"Do you know about this application?" Huang He asked. He had initially thought that Ni Guangnan was unaware of it, or had been misled. Given Ni Guangnan's usual meticulous nature, it seemed plausible that something like this could happen.
To his surprise, Ni Guangnan nodded and said, "I know. I approved it!"
"???" Boss Huang was completely stunned. He had never expected to receive such an answer. He had truly believed that Ni Guangnan had been deceived and was unaware of this outlandish plan to apply for the use of a collider at a cost of 5,000 yuan. Yet, Ni Guangnan told him that he was indeed aware.
"Little Huang, Boss Huang, you don't understand my predicament! Nor do you understand the difficulties our entire country faces in high-energy physics!" Ni Guangnan quickly explained. "Classical physics has reached its peak. If we want to make further breakthroughs in physics, we must achieve breakthroughs at the microscopic level, meaning we need to find many high-energy particles and gain more powerful energy through their study!"
"The simplest point is that humanity, with its current fossil fuels, absolutely cannot break through the solar system. Only by mastering a completely new energy source that can allow human spacecraft to reach speeds on the order of the speed of light can we possibly break through the constraints of the solar system and enter a new era of civilization!"
"Therefore, high-energy particles are very important for physics research. However, our country's current economic strength does not allow us to build our own high-energy particle collider. Currently, there is only one in Europe, and we cannot obtain usage rights. The only way is to purchase it!"
"Professor Zhao, who submitted this application, is an old friend of mine. I know him very well. He is a selfless person, someone who can abandon his wife and children for the sake of scientific research. He spends 360 days out of 365 in the laboratory, just to get experimental results. I can say that in all of China, there is no one more serious or more eager to achieve breakthroughs in high-energy physics than he is."
"He currently has many ideas that just need the use of a high-energy particle collider to verify. However, every time he applies for funding from above, it is rejected. Finally, he came to me, and for the sake of the entire country's development in high-energy physics, I agreed. Furthermore, he promised me that no matter what results he obtained, he would hand over detailed experimental data to our company."
"And for this 50 million yuan, he has voluntarily joined our Optoelectronic Laboratory. Otherwise, this plan of mine would not have been approved. It is a fortunate thing for our Optoelectronic Laboratory to have such a renowned figure join us, which is why I approved this plan."
"Little Huang, Boss Huang, the entire fault lies with me. If you want to blame someone, blame only me. Please do not go to Professor Zhao. He is truly a very pure scientist, and your confronting him would be a great insult to him. I fear he might not be able to handle it!" Ni Guangnan said with sincere earnestness.
Looking at Ni Guangnan's face, Huang He found himself speechless.
Huang He believed that Ni Guangnan was speaking the absolute truth. After so many years of working together, Huang He knew that Ni Guangnan was not someone who would seek personal gain. He was wholeheartedly dedicated to scientific research, just like the Professor Zhao he spoke of.
"Elder Ni, do you truly believe in your heart that you have done something wrong, and instead believe you have done something beneficial for the country?" Huang He suddenly asked.
"Hmm… well… it is wrong, but it is also indeed beneficial for the country!" Ni Guangnan replied after a moment of hesitation.
"And is it beneficial to me?" Huang He retorted.
"This… you cannot look at it this way. We must look at it from a long-term perspective, from a macroscopic perspective…"
"From a macroscopic perspective, it is of no significance to me. Even if this Professor Zhao manages to collide and produce dozens of high-energy particles, can high-energy particles be used in personal terminals? Does my Jiangnan Group plan to build spaceships to leave Earth in the future?" Huang He interrupted Ni Guangnan before he could finish, "This is of no benefit to me."
"Yes, it is indeed of no benefit to you. But Little Huang, I know you have never been a selfish person. Why can't you look at the problem from a higher perspective? Why must you be so fixated on this 50 million yuan?" Ni Guangnan, pushed to his limit by Huang He's words, couldn't help but say.
"When did I ever begrudge 50 million yuan? I've invested 60 billion yuan to build vacuum high-speed magnetic levitation trains, all of which have been given to the public. Do you think I would care about 50 million yuan?"
"Every year, I allocate over a hundred million yuan to fund the Huang He Prize. These awards are given to people like you who are engaged in scientific research, without any deductions. Are you telling me I would begrudge this 50 million yuan?" Huang He slammed the table in anger. "That's right, I am not short of this 50 million yuan, but did I give it to you? Did you inform me? This is taking without consent, this is stealing! You, Ni Guangnan, are not a people's scientist, you are a thief, a complete and utter thief!"
"You… you…" Ni Guangnan’s entire body trembled at Huang He's words, and he even became short of breath. Huang He was startled and quickly took out an Angong Niuhuang Wan from his pocket and fed it to Ni Guangnan. Ni Guangnan gradually calmed down, but he was completely slumped on the sofa, unable to get up.
"You are right, I am a thief…" After a long while, Professor Ni said miserably, "The few million I have saved over the years are from the salary you gave me. This house, as well as some other assets, I will give them all to you. As for any shortfall, I will have my children find a way to repay you!"
"There’s no need for that, after all, your 50 million yuan has not been approved yet!" Huang He said calmly. Ni Guangnan fell silent again.
"However, I don't know if it was intentional or unintentional on Professor Zhao's part, but the final application submitted was changed from 50 million yuan to 50 million US dollars. The finance department was so scared they came to me personally to report it. Otherwise, I wouldn't have known about this matter at all, as I absolutely trust you, Elder. I even told the finance department that applications under 50 million yuan do not need to be reviewed; they should be approved directly once submitted by the research center!"
"So, if your Professor Zhao had honestly reported 50 million yuan, then none of these recent events would have occurred!" Huang He said.
"50 million US dollars? How is that possible? I approved 50 million yuan. Old Zhao's proposal clearly stated it. How did it become 50 million US dollars?" Ni Guangnan, who had been slumped on the sofa, suddenly sat up straight, muttering in disbelief.
"Why don't you call him and ask?" Huang He said calmly. Ni Guangnan didn't hesitate and immediately took out his phone. The call was answered quickly. To show his sincerity, Ni Guangnan even turned on the speakerphone.
As a result, Ni Guangnan said nothing, but Professor Zhao directly spoke, "Old Ni, I know about your situation. That experiment, if it doesn't work out, then forget it…!"
"Old Zhao, I’m asking you, did you report 50 million yuan or 50 million US dollars?" Ni Guangnan asked sternly.
"Ah… you already know… I'm ashamed, I have no face to see you… I'm sorry." After saying this, Professor Zhao hung up the phone.
Ni Guangnan stood there trembling with anger. He wasn't stupid; he knew he had likely been played for a fool.
Just then, there was a soft knock at the door, and a secretary walked in, about to whisper something to Boss Huang. Boss Huang gave him a look, and then he immediately said in a voice audible to everyone, "Boss, we have found one of Professor Zhao's core graduate students, his confidant. Through certain means, we have made him reveal everything. In fact, the price Europe quoted them was not 50 million yuan per week, but 50 million US dollars per week."
"This is not to say that the Europeans were arbitrarily pricing. After all, the entire collider cost 30 billion US dollars to build, and each activation consumed 10,000 US dollars worth of materials. How could they expect to rent it for a week for 50 million yuan? 50 million US dollars is indeed the market price."
"This Professor Zhao, during a casual chat with Professor Ni, learned that the entire research institute has billions of US dollars in funding annually, and Professor Ni manages all the affairs of the institute, possessing high authority. As long as Professor Ni signed, it would definitely be approved. Thus, he found a way to persuade Professor Ni to agree to their proposal."
"However, they felt it was unlikely to obtain 50 million US dollars from Professor Ni, so they devised a plan: first, they would deceive Professor Ni into agreeing by offering 50 million yuan and getting his signature on the proposal."
"But the currency unit on this proposal was printed using a special ink they developed. When heated with something above 60 degrees, the ink would automatically disappear, and then the unit could be reprinted. As a result, they obtained a project application for 50 million US dollars, personally reviewed and approved by Professor Ni."
"This is the entire process of the matter. However, our people have repeatedly inquired and confirmed that this Professor Zhao was not acting for personal gain, but because he was diagnosed with severe Alzheimer's disease, and his memory is significantly declining. He feared that before losing his research capabilities, he would never find some of the high-energy particles he envisioned, so he colluded with his graduate students to devise this plan, wanting to use the high-energy particle collider for experiments while he was still relatively lucid!"
"According to this graduate student, Professor Zhao personally designed more than thirty particle collision experiments. These experiments actually have a very high probability of producing some unusual high-energy particles. However, this very high probability is relative to other collision experiments. Ordinary collision experiments have an average success rate of only 0.00654% in finding a previously undiscovered high-energy particle."
"And Professor Zhao's designed experiments have the highest probability of finding the high-energy particles he envisioned, at 0.87%!" The secretary reported to Huang He. "At the same time, we have confirmed that the 50 million US dollars will indeed be entirely handed over to the European experimental center, and Professor Zhao himself did not receive any additional profit."
"Furthermore, Professor Zhao is indeed a well-regarded researcher. He still lives in a dilapidated old apartment, and his children have always worked at the grassroots level. Their lives are very difficult!" The secretary reported to Huang He in detail.