Invitation to Give a Speech and Expanding Enrollment

Catherine looked at the school's Vice-Principal with some surprise. Just now, she had been called into the Vice-Principal's office alone, and they had talked about this matter.

The president of Cullinan State University has a very serious appearance. He has a head of gray hair that is meticulously groomed, and you can't find a single stray hair on his head even with a magnifying glass.

He frequently appears at various management meetings and events, and gives the impression of being difficult to approach.

This is unlike a principal. The principal is a smiling old man, very easygoing and approachable.

The two are complete opposites. If possible, students would prefer the principal to pay more attention to their studies and life, rather than having the Vice-Principal do it.

Unfortunately, the principal himself is not very involved in the internal management of the school; this is done by the Vice-Principal, which gives the Vice-Principal a very special status among the students.

However, at this moment, the Vice-Principal's face no longer showed any seriousness, rigidity, or unapproachability. This was also the first time Catherine had seen this serious principal smile. In fact, he was a very kind old man. She really didn't know how he managed to keep a stern face every day.

"Yes, Catherine, I heard you're Mr. Lin Qi's girlfriend..."

Unlike typical high schools, Cullinan State University doesn't prohibit or restrict students from dating. In fact, many high schools don't have such restrictions anymore. In a country where people can get married at sixteen, are considered adults at twenty, and have children at eighteen, and which prides itself on freedom, interfering in other people's relationships is considered very rude.

The school will tell students that it is best not to date, to take precautions, and to try not to have children while studying. However, that's all they say; they don't actually interfere.

Cullinan State University is the same; they neither support nor oppose it. In this era, families that can afford to send their children to college are not ordinary families, and such warnings to students from ordinary family backgrounds do not mean much to these children.

Lin Qi had visited several times, and the last time he came, he met Catherine and her classmates, which led to rumors circulating at school about the relationship between Catherine and Lin Qi.

At first she would try to explain, but she soon stopped doing so because the more she explained, the more questions people asked.

For example—if you're not in a romantic relationship, why would he come looking for you?

It's common knowledge that the idea of remaining friends after a breakup is just wishful thinking; the probability of becoming enemies after a breakup is much higher.

So Catherine simply let things take their course; it's a matter that's hard to explain.

When the Vice-Principal inquired, she had to explain with a headache, "She's my ex-girlfriend, we've already broken up."

The Vice-Principal nodded and said, "Yes, I know, but that's alright. Could you please invite Mr. Lin Qi to give a public lecture at our school?"

He added, "We can pay him some fees, according to the standards for a professor's lecture, and we can also award him the title of Honorary Professor, which would surely be a very special honor for Mr. Lin Qi."

At this time, the Federal had not yet completed real Education Reform, and universities, even Public University, were still beyond the reach of ordinary people.

In this era, the simplest way to verify the authority of a scholar or expert is to see if he/she/it has his/her own program at a university or is a professor teaching there.

The former means that the professor's application for the project can pass the school's project approval review, which means that he definitely has real knowledge. At this time, the university's funds are very tight and precious, and they will not allow people without ability to squander them.

The latter are at least people who can guide students into a certain field; even if their knowledge is not high, they can at least reach the industry average level.

If Lin Qi is awarded Honorary Professor, in whatever form, it signifies the academic community's recognition of him.

This kind of thing might not be of interest to big capitalists, but it might still be somewhat tempting to Lin Qi, who is still developing.

Catherine hesitated, "I don't know if he's interested."

"You can ask around for me. This isn't just my idea; the principal also really hopes Lin Qi can come!" The Vice-Principal brought up the principal, who held a more important place in the students' hearts, and then went on to talk about something else.

"You've been working on the Radio Miniaturization Project, haven't you?"

Katherine was able to enter Cullinan State University without taking the entrance exam because her high school gave her a strong letter of recommendation, and Lynch donated a lot of money to Cullinan to fund a project, specifying that Katherine must also be a member of the project team.

This allowed Catherine to enter university without any difficulties and become a university student. In her first year of university, she was selected by the project team, which became an inspirational legend among the students.

However, the school's higher-ups knew very well that the Project Team Leader chose Catherine not because she was smart or how useful she was to the project, but purely because of the money.

Although there were some things she could only watch and couldn't do, joining this project in any case earned her a lot of points.

After Catherine nodded in affirmation, the Vice-Principal's smile widened even further. "I will talk to the project mentor and give you a co-authorship position in future journal articles."

Catherine was taken aback. The entire project team consisted of more than a dozen people, but when the research results were actually published, only three to five people were able to be listed as authors on the academic papers.

The Vice-Principal promised her a co-authored position, which was tantamount to opening a door to academia for her.

If she wants to advance further in the future, these will serve as her assets, including important qualifications when she enters the workforce.

However, the girl quickly realized, "It's no use trying to persuade me. I can't interfere with Lin Qi's own thoughts, but I will convey your request..."

Lin Qi is not someone who compromises easily, or rather, he is not someone whose mind is easily changed by others, even if that person is himself.

Catherine wisely refrained from giving the Vice-Principal any assurances or a foreseeable future, because she was genuinely unsure whether Lin Qi would come.

The Vice-Principal nodded. "Just let him know..."

Lin Qi's views during this period are in line with the views of the mainstream group in the Federal. Coupled with the victory in this naval battle, it further proves that some of Lin Qi's theories are highly feasible.

Even the official government set up an office to study some of Lin Qi's proposals, not to mention the general public.

Recently, some salons have been discussing topics like Lin Qi's talk, such as Trade War and Financial War.

If the school can invite Lin Qi to give a speech, and then invite some reporters to cover it, it could at least enhance the school's reputation and influence, and on a larger scale, it might even be able to get involved in some major research projects, or obtain more research funding and private donations.

To achieve all this, all one needs to do is beg Catherine.

If you do nothing, you will have nothing.

By doing this, there might be a bright future ahead; the Vice-Principal is really going all out.

That evening, Catherine called Lin Qi and told him about it. "... I don't know what you're thinking, but please don't let my personal feelings get in the way. Whether you come here or not depends on what the school offers you and whether it will be helpful to you."

Lin Qi agreed without much hesitation.

Even if Catherine hadn't brought it up, he was going back soon to recruit more veterans from Ferral's Wife's Father.

Blackstone Security now has about a hundred people. A hundred or so legal Private Armed Force men may sound like a lot, but in reality, this number is not even enough to carry out a small-scale military operation, let alone Lin Qi's plan to contract out some local security tasks in the Amelia Region, which is also a necessary factor for maintaining peace between the Federal and Gefra.

The Federal will help them stabilize the situation in the Amelia Region, but in return, from this day forward, Gefra's warships will not be allowed to cross the Eberil Strait without the Federal's permission, or they may be treated as pirates and eliminated.

In some ways, the Gefra are frustrated, but at the same time they are happy. They have someone to help them solve problems they can't handle themselves, and they don't have to bear any blame—the contractors come from the Federal, and even if the people of Amelia Region are dissatisfied, they will only criticize the contractors, not the Gefra.

With a combination of strictness and leniency, the Federal forces revealed their "fierce" side. Coupled with the governor's amiability, the Emperor of Gefra believed that as long as the Federal truly put in the effort, they could quickly resolve these issues.

As long as Gefra's interests in the Amelia Region are not harmed, they will be able to recover tenfold or even a hundredfold the losses they have lost and the humiliation they have suffered in the future! But all of this is on one condition: Li Ya must not be in chaos! To this end, Lin Qi plans to increase the number of Blackstone Security's employees from the current hundred or so to at least five hundred, and he has also reached some kind of agreement with the Department of Defense.

If he only uses veterans, then the Department of Defense will make certain concessions on some oversight issues.

The reasoning is simple: the Department of Defense believes that these veterans are more loyal to the country than to themselves, especially since they will also place some undercover agents in to further solidify this "loyalty to the emperor and service to the country" ideology.

Ordinary employees face at least one psychological assessment and various tests every year. Even disregarding the cost, the time and energy involved are a major headache. However, if veterans were used as Field Operations personnel, these requirements would not exist.

In fact, it doesn't matter to Lin Qi who he uses. What matters is what he can give these people and what they can get from Lin Qi. That's the key!