On the evening of the doctoral dissertation defense, the Eagle Bar in the alley of the Liberty School, not far from Cavendish Laboratory, was once again full of people.

Oppenheimer was a rich man from New York, USA, and all the expenses tonight were paid for by Ao Gongzi.

Even the old director of the laboratory, Tom Sun, came over to have a beer, and then returned home leisurely.

It wasn't until after the departure of the elder Tomson that the atmosphere in the bar gradually increased, and it became a place for these young people to indulge themselves.

Chen Muwu was the only one who didn't drink beer at the Eagle Bar, and he just looked at the madness in front of him, feeling completely different from the time he had when he first came to Cambridge.

Maybe a few years have allowed Capitsa to mature a little, and at the age of 30, he finally came to the center of the venue to sing and dance, and became the brightest star in the whole bar.

The bridegroom-to-be, who is about to get married, is under too much pressure, and today is just an opportunity to vent. While someone was treating, Kapitsa drank beer cup after beer, moisturizing the wine worm that had been dormant in his stomach for a long time.

Even Chadwick, who Oppenheimer considered to be the follower of Cavendish Lab's greatest enemy, made an unusual appearance at the Eagle Bar today.

It was all guests, and today was an important day for Oppenheimer, so he certainly wouldn't make things unpleasant in the Eagle Bar.

Of course, Chadwick didn't come to celebrate Oppenheimer's graduation, he still had something to say to Chen Muwu.

"Director Chen, I received an invitation letter from Professor Lorenz today, and I have to sign up for the new Solvay conference again."

As he spoke, Chadwick pulled a telenewspaper out of his suit pocket and flattened it on the stained wine table.

Through the dim light of the bar, Chen Muwu read the contents of the telegram.

The telegram came from Leiden, the Netherlands, on the letterhead of the Cavendish laboratory and its director, Rutherford.

The position of Acting Director Chen Muwu is only known to people inside the laboratory.

Even though he led a team to Italy to attend the Como Conference earlier this year, in the minds of physicists in the rest of the world, the director of this world-ranked physics laboratory is still the bearded, tall Rutherford.

Chen Muwu didn't care about this practice on telegram.

His current situation is like the ancient times when the Son of Heaven went to the four directions, and he, the crown prince, was just sitting in the capital and supervising the country.

Chen Muwu didn't really regard himself as the master of the laboratory in terms of mentality, he was just taking care of his teacher's house.

According to the latest news from Chadwick, Rutherford will start his return trip from New Zealand in August, and even if the current steamship is slow, two months will be enough time for him to return to Europe from Australia to Brussels, the capital of Belgium.

Rutherford's participation in this year's Solvay meeting was a sure thing, and Chadwick came this time to discuss with Chen Muwu and determine the other candidates in the laboratory to participate in the meeting.

They were to lead the team from England to Belgium, where they would meet Rutherford, whom they had not seen for nearly a year.

Chen Muwu suddenly thought that the dutiful deputy of the laboratory in front of him had not participated in a single meeting so far.

And I just met with the physics of the world in Italy at the beginning of the year, otherwise I wouldn't have gone this time?

"James, how about you go this time? ……”

He said what he thought.

Chadwick was not interested in Chen Muwu's suggestion, he shook his head: "Chen, I think this matter is over, I have been busy with things in the laboratory in the past few years, although I have been doing experiments constantly, but I have not achieved any results."

"I guess physicists from other countries around the world want to see you again, so it's better for you to go. In addition, my children are still young, and I want to stay in the UK to spend more time with them. You should also cherish this single time before you get married, and imagine that you are so leisurely after you get married, it is completely a pipe dream. ”

Chadwick told Chen Muwu as a passer-by, and the reason he gave was reasonable.

"So, old director, will he go to Belgium?"

"Sir Thomson is still the same, he is not interested in leaving Cambridge and London and going outside of them, so he will not attend this Solvay meeting either.

"But Professor Eddington should be going to this conference, because it is said that this year's Solvay conference will be open to German physicists, and Professor Einstein will also be there.

“……”

Chen Muwu now desperately hopes that Rutherford will return to Cambridge University as soon as possible and rescue him from this busy position as acting director.

It's time to get off work, and I want to relax with a few drinks in the Eagle Bar,—— although I don't drink beer, I still have a lot of things waiting for me.

Chadwick is very dedicated, so Chen Muwu can't say anything more about this matter.

The two of them gathered around the table, discussing and writing and drawing on paper, and it took more than half an hour to finally draw up a first draft of the list of participants at this year's Solvay Conference.

Before Chadwick left, Chen Muwu did not forget to tell him: "Also, there is Professor Wilson, you can find time tomorrow to ask him if he is willing to go to Belgium." ”

"Professor Wilson? Okay, then I'll ask him tomorrow. ”

"Even if he doesn't want to go, I think he might not be able to help him."

Chen Muwu pretended to be mysterious.

"Can't help him?" The expression on Chadwick's face was slightly puzzled, and then he suddenly reacted, "You mean, the Nobel Prize?" After attending the Solvay Conference, stop by Stockholm, Sweden? ”

Director Chen smiled and nodded: "That's right, that's what I meant." ”

After discussing the specific list, Chadwick got up and left the Eagle Bar.

He was a family man, and he could no longer be like these young men, who were able to party unscrupulously until late.

After the people around Chen Muwu left, Oppenheimer, one of the protagonists of tonight's reception, came to the entire Cavendish laboratory, the person he respected the most.

Because he had drunk too much wine tonight, Oppenheimer's mind was already a little unconscious, and his tongue was a little stiff.

But he still raised his glass to Chen Muwu: "Dr. Chen, thank you for taking care of me at Cambridge University in the past few years. Although there is an old Chinese saying that 'because the favor is too great, there is no need to say thank you', I still want to say thank you. ”

With that, Oppenheimer raised his head and drank down the glass full of beer.

"What do you mean, it looks like you're leaving England after you graduate?"

Chen Muwu laughed.

"Of course not, how could I leave the UK! Where to leave the UK, to the US? How can those universities in the United States compare with Cambridge, what a joke! - Unless you are no longer at Cambridge University, Dr. Chen, I will leave with you. ”

Hearing this answer, Chen Muwu smiled and did not speak, but just waved his hand to signal Benheimer to sit down.

The latter continued: "Dr. Chen, I have long wanted to come and toast you with the first glass of wine of the day, but the deputy of that laboratory has always been by your side, and I can only wait until he is gone. ”

"Don't be like that, Robert, Mr. Chadwick is not a bad man, and neither is Sir Rutherford."

"But, but, when I wanted to enter the Cavendish lab, they turned me down."

"It's all gone, Robert, it's all over, and you see that now, haven't you also graduated from Cambridge University smoothly and put on your own doctor's hat? Sir Rutherford and Mr. Chadwick are definitely not bad people, they just didn't see the sparkle in you in the first place. ”

"Dr. Chen, thank you so much, Dr. Chen," Oppenheimer, who had drunk too much, said incoherently, "what were you doing here just now, do you still have to work after work?" ”

"No, we're just confirming the list of people who will go to Belgium for the Solvay conference this fall."

"I should be on the list, right? After all, this spring, I stayed at Cambridge because I had to write my dissertation, and I couldn't make it to Italy. ”

Oppenheimer is still very confident that Chen Muwu will add himself to the list, after all, he is Chen Muwu's first descendant after coming to Cambridge University.

"Well, Robert, I didn't actually add your name."

Seeing that Oppenheimer's face immediately changed after hearing this, Chen Muwu hurriedly continued: "I know you are in a hurry, don't be in a hurry, listen to me after I finish speaking."

"I was going to wait a few days before I talk to you about it, but since you asked today, let's just pick it out now.

"Robert, what are your plans after graduation?"

"Of course, I will stay at Cambridge University and continue to do research with Dr. Chen! Where else could I go? ”

Sensing that Oppenheimer's voice was getting louder and louder, almost overshadowing the background noise in the bar, Chen Muwu hurriedly put his erected index finger in front of his mouth and made a "shhhhhhhhhhhh

"Be quiet, Robert, I didn't mean that. But have you ever thought that it has been three years since I graduated from Cambridge University, and I am still wearing the hat of a doctorate, and I have not even been a professor for a few years.

"If you want to stay in Cambridge after graduation, I certainly don't have the right to assign you any teaching position, and you are biased towards theoretical research, and I don't think Cavendish Labs will do that.

"—believe me, it's not Sir Rutherford's discrimination against you, it's because you're not a good fit here.

"I guess after graduation, you won't even be able to live in the student dormitory at Christ's College, so at that time, do you want to stay at Cambridge University because you want to work or not, and you want to live without an address?"

Seeing Oppenheimer wanting to speak again, Chen Muwu didn't even have time to swallow and spit at the mouth, so he still rushed ahead of him and continued: "So what I mean is, otherwise you will return to the United States for a while, and while the doctoral diploma of Cambridge University is still valuable, you will not have to worry about finding a good job in the best universities in the United States, such as Chicago, Harvard, Yale, etc."

"My letters of recommendation, and those of Sir Rutherford and Sir Thomson, are not a problem.

"This should be the best solution for now, and as for the future, we will talk about it later."

The fact that Chen Muwu wanted to kick himself out of Cavendish Laboratory made Oppenheimer, who was already drunk, sober up half of his wine.

He stared carefully at the expression on Chen Muwu's face, and found that the other party didn't seem to be joking with him, and the remaining other half of the wine also woke up.

He began to hold the empty cup without saying a word, and after a while, he slowly said: "Dr. Chen, since you have not had a professorship in Cambridge University for three years, then I think it is okay to stay at this broken school." Why don't we go to the United States to teach together? With a level of academic research like yours, you can be a professor in the United States, even if you want to be the head of a physics department or even the president of a university. At that time, we were able to work together in the same school again, the United States...... The United States is actually not that bad. ”

Oppenheimer just scolded a few words about American universities, which is not okay or that, and now he hurriedly went back to make up a few words.

Going to the United States? It is impossible to go to the United States to go to the United States.

"Robert, I've said it's only temporary, and this is an optimal solution in the current situation. When I become a professor at Cambridge University, or when the school in Stockholm is finally up and running, we'll have a chance to meet again. ”

"Then, Dr. Chen, why don't you go straight to Sweden, doesn't it mean that the school is about to be completed? Or do I go to China and find a school, like Northeastern University, where the warlord is from? ”

"I think you've been in England for more than three years, and you've only been home for more than two months. While you have time for this graduation, it is better to spend a little more time at home. I remember that your home is in New York, so what do you think of Columbia University in New York? It is said that this school is full of wealthy and aristocratic children, and the academic level is also excellent, ranking among the best in the United States, no matter how you want to go. I don't know anyone in the major countries, but that doesn't stop me from writing a letter of recommendation for you. ”

Oppenheimer was extremely reluctant to leave Cambridge University and leave Chen Muwu's side.

But for Chen Muwu, he still has to leave.

On the one hand, as a top student in the Cavendish laboratory, he will return to the United States to brush up his prestige and pave the way for him to participate in the Manhattan Project in the future.

On the other hand, 1928 was 1929, and the stock market crash that triggered the Great Depression was coming.

Chen Muwu still has tens of thousands of pounds in the U.S. stock market, and now I don't know how many times it has multiplied, and there must be a trustworthy person at the helm in that turmoil.

(End of chapter)