664: Provide logistical support

With the matter settled, everyone discussed some of the finer details, and it was already close to midnight.

Looking at Comrade Ren Yi’s excited expression in the video, everyone said with a hint of helplessness:

“Comrade Ren Yi, it hasn’t been long since the first phase of the Tian Ting Heavy Industry Plan concluded, and we were thinking of giving you some time off.

But you, on the other hand, have stirred up such a huge initiative again!

It looks like you have no intention of resting.”

“Since that’s the case, you should first hand over the follow-up matters of the first phase project in the next few days, and we will handle the preliminary preparatory work for the five-year plan!”

Ren Yi smiled, then sincerely thanked them:

“Thank you, Leaders, for your support!”

“Ren Yi will certainly live up to your expectations!”

After simply discussing some other matters, the video conference concluded.

At this moment, as the superconductor floating on Ren Yi’s desk disappeared from the large screen, the President of the Chinese Academy of Sciences, who had been startled, finally recovered.

“Superconductor…”

The President of the Chinese Academy of Sciences’s face was extremely grim.

“Rhodium and ruthenium…”

Prior to this, due to backward mining technology, for several years, the extraction of rare metal resources in the homeland had been jointly developed after signing framework agreements with Western countries.

And this framework agreement was penned by him.

Because of this, many foreign trade orders for rare metals had been signed with foreign countries in recent years, so much so that most of the rhodium and ruthenium on the World market came from within the country.

“Let bygones be bygones; don’t blame yourself!”

“We have already promptly prohibited the export of these rare metal resources, so it’s not too late!”

“If it weren’t for Comrade Ren Yi, no one would have imagined that their uses would be so important!”

Commander Wu spoke to comfort him.

Thinking of the terrifying resources stored in the homeland, Commander Wu clicked his tongue and said,

“However, everyone, let’s go back to the point,”

“It’s simply outrageous that we alone possess more than half of the World’s reserves of such crucial basic materials as rhodium and ruthenium!”

“I’m starting to suspect that our ancestors deliberately buried them in the ground thousands of years ago!”

The Northern Commander frowned.

“What we must consider now is how to implement strict confidentiality measures!”

“Since superconducting material technology is so important, it cannot be exchanged like the previous alloy material technology; SSS-level secrecy must be strictly enforced!”

Upon hearing this, the others nodded in agreement.

Other countries also had some reserves of rare metal resources, especially some rivals, who still accounted for about 10% of the reserves.

Don’t be fooled by this 10% seeming small; in reality, it is calculated in tens of thousands of tons!

Since superconducting materials are not like alloy materials required for heavy industry, their actual usage in nuclear fusion reactors is estimated not to be very much.

Therefore, for the sake of the Chinese’s interests, strict confidentiality is the most appropriate method!

This new technology, fully capable of triggering a new industrial revolution, must not be known by other powers so quickly!

At this moment, the President of the Chinese Academy of Sciences, who was standing nearby, raised an objection:

“I don’t think this is appropriate.”

Upon hearing this, the others frowned and looked at him.

But everyone knew that the President of the Chinese Academy of Sciences would not make groundless statements and waited for him to provide a reasonable explanation.

The President of the Chinese Academy of Sciences explained:

“Leaders, I’m not saying we can’t keep it secret, but if we do, Comrade Ren Yi’s sacrifice would truly be too great!”

“Even if we compensate Comrade Ren Yi in terms of treatment, it would be completely insufficient to make up for it!”

Hearing this, Commander Wu expressed surprise and asked,

“Comrade Ren Yi’s sacrifice is indeed enormous, but with our vast land and abundant resources, is there still a loss we cannot compensate him for?”

The President of the Chinese Academy of Sciences shook his head and sighed.

“This cannot be lumped together at all.”

“The advent of superconductors can be said to be a miracle for all humankind!”

“If there are no accidents, Comrade Ren Yi will thus become the Father of the Fourth Industrial Revolution, revered by Scientists worldwide as the supreme deity of the scientific research community in this era!”

“Under such a halo, boundless glory will follow!”

“I’ll give a few very simple examples: because of this superconductor, the Nobel Prize in Physics is not enough to prove its value…”

“With Comrade Ren Yi’s patent for room-temperature superconducting materials, he will undoubtedly quickly become the richest person in the World…”

“Harvard, MIT, Caltech, and other top ten Ivy League universities in the World will actively invite Comrade Ren Yi to be an honorary doctor of their respective universities, and they will be proud of it.”

“And also…”

The President of the Chinese Academy of Sciences gave several examples, and the other Leaders’ faces grew increasingly solemn as they listened.

Especially the Father of the Fourth Industrial Revolution!

This weighty title could be said to fully elevate Ren Yi to the divine status in human civilization and scientific research history.

And these things were indeed something they could not fully compensate for.

Did they really have to make Ren Yi make such a huge sacrifice for the Chinese?

For a scientific researcher, it was truly too cruel!

Everyone was speechless, which caused their previously made decision to begin to waver slightly.

Just at this moment, the Leader at the head of the table leaned back in his chair and spoke faintly.

“Everyone, I must now give you a solemn reminder!”

“Because your values have shown serious problems!”

“Compared to Comrade Ren Yi, you are far inferior!”

“After returning tonight, everyone must deeply reflect on yourselves, and for the next session of criticism and self-criticism, you must write a thorough 30,000-word self-criticism!”

Having been inexplicably criticized, everyone looked bewildered.

To directly escalate it to such a level, even dragging in values, left them a bit confused.

Everyone was familiar with the Leader’s temperament; it could be said that this was already a very severe criticism!

Ignoring the bewildered expressions of the crowd, the Leader continued to speak:

“First, everyone must understand one thing!”

“These things you are thinking about—what benefits, what sacrifices, what honors—are unnecessary!”

“You all saw in the video conference just now that Comrade Ren Yi doesn’t seem to care much about superconductors; in fact, this technology was only briefly mentioned in the future five-year plan for scientific research.”

“What does this signify?”

The Leader swept his cold gaze across everyone, exuding an aura of dominance befitting a superior.

“It signifies that Comrade Ren Yi doesn’t consider superconductor technology to be a very important matter at all!”

“Perhaps, even Controllable Nuclear Fusion is an insignificant technology in his eyes!”

“In Comrade Ren Yi’s eyes, it’s Tianting Heavy Industries, it’s Penglai Immortal Island!”

“It’s aircraft carriers, it’s the sea of stars!”

“It’s the entire Chinese!”

“A few honors designated by foreigners are trivial; with Comrade Ren Yi’s ability, if he truly cared, he could obtain them in minutes!”

“If you had brought up this issue during the video conference just now, I believe Comrade Ren Yi’s answer would surely be,”

The Leader imitated Ren Yi’s tone, saying: “What is a Nobel Prize? Does Ren Yi need its recognition?”

As soon as these words were uttered, everyone’s bodies trembled.

Recalling the video conference just now, and then associating it with Ren Yi’s understated attitude, as well as the superconductor casually placed on the desk as a decoration, everyone finally understood something, and finally understood that this criticism was completely justified!

After deep thought, everyone suddenly realized and secretly blamed themselves.

If Ren Yi truly had a strong desire for these worldly things, with the power and status the Chinese now bestowed upon him, it could be said that everything was within his grasp.

Yet, to this day, Ren Yi has shown no signs of indulging in pleasure; he still maintains a childlike innocence, dedicating himself wholeheartedly to scientific research, even working harder than others.

Even vacations are not within his consideration.

It seems that as long as the Chinese strongly supports his scientific research work, he is already content.

Perhaps, just as Ren Yi said before, his appearance is to make the Chinese stand at the pinnacle of World powers once again!

Everything else is just fleeting clouds!

Thinking of this, everyone sighed.

“This time, it’s a true enlightenment; we are ashamed of ourselves and must reflect deeply!”

“If this continues, we old folks will probably soon fall behind Comrade Ren Yi’s pace. At this crucial time, we cannot let Comrade Ren Yi down!”

The Leader then picked up his teacup and slowly spoke:

“You are all intelligent people; after my reminder, it seems you have all reacted.”

“Don’t blame me for being too harsh. As decision-makers, you should constantly reflect, and there must not be the slightest deviation in your values and overall perspective, otherwise, it will be a disaster for the Chinese and the Chinese!”

Upon hearing this, everyone present spoke up, shaking their heads and sighing.

“The Leader’s words were truly a wake-up call!”

“We truly deserve this scolding!”

“Comrade Ren Yi, though young, not only possesses extraordinary talent but also harbors the ambition to stabilize the nation and prosper the country. Compared to him, our old folks’ perspectives are indeed too narrow!”

The Leader nodded with satisfaction and laughed, “Hahaha, it’s good that you all understand!”

“Making mistakes isn’t scary; what’s scary is knowing your mistakes and not correcting them!”

“In the future, if I also make such ideological errors, please do not hesitate to point them out to me, regardless of face!”

“It’s all for the Chinese; there’s no shame in that!”

Upon hearing this, everyone felt relieved about what had just been said.

The President of the Chinese Academy of Sciences’s eyes held hope, and he said with anticipation:

“What we can do now is to provide Comrade Ren Yi with our full logistical support, allowing him to focus on the five-year plan without any worries.”

“I hope Comrade Ren Yi’s plan this time can be successfully completed!”

Upon hearing this, a sharp glint appeared in the Leader’s eyes, and he uttered a remark that shocked everyone present.

“It’s not hope; it’s that Comrade Ren Yi will inevitably accomplish it!”

“Furthermore, Comrade Ren Yi voluntarily made sacrifices, not caring about personal gains or losses, which makes him a hundred times stronger than those useless people who went abroad to study at Tsinghua and Peking Universities and never returned.

So, how he thinks is his business, but how we compensate him is our business!”

“I propose here that if the future five-year plan for scientific research progresses smoothly this time,”

“We formally nominate Comrade Ren Yi to become the Chief Designer of our Chinese’s military equipment!”

“Of course, there is still time, and we can observe slowly. The reason I brought this up today is to give everyone a heads-up!”

…