Back to 80: My Literary Life

Song Tangtang went there specifically to implement Fang Minghua's idea.

In the office of Director Sun of the service center, Song Tangtang told Fang Minghua's idea, and Director Sun, who was over 50 years old, was immediately excited.

"Great, it's great. To be honest, we are now worried about the return of overseas students!"

As he said, Director Sun took out a notebook from the drawer and read it.

"Mr. Song, do you know? Last year, that is, in 1997, there were 7,017 overseas students in the country. How many of them returned to China in the end? 1,001, only 14%! Especially in world-class universities like Harvard, Massachusetts, and Cambridge, almost no one is willing to come back!"

"These are all talents that the country urgently needs. Although our country tries its best to give more benefits to overseas students, the country is still poor after all, and it can't be compared with developed countries in Europe and the United States. Comrade Minghua's donation is simply timely rain!"

"You're welcome. My husband is writing a book, especially earning some royalties abroad. He should take some of it out to help the country solve problems. After all, he is also a party member." Song Tangtang smiled reservedly.

"Comrade Minghua is indeed a good cadre of the country." Director Sun sighed.

Finally, the two agreed to select the top 30 universities according to the Times Higher Education World University Rankings in 1997. After excluding the domestic Yanda University, there are still 29 places, and the University of London ranked 31st is added.

"Mr. Song, wait a minute, I will help you check the total number of returned overseas students from these universities in 1997, so that you and Comrade Minghua will have an approximate number of rewarded students." Director Sun turned on the 386 computer on the desk and started to check.

After a while, he looked up at Song Tangtang who was sitting on the sofa and said: "Last year, these 30 universities, including liberal arts, science, economics, etc., had a total of 19 returned overseas students."

"Not many, I thought there would be at least 50 or 60." Song Tangtang was a little surprised.

"Mr. Song, you don't know much. These top universities are very difficult to get into, and the international students who are admitted to these universities are unwilling to come back. Among these 19 students, 18 are government-sponsored students, and only one is self-funded." Director Sun explained.

So that's it

Soon, Song Tangtang called Fang Minghua to tell him the information he had learned.

"Less than 20? A little too few. I have the same idea as you. I thought there would be at least 50 or 60, right? In this way, we can simply expand the scope of the award to the top 50 in the world, and at least award 50 or 60 students every year."

Fang Minghua laughed.

"Wow, what a big tone, 50 or 60 students, that's 20 million RMB a year!" Song Tangtang snorted on the phone.

"20 million? Not much, wait until next year I withdraw all the funds from the stock market, and you can see, hehe."

Of course, there are still many things to be done to set up a fund to support overseas students returning to China to start businesses, but Fang Minghua doesn't want to worry about it.

He knows Song Tangtang will handle it.

On July 13, Fang Minghua embarked on a journey to Baltimore, Maryland to attend the Hugo Awards ceremony.

Demi, president of Ashley Press, and Nick and other staff from the marketing and promotion department have already gone to Baltimore.

According to the planned plan, once Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets wins the award, a series of activities will be held, including a meeting between the author and readers, book signing, etc. The three young actors who are the protagonists of the Harry Potter movies will be specially invited to come and help.

The second Harry Potter movie has been completed and has entered post-production. There is no actor for the time being. This is an opportunity.

Baltimore is on the Atlantic coast of the United States. It takes a long way to cross the entire North American continent from San Francisco. There is no direct flight from San Francisco to Baltimore. You can either go east to Salt Lake City, the capital of Utah, and then take a plane to Baltimore, or take a plane to New York and then transfer to Baltimore.

Fang Minghua decided to go to Salt Lake City first, but he did not take a plane there, but chose to take a train.

Anyway, he is not in a hurry. He likes the train as a way of travel. This is the case in China and in the United States.

Railways once occupied an important position in the lives of Americans. It tamed the wild west, promoted the gold rush, and became the pillar of the industrial revolution. Today, the United States still has the longest railway network in the world, and the most famous one is the Pacific Railway.

This is the first railway that crosses the North American continent. It was rated by the British BBC as one of the seven industrial wonders of the world since the Industrial Revolution. It is more than 3,000 kilometers long and crosses the entire North American continent. It is the world's first transcontinental railway. The section from San Francisco to Salt Lake City is one of them.

At about ten o'clock in the morning, Fang Minghua took a travel bag and took the subway to Union Station alone. He boarded the California Zephyr and started his journey.

In the United States, the golden age of traveling by train has long passed. Now people go out for short distances by car and long distances by plane, so there are fewer people on the train.

He bought a soft sleeper ticket.

Sleeping in the lower bunk, opposite a blonde young woman with a 10-year-old boy, it seems that they are taking their children out for a summer vacation.

The train slowly left the station and soon arrived at San Francisco Bay. The quiet water surface made people feel refreshed. Fang Minghua was surprised to find that the rails were only about 1 foot away from the sea at the closest time!

The whole train seemed to be flying on the sea!

The little boy opposite also found it and pointed out the window and shouted in surprise.

"Mom, look, the train is running on the sea!"

"Kim, be quiet! Don't talk too loud!" The young woman hurriedly stopped her son's yelling, but to no avail, so she had to smile apologetically to Fang Minghua, who was sitting opposite.

Fang Minghua also smiled in return.

He can understand.

My two children are a little older than this little boy, and they are at the age where they are full of energy. It is very difficult for them to sit quietly for a while when traveling.

Gradually, the train entered the wetland. It was foggy outside the window and nothing could be seen clearly. The little boy's excitement gradually passed and he began to take out his comic book and read.

Fang Minghua looked at the scene outside, feeling sleepy gradually, and lay on the bed and became confused. I don't know how long it took, but in a daze, Fang Minghua was woken up by the little boy's voice again.

When he opened his eyes, he saw that the train had left the wetland, and the outside turned into a vast expanse of mountains. The train passed through tunnels from time to time, which reminded Fang Minghua of his own experience when he crossed the Qinling Mountains from Xijing to the Tianhan area.

"Mom, how were you digging the cave? Did you use an excavator?" the little boy asked innocently.

"No, no, this railway is called the Pacific Railway. It was built more than 100 years ago. At that time, the technology was not developed and the excavators were not as advanced as they are now. Many places require manpower - the terrain here is steep and it is not easy to dig holes. "I heard that many people died while building this railway," the young woman told her son patiently.

"Ah? Will people die? Those people are so pitiful." The little boy's face showed sympathy, and he asked innocently: "What about their children? Will the country give them money?"

"Yes, because they are Americans too," the young woman replied.

"No, because they are not Americans, they are just Chinese workers."

Suddenly the man opposite spoke. The young woman was startled and looked up at the man with an oriental face.

It was Fang Minghua who spoke.

He couldn't bear it anymore.

Damn it, are you talking nonsense about even this most basic history? !