The unparalleled talent of the country started from Harbin Institute of Technology

In mid-January 2009, the Want Want Group held its 2008 year-end summary meeting at a farm estate in the suburbs of Bingcheng, Heilongjiang Province.

Executives including O'Brien, Fuller Carson, Liang Shengzhi, Wei Ruolai, Allen Costa, Reinhard Monroe, Lee Evra, Yabo Fein, Dylan Dario, Yu Kexue, Tong Zhigang, Gabhari, Wen Shixuan, Qiao Hanliang, and Wang Lichuan gathered together.

They all arrived at the estate in very low-key manner, traveling in ordinary cars.

Several people even secretly returned to Hong Kong Island or other cities like Shanghai from overseas, without letting the outside world know that they had come to the mainland.

People like Zhou Qirui and Jack Merton disguised themselves to enter the mainland. They did not take their own private planes, but after arriving in Hong Kong, they directly entered the mainland by subway or ordinary car, and then took the high-speed rail to Harbin.

After taking the high-speed train from Shenzhen in the south to Harbin, the northernmost provincial capital, Zhou Qirui and his companions were sore from sitting so long.

However, they had no complaints whatsoever, and were even extremely looking forward to the conference.

Wang Yifei personally drove a Bentley from her home, carrying her two younger sisters, to the manor. The whole family will be spending time at the manor for the next few days.

Anyway, it's winter break now, so Harbin Institute of Technology is much quieter than before. Coming to the manor will actually make it more lively.

Besides, fireworks are allowed at the manor at night—yes, the kind of fireworks that can be set off without any restraint.

After all, it's almost Chinese New Year, and there are shops selling fireworks and firecrackers everywhere. Many children play with firecrackers in the streets and alleys.

Old Wang's family has quite a few children, especially Wang Ruoxi, Wang Junxian, and Wang Sixin, who are at the age where they love playing these kinds of games the most. They love frying cow dung and are quite addicted to it.

"Dad, are we not allowed to attend today's meeting?"

In a spacious, warm, and comfortable hall, Bai Doufu hugged a cushion and talked to her father while teasing her little nephew.

In 2008, the Wang Duoyu family welcomed another member. Guan Xin gave birth to twins in September, a boy and a girl. The girl was named Wang Siyun and the boy was named Wang Yungao.

At the end of the year, Dai Junzhu gave birth to another son, named Wang Yicun.

The Wang Duoyu family now has a total population of nineteen, and is about to reach twenty, because Huang Huiru became pregnant again not long after Wang Yicun was born.

In this way, Wang Junhong's family has six members, the second son Wang Junan and the third son Wang Junkang each have four members in their families, plus the unmarried Wang Yifei and her three siblings, and Wang Duoyu and his wife, the family will soon have twenty members.

With more people in the family, it's certainly lively, but it's also quite noisy.

Anyway, Wang Duoyu, Wang Junhong, and Wang Junan, along with their father and sons, were not used to it, or rather, they did not have the patience for it.

Because they all prefer a quiet environment, their home becomes too noisy, even more so than a kindergarten.

“You are all minors, so you shouldn’t participate,” Wang Duoyu said, shaking his head.

After saying that, he looked at Wang Junhong and his three siblings and said, "Let's go over there now. I estimate they'll be almost all here by now."

The conference room was right next door, and because the soundproofing was excellent, even if Wang Ruoxi and the others made a ruckus in the lobby next door, as long as they weren't tearing the house down, no sound could be heard in the conference room next door.

As Wang Duoyu and his four sons entered, applause erupted in the conference room.

Zheng Baoyin and the others all stood up to welcome their arrival.

Wang Yifei's eyes darted around, as if she was thinking about something.

This scene is truly moving.

"Everyone, please have a seat. We're already so familiar with each other, let's skip these formalities," Wang Duoyu said with a smile and a wave.

Everyone present had known each other for at least fifteen years, and those like Zheng Baoyin were relatives they had known since childhood, so it goes without saying.

Veterans like Hela O'Brien have known each other for over twenty years.

The Want Want Group was established after the Spring Festival in 1982, and 27 years have passed since then.

The executives sitting here have worked within the group for at least fifteen years.

After a few pleasantries and exchanges, the annual meeting officially began.

The year 2008 was an extremely special year, much like the year 1987, with financial companies' profits exceeding everyone's expectations.

For the next three days, Wang Yifei and her three siblings attended the entire conference, but they would be absent starting from the fourth day.

Because the fourth day will involve the super-large US dollar factory and arms deals, it is not appropriate to tell them about this yet.

But in just the first three days, Want Want Group's profits had already exceeded one trillion US dollars.

However, this trillion dollars is not entirely in cash, but a combination of assets, gold, stocks, etc., since companies like Goldman Sachs and Morgan Stanley have been acquired.
In 2008, excluding the super dollar factory and arms business, Want Want Group's total profit reached US$1.5867 trillion.

However, nowadays, almost all of this money has been converted into houses, office buildings, stocks, bonds, gold, etc., and it is not entirely in cash.

Moreover, Want Want Group doesn't need that much cash, simply because the Super Dollar Factory has a large amount of cash available.

As of now, Want Want Group's own gold reserves have reached 5,600 tons.

However, in 2009, the top five countries in terms of global gold reserves were the United States (8133 tons), Germany (3367 tons), Italy (2436 tons), and France (about the same as Italy).

China ranked fifth with 1054 tons.

The Want Want Group, a super multinational giant, has gold reserves of more than 5,600 tons. It is too rich to describe its strength.

According to the World Gold Council's estimate last year, the total amount of gold mined and still existing on Earth since ancient times, including jewelry, gold bars, central bank reserves, and industrial gold, is approximately 163,000 tons.

Jewelry accounts for about 50%, gold bars and coins for investment account for about 20%, and reserves held by central banks and international organizations account for about 16%.

The reason why Want Want Group currently owns so much gold is simply because it has nowhere else to invest.

At the beginning of 2008, concerns about an economic recession intensified, leading to safe-haven demand and causing gold prices to rise.

However, from March to September 2008, a liquidity crisis led to a sell-off, causing a sharp drop in gold prices.

In particular, as the financial crisis spread and global liquidity tightened sharply, investors were forced to sell gold in order to meet margin requirements for other assets or obtain cash.

Want Want Group, however, had already sold off a large amount of gold and made a profit before March.

They then bought large quantities of gold when the price fell.

However, gold prices began to rebound towards the end of 2008, and have since risen considerably.

Even so, Want Want Group will not sell off its gold holdings in the short term. On the fourth day, Martinez, the head of the Super Dollar Factory, began reporting on the company's profits over the past year.

The result was fantastic, of course, because this factory is Want Want Group's cash cow. If it couldn't provide more cash, then many projects within Want Want Group would probably have to be put on hold.

On the contrary, the arms business was so-so, neither good nor bad.

Wang Duoyu's current focus is on the lunar project.

Many years have passed, and the lunar base construction project is progressing steadily, but it always encounters various problems.

In the short term, it will be very difficult to fully construct a lunar base.

At the meeting, Wang Duoyu briefly summarized the key points, reminding all senior executives to focus on security while simultaneously working on overcoming technical challenges.

Zheng Baoyin and the others nodded, indicating that there was no problem.

The lunar base project is crucial to Want Want Group's future profitability, and it will certainly free the company from the constraints of the super dollar factory.

On the other hand, the steady progress of major projects such as interstellar travel, Mars exploration, and lunar bases can accumulate a wealth of technical experience and increase future influence.

At that time, Want Want Group will naturally be able to take whatever resources it wants from the Earth.

Therefore, the many executives in the conference room were very excited.

I just don't know if their generation will be able to successfully land on the lunar base.

"I believe it's possible, and it will happen in the not-too-distant future!" Wang Duoyu said with a smile.

“I’ve been to the moon several times, and the current starship buses are very safe. As executives, you could also give it a try and go see the moon.”

The meeting lasted for five days, and after it ended, everyone dispersed.

Martinez and his friends all own houses in Harbin, and these are luxurious villas or even estates with excellent privacy.

Of course, what they envied most was Wang Duoyu's house, because it was located on a lake island within the university campus, making it a unique property.

Whose house is located inside the school?

However, given Wang Duoyu's status in the mainland academic community, he could receive the same treatment at any university in China, not just Harbin Institute of Technology, but at any university in the country. Many schools would rather not have him.

Otherwise, Wang Duoyu would have been 'abducted' back then.

Lunar New Year's Eve is January 25th, and the meeting ended on the 23rd. The 24th and 25th were everyone's last holiday celebration before the Spring Festival.

It's almost Chinese New Year!

O'Brien and his friends spent a joyful New Year in Harbin.

The Spring Festival in the North is relatively boring, but Wang Duoyu and his friends still have a lot of activities to do.

The Ice and Snow World and other attractions are very popular with the little potatoes from the south, so Wang Duoyu and his friends naturally wanted to join in the fun.

The Spring Festival is over, and everyone is back to work or school.

Wang Yifei also returned to the astronaut training center and stayed there for more than half a year. Before she knew it, it was August.

After she successfully passed the assessment and received a day off, she walked out of the astronaut training center only to find that the outside world was completely different.

Road construction is underway everywhere.

Stimulated by the four trillion yuan stimulus plan, Harbin has also launched a large-scale construction project, with many construction projects underway on the streets.

Furthermore, Harbin is located in the north, where there is permafrost in winter, so whether it's repairing roads or building houses, time is quite tight.

Wang Yifei, who had traveled a long and tiring journey back to Harbin Institute of Technology, finally breathed a sigh of relief.

"Big Fish, I passed the test! By the end of this year, I'll be able to fly!"

Wang Duoyu wasn't in the living room, but in the study of the villa. After she came in, she excitedly shared her joy.

"That's great, congratulations! You finally passed the test. It's been over three years, that's not easy."

She entered the Astronaut Training Center in mid-2006 after graduating from university to begin her astronaut training mission. Three years later, she finally passed the test.

Fortunately, she was involved in the payload specialist role, which only required two years of training; otherwise, she would have needed much longer.

"Yeah, Brother Big Fish, you don't know, I've lost more than eight pounds in the last six months. Don't I look terribly thin?"

As she spoke, Wang Yifei brought her face closer to her father so that he could see her more clearly.

However, her father disdainfully moved it aside:
"Did you just chew gum? You smell like a Hakimi burger. How many burgers did you eat?"

"Big Fish Bro, is your nose like a dog's? I'm not surprised you can smell the chewing gum, but shouldn't the smell of a hamburger be masked by the chewing gum? How can you still smell it?"

"Is that how you praise your dad?" Wang Duoyu rolled her eyes at him.
"Alright, I still have things to do. You just got back, go and chat with your mother, she was talking about you this morning."

Although Wang Yifei is at the Harbin Astronaut Training Center, she has not been home for the past six months because she is busy with the final sprint and cannot leave.

Now that she has passed the assessment, she will only have one day to rest, because starting tomorrow, she will begin her final training before flying.

After I finish this busy schedule, I will board the spaceship at the end of the year, go into space, and finally land on the moon.

Nowadays, China's aerospace technology is developing faster and faster, with small changes every year and big changes every three years. It's practically changing all the time.

Wang Yifei nodded:
"Okay, Big Fish, I'll head out now. But before I go, can I have a hug?"

"You're such a grown-up, why are you still hugging me?" Wang Duoyu frowned and scolded, but Wang Yifei pouted and said, "Oh, you're such an old-fashioned person. Even if I'm old, I'm still a child in front of you. Just a hug, you know I'm going to the moon at the end of the year."

"Okay, just one hug~"

As a result, she clung to her father desperately, refusing to let go no matter what.

Just then, Liu Xiaoli pushed the door open and came in:
"Duoyu, is that car at the door Qianqian's? She's back, right? I haven't seen her in ages. Wang Yifei, you're back and you're already flirting with my man. Why aren't you letting go? Why are you holding on so tightly?"

Before she could finish speaking, Liu Xiaoli's eyes widened instantly, her jealousy radiating from them. (End of Chapter)