Rapid Progress!

Everything went much more smoothly than expected.

In less than a week, Lu Jingping and several Jiuzhou Automobile researchers had finished their work and were preparing to head back.

An unusually large and enthusiastic crowd of senior students had come to see them off!

A huge group of doctoral students waved goodbye with reluctance. It was quite a spectacle, drawing curious looks from passing university students.

"Take care, junior! Be sure to come back next time you need anything!" called a postdoc with a receding hairline.

Another doctoral student with a receding hairline said warmly, "That's right! Especially if it's easy work that pays well. Don't hesitate to come to us!"

A postdoc with a head of jet-black hair ran a hand through it, then looked around at the senior and junior students beside him with a smug air. He couldn't help but sigh.

"It actually turned out to be simpler than we expected, and we got lucky, too. We found a solution after only a few hundred failed attempts."

"Everyone made a huge contribution. Together, we achieved more than the sum of our parts."

"This research really went smoothly. If only every project were this easy. I might even be able to keep my jet-black hair."

"Maybe it was the money that motivated us. Hahaha! We made over a hundred thousand in less than a week. Who knew earning money could be so easy?"

They'd paid rent by the day, and renting the laboratory had cost less than a million. The remaining four million or so had gone to the twenty-plus doctoral students and postdocs. Each person had received just over 170,000 on average.

Earning over a hundred thousand in less than a week was a very nice payday, even for these postdocs—especially in late 2008.

Standing at the school gates, everyone was in high spirits, chatting about what they planned to do with the money.

"Now I can go home and have a prosperous New Year. I'll give my parents a hundred thousand. They've worked so hard raising me all these years. They'll be so happy."

"I'm buying a house! It's the first time I've ever made this much money. When I go home for the New Year, I'm going to buy my parents a place in our small hometown county. This should be enough for a decent house."

"They might be shocked. Even when I got a little stipend before, it wasn't much. 170,000 is more than they could earn in several years."

"My family already has a house and a car. I'll give my parents a big red envelope, then use what's left to get myself a top-of-the-line computer. Hehe!"

"With this money, I can try studying abroad."

After talking about how to spend the money, the doctoral students—whose average age was around thirty—soon turned to the generous benefactor who had paid it all. They were curious about the company.

"Jiuzhou Automobile, huh? I'm already curious about the company. They seem to have plenty of money and are eager to recruit talent. From what our two junior colleagues have said, the pay should be good, and there aren't too many restrictions."

"Those two juniors have been going on about it every day. I don't know what kind of spell the company's boss cast on them, but they're so protective of him. They've almost convinced me to go, too."

As Zhu Yongchun watched the others' taxis disappear into the distance, she took a delicate little flask from her pocket, uncapped it, and took a small sip. "It might be worth checking it out. I'm planning to go see for myself after my project ends next year. If it's really as good as they say, I'll stay."

Zhu Yongchun's words surprised the postdocs around her.

"You've got a chance to stay at the university, senior. In a few years, you'll be a professor. You're tempted, too?"

"You're the teacher's star pupil, a true protégé. Aren't you staying to take charge?"

"Are you deliberately giving up your chance to stay so one of us can have it?"

As her fellow students speculated, Zhu Yongchun carefully tucked the little flask back into her pocket and turned toward the laboratory. Her voice drifted back on the wind.

"I'm interested in new energy vehicles, too. If the research funding is good, I wouldn't be against it. Besides, it's inconvenient to drink at school, and my teacher is always scolding me."

The senior and junior students who had come along immediately teased her.

"So the real issue is that you can't drink at school!"

"Mm-hmm! Our junior's got a point!"

Laughter and cheerful chatter filled the air.

They were used to goodbyes. These days, it was easy to keep in touch by phone or online, so no one felt particularly sad.

Life went on, but thanks to the extra 170,000 or so, everyone would at least have a very happy year.

After saying goodbye to their fellow students, Lu Jingping and the others set off on their return journey.

With these research results in hand, they could keep moving the development project forward.

On the taxi ride to the airport, Lu Jingping called Xu Yifan to report in.

"Boss, we've delivered on the mission. Things should go much more smoothly from here. The development project might be finished in just a few months."

Xu Yifan's delighted voice came through the phone. "Excellent work!"

"By the way, when's your flight back?"

"We should get to Shuangliu Airport a little after four this afternoon."

"Great. I'll come pick you up."

"No need, no need. We can make our own way back."

"Don't be so polite. You're the heroes here. When you get back, I'm treating all the researchers to foot massages!"

Xu Yifan didn't give them a chance to refuse. "It's settled!"

Before long, Xu Yifan was driving from the Jiuzhou Automobile Factory toward the airport again.

Temporary driver on duty!

As he drove, Xu Yifan focused his thoughts and stole a glance at the system panel from the corner of his eye.

[Super Factory System: Level 1]

[Funds: 25.29 million]

[Buildings: Production Workshop Level 1, Research and Development Center Level 1, Battery Research and Development Center Level 1, Employee Dormitory Level 1, Cafeteria Level 1, Warehouse Level 1, Office Building Level 2.]

[Employees: 549 (Satisfaction: 65%)]

[Product: Jiuzhou Mini (Old Man Happy) (Production technology: Average) (Product quality: Average) (Annual output: Over 20,000)]

[Technology: None (A garbage company without its own core technology!)]

The funds had changed slightly. All in all, he still had about twenty million he could spend.

As for the employees, after a week, recruitment was mostly complete.

Every department except research and development had been staffed up. The company had now reached the size of a mid-sized business.

They'd also more or less hit the factory's capacity. If they wanted to expand further, they'd need to build new factory buildings and all the facilities to support them.

The employee dormitory was at full capacity. Fortunately, with three shifts, everyone had plenty of time to rest, and most employees lived in the city and could go home after work.

Otherwise, the employees would all have to share rooms with ten people in them!

He checked these figures every day. At a traffic light, he brought his attention to the buildings and looked at the Battery Research and Development Center, Level 1, to check its current progress.

[Research project: New Lithium Iron Phosphate Battery Technology, 72% complete!]

It had jumped from 35% to 72%!

At that moment, Xu Yifan didn't feel the slightest bit of regret about the money. It had cost only eight million to gain 37% progress. What a bargain!

If you had money, you had to spend it!

He took a couple of deep breaths and quietly told himself, "Calm down, calm down. It looks like things have gone back to how they were before.

"Spending tens or even hundreds of thousands to gain around one percent progress isn't worth it right now."

"Until I have more money than I can spend, using cash to break through bottlenecks is the best value."

"I need to stay calm for now. I only have a little over twenty million left, and there are plenty of other things I'll need to spend it on."

"Why do I suddenly want more obstacles to overcome? This is too damn satisfying."

Honk honk honk—

The car behind him honked, and Xu Yifan finally started the car again and headed for the highway.