Chapter 252

Yi Xin and the others had been anxious, but they found that Associate Professor Jiao had shown no direct reaction; after returning, they went about their business as usual, held a group meeting in which Yi Xin, Su Qu, and Zeng Jing reported their work results from the past year, and then had the newcomers Ke Heng and Dai Tong introduce themselves.

Dai Tong is from our school and department; Associate Professor Jiao has an impression of her; overall, this kid is not bad, hardworking; initially she planned to go abroad directly, but later, due to various matters being delayed, she took the postgraduate entrance exam together with others, applying to Associate Professor Jiao. Precisely because she comes from our department, she has a better understanding of the various teachers in the department, and it's clear she genuinely wants to achieve something.

Although Ke Heng studied at a university outside the province, he is actually a native of Chu Hua Shi; this time he took the postgraduate entrance exam and directly returned. Among the few people in the group, he was the only one who didn't know Associate Professor Jiao well, so when Yi Xin and the others worried about being called over for a talk by Associate Professor Jiao, he also felt anxious, afraid of leaving a bad impression.

When the group meeting ended, Associate Professor Jiao asked them which day they had time to come to his home for a meal, with his wife personally cooking. The students discussed it and settled on a Saturday.

Actually, Jiao Ma had originally planned for Jiao Ba to take the students out to eat, but Jiao Ba thought it unnecessary to go out for just a few people; although the home isn't large, fitting five more people is still possible, and if it's a bit cramped, that's fine—eating at home saves money, no need for pretenses.

At six o'clock on Saturday afternoon, the sun wasn't so harsh anymore, and there was plenty of shade on the ground; at this time, many people gradually went out to eat.

Not far from Dongqu Dayuan, a group of five headed toward the compound. Three rode bicycles, while the other two hitched a ride; the leader, Yi Xin, had no passenger on his bike and hung several bags of fruit. When going to the boss's house for a meal, it's good to bring something, and the most economical choice is fruit.

Hey, senior fellow student, you said last time that our professor's wife is a good person; what about the other people in Professor Jiao's family, like the children or elders?" Ke Heng asked.

Yi Xin briefly described the two children of the Jiao family, saying, "Actually, everyone in Professor Jiao's family is quite nice, oh. I almost forgot. Which of you two is afraid of cats? Professor Jiao's family has a black cat named Hei Tan."

Ke Heng and Dai Tong both shook their heads; in their field, few people are afraid of small animals, and they don't even know how many lab mice have died under their hands.

Speaking of Professor Jiao's cat, I'll tell you...' As soon as this topic came up, Su Qu had a lot to say; he felt it most deeply. Back then, being selected was also thanks to that cat.

"Hey, look ahead." Zeng Jing, who was riding her bike, interrupted Su Qu's words, lifting her chin and pointing in a direction.

Everyone followed the direction Zeng Jing pointed and looked over. A black cat was strolling slowly along the shade of the trees beside the sidewalk.

"That's Professor Jiao's Hei Tan." Yi Xin said.

"If I call it, will it respond?" Ke Heng asked.

"Not necessarily; this cat is a bit special." Yi Xin didn't commit to a definite answer, but he thought to himself: it probably won't respond.

"Hei Tan!" Ke Heng shouted.

Riding their bikes was faster than walking, so they got closer and closer to the cat ahead; although Ke Heng's shout wasn't loud, the cat in front could definitely hear it.

Unfortunately, the cat ahead completely ignored Ke Heng, continuing to stroll slowly toward the compound without pausing its steps.

"Senior fellow student, are you sure that cat is Professor Jiao's?" Ke Heng wondered. At his home, if you call the cat by its correct name, it might not necessarily respond, but it usually shows some reaction, like stopping to look around. But that cat ahead seemed as if it hadn't heard anything at all.

"Definitely; the cat tag on its neck proves it." Yi Xin affirmed.

Zheng Tan only keeps his cat tag on when he's wandering around campus; he had just walked around the Dongqu Dayuan area, thinking that Jiao Ma said dinner would be at six-thirty, so he returned at this time. The person who had just called out, Zheng Tan certainly heard it, but when walking around campus, people who know Zheng Tan also exist; having been called many times, he's grown lazy about responding to those who call just for fun and aren't on good terms, let alone voices he's never heard before—he's even less inclined to respond.

When Yi Xin and the others rode their bikes into the compound, they were already ahead of Zheng Tan; after parking their bikes, Yi Xin led several junior fellow students to Building B, and once again reminded them of the points to note: "Listen more, speak less—there are quite a few important figures in this building; leaving a bad impression would be not only embarrassing for our advisor but also unpleasant for ourselves."

Upon arriving at the access control, Yi Xin didn't rush to ring the bell; he waited beside the access control and also made space for the card-swipe area.

Ke Heng and the others watched as that black cat from earlier leisurely walked up to the access control, glanced at them indifferently, then went to the card-swipe spot and jumped up.

"Click!"

The iron gate of the access control opened.

"Come on in, what are you spacing out for!" Yi Xin pulled at the dazed Ke Heng and Dai Tong, and they followed the black cat into the building.

"Wow! No wonder it's the boss's cat." Ke Heng sighed.

Yi Xin made a shushing gesture; when he reached the third floor, he saw that Professor Lan's apartment door was open, making him feel nervous, but fortunately he didn't see Professor Lan come out all the way up to the fifth floor. Visiting the boss's house isn't easy either; his little heart keeps thumping, worrying about this and that.

Although they were nervous at first, seeing that the Jiao family members were indeed as kind as Yi Xin had said, the several people gradually relaxed.

The living room isn't large; whenever guests come, the two children set up a small table in Jiao Yuan's room, and Zheng Tan didn't hang out in the living room but went to the room to keep the two children company.

During the meal, Jiao Ba didn't mention anything about the students' experimental work, nor did he ask much; instead, he shared his feelings from this time participating in a research project abroad, and also told them about overseas research standards and lab conditions. Abroad, although the remuneration is generous, competition and pressure are also considerable, just as many returning young professors, when drunk, speak frankly: one can get by domestically, but it's hard to get by overseas; this is also one reason many people return to develop domestically—saying so naturally is to repay their alma mater and country. Of course, the state indeed recruits high-salary talents with genuine ability, offering them excellent development conditions, but not everyone possesses such outstanding skill. Having chosen this path, one must use one's learned knowledge to pave the way for oneself; under survival pressure, many things gradually drift from the original intention.

Why do people in this field all want to go abroad? Even just taking a trip overseas to gild one's résumé can make it look better. Nowadays, domestic position competition pressure is gradually increasing; many universities, when hiring teachers, add a condition: 'must have overseas experience.' Evaluating professional titles, competing for positions, grabbing projects—none of it is easy. The most obvious point: the number of young professors in China keeps growing, yet their value is sharply declining. Although putting it bluntly is hard to hear, this is indeed a fact.

Furthermore, professional title evaluation has gradually become a 'power-academic transaction' and 'money-academic transaction,' even turning into a game of piecing together projects to show off funding; every year during the faculty title evaluation season, one constantly hears complaints from those who, solely due to research funding, miss out on senior titles. Therefore, to continue on this path, to climb upward, to adapt to these rules is not a simple, straightforward matter; many people only understand this reasoning after they have reached that step.

Many of these matters Jiao Ba selectively mentioned; explaining too clearly might cause these students to lose motivation. Jiao Ba also asked several students about their summer arrangements; actually, many professional graduate students have no summer break—even if the school website lists summer vacation time, everyone knows that summer break basically doesn't exist, especially at a university like Chu Hua Da Xue, in the field that Yi Xin and the others are in.

Jiao Ba treats the students well; if a student wants to go home, they just write a leave note stating the specific time, after all, students are at school, and this advisor must take full responsibility.

Zheng Tan pricked up his ears in the room to listen to the conversation of several people in the living room; the earlier topics didn't interest Zheng Tan much, but after the meal, when the teacher and students sat there talking, it aroused Zheng Tan's curiosity.

Not only Zheng Tan, but Jiao Yuan and Xiao Youzi in the room also heard it.

Jiao Ba will go out with this year's batch going for field practice; the College of Life Sciences at Chu Hua Da Xue takes its sophomore students out for field practice every summer semester.

Before Xiao Youzi came to the Jiao family, Jiao Yuan was still young when Jiao Ba, while taking students to the internship base, also brought Jiao Yuan along; Jiao Yuan has always been thinking about when he could go out again, and having waited until now, hearing Jiao Ba say they would go to the field practice base again, his heart started to itch, wondering what to bring along.

After Yi Xin and the others left, Jiao Yuan immediately went to ask Jiao Ba eagerly whether he would also take them out to play this summer.

Jiao Ba only replied with one sentence—"Look at your performance."

The so-called "performance," Jiao Yuan and Xiao Youzi understood, likely refers to their final exam scores; even if they can't rank among the top few, it still can't be too poor.

Thus, the few magazines with sexy covers and the several thick yellow-covered novels hidden in the corner under Jiao Yuan's bed disappeared; Zheng Tan had planned to look through them when the house was empty and internet use was forbidden, but came up empty-handed.

Although Jiao Yuan, as a teenager, carries various adolescent restlessness, if he truly decides to accomplish something, he will certainly take it seriously, clearing away all sources of disturbance. If Zheng Tan wants to see those magazines and novels, he'll have to wait at least until Jiao Yuan finishes his exams.

Zheng Tan is indeed curious about that field practice, but helplessly, Jiao Yuan and Xiao Youzi have been busy preparing for their final exams lately, so other topics aren't discussed much; Zheng Tan can only learn a bit by listening to the corner of the master bedroom wall at night.

This time, Jiao Ba is not the team leader; he simply wants to take advantage of this opportunity to bring his family along for a stroll. Anyway, Chu Hua Shi is very hot in summer, and the kids can't do much staying at home, so it's better to take them out to play. Although following the internship unit will surely be arduous, this is one reason Jiao Ba had the two children go along—to get more exercise and broaden their knowledge.

The institute organizes the field practice from mid-July to late July; including travel time, it lasts about two weeks. The institute has chartered several buses, but since Jiao Ba is bringing his family along, plus a cat, he simply didn't join the others on the bus and drove his own car instead. Some other teachers from the school also drive themselves, because the team still includes some external personnel; these home‑school teachers need to be careful not to suffer losses from taking small advantages.

Among the teachers who drove themselves, one brought a golden retriever; in the past, teachers have also brought pet dogs along, but as for bringing a cat, since the establishment of the internship base, the Jiao family is the only one to have done so. (To be continued...)

ps: (5.10) Explanation: updates are basically once a day from Monday to Friday, with extra chapters on weekends depending on the situation. Readers can fatten up first, then slaughter.