I'm Bald, but I Haven't Gotten Stronger
Cui Xiaoyi said, "There are very few job seekers with a PhD in physics. One PhD from Wuhan University is the most sincere. He said he would come to report for duty after the Chinese New Year."
"There are still three months until the Chinese New Year. He probably wants to collect his year-end bonus before leaving." Shen Qi understood; it's indeed difficult to recruit people at the end of the year.
Following up on the topic of year-end bonuses, Cui Xiaoyi asked curiously, "Hey, Professor Shen, how much are the year-end bonuses at our center?"
Shen Qi said, "This kind of thing needs to be kept confidential, but Xiao Yi, you're in charge of human resources and payroll calculation, so I can tell you a figure: our center's year-end bonus is seven months' salary."
"Wow, seven months, that's quite a lot!" Cui Xiaoyi clapped her hands in praise, seven months meant an extra seven months' salary.
A department with few people may struggle to keep up with the workload, but it's more enjoyable when it comes to paychecks because there are fewer people to share the money.
"Seven months is the standard. Including myself, there are currently 11 people in our center, and each of us will receive a seven-month bonus in January next year. In addition, our center has set up a special reward for employees with excellent performance and outstanding achievements. Please take a look at this rule; it will be reflected in your January salary," Shen Qi explained his thoughts.
The basic bonus for seven months will be paid by Yenching University, and everyone will receive it.
The special award will be paid from the center's research funding. According to regulations, for institutions like Shen Qi 'Shen Qi that focus on basic theoretical research, labor costs can account for a maximum of 40% of the research funding budget.
Cui Xiaoyi asked, "How would you evaluate someone's excellent performance and outstanding achievements?"
Shen Qi: "I'll give my evaluation, and I'll let you know the result later."
"Oh, okay." Cui Xiaoyi poured Shen Qi a cup of coffee and gently placed it on Shen Qi desk. "Professor Shen, it seems our center offers pretty good benefits. I can finally stop eating dirt."
Shen Qi picked up his coffee cup, took a small sip, and said, "Cui Xiaoyi, are you really poor or just pretending? What's the point of complaining about being poor all the time?"
"I am truly poor, really poor."
"Cui Xiaoyi, where did you spend all your money?"
"Eating and drinking, shoes and skincare products, premium memberships on various websites, occasionally tipping a top- Alliance Leader, going on trips when I'm in a bad mood... Sigh, inflation is too high, my salary doesn't last long."
Shen Qi tapped the table. "You used to work in a public institution. Your resume was given to me by Principal Lu's chief secretary. You can't possibly have no connections at all. Didn't your family provide you with some financial support?"
"My family has some connections, but I don't want to rely on them. I'm a strong-willed girl like that." Cui Xiaoyi puffed out her chest, so confident.
Shen Qi smiled and asked, "Do you have a boyfriend?"
Cui Xiaoyi retorted, "I can't even support myself, how can I talk about having a boyfriend? Having a boyfriend costs a lot of money."
"What a good girl." Shen Qi told Cui Xiaoyi to go back to work first. After finishing his coffee, he left the office and went downstairs for a walk.
Walking to Weiming Lake, Shen Qi stopped for a moment. He used to pick up girls by the lake back then. So many years have passed, the lake is still the same lake, but the boys who have tried to pick up girls have changed one after another, some succeeding and some failing.
Shen Qi observed the men and women by the lake. Those deeply in love were newly dating, in the honeymoon phase. Those snuggled together but engrossed in their phones were long-married couples. Those lost in thought, looking around, were single.
Suddenly, a single dog stood up, walked to the lakeside, and had half of his foot dangling in the air.
A single person looks up at the sky with a sorrowful expression.
"Hey, classmate, don't jump!" Shen Qi shouted, rushing to his classmate's side to save him.
The classmate was quite tall and thin. He turned and glanced at Shen Qi, then gave a bitter laugh, "Who said I was going to jump into the lake?"
"You're not going to jump? Then take a few steps back. I have something to say to you." Shen Qi beckoned with his finger and said, "I am Yanjing University Zhengting Professor and Shen Qi of the Shen Qi Mathematical and Physical Research Center. I assure you that I can provide you with effective solutions for any internal matters of Yanda University."
"Shen Qi? You're Shen Qi?" The classmate's sorrowful face turned slightly surprised. He stared intently at Shen Qi, his body trembling uncontrollably. "It's you, it really is you, you're the coolest right now."
With this jolt, the student lost his balance and swayed precariously, in danger of falling into the lake.
Shen Qi strode forward and, with lightning speed, dragged his classmate back two or three meters to a safe area.
"Shen Qi, Shen Qi, it really is you..." the male classmate muttered, staring intently at Shen Qi with a rather complicated expression.
"Have we met before?" Shen Qi carefully observed the male classmate's appearance. He looked haggard and down on his luck, around twenty years old, but with thinning hair.
"Hey, I remember now, senior brother, senior brother Yang Ding Tian?" Shen Qi slapped his thigh. Yes, yes, that's him, Yang Ding Tian, the super academic genius of the Physics Department.
When Shen Qi was a sophomore, he pursued a degree in physics. At that time Yang Ding Tian was a junior in the Yanjing University Physics Department. He got full marks in all his subjects and was the top student in the Physics Department.
Back then, Yang Ding Tian was pretty cool. He had long, flowing hair and was unrestrained. Many girls pursued him, but he ignored them. He was known as the King of Show Offs in the Physics Department.
Time is a cruel mistress. Several years have passed, and Yang Ding Tian has lost a lot of hair. He looks completely defeated and his mental state is extremely poor.
"I've gone bald, but I haven't become stronger," Yang Ding Tian smile.
"Tell me, what setbacks did you encounter?" Shen Qi asked.
Yang Ding Tian's face screamed misery, "After completing my master's degree, not a single advisor was willing to take me on as their doctoral student."
Shen Qi then asked, "Did you do your master's degree in Physics at the Yanjing University Physics Department?"
"Yes."
"What are the specific reasons?"
"They say I'm mentally unstable." Yang Ding Tian looked at Shen Qi and said firmly, "My mind is more normal than ever. What do you think?"
Shen Qi didn't discuss mental health issues with Yang Ding Tian. Instead, he asked, "I remember your undergraduate major was astronomy, so you're doing astrophysics for your master's degree?"
Yang Ding Tian: "I studied under Professor Chang in Condensed Matter Physics during my graduate studies. It was this Professor Chang who suggested that I seek psychiatric treatment."
Shen Qi picked up a twig and drew a diagram of some kind of microstructure in the soil. Pointing to the ground, he asked, "Can you tell what this is?"
Yang Ding Tian glanced at the diagram and quickly gave his answer, "This is a schematic diagram of a trimer microstructure based on gold nanorods."
Shen Qi continued drawing a few more lines in the soil, "Tell me, how is this PIT material produced?"
PIT, or plasmon-induced transparency, was explained by Yang Ding Tian as follows, "The PIT phenomenon mainly arises from the coherent superposition of dipole oscillation modes after their splitting in vertical gold nanorods."
These things aren't written in textbooks, and people who haven't done the experiments will have a hard time understanding what Shen Qi is saying, let alone answering fluently.
Shen Qi patted Yang Ding Tian on the shoulder. "I think you're perfectly normal. Would you be interested in being my doctoral student?"