Restart life

Chapter 348, page 0335: [Sitting at the same table with the academicians]

The full name of today's conference is "Celebration of the 110th Anniversary of Peking University and the 10th Anniversary of the Implementation of Project 985".

The school's Party Secretary served as the host.

The principal spoke first, and his speech could be summarized in 12 words: review the past, focus on the present, and look to the future.

Following that, one person after another went on stage to give a speech.

There are so many leaders at all levels that it's inconvenient to write down their names and positions.

The president of Tsinghua University also extended congratulations to Peking University on its 110th anniversary on behalf of other universities across the country.

There were also representatives from foreign universities, such as the president of Moscow State University.

Chen Guiliang was a student representative, and Professor Lin was the teacher representative ahead of him.

Professor Lin is about to step down from his teaching position at Peking University to become Vice President and Chief Economist of the World Bank. This should be his last public appearance at Peking University this year.

After Professor Lin finished speaking, Chen Guiliang went on stage.

Donald Duck stood below the stage, taking close-up photos of the speakers. Seeing that Chen Guiliang was a student representative, he was quite annoyed, but still snapped a couple of pictures before burying himself in his camera.

Chen Guiliang unfolded his speech manuscript and slowly read it aloud.

This manuscript was repeatedly revised, with only the framework remaining, written by Chen Guiliang. The entire piece was filled with correct but clichéd phrases. It was both tedious and long-winded.

“This student seems to be quite famous,” said Chen Shouren, CEO of Xiangjiang Liantai Group.

Wan Siu-mei, a representative of Sun Hung Kai Properties, said, "Hainei.com belongs to him. Many Hong Kong people use it, and more than half of Hong Kong celebrities also use it."

Chen Shouren suddenly realized: "I remember now!"

Chen Dinghai, a descendant of Mr. Chen Ming, a patriotic figure from Hong Kong, laughed and said, "The mini-game 'Horse Racing' that comes with HaiNei.com is now wildly popular among Hong Kong people. It's spreading like a virus, with everyone asking their friends and relatives to register accounts."

Games like "stealing vegetables" and "parking space grabbing" were deemed too outdated by Hong Kong users, so ByteDance immediately commissioned Game Science to create a mini-game called "Horse Racing" specifically for Hong Kong audiences. During the game's development, they even brought in consultants from the Hong Kong Jockey Club.

It became an instant hit in Hong Kong upon its release.

Just as popular as "vegetable stealing" is in mainland China, "horse racing" is as wildly popular in Hong Kong. This game is "free"—all you need is a computer to play, and you can even earn game currency and items by inviting friends.

Free users who play consistently for a week can own their own foals and hire a team to raise, train, and race them. This greatly satisfies the fantasies of Hong Kong residents, who in reality might only gamble on horse races, let alone own their own foals and a team.
In order to hire a better team and to equip their horses better, many free users impulsively became paying users...

Personal accounts also have virtual homes where users can own mansions, luxury cars, butlers, and more. There are also mini-games with business simulation elements.

Now, Hong Kong users on HaiNei.com are living the life they've always dreamed of. They live in villas and drive luxury cars online, with butlers, bodyguards, drivers, and secretaries. Every day, they wake up to collect rent from prime shops, then go to horse races, play golf, and dine at upscale restaurants.

It also features various cringeworthy titles, such as Real Estate King, New Territories Horse King, and Asian Shipping Magnate, which can be obtained once the virtual company reaches a certain scale. Hong Kong people love this kind of thing.

This is so ahead of its time! Hong Kong residents have never seen anything like this before.

Even some Facebook users, who say they look down on mainland websites, secretly register accounts on HaiNei.com and experience a luxurious virtual life.

With its operations team based in Singapore and an all-English interface, Facebook simply can't compete with HaiNei.com in this regard.

Just last week, Apple Daily reported a news story.

The story goes that there's an old man in Kowloon who runs a general store. He's lived for decades without ever playing video games or even touching a computer. Seeing his grandson enjoying the game "Horse Racing," he learned to register an account and is now completely addicted. At his age, he even keeps over a dozen beautiful female secretaries in the game. He spends all the meager profits from his real-life store on in-game purchases and has even brought over a dozen of his old neighbors into the game.

Apple Daily's original intention was to call on citizens to boycott Haiwainet. However, because the report was so vivid, a large number of Hong Kong people flocked to Haiwainet to experience its decadent lifestyle.

HaiNei.com (Hong Kong) has become profitable, mainly through revenue from virtual items and advertising fees!

"Clap clap clap!"

After finishing his speech, Chen Guiliang left the stage amidst applause.

He will be going up again soon.

Because the awards ceremony is next.

The first award presented was the Peking University May Fourth Medal, the highest honor bestowed upon its students. It is awarded biennially, with the number of recipients varying each year; this year, nine students were awarded the medal.

Because the event was held concurrently with the school anniversary celebrations, the award-winning students did not have the opportunity to present PowerPoint slides to showcase their achievements. Instead, the award presenters provided brief introductions.

"Chen Guiliang, a student from the 2004 class of Yuanpei College, founded two companies using his royalties. One company is listed in the United States with a market value exceeding $20 billion. The other company, although not listed, is already one of the fastest-growing game companies in China. Chen Guiliang actively responded..."

Among the nine award-winning students, Chen Guiliang is undoubtedly the most special one.

The entrepreneurs invited to the ceremony were all from traditional industries. Some had heard of Chen Guiliang, while others had never heard of him before, and they were all quite surprised to hear his introduction.

No wonder he was able to speak as a student representative; this young man is really impressive!

The next award is the 6th Class May Fourth Trophy.

A total of six classes won awards, including Chen Guiliang's class of 04 Yuanpei Class—this class would have won an award even without Chen Guiliang.

Next is the "Cai Yuanpei Award," awarded to outstanding teachers. The "Distinguished Alumni Award" is the most prestigious, with a large number of academicians among its recipients!

This includes founding fathers of China's nuclear and space programs, such as Academician Yu and Academician Zhou, as well as medical experts such as Academician Wu, Academician Zhong, Academician Wang, and Academician Hu.

Looking at the dazzling podium, Chen Guiliang joined the other students in applauding wildly.

He really wanted to rush over and get an autograph. Haha.

Then there's the "Outstanding Contribution to Education Award," which is mostly given to those who have donated a lot to Peking University.

This includes the Hong Kong people who were previously discussing Chan Kwai-leung.

After the awards ceremony, leaders, teachers, students, and people from all walks of life stood up and sang "Ode to the Motherland" together.

Chen Guiliang sang while glancing at Donald Duck. He noticed that the guy wasn't actually moving his lips, but was just pretending to take pictures everywhere.

The event ended close to noon.

Chen Guiliang managed to sneak in as a student representative and dine with a group of bigwigs, all thanks to Dean Zhu's help.

He was sitting at the table with the business owners.

But after saying only a few words, he took out his notebook and ran to ask the academicians for their autographs.

The signatures of any of the academicians, such as Zhou, Yu, Wu, and Zhong, are worth treasuring.

"Haha, young people these days are all chasing after celebrities, what do they need us old folks for?" Academician Zhou laughed.

Chen Guiliang said, "You guys are the real stars. When I was a kid, I aspired to be a scientist. Even if I can't become a scientist, I'd be content to get an autograph from a scientist."

A group of academicians laughed and passed their notebooks around for him to sign.

Chen Guiliang added, "Many students greatly admire the esteemed scholars, but they haven't had the opportunity to receive their teachings. I plan to organize a scientist open course on the school's intranet to popularize science and tell stories to today's young students. I will also select some questions from the students and invite scientists to interact with them online. If there is an opportunity, I would like to humbly invite the academicians to participate."

The scientists exchanged glances, and three or four immediately agreed.

Many of them have already stepped down from their frontline positions, holding only honorary titles and serving as advisors, occasionally providing guidance to researchers. Even without Chen Guiliang's invitation, they frequently attend lectures and are happy to interact with today's young people.

Chen Guiliang then offered to pay for the lecture, but the senior scientists said it was fine without payment.

“How about this, I will donate all the lecture fees paid to you all to Project Hope in your names,” Chen Guiliang suggested.

"That's a good idea!"

The scientists were even happier, and they invited Chen Guiliang to eat at the same table, where they could squeeze in on any stool they could find.

The table was originally full of well-known entrepreneurs, but when they saw Chen Guiliang come over to get bowls, chopsticks and stools, they immediately started joking with him.

"Mr. Chen, are you looking down on us?"

"I'm sorry, but I can't refuse the invitation from my elders. Besides, I'm a student, and I have more in common with scientists. I'll definitely come over to toast everyone later."

"Haha, actually we also want to hear the teachings of scientists."

"How about this, I'll punish myself with three drinks first."

Chen Guiliang opened the bottle, poured himself three cups of liquor, and gulped them down.

Only then did the entrepreneurs let him leave.

"This young man is quite interesting."

"He took his company public in the US at such a young age. When I was his age, I was still an apprentice in a factory in Hong Kong."

“There are so many talented people in mainland China. My company’s products have recently been advertised on HaiNei.com. This website is very popular, even elderly people are using it.”

"Apple Daily made a huge blunder, publishing an article boycotting Haiwainet, but it turned out to be promoting Haiwainet. It's become a joke, and a bunch of left-wing newspapers are laughing at Apple Daily."

How much did you donate to Peking University this time?

"Not much, 20 million RMB. It's their 110th anniversary celebration, so they have to give something."

"..."

Donald Duck also attended the banquet and sat at the reporter's table.

He wanted to take more photos, but was stopped by staff and had to put his camera away.

Turning his head, he saw Chen Guiliang carrying a stool and squeezing into a table with the scientists. He couldn't help but mutter, "What a damn opportunist!"

The CCTV reporter sitting next to me said, "If he really wanted to curry favor, he would have gone to the leaders' table. Why would he need to dine with elderly scientists?"

Donald Duck glared at the reporter, who immediately glared back; it was clear they were not on the same wavelength.

(End of this chapter)