1970s: Hot wife accompanies the army, cold-faced rough man is not easy to tease

Chapter 323 The First Warrior to Arrive
After seeing off the last student, Lu Youyou finally had time to do some "serious business".

She needs to set up a project team. The feasibility study report has just been started. The report itself is not difficult to write, but choosing the right people requires more consideration.

At this time, there was a knock on the door outside.

"Please come in." Lu Youyou put down her pen and saw a tall, thin man walk in through the door. "Professor Kong, what brings you here?"

Kong Fansheng smiled gently: "I've come to volunteer."

Lu Youyou was stunned. Kong Fansheng was a lecturer at the School of Marine Engineering, and he had taught her classes back then.

"Please sit down, Professor Kong." Lu Youyou got up and made a cup of tea.

Kong Fansheng didn't mince words and got straight to the point: "Professor Lu, I would like to apply to join your project team."

He addressed him as "Professor Lu" quite openly, but Lu Youyou found it rather unsettling.

She said helplessly, "Teacher Kong, please just call me by my name!"

Kong Fansheng waved his hand and laughed, "What's the big deal? You're already an associate professor. Lots of people will call you that from now on. You should get used to it sooner rather than later."

Seeing that Lu Youyou insisted, he changed his address to "Comrade Lu".

Kong Fansheng placed a document on the table: "This is my resume. I would like to apply to join your project team."

Lu Youyou looked up at him. Kong Fansheng's expression was calm but firm, clearly indicating that he had already made up his mind.

Although her project team is still on paper, everyone in the department knows about it. It's hard to say how many people are interested, but the vast majority are definitely just watching indifferently.

Before her, the youngest associate professor was over forty, and there were plenty of lecturers in their thirties. Lu Youyou's arrival undoubtedly broke the rules of the workplace.

Does strong research ability guarantee a good teaching ability?
Is someone so young capable of handling the job of an associate professor?
How can someone juggle teaching duties in two colleges and leading the establishment of two research project teams?

Even the teachers who had worked with Lu Youyou couldn't help but question it.

Although there are no explicit regulations on how many projects each department can undertake or how much funding each project can apply for, there is still an internal balance.

Unless it's a key area prioritized by the state, having more people means there won't be a shortage of pie to go around.

Lu Youyou is now a "celebrity" at school and has also been registered with higher authorities. Her project is about to take up a lot of resources, so others will naturally feel that their share is being squeezed out.

The younger teachers are fine, but some of the older professors don't like it.

Because of the tragic fate of the person who falsely accused Lu Youyou of academic fraud, no one tried to sabotage the scheme, but no one offered to help either.

Most people watched coldly, but Kong Fansheng was the first to take the initiative to apply to join.

Even when he joined a project hosted by one of his former students, he showed no signs of embarrassment or awkwardness.

Kong Fansheng is already in his thirties. In recent years, he has been busy with teaching and has neglected his research. However, if he wants to be promoted to associate professor, publishing papers is a hard requirement.

He had taught Lu Youyou and knew her abilities very well. He had studied the dozen or so papers she wrote when she completed the seawater desalination project many times.

If Lu Youyou hadn't stayed at the university, he might have chosen a project by an older professor, but since Lu Youyou was here, he wanted to give it a shot.

Those who are accomplished can be teachers; youth and lack of experience are not obstacles. He was willing to assist Lu Youyou.

This was the first time Lu Youyou had officially received a resume. She didn't rush to open it, but just smiled and looked at Kong Fansheng.

"Professor Kong, the project hasn't been established yet, and I don't know its scale or funding. Are you sure you want to join now?"

"I came after careful consideration," Kong Fansheng said firmly. "Comrade Lu, whatever work you assign me, I have no objection and will definitely complete the task with high quality and quantity." Lu Youyou maintained a very open attitude towards the first "warrior" to come to her door.

"Professor Kong, let me finish writing the feasibility report and then you can take a look at it. It's not too late to make a decision then."

Kong Fansheng looked across at Lu Youyou. After two years apart, Lu Youyou no longer showed any trace of a student's awkwardness. The title of "youngest associate professor" seemed to have brought her no pressure at all.

"Okay, but I trust my decision."

After seeing Kong Fansheng off, Lu Youyou quickly completed two reports and submitted them.

In just half a month, both projects were approved. Lu Youyou thought it was alright, but in other people's eyes, this was definitely the treatment of a "celebrity".

It's common for other people's projects to be delayed for a month, and funding is even more scarce; if you want a little more, you have to write several more reports.

Who can be like Lu Youyou, getting approval for whatever she writes and giving her whatever she asks for!
While the older professors remain calm, many young lecturers who were initially hesitant are starting to get restless.

She's not really young anymore; she doesn't even look like she's from the same generation as Lu Youyou.

Whether she's taking a chance or not, or going all in like Kong Fansheng to gamble on her future, Lu Youyou is receiving more resumes.

She didn't mind the trouble and talked to each person for a while. In the end, she selected five people for each of the two projects, plus one student from school on each side.

The College of Agriculture selected a graduate student, and the College of Marine Engineering selected Duan Mingjuan.

Duan Mingjuan was already prepared to fight tooth and nail for her idol's graduate school spot after graduating next year, but her dream actually came true ahead of schedule!

She's been in a daze for days, sometimes spacing out and sometimes laughing. If she weren't usually so popular, even her close friends probably couldn't stand her seemingly insane state.

"Hey Duan Mingjuan, that's enough. Did you find money on the street or something? Does it have to be this exaggerated?"

"You do not understand!"

"How come I don't understand?"

My idol has a crush on me!

"What?!" Her friend almost screamed, "Who's interested in you? Duan Mingjuan, you have a bright future ahead of you, don't let some jerk make you neglect your studies!"

"What stinky man? Which stinky man can smell as good as my idol!"

Then it dawned on my friend: "You're not talking about Senior Lu, are you?"

"Wow!" Duan Mingjuan was dazzled and mesmerized, feeling as if she were dreaming no matter how many times she thought about it.

"What happened? You got accepted into a graduate program?" My friend asked in disbelief.

Duan Mingjuan waved her hand modestly, but was actually overjoyed: "Not at all, I just got into my senior's project team."

The list of personnel hasn't been announced yet, so she can't tell her classmates. Heaven knows how uncomfortable she's been holding it in for three days.

"what?!"

Now it was her friend's turn to be shocked. How was this any different from being recommended for graduate school?!
This is an opportunity to participate in a national-level research project at the undergraduate level. How many undergraduates can do this? Even doctoral students may not have this kind of opportunity!
As a third-year student, I don't need to worry about qualifications or age; being able to participate is like a windfall.

If I perform better and get closer to Lu Youyou, the opportunity to be recommended for graduate school might be just around the corner.

Seeing Duan Mingjuan's beaming face, the friend rubbed his fingertips together, wondering what to do about the itchy hands.
(End of this chapter)