Chapter 80: A Thousand Gold Pieces for a Dead Horse

Inside the Joint Laboratory building at Hanxi Jiaotong University, a sense of excitement and joy had permeated the air—this was true for everyone, from the professors leading the research projects to the personnel involved in them!

After all, it was impossible not to be excited—the first product developed by the Joint Laboratory had sold out, both domestically and internationally.

“We sold 240,000 units yesterday—almost ran out!”

“It was bound to happen; this was just a trial run, and daily revenue already hit 16 million—imagine how much we’ll make on official launch day!”

When Tan Minghua entered the lab, he heard several junior students and classmates enthusiastically discussing the domestic debut of the Electronic Pet Device.

Their enthusiasm, of course, stemmed directly from the device’s runaway sales—and its close connection to the Joint Laboratory and all those involved.

When the Joint Laboratory was first established, Tan Minghua and others hadn’t felt any major change; they were still just assisting their supervisor.

But after Tan Minghua, under his supervisor Liu Youguo, helped complete the chip for the Electronic Pet Device, and after the device became a hit overseas, everything seemed to shift.

University administrators suddenly began visiting the Joint Laboratory far more frequently; professors from other institutions, even those leading their own teams, started clamoring to join.

Then rumors spread: Dongling High-Tech would award a massive bonus to Liu Youguo’s team for their chip development work on the Electronic Pet Device.

Whether true or not, Tan Minghua had noticed his supervisor Liu Youguo smiling constantly these past few days, even humming to himself as he walked.

Tan Minghua didn’t know how much he’d receive from Dongling High-Tech’s bonus, but after participating in the project, he could now list the Electronic Pet Device project on his resume.

That single line on his resume could save him more than ten years of detours; right now, with his Jiaotong University diploma and this project on his CV, he could pick any company blindfolded—including foreign firms operating in China.

“Senior Tan!”

Seeing Tan Minghua enter, the group gathered around him.

“Senior Tan, when will Dongling High-Tech distribute the bonus? Will we get a share?!”

“How much will it be? Senior Tan, give us a hint!”

“Senior Tan, can graduates from our lab directly join the Joint Laboratory?”

“I want to join Dongling High-Tech’s tech department—I heard their salaries are much higher than here…”

As questions poured in, Tan Minghua cleared his throat and assumed the authoritative tone of a senior student: “What are you all doing? Are you still doing experiments? Do you still want to advance to master’s or PhD? Are these things you should be worrying about?!”

As a senior student, Tan Minghua still commanded great respect among his juniors; when Liu Youguo was busy, Tan Minghua led the others in experiments and thesis writing, earning high prestige.

Upon hearing Tan Minghua’s words, everyone scattered instantly. After handing over the night’s duties and organizing the previous night’s experimental data, Tan Minghua saw Liu Youguo rushing over, beaming.

“Minghua, come with me—we’re picking someone up.”

Tan Minghua followed Liu Youguo downstairs, where moments later, including the Dean of the Radio Technology College, Han Qianyi, and several university administrators, arrived—all gathered, speaking in low tones, all smiling.

When a car pulled up beneath the Joint Laboratory building and the passenger stepped out, Tan Minghua understood why Liu Youguo and Jiaotong University had gone to such lengths.

“Dean Han!”

“Professor Liu, sorry to keep you all waiting!”

After stepping out of the car, Li Dongling addressed the group, then extended his hand toward Tan Minghua, who stood behind the crowd: “Senior Tan!”

Tan Minghua nervously shook Li Dongling’s hand—he hadn’t expected Li Dongling to remember him.

Tan Minghua was several years ahead of Li Dongling and currently a graduate student; he showed great talent in radio and chip technology and aimed for an academic career. He had once hoped to stay at Jiaotong University, because the R&D environment outside was simply too hostile for people like him.

Domestically, only a few universities, research institutes, and companies like Huawei, Dongling High-Tech, and Bodao Mobile were still investing in R&D—no matter how much money they poured in, they at least kept trying. They needed talent like Tan Minghua. All other companies refused to spend a single cent on technology—they had no use for people like him.

Seeing Li Dongling’s attitude toward Tan Minghua, the once-invisible Tan Minghua now received warm smiles from Han Qianyi and the university administrators.

Inside the Joint Laboratory, Tan Minghua served water to everyone and prepared to leave, but Han Qianyi gestured for him to stay and listen; Tan Minghua stood behind the group.

Tan Minghua watched Li Dongling chatting merrily with the university administrators, Dean Han, and Professor Liu. He knew that if not for Li Dongling’s earlier “Senior Tan,” he would never have been standing here—sometimes, a single phrase could change a person’s fate!

“Dongling High-Tech deeply appreciates Hanxi Jiaotong University and the college for their support of the Joint Laboratory—without it, this wouldn’t have gone so smoothly!”

After sitting down, Li Dongling spoke directly: “To express our gratitude for Hanxi Jiaotong University’s support, Dongling High-Tech will donate one million five hundred thousand yuan each to Hanxi Jiaotong University and the Radio Technology College. Additionally…”

“Dongling High-Tech will award Professor Liu’s team one million yuan in recognition of their contributions to the Joint Laboratory!”

Li Dongling’s gaze fixed on Liu Youguo. This was what “spending a thousand gold pieces to buy a horse’s bones” meant: making every university and researcher in China understand that developing something valuable for Dongling High-Tech meant receiving massive bonuses.

The room fell silent. Liu Youguo felt his mind go blank—he wondered if he’d misheard. Had Li Dongling just said the team would receive one million yuan?!

Han Qianyi and the university administrators stared at Li Dongling in shock. When the Joint Laboratory was founded, Li Dongling had mentioned bonuses for teams joining the project—but no one expected such a staggering sum.

One million yuan! In today’s China, with countless people rushing into business, how many households have reached a million? Many companies don’t even earn a million in a year. At current average salaries, it would take over two thousand years to earn this sum!

Now, it was being awarded directly to a single R&D team. A million to a college might seem small, but awarding it to a team? The impact was immense.

“This, I…”

Liu Youguo had expected this bonus, but now he was overwhelmed. If it were just a few ten thousand yuan, he’d have accepted it, drawing only a few murmurs.

But this amount was too large. As a professor at Jiaotong University, accepting such a sum might not violate rules—but it would certainly invite envy and denunciations.

“This doesn’t seem to follow university regulations!” Liu Youguo finally blurted out. He wanted the money—but feared the backlash.

Li Dongling understood Liu Youguo’s fear and turned to Han Qianyi: “Dean Han, this bonus is a cooperation fee from Dongling High-Tech to Professor Liu’s team—is there anything irregular about that?!”

Han Qianyi exchanged glances with the university administrators. He understood Li Dongling’s implication: “I’ll discuss the bonus for Professor Liu’s team with university leadership!”

“But I believe it’s perfectly acceptable.”

Han Qianyi said firmly. Liu Youguo receiving such a large bonus would draw envy—but Li Dongling’s message was clear: this money was for Liu Youguo and his team alone. Anyone who tried to seize it or tamper with it would face consequences.

Since Dongling High-Tech’s founding, Hanxi Jiaotong University and the Radio Technology College had received countless donations from Dongling High-Tech, plus the tens of millions invested in building the Joint Laboratory.

It was clear that as long as Dongling High-Tech continued to grow, its donations to Jiaotong University would only increase. These were tangible benefits for the university. To risk alienating such a major benefactor—especially one who was himself a Jiaotong alumnus—would be foolish. It might even chill the hearts of other distinguished Jiaotong alumni.

Hearing Li Dongling and Han Qianyi’s words, Liu Youguo felt the massive bonus was almost certainly his. But he knew he couldn’t keep it all—he’d need to distribute part to his team, including Tan Minghua, and donate some to the college. Otherwise, receiving tens of thousands in one lump sum would be far too conspicuous.

“Dean Han, besides distributing this bonus on behalf of Dongling High-Tech, I have another matter to announce!”

“I personally, in collaboration with Dongling High-Tech, will establish a foundation to award the Qilin Prize and He Zun Prize to students in need and scholars who have made academic contributions at Hanxi Jiaotong University and Pingyang University!”

(End of Chapter)