SFS Chapter 464: Department of Physics, University of South China: Exploring the Mysteries of Atoms and
Chapter 464: Department of Physics, University of South China: Exploring the Mysteries of Atoms and
Boss Chen's groundbreaking proposal and promise threw a huge stone into the calm but actually depressing UN University campus.
The news cannot be covered up, and there is no need to cover it up.
Almost on the same day, various exaggerated versions of the story spread like wildfire through the mouths of teaching assistants and lecturers participating in the meeting in the simple student dormitories, dim study rooms, and even open-air stone benches.
"World-class laboratories, the most advanced research journals in the West, free to use and read!"
"General Zhang Chi personally promised that 'outsiders will not lead insiders,' and that professors would govern the university. (In reality, only the private Nanyang University was allowed to govern itself.)"
"Mr. Chen promised that after the victory of the Anti-Japanese War, he could come back whenever he wanted, and we would never stop him."
The campus, which was already undercurrents due to the mobilization of "one hundred thousand young people, one hundred thousand troops", completely exploded.
The next morning, the simple bulletin board at the school gate was crowded with people.
In addition to the official "Youth Army Registration Instructions" and several blurry war reports, someone had posted a hastily written poster with a brush next to it, with a shocking headline.
"Join the Army or Become Cannon Fodder?" directly points out the calculations behind the "100,000 Youths, 100,000 Soldiers" campaign and details the generous conditions at Nanyang University.
The students watching were talking about it and were very emotional.
At lunchtime, the simple cafeteria was bustling with people, even more noisy than usual.
Several groups of students gathered together in distinct sections, and the core of the debate was no longer about academics, but about decisions concerning their future and destiny.
"Wang Mingzhe, are you crazy? You really believed that bullshit propaganda and want to join the Youth Army?"
A tall student in a washed-out blue cloth gown pointed at the foreign language student opposite him, who, although his collar and cuffs were frayed, was still dressed in a suit and had sleek hair. His voice was loud and filled with anger, as if he was disappointed in his student.
Wang Mingzhe adjusted his gold-rimmed glasses, his face showing a strange expression that was a mixture of superiority and longing for the future:
"Brother Zhensheng, you can't say that. Every man is responsible for the fate of his country. Now that the Japanese pirates are rampant, what's wrong with young people joining the army and serving their country?
Besides, I am proficient in English and have passed the preliminary selection. I will be assigned to the rear airport to serve as an interpreter for the Flying Tigers from White Eagle.
But I heard that it is a technical branch of the military, and the starting rank is captain, so they don't have to go to the front line and get shot.
I can also eat steak, drink coffee, and ride in jeeps with those White Eagle pilots. Learning the most advanced aviation knowledge is the true way to put knowledge into practice and serve the country."
His words immediately drew the support of several students nearby who were also from the Foreign Languages Department and had relatively affluent families.
"That's right! Being an interpreter is so great! It's safe and respectable. You can also get to know the White Eagle people, and there are many opportunities for you in the future."
"I heard that those who perform well can be recommended to study in the United States after the war. Isn't that better than staying in this shabby place?"
Li Zhensheng, dressed in a long gown, sneered, his voice thick with sarcasm, and unceremoniously poured a basin of cold water on him:
"Wang Mingzhe, wake up! Who do you think you are? Is your father a minister or a commander of the White Party? And you still eat steak and drink coffee? Dream on."
He slammed the table so hard that a few drops of porridge splashed out of the bowl.
"My cousin works as a clerk in the Ministry of Military Affairs. He explained it clearly. What kind of a translator is that? It doesn't matter if you have no connections. No matter how good your English is, nine times out of ten they'll just give you a broken gun and send you straight to the front line to be cannon fodder.
"The quotas for interpreters for the Flying Tigers and the White Eagle Advisory Group have long been scooped up by the children of high-ranking officials and those with connections. How can it be your turn or mine?"
He looked around, his eyes sharp at Wang Mingzhe and the students around him who were dreaming of becoming translators:
"Your foreign language skills are a skill, but without that network of connections, it's useless. Thinking of living a life of luxury at the airport? Wishful thinking. When the time comes, I'll throw you to the front lines, under a hail of gunfire. Who speaks better English, or who outsmarts the enemy's bullets?"
"By then, forget steak and coffee. I'll be lucky to be alive and able to eat brown rice."
Another classmate interjected, "Yeah, yeah, maybe there won't even be brown rice to eat. Otherwise, where do you think all that canned meat and powdered milk on the black market in Spring City comes from?"
The words of several people were like a cold needle, piercing the bubble of beautiful dreams that Wang Mingzhe had carefully woven, making his face turn red and white.
-----
On the other side, near the bulletin board of the library, there was also a crowd of people.
The atmosphere here is relatively "academic", but the debate is no less intense.
A physics student with messy hair and wearing glasses for severe myopia was pointing at a handwritten introduction to Nanyang University/Nanhua University posted on the bulletin board by someone unknown.
Although most of the above content came from second-hand information preached by Boss Chen, it still made Zhao Shuheng excitedly say to the students around him:
"See? The physics laboratory at the University of South China has the latest model of cyclotron in the United States, including a large Wilson cloud chamber (pictured), which allows them to conduct real particle physics research and explore the core mysteries of atoms.
This is unthinkable in China. My advisor, Professor Wu, and Professor Ye from the department were both very excited!
Liu Zhiyuan, a classmate who was also studying physics, pushed up his glasses, his eyes flashing with enthusiasm:
"Shuheng is right. A distant aunt of mine, Dr. Wu, who graduated from the University of California, Berkeley a few years ago, wrote back last month saying that she is a lecturer in the Department of Physics at the University of South China.
The letter said that the experimental conditions there, apart from the scale and the newness and advancement of the equipment, were not inferior to the Nuclear Physics Laboratory at the University of California where he had worked.
General Zhang Chi is really willing to spend money on scientific research. My aunt said that as long as you have ideas and abilities, funding and equipment are not a problem.
She also said that the University of South China was planning to build a large-scale particle accelerator project and needed a lot of talent. This was where we should go! If we stayed here, we couldn't even touch a decent oscilloscope. How could we catch up with the world's cutting-edge technology?
These words caused a huge shock among science and engineering students.
Explore the mysteries of atoms and pursue the world's cutting-edge high-energy physics theories!
This is a fatal temptation for young people who aspire to climb the temple of science.
Many people began to whisper, asking how to contact the people left behind by Boss Chen and asking about the specific route to the south.
On the other side of the bulletin board, several students from the Faculty of Arts and the Department of History were attracted by another message.
"Look here." A pretty and elegant girl pointed to the section about the library in the introduction, her voice trembling with excitement, "'Nanyang University Library received generous donations from dozens of prominent Nanyang families, including the Chen, Li, Huang, and Lin families.
The collection of rare books from the Song and Yuan dynasties, unique books from the Ming and Qing dynasties, and manuscripts of Chinese sages from Southeast Asia exceeds 10,000. The collection is the largest in Southeast Asia, with a particular focus on local chronicles, family genealogies, and overseas Chinese documents.
Oh my god! Rare books from the Song and Yuan dynasties, unique copies from the Ming and Qing dynasties, and manuscripts and picture albums left behind by our ancestors who went to Southeast Asia. These are all priceless treasures.”
Generation after generation of Chinese people who went to Southeast Asia naturally brought civilization and culture to the local area.
A graduate student next to her who was studying ancient literature blushed with excitement:
“My mentor, Mr. Feng, privately told me that Mr. Chen promised that as long as we go south, the ancient book library will be completely open to researchers, regardless of their level.
In China, if you want to see those rare books, you have to go through countless troubles and rely on countless connections. For the sake of academic research, to truly touch these ancient books that carry the cultural heritage of thousands of years, I think it is worth it for us to go to Nanyang!"
As night fell, under the oil lamp in the boys' dormitory, several good classmates argued in low voices.
"I've decided to go with Boss Chen. I'm going to Nanyang University to study mechanics. General Zhang Chi is vigorously developing industry there. I heard the salary is very good. After I finish my studies, I can get a job as an engineer in a large factory."
"But what about joining the army to serve our country? The Japanese haven't been driven away yet?" someone hesitated.
"Serve the country? Look at those people in Shancheng. They only care about nepotism and rampant corruption. They capture able-bodied men as cannon fodder to pave the way for their own prince.
If you really want to serve your country, learn skills well, and build a strong industrial country in the future, isn't that better than being cannon fodder?
Although there is no country in Southeast Asia, any discerning person can see that it is also a Chinese country. Isn’t building it also building China?
Besides, listen to what the people of Henan Province are shouting? Floods, droughts, locusts, and soup! Even if we have to fight the devils, wouldn’t it be better to join the Anmin Army and win the battle? "