A genius? I just love studying.

Chapter 303 Academician Selection

The application to build the reactor was approved at lightning speed, and a construction team arrived on Science Island the very next day.

The commercial reactor will be built on Science Island. Once the reactor is ignited, given the current capabilities of China's Cthulhu industry, the subsequent supporting facilities can be completed in a very short time. Therefore, there is no special arrangement for the location.

Looking at these rugged-looking construction workers, it was clear they were not ordinary workers.

However, none of this mattered to Chen Hui. All he needed to do was integrate all the technologies, complete the ignition, and ensure that the dramatic reaction could be sustained for at least several years, which would be considered achieving his goal.

Building a stack is a huge project that cannot be completed overnight.

The Spring Festival has arrived in the blink of an eye.

Chen Hui returned to Chengdu several days ago.

Li Hai is currently on leave from school. He is spending time with his wife while teaching himself programming, trying to make some small things to see if he can earn some money.

His wife, on the other hand, is already quite pregnant and is expected to give birth after the New Year.

Liang Peixuan also went home for the holidays.

The three of them had a few meals together and also took a stroll back to No. 2 Middle School. Recalling the little things they experienced at No. 2 Middle School back then, they couldn't help but feel a little sentimental. Who would have thought that the guy they used to chat and joke with would become such a person?
Even Liang Peixuan himself didn't expect that he could actually get into Yanbei University. At that time, his goal was just an ordinary 985 university, and he hadn't even thought about C9 universities.

Li Hai, on the other hand, truly lived according to his own plan and became the person he envisioned.

However, judging from his silly grin, he seemed to be enjoying himself.

These days, Chen Hui unusually didn't continue to devote himself entirely to studying mathematics. Instead, he visited several teachers and relatives and friends.

"Cough cough..."

When Chen Hui got home, he heard his uncle's suppressed cough as soon as he opened the door.

"Xiaohui is back!"

When Li Tianhua saw Chen Hui, he immediately smiled and waved his hand, "It's nothing, I guess the weather got cold too quickly these past few days and I caught a cold."

"I told you to wear more clothes, but you wouldn't listen. Now you've caught a cold and you're feeling better?"

Fan Rong scolded him with heartache from the side, while handing Li Tianhua a cotton-padded coat and draping it over his shoulders.

"Let me take my uncle to get checked out."

Chen Hui immediately suggested, "As people get older, even minor ailments shouldn't be ignored. It's best to get checked out for peace of mind."

Li Tianhua immediately waved his hands repeatedly, "No, no, it's just a little cold, why bother with a checkup? I've never taken medicine for a cold in my life. Doctors say that catching a cold occasionally is a good thing, it can boost immunity."

How old are you now?

"Can you still compare to someone younger?"

Fan Rong launched into another tirade, "Listen to Xiao Hui, go to the hospital for a checkup. You've been coughing all afternoon, do you really think I didn't hear you?"

"Don't go."

Li Tianhua shook his head vigorously, "If we're going, it's not now. The New Year is just around the corner, and it's unlucky for anyone to go to the hospital during the New Year."

"You know it's almost Chinese New Year?"

"Would it be auspicious for you to be sickly during the Lunar New Year?"

"Then let's go downstairs and buy some cold medicine."

This is already the biggest concession Li Tianhua could make.

Chen Hui was also helpless. Sometimes he couldn't understand the thought process of the elderly, but his uncle seemed to be in good health. A minor cold was nothing to worry about, so he decisively went downstairs and bought some 999 Cold Remedy and Cough Relief.

As it turns out, a minor cold is not scary at all; Li Tianhua's condition was brought under control in just two days.

After all, he came from a background of manual labor, so he had a good physical foundation. In addition, after becoming a lab administrator in the past two years, he has been living a life of luxury and his health has been very good.

New Year's Eve,
As usual, Aunt Fan Rong prepared a large and sumptuous meal.

After dinner, the family cleaned up the leftovers and sat on the sofa to watch the Spring Festival Gala. Li Qingrui skipped over to Chen Hui, "Brother, Happy New Year!"

"Wishing you prosperity and good fortune, give me a red envelope."

Qingshan stood next to Li Qingrui, his eyes also filled with joy.

Given Chen Hui's current status and power, they naturally have no shortage of pocket money, and asking for red envelopes is more of a festive gesture.

But Chen Hui actually prepared gifts for them!
He handed two specially packaged gift boxes to the two children, saying, "Here are two big red envelopes for you!"

Both of them have the latest Youwei tablets, which are certainly not for them to play games or watch short videos. They are their medium for accessing the online world. With the two little ones about to enter junior high school, they naturally need to have more contact with the outside world.

Pads were never a monster; on the contrary, they were very useful tools. It just depended on the person using them, and he had confidence in the two little ones' self-control.

"Wow, long live the brother!"

Li Qingrui exclaimed in surprise, holding the tablet, so happy she almost jumped up.

Aoyama was also very happy, because with the tablet, he could find questions to do online!

Chen Hui smiled and patted the two little ones on the head, then handed two gift boxes to his uncle and aunt, saying, "Happy New Year, Uncle and Aunt!"

He bought the two elderly people a gold bracelet and a gold ring.

"Oh dear, why waste money buying these? Gold is so expensive right now!"

When Fan Rong saw the expensive gold bracelet, he felt a pang of heartache. "This money would have been better used to buy you a house and help you get married. Can you return this?"

Chen Hui was both amused and exasperated. His parents still didn't know that he had already bought the house; they still thought he was renting.

"I can't return it anymore. I bought it several days ago, and the return period has passed."

Chen Hui made up a random excuse. The two elders had never bought such a thing before, so they could only sigh and lament, feeling heartbroken.

Since they couldn't return it, they had no choice but to accept it reluctantly. Chen Hui urged, "Uncle and Aunt, please try it on quickly."

The two elders had no choice, but at this moment, Fan Rong took out a plastic bag from the sofa and handed it to Chen Hui, saying, "Xiao Hui, this is some money we've saved up over the years. Keep it for now, and we'll go and see if we can buy a house after the New Year."

“You’re not young anymore, it’s time to think about your life’s important matters. It’s hard to find a partner without a house. Your uncle and aunt aren’t capable, this is all we can save. If it’s not enough, we’ll think of a way together.”

Li Tianhua also took out a bank card and handed it to Chen Hui, saying, "This is the money you transferred to me before. Apart from the money used to pay off debts, the rest is all in here."

The plastic bag contained more than 50,000 yuan, which was obviously saved up by the uncle and aunt over the past year.

"Uncle and Aunt, I really don't need money right now."

Chen Hui was deeply moved. "I am now the head of the Plasma Research Institute, and my annual salary is over a million. You two can rest assured."

"Take it."

Fan Rong persisted, "Just consider it New Year's money from your uncle and aunt!"

Chen Hui couldn't refuse, so he could only accept it with a wry smile.

Woohoo...

Just as midnight struck, Chen Hui's phone began vibrating incessantly. New Year's greetings from teachers, classmates, and friends—including Terence Tao, Schultz, and Tian Yang—flooded in.

Chen Hui felt slightly ashamed. As the younger generation, he should have been the one to make the call, but he had never done this before, and it was indeed a thoughtless move.

It took a full half hour to deal with all the phone calls.

Just then, a call came in from an unknown number.

Normally, Chen Hui wouldn't answer this call, but today, he did.

"Happy New Year, Xiao Chen!"

A kind old man's voice came through the phone.

It's Mr. Qian!
Chen Hui was startled. "Happy New Year, Mr. Qian. I should be the one calling you."

"We don't go through those formalities."

Old Qian said with a smile, "Take a good rest, and let's work together to accomplish something great next year!"

After exchanging only a few words, Mr. Qian hung up the phone, which suggests that he must have been very busy today.

"Who is Mr. Qian?"

Fan Rong, who was making the bed for Chen Hui, asked in confusion.

"It's that old Mr. Qian." Chen Hui looked up at the sky, not daring to speak loudly.

"Mr. Qian!"

Fan Rong exclaimed in surprise, feeling a little dizzy.

She knew Chen Hui had made something of himself, but she never expected him to be this successful, to the point that Old Qian would call to wish him a Happy New Year.
……

Happy times are always short-lived. The Spring Festival was over in no time, and migrant workers began to return home one after another starting from the sixth day of the Lunar New Year.

Even academicians from the Chinese Academy of Sciences and the Chinese Academy of Engineering have begun to return to their posts one after another.

However, this year, they first came to Beijing.

In the large conference room in Beijing,

"I have no objection to Professor Chen being elected as an academician, but isn't he a bit too young?"

"I think it would be better to wait a few years?"

Looking at the list in his hand, Academician Yang Desheng whispered to his friend next to him.

"He's undoubtedly the youngest academician in China, but when it comes to contributions, who among us here dares to say they're better than him?"

Wan Buyan, a friend standing next to him, shook his head. "Ultimately, the selection of academicians is based on achievements and contributions. I think there's no problem with Professor Chen being selected as an academician this time."

"That's true, but I still feel like he's too young."

Yang Desheng still felt a bit awkward. "I always feel that having a young person mixed into our team makes us seem unprofessional. People who don't know us might think that anyone can become an academician."

"You're kidding me. Everyone in China knows Professor Chen now. It's perfectly legitimate for Professor Chen to become an academician. We might even be the ones who benefited from it."

Wan Buyan said bluntly that he was really afraid his friend would vote against it, which would probably make him the target of gossip.

"This is the truth..."

Yang Desheng muttered to himself, "But the others aren't much worse than him."

There are only one or two academicians each year, so the competition is fierce. Many people have been nominated for years but have not been selected.

"Do you know what the most outrageous thing is?"

At this moment, sitting next to the two of them, Academician Gu Yongfen of the Chinese Academy of Sciences said with a wry smile, "These guys recommended him for membership in both the Chinese Academy of Sciences and the Chinese Academy of Engineering. That means he will be nominated for membership in both the Chinese Academy of Sciences and the Chinese Academy of Engineering this year."

There are quite a few academicians of the Chinese Academy of Sciences and the Chinese Academy of Engineering, but not many are elected in the same cohort, especially considering Chen Hui's age.

They also knew that Chen Hui had not submitted the application himself. The selection of academicians was always done by other academicians. In other words, the academicians who recommended Chen Hui had submitted his application for academician selection for two academies at the same time.

"Being selected for one is the highest honor; to be directly selected as an academician of the Chinese Academy of Sciences or the Chinese Academy of Engineering would be too exceptional."

Yang Desheng shook his head repeatedly.

Not only them, but the entire conference room was discussing this matter. There was no way around it; Chen Hui was now arguably the most famous scientist in China, so his admission review was naturally the hottest topic.

Soon, the conference officially began, and the delegates expressed their opinions, followed by the first round of voting.

Such important selections are naturally not decided by a single vote; multiple rounds of consultations are often conducted, but the results of the first round of voting often represent the final outcome.

Those who participated in the meeting were among the smartest and most successful people in the country. They were often determined and confident in themselves, making it more difficult to change their minds than to persuade them in the first place.

……

Chen Hui stayed home a few extra days this year, accompanied his uncle and aunt back to their hometown, and paid respects at the graves of his parents, whose memories were fading. Afterward, he returned to Chengdu and spent a few days traveling around the area with Rui Rui and Qing Shan, only returning to the Plasma Research Institute after the Lantern Festival.

The basic research is now complete, and we are just waiting for the reactor to be built and for final commissioning before ignition.

When Chen Hui returned to Science Island, he found that it had already changed.

When Dai Yafeng drove onto Science Island, he noticed some unusual changes and even wondered if he had gone to the wrong place.

The bridge was still the same bridge, but the streetlights seemed brighter, and the roads were wider than I remembered. Strangely, Science Island, which should have been silent at this time, was now faintly lit up with lights in the distance.

When Chen Hui arrived at the Plasma Research Institute, the building was still the same building, but it was located behind the original research institute.

On the previously empty ground now stood a group of buildings he had never seen before. The most eye-catching of them was a huge ring structure that shimmered with a metallic luster under the night sky. It was surrounded by a complex network of pipes and supports, with several auxiliary buildings encircling it, creating a futuristic scene.

Chen Hui got out of the car and stared in disbelief at the scene before him. He was all too familiar with the appearance of that ring-shaped building; it was the typical structure of a tokamak nuclear fusion device!
The building was brightly lit and bustling with people, appearing to be already in use.

"How long has it been?"

Chen Hui muttered to himself, "This project was approved less than a month ago, and it's already completed?"
"How's it going? Are you satisfied?"

Song Yuntao walked over with a smile, amused by the shock on Chen Hui's face. It was the first time he had seen such an expression on Chen Hui's face; in the past, it was always Chen Hui who made them do this.

"Didn't any of them go home for the Chinese New Year?"

"Excellent work style, courageous in fighting tough battles!"

At this moment, the middle-aged man with a rugged face came up to Chen Hui, bowed to him, and solemnly said, "Director Chen, the Pangu Project has been completed. Please inspect it."

Chen Hui took a deep breath, trying to calm his excited emotions, and stepped into the towering building.

An hour later, Chen Hui couldn't find a single fault with him. He looked at the middle-aged man and said with the same solemn expression, "Thank you for your hard work, everyone!"

The middle-aged man bowed again solemnly, "Serve the people!"

Chen Hui was deeply shocked.

He had heard such words many times, but combined with the miracle that was built in just one month, at this moment, these words felt as heavy as a thousand pounds in Chen Hui's heart!

(End of this chapter)