Translator: Henyee Translations Editor: Henyee Translations
The laboratory went silent for a minute.
Professor Lazerson rubbed his nose and said, “Sorry, what did you just say? I didn’t hear you.”
Lu Zhou: “I’m saying that I can solve the funding problem.”
Professor Lazerson looked at Lu Zhou like he was an alien before he spoke in disbelief.
“You sure?”
Professor Lazerson wasn’t the only one in disbelief; the engineers standing next to him couldn’t believe what they were hearing.
Lu Zhou: “I am sure.”
Professor Lazerson smiled and shook his head as he said, “Your prize money isn’t enough. Even if you win both the Fields Medal and Nobel Prize and sell the medals next year, it still won’t be enough.”
There had been people who sold their Nobel Prize medals in the past, but Lu Zhou would never do something like that…
At least for now, he wasn’t lacking money.
Lu Zhou sighed and didn’t try to explain. Instead, he asked, “How much will it cost?”
Professor Lazerson obviously didn’t think Lu Zhou could afford the funding, and so, he said in a joking tone, “If you can find US$10 million, then I guarantee you our project will be funded.”
Lu Zhou didn’t reply. Instead, he walked outside of the laboratory and called his manager, White Sheridan.
Sheridan picked up the call; he was probably at his office.
“Hello?”
Lu Zhou said, “It’s me.”
Sheridan already knew who was calling from the caller ID.
He said with a respectful tone, “How can I help you?”
Lu Zhou said, “Check how much money is in the Star Sky Technology’s business account.”
Sheridan said, “… I’ll have to consult the finance manager for the specific amount. After that, I’ll send the financial report to your email.”
The parent company of Star Sky Technology was registered in the Cayman Islands, while the Star Sky Technology North American branch in Philadelphia was independent of the parent company.
Sheridan was mainly responsible for managing the patents, so he had to contact the parent company finance staff for financial documents.
However, Lu Zhou didn’t want to know the specific number; he only needed an estimate.
“Is there ten million?”
When Sheridan heard this number, he hesitated for a second.
“There’s definitely ten million…”
My boss…
Is underestimating our capabilities.
The company’s income on HCS-2 material patent license alone was more than US$10 million.
The revenue from the modified PDMS patent licensing hadn’t been touched, and Umicore had been paying money quarterly to the account.
The only cost was the one where Lu Zhou spent a hundred million on a Chinese laboratory.
US$10 million was nothing for Star Sky Technology.
When Lu Zhou heard Sheridan’s answer, he nodded.
“I’ll send you an account in a bit. Transfer 10 million there.”
Star Sky Technology’s business structure was simple as Lu Zhou was the only shareholder. He had the power of a king, and he didn’t have a board to answer to.
Sheridan didn’t ask what Lu Zhou was planning on doing. Instead, he replied in a respectful tone, “Yes, boss.”
…
Lu Zhou rarely talked about his assets with outsiders, because honestly, earning money was too easy; it almost didn’t feel real.
Other than the small number of people that followed him closely, almost no one knew about the branch of Star Sky Technology at the Cayman Islands. They didn’t know that the modified PDMS patent license and HCS-2 materials license had already netted US$100 million.
Even if this money were put into a bank account untouched, the interest alone would be enormous.
Lu Zhou wasn’t interested in yachts or jets, and the only expenditure he had was experiments.
When the US$10 million arrived in the He3 project account, the project auditor rushed into the laboratory due to the sudden influx of cash. The auditor handed Professor Lazerson the printed wire transfer information…
The entire laboratory went dead silent.
Lu Zhou looked at Professor Lazerson and coughed before he asked, “Is US$10 million really enough?”
Lu Zhou thought this was nothing compared to the budget of the particle accelerator.
However, he didn’t know that the entire PPPL’s annual research funding was only US$40 million.
The amount he injected into the He3 project was worth a quarter of the entire budget of PPPL…
Professor Lazerson gulped and nodded.
“It’s enough…”
Lu Zhou noticed that the researchers in the laboratory were looking at him, and he coughed softly.
“Start working, we don’t have much time left.”
The researchers and engineers in the laboratory glanced at each other before they went back to work.
Professor Lazerson looked at the piece of paper and then looked at Lu Zhou. He then asked, “The funding problem is solved?”
Lu Zhou: “Solved.”
“Unbelievable! Where did you…” Professor Lazerson didn’t know how to express his astonishment.
Lu Zhou guessed what he wanted to ask, so he said ambiguously, “Actually, I researched chemistry a while ago, and earned some money from the patent.”
Lu Zhou pointed to the Apple laptop on the office desk and said, “For example, the electrode battery material inside this thing was probably invented by me.”
Professor Lazerson’s eyes were wide open as he said, “But still, it’s ten million… Are you crazy?”
Lu Zhou smiled and said, “It’s fine, I have more than enough.”
Professor Lazerson: “…”
Engineers: “…”
Researchers: “…”
Evil capitalist!
What a punchable face!
But why am I…
So jealous!
…
The only problem the He3 project team had was insufficient energy on the helium-3 particle. This could be solved by increasing the intensity of the confined magnetic field of the atomic gun.
The strength of the confined magnetic field could be increased with money.
Yes, that was how scientific research was conducted. Anything could be solved with money. If Lu Zhou invested a billion dollars, he could make SpaceX send a rocket to collect helium-3 from the moon.
Of course, Lu Zhou didn’t have a billion dollars…
In short, with the US$10 million, the He3 project team could directly purchase accelerator components from the Brookhaven National Laboratory or even from CERN. The experienced engineers of PPPL could then modify the parts.
This did cost a lot of money.
But Lu Zhou thought it was worth it…
