Invited to a Family Banquet

Early the next morning, Li Qiwei and his two companions finally left London, beginning their journey to Germany.

Between the surging waves, the roaring train, and the bumpy carriage, Hong'er chattered incessantly the entire way, brimming with excitement.

Li Qiwei and Li San, however, remained dazed throughout the trip, so bothered by the noise that they only wanted to sleep.

Fortunately, everything went smoothly, and after four days and four nights, the trio finally arrived in Berlin on the morning of July 4th.

After checking into their hotel, Li Qiwei immediately contacted Professor Planck to inquire about the upcoming arrangements.

Upon hearing the news, Professor Planck was delighted and invited Li Qiwei to his home for dinner that very evening.

Furthermore, he had prepared a small welcome party for Li Qiwei the following day, to be attended primarily by students and professors from the Physics Department of Berlin University.

Li Qiwei expressed that he was flattered and promised to arrive at the dinner on time.

After returning, he told Li San and Hong'er to come along, but they adamantly refused, claiming they weren't used to eating with foreigners, so he had to let it go.

Li Qiwei asked Hong'er to prepare a few small items suitable as gifts, which he intended to bring that evening.

As the young master of a prominent family, Li Qiwei had brought plenty of novel, handcrafted products from home when he came to England, specifically to handle such occasions.

Therefore, Li Qiwei had nothing to do that afternoon.

He walked alone through the streets of Berlin, soaking in the charm of this world-renowned city.

A familiar short video he had watched in his later life suddenly played in his mind.

[Background music: "The dream of a pillow of millet is too long, looking up at this moonlight."]

[Video footage: That night, the Berlin flak towers illuminated the entire night sky.]

Of course, Berlin at this moment, despite being the capital of Germany, was not as prosperous as he had imagined.

It was far from the super-metropolises of the future; there was simply no comparison.

Yet, it possessed a sense of historical weight that, especially for a transmigrator like Li Qiwei, was truly captivating.

Without realizing it, he spent the entire afternoon wandering around.

Checking the time on his pocket watch, Li Qiwei headed toward Professor Planck's home.

That evening, on a street in downtown Berlin, Li Qiwei stood before a house and knocked gently.

"Oh, Bruce, you've finally arrived! Welcome!" Professor Planck gave Li Qiwei a hug and invited him inside.

"Hello, Professor. These are some gifts I brought; they aren't commonly seen in Berlin."

"Oh my, Bruce, you are far too kind. Marie Merck, come here quickly, Bruce has arrived."

At that moment, a middle-aged woman who still retained her charm and wore a smile on her face approached; she was Professor Planck's first wife.

"Oh, my God, this porcelain is exquisite. This gift is far too precious," Marie Merck exclaimed after accepting the items.

"It is just a small token of my appreciation. Without Professor Planck's guidance, I wouldn't have been able to publish my paper so quickly," Li Qiwei said with a smile.

Professor Planck hurriedly pulled Li Qiwei toward the dining room.

"Haha, Bruce, don't be so modest. The achievements are primarily yours; I'm just basking in your reflected glory."

"Come, sit down quickly. You must be exhausted and hungry after your long journey."

"Marie Merck, hurry and serve our Bruce some food."

And so, the two men ate while discussing various problems. Marie Merck did not join them at the table, as she still had to look after their four children.

The little ones had run off somewhere to play, and what Li Qiwei did not know was that these four children would all face tragic fates in the future.

At that moment, he was busy eating and chatting with Professor Planck about physics and the upcoming regular meeting of the Berlin Physical Society.

"Professor, I would like to know who will be attending this meeting. Please don't put me under too much pressure; I don't want to run into another Lord Kelvin."

Professor Planck was amused by Li Qiwei's jest and explained, "Don't worry, Bruce. Everyone is coming to hear your report and presentation."

"No one will make things difficult for you because of your background. After all, even Lord Kelvin lost to you; the others aren't fools."

"Besides, some heavyweight physicists will be attending this meeting."

Li Qiwei's heart stirred, and under Professor Planck's introduction, he finally realized how high-end and grand this meeting truly was.

Among those coming were many titans, including:

Wilhelm Röntgen, 55 years old, who won the first Nobel Prize in Physics in 1901 for his 1895 discovery of X-ray.

Ludwig Boltzmann, 56 years old, whose primary achievement was proposing the Boltzmann equation used in statistical physics.

Hermann Minkowski, 36 years old, Einstein's teacher.

Emil Fischer, 48 years old, a close friend of Professor Planck and winner of the 1902 Nobel Prize in Chemistry.

These were all established titans, not rising stars like Einstein.

At the same time, from Professor Planck, Li Qiwei also learned of some future titans, such as:

Max von Laue, 21 years old, a student of Minkowski and later a student of Professor Planck, who would go on to win the 1914 Nobel Prize in Physics.

Fritz Haber, 32 years old, who would win the 1918 Nobel Prize in Chemistry for being the first to synthesize ammonia from the air, freeing humanity from reliance on natural nitrogen fertilizers.

Of course, in addition to these titans, many other professors, students, and others would be attending the meeting.

The Berlin Physical Society did not limit its membership to physics; it also included many experts from other fields.

Furthermore, due to the society's regional nature, the primary invitees were scientists within Germany or scholars temporarily residing in the country.

Consequently, this meant that many names familiar to Li Qiwei did not appear.

However, the people mentioned above were more than enough.

Any one of them, if placed in later generations, would be a figure worthy of a textbook.

Now, they were all drawn to Li Qiwei, eager to see the demeanor of the genius who had created Quantum Mechanics.

After recalling these famous figures in his mind, Li Qiwei smiled bitterly and said, "Professor, I truly feel the pressure now."

"However, I am still very grateful to you for providing me with this opportunity; it is very important to me."

"Our Huaxia needs to have its own voice in the field of science!"

Planck was moved by Li Qiwei's resonant and forceful words; he genuinely hoped that Li Qiwei's motherland would grow strong.

He could sense that the young man was carrying too much on his shoulders.

Although he did not know why Li Qiwei was doing this, he would support him without reservation.

Thus, caught up in the spirit of the moment, Planck, who never touched alcohol, actually drank several glasses of wine with Li Qiwei.

In this pleasant atmosphere, the two talked more and more happily, and the room was filled with laughter.

By the time Li Qiwei hurried back to the hotel, it was already past 10:00 PM.

The exhaustion of the past few days, combined with the alcohol, left Li Qiwei feeling slightly tipsy and hazy.

Hong'er smelled the alcohol on him and hurriedly helped him undress, wiped his body, and assisted him into bed to rest.

Who would have thought that, whether due to the alcohol or some other reason, Li Qiwei would suddenly kiss Hong'er on the forehead.

Hong'er was startled, her cheeks turning bright red as she stood by the bed, at a complete loss.

She lowered her head, her hands nervously twisting her clothes.

At this moment, Li Qiwei lay on the bed, unaware of his recent actions, and began to snore softly.

Hong'er walked to his side, watching him quietly as she smoothed out his messy hair.

There was a charming scent about Li Qiwei that made Hong'er's whole body feel hot and her throat dry.

She did not know what kind of feeling this was; she only wanted to serve her young master for the rest of her life and never leave his side.

Worried that Li Qiwei might be thirsty in the middle of the night, Hong'er curled up by the bedside to keep watch until she fell asleep, a faint smile lingering on her lips.

The first round of recommendations starts at midnight on Sunday, and I am very nervous. I ask all you readers to please keep up with the updates and add the book to your favorites. Lao Xu thanks you all~