Doctor's Dinner

As night fell, a group of more than a dozen people gathered inside a small restaurant near Xiamen University.

After tasting some of the cold chicken on the table, Lu Jingping couldn't help sighing. "The food at this little restaurant is still the best."

Beside him, a postdoctoral fellow in his thirties smiled and raised a beer bottle.

"Come on, come on, let's have a drink! Our junior fellow finally made it back, and even treated us to dinner. That's not easy! Let's eat and drink our fill tonight!"

Everyone raised their glasses together.

After a sip of beer, the conversation gradually got going.

A female postdoctoral fellow in her thirties, Zhu Yongchun, asked curiously, "How bad can the food be? Is it like the university cafeteria?"

Lu Jingping smiled wryly. "I used to think the cafeteria food was bad enough, until I went to the company I'm at now.

"That's when I learned there's always someone worse. It takes real effort to make food that bad."

Beside him, Qiu Haowei nodded emphatically. "Mm-hmm. The benefits where we work are pretty good, but the cafeteria food is genuinely awful!"

Lu Jingping shuddered at the memory. "Eating food from this place again almost brought tears to my eyes!"

Zhu Yongchun tried some of the dishes. The food really was good; otherwise, it wouldn't have become everyone's regular gathering spot.

Another senior fellow beside them asked curiously, "Is it really that bad? Why not just quit? Have you thought about coming to do a postdoc? The lab's a little short-staffed lately, and our advisor is thinking of hiring a postdoc. With your abilities, you'd have no problem."

Lu Jingping quickly shook his head. "It's not easy to find a job, and the pay really is good. The boss treats us well, too. Apart from the food, everything else is great."

Qiu Haowei chimed in from beside him. "Besides, the boss said he's already had Human Resources hire a new chef. Hopefully, by the time we get back, the cafeteria food will have improved."

"A company that only just got started? Sounds like it hasn't got all its departments in place yet."

Lu Jingping had a thought. On the way there, he remembered the boss saying that if possible, they should try to bring more talented people—PhDs and postdocs—to the company.

As long as they had real ability, Jiuzhou Automobile Factory welcomed them all, and would offer them excellent compensation!

"By the way, our company specializes in new energy vehicles. You all know what those are, right?

"Put simply, they don't use an engine and transmission. Instead, they're powered by electric motors and run on batteries."

"They also fit in with the energy conservation and emissions reduction goals the government has been promoting in recent years. New energy vehicles can use less energy than gasoline-powered cars and produce no carbon emissions.

"If there's a breakthrough in battery technology and a major improvement in driving range, they really could succeed!"

"If any of you are interested in these cars, you should look into them. They might really become a new kind of vehicle, different from traditional gasoline-powered cars.

"And in the field of new energy vehicles, we're no longer a century behind.

"By changing tracks and leaving engines and transmissions behind, we can stand at the same starting line as other countries. I believe our researchers can overcome every competitor and take Huaxia Automobile to the top of the world!"

His passionate speech made many of the senior and junior fellows around him fall into thought.

Qiu Haowei took a big bite of food and backed him up. "Our factory really does pay well. From what I've seen over the past few months, the boss is very capable, salaries are paid on time, and not a cent is withheld from our six forms of insurance and two housing funds.

"The working environment's good, too. There aren't any professional managers telling experts how to do their jobs. The only downside is that the research equipment is just barely usable. Other than that, it's a great place to work."

A senior postdoctoral fellow sighed. "From the way you describe it, if you can really build a car of our own and forge a different path, that'd be pretty impressive."

"New energy vehicles probably need people who study electrochemistry. If they really take off, at least we won't have to worry about finding work in the future."

Lu Jingping seized the moment. "And the compensation really is good—more than twenty percent higher, on average, than what those big companies pay.

"We have to work somewhere. Why not choose a place with a good research environment, high pay, and a great boss?"

Zhu Yongchun downed a glass of beer, then asked with wide-eyed curiosity, "Tell me more. If it really sounds promising, I'll take a look after I finish this project."

At the current pace, she might be out of work in about six months.

Though her professor had already told her she could stay on as a lecturer, having another option was better. Maybe she'd find something more suitable!

Lu Jingping said enthusiastically, "If you came over, Senior Sister, the boss would be thrilled. He's really eager to recruit talented people.

"Oh, and I should tell you—the boss is a handsome guy, only twenty-four, and super rich! You're single, Senior Sister. If you landed him, you could do whatever experiments you wanted!"

Zhu Yongchun smiled faintly and took another sip of beer. "Men aren't as interesting as experiments. I've seen through the ways of the world!"

Zhu Yongchun loved drinking and research. She was a scientific genius, better than some doctoral advisors in certain fields, and had taught Lu Jingping a great deal.

She also specialized in battery research. If she had joined them earlier, perhaps this problem wouldn't have come up at all. And even if it had, it wouldn't have kept them stuck for so long without a solution!

As everyone chatted, a hearty laugh came from outside the door. "What, Lu Jingping? You've been away for a few months, and now you're back trying to poach my student?"

A kindly man in his sixties walked into the little restaurant.

The doctoral students and postdoctoral fellows all stood up together. "Haha, you're here, Professor!"

Lu Jingping and Qiu Haowei got to their feet and waved in greeting. "Professor, long time no see."

The older man sat down, poured himself a glass of beer, and said to everyone, "This place still has the best food. It may not be big, but its dishes are better than those at most major hotels."

This was the renowned Professor Tian, a member of the national academy and the doctoral advisor to both Lu Jingping and Qiu Haowei.

With the Venerable joining them, the conversation turned mostly to catching up. They had spent several years together, and under their professor's guidance, had become very close. They had plenty to talk about.

Their recent experiments, problems they'd encountered, how one material had miraculously reacted with another that seemed completely unrelated, how one of the senior fellows had recently gotten married, and so on.

The gathering passed in a flash. After several rounds of drinks and plenty of food, Lu Jingping and Qiu Haowei exchanged a glance and finally told everyone why they had come back.

"Professor, to be honest, we came back this time to ask for help."

"Our project has run into a major obstacle. If we can't overcome it, we won't be able to continue our research."

The older man took a small sip of beer and asked curiously, "Oh? What's the problem? Tell me about it."

Lu Jingping briefly explained. "With LFP material, extracting lithium ions takes a lot of effort, and its electronic conductivity is poor. Its power performance and low-temperature performance are poor, too..."

Qiu Haowei said with a wry smile, "We've tried all kinds of methods and consulted papers from China and abroad, but still haven't found a solution."

The older man thought for a moment. "That really is difficult. No wonder you couldn't solve it. Even if I organized a research group, we might not be able to crack it."

After offering a few words of comfort, he asked, "Did you bring the experimental data and materials back with you?"

Lu Jingping quickly replied, "We did, we did!"

He took some documents out of the suitcase beside him and handed them to the older man to look over, then continued.

"Oh, and the boss approved five million in research funding to help us overcome this problem. It'll cover renting the university lab and paying the senior and junior fellows for their time and effort."

Seeing that several students around them were clearly interested, the academician closed the experimental report in his hands and smiled at them. "If any of you are interested, you can set aside some time to earn a little money. Just don't let it interfere with the research I'm doing here."

He then turned to the two students who had come back to visit. "As for the lab, I'll speak to the university tomorrow and try to get you a lower rate."

Then he addressed the students around him, whose faces were clearly full of anticipation. "If you run into anything you don't understand, you can discuss it with me."

A burst of excited cheering erupted from the crowd.

"Professor, you're the best!"

"Professor, you're amazing!"

"Money, money, money! By the way, the boss of this company sounds great—he's willing to spend!"

"Maybe I'll consider it after graduation."