It was a day in May 1901. As a coastal city, Shanghai is still refreshing and pleasant at this time. Especially in the morning, there is even a chill. It's the best time of the year.

In this morning, in the Dianchun Hall of Yu Garden, the first garden in Shanghai, two young people were discussing what issues in a low voice. When it came to Xingtou, the voices of the two of them gradually became higher, as if pointing at the country and scolding Fang Xuan, forgetting that there were still people reading quietly on one side.

"Zhizhong, Houchen, what are you arguing about? Let's take a look at the newspapers, there is big news! At this moment, a younger man hurriedly walked into the hall, holding a newspaper in his hand.

Suddenly, the two put the discussion on hold. One of them asked, "What's the big news, Junheng?" Could it be that the details of the treaty between Lord Nakado and the foreigners have been agreed? ”

"How can it be that easy? It is estimated that it will be a few more days, and my grandfather has exhausted himself for this, and he is already emaciated......" At the mention of this question, the young man who had just come in looked a little gloomy.

"What's the big news?" Another man wondered.

Hearing someone ask, the young man only got better slightly, and his eyebrows were raised: "Brother Zishi, do you all remember the young Mr. Sun Baixi in the hall of Beijing Normal University?" ”

"How can you forget?" The one who was reading quietly in the innermost put down the scroll in his hand and smiled slightly, "Not to mention that he is our teacher, even in the whole Jiangnan now, who doesn't know Sun Baixi?" The Commercial Press printed and sold the textbooks he wrote, from elementary school halls to higher secondary schools, Chinese language, mathematics, physics, chemistry, and everything else. Even if some students don't know about Kong Mengcheng Zhu, they still know that there is a 'Mr. Sun Yuanqi Baixi'. What, is there news of Mr. Sun? ”

"Didn't we still suspect that this Mr. Sun was the same Yank Johnson?" The young man named Jun Heng shook the newspaper in his hand proudly: "Today's "Zilinxi Daily" said, 'The famous scientist Professor Johnson is about to return to China'. When the time comes, we can verify it in person! ”

Founded in 1850, the North China Express is a weekly newspaper founded by the British, mainly publishing current news, business news, judicial and consular gazettes. Later, due to the increasing number of business news, in 1864, the daily newspaper "NorthChina DailyNes" was added as a supplement to the "North China Jiebao". With the expansion of the circulation of Zilinxi Bao, Beihuajie Bao became the Sunday supplement of Zilinxi Daily. Zilin Xibao became the mouthpiece of the Shanghai Public Concession Bureau and an authoritative newspaper with a large circulation in Shanghai.

"Show me!" The young man said, snatching the newspaper from his hand.

"Hold on! You-" Jun Heng was visibly unhappy with his behavior.

Zhizhong didn't care, but beckoned the other two to come and see: "Zishi, Houchen, come and have a look!" ”

Houchen walked up to him in response, but the man named Zishi said, "Zhizhong, you read it, let us listen to it." ”

"Okay!" Zhizhong replied:

New York, 14 May -- Professor Yank Johnson, the most outstanding young scientist of this century, set out from New York today on a journey back to China.

"Originally from the Far East, Professor Yank Johnson has done pioneering work in the fields of chemistry and physics in recent years, and is recognized by the international scientific community as a distinguished scientist. In June last year, at the invitation of the American Chemical Society, Yale University, MIT and other institutions, he went to the United States for a visiting study, and was successively awarded the title of Doctor of Philosophy and Chair Professor by Yale University and MIT.

"During his visiting years, Professor Johnson collaborated with American scholars to achieve a number of important results. One of the most well-known is the development of a new type of incandescent lamp, which extends the life of the bulb by 5~10 times.

Many scholars expressed regret and incomprehension at Professor Johnson's return to China, believing that it was a great loss to the academic community. Universities including Yale University, MIT, and UC Berkeley have also offered professorships to retain them at the expense of high salaries, but Professor Johnson politely declined.

When talking about returning to China, Professor Johnson said that it was a pleasure to cooperate with his colleagues in the United States, and even after returning to China, he would regularly visit the United States every year. The purpose of this return to China is to establish a new and 'modern' university, and to make an effort for the development of China's education and science and technology......"

"Good!" Hearing this, the three observers high-fived at the same time and shouted hello.

"Worthy of our husband!" Jun Heng praised, "'The poor and the lowly cannot be moved, the rich and the rich cannot be lewd, and the mighty cannot be bent, this is called a big husband! 'Mr. Sun is worthy of being a big husband who stands up to the sky, how can he be like the sour rot of those flies and dogs in the hall of Beijing Normal University! ”

"Jun Heng, respect teachers and education, understand?" Zishi reprimanded, and then said: "With such a mind, Mr. Sun really deserves to be the teacher of the world's scholars." ”

"It's a pity that when Mr. Sun's university is built, I'm afraid we will all be dying!" Gong Xian put down the newspaper and sighed a little, "I was born before I was born, and I am old when you were born." Hate not to live together, and be good with you every day! ”

"Haha, what's that! Zi said, the morning said, it is okay to die at night. What are you afraid of? Even when I'm old, I'm going to see it. Besides," said Jun Heng Chao Zishi and they squeezed their eyes, "You are old, and I am still young!" ”

Houchen, who had not spoken, suddenly interjected: "If Mr. Sun departs from San Francisco at the end of this month, it will definitely be on the cruise ship 'Gerald', that is, he will arrive in Shanghai on June 16." That day, let's go to the pier and have a look! ”

Sun Yuanqi boarded the cruise ship "Gerald" in San Francisco on June 1.

Although Yale, MIT, Berkeley and other bull schools have extended olive branches to him and invited him to high-tech, full-time professor seats, Sun Yuanqi was very moved, which was an important sign of success in later generations, but he had to refuse it ruthlessly.

Because of the establishment of a joint laboratory, Yale and MIT both plan to exclude the corresponding personnel and accompany Sun Yuanqi to return to China to deal with cooperation matters. However, I don't know if the "Physics Training Institute" on Sun Yuanqi's side has been burned down in the Boxer Rebellion, for fear that those collaborators will see that the so-called "IPRT" is just a few broken houses, and they will break the sincerity of cooperation. I had no choice but to say: "Now that the peace treaties between the Qing Dynasty and other countries have not yet been reached, it may be inconvenient for foreigners to go to Beijing." It is better to wait for the contract to be signed, and then discuss the matter of coming to China. ”

In a foreign year, it is often the United States and Canada to run on both sides. Fortunately, I am a "well-known person" and do not need to go to the visa frequently, otherwise this kind of thing alone will be troublesome to death. As long as you are in MIT, you may encounter a surprise visit from the "American Girl Foursome" at any time. Sometimes, Sun Yuanqi doesn't know if they still want to go to school, why do they have so much free time?

Hearing that Sun Yuanqi was going back to China, Elena and Lilith cried into tears. Sun Yuanqi felt very strange: Why are you crying, can it be that you can still like me?

Compared with the downfall when he came, Sun Yuanqi is now more like a young talent. Let's not talk about fame, let's just say that the amount of money on my body is enough to prove it: when I came, I only had a few thousand dollars exchanged for a silver ticket; Now that I have returned to China, not only has I not lost a point, but I have also increased it many times! During this year, I ate on weekdays as a working meal, went out as a travel expense, and lived in an apartment provided by the school...... There is no place to spend money except for sending things and buying materials to the country. In addition, Yale, MIT, and McGill University paid salaries, plus the appearance fees for the speeches, and the patent fees paid by the Edison Electric Light Company, all of which amounted to more than $80,000 in their pockets.

In Sun Yuanqi's heart, the more than 80,000 US dollars already has a clear purpose, that is, to build a university in Beijing! Of course, the $80,000 is not enough, and it has to be added to the cost of building a joint laboratory between Yale and MIT. According to the previous negotiations, Yale paid 80,000 yuan in the first batch, and MIT promised to pay 100,000 yuan. In this way, a short period of time should be enough!

Boarding the ship, Sun Yuanqi became more and more worried about the situation at home in Beijing, I don't know if the three families of Lao Tong, Lao Zhao, and Lao Zheng are okay? Did the Boxer Rebellion and the Eight-Nation Alliance's disturbance in Beijing spread? Are the students studying well? …… Perhaps, this is "closer to home, more timid".

During the Boxer Rebellion, Tianjin suffered great damage and was considered an unsafe port because of the frequent presence of boxers. Therefore, the "Gerald" cruise ship will dock in Shanghai, not Tianjin when Sun Yuanqi left the country.

The Boxer Rebellion, which arose in the northern provinces of China, reached its climax in the summer of 1900. Britain, the United States, and other countries feared that the Boxer Rebellion would advance to the south and jeopardize their vested interests in the south. In mid-June, the British Acting Consul General in Shanghai, with the consent of his own government, gave assurances to Liu Kunyi, Governor of Liangjiang, and Zhang Zhidong, Governor of Huguang, that if they were determined to maintain order, they would have the support of the British Navy in China. Liu Kunyi and Zhang Zhidong had always advocated a severe suppression of the Boxers and refused to carry out the Qing court's order to declare war on the foreign powers. On the 26th, they presented the so-called "Sino-Foreign Mutual Insurance Regulations" to the consuls of various countries in Shanghai, the main content of which was: "The Shanghai concession shall be under the joint protection of all countries, and the Yangtze River and the interior of Suzhou and Hangzhou shall be under the protection of each governor", and the two sides "will not disturb each other." (Official Telegraph, Boxer Rebellion, vol. 3, p. 338) The consuls were very appreciative and agreed in principle with the proposed approach, but held that the approval of the Governments was necessary before the treaty could be formally signed. Zhang Zhidong and others posted notices everywhere: "Prohibit rumors and bandits, dare to make trouble, and immediately correct the law." All foreign merchants and clergy are responsible for their protection. Later, Li Hongzhang, Yuan Shikai and other governors of the southeast coast also participated in the "mutual insurance" one after another. In this way, the area of "southeast mutual insurance" has expanded from Jiangsu, Jiangxi, Anhui, Hubei, and Hunan to Guangdong, Fujian, Zhejiang, Shandong, and other provinces, accounting for almost half of the country's provinces. Although the "Sino-foreign Mutual Insurance Charter" was not signed in the end, the relevant provisions were actually implemented. In the case of "mutual protection in the southeast", even if the war broke out in Beijing, Tianjin and Tangzhou, Shanghai Tang was still as prosperous as before, singing and dancing.

Sun Yuanqi stood on the deck, watching the Bund gradually become clearer, and what he remembered was the two most commonly used words in the book: Ten miles of foreign field, drunk and golden. At this time, it was time to "restore" the dress of the subjects of the Qing Dynasty. I drank milk for a year and wore a suit for a year, and now I see the fake braids and kaftans in my luggage, and I feel like a world away.

The luggage was mainly books bought in the United States, and after the ship docked, I hired two laborers to carry it, and I was going to find an inn to live in, and then buy a ticket to go back to Tianjin tomorrow. The closer you are to home, the more you want to get home sooner.

This is the first time that Sun Yuan has been to Shanghai since he got up in the Qing Dynasty, and when he got out of the dock, he was thinking about whether to find someone to ask for directions. Suddenly, I saw a group of people surrounding a large banner: "Warmly welcome Dr. Sun Yuanqi back to China." This is much better than the one on the sign Rutherford held up when he first arrived in the United States. Sun Yuanqi was skeptical: I don't know many people in Daqing!

But since people know their name, they must know it. After hesitating, he walked over. When he got closer, he saw several of them waving at him. Well, it looks familiar, like I've seen it somewhere before.

"Mr. Baekhee——!" A young man couldn't hold it back, ran over, took the luggage in Sun Yuanqi's hand, and smiled at Sun Yuanqi.

Sun Yuanqi knew so many people in the Qing Dynasty, and after thinking about it carefully, he remembered: "You are a student of Beijing Normal University, right?" ”

"Yes, yes, I'm Li Guobing, the word Junheng." The young man scratched his head, "Hehe, I knew that the famous Professor Yank Johnson was our Mr. Sun." ”

"Well," Sun Yuanqi avoided talking about this question, and looked at the few people who followed behind, "You are all from the Jingshi University Hall, right?" How did you get to Shanghai? ”

"Don't you know, sir? Last year, when there were boxers, Lord Xu, the minister of the University Hall, was given to death because of his advice, and Mr. Liu Keyi, the teacher, also died. The students of the Beijing Normal University were scattered, the school building was closed, and the collection of books was lost. The Empress Dowager ordered the closure of the University Hall. We had no choice but to transfer to Nanyang College in Shanghai. Those people were still bowing and saluting themselves, and Li Guobing snapped a few words, and he roughly explained the matter.

Sun Yuan nodded: "That's no way, how difficult the country is, and the university hall will inevitably suffer from the fish in the pond!" You can continue to study, good things, so that there is hope for China. ”

Li Guobing wanted to say something, but dozens of people from behind him surrounded him, but this time they didn't know each other very well. A few of them look like reporters.

Fortunately, someone ran up and acted as a temporary attendant: "Mr. Baixi, do you remember me?" Below is Shi Taoyu from the Commercial Press, who visited you in Beijing last year! ”

"Oh, remember, it was in April and May last year!" Sun Yuanqi remembered that there was indeed such a person, and when he was in the United States, he still sent him the manuscript of the textbook he had written. It's just that after a long time, I know the name, and I can't match the number.

"Mr. Baixi has a good memory!" Shi Taoyu casually said, "Then please allow me to give you a general introduction to all the virtuous people present!" ”

After a while, I learned that there were celebrities from all walks of life, such as Zhang Yuanji, the prime minister of Nanyang College, Ge Ganen, the president of Soochow University, and Xia Ruifang, the general manager of the Commercial Press, as well as students from various schools, as well as reporters from newspapers such as "Zilin Xibao", "Wen Wei Po", "Zhongwai Daily", and "Guowen Daily".

Among these people, except for everyone in the Commercial Press, they all know "Dr. Yank Johnson" and "Mr. Sun Yuanqi Baixi", but they don't know that the two are the same person. When they arrived at the wharf, they saw the Commercial Press holding a banner, and after a conversation, they learned that Dr. Yank Johnson, a "famous young scientist", was Mr. Sun Yuanqi Baixi, who compiled textbooks for primary and secondary schools. Everyone couldn't help but sigh at each other.

After the greetings were over, the reporters who saw the stitches began to ask:

"Mr. Baixi, may I ask who your Gui Geng is?"

"Mr. Baixi, where is the house?"

"Mr. Baixi, it is rumored that Sun Shouzhou Zhongtang is your uncle, is that true?"

"Mr. Baixi, you are already a world-famous philologist and an educator in Kyushu before you are a young man, do you have a secret?"

……

The endless gossip questions made Sun Yuan sweat: Are you sure these people are not reporters from the tabloids? It seems that no matter what age or which species, regardless of gender, young or old, gossip is everyone's hobby!

Not only were the reporters interested, but even the audience on the side was interested. Just when Sun Yuanqi was a little overwhelmed to cope, someone finally got impatient, saw the stitches, and asked in a loud voice:

"Mr. Sun, it is reported that after you return to China, you will build a new-style university hall, can you give us a general introduction?"

This question was asked by Zuo Gong first.

Hearing this question, Sun Yuanqi was shocked, sorted out his thoughts, and was about to answer. But I saw Zhang Yuanji, the prime minister of Nanyang College, walking in front of everyone: "Everyone, everyone! Mr. Sun has been tired from the journey, and he is tired of returning to the dust, so we should not bother him anymore. How about Nanyang College invite Mr. Sun to hold a public lecture on education and science on the campus the next day. ”

That's when the reporters stopped.

"Mr. Baixi, our Commercial Press has set up a room in the Green Wave Corridor to pick up the wind and wash the dust for Mr., please here-" As the CEO of the Commercial Press, Xia Ruifang stepped forward and invited.

"Xia Gong, the four of them are Mr. Sun's students in the Jingshi University Hall, and now this banquet should be made by the disciples!" It was the oldest Hu Xun who spoke.

"Eh, Zishi, isn't that right? We at Nanyang College invited Mr. Sun to give a speech, so naturally we were invited to a banquet. Besides, this Nanyang College is now your alma mater, and I am also your teacher, do you still want to fight with the teacher? Zhang Yuanji taught Hu Xun a lesson.

Sun Yuanqi began to have a headache again.

;