Rebirth 08: Rise from copycat phones

Chapter 605 The Thousand Talents Program for High School Students
In a small city in central China, Wen Junda's father talked with the principal of his son's high school for a long time before finally understanding what Liuhe Investment's "Thousand Talents Program" was all about.

"I've heard of the Thousand Talents Program before, but I've never been involved with it. I just made a few calls to inquire about it. It's one of the top student aid funds in China, selecting one thousand outstanding students from across the country every year for financial aid. I heard the funding is very substantial!"

"Don't worry, he's not a scammer."

"Liuhe Investment, huh? That's a company that ordinary people might not know, but it's no small company. It's the parent company of Zhiyun Group, you should know Zhiyun Group, right?"

"It's said that Xu Shenxue was behind this Thousand Talents Program!"

"Don't worry, come to the school tomorrow and I'll go with you to meet him. We'll see what happens, whether it's good or bad, or what the conditions are!"

After hanging up the phone, Wen Junda's father searched for some information online with some doubts, and he actually found some basic information about Liuhe Investment.

Although Liuhe Investment doesn't even have an official website, he was still able to find some basic information about the company through some news reports.

This investigation revealed something incredible!
The background of Liuhe Investment is surprisingly impressive. It is not only the parent company of Zhiyun Group, but also holds shares in a bunch of top companies such as Weiku Electronics Group, Weiku Industrial Group, Hailan Automobile Group, and Yihai Technology Group.

Although Wen Junda's father was not highly educated or worked in a high-tech industry, he had seen news about these top companies while watching short videos and knew that these companies were very powerful and large enterprises.

There are hardly any news reports about the Thousand Talents Program online. He only found some indirect reports. Someone mentioned the Thousand Talents Program in a post, saying that one of his senior classmates was invited to join the program and received huge resources and support, which made people envious and jealous.

Based on some private comments in several posts, this "Thousand Talents Program" should be a support program created by Xu Shenxue specifically to support young scholars and cultivate a new generation of scientists.

The selection criteria are extremely stringent, but the benefits after selection are extremely generous!

If my son could join, his future would be bright...

With anticipation, I arrived at my child's school the next afternoon. Then, I went to the school's conference room with my son, who lives at the school. There, I met several people who looked like business elites at first glance.

The leader was a man in his thirties, wearing a suit and tie, and behind him were two younger men.

After entering the meeting room, the man in the lead greeted the principal, Wen Junda's father, and Wen Junda with a smile, appearing very friendly. He introduced himself as a human resources specialist from Liuhe Investment's Human Resources Department, surnamed Wang.

The two behind him are his assistants.

After everyone greeted each other and introduced themselves, Commissioner Wang focused his attention on Wen Junda. This high school student was not very tall and his figure appeared slightly weak. He wore glasses and was not particularly handsome.

However, Commissioner Wang was very enthusiastic towards Wen Junda: "Wen, I heard you're planning to apply to Tsinghua or Peking University. I also graduated from Tsinghua or Peking University, and it hasn't been that long since then. We're practically classmates. Tsinghua and Peking University have top-notch faculty and other strengths in the country. You've made the right choice coming to Tsinghua or Peking University!"

Wen Junda seemed a little shy: "Yes, I've decided to apply for admission to Tsinghua or Peking University without taking the entrance exam!"

Commissioner Wang said, "Very good. Tsinghua and Peking University have a high starting point and a large stage. Moreover, a considerable number of the talents in our Thousand Talents Program are students from Tsinghua and Peking University!"

At this point, Commissioner Wang turned his head slightly and looked at the principal and Wen Junda's father again!

Then he said, "I believe you are not very familiar with our Liuhe Investment and the Thousand Talents Program. Now I will explain it to you in detail!"

"Wang is a specialist in the Human Resources Department of Liuhe Investment Co., Ltd., which was founded and operated by Mr. Xu Shenxue. It mainly engages in investment and management in the high-tech field and holds a series of top high-tech companies such as Zhiyun Group, Weiku Electronics Group, Hailan Automobile Group, Yihai Technology Group, and Weiku Industrial Group!"

"Our Thousand Talents Support Program is organized and managed by the Human Resources Department of Liuhe Investment Co., Ltd., and aims to cultivate a new generation of young scientists. We will provide the most outstanding and promising young scientists with comprehensive support in their studies, living, work, and research..."

At this point, Commissioner Wang added, "Moreover, it's unconditional and free funding; no agreements need to be signed!"

“Principal An mentioned on the phone before whether we needed to sign something like an early employment agreement. I’ve already said that it’s not necessary. Now I’ll say it again in front of Mr. Wen and student Wen: being selected for the list of 1,000 people does not require signing any agreement.”

"So you can rest assured!"

"Our Thousand Talents Program is divided into two phases. In the first phase, we will provide Wen with comprehensive free assistance, including paying all tuition and fees, as well as providing a monthly living allowance of 10,000 yuan."

"At the same time, we will also provide Wen with the research equipment, consumables, and facilities he needs for his research. We have a joint research and development center with Tsinghua University and Peking University. As long as it is a reasonable request and you can convince the technical committee, you can use it!"

"This phase lasts up to two years. During these two years, the research results will be evaluated. If the research fails, the support will end. Don't worry, you won't be asked to return the funding. All of this is free!"

"If you pass the assessment and are willing, you will be able to enter the second stage. We will arrange for you to work at our company's joint R&D center until you graduate with your doctorate!"

"The company will provide you with the benefits due to a full-time employee!"

"Most importantly, we will arrange world-class mentors for you in the joint R&D center, so that you can receive world-class education and have access to a world-class research environment!"

"In addition, the mentor we arrange will also be your doctoral supervisor at your school, so it will not affect your continued pursuit of a doctoral degree."

The purpose of this temporary posting is actually to make it easier to assign these people a research position... Only employees of companies controlled by Xu Shenxue can be assigned a research position; otherwise, there would be no need for this trouble.

"During the second phase, we will provide no less than 30 million yuan in research funding, as well as research facilities, equipment, and consumables."

"Furthermore, you can choose to terminate the temporary assignment agreement at any time!"

"Of course, you can also choose to officially join our company after you graduate with a doctorate!"

"All of this is entirely up to you; there are no mandatory requirements whatsoever!"

"If you pass the second stage of research achievement assessment, you will be able to enter the third stage, and after the third stage, there is a fourth stage..."

"In the third phase of support, discussing personal benefits is meaningless, because we will provide you with all the resources a young scientist needs!"

"And the fourth phase... I can't reveal the details because they're confidential, but believe me, the resources provided will exceed your expectations!"

The principal, standing nearby, was stunned. Where did this sucker come from? This wasn't just any ordinary scholarship...

This isn't how you give money!
And let me tell you, Liuhe Investment's Thousand Talents Program is basically just giving away money... The core purpose of the Thousand Talents Program is to identify and cultivate top-potential talents, and for these top talents, the meager funding is negligible.

Xu Shenxue wanted to find new SS-level research quota users from the Thousand Talents Program, and he wanted top geniuses... but the cost of cultivating top geniuses is already very high.

Putting everything else aside, if we can find even one SS-level research quota user in the first phase of the Thousand Talents Program, then we've hit the jackpot.

Wen Junda's father was stunned... Everything was free, without any restrictions, and they could even register you as a full-time employee while you were still in school.

Most importantly, he heard that he could join the Zhiyun Group... That's the Zhiyun Group, a world-class company!
Although Wen Junda's father was not highly educated and had limited experience, he still knew how awesome the Zhiyun Group was!
If his son can pass the assessment and enter the second stage, it's equivalent to joining Zhiyun Group ahead of time. After graduation, he can directly join the company and reach the pinnacle of his life!
As parents, who wouldn't want their son to work for such a top company and earn a high salary? ...A million-dollar annual salary is an astronomical figure for Wen Junda's parents!

Moreover, he also knew that even if you got into Tsinghua or Peking University, many graduates might not be able to join Zhiyun Group and earn an annual salary starting from millions!
The thin Wen Junda was also very interested in what Commissioner Wang had mentioned, but not in terms of money.

"If I join the program, will I really be able to conduct experiments at your joint R&D center?"

When he asked the question, his eyes were full of expectation.

Commissioner Wang said, "Of course, scientific research support is a core component of our Thousand Talents Program!"

However, Commissioner Wang continued, "Of course, before formally inviting Wen to join, we still need to conduct some assessments on Wen, including a written test and an online video interview!"

"Wen, is this alright?"

Wen Junda said, "No problem, I'll take the test!"

Shortly after, Commissioner Wang had his assistant bring out several test papers for Wen Junda to take, including one on physics and mathematics... These were all fairly common.

However, there are also additional IQ tests, psychological tests, and other exam papers.

The IQ test is naturally to prevent students who rely solely on hard work from getting in... The Thousand Talents Program doesn't want hardworking oxen and horses, but top geniuses!

You must have a high enough IQ!
The psychological test takes into account that a scientist must have strong psychological resilience and cannot have any negative personality flaws... Xu Shenxue does not want to cultivate an anti-human scientist.

Then there are some aptitude tests hidden within... mainly to see if you love your country.

Xu Shenxue was even less willing to spend a lot of money to cultivate a top scientist, only to find that the top scientist was single-mindedly thinking about going abroad to serve other countries, or even working for his competitors.

If it really turns out like that, it would be disgusting!

The subsequent online video interviews were conducted in the same way, with top psychology experts analyzing candidates' tendencies through their answers, micro-expressions, and actions.

In short, avoid cultivating scum or traitors!

As long as you have normal values, you can basically pass these personality and tendency tests!

As for the ability test, it was not that important. They had already conducted an investigation before including Wen Junda in the candidate list and confirmed his excellent academic performance before coming over.

Winning first prize in the International Physics Competition and being admitted to Tsinghua or Peking University without taking the entrance exam has already demonstrated his abilities.

Sure enough, Wen Junda quickly completed all the tests and passed them all!

Commissioner Wang stood up and said, "Congratulations, Wen! Once you successfully enroll, you will be able to officially receive the free financial aid we provide!"

"Finally, I hope that Wen will be able to successfully pass the assessment and enter the second stage in two years!"

As Commissioner Wang and his entourage left, Wen Junda was filled with anticipation. He couldn't wait for the fall semester to start... because then he would be able to go to a real laboratory and conduct the experiments he wanted!
After inspecting Wen Junda, Commissioner Wang continued his work, meeting and inspecting seven or eight other high school senior candidates.

Several other specialists were doing the same work as Specialist Wang.

They selected all the winners of various competitions across the country who were recommended for admission, and actually examined more than 100 candidates, and finally selected more than 20 people to join this year's list of 1,000 outstanding talents.

Not all students who become candidates for admission through recommendation can be selected for the Thousand Talents Program... They are either rejected because of insufficient intelligence or because of factors such as personality or values.

Just as Liuhe Investment's human resources department launched the fourth phase of the Thousand Talents Program, Xu Shenxue also saw some of the results of the previous three phases of the Thousand Talents Program.

The most outstanding achievement is Dr. Wang Dehai, who currently holds an S-level research position at Xinghai Energy, where he is engaged in the research and development of controlled nuclear fusion.

Moreover, he served as Professor Wang Binyao's deputy, participating in the overall design and the research and development of some core subsystems.

It's not just about doing odd jobs.

He is one of the key scientists in the current controlled nuclear fusion program!

Xu Shenxue was waiting to see if he could produce outstanding results... to see if he could live up to the SS-level research quota.

SS-level research titles are extremely valuable, and their use requires careful consideration. They should be reserved for the most outstanding talents and in the most critical research fields.

Dr. Wang Dehai's abilities and research field make him a good candidate for an SS-level research position... Of course, this is on the condition that Dr. Wang Dehai proves himself.

Of course, it wasn't just Dr. Wang Dehai; in fact, more than a dozen other young scientists also joined the core projects of Zhiyun Group to conduct research and development.

Qu Bowen, who joined Nanmen Aerospace, is only 25 years old, but he has already become one of Nanmen Aerospace's core engineers and the deputy designer of the Yutu interplanetary spacecraft, assisting in the development of the next generation of Yutu spacecraft.

That is, the Yutu-2 interplanetary spacecraft!
This is a spacecraft that is larger, has a longer range, and is faster than the Yutu-1 interstellar spacecraft... Most importantly, it is a manned spacecraft!

Astronauts can pilot and ride this spacecraft between Earth and the Moon, and theoretically, it could even be used to travel to and from Mars!
This is an important part of Nanmen Aerospace's lunar base plan!
Building a lunar base can't rely entirely on artificial intelligence and automation. There are always some tasks that machines can't complete automatically and that astronauts need to do personally.

The Yutu-2 interplanetary spacecraft is an important means of transportation for astronauts to travel between Earth and the Moon in the future!
(End of this chapter)