Rebirth 08: Equipment God

Chapter 427 A Highly Valuable Defense
It's normal for the new book to be released smoothly, given his current status in the literary world.

However, compared to the previous two books, the marketing this time is much more restrained. After all, this work carries some special significance, and excessive marketing may backfire or even be cloaked in an "entertainment" guise.

For example, all the messy things like how many awards he had won, his status as a top scorer in the college entrance examination, his aura as a well-known entrepreneur, and his online interactions with the literary goddess of Peking University are gone this time.

"Human trafficking/beggar gangs" are a real social phenomenon, but not everyone wants to be disturbed. Going too far is counterproductive.

Zhai Da simply used his mobile phone, on the much more convenient Hongtu mobile app, to post a short tweet announcing the release of his new book, a completely new and challenging topic, and inviting anyone interested to follow it.

In addition, it was stated that the final promise made in the book would be fulfilled as promised.

Regarding financial aid, he had contacted many national mutual aid organizations for finding missing relatives long ago during the research process, and donations would be made according to their respective scale and degree of difficulty.

As for the reward for acts of bravery involving human trafficking and beggar gangs, it was entrusted to Phoenix Media Group. As mentioned before, he didn't need to investigate or conduct nationwide surveys, and Phoenix Media didn't need to either; that would be too foolish.

They will monitor relevant news across the country, call local police departments to verify the information, and then award cash prizes. Since such behavior is rare, they will trace back to those who performed acts of bravery over the past three years.

As a state-owned enterprise, Phoenix Media has demonstrated its social responsibility by providing Zhai Da with additional funding and rewards on a one-to-one basis. It should be noted that Zhai Da's royalties have already reached the industry cap of 10%, so this is equivalent to them contributing an additional 6.6%.

The gross profit margin for publishing is only 10-15% (the bulk of the profit actually comes from channel distribution), which is almost like working for nothing.

Sometimes state-owned enterprises are slow, rigid, and even terrible.

However, organizations that do not prioritize profit may make different choices under special circumstances.

At least Phoenix Media did a very good job this time.

Since Zhai Da received royalties as soon as the print run was determined, without having to wait for sales feedback, the initial print run royalties were around 100 million. Phoenix Media withheld the amount and then affixed an equivalent amount, thus beginning their funding efforts. This practice will continue for every subsequent reprint.

Zhai Da originally thought that this book release would go quietly and not cause much of a stir, but his sincere attitude of "writing something and doing something" has instead brought a lot of attention.

He didn't say a word, but many media outlets reported on the incident. The spontaneous publicity efforts of people who had lost their children and were searching for their relatives in various places were actually not very effective, but the reporting of such incidents helped to further spread the news.

It immediately topped the newly launched trending topics list on Weibo, with many book fans leaving messages under Zhai Da's Weibo post announcing the secret release of his book, expressing their intention to support him.

In addition, Yangshi has recently been broadcasting about the technological progress of the "silicon carbide project," making Zhai Da seem to have some kind of KPI, and he would show his unparalleled presence every now and then.

However, he no longer has time to pay attention to these things; he just listens to the sales figures every day.

Sigrún has taught at the Iceland University of the Arts as a part-time lecturer since and was Dean of the Department of Fine Art from -. In – she held a research position at Reykjavík Art Museum focusing on the role of women in Icelandic art. She studied fine art at the Icelandic College of Arts and Crafts and at Pratt Institute, New York, and holds BA and MA degrees in art history and philosophy from the University of Iceland. Sigrún lives and works in Iceland.

For the first few days of 2010, he accompanied his teacher on his travels, and whenever he had a spare moment, he prepared for his thesis defense and the last few exams.

He has informed the school that the teacher wanted to sit in on his thesis defense.

The school is not just annoyed, they're really impressed!
Isn't this a great opportunity to showcase our teaching skills?

Principal Wang Chunguo took the matter very seriously and called back directly to learn more about the situation.

Leaving aside the surprise at Mr. Qian's health changes, the priority was to fulfill the duties of a good host.

Considering Qian's schedule, the defense was specially moved to January 4th, which is the first day after New Year's Day.

So what if Qian Xuesen went to Harbin Engineering University? Did Harbin Engineering University have any of his students?
Isn't he still coming to Harbin Institute of Technology to see his beloved student?

This should be a day trip showcasing Harbin Institute of Technology's teaching achievements!
In addition, the defense itself was also upgraded. Originally, the participating teachers were one professor and two associate professors. After all, it was a private session with a separate team, and it wouldn't be good to make a big fuss about it.

It seems too deliberate to leave the existing teacher slots unchanged, especially the assigned mentor. Regardless of the quality of that mentor's role, even if only the format has been changed, it's not easy to replace them.

But we can bring all the academicians from the school and have them sit in the back row to listen to the lecture. How can we not show the level of our school?
Then we can add a few comments and discuss academic development and technological progress with Professor Qian. Wouldn't that be wonderful?

So a series of arrangements were then distributed.

However, when the academicians who received the notification saw the contents of Zhai Da's paper...

Many people fell into deep thought.

On January 4, the day of his defense, Zhai Da specially wore formal attire, showing a proper attitude.

Even though he was mentally prepared, he was still taken aback when he walked into the classroom, which was packed with thirty or forty people.

Looking around, you can't find a single black head among all the senior academicians, professors, veterans, and school leaders in the classroom.

If you didn't know better, you'd think the senior citizens' university was doing a major overhaul!
This situation... I can only say that it's fortunate I acted cute decisively and had warned my teacher beforehand on New Year's Eve, otherwise I would have been really nervous.

When Zhai Da entered, a group of familiar and unfamiliar bigwigs looked over, but perhaps because there were too many people, it wasn't suitable to chat casually, and surprisingly no one came to say a few words.

Only Zhai Da's mentor, the associate professor who helped him revise the format, cast a complicated glance at him.

It couldn't be deciphered.
After all, the two had only met twice.

Zhai Da walked to the front of the stage, connected to the computer, and opened the paper file. As for the paper copies for the professors, there were too many, and the school had already made arrangements.

About ten minutes later, Mr. Qian and the principal finally finished their visit and entered the classroom chatting and laughing.

Zhai Daben wanted to get up and help push the teacher's wheelchair, but he didn't expect that this task was not his responsibility at all.

An academician in his seventies rushed up immediately, even faster than young people like Zhai Da who had experienced "high gravity training".

"Mr. Qian, we meet again. I am Li Haiming. I met you at a symposium in 98 and we even chatted."

Old Qian clasped his hands together, smiled broadly, and waved them, saying, "Hello, hello!"

Anyone familiar with Qian Xuesen would know that he hadn't remembered this at all.

"Professor Qian, it's wonderful that your health has improved. I'm Liu Song, and I used to work at the Chinese Academy of Sciences."

"Hello, Professor Qian, I am Tan Jiu."

It's not hard to understand that these seemingly elderly masters are already juniors to their teachers.

If we don't use a generation as the benchmark, but rather consider ten years in academia as a generation, then everyone is a descendant of the younger generation.

The gentleman, who appeared to be seventy years old, was nearly 30 years younger than Mr. Qian, and they were both at the level of grand-disciple and great-grand-disciple.

Furthermore, with Professor Qian residing in Beijing for decades due to illness, the classroom felt like a fan meeting. Everyone has role models and figures to admire. When Zhai Dacheng became Professor Qian's disciple, it already caused a stir at the school, let alone the presence of the professor himself.
The teachers were surrounded, and Zhai Da couldn't get in from the outside, so he simply focused on preparing for his defense.

Finally, after more than ten minutes of excitement, Principal Wang took the initiative to call for a halt, and the classroom returned to order. The bigwigs returned to their seats, while Professor Qian was pushed to the side of the front row.

Zhai Da, the supporting character in this defense, finally began his performance.

Clearing his throat lightly, Zhai Da smiled and said:
"Respected judges and school leaders, good afternoon. My name is Zhai Da, from Class 1 of Materials Science and Engineering, School of Materials Science and Engineering, student ID 10821101. My graduation thesis is titled: Research on the Application of Silicon Carbide Thin Films in Vapor Phase/Physical Deposition Technology."

Zhai Da spoke at a steady pace and with clear logic; it was impossible for him to be nervous, as this was indeed very simple for him.

The presentation lasted 25 minutes and was quite detailed.

As for the content, it's only slightly higher than that of a typical undergraduate student.

Zhai Da actually had a clear conscience. He just wanted a graduation certificate, not to be worth five teachers. If he had defended his thesis with his classmates, he might have been able to compete for the "Outstanding Thesis" award.

But the quality of something depends on comparison. For example, a plate of kimchi might be considered a main dish in Korea, and a delicacy in India, but if you put it at a Chinese state banquet...
It doesn't even deserve to have its own plate.

The situation is similar now. Because of the teacher's arrival, Zhai Da's graduation project was presented on the most glamorous, expensive, and prestigious plate.

Then came the Q&A session. After a brief silence, the first professor's opening remarks were absolutely astounding!

"Zhai's thesis is truly a gem! It is logically rigorous and clearly organized, making it the best graduation project I have seen this year."

Zhai Da's smile froze on his face as he thought to himself: Today is only January 4th! Shouldn't this be your first day back at work this year?
Was that a bit too much of a compliment?

Actually, that professor didn't completely lose face just because Professor Qian was present.

The main problem is that Zhai Dacai has been on the news. If I ask him some practical questions about silicon carbide, and he knows more about it than I do, wouldn't I embarrass myself in front of the school leaders and Professor Qian?
Who's so stupid as to put on an act?
In this special case, just praise them!
Having established the first model, the second expert also found his rhythm:

"Truly excellent. The argumentation process is tight and substantial, and the citations are detailed yet do not lack key points. He truly deserves to be a young leader who fills many technological gaps in our country."

The third person said, "Looking at this paper, I find it innovative, full of substance, and full of ingenuity!"

Fourth person: "Great! It's really great!"

Zhai Da gritted his teeth, feeling so embarrassed he could practically dig out a three-bedroom apartment.

Doesn't he know how his defense turned out?

So he looked at the teacher and gave her a look that said, "Teacher, I didn't threaten them."

The teacher was also somewhat helpless. Although Zhai Da was not considered an academic, and undergraduate thesis defenses were indeed not that important, the academic atmosphere should not be this bad.

So he said softly, "The judges can ask questions and point out flaws. We need to communicate and exchange ideas more."

This has created a dilemma. There are almost no highlights, but there are also no flaws.

After hesitating for a while, someone suddenly said, "Student Zhai, there are indeed some minor problems with this paper."

Zhai Da's eyes lit up: "Please go ahead."

Go ahead and ask. After a brief back-and-forth discussion, you can call it a day.

The professor, whose name I couldn't recall, pointed to a small paragraph on the fourth line of page 20 of the main text and said, "Based on my many years of experience, this comma should be a misused half-width character."

He tapped the paper with a rather serious expression, making a slapping sound:
"Student Zhai, rules are important, and they also reflect your attitude. Please pay attention next time!"

Zhai Da:
He subconsciously looked at his "mentor," who was basically the youngest person present besides him. His neck looked as if it were welded shut, and he was looking down at what he was holding.

It's as if he didn't change the format.

"You're right, it was my oversight, and I sincerely apologize. It was so wrong of me!"

------------

After reviewing Zhai Da's defense, the teacher decided not to keep him any longer and planned to take the bus back to northern Beijing that afternoon.

However, such a long journey will not be completed overnight; there will inevitably be stops along the way, and we may visit other places.

This elderly man, who has just been discharged from his sickbed, has so many things he wants to see in his homeland.

Zhai Da pushed the teacher's wheelchair slowly toward the parking lot.

As for the half-hearted defense, the two had already put it out of their minds. Both master and disciple knew what had happened today, so there was no need to mention it.

Old Qian said slowly, "After returning to Beijing, there are only a few days left until the New Year. If you come out again, you may have to wait until spring. Xiao Zhai, what are your plans? After all, you should be considered to have graduated after today."

Teacher Zhai Dawei adjusted the scarf:
"I'm going back to Dongyang for the Spring Festival. There are many things to arrange this time, but I still need to go back to Harbin after the holiday. The relocation and factory construction can't be resolved so quickly; it will take at least until the second half of the year."

"Secondly, there's the issue of mass production, which has been severely hampered by graduation matters. The news has already reported on it, so we need to get things back on track quickly, or people will think we're just bragging."

"As for the reverse engineering of equipment, with the teacher's 'On Systems Engineering', things should go much more smoothly."

The teacher probably thought that Zhai Da had gained some insights from the book, and smiled and said, "Yes, definitely."

The wheelchair slowly approached the Coaster bus, and this unexpected reunion between master and apprentice was about to come to an end.

Before parting, Zhai Da took out a copy of "The Severed Finger" from his bag and placed it in the old man's hand: "This is a new work. The subject matter is a bit special and may not suit your taste, but if you have some free time, you can use it to pass the time."

The teacher nodded and patted Zhai Da's hand on the back: "I'm very happy that you've grown so quickly, and I'm even happier that you've gathered so many like-minded people."

"Keep it up, you're all young and have a lot to achieve."

Watching the car drive away into the distance, Zhai Da stretched lazily and turned to look at the familiar campus.

Graduation was just a few days away, with two exams to take. By then, he would no longer be a college student.

He is now a complete and fully committed "social being".

With all the accumulated experience and growth, the wealth they've built up, and a strong team.

My undergraduate studies.
Okay?
(End of this chapter)