How Did You Make Money at School?

Qi Hao came back to his senses. "That depends on Huaji's CEO. I can take time off."

It was usually hard for university students to get time off, but he felt that under these circumstances, no counselor would dare deny his request.

The university president smiled. "That works too. He's mainly coming to discuss cooperation with the university this time, so if we arrange a meeting for you two, I expect it'll have to come after that."

Old Wang couldn't help speaking up. "Then he'll be going to the Experimental College for Exceptional Talents and the School of Computer Science first."

The president gave Old Wang a helpless look. "Old Wang, Old Wang, have you been soaking in a vinegar jar lately? Why does everything you say have such a sour taste? Huaji was already working with the School of Computer Science and the Experimental College for Exceptional Talents. It's not as if I arranged it out of favoritism."

"If your School of Mathematics wants to land industry-funded projects, you'll have to make the effort yourselves. Study more areas of applied mathematics and collaborate more with the faculty at the engineering schools, and companies will naturally come knocking. What good does complaining to me do? I'm not a business owner."

"Right, Old Hu?"

Dean Hu grunted in agreement but said nothing else.

Old Wang held his teacup and let out a long sigh.

The president made it sound easy, but in this day and age, how could it be so easy for them to hold their heads high at an engineering powerhouse?

A wave of collaboration between industry, academia, and research was sweeping through universities across the country.

At an engineering powerhouse like theirs, the School of Computer Science or the School of Communications could pull out just about any project involving base stations, algorithm optimization, or network architecture and secure millions or even tens of millions in industry funding.

By comparison, faculty working in pure mathematics were in a rather awkward position. The industry-funded projects they landed were nowhere near as eye-catching.

By this time, Huaji had already displayed a wolf-like appetite for expansion in the global telecommunications equipment and smart device markets, and its annual research and development spending ranked among the highest in the world.

For universities, landing an industry-funded project with Huaji meant not only a major injection of research funding, but also access to the most cutting-edge underlying data in the industry. It could even open a golden employment route for the school's students, leading straight into a major company.

Although Old Wang already had companies collaborating with him, he saw more promise in Huaji.

Ah, if only we could land a collaboration project with Huaji.

Seeing Old Wang take that blow, Professor Zhou finally felt vindicated.

Old Wang had been making snide remarks about Qi Hao earlier, and now it was finally Professor Zhou's turn to enjoy the joke at his expense.

The group briefly discussed a few more details about the competition, then dispersed.

It was already noon by the time Qi Hao left the president's office.

A biting wind blew, but it did nothing to spoil his good mood.

Halfway there, his phone chimed. He opened it and saw a text notification from his bank.

Reading the message, Qi Hao was delighted to discover that the reward had actually arrived in his account-a total of six thousand yuan!

Soon, he realized there was a serious question.

Do I have to pay tax on this?

Still unsure, Qi Hao looked it up. In his case, he didn't have to pay tax under the individual income tax law.

That meant all six thousand yuan was his!

Qi Hao thought for a moment, then transferred the six thousand yuan he had just received to his mother.

His mother called him shortly afterward.

"Hao'er, you transferred six thousand yuan? Where did you get the money?"

On the other end of the line, she couldn't hide the worry in her voice.

Six thousand yuan was no small sum for an ordinary family these days, nearly equivalent to one or two months of an ordinary person's wages.

Hearing the anxiety in his mother's voice, Qi Hao quickly explained gently, "Mom, I recently published a paper, and the university gave me this money as a reward to encourage students to do research. It just came in today."

"Writing a paper?"

His mother clearly didn't understand what a paper was, but when she heard that the reward had come from the university, she breathed a sigh of relief.

Her son had been obedient and honest since he was little. He would never lie to her.

"I've never heard of anyone earning so much money by writing a paper. Other people go to school to study, so how did you end up making money there? It won't affect your studies, will it?"

"Mom, the university encourages this, and it's good for my studies too!"

"All right, but even so, I can't take your money. I'll transfer it back. Keep it for yourself."

"Mom, I have enough money to get by..."

"Listen to me!"

"When you got into a good university, money was tight at home, and we didn't even invite our relatives and friends over to celebrate for you. Your dad and I have always felt sorry about that. Now that you're earning money at school, take good care of yourself. Don't skimp on food or clothes."

"Most importantly, don't let anyone look down on you. I've heard that some students look down on classmates who don't have money. I worry that you're alone at school and might get bullied because our family isn't well-off."

Listening to his mother's nagging over the phone, Qi Hao felt a wave of warmth rise in his heart.

"Mom, don't worry for nothing. My roommates are all really nice, and we get along like brothers. None of that stuff happens. At school, people value learning and ability, and your son's grades are excellent right now. Who would dare bully me?"

"Besides, I recently took a part-time tutoring job and earned some money. I have more than enough for my expenses at school. I can't even spend it all. The family needs money right now, so please take the six thousand. When I earn more in the future, I'll send you more."

"You're tutoring too?" His mother's heart ached again when she heard that. "Your classes are tiring enough already, and you have to write that paper, whatever it is, and tutor on top of that. How can your body take it? Listen to me and quit the part-time job. Don't wear yourself out..."

"Mom, I'm not tired. If you really care about me, please just take the money. If things are a little easier at home, I can study at school with peace of mind. Otherwise, if you don't take it, I'll spend all day at school worrying about how things are at home and won't be able to concentrate in class."

"All right... I'll hold on to the money for you for now. Don't be reluctant to spend money while you're away from home. Your health is the most important thing, understand?"

"I know, Mom. Don't be too frugal at home either."

Qi Hao reminded her a few more times to look after her health before hanging up.

His phone began vibrating repeatedly. He looked down and saw a stream of notifications from Mathematics Tieba popping up.

Curious, he tapped on them, only to discover that everyone was talking about him.

[Is the great Qi Hao here? May I ask how to publish in an SCI journal?]

Original poster: I whaled out 18,000 yuan, and I still only got published in Q3. Great one, how do I get published in Q2?

2nd floor: A freshman publishing a Q2 paper as sole author-that's beyond an ordinary study god. I'm in my second year of a master's, and I still haven't managed to squeeze out a paper for a Chinese core journal. Comparing yourself to others can really drive you mad!

3rd floor: The poster didn't find some crooked cultivator for that 18,000-yuan paper, did they? It can't possibly measure up to the great one's paper in substance. I wonder if the great one is on the bar. Please carry me on your next paper! I'll put up the money, and you do the work. I'll cover all the publication fees. Just list me as second author so I can graduate, and that's enough!

4th floor: Clinging to your thigh +1! Great one, do you need another accessory? The kind who can serve tea and water, type, and warm your bed.

5th floor: I'm also begging the great one to share his experience! Is there really a shortcut to publishing in an SCI journal?

Reading rows of replies saying "I kneel," "please carry me," and "protoplasm and cell wall separating," Qi Hao found it very entertaining.

Although there were plenty of amateur cranks on Tieba who spent all day claiming they had proved Goldbach's Conjecture, most of the people who frequented Mathematics Bar were master's and doctoral students from various universities, being tortured to the brink of death and back by their graduation projects and papers.

Looking at the lively discussion, Qi Hao thought for a moment, then casually used his own account to reply to the original poster:

"I'm Qi Hao. To answer the poster's question, publishing in Q2 really isn't that complicated, and you don't have to spend any money at all.

"Let me briefly share my method for everyone to consider. If you want to publish in an SCI journal, you need to build up your mathematical intuition over time, so that your derivations flow naturally like water forming a channel. Also, just spend more time in the library and less time chasing girls. I hope that helps."

Qi Hao's reply immediately took the post's popularity to another level.

102nd floor (original poster): Great one, is there a way that doesn't involve studying?

103rd floor: Spend time in the library? Sorry to have bothered you. I'm not worthy of studying math.

104th floor: But girls are much cuter than math. I can't give them up!

105th floor: I'm out. I'm going to move bricks. Research isn't for me.

106th floor: I've decided to follow the great one's advice for a month. After all, I won't have to whale out that way. Saves money!