It's been 4 days since I arrived in Hong Kong, and when I woke up in the morning and looked at the invincible sea view outside the window, Xu Jiazhen still felt like she was dreaming.

His father was a professor of Japanese at Jiangnan Normal University, and although he was beaten as a "stinky old nine" during his WD period, he always believed that mastering a foreign language would always come in handy in the future, and in those unbearable days, he taught Xu Jiazhen and his siblings to speak fluent Japanese.

In 1977, Xu Jiazhen, who was 23 years old at the time, hurried to the examination room from the countryside and was admitted to Xiamen University with excellent results.

After graduation, he caught up with the tide of studying abroad, and with the dream of changing the world, he returned to his hometown in Jiangnan to make up for Japanese with the old man for nearly half a year.

Hard work pays off!

In the summer of the following year, with the help of several friends of the old man, he was given the opportunity to work as an interpreter for the delegation of the Japan-China Friendship Association. After learning of his wish, an enthusiastic Japanese friend of the delegation immediately promised to provide him with a guarantee, and in this way, he went abroad as he wished and became an international student at the Advanced Science and Engineering Department of Waseda University in Japan.

Language is just a tool for communication, and in Xiada, he learns material. At Waseda University, he continued to study materials. After three years of hard work, he finally obtained a master's degree in materials chemistry.

During this time, he met his wife, who was also an international student.

It is said that in the summer of 85, he took his wife back to his hometown and held a vigorous wedding. After studying, working and living in Japan for more than three years, not only was he unable to adapt to the research and working environment in China, but even his wife thought that he should return to Japan for development. So he returned to Japan again. He was engaged in R&D in the laboratory of a Japanese company.

Time flies. Seven full years have passed in a blink of an eye. Working hard in a foreign country. The bitterness of this period is not enough for outsiders.

For the sake of a good life for the family, for the future of the children, it is nothing to be tired and tired, the key is Japan's fucking immigration policy. No matter how hard he tries, no matter how good he is, unless he divorces his wife and finds a Japanese woman who is willing to marry him in a fake marriage, he will never become a "Japanese Chinese".

People go to high places. The water flows to a low place, tens of thousands a month in Japan, a few hundred a month when he returns home, and it is right to pursue a good life, he doesn't think this is anything to worship foreign countries.

The previous employment contract with the employer directly determines the visa duration.

The business is not doing well, and his employer does not seem to have any intention of renewing his contract, which means that he will either pack his bags and return to China with his wife, or stay in Japan illegally to work as an illegal worker.

Since it is called "black work", the nature of the work can be imagined.

He did not think he would be able to make the transition from mental to physical work. Even his wife complained more than once, knowing that it was better to learn English and study in the United States at that time! So many years of hard work. Even if it weren't for the same thing as in previous years, even if the United States hadn't relaxed its immigration policy for Chinese intellectuals, they would still be able to get green cards.

Just a month before the two had to pack their bags and prepare to return to China, a job advertisement published in an academic journal gave Xu Jiazhen hope, and all the conditions seemed to be tailor-made for him, and he rushed to the NB Electric Group's representative office in Tokyo that afternoon and handed over a resume written on the train.

His luck was as good as ever.

On the afternoon of the fourth day, he received a fax inviting him to the NB laboratory in Hong Kong for an interview, and promised to reimburse the round-trip air ticket and travel expenses during his stay in Hong Kong.

Interviews, discussions, defenses, ...... Although he is not as fluent in English as his competitors, as long as it comes to his major, he has six years of work experience, and his performance is higher than that of several other doctors.

What NB Lab needs is R&D personnel, not translators, and even academic qualifications and degrees will only be used as references.

It is said that Director Wei, who had just returned from an exchange in Germany, not only gave him a position immediately, but even promised to help him apply for Hong Kong skilled immigration. The fly in the ointment is that the wife and children are not eligible and can only apply through the normal procedures in accordance with Hong Kong law.

Traditionally, it takes about four to six years to complete this process, but it is better than no hope at all, not to mention the fact that they also provide a house in the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region, which is close to Hong Kong, arrange a job for their wife, and even take into account the children's schooling.

"Lao Xu, it's almost time, let's go down together!"

Just as he was sighing, there was a knock on the door outside.

The person who called him downstairs with him was called Tian Yong, 35 years younger than him, and he had just returned from abroad, but he went to the United Kingdom and got a doctorate.

On the first day of work, Xu Jiazhen didn't want to leave a bad impression on the supervisor and colleagues, so he went back to the bathroom to check his appearance again, and then picked up his briefcase and opened the door.

Before he could say hello to Tian Yong, a colleague who came out of the next room looked at his tie and asked with a smile, "Brother Xu, you don't need to be so formal, right?" ”

Xu Jiazhen smiled and said as he walked, "Dr. Lan, we are different from you. ”

"yes!"

Tian Yong thought so, and said with envy: "In order to study abroad, we don't know how many nights we have stayed up, we don't know how many times we have run to the embassy, and we have suffered all the blindness and almost bankrupt. Life abroad is even more miserable, and I almost beg on the streets. It's like you, you don't have to worry about anything, everything is done by NB Electric, and you even get paid for school, it's really more popular than people. ”

Lan Hongzhe is a member of the second phase of the electrical division, as Tian Yong said, he didn't worry about going to Germany for further study. At that time, Wei Huaming, the director of the experimental workshop, and Xie Jingwen, the deputy director, talked to them, went to the human resources department to sign a contract that was only binding on the gentleman, and went directly to the German consulate for a visa with the passport that had been completed earlier.

Several years in Germany, most of the time in the NB laboratory in Berlin.

Those who are all in the same "unit" will naturally not be discriminated against. With the encouragement of Dr. Klinsmann, the director of the laboratory, he applied for a PhD at the Technical University of Dresden, and after several years of hard work, he passed the doctoral defense. Be one of the first to receive a Ph.D. in the second group of exchangers.

Lan Hongzhe is proud to have been a member of NB Electric. I am proud to be a R&D person at NB Labs. But this kind of pride and pride can't be shown casually in front of colleagues, otherwise it will be regarded as a villain.

He nodded slightly to Jia Huamin and Xiang Yumei, who had just come out of the room, and said casually: "Dr. Tian, the times are different, the opportunities are different, these are not comparable. Just like some old colleagues of NB Electric, they only went to Germany a year before us, but they either entered Max Plank. Either to Frauen or to the Leibniz Society. ”

Xiang Yumei pressed the elevator button, turned around and smiled: "Jiang Meimei from the Computer Application Research Center on the third floor, she joined the company a month later than me." ”

"It's incomparable!"

Jia Huamin took over the conversation and sighed with emotion: "There are more than 80 people in the second phase, and there are a few who have the opportunity to study abroad, less than a quarter. Compared with Lao Chen and Lao Xu, we are already very good. ”

As if he had a sense of superiority, Lan Hongzhe was happy, and couldn't help laughing: "Lao Chen, Lao Xu They are better than us." Either he is the vice president of NB Electric Overseas Company or the chief engineer of NB Electric Overseas Company. Lao Wu is even more powerful. The manager of the high-voltage transmission and distribution project department of the bay branch, in terms of achievements, no one at home is worse than us. ”

"They are all rich, and if they have the opportunity, they must beat their local tyrants."

"Yesterday on the phone, they said they wanted us to have a treat!"

Xiang Yumei, the only girl in the second phase of the exchange, said with a smile: "Please please, order whatever you want in the restaurant downstairs." When we finish the invitation, we will pick the hotel with the highest grade and the most expensive dishes in Hong Kong and let them invite them back, because they have money anyway. ”

The rising channel is smooth, and the staff is taken care of, no wonder NB Electric, a company with a history of only a few years, can be a blockbuster, recalling his own experience, Xu Jiazhen laughed self-deprecatingly: "It is said that men are afraid of entering the wrong line, women are afraid of marrying the wrong man, in my opinion, regardless of whether it is a man or a woman, you can't enter the wrong company, otherwise you will take a wrong step and make a wrong step, and it will be too late to turn back." ”

Tian Yong was deeply touched, and nodded again and again: "Lao Xu's words make sense, my previous company was still in the top 500, and I only knew the same intrigue when I went in, and I really couldn't stand those company politics." ”

Xiang Yumei stroked the hair in her ears, and said with a smile: "Dr. Tian, then you are right to come here, NB Electric rejects corporate politics, NB Laboratory also rejects laboratory politics, you just need to do your part, and you don't need to deliberately consider promotion and salary increase." ”

The elevator stopped, Lan Hongzhe's face was straight, and he reminded him in a matter-of-fact manner: "It's only the first day of work, what are you talking about promotion and salary increase, Director Wei said that Zhang Gong is coming today, be serious." ”

He was the oldest among the second-phase exchange personnel, and he was also the leader of the second-phase team, like a big brother, sticking out his tongue to Yumei like a little girl, and followed him with a bag on his back, without squeaking again.

The NB laboratory is under construction and will not be ready for use until the summer of next year at the earliest.

Basic Research, Systems Engineering, Technology Applications, and the Hong Kong Financial Secretary-funded Division of Business Administration, which is independent of the NB Laboratory, are all housed in the 16-storey building, seven of which are used as dormitories.

The place is too small, and the office area is not large.

There were five more people at once, and the office of the director of the Faculty of Technology Application was hanging out, and it was very cramped.

"Sit, everybody."

The legendary founder of the laboratory was not there, and it was still Wei Huaming, who had just returned from Germany, who greeted everyone to sit down, and distributed the materials while saying: "Professor Alferov was invited to give a lecture to the teachers and students of the science and technology opposite, and specially asked Zhang Gong to translate for him. ”

Lan Hongzhe also studied physics, how could he not have heard of Professor Alferov, took the information and asked: "Director Wei, what is the professor talking about today?" ”

"Einstein and the Development of Quantum Electronics" for this year's freshmen at HKUST.

Wei Huaming paused, and then said: "Don't call me director anymore, the current director of the experimental center is Eagle, and I am a project coordinator, giving Zhang Gong a hand and providing services for you." Don't be embarrassed if you need to speak up as soon as possible. ”

Graphite!

It is said that Sun Xiaoguang, the former director of the system engineering laboratory, and Huang Li'an, the former director of the technology application laboratory, will also join the team next year, and the lineup is unprecedentedly strong. This puzzled Dr. Lan Hongzhe, who studied quantum mechanics, Dr. Jia Huamin, who studied mechanical engineering, and Dr. Xiang Yumei, who studied electronic engineering.

That's what I did when I was in Japan. Xu Jiazhen didn't feel much surprised. I just can't figure out how NB Electric can be interested in graphite, do they want to develop nuclear power?

Tian Yong's research is in the physics of materials, and he is no stranger to graphite. Unlike Xu Jiazhen, a master in materials chemistry, he did not think of nuclear power, but directly thought that NB Electric might be interested in graphite electrodes.

There are too many and too many papers, the earliest published papers on graphite research and applications can be traced back to 1921, and the latest journal is equal to the journal Nature a month and a half earlier. The application is too wide. The more I looked at the four PhDs and one master's degree, the more confused I became, and I didn't know which direction the charter wanted to study.

"You've been waiting for a long time."

After looking at it for about an hour and a half, the charter walked in with a smile on his face.

As before, a T-shirt, a pair of jeans, and a pair of sneakers are all stalls worth dozens of Hong Kong dollars, and the Hujiang brand watch on the wrist can be regarded as a "famous brand".

"Good job."

"Hello Mr. Zhang."

"Mr. Xu, Mr. Tian, welcome to NB Laboratory."

The charter shook hands with the two of them very warmly, and then sat down on the desk. While beckoning everyone to sit down, he said straight to the point: "A few people must be very confused. Why we should consider graphite as a research topic. First of all, I will talk about the current situation of the domestic graphite industry, which has large reserves and many enterprises engaged in mining and processing, all of which are low-end routes and are suppliers of raw materials.

As with all mineral resources, without strong downstream producers, there is no pricing power for raw material exports. There are no independent products to work hard in the market, and imported products will also sell us at sky-high prices. The export price of all graphite never exceeded 3,000 yuan per ton, but after foreign processing and purification and re-importation to China, the price became 100,000 to 200,000 yuan per tonne.

This is still cheap, and Mr. Xu should know very well that if graphite is further processed into a deceleration material in an atomic energy reactor, the price will increase several times. Not to mention being processed into an artificial heart valve, such a small thing will sell you at least hundreds of thousands. ”

Lan Hongzhe couldn't help but ask: "Zhang Gong, are you saying that we also want to engage in graphite deep processing?" ”

"That's why the five of you are here."

The charter lowered his head and confirmed with a serious face: "Graphite deep processing technology is monopolized by a few countries such as the United States, Japan, and Germany. In general, we need to reverse the long-term 'low output and high import' of domestic graphite resources and the long-term 'purchase instead of mining' in foreign countries. To put it mildly, we have our own needs in this area, and we can't just stick out our necks and be slaughtered by others. ”

Xu Jiazhen asked: "Mr. Zhang, NB Electric Group wants to develop nuclear power?" ”

"It's not just nuclear power."

The charter and Wei Huaming glanced at each other, and said bluntly: "You have all signed a confidentiality agreement, and the authority of the certificate is A-level, which means that you all have the right to know about the projects being developed by the Department of Technology and Application." First of all, we are in urgent need of graphite insulation materials for furnace purification projects, amorphous alloy projects, insulating ceramics projects and cemented carbide projects.

If this problem cannot be overcome, graphite, ceramic, cemented carbide sintering furnace, polysilicon crystallization growth furnace, solar cell silicon wafer crystallization growth furnace, aluminum and other vacuum evaporation furnaces and superhard metal HIP furnaces can only stay on the design drawings. No matter how much money we spend, it is impossible for a company like Toyo Carbon to sell us the graphite material we really want. ”

The real core technology will not be patented, especially in the field of materials, not only will not be patented, but will not even be easily exported.

Looking at everyone's thoughtful looks, the charter continued: "NB Electric without electricity cannot be called NB Electric, as the founder and largest shareholder of NB Electric, I don't want to be controlled by others forever in graphite conductive materials." Graphite electrode, graphite brush, graphite carbon rod, graphite carbon tube, positive electrode of graphite mercury positive flower, graphite washer...... are all indispensable elements for us.

The most urgent is the NB Electronics Group, the picture tube coating can only use graphite milk, which together with the high-voltage electrode and the screen glass to form a high-voltage filter capacitor, without this layer of graphite milk is equivalent to disconnecting the ground wire of the picture tube, I have not heard of anything that can be replaced. The mobile communication products being developed by NB Electronics also need flexible graphite paper for electromagnetic shielding, graphite stickers and heat dissipation.

NB Medical also has a demand for this aspect, and its main business is large-scale imaging diagnosis and treatment equipment, testing equipment, and consumables, but in the future, it will one day be equipped with high-tech devices such as 'artificial heart valves'.

In addition, the application prospects of expanded graphite are also very extensive. Wastewater treatment needs to be taken into account in both ongoing silicon purification projects and amorphous alloy projects, including power generation and transmission and distribution (P&D) power plant projects. Expanded graphite is lipophilic and hydrophobic, l gram can absorb more than 80 grams of heavy oil, I really can't think of any more promising environmentally friendly material than it.

At the same time, the change in the free energy of the interlayer reaction of the expanded graphite can be completely converted into electrical energy! Therefore, the battery project team established by the Faculty of Technology and Application last week has taken graphite as a battery as a very important research sub-project.

As for its application in industry, especially in sealing, I don't need to talk about it. In short, this is a topic worthy of our study, and I have personally taken it as my only research direction in the future, and I have no regrets about whether it can be achieved or not. ”

They are all engaged in research, and they all know what unexpected it is for a researcher to change the direction of research.

The person in front of me discovered the "giant magnetoresistive effect", created a course of "Spintronics", and studied it in depth, and achieved many results.

His attitude was so resolute, Xu Jiazhen saw him looking at himself with anticipation, and hurriedly said, "Mr. Zhang, this is my major." ”

"Mr. Zhang."

Tian Yong pondered for a moment, raised his head and said: "Interlaced lines are like mountains, how to deep process is not a field I am familiar with, but in terms of application, I think I should be able to do something." ”

"Thank you."

The charter nodded slightly, then turned around and said with a smile: "In the afternoon, I will go to participate in an exchange activity of the Hong Kong branch of the Electrical and Electronic Engineering Association, so I will not ask for the opinions of the three of you." Speaking of the division of labor directly, Dr. Lan, Dr. Xiang and I conducted theoretical research on some physical properties of graphite;

Mr. Xu and Dr. Jia are responsible for the research of graphite deep processing. Dr. Tian and Mr. Huang Li'an and Mr. Sun Xiaoshan, who are about to return to the team, are responsible for the technical application of graphite. Lao Wei knows several of them, and he will be the coordinator of the graphite research project, providing logistical support for our three groups. ”

Xu Jiazhen has the heaviest task, and he doesn't know much about the NB Laboratory, so he doesn't know that in addition to this borrowed building, the NB Laboratory also has the huge research resources of the Xiangjiang Experimental Center and the brother research institution of the Berlin NB Laboratory.

Seeing that he wanted to speak and stopped, Wei Huaming smiled, took out a stack of resumes from the cabinet and explained: "Everyone, I believe that you should be able to find the assistant you need, if you are not satisfied, I will ask the personnel department to publish the recruitment information until you all have your own 'dream team'." ”

The charter was happy, crossed his arms and smiled: "We are already a 'dream team', and the next thing to do is to make this team stronger." (To be continued......)