Tech startup: I really do make mobile phones!

Chapter 44: Is there no need to avoid suspicion?
In the National Key Laboratory of New Energy in Shenzhen, Professor Jiang's office is filled with the sweet fragrance of Phoenix Dancong tea.

Normally, Professor Jiang only drinks Pu'er tea, and he would never bring out Phoenix Dancong tea unless a distinguished guest is visiting.

Professor Jiang arrived in a hurry; the cuffs of his white coat hanging on the coat rack by the door were still covered in nano-silicon powder, yet he insisted on personally brewing tea for Director Huang.

The reason is simple: whether Xu Mingyuan's "cooperation" will succeed or not is up to Director Huang, the head of the inspection team sent to Shenzhen by the National Development and Reform Commission.

Director Huang watched as Academician Jiang poured water from a high position using a purple clay teapot, the tea swirling in the fairness cup with an amber hue, and suddenly recalled a line from the national security documents:
Jiang Huaijin! A leading figure in the field of lithium iron phosphate batteries, an idealist, whose laboratory felt more like home than his office.

"Director Huang! Xu Mingyuan! He's the most tenacious student I've ever mentored." Professor Jiang handed over a teacup: "Back when he was working on the liquid lithium dendrite suppression project in my group, he managed to compile the data from 327 failed experiments into six analytical reports from different perspectives."

Ultimately, Professor Jiang was simply paving the way for his student, Xu Mingyuan.

Especially now that lithium batteries have become the mainstream direction for the country and enterprises, Professor Jiang, who felt that he was about to retire, hoped to give his very "talented" student a push.

No matter how convoluted and bizarre the process of creating gaseous lithium batteries.

But since it was created by his student Xu Mingyuan, Professor Jiang could not hide the joy and pride in his eyes.

Director Huang suddenly smiled, his eyes carrying the cunning characteristic of a seasoned official.

"Academician Jiang! I've come to visit you today mainly to discuss the feasibility of this gaseous lithium-ion battery!"

When Professor Jiang talked about gaseous lithium batteries, his cloudy eyes behind his reading glasses gleamed with a sharp light: "Feasibility? This isn't something you can decide by sitting in a meeting room and brainstorming!"

He suddenly got up and pulled out a copy of the test from the bookshelf.

"The day before yesterday, our group explored the nitride solid-state battery, an intermediate conversion of gaseous lithium batteries. Based on the solution to interfacial impedance provided in that document, we solved the problem in three hours."

Professor Jiang, holding the verification report on the nitride interface impedance scheme for intermediate conversion in gaseous batteries, began to explain the verification of some of the technologies to Director Huang in detail.

Every now and then, this academician would gesticulate wildly, clapping his hands in amazement, causing ripples to spread across the Phoenix Dancong teacup.

The expert group has conducted three rounds of feasibility studies on gaseous lithium-ion battery technology.

What Director Huang wanted to ask Professor Jiang was naturally not this, but since the other party was, after all, a national hero, the way to inquire could not be too direct; it had to be done step by step.

The controversy surrounding the "technology ownership" that the expert group visited Shenzhen has been resolved. Multiple sources have corroborated each other, confirming that the technology originated from Chen Mo.

Just yesterday, the National Security Bureau sent another intelligence report, discovering that Xu Mingyuan has been frequently contacting domestic and foreign capital recently.

In addition, the house he was going to sell was suddenly canceled because the company was experiencing cash flow problems, which was like a dark cloud hanging over his heart.

Could this Xu Mingyuan, who returned from North America, be another smokescreen thrown in from abroad?

Xu Mingyuan suddenly stopped selling the house he had promised. So who secretly stepped in to help him resolve his long-distance "financial crisis"?

Director Huang never dreamed that the culprit was himself. To be more precise, it was a chain reaction caused by a battery information sent to the wrong address by his secretary, Xiao Zhang, who was traveling a long distance away.

Director Huang was also unsure whether Chen Mo's renting of a remote battery laboratory would lead to a technology leak.

From this perspective, Xu Mingyuan is highly suspicious.

Director Huang picked up his teacup and took a sip; the temperature of the tea did not smooth out the wrinkles on his brows.

"Although Mingyuan's team is somewhat overly ambitious, gaseous lithium batteries represent a disruptive innovation in the energy field!"

Professor Jiang abruptly stopped talking about technology, but made sure to speak up for Xu Mingyuan at the end.

"I can facilitate technical cooperation with state-owned enterprises on the other side of the route, once it goes into production..."

"Wait! Academician Jiang, you said you could facilitate technical cooperation!" Director Huang's right hand, holding the teacup, trembled slightly, and the teacup stopped in mid-air. "Did Academician Jiang tell Xu Mingyuan about this arrangement beforehand?"

Upon hearing this, Professor Jiang pushed up his slipping reading glasses, his eyes filled with a hint of confusion.

“Director Huang! I only mentioned on the phone that an expert group would be going to inspect the area soon, and told him not to worry about the technical cooperation. I did not violate any principles. This technology is absolutely epoch-making.”

"Besides, this kid stayed up countless nights to make the gaseous lithium battery. Do you think I'd just watch him get crushed by the pressure?"

Professor Jiang's stubborn temper flared up, and he grabbed the teapot to add more tea to Director Huang's cup, causing the scalding tea to splash over the rim.

Here we come; a Southerner's teacup can never be empty.

"Besides! The country is now vigorously developing new energy, and recruiting talents without being bound by convention is the right way. Mingyuan's breakthrough in gaseous lithium batteries is much better than those shoddy products that come back from abroad. Young people like this should not be tied down by inexplicable rules."

After saying this, he slammed the teapot down on the tea tray with a thud, as if venting his dissatisfaction. Seeing this, Director Huang quickly stood up and supported Academician Jiang's trembling hand.

He knew from the National Security Bureau that this was the other party's old problem, and it really angered this national hero to the point of being seriously ill.

Despite being a powerful state-affiliated cadre, Director Huang still faced disciplinary action from higher authorities.

When doing work, you also need to pay attention to your methods!
Director Huang put on a perfectly timed smile: "Professor Jiang! Please calm down! I understand that you are eager to nurture talent!" He took out a silk handkerchief and carefully wiped the tea that Academician Jiang had splashed on the table.

“Perfect timing! We invited you to join our inspection team precisely because we value your expertise in battery technology.”

Professor Jiang's anger subsided considerably after being flattered by Director Huang's smile.

"The results of gaseous batteries need authoritative verification, and the equipment in the Shenzhen laboratory is the most advanced in China."

"They invited me to join the expert review panel!" Professor Jiang froze on the spot: "Keke Mingyuan is my student. It's against the rules for me to participate in the review, isn't it?"

Director Huang lowered his voice, his expression solemn: "Elder Jiang! To be honest, we've received a lead that this original data on gaseous lithium battery technology is very likely from another researcher—Chen Mo."

He pulled a stack of documents from his briefcase, the words "National Security" on the cover glaringly bright red.

"It cannot be completely certain at this time, but your professional judgment is crucial to uncovering the truth."

Director Huang couldn't say it directly, so he decided to let Academician Jiang uncover the truth himself!
Professor Jiang's reading glasses slipped down to the tip of his nose, and his cloudy eyes suddenly widened.

"Chen Mo? That name... I feel like I've heard it somewhere before!"

He staggered back to the leather swivel chair behind his desk and frantically searched through scientific research databases.

When the interface of the paper "Lithium-ion Grain Boundary Stress Diffusion Model" popped up, his finger lightly tapped the screen.

"Old Lin's paper on interfacial impedance last year had him in the references. I even commented 'novel idea' back then. How come... I never expected Mingyuan to change too!"

“Old Jiang! It’s too early to draw conclusions now.” Director Huang pressed down on the trembling shoulder of the gray-haired old man: “The expert group will go to Yuantu Company for inspection tomorrow. Let’s go together. The truth will come out then.”

After seeing Director Huang off, Academician Jiang sat blankly in his office, his tea going cold and then hot again, then cold again.

He stared at the photo of himself and Xu Mingyuan that he had taken out and hung on the wall in the past two days.

In the photo, Xu Mingyuan holds the trophy with great pride, while behind him, a bright and eye-catching banner reads "Graduates of 2002."

Suddenly, he grabbed the phone, wanting to question Xu Mingyuan about why he had lied to him, but then put it down heavily.

Director Huang's words still echoed in my ears.

I'm going to go see tomorrow to see if Mingyuan can actually produce gaseous lithium battery technology.

In the late night in the office, a solitary lamp cast a lonely halo above Professor Jiang's head.

He dug out Xu Mingyuan's undergraduate thesis from back then, an unremarkable paper, and compared it with Chen Mo's SCI paper, a paper of unparalleled genius.

When his gaze fell upon Chen Mo's paper, "Nanopores," in the section on stress diffusion at lithium-ion grain boundaries, he slammed his fist on the table and stood up abruptly.

"This approach is consistent with the control correction model in that gaseous lithium battery!"

Yes! The system initially extracted discarded cases and then imported real-world technological data. As the "principal researcher," Chen Mo was given priority in using the research direction he was working on.

Therefore, the more Professor Jiang studies his undergraduate SCI paper, the more he can see the source of some ideas for gaseous lithium-ion batteries.

This gaseous lithium-ion battery could not possibly have been developed by Mingyuan.

Professor Jiang picked up his phone, his finger hovering over Lin Heming's number for a long time, wanting to tell him the good news, but in the end he just smiled bitterly and gave up.

They spent ages showing off someone else's student's work, and then...

Sigh! Old Jiang can't afford to lose face like that.

Outside the window, the neon lights of Shenzhen pierced through the laboratory glass, reflecting on Academician Jiang's wrinkled face.

He muttered to himself, "Old Lin, Old Lin! This time you're going to laugh your teeth out!"

(End of this chapter)