Training the Heavens

Chapter 328 Solvay Conference

Zhang Xingjiu said, "I recently received an invitation from Ernest Solvay. He invited me to attend a conference at his private residence in Brussels, along with scholars such as Marie Curie, Hendrik Lorentz, Henri Poincaré, Ernest Rutherford, and Max Planck, to discuss cutting-edge topics in physics. I hadn't been to Europe to communicate with these scientists for several years, so I agreed."

Ernest Solvay is a famous chemist, entrepreneur and social activist who invented the Solvay process named after him in his twenties. This process remains the most important chemical process for making soda.

With this patent, Solvay earned a lot of wealth and became a world-renowned chemical company. Even when Zhang Xingjiu first traveled through time, Solvay Group had developed into a global industrial group active in the chemical, plastic and pharmaceutical industries, with a market value of over 10 billion US dollars.

Perhaps because Solvay was originally a technician, after he became rich, he was not only keen on increasing his wealth like those traditional businessmen. He founded many educational institutions, supported many welfare projects, and provided a lot of funding for academics and exploration, such as supporting Belgian adventurers to carry out polar expeditions.

Perhaps influenced by Nobel, Solvay also had a strong interest in the forefront of science, so the Solvay Conference was held. He sent out invitations to world-renowned physicists to gather in Brussels, Belgium, and he was responsible for all expenses.

As the brightest star in the physics world today, Zhang Xingjiu naturally received an invitation letter, and he was the only invitee outside of Europe and the United States. The meeting was scheduled for October this year. Zhang Xingjiu planned to go to Europe in advance and visit the Sorbonne University, so it was very close for him to leave now.

Fan Yuanrang's home is in Changsha, and he plans to rest in Shanghai for a few days, so Zhang Xingjiu invited him to stay at his home. Fan Yuanrang readily agreed, and after dinner he continued to tell Zhang Xingjiu about his experiences in Europe. Guoqiang, Guosheng, and Guowei were also listening, and they seemed very interested.

The next day, Fan Yuanrang returned to Aurora University to give a lecture, telling his younger classmates about European schools, scientific research and industries. The teachers and students listened very attentively, and many of them vowed in their hearts to take him as an example, study hard and repay the motherland in the future.

In the afternoon, the school directors gathered for a meeting to discuss whether to invest in Fan Yuanrang's alkali production project. When Fan Yuanrang was in Germany, he had interned at a large chemical company through the introduction of Zhang Xingjiu, so he was no stranger to how to run a chemical plant.

He presented a speech to the school board, introducing the current status and prospects of the industry. "Soda ash, chemically known as sodium carbonate, is also known as soda, soda ash, alkali flour, or washing soda. It is the most important basic chemical raw material in industrial society. The chemical industry is absolutely inseparable from the 'three acids and two alkalis,' and soda ash is one of the 'two alkalis.'"

"Soda ash has a wide range of applications. It can be used not only as a raw material for manufacturing other light industrial products, but also in many other fields such as chemical industry, metallurgy, textiles, leather making, printing, etc., especially in the glass industry, where large amounts of soda ash are essential for production."

"Nowadays, most of the domestic soda ash needs to be imported, especially Solvay, which started in Belgium and later established factories in the UK, Germany, Russia and the US. It is one of the most important suppliers of soda ash in the world."

"There's a huge demand for soda ash in China, and foreigners charge a very high price for it. As long as we can produce quality soda ash, there will be no shortage of sales, and the school and your investment will yield a generous return."

"During my years in Germany, I have conducted a lot of research on the production process of soda ash. As long as I have sufficient funds, I am confident that I can produce high-quality soda ash." Fan Yuanrang also took out a stack of technical data to prove his strength.

Unfortunately, most of the school directors present could not understand it, so they could only turn their eyes to Zhang Xingjiu. Zhang Xingjiu had already read the information in advance and decisively endorsed Fan Yuanrang, "From a technical point of view, Mingjun's plan is very feasible!" In the original history, even if there was no Zhang Xingjiu, he and Hou Debang had developed the Hou's alkali production method. Now that Fan Yuanrang and Hou Debang are more capable than before, there is no reason why they cannot do it?

Even if something unexpected happens, Zhang Xingjiu can come forward to help. Fan Yuanrang's plan is just one step away from breaking through the window paper. If the waiting time is too long, he can just help him break through the window paper.

Upon hearing this, Zhang Jian was the first to speak out. "I trust Mingjun's abilities. He was the one who originally improved the technology at the Tongrentai Salt Company. He already had this capability a few years ago, and now he has a doctorate in chemistry from Germany. So, what is there to worry about? I think the money required for this proposal isn't much. I'll take a 20% stake first, and I'll send you the money when you return from Changsha."

"Ahem, Mr. Zhang, you asked for 20% right away, so how much do we have left? Besides, today is the project discussion meeting of Aurora University. What we should decide now is whether the school should invest and how much it should invest. If you want to invest, you should wait until we finish discussing these things." Someone couldn't help but interrupt him.

"Haha, I was negligent. Let's vote now, shall we? I agree that the school will invest in Mingjun's company."

"I agree!"

"agree!"

This was not the first time that the school directors had discussed the project investment, and it was quickly approved. Aurora University obtained 20% of the shares of the company that had not yet been formally established, Zhang Jian obtained 10%, and the other school directors also gained something.

It’s not that Zhang Jian couldn’t come up with the money, but the alkali company needed to introduce other shareholders to facilitate the company’s development, so it had to leave behind some shares. Adding Fan Yuanrang’s shares, there weren’t many shares left. He could only get 10% because of his seniority and the fact that he could help the alkali company solve many problems. If it was just about the money, he wouldn’t get even half of it.

Today we have only finalized the letter of intent. The detailed contract will have to wait until Fan Yuanrang returns from his hometown before we can discuss it. He left home to study in Europe for several years, and now that he has finally returned, he must go back to visit his family first.

As soon as Fan Yuanrang left, Zhang Xingjiu boarded the passenger ship and prepared to go to Europe. He had not been to Europe for nearly ten years since he went to Sweden to receive the first Nobel Prize in Physics.

After more than a month's sailing and then taking a train from the port of Marseille, Zhang Xingjiu arrived in Paris again.

(End of this chapter)