down in history.

Peking University's leadership also received the news through similar channels, but unfortunately, Peking University ultimately failed to compete with Tsinghua University. However, that was Jiang Cai'er's own choice, and there was nothing that could be done about it.

If someone else said this to them, they would definitely think that the other person was crazy, mentally unstable, a superhuman, and had scientific research attributes.
However, since they already held a relatively high position, a month before the college entrance examination, they were summoned to a high-level, highly confidential meeting in the scientific research community, which was personally chaired by the person in the capital.

The attendees were all heads, academic leaders, or key researchers from prestigious universities and renowned research institutions, including many scientists from military research institutes. Those involved in the defense industry have close ties to the military, with many directly subordinate to it and holding military ranks.

At the meeting, the person from the capital gave important instructions on the future direction of scientific research. Then, during the tea break, the two principals heard people whispering about Li Xiang and others, with special mention of Jiang Cai'er, who was still in high school and about to face the college entrance examination.

Li Xiang reported the impending apocalypse, and astronomers also observed the boundless black mist star field. Although the general public was unaware of it, the higher-ups had reached a consensus, and other major powers were also fretting over this matter.

The direction of scientific research after the apocalypse will naturally be different from that of the present. This is one of the purposes of this conference.

The two principals were shocked by the news and it took them several days to recover. Then, they both focused their attention on Jiang Cai'er. When Jiang Cai'er scored 748 points, all their doubts disappeared.

They also used their connections to access Jiang Cai'er's college entrance exam paper and discovered that the two points deducted were for very simple questions, practically free points.

Hmm, I don't want the easy questions.

This is score control!
Isn't this a genius? An extraordinary individual with exceptional scientific research abilities, it's said that there's only one like him in the world so far.

The two principals immediately sent their trusted confidants, instructing them to snatch Jiang Cai'er away at all costs. If they weren't worried about the impact being too great or too obvious, they would have liked to meet her on the spot.

Ultimately, Tsinghua University's academic disciplines are more suited to the post-apocalyptic world.

Luo Feifei had also been keeping an eye on Jiang Cai'er's news. These days, news about Jiang Cai'er was everywhere, flooding social media, and her popularity was rivaling that of Jiang Cai'er, which made Luo Feifei very unhappy.

However, after a moment's thought, she felt that Jiang Cai'er's popularity was probably just this one wave and would gradually fade away, since she wasn't in the entertainment industry.

Because Jiang Cai'er's popularity as the top scorer in the national college entrance examination was too high—something Li Xiang and Jiang Cai'er hadn't anticipated—their original plan to hold the engagement banquet and graduation banquet together was changed. Only the graduation banquet was held publicly, while the engagement banquet was conducted discreetly; the two families had a meal together, and Li Xiang presented a large amount of gold jewelry and a fixed-term deposit certificate of 1888 million yuan as betrothal gifts. According to traditional custom, betrothal gifts are given to the bride's parents.

However, Jiang Jianguo and his wife did not accept the money, but gave it directly to Jiang Cai'er.

With Li Xiang's grandmother and Jiang Cai'er's parents as witnesses, the two exchanged engagement rings.

Li Xiang originally wanted to make a public announcement about the 1888 million yuan dowry and create a buzz, but the two felt that they should keep a low profile at this time.

Jiang Jianguo and his aunt understood perfectly. If they held a high-profile engagement banquet at this time, wouldn't that be putting their daughter in a very difficult position?
Although it wasn't time for the start of the semester yet, Li Xiang accompanied Jiang Cai'er to Tsinghua University first. The university's admissions office had called Jiang Cai'er to say that a three-bedroom apartment had been arranged for her, and asked her to come and pick up the keys so she could see if she wanted to renovate or decorate it in advance so she could move in when school started.

What else is there to say? Naturally, they immediately headed for Tsinghua University.

Well, it wasn't by using earth magic or running there at top speed in the middle of the night; it was by taking a proper plane, mainly because Mr. and Mrs. Jiang Jianguo really wanted to see it.

The house is so big that, theoretically, Jiang Jianguo and his wife could have moved in to accompany their child to school, but they were unwilling to do so.

Firstly, they were used to living in the countryside and were not used to city life. Secondly, they felt their appearance didn't match the city and were afraid their classmates would laugh at Jiang Cai'er. Thirdly, after eating at various canteens at Tsinghua University, Aunt Jiang deeply felt that her cooking might not be as good as the school canteen's, and it certainly didn't have as many varieties.

The canteens at Tsinghua University offer a wide variety of dishes. In addition to rice, the main dishes include porridge, steamed buns, pan-fried buns, dumplings, noodles, and more. Each dish has many varieties. For example, in addition to white rice, there are rice balls, Yangzhou fried rice, grilled meat rice, yakitori rice, and various flavored rice dishes.

Dumplings come in various fillings, and some are boiled while others are pan-fried until golden brown on both sides.

The variety of noodles is dazzling, including Chongqing noodles, Northwest beef noodles, scallion oil noodles, knife-cut noodles, and so on.

They all look delicious. My daughter can eat whatever she wants. But how many dishes can I make in one meal at home? Do I have that many choices?

So Aunt Jiang felt that cooking for herself was not as good as eating at the cafeteria.

Then, and most importantly, I was afraid it would affect Jiang Cai'er's studies.

"Xiang'er, why don't you stay here and take care of Cai'er?" Aunt Jiang suggested.

Li Xiang waved his hands repeatedly and said, "That won't do. It will have a bad influence."

Although the two are already engaged, living together right after starting university will definitely have a negative impact.

Jiang Cai'er laughed and said, "Mom and Dad, don't worry about me. These past few days, Xiang Ge and I have been picking out some smart home products, like washing machines and robot vacuums. Besides, I'm all grown up now, and I'm capable of taking care of myself."

Jiang Jianguo and his aunt didn't believe it at first, but after helping with the setup for a few days, they were surprised to find that, sure enough, all the machines were very obedient and kept the house in perfect order.

Little did she know that Jiang Cai'er had "invaded" and taken control of all those smart home devices, including lights, robot vacuums, tea makers, water heaters, washing machines, and refrigerators.

Moreover, they are all connected to the internet, so she can control these things in her home anytime, anywhere.

Moreover, she now possesses two quantum computers, and her memory palace has expanded several times over. Her computing power is incredibly strong, allowing her to handle tens of thousands of tasks simultaneously without any problem.

If you can't sweep a room, how can you sweep the world? With Jiang Cai'er's abilities, the "computing power" required to clean this house is less than one millionth.

As for safety, there's even less to worry about. The only person who could beat Jiang Cai'er is probably Li Xiang. Luo Feifei would likely be in serious trouble too.

Jiang Cai'er also brought the robot dog with her, keeping it at home as a pet.

She programmed the robot dog separately, giving it more advanced artificial intelligence and making it absolutely loyal to Jiang Cai'er.

The three-bedroom apartment provided by Tsinghua University had pretty good basic furnishings, so Li Xiang and Jiang Cai'er didn't touch anything. They simply replaced everything that could be replaced, such as the mattress, toilet seat, shower head, curtains, sofa, and TV, with new ones. In addition, they added many smart home appliances, as well as a home computer, laptop, and so on.

Jiang Cai'er had been using the same phone for a year or two, and now she's switched to the latest model. Anyway, these things don't cost much.

Needless to say, bed sheets, blankets, clothes, and shoes are all provided; given Li Xiang and Jiang Cai'er's financial situation, they've already achieved financial freedom. Even without the school-arranged apartment, they could easily afford a large apartment nearby.

As for the kitchen, the university has a cafeteria, so there are almost no kitchen utensils or cooking equipment, and Jiang Cai'er wouldn't waste time cooking.

As for the coffee machine, Li Xiang bought it for her and put a lot of coffee beans in the cabinet below. They were all high-quality coffee beans, no inferior ones. Li Xiang would come over often in the future to help her replenish supplies, so that she wouldn't have to worry about daily chores.

Then, there's a special snack room with boxes and boxes of all kinds of snacks.

It has to be said that decorating a new home is quite interesting. If nothing unexpected happens, Jiang Cai'er will live in this house for at least several years, and perhaps even until the apocalypse.

Even after graduation, she can stay at the university to manage the lab and continue her research. Jiang Cai'er doesn't have any employment pressure. She studies purely to improve herself and hopes to be able to help Li Xiang more in the future. If she can make some new contributions to human civilization, she will be quite happy.

With the house furnished and the start of the semester approaching, Jiang Cai'er didn't go back home. Instead, she was invited to participate in a summer camp organized by the school, meaning she had already immersed herself in the academic life of a prestigious university.

Seeing their daughter busy every day and getting along well with her teachers and classmates, Jiang Jianguo and his wife felt relieved and returned home early. Li Xiang, on the other hand, stayed a few more days and experienced life at Tsinghua University with Jiang Cai'er.

In the evening, they spent time together under the moonlit flowers on the beautiful campus of Tsinghua University, and also visited other universities, such as Peking University, Beijing University of Aeronautics and Astronautics, Beijing Institute of Technology, Renmin University of China, Peking Union Medical College, and Beijing Normal University.

Li Xiang had never dated in college, nor did he attend a prestigious university. It was Jiang Cai'er who helped him fulfill this dream. It must be said, dating in college has a unique charm.

Although Li Xiang was twenty-seven years old, his cultivation had deepened day by day, and he was exceptionally handsome with fair and rosy skin and no blemishes. He looked like he was only in his early twenties. Several times, he was called "classmate" by people, and even called "junior" by second- and third-year students.

"How about we go to the teaching building..." Li Xiang whispered a few words in Jiang Cai'er's ear.

Jiang Cai'er immediately blushed and exclaimed, "You pervert!"

"I've been a pervert for a long time, and you're only just realizing it now?" Li Xiang chuckled.

Jiang Cai'er couldn't resist him, so they left their mark on all sorts of places at the prestigious school, including the teaching buildings, rooftops, playgrounds, groves, gymnasiums, and libraries.

(End of this chapter)