The remains of the professor from the Jiangnan Group who was tragically disintegrated by high-energy particles in Europe have returned to China. The Jiangnan Group has decided to hold an unprecedented memorial service for him, involving the entire company. Ultimately, as many as 60,000 people attended the memorial service on-site, while a staggering 1.8 million Jiangnan Group employees participated remotely through online screens across the nation and the globe.
Upon hearing this news, even the most cynical observers had to praise it as the most dignified memorial service below a national level. Due to the involvement of numerous overseas venues, this memorial service can be considered unprecedented in certain aspects. Professor Zhao, who unfortunately passed away, has received a fitting tribute in death.
Consequently, the vast majority of online trolls, upon learning the truth, put down their keyboards.
Of course, some of the more hardened keyboard warriors began to accuse the Jiangnan Group of putting on an extravagant show, a waste of social resources, and so forth. It is hardly surprising that trolls can find something to criticize in any matter.
However, only a select few within the Jiangnan Group were aware that the honors Professor Zhao would subsequently receive, along with the impact and development he would bring to the entire group, extended far beyond what was publicized online.
The final segment of the memorial service's online broadcast that day involved 60,000 on-site Jiangnan Group employees offering flowers. Yet, they were unaware that after the memorial service concluded, the Jiangnan Group held another meeting the following day, exclusively for company executives and Professor Zhao's family. In this meeting...
While the memorial service had been an event of utmost solemnity, it had not touched upon any economic benefits. After all, with millions of people participating globally, the video would undoubtedly be widely disseminated online. Discussing financial matters on such an occasion would have been rather distasteful.
It was deemed more appropriate to hold a smaller, follow-up meeting.
"Madam, and Professor Zhao, first and foremost, all funeral expenses for Professor Zhao will be borne by our company. Additionally, as Professor Zhao perished while on duty, this naturally counts as a work-related injury. We have calculated Professor Zhao's average monthly salary from last year to be approximately 68,000 yuan. Let's round it up to 70,000 yuan."
"This would make his annual salary 840,000 yuan. According to the current national standards for compensation for work-related fatalities, employees under the age of 60 will be compensated for 20 years of service upon their death. After reaching the age of 60, this period will be reduced by one year for each year of age increase, with a minimum of 5 years.
"Of course, Professor Zhao was less than 50 years old when he passed away, so we shall naturally compensate him according to the highest standard of 20 years of service. Therefore, the total compensation for work-related death and injury is 16.8 million yuan. Do you, Madam, and Professor Zhao's other family members have any objections to this compensation?" Huang He asked sincerely.
"No... no..." Zhao's wife was stunned upon hearing this figure. They had expected to receive a compensation of perhaps two to three million yuan as the best possible outcome. To their surprise, the Jiangnan Group was offering 16.8 million yuan, a figure far exceeding their imagination. Naturally, they had no objections.
Then, Boss Huang continued, "In fact, considering Professor Zhao's capabilities, we should be compensating more. However, the company has its own regulations, and at present, the total number of direct employees has exceeded 100,000, with those in its subordinate companies reaching over a million. Each year, dozens of employees, unfortunately, suffer work-related fatalities for various reasons. Considering these factors, we must strictly adhere to the standards for compensation; otherwise, it would lead to dissatisfaction among other employees!"
"We understand, we have no objections!" Zhao's wife quickly responded. The entire exchange was remarkably harmonious and successful. Boss Huang was generous with the payment, and Professor Zhao's family received both the ultimate tribute after his death and substantial financial benefits. Naturally, there were no disputes.
However, the executives present at this meeting felt somewhat perplexed. Why were they, who held considerable authority and practical power, summoned to a meeting to discuss compensation?
"Can't you guess? The boss didn't call us here for a meeting, but to witness how he handles post-mortem affairs. By doing so, he's telling us that working diligently, even to the point of sacrificing one's life at a critical moment, is worthwhile!" one executive said with a smile, and the others nodded in agreement, thinking that this was likely the intended message.
"Mr. Huang, there's one more matter, regarding my husband's remains..." The atmosphere in the conference room had been exceptionally pleasant until Professor Zhao's wife posed this question, causing the mood to take a sharp downturn.
After all, the Jiangnan Group had utilized countless overt and covert resources and connections to bring Professor Zhao's remains back to China.
To mention just one aspect, after the Jiangnan Group employees who were detained for a day on Boss Huang's private jet returned, each employee received a substantial bonus equivalent to one year's salary. This expenditure alone exceeded one hundred million yuan, far more than Professor Zhao's death compensation.
The reason Boss Huang was willing to spend such a colossal amount of funds, apart from boosting morale within the company, was none other than the valuable data contained within Professor Zhao's remains.
Good heavens, now that Professor Zhao's family was requesting the body, it was akin to asking for Boss Huang's life!
"Heh heh!" As expected, Boss Huang let out a dry chuckle. "What are Madam Zhao's wishes? If you wish for cremation, we can cooperate and arrange for the best burial plot!"
"That's not necessary!" Madam Zhao wiped away her tears and said, "After experiencing so much these past few days, I understand that my husband's remains are indeed full of scientific research value. My husband had always pursued the God Particle during his lifetime, and now the God Particle exists within his body. I believe he would not wish for such crucial clues to be simply discarded!"
"Just yesterday, a very renowned university in China contacted me, hoping we could donate Old Zhao's remains to them for research, which would then benefit all of China. I think this is a good idea. I wonder what the company's stance is on this?"
"..." Boss Huang managed a stiff smile. "May I ask which university it is?"
"Oh, it's Tsinghua University. As all Chinese people know, it is undoubtedly our own university. I am politically aware and insist on it being a university within our own country. I would absolutely not agree to any strange or suspicious universities!" Madam Zhao quickly replied.
"Tsinghua..." Boss Huang drew out the word. The other executives in the conference room couldn't help but whisper amongst themselves.
Tsinghua University was indeed the foremost university in the country, and it was undoubtedly a national institution through and through. However, the university also held the unofficial title of the Chinese branch campus of a prestigious American university.
This was because 20% of the university's graduates chose to study abroad each year, and more than half of those who graduated overseas chose to remain there, with no intention of returning to China.
Essentially, Tsinghua University, which absorbed the nation's most talented individuals, was annually cultivating 10% of its students for the United States.
Now, donating Professor Zhao's remains to Tsinghua University, while the leadership of Tsinghua University would absolutely not dare to hand over the remains to individuals from other countries, posed a colossal question mark regarding the confidentiality of the data derived from the research.
"If it's to be donated, why not consider our own Jiangnan University?" Boss Huang smiled. "Our Jiangnan University is doing quite well now; its admission scores are not much lower than those of Peking and Tsinghua!"
"Yes, I know. My child also wishes to attend Jiangnan University, and if possible, I would naturally prefer for Old Zhao to remain within our own institution. However, I've heard that Jiangnan University is somewhat weak in the field of high-energy physics and may have less research capability. Old Zhao himself told me when he was alive that almost all of the group's work in high-energy physics fell upon his shoulders. Now that Old Zhao is gone, I doubt anyone can shoulder it."
"Therefore, I believe that a university like Tsinghua, with greater depth in high-energy physics, would be more suitable. Moreover, Old Zhao himself was a graduate of Tsinghua University; it was his alma mater, and he had an emotional connection to it!" Madam Zhao explained, her words were very tactful, but her core intention was clear: the remains must be donated to Tsinghua University.
This made Boss Huang somewhat agitated. He unconsciously adjusted his Tang suit. This was a completely unexpected turn of events.
He had assumed that after sincerely and grandly arranging Professor Zhao's post-mortem affairs, it would be righteous, natural, and effortless to keep Professor Zhao's remains.
But at the last minute, Tsinghua University had appeared to snatch it away. Boss Huang could not tolerate this and was unwilling to give it up.
However, not giving it up presented significant problems. Thanks to Boss Huang's extravagant memorial service, which had bestowed the utmost honors upon Professor Zhao, he had, in a sense, elevated Professor Zhao's family to an unparalleled status, making the entire remains seem almost sacred.
If the Jiangnan Group were to forcefully detain the remains against the wishes of Professor Zhao's family at this juncture, all his previous efforts would be seen as a highly calculated move to acquire Professor Zhao's remains, no different from the Americans or Europeans.
Ultimately, after all his painstaking efforts to bring the remains back to China, if the relevant data still fell into the hands of Westerners, what would have been the purpose of all his endeavors?
This was simply unbearable, and for a moment, the atmosphere in the entire conference room became incredibly tense.