Canteen System Assistance Notes

A middle-aged man in a coarse shirt and round glasses straightened his collar, trying to make his travel-weary appearance a little more presentable. Immediately, he walked to Mansion No. 65, next to Green Lake, and handed a business card to the guard at the door.

"Hello, Mr. Boss, please let me know." The man paused. "I'm Zhu Oufang from Zhejiang University. I'm honored to visit Mr. Zhou."

Zhu Oufang, a renowned meteorologist, phenologist, and educator, is also the current president of Zhejiang University. He is not only the president of one of the nation's top universities, but also a giant in the scientific and academic communities. While he holds no military rank or official position, his social standing is quite exceptional. Yet, for such a prominent figure to come to visit Vice Chairman Zhou with such a humble demeanor, an outsider present would likely perceive him as self-deprecating and fawning.

However, Mr. Zhu himself has his own unspeakable difficulties.

First of all, he did not come to visit without first having formally contacted our party.

This incident dates back to the February Incident a year earlier. While that incident was deliberately provoked by preserved fruit, our army's defensive counterattack ended with the Eighth Route Army bombarding the walls of Haojing and a reconciliation telegram between the two sides, pledging to maintain a united front against Japan. However, it served more as an opportunity—after February 1940, the Communist Party began to increasingly dismiss preserved fruit as a serious issue. Land reform efforts, which had been suspended for a time, resumed in the major bases, and prices of goods exported to Kuomintang-controlled areas began to rise. Even the Guanghua currency in the major bases began to maintain a "floating exchange rate" with the legal tender.

Although Guofu could only protest continuously and then stopped paying the salaries of four divisions of the Eighth Route Army (one more than in history), the Military Intelligence Bureau, which was good at assassination and sabotage, and the Central Bureau of Investigation, which was sneaky, immediately tore off their disguise and forced the Eighth Route Army offices in Sichuan, Guizhou, Hunan, Jiangxi, Zhejiang and other provinces to operate semi-underground. Under such circumstances, Principal Zhu, who had moved repeatedly and finally settled in Bozhou, Guizhou Province, naturally could not contact the Eighth Route Army through normal public channels.

Secondly, and I am even a little embarrassed to say it, Mr. Zhu came here to "beg for alms."

Even though history has seen countless individuals persevering through difficult and challenging circumstances, teaching and research still require substantial material support. Faculty salaries, students food, and research supplies and equipment. In a sense, "the more you invest, the greater the cost" is an iron rule in the scientific research community. While many students and faculty have employed various means to increase revenue and reduce expenditure, finding ways to overcome the impact of material conditions, it's impossible to claim that normal teaching and research remain completely unaffected.

The limited educational funds in Guizhou Province are definitely not enough to support such a comprehensive university. As the president, Mr. Zhu Oufang felt that he had to work for the entire school.

People should take responsibility and find ways to solve the problems faced by school staff and students.

The problem of eating.

Although the Nationalist government's supposedly righteous title of "legitimate government" still posed a psychological barrier to many intellectuals, wasn't the Communist Party also now fighting tirelessly for national salvation, and doing a better job than the "fruit preserves" that "fought hard but suffered defeat"? They themselves advertised in the newspapers, welcoming patriotic intellectuals from China who were willing to go to the border areas for the war of resistance, national salvation, and national independence.

Even considering that little thought that is difficult to express, if you look at those "Northern goods" sold everywhere, the Communist Party behind them can at least afford to fund a university, right?

Oh! It's President Zhu of Zhejiang University! Please come in. "Surprisingly, this soldier at the door actually recognizes me," the commander said. "The commander is inside meeting with a visitor and should be free for the next hour." "That's great, thank you, President."

"Well, you can just call me Xiao Qian. There's no need to call me Boss or Boss. At worst, you can just call me Comrade." The soldier was very young, with the youthful curiosity that characterizes youth. He led Zhu Oufang to a rest area and offered her tea. "It's just that this hour is the commander's break, so I'd like to ask Principal Zhu to keep an eye on the time."

"Oh, I'm sorry to bother you." Principal Zhu smiled. If it weren't for this war, a young man like him would probably be studying, right? He relaxed a little, "This comrade really cares about his leader."

"That's right. The commanders have been very busy these past few days." The guard smiled. He noticed what Zhu Oufang was holding. "Principal Zhu, this newspaper of yours is over a month old! We have the latest version here."

"Oh, no, that's not necessary. I'm here because of this newspaper..." He pointed to a special edition page in the newspaper. There was a black and white portrait on it: a girl was standing against the wind, holding an anemometer and a direction indicator in her hands. The title of the special edition was "A Tribute to Our Silently Dedicated Meteorologist Comrades."

"I didn't expect you guys are also doing meteorological work here..."

"Oh, you mean them!" The guard scratched his head, then quickly realized, "You mean those comrades who try to figure out the nature of heaven and the Dragon King? Ha! Yes, we get our weather data from many measuring points in the villages. Those female observers mostly use handheld instruments like these, which can measure wind speed and direction, as well as temperature and air pressure. Some places report this data daily, but most places only report it once a week."

"Principal Zhu, I never thought this thing could be used for more than just calculating the impact of artillery fire!" The young man couldn't stop talking. "It's really strange. Just relying on wind speed and direction, temperature and air pressure, can we tell whether it will rain in the next few days? If this can always be so accurate, then wouldn't we be able to control the God of Thunder, the Goddess of Lightning, and the Dragon King? Hey!"

"You're right to think so," Zhu Oufang laughed. The harmonious atmosphere made him feel less nervous. "One of the goals of meteorology is to make things that were previously only known to the gods known to us early on..."

Before he could finish his words, the office door opened. The chief the security comrade had mentioned walked out. He looked a little tired, but still shook hands with the visitor and said goodbye with great energy. Immediately, he spotted Zhu Oufang sitting in the lounge area.

"Principal Zhu!" His tone was filled with surprise and joy.

"Duke Zhou!"

Zhu Oufang also stood up, stretched out his hand to Zhou Gong, and shook hands with him tightly.

-——-----

"In short, Zhejiang University's current situation is indeed quite embarrassing. Oh, I'm just a weather forecaster, observing phenology, I'm not taken seriously, and I have no way out.

Zhu Oufang, following his prepared remarks, described Zhejiang University's current situation as concisely as possible. "Bozhou and Meitan have taken care of the food supply, but Guizhou Province itself has limited fertility. Providing for the university's more than a thousand faculty, staff, and students is truly difficult. On weekdays, everyone jokes that they eat 'eight-treasure rice' every day—a mixture of moldy rice, sand, pebbles, bran, rice husks, barnyard grass, rat droppings, and small insects."

Well, I'm aware of this situation—we've been to Bozhou, and the local production situation is indeed not optimistic. Long-term warlord rule has reduced the local rural population's ability to support itself, making life extremely difficult for the masses, let alone developing education. Zhou Gong took a small notebook and carefully wrote down Principal Zhu's difficulties. "Is the Ministry of Education still providing funding to your school?"

"There is absolutely no more. Zhejiang University's teaching funding comes from the Zhejiang Provincial Department of Education. The school has moved westward four times, and funding has long been cut off."

"This is quite different from the situation at Southwest Associated University. They still have a lot of funding," Zhou Gong nodded seriously. "How many people are there at your university now? President Zhu, we are very happy to provide assistance with the situation you describe."

"Oh! Now, including the families of the faculty and staff accompanying the team, there are approximately 1,370 people. To get more specific information, I may need to go back and look through the files." Upon hearing this, President Zhu immediately stood up, and Zhou Gong also stood up. "Zhejiang University does not need too much funding now. An additional fee of over 10,000 yuan per month is enough to maintain normal teaching--"

He was interrupted by Zhou Gong, who put his hand on his shoulder and asked him to sit back in his seat.

"Principal Zhu Yu, please don't be so anxious. You are a famous educator. I have some questions about education that I would like to ask you." Zhou Gong flipped to the first few pages of the small notebook in his hand. "I wonder if you can answer them?"

Chapter 451 "Only One Principal"

Duke Zhou has questions to ask?

Zhu Oufang was a little puzzled. He thought about it over and over again, but he still couldn't figure out the underlying meaning of this, so he said:

"Mr. Zhou is too serious. You can continue speaking."

"Education is the future of the nation. Although the war of national liberation and independence is not over yet, Communists are extremely aware of the importance of education. We now have considerable experience in promoting literacy and basic education among soldiers and illiterate people."

Duke Zhou slowly raised the question,

"But when it comes to advanced education like scientific research and technological development, honestly, we lack sufficient experience and can only explore step by step. Self-exploration is always inefficient. I wonder if President Zhu has any suggestions in this regard?"

Education is about imparting existing knowledge, while research is about exploring the unknown. These two often coexist in high-level educational institutions like universities. President Zhu, resting his chin on his hand, asked, "Do you already have a high-level scientific research and educational institution?"

“Yes, but it’s not yet systematic.”

Zhou Gong began by briefly introducing the current higher education and scientific research system in the border area. He briefly described the relevant systems and achievements in the current border area and even the entire base area system.

Compared with the Fushe Academy of Natural Sciences established in 1940, the "Academy of Natural Sciences" of the Eighth Route Army in this time and space was established later and has not yet been officially established.

The reason for this is probably that during the rapid industrialization of the border region, industry, academia, and research were rapidly integrated under the infusion of massive government-led investment, forming numerous institutions resembling Soviet "research institutes": the Ferrous Metals Research Institute and School in Huiyi, the Petrochemical Industry Research Institute in Yumen, the Organic and Inorganic Chemistry Research Institute based on the "Yellow Sea Chemical Research Institute" in Dingyan, the Engineering Academy based on the Engineering Corps, the Mechanical Comb, Materials, Thermal Engine, and Vehicle Research Offices based in the machinery factories, and the Agricultural Research Institute based on the state-owned large farms...

These research institutes provided a practical environment closely aligned with the actual practice of their disciplines, offering superior research conditions compared to the historical academies of natural sciences. They also produced a number of remarkable practical research results. Furthermore, this model facilitated the rapid training of technical personnel for practical operations. With the assistance of local experts and Soviet aid personnel, the Eighth Route Army was able to train a large number of mid- and low-level operators, such as technicians and process engineers, during its first phase of development to meet the talent demands of the rapidly expanding industry.

However, this approach also has inherent disadvantages. The basic knowledge required by each department overlaps but is not exactly the same, and the training methods are not unified.

In the border areas, college students and even high school and junior high school students are rare.

Due to the lack of materials, if the research team needs to be expanded, each institute has to establish a complete training system on its own - this will not only waste resources, but also create barriers between the subsequent training of scientific research talents, horizontal collaboration between departments, and scientific research, thus reducing efficiency.

The chairman of the education system, keenly aware of the lack of stamina in this model, proposed integrating and unifying educational resources and scientific research systems. "President Zhu, what suggestions do you have for this integration?"

-One by one - one by one

"This approach is suitable for wartime environments, but...excuse my frankness, Duke Zhou."

At this point, President Zhu's teacherly temper flared up a bit, and he bluntly criticized, "But your party's current approach is actually neglecting basic research and emphasizing applied research. However, if you want to establish a sustainable scientific research system, basic research must not be neglected."

"I'd like to hear the details." Duke Zhou flipped the notebook over and took out a pen to take notes.

"In addition to the applied disciplines your party already possesses, areas like mathematics, science, teacher education, and even the philosophy of science also need strengthening. These disciplines may not directly generate benefits, but they serve as a foundation supporting other disciplines and even the development of cutting-edge scientific research."

When talking about the areas he is familiar with, Zhu Oufang seemed like a different person and talked freely.

"Take meteorology, which I'm familiar with, for example. It seems to be a discipline focused on observing phenological phenomena and predicting climate and weather changes. However, if a student doesn't understand statistical analysis and mathematical calculations, it's difficult to identify patterns among numerous meteorological data and extract research results with practical guidance... This knowledge is a foundational requirement for research in any discipline.

"So, what your party needs next is an academy of sciences, a research institute, or perhaps a university-like organization. It would not only provide high-level basic education but also unify the management of various disciplinary research institutes. This way, different research institutions could avoid wasteful duplication and could coordinate and collaborate with each other."

After saying all this in one breath, President Zhu Oufang looked Zhou Gong in the eye and made a serious summary: "Applied disciplines and basic disciplines are complementary to each other and cannot be biased towards one or the other." "Yes, that's just as Mr. Zhu said."

Zhou Gong closed his notebook. He smiled sincerely, as if he had expected this answer. "But..." But?

"We really do need such a unified management organization. But just as a flock of sheep needs a leader, a car fleet needs a lead vehicle, perhaps we need a leader with sufficient prestige." Facing the stunned Zhu Oufang, Zhou Gong smiled, then revealed his true intentions. "President Zhu, how about you, or Zhejiang University, be the leader?"

"Ah...I...I am an outsider..."

"Who are outsiders?" Zhou Gong stood up, took the other man's hand, and said sincerely, "Anyone who is willing to work for the liberation of the country and the nation, and for the benefit of the vast majority of the people, is an outsider? If you feel this is inappropriate, you can also bring Zhejiang University here first. In this regard, we can refer to the method of Northwest United University."

Their previous school building in Hanzhong was occupied, and they encountered the defeated Nationalist army on their way west to Jincheng. After we rescued them, we relocated Northwest United University to Xingqing Prefecture, Ningxia Province. Our local Party organization vacated the Ningxia Provincial Government compound and converted it into school buildings. We also funded the reconstruction of several academic departments at the same level as before. Northwest United University will begin its new semester this September.

Zhou Gong pointed to the map of China on the wall, pointed his finger at the location of Ning Province, and then aimed at the Guanzhong Plain in Shaanxi Province.

If Zhejiang University is willing to relocate, what do you think of Chang'an, just outside of Haojing? Academics need proximity to the city for convenience, but perhaps also a break from the hustle and bustle of the city. This place is neither too far nor too close to the city, and there are existing campus buildings available, including dormitories, a library, an auditorium, and classrooms. Zhejiang University can use them immediately upon arrival.

"A ready-made school?" Zhu Oufang was very surprised. He had not yet recovered from the shock just now, and subconsciously asked, "Why is there an empty school here? In addition, this place is so close to the front line, will the safety of the school building be guaranteed? To be honest, Zhou Gong, Zhejiang University was bombed by Japanese planes many times during the relocation process, and suffered heavy losses. Although Guizhou Province is remote, the sky is overcast and the clouds are very low, which makes it inconvenient for Japanese planes to bomb.

"Oh! This school building was picked up for free. It used to be the Gaojing branch of the Whampoa Military Academy. A year ago, upon hearing our army was approaching, the Chinese troops there dispersed, leaving only the school building for us to take over. If it can contribute to the normal teaching and research of Zhejiang University, I think Chairman Chiang would be very happy."

Zhou Gong smiled, full of confidence, "As for the Japanese Air Force, President Zhu, don't worry. The People's Air Force has already been deployed in Guanzhong and will protect the people."

At this point, President Zhu Ouhang was running out of ideas. He suppressed his excitement and said in a deep voice, "Mr. Zhou, please forgive the greed of this old president... First, on behalf of the thousands of teachers and students at Zhejiang University, I would like to thank you for your timely assistance. Then, I have a few requests."

He gritted his teeth and said: "In Guizhou Province, in addition to Zhejiang University, there are three departments of Tangshan Jiaotong University and Beiping Iron Institute. They provided great help for the relocation of Zhejiang University.

But now we are short of funds, even eating has become a problem..."

"no problem."

Also… Also, when Zhejiang University moved west to Anhui Province, our university ran out of funding, making it difficult for the Advanced Engineering and Advanced Agricultural Colleges to maintain operations. Unable to withstand the pressure and lacking connections, I had no choice but to dismiss the faculty and students of both colleges… "No problem, President Zhu. We can put ads in the newspapers, broadcast the news, and use various other means to help them return."

Zhou Gong shook Zhu Oufang's hand and said solemnly, "Education is for the future. We welcome all progressive forces willing to work for national independence and people's liberation. Mr. Zhu, as long as Zhejiang University is willing, our party will fully assist." "Funding is not a problem in this regard."

Chapter 452: "Just a bunch of people building bridges"

Scientific research and education are mostly driven by funding - although it may sound a bit vulgar, it is probably a very realistic thing. Before the unlimited over-issuance of legal tender and its becoming a piece of waste paper, the Nationalist government was still very rich. Take 1937 as an example,

According to statistics from the Northwest Economic Office in 1948, the Nationalist government's transfer payments and a small amount of overseas donations directly accounted for 77.3% of the border region's annual revenue that year. In 1938, this figure was 51.69%. (The Eighth Route Army, who received such a small amount of money, was actually better off...

Therefore, it is not difficult to imagine that the national educational institutions at that time would probably not even look at the Eighth Route Army in the eye, unless they were really unable to obtain funds from the Guojian people who had the pretext of being righteous.

However, unlike schools and research institutes, another group of people in Chuncheng, Yunnan Province, also joined the Eighth Route Army. Rather than following funding, these construction engineers, often jokingly called "plasterers" and "civil engineering dogs," often followed projects.

At the newly opened Changshengyuan teahouse in the heart of Spring City, Zhou Bin, former CEO of China Resources and current Minister of Border Region Economic Affairs and General Manager of Yaotong Trading Company, was dressed in a suit and had just seen off representatives from the 51st Arsenal when he ran into two people who had come to visit him.

After a brief greeting, they handed their business cards to Zhou Bin and introduced themselves.

"...I'm Luo Ying, deputy manager of the Shancheng Cableway Company. He's my colleague, Mei Yangchun. Manager Zhou, I'm sorry to have come to visit you today for no other reason."

After the introduction, Mr. Luo Ying asked a question directly, "I heard that you are building a bridge across the Yellow River?"

This was a negotiation that ostensibly involved business, but in reality, it was much more than that. Aside from the northern goods supplier, whose identity was known to everyone but kept secret, the other party in the discussion was also a formidable opponent.

Shancheng Cableway Company—it sounds like a company specializing in building and operating mountain-crossing cableways. But its founder, Mao Yisheng, is a household name. As the principal designer of the Qiantang River Bridge, he established the company to recruit talented bridge and tunnel engineers displaced by the war: Luo Ying, Mei Yangchun, Wang Juqian, Li Wenji, Zhao Suizhang, Wang Xusen...

A group of elites in the fields of bridge design and civil engineering in China gathered here, but they were unexpectedly short of projects to do.

The senior engineer of Jiangcheng Yangtze River Bridge can only

He makes a living by doing business and on the other hand takes on some small orders: for example, using rails, sleepers and cables to build a bridge on the Burma Road, repairing road damage and so on.

But such fragmented projects are ultimately difficult to support such a group of woodcutters, not to mention that it is rather troublesome to ask for money from the Ministry of Transportation. But at this time, a piece of news came from the north, which immediately attracted the attention of these engineers.

The Eighth Route Army is building a bridge in the north!

The bridge they built was a car bridge over the Yellow River!

"Yes, we're currently building a highway bridge at Yumenkou on the Yellow River to connect the east and west banks of the river, facilitate travel for the people, and facilitate the transportation of materials." Zhou Bin answered Luo Ying's question with the most standard answer possible. "Construction began in October 1941, and the estimated construction period is 15 months. If it were to be completed now..."

He pulled out a book of newspaper clippings and showed the two bridge experts the photos and clippings. In the black-and-white photos, the reinforced concrete gantries supporting the cables on either side of the bridge had been erected, their massive anchors embedded in the rocky mountain. Atop the gantries, two thick main cables stretched across the river, outlining the bridge's outline.

Workers shuttle back and forth beneath a shed constructed of colored steel sheets, bending the various steel bars unloaded from trucks and carts into various shapes. Another group of workers, wearing rattan helmets, bundle and weld these bars into specific configurations. These massive structures will be combined with the mixed concrete and, after pouring and vibrating, moved to the front of the construction area to solidify and cure. Once these processes are complete, the steel-concrete box girders will be transported by other construction equipment to their designated locations for final installation.

Further away, there were several anti-aircraft artillery positions covered with camouflage nets, keeping a watchful eye on movements in the sky.

"This looks like a typical reinforced-beam suspension bridge, using reinforced concrete portal frames. This style... is this bridge the work of Chang Gan?" Some things are obvious to colleagues at first sight. The elder Luo Ying pondered for a moment. "They have all the steel and concrete, and the anchoring portal frames are all in place. This bridge should be finished in a little over six months."

"Yes, Mr. Qian Changtao did participate in the design of this bridge, but the original designer was Mr. Zhi Aizhou's Xinzhong Company. Mr. Qian Changgan made many suggestions for revisions during the design process, which significantly improved the bridge's technical specifications."

"Manager Zhou, with this budget, what kind of performance can this new Yellow River Bridge achieve? What's its load capacity? If it's like the Huitong Bridge, we..."

Mei Yangchun was the younger of the visitors, and his conversation style was more straightforward. As soon as Zhou Bin finished speaking, he raised another question, but Luo Ying stopped him mid-sentence. "Mr. Mei, you've got me stumped. I can't quite remember the specific details of the bridge, so I need to check the documentation."

Zhou Bin was left speechless with laughter at the sight of these two somewhat unprofessional engineers. He rummaged through his newspaper clippings and replied, according to the report: "Oh, it says here: The bridge has a main span of 140 meters and a designed load capacity of 10 tons..."

"A 10-ton bridge, if a 10-ton truck passes through it...it's on the same level as the Huitong Bridge."

Hearing this, Mei Yangchun smiled, his head tilted slightly, brimming with confidence: "This is the ease with which a seasoned veteran tackles a new challenge." But before he could open his mouth again to describe the Shancheng Cableway Company's experience in building bridges of this level, Manager Zhou shook his head and corrected him.

Mr. Mei, I don't mean just one 10-ton truck, but a convoy of 10-ton trucks can pass continuously. Based on a 20-meter spacing between trucks, five or six trucks can pass on this bridge at once. "Huh?"

"Ha, isn't that what we meant by a 10-ton load? That's our design requirement," Zhou Bin asked innocently. "If only one car can pass at a time, wouldn't the convoy have to stop and queue on the side of the bridge to cross? How inefficient would that be? I think if only one car can pass, this bridge can handle heavy trailers weighing 30 or 40 tons."

The meeting room fell into a delicate awkwardness, with three pairs of eyes staring at each other, each mingled with different emotions. Ultimately, Zhou Bin, unfamiliar with the concepts of "concentrated loads" and "distributed loads," received a brief on-site lecture from the leading engineer, Luo Ying, on bridge structure and loads. He successfully understood the design requirements of his own team, based on the future "Class I Highway" construction standards, and what a formidable existence this was in China in the 1940s.

"So, Mr. Zhou, this 10-ton bridge you built is far from what is commonly considered a '10-ton bridge' in China! No wonder Chang Gan handed the work off to his assistant and came to your site himself!"

Luo Ying looked up with emotion, his words filled with excitement yet tinged with a hint of regret. "What a shame! For such a meaningful and valuable project, we've become mere spectators. Manager Zhou, when this 10-ton Yumenkou highway bridge is completed, I must go and see it with Yangchun!"

"Oh, by the way," he said, as if suddenly remembering something, "are all the components of this bridge produced in-house?"

"Not entirely, Mr. Luo. While the cement used in the bridge was produced by the Fuxian Cement Plant, and the rebar and beams were manufactured by the Huiyi and Tuocheng Steel Plants," Zhou Bin said frankly, "the load-bearing steel cables of the main suspension cables were purchased from Bethlehem in the United States. The cranes and lifting equipment used in the construction were provided by Caterpillar and Collis—things we are currently unable to produce ourselves."

"This is great! We were able to produce suitable steel beams, steel anchors, and load-bearing cement domestically, something we hadn't thought of before... We were building a floating bridge in Liuzhou at the time.

The materials used were 'picked up'!"

"However, Mr. Luo, Mr. Mei, if your company wants to visit the border area, there's no need to wait until the Yumenkou Highway Bridge is completed."

Looking at the two regretful engineering experts, Zhou Bin suddenly changed the subject. Mei Changchun's eyes lit up: "Manager Zhou, do you still have plans to build a bridge?"

"Yes," Zhou Bin nodded. He put down his clippings and began to search through the documents on the table. After a while, he pulled out a file bag, picked out two tender documents, and handed them to the two people present.