Nominal: Starting with an entrance exam for a PhD in Economics at Peking University

Upon arriving in the capital again, the urgency of the previous trip was gone, but Qi Tongwei did not dare to delay in his actions.

That night, he stayed at the same guesthouse that he had once regarded as a "lucky place," and the next morning he went to Peking University early.

Before eight o'clock, he was already waiting outside Professor Li Yiqing's office, but Professor Li had not yet arrived.

Qi Tongwei didn't take out any economics books to read; doing so at this time and place would inevitably raise suspicions of showing off.

Moreover, he's not someone who's truly dedicated to learning; he set his sights too high at the beginning, and he might not be able to keep up later.

So he simply waited patiently at the door.

At 8:00 a.m. sharp, Professor Li Yiqing arrived carrying a simple briefcase.

Upon seeing this, Qi Tongwei quickly stepped forward to greet him: "Good morning, Professor. I am Qi Tongwei. I have taken care of my personal matters and have come to report for duty. Please give me your instructions."

He and Professor Li had only met once during the interview. Fearing the professor might not remember him, Qi Tongwei quickly introduced himself to avoid an awkward atmosphere.

Professor Li adjusted his glasses, a clear look of surprise flashing in his eyes: "Qi Tongwei? Why are you here so early? I remember you were given a month's leave, and it's not even halfway over yet."

As he spoke, he took out his keys and opened the office door: "Come in."

Stepping into the office again, Qi Tongwei's mindset was quite different from when he was interviewing. He also had the leisure to take his time to look around: the space was about forty square meters, the bookshelves opposite were neat and orderly, and although the desk and the surrounding bookshelves were slightly messy, they had their own order, obviously due to frequent browsing.

Li Yiqing sat down behind his desk, placed his briefcase on it, and gestured for Qi Tongwei to sit down. He then continued:

"Did the procedures go smoothly?"

Qi Tongwei sat down respectfully and said, "My unit is honored that I have the opportunity to study under you, so we made special arrangements and gave you the green light."

Qi Tongwei didn't reveal his past to his casual acquaintance, but cautiously used some platitudes.

Li Yiqing nodded noncommittally and said, "I don't have any specific tasks for you right now. Just settle in first."

Just then, there was a knock on the office door. Li Yiqing called out, "Come in!" and a young lecturer in his early thirties, wearing thin-rimmed glasses and dressed simply but very neatly, walked in carrying a thermos.

He skillfully put down the water bottle and began to make tea for Li Yiqing, his gaze curiously observing Qi Tongwei.

Li Yiqing pointed to Qi Tongwei and introduced him: "This is Qi Tongwei, the classmate I mentioned to you. He arrived early. Could you help him arrange accommodation and get temporary access and library cards?"

He then introduced the newcomer to Qi Tongwei: "This is Jiang Fan, a lecturer in the department, and also my former... disciple. You can just call him senior brother."

It seemed to be a reminder of Qi Tongwei's "disciple and assistant theory" during the interview.

"Hello, Senior Brother Jiang, thank you for your help." Qi Tongwei quickly shook hands with him.

Jiang Fan warmly shook his hand and said with a smile, "Junior Brother Qi, I've heard so much about you."

Qi Tongwei looked puzzled: "Senior brother, you're too kind. What makes you say that?"

Jiang Fan did not answer, but said to Li Yiqing, "Teacher, shall I take him to settle in first?"

Li Yiqing nodded.

After receiving permission, Qi Tongwei, full of questions, left the office with Jiang Fan. Jiang Fan, clearly perceptive, immediately offered his explanation as soon as they stepped outside:

"My teacher has mentioned you several times recently, and I've been wanting to get to know you for a long time."

Qi Tongwei, still puzzled, continued to ask, "Did the teacher mention me?"

“Yes,” Jiang Fan laughed, “They’ve said you’re very talented several times in the last ten days or so, and I’m starting to get jealous.”

Qi Tongwei was even more confused, so he recounted how his paper had been belittled during the interview and his "disciple-assistant theory".

Jiang Fan laughed heartily after hearing this: "You've been fooled by your teacher! He's full of praise for your paper and has already led us in several group meetings on it. He said your perspective is unique, your entry point is precise, your analytical methods are appropriate, and most importantly, the solutions you proposed are practical and feasible."

He said seriously, "My teacher also said that with slight revisions, this paper would be qualified as a doctoral dissertation."

Qi Tongwei was stunned, never expecting the professor to praise his paper so highly, and instinctively retorted:

"But I only used basic economics theories, and there was very little content even at the master's level..."

Jiang Fan's expression turned serious: "Junior brother, you've misunderstood. The essence of economics is to solve or explain national economic problems, not to cobble together obscure terms and formulas and write useless papers to publish in journals. If you do that, you're putting the cart before the horse."

These words struck Qi Tongwei like lightning. He trembled slightly and said sincerely, "Thank you for your guidance, senior brother. I have learned a lot."

Jiang Fan waved his hand: "You're too kind, junior brother. Don't underestimate yourself. Your theory of disciples as assistants has some merit, but a teacher doesn't accept just any student. If you really want to understand different perspectives, you can just send us to do a survey. Why do you need to specifically accept a student?"

Qi Tongwei then asked, "I have another question. During the last interview, although the teacher gave me a month's leave, his tone clearly indicated that he hoped I would arrive as soon as possible. Why haven't I been given any tasks today?"

Jiang Fan chuckled and patted his shoulder: "Junior brother, your teacher briefly mentioned your situation to me. Think about it, winter break and the Chinese New Year are just around the corner, and you won't officially enroll until next September. Right now, what urgent or important matter could the department or research group possibly need you, a doctoral student who hasn't even enrolled yet, to help with?"

He paused, his tone tinged with admiration: "The reason the teacher asked you to complete the procedures within a month is, frankly, to temporarily lend you his 'Li Yiqing' name so you can smoothly 'resign' from your original unit. The teacher is such a perceptive person; just by looking at your resume—a master's graduate from a prestigious university yet working as a grassroots police officer, having made great contributions yet rushing to take the doctoral entrance exam in economics—how could he not guess that you might not be in a good position at your original unit? With his requirement to 'report within a specified period,' anyone on your side who wants to obstruct you will have to think twice."

Upon hearing this, Qi Tongwei was shocked. In fact, with his intelligence and shrewdness, he should have thought of this long ago, but his twenty years of experience in his previous life had made him accustomed to assuming the motives of others with malice, making it difficult for him to understand Professor Li's actions with goodwill from the beginning.

After all, while his decision to apply for Li Yiqing's doctoral program wasn't exactly malicious, it wasn't entirely innocent either.

Qi Tongwei suddenly realized that in his previous life he had devoted himself to darkness and was surrounded by villains like Zhao Ruilong and Chen Qingquan; now that he was drawn to the light, he was surrounded by good people. Was this a case of being influenced by one's surroundings, or simply birds of a feather flocking together?

Seeing that Qi Tongwei was still thinking, Jiang Fan patted Qi Tongwei on the shoulder: "Do you understand now? Come on, let me take you to settle down first. There should still be empty seats in the graduate student dormitory. I'll find you a quiet room."

Chapter 23 New Roommate

Jiang Fan was extremely efficient and quickly arranged temporary accommodation for him in the graduate student dormitory on campus. The conditions of graduate student dormitories in the mid-1990s were different from those in later years; double or single rooms were rare, and most rooms were for four people.

Although the room was a bit old, it was clean and tidy, and you could see the slightly desolate yet still elegant scenery of the campus in winter when you opened the window.

Three beds in the dormitory were already occupied, leaving only the one near the door empty. Qi Tongwei put down his simple luggage, and Jiang Fan helped him, explaining the situation as well:

“The four students in this dorm are all graduate students in the Department of Economics, students of Professor Wang Jing in the college. Right now, they're probably either helping out with their advisor or studying in the library.” He further explained, “You haven't officially enrolled yet, so applying for a dorm directly is against the rules. There are vacancies in this dorm, and I'm acquainted with their advisor, Professor Wang, so I've already spoken to him. You can stay here temporarily. When the semester starts next year, you can formally apply for a new dorm and live with the professor's new students this year.”

After settling his luggage, Jiang Fan took him to apply for a temporary campus card and library card.

Stepping into Peking University Library, Qi Tongwei was deeply immersed in the vast collection of books and the tranquil and solemn learning atmosphere, feeling the profound academic heritage of this top university.

Jiang Fan was clearly very familiar with classic works and basic textbooks in economics, presumably because he often assisted Professor Li in guiding new students.

He navigated the densely packed bookshelves with practiced ease, and soon returned with a thick stack of books, which he shoved into Qi Tongwei's arms without a word—Zhu Shanli's *Microeconomics*, Hal Varian's *Microeconomic Analysis*, János Kornai's *Economics of Shortage*, Gujarati's *Econometrics*, and several cutting-edge works by well-known domestic scholars.

“Here, this is your ‘introductory reading list’,” Jiang Fan said with a smile, watching Qi Tongwei struggle a bit while carrying the large bundle of books. “You should be glad you came just before the holidays. If it were during the regular school term, these popular textbooks would have been borrowed from the shelves long ago, and you’d have to queue up and make reservations to read them!”

He then earnestly instructed, “Take advantage of this holiday period; the library is quiet and less crowded, so you can calmly solidify your foundation. Our teachers often teach us that in scholarship, you must first ‘level the table legs.’ Without a solid theoretical foundation, subsequent research is just castles in the air. Although your paper demonstrated good insight, systematic training in economics is absolutely essential. Next April, there will be the formal written and oral exams for doctoral admission. If you do poorly, it will be embarrassing for your professor. If there's anything you don't understand in the books, feel free to ask me anytime; my office is right next to yours.”

(Note: At that time, doctoral student admissions were organized independently by each university, but if the supervisor had already decided to admit the student, the student would usually not be rejected.)

Qi Tongwei first carried the heavy stack of books back to his dormitory, then selected "Microeconomics" and a textbook on "Political Economy" edited by the dean of the School of Economics at Peking University, and returned to the library to study diligently.

He ate lunch at the university cafeteria, which lived up to its reputation for being delicious and inexpensive. In the afternoon, he continued to bury himself in his books until closing time, at which point he packed up and returned to his dormitory.

By this time, all three roommates had returned; some were washing up, while others were still studying under the lamp.

As a newcomer, Qi Tongwei took the initiative to greet them with a humble attitude: "Hello, senior brothers. I am Qi Tongwei, a newly recruited doctoral student of Professor Li Yiqing. I will officially enroll next year. I am here to familiarize myself with the environment. Please take care of me in the future."

On the bed near the door, a man who had been leaning against the bed reading a book looked up and asked with slight surprise, "Are you Professor Li's PhD? Not a Master's student?" He put down his book and explained, "If you were a PhD, we should call you senior brother according to the rules."

Qi Tongwei was taken aback: "Aren't you Professor Wang Jing's doctoral students?"

The man next to the bed replied, "My name is Li Wenbo. The one brushing his teeth over there is Wang Xiaofeng, and the one soaking his feet is Zhou Songhan. We are all Professor Wang Jing's master's students, in our second year."

Hearing this, Wang Xiaofeng, who was brushing his teeth, leaned over with a mouthful of toothpaste foam and mumbled, "PhD spots at Peking University are much more competitive than master's spots! A professor can usually only supervise one or two PhD students, unlike master's spots which are relatively plentiful. My supervisor currently has five master's students under him. I'm a second-year student, two of them are third-year, and there are two first-year students who don't live here. But," he shrugged, "I don't plan to pursue a PhD myself."

Zhou Songhan, who was soaking his feet, glanced at Qi Tongwei a few times, his gaze sweeping over the basic textbooks beside his bed. His tone was calm but carried a hint of scrutiny: "You're a PhD student, so why are the books beside your bed the introductory books that we first-year master's students read?"

Qi Tongwei didn't want to hide anything and frankly told the truth: "I did my master's degree at Handong University, majoring in political science and law."

Upon hearing this, Zhou Songhan gave a faint "oh," then turned his head away and stopped talking, continuing to focus on soaking his feet.

A hint of embarrassment flashed across Li Wenbo and Wang Xiaofeng's faces. They smiled at him and then went back to their own business. The previously harmonious atmosphere in the dormitory instantly became somewhat subtle and distant.

Qi Tongwei understood that they were clearly treating him as someone with connections—a master's student in political science and law from a local university, still reading basic economics books, and not yet having passed the formal entrance exam, yet he was able to gain the approval of a leading figure like Professor Li Yiqing and obtain pre-doctoral qualifications.

On the scales of talent versus connections, they clearly tend to trust the latter.

This was in the mid-1990s, and the devaluation of academic qualifications was far less severe than in later years. Those who could be admitted to Peking University as graduate students were all the best among their peers, veritable "chosen ones," even carrying a hint of being "disciples of the emperor," and naturally possessing their own sense of superiority and pride.

Qi Tongwei could sense that Li Wenbo and Wang Xiaofeng might not personally dislike him much, but they had been classmates with Zhou Songhan for two years, and their friendship had deepened. Since Zhou Songhan had already shown a cold attitude, they couldn't easily express obvious closeness.

Qi Tongwei didn't mind. He washed up and tidied himself up, then took out his books and quietly began studying at his desk. For the next few days, he maintained this regular routine, spending most of his days in the library. When he encountered something he didn't understand, he would ask his senior, Jiang Fan, for help. Jiang Fan always answered patiently, which greatly benefited him. The days passed quietly in this fulfilling pursuit of knowledge.

Half a month passed in a flash. That day, Qi Tongwei was engrossed in his studies at the library as usual when Jiang Fan came looking for him:

"Junior brother, your teacher needs to speak with you."

Chapter 24 State-Owned Enterprise Survey

Qi Tongwei jogged all the way to Professor Li Yiqing's office. When he reached the door, he stopped, caught his breath, and then gently knocked.

"Come in." Li Yiqing's familiar voice came from inside the door.

Qi Tongwei pushed open the door and entered. The office furnishings remained the same, but this time Li Yiqing was not sitting behind her desk. Upon seeing him enter, she stood up and walked to the guest sofa, gesturing for Qi Tongwei to sit down as well.

Professor Li first inquired about Qi Tongwei's recent life and studies, to which Qi Tongwei answered in detail. The professor then tested him on several economic concepts and his insights from recent readings, to which Qi Tongwei answered fluently, demonstrating solid learning achievements.

Professor Li nodded slightly, then changed the subject, a hint of an enigmatic smile in his eyes, and said, "Well done, little Qi, you've got some nerve."

Qi Tongwei felt a slight chill. He had many secrets, but with the psychological qualities he had honed over his years of police work, he was sure he wouldn't be tricked into revealing everything. He calmly asked, "Teacher Li, what makes you say that? I've been behaving myself lately."

Li Yiqing laughed and scolded, "I've heard Jiang Fan say you've been honest lately, so you weren't honest before?"

This was a hook that Qi Tongwei deliberately placed in his words, and Professor Li indeed caught it. He then continued, "Yesterday I went to ZN Shanghai to attend an economic work symposium. Minister Ding gave me a hard time as soon as we met, saying that I had poached a promising talent from their Ministry of Public Security, which caught me off guard."

Upon hearing this, Qi Tongwei immediately tried to explain, but Li Yiqing waved his hand to stop him and continued, "Good lad, I didn't expect you to drag my name into this, all the way to the minister. It seems you've gotten yourself into quite a bit of trouble in Handong, to the point that even my name might not be able to completely protect you? Come on, tell me the details, what exactly happened?"

Qi Tongwei tried his best to be objective and neutral as he recounted his experiences in Handong to Professor Li Yiqing, including his emotional entanglements with Liang Lu and Chen Yang, the suppression he faced at work, and his personal journey.

Of course, he concealed his intention to speculate that Minister Ding might use this opportunity to make a political statement. He only explained that if the Liang family interfered, he was worried that he would not be able to return to school on time within a month, which would delay the tasks arranged by the teachers. He thought that if Minister Ding could say a word, he could rest easy.

He knew that Minister Ding's appreciation for him was genuine, but at that level of politics, one could no longer be judged simply by good or bad.

Moreover, judging from the teacher's description, Minister Ding's choice to mention this matter publicly during the meeting was clearly a political gesture by the Ministry of Public Security to support economic development and encourage the diversified development of talent.

After listening, Li Yiqing sighed softly: "The abuse of public power for private gain has been difficult to completely eradicate throughout history and across the world." He then changed the subject, "However, your matter should be considered closed for now. The president of the People's Daily spoke to me after the meeting, and given the legendary nature of your story, it's estimated that it will get a small feature in the People's Daily. Consider it a 'protective charm' for you."

Qi Tongwei was somewhat surprised; he hadn't expected to be featured in the People's Daily. It was indeed an unexpected delight.

Li Yiqing then said earnestly, "Now that you have left Handong, you should put these things aside. I'm not going to say anything about being magnanimous or letting go, but you can't keep dwelling on them. If your heart is full of resentment, you will become extreme, which will not be good for your future development."

"Thank you, teacher. I understand." Qi Tongwei nodded sincerely.

Li Yiqing nodded in satisfaction, then changed the subject: "Yesterday's economic symposium focused on state-owned enterprise reform. I've read your previous papers, and you have some unique observations on this topic. Could you share your thoughts?"

Qi Tongwei cautiously replied, "Teacher, how dare I comment on such a major national policy? Besides, my understanding of it is not in-depth."

"It's just the two of us, so feel free to speak your mind. Say whatever comes to mind," Li Yiqing encouraged.