18: Chapter 18 is another scheme.

Spring arrived a bit late, and time quickly reached March.

Xu Weidong stood at the entrance of the school office, checking the notification text message on his phone for the third time.

"Student Xu Weidong, regarding the Undergraduate Innovation and Entrepreneurship Training Program project you applied for, the faculty advisor has been confirmed. Please report to the President's office at 14:00 on March 12th for the first project presentation."

There was no header, no signature, only the dry, official seal of the Academic Affairs Office.

He read it three times: faculty advisor.

The President's office?

Xu Weidong shoved his phone back into his pocket, took a deep breath, and knocked on the door.

"Please come in."

President Chen Bing's voice came from behind the door, unhurried and steady, like the campus broadcast every morning.

Xu Weidong pushed the door open and entered; this was his first time inside the President's office.

It was large, but not as imposing as he had imagined.

A row of bookshelves stood against the wall, packed with various professional books and file boxes.

There were three telephones on the desk, with a red one quietly tucked away in the corner.

A pothos plant sat on the windowsill, its vines hanging down and swaying slightly above the radiator.

President Chen Bing looked up from a pile of files and took off his reading glasses.

"You're here."

President Chen Bing pointed to the chair opposite him and said, "Sit."

Xu Weidong sat down and placed the project proposal he had brought onto the desk.

In truth, he didn't need to bring this at all; the entire project had been given to him by the President, including the thick stack of original materials signed by a senior who had graduated in the class of '05.

It was about agricultural machinery research—specifically the adaptability improvement of small harvesters—and he was also a graduate of the School of Civil and Hydraulic Engineering.

"Have you read the materials?"

"I have."

"The senior worked on it for three years, won a national second-place prize, and the project stopped after he graduated."

"Any thoughts?"

Xu Weidong was silent for a few seconds.

"President, I don't know much about agricultural machinery."

President Chen Bing looked at him without speaking.

"But if you want me to do it, I will."

President Chen Bing didn't answer immediately. He leaned back against his chair, his gaze shifting from Xu Weidong's face to the bare sycamore branches outside the window.

"This project was done by a kid from the countryside in the class of '05."

"His home was in southwestern Shandong. His parents were farmers. When it rained during the wheat harvest, the harvesters couldn't get into the fields, and a whole year's harvest would rot in the ground."

President Chen Bing paused, then said, "The day he arrived at Civil Engineering University to register, he thought about it all night on the train and decided to study agricultural machinery."

Xu Weidong did not speak.

"Later, he graduated and went to an agricultural machinery research institute."

"Last year, he sent me a postcard saying that their small harvesters had already been promoted to three counties."

President Chen Bing turned back and looked at him. "This project has roots; it's not something made out of thin air."

"So, you don't need to worry about whether you are qualified or not. Just continue the work; that will be enough to do right by him."

Xu Weidong lowered his head and looked at the proposal.

His name was printed on the cover, and in the faculty advisor column, 'President Chen Bing' was clearly written.

A vice-ministerial level university president personally guiding a freshman's competition project.

He had thought this was exaggerated before, and he still thought so now, but it didn't seem so hard to accept anymore.

"Thank you, President."

President Chen Bing nodded without saying anything more.

After all, a phone call from the Eastern Palace Office was enough to smooth away all his pride.

Xu Weidong thought this was the extent of the special treatment, but who knew that a week later, the Academic Affairs Office would notify him that his project had been selected for the university's key cultivation list.

Two weeks later, the Student Affairs Department notified him that he could apply for a national-level innovation and entrepreneurship project, with a separate quota.

Three weeks later, Director Li Lei called him with a strange tone, "Student Xu Weidong, that project of yours..."

"What's wrong, Director Li Lei?"

"Someone wants to invest."

"The initial amount is one million."

Xu Weidong held the phone, thinking he had misheard.

"What?"

"A venture capital firm."

"Called Yuanhang Capital."

"They saw the public announcement of the innovation and entrepreneurship project and are very interested in your agricultural machinery project. They are willing to invest one million for prototype trial production and patent application."

Director Li Lei paused, then said, "They said this is a public welfare investment; they won't take shares and don't require returns."

Xu Weidong was silent for a long time, then said, "Director Li Lei, is this normal?"

"It's not."

"But the project itself is solid."

"The preliminary research foundation is very good, and the market research data is also impressive."

"From a commercial perspective, you can't say it's completely unreasonable."

"Then what do you think..."

"I don't know."

Director Li Lei interrupted him, his voice carrying a rare hint of exhaustion.

"Don't agree yet; I'll report this to President Chen Bing."

The call ended, and Xu Weidong stood on the dormitory balcony.

One million, public welfare investment.

No shares, no returns required.

There is no such thing as a free lunch in this world; if there is, it must be a price you cannot afford.

When President Chen Bing received the call from Director Li Lei, he was eating at home.

His wife had cooked his favorite steamed sea bass, which had just been brought to the table.

He picked up a piece with his chopsticks, but before he could put it in his mouth, his phone rang.

President Chen Bing glanced at the caller ID, put down his chopsticks, and walked into the study.

"Old Li."

"President, I looked into that matter with Yuanhang Capital."

"Go on."

"They were only established last year, and they are registered in the Tiandi Islands."

"The domestic representative office is in the Magic City, and the legal representative is a Hong Kong businessman with an untraceable background."

"But I asked some old connections in the financial sector, and the source of this company's funds..."

"Points to Heishui."

President Chen Bing's hand holding the phone froze. Heishui.

The thing he feared most had happened after all; the fire of factional infighting had finally burned into their university.

Xu Tianhua's promotion of new energy to replace old energy had shaken the foundations of Heishui—that was an open secret.

And now, the tentacles of Heishui had reached into Civil Engineering University.

"President, we cannot accept this investment."

"If we accept it, we're handing them ammunition, saying we have financial dealings with Heishui. We wouldn't be able to clear our names even with a thousand mouths."

"And as for Secretary Xu..."

"I know."

President Chen Bing stood at the study window, looking at the heavy night outside.

"Old Li, why do you think Yuanhang Capital chose this project?"

"Something a student who already graduated worked on for three years, and which no one cared about after it won an award."

"What is worth investing in about this project?"

Director Li Lei didn't speak; he didn't know either.

"They don't care about this project at all."

"What they care about is whose name is attached to this project."

"Xu Weidong."

"Xu Tianhua only has this one son. If he goes down the path of business, Xu Tianhua's political resources can only be handed over to his secretary's circle."

"For Heishui, the threat level of Xu Tianhua would be reduced by several degrees."

Director Li Lei said skeptically, "Even if Xu Tianhua gives his political resources to Xu Weidong, Xu Weidong wouldn't go far, right?"

President Chen Bing didn't answer; after all, there were precedents for this.

The son of a master advisor is still a prime minister...

Of course, a master advisor is very great.

When a chess piece is placed on the board, it never knows where the next move will land.

Seeing that President Chen Bing didn't answer, Director Li Lei changed the question, "What should we do?"

"Drag it out for now."

"Just say the university needs time to evaluate the project's industrialization prospects."

"How long can we drag it out?"

"Delay it one day at a time."

"I'll find a way."

He was no longer in the mood to eat and went to the study.

He sat at the desk, turned on the desk lamp, and picked up the investment letter of intent sent by Yuanhang Capital.

Three pages, polite wording, generous terms.

President Chen Bing put the letter of intent back on the desk, leaned back against the chair, and closed his eyes.

In the distance, the Civil Engineering University campus was brightly lit; in the libraries, teaching buildings, and laboratories, countless young people were studying, experimenting, and dreaming under the lights.

They didn't know what a complex world they were living in, including that young man named Xu Weidong.

He didn't know, but he would know.

President Chen Bing opened his eyes and picked up the red telephone.

Dialing... Waiting...

Connected!

"Hello, Ning Office."

"I am President Chen Bing of Civil Engineering University. Please tell the leader that there is a matter that needs to be reported."

President Chen Bing paused, then said, "Regarding Heishui."

Xu Weidong learned the name of the capital three days later; Director Li Lei met him at the Academic Affairs Office for a talk.

The words were very subtle, but he understood.

"Someone wants to use investing in you to make an issue of your father."

What Director Li Lei said was relatively tactful, and Xu Weidong was not a fool.

He had grown up under Xu Tianhua and had seen too many of these roundabout chess-playing tactics.

"Then, should this project continue?"

Director Li Lei was silent for a moment, then said, "The project itself is not a problem; agricultural machinery is a legitimate research direction. The senior worked on it for three years, and the data is solid."

"You don't need to feel that the project is unclean because of this investment intent."

"President Chen Bing asked me to tell you to keep doing what you're doing; we will handle the outside matters."

Xu Weidong did not speak; he recalled the tone President Chen Bing used when talking about that senior from southwestern Shandong in the President's office that day.

The project was real, the data was real, and the senior who graduated and went to the agricultural machinery research institute was also real.

"I understand."

Xu Weidong stood up, thanked Director Li Lei, and walked out.

This feeling of helplessness was truly unbearable, but Xu Weidong was helpless. No matter what, he was just a student; how could he deal with these bureaucratic schemes?

The reason the other side made a move here was just to take the opportunity to disgust his father.

A month later, Xu Weidong's project did not receive the one million from Yuanhang Capital.

The university politely declined the investment intent on the grounds that the industrialization conditions were not yet mature.

Yuanhang Capital did not persist, politely replied that they looked forward to future cooperation, and then disappeared into the sea of people.

President Chen Bing remained the faculty advisor, taking an hour every week to discuss progress with Xu Weidong.

The original materials of that senior from southwestern Shandong were dug out, the blueprints checked one by one, and the data verified set by set.

The Mechanical Engineering Department's laboratory agreed to provide equipment support, and the School of Civil and Hydraulic Engineering approved five thousand yuan in funding for prototype trial production.

In early June, the first prototype was assembled.

Looking at the machine he had completed with his own hands, Xu Weidong's pursuit of power became even more urgent.

If he were the one holding power today, would others still point fingers at his life?

Therefore, the power struggle between various forces only made Xu Weidong's intention to enter politics even firmer.

At their level, money is just a pile of numbers...