The night before the college entrance exam results were released, I redeemed my Peking University ad

Go to the US?

As soon as Ji Bai said that, the entire living room seemed to be muted.

The sounds of comforting words, analysis, and recommendations for compromise solutions that had been rising and falling just moments before suddenly ceased.

"This...this is different..."

Someone muttered something under their breath, but then fell silent.

Different? How are they different?

He wanted to say that Fucheng and the US are not the same thing. Fucheng is a domestic regional choice issue, while the US issue is a matter of treason and defection. The nature of these issues is completely different.

But the words stuck in his throat for a moment, and he didn't dare to say them out.

Because he suddenly realized an even more terrifying fact: the boy in front of him truly had the right to make this choice.

He chose Fucheng because the superconducting industry chain is located there; he chose Beijing because it's in Beijing; if he were truly pushed to the brink, he might choose the US…

The mere thought of that scene was enough to send chills down the spines of everyone present.

Every single one of them should be nailed to the pillar of historical shame!

His career in politics has reached its absolute limit, and he will never be able to rise again!

Take Academician Wang, for example. He just casually mentioned going abroad to receive an award, and now he's been repeatedly summoned for talks and subjected to repeated reviews, and he's being criticized and reprimanded every day.

If it weren't for the fact that he had invested ten million in Ji Bai beforehand, which meant he had taken the right position in advance, his current situation would probably be even more tragic than that of Academician Zhou, whose academic career was ruined.

With past examples still fresh in our minds, who would dare to coerce us in the slightest?

I originally thought the boy was incapable of negotiation and easy to talk to, but he just casually uttered a sentence that hit everyone's sore spot.

And you won't be able to find a single fault with it!

The crowd looked at each other, their hearts brimming with words of comfort, yet unable to utter a single one.

Finally, Director Zhang sighed, "Ji Bai's vision is truly far-sighted. It's precisely because Fucheng has nothing that it's easier to develop!"

These words set the tone, and everyone present immediately understood and changed their tune, resulting in a complete 180-degree reversal.

"That's right! Only a blank sheet of paper can be used to draw new pictures!"

"Established cities have entrenched industries and deeply entrenched interests, which makes them more constrained and difficult to change. Fucheng, starting from scratch, is perfectly suited to build a complete superconducting industry chain, with the purest planning and the most advanced layout!"

"I agree! High land prices and excessive labor costs in first-tier cities severely compress profit margins for industries. Fucheng, on the other hand, offers controllable costs, making it a highly cost-effective location for production and allowing for rapid capacity expansion!"

"Moreover, Fucheng's geographical location is ideal; it's neither near the sea nor the border, its hinterland is stable, and its concealment and security are excellent, perfectly meeting the confidentiality requirements of a strategic industry like superconductivity!"

"Most importantly, Fucheng is located in the heart of the old industrial base in Northeast China, and is surrounded by a complete heavy industrial support system, including steel, machinery, and chemicals, all of which are needed for the mass production of superconducting materials."

"We were only thinking about talent and research environment before, and we neglected the supporting infrastructure in the upstream of the industrial chain. It was Ji Bai who saw things clearly."

Ji Bai leaned back on the sofa, holding his glass with a faded bear print, slowly drinking water, a faint smile playing on his lips.

He didn't say anything, just listened quietly as these bigwigs who had just been saying "Fucheng is no good" now enthusiastically argued how uniquely advantageous Fucheng was.

Moreover, these people never mentioned Ji Bai's earlier comment, "Go to America," and completely ignored it, as if that sentence had never been uttered.

This is an unspoken understanding among adults: since it can't be stopped, one must make it appear as if one's change of direction is always moving in this direction.

With an IQ of Gauss+10, social niceties and such are simply a matter of whether he wants to or not.

……

Meanwhile, downstairs at Ji Bai's house.

Prefect Liu is reporting to the provincial governor.

"My lord, the situation is dire! Those people from the capital seem intent on taking us away, bowl and all, without even leaving us a drop of soup!"

On the other end of the phone, the provincial governor remained silent for a while before calmly giving a few instructions.

Prefect Liu nodded repeatedly, his back unconsciously bending slightly:

"Yes, yes, yes..."

"I understand, I understand..."

"Comrade Wang Jianguo is already on his way..."

"We'll definitely try to persuade Ji Bai to leave us even just one branch business..."

After a brief report, Prefect Liu slowly hung up the phone, his face extremely grim.

These past few days, he was so happy that he couldn't sleep, and even when he did fall asleep, he would wake up laughing.

Room temperature superconductivity—this is something that can be written into the annals of human civilization. The inventors are from Fucheng. Even if the lion's share is taken by higher authorities, any scraps left over will be enough for Fucheng to make a fortune.

But he never expected that the big shots in the capital would have such a big appetite and be so ruthless!

"This is so unfair!"

Magistrate Ma, standing nearby, leaned over, equally aggrieved: "Your Excellency, aren't these people from the capital being incredibly unruly? Ji Bai is, after all, someone from our Fucheng. Their behavior is utterly disgraceful."

Prefect Liu gritted his teeth: "It's not that they're being unseemly; they simply don't respect us at all!"

"In their eyes, I, a prefect, am not as influential as a section chief under them."

"Forget it, let's wait for Lao Wang to come over. He and Ji Bai at least have a connection through their alma mater. Let him go up and play the emotional card; it's better than us just standing here watching helplessly."

As he complained, a round figure came galloping from a distance.

Wang Jianguo was sweating profusely from running, and it's hard to tell how much of it was acting.

Seeing his appearance from a distance, Prefect Liu couldn't help but call out, "Old Wang, slow down, your pants are all loose."

Upon hearing this, Old Wang ran even faster.

The prefect said his trousers were loose. What does that mean? Does he mean he wants to help him pull them up a bit?

Upon arriving at the scene, Magistrate Ma's words left Old Wang completely dumbfounded.

"What? The people from the capital want to take Ji Bai away with them?"

"That's right."

Prefect Liu patted Old Wang on the shoulder: "That's why I asked you to come over and talk to Ji Bai about his feelings for his alma mater, to see if we can leave some money for ourselves."

Wang Jianguo finally understood.

No wonder the prefect said his trousers were loose; he was waiting for him here.

The matter has been accomplished, so let's discuss it.

It can't be done, huh!

The immense pressure instantly weighed on Wang Jianguo's shoulders, causing him to break out in a cold sweat as his mind raced.

How to lower my stance, how to reminisce about the past, how to move Ji Bai later? If all else fails, I'll call Li Mei over too.

As the group was pondering this, a series of chaotic footsteps sounded from the stairwell.

The joint team members came down.

"Hey? Lord Liu, why are you still here? Why didn't you go up?"

Seeing the smiling and greeting Director Zhang and his entourage, Prefect Liu was stunned on the spot.

Why is this attitude so different from before?

Could it be... that they've reached an agreement?

Did Ji Bai really agree to go with us?

Upon realizing this, Prefect Liu felt a chill in his heart, realizing that the great opportunity in Fucheng had completely slipped away, and his career was about to become bleak as well.

Just as he was filled with despair, Steward Zhang smiled and continued, "Let's go back to the guesthouse. We'll be troubling Lord Prefect quite a bit over the next few days."

"what?"

Prefect Liu's pupils contracted sharply, and he was completely stunned, unable to react for a long time.

Stay in Fucheng?

What does that mean?

A senior executive of a state-owned enterprise standing nearby looked at Prefect Liu's dazed expression with envy, jealousy, and helplessness in his eyes.

"Let's go, don't just stand there!"

"Ji Bai said that the room-temperature superconductivity-related industrial cluster will be located in Fucheng in the future!"