Huang He then flew directly to Beijing to fulfill his promise of personally delivering the prize money to the awardees.
The first recipient was Zhou Haiying, the son of Lu Xun.
Zhou Haiying learned the news while fishing. He was fishing in Shijingshan and did not have a mobile phone, so no one could contact him.
It wasn't until Zhou Haiying returned home that he found his doorway crowded with an enormous number of people, which startled him.
Although everyone in the entire residential complex knew he was Lu Xun's son, the neighbors had grown accustomed to it over the years. Never had so many people gathered outside his home, not even when CCTV came to interview him!
Furthermore, Zhou Haiying noticed that the crowd wasn't composed of ordinary neighbors. They were all from his workplaces, including the ****, the Beijing Lu Xun Memorial Hall, and the Beijing Lu Xun Middle School—all institutions in Beijing where Zhou Haiying held positions.
This truly frightened Zhou Haiying. He was over seventy years old and had been retired for more than ten years. When had so many old colleagues ever visited his home? Had something major happened?
Before Zhou Haiying could step forward to inquire, his friends and neighbors surrounded him, all shouting congratulations as if he had suddenly become incredibly wealthy. Zhou Haiying was utterly bewildered.
"Old Zhou, congratulations! You've struck gold today!" said a close colleague with a smile.
"What exactly is going on?" Zhou Haiying asked with a wry smile.
"You don't know?"
"I just got back from fishing. What would I know?"
"Alright, there's an award called the Huang He Prize from Shanghai. Today, they announced that the literary award is being presented to your father, Mr. Lu Xun!" the colleague replied.
"Oh!" Zhou Haiying exclaimed, then looked at the crowd with disbelief. "Just for something like this? You all came from all over the country to surround me?"
Indeed, while winning an award might be incredibly difficult for others, Zhou Haiying had become accustomed to it. He received dozens of calls every year from various award committees wanting to present an award to his father, Lu Xun.
Occasionally, an award would even be for him personally.
Initially, Zhou Haiying had been excited by such events, but now he was largely numb. It felt as normal as adding salt to stir-fry or reading a newspaper while using the restroom.
"No, the key is the prize money!" the colleague said.
"Look at how excited you all are. How much prize money could there be!" Zhou Haiying grinned. One reason for his numbness towards receiving awards was that it was merely the act of receiving; the prize money was either a symbolic few thousand yuan or nonexistent.
Of course, there were times when the prize money reached millions, but those were not for him. Instead, they were donated to his father, Lu Xun.
The money never came into his hands. It was distributed to institutions like the Lu Xun Research Association or the Lu Xun Memorial Hall. Zhou Haiying would at most receive a meager stipend from these units each month.
It was said that because he was associated with several such institutions, even after retiring, Zhou Haiying still earned over ten thousand yuan per month, living quite luxuriously.
"Alright, I'll tell you the amount of the prize money, but you have to promise not to get excited. Your heart isn't good, and you might have a problem if you get too agitated!" the colleague said.
"Okay, it's just tens of thousands. You're making such a fuss!" Zhou Haiying waved his hand dismissively. Then he heard his colleague say, "Tens of thousands? It's ten million!"
"..." Zhou Haiying's body trembled, and those around him quickly supported him.
"How much? What did you say?" Zhou Haiying asked tremulously.
"It's 10 million Renminbi!" the colleague said. "And it's being given directly to you, directly to Mr. Lu Xun's direct descendant, which means you, Zhou Haiying!"
"..."
Then, Zhou Haiying was helped back into his home.
After a night's rest, Zhou Haiying had finally recovered. Meanwhile, Jiangnan had called to arrange for Huang He, the chairman of Jiangnan Group, to personally deliver the 10 million yuan in prize money the next morning.
As soon as this call ended, there was an urgent knock at the door. When Zhou Haiying's wife opened it, she exclaimed with surprise and joy, calling for her son. It turned out to be Zhou Haiying's son.
"Tell him to get out! I don't have a son like that!" Upon hearing it was his son, Zhou Haiying grabbed a broom, intending to hit him, but his wife intervened.
"Dad, I specifically flew back from Shanghai to see you. Can't you treat me any better?" his son, Zhou Lingfei, said with a smile.
"Hmph, why don't you come from Shanghai specifically at other times, but you show up today? You want that 10 million, don't you? I know you very well!" Zhou Haiying said angrily.
Zhou Lingfei, his son, was an eternal pain in Zhou Haiying's heart.
Zhou Haiying, as Lu Xun's son, had enjoyed a life of great respect in China. However, his son, Zhou Lingfei, while studying in Japan, fell for a woman from Taiwan Province and subsequently moved to Taiwan Province to become a live-in son-in-law. This even became a celebrated news item there.
This incident occurred in 1982. If it had happened in the 1970s...
But even in 1982, Zhou Haiying's life became difficult. Later, Zhou Lingfei realized he was no longer welcome in Taiwan Province. Instead, the mainland had begun to re-emphasize Lu Xun, with various Lu Xun cultural research associations springing up everywhere. Coupled with some discord with his Taiwanese wife, Zhou Lingfei announced his return to work in mainland China the previous year.
Zhou Haiying had completely stopped bothering with his troublesome son and was surprised when he showed up at his doorstep today.
Regardless of how Zhou Haiying's family spent the evening in commotion, by around 10 AM the next day, the long-awaited knock sounded at the door. Huang He had arrived personally with 10 million yuan.
Of course, the actual amount was 8 million yuan, as 2 million yuan had to be paid for personal income tax.
Afterward, reporters frantically took photos, with all cameras focused on the two men. The news that Huang He had truly delivered 10 million yuan quickly spread.
Following this, Huang He and Zhou Haiying's family had a cordial meeting, discussing their admiration for Mr. Lu Xun, sharing a luncheon, and finally parting ways with reluctance.
However, some reporters noticed a detail: Huang He did not shake hands with Zhou Lingfei at all throughout the entire event, nor did he speak a single word to him, or even spare him a glance.
"Brother-in-law, do you really dislike this Zhou Lingfei?" Leng Zhiruo, accompanying Huang He on the way back, asked curiously.
"Yes. How could I possibly like a live-in son-in-law from Taiwan Province?" Huang He snorted. "It's fortunate he was born into a good family; I estimate that most of this 10 million will still end up in his hands."
"Then why did you give this award to Lu Xun, and why did you give the money to his direct descendants instead of institutions like the Lu Xun Research Association? You must know that if you do this, the money will definitely go to Zhou Lingfei!" Leng Zhiruo asked, puzzled.
"This is me buying a horse's bones with a thousand pieces of gold!" Huang He sighed. "Giving money to the Lu Xun Research Association is entirely different from giving it to Lu Xun's direct descendants."
"I want the world to know that my Huang He Prize is for them, not for so-called collectives or research associations. It is for the researchers themselves, and this money can be directly passed down to their descendants!"
"Besides, what's the point of a group of people researching Lu Xun? It's as pointless as researching Dream of the Red Chamber."
"What do you think people live for in this life? Apart from a few saints who served the country and the people, most people live for themselves and their descendants."
"Therefore, I want them to know that as long as they diligently conduct their research and achieve results, my rewards can be passed down to their descendants. Only then can the Huang He Prize serve as a greater incentive."
"In short, if you're going to give money, do it directly!"
Indeed, as Lu Xun's family genuinely received the sum of money, many researchers felt inexplicably invigorated.
Then, the descendants of writers like Lao She and Bing Xin began to look forward to it. However, Huang He only intended to award this posthumous honor to Lu Xun; for others, Huang He felt they were not quite there yet.
Concurrently, Huang He had other ideas for the recipients of the literary award, which would be discussed later.
Next was Ms. Tu Youyou for the biology award. Although she had been contacted in advance, Ms. Tu Youyou seemed extremely excited about Huang He's visit.
The afternoon of the previous day, Tu Youyou's home, which had been peaceful for decades, became a hubbub with countless reporters wanting to interview her. However, Tu Youyou refused all interviews, forcing her to seek refuge in a hotel.
Despite this, she was very welcoming of Huang He's arrival. She held Huang He's hand and chatted for a long time. She truly hadn't expected anyone to remember her and present her with this award. As for the prize money itself, she was completely indifferent and immediately entrusted Huang He with donating it to medical institutions.
"Teacher Tu, I strongly suggest you absolutely do not donate it. This is not a good thing!" Huang He said unequivocally upon hearing this.
"Why?" Tu Youyou asked, confused. "Is there something wrong with me donating it?"
"First, those research institutions and charitable organizations themselves likely have many questionable practices. For example, with organizations like the Red Cross, some of the dealings are not entirely transparent."
"I know. I won't donate to the Red Cross. I will donate to medical institutions I trust. I guarantee they will genuinely use this money for medical research and treatment!" Tu Youyou said.
"There's a formula in the Analects. There was a law in the State of Lu: if a person from Lu became a slave in another country, anyone who redeemed them could be reimbursed from the national treasury. Once, Confucius's disciple Zigong, Duanmu Ci, redeemed a man from Lu abroad and refused to accept the state's compensation upon returning to Lu.
Confucius learned of this and said that Zigong was wrong. From now on, no one from Lu would redeem slaves from other countries. Accepting compensation from the state does not harm your character; but not accepting compensation means no one in Lu will redeem their captured compatriots anymore."
Zilu saved a drowning man, who thanked him by giving him an ox. Zilu accepted it. Confucius happily said, "From now on, people in Lu will bravely save drowning people!" Huang He said with a smile.
"You child, are you trying to teach me like a child?" Tu Youyou couldn't help but laugh. "Alright, I understand what you mean. You're worried that if I donate the prize money, other awardees will feel compelled to donate their prize money out of a sense of propriety, thus rendering your Huang He Prize meaningless, right?"
"Teacher, your foresight is admirable!" Huang He smiled.
"Alright, I will accept half of this money, and the other half I will donate to establish the Tu Youyou Medical Foundation, specifically to encourage more young people to engage in research. I believe this would set a good precedent!"
"Teacher, you are truly great!" Huang He said with sincere admiration.