Cannon Fodder Is King [Quick Transmigration]

Chapter. 19

　　"By the way," as if remembering something, Dean Fu clenched his left hand into a fist, placed it near his mouth, and coughed lightly, somewhat awkwardly saying, "About this year's graduate students enrollment quota..."

Meng Zezhi lowered his eyes slightly, calmly replying, "Didn't Dean Fu say at the beginning of the semester that there wouldn't be any enrollment quotas for me this year?"

"That's not..." Dean Fu opened his mouth and couldn't help but sigh helplessly, then stood up, picked up the nearby kettle, and refilled Meng Zezhi's cup with water, saying, "...the situation is quite special, you see!"

Meng Zezhi remained silent, smiling faintly.

"I'm sorry about this," Dean Fu didn't hesitate to shoulder all the responsibility himself.

From Dean Fu's perspective, making such a decision was understandable. Blame it on Chen Yinglong's ruthless methods. The actions of his predecessor at that time were indeed somewhat not presentable.

Dean Fu laid out the terms directly, "The batch of welfare houses newly built by the school has been almost renovated, over there on Nanmen Street. They will definitely be handed over to the teachers before the New Year. Among them, there are eighty sets of duplex apartments, each measuring two hundred and forty square meters, specifically prepared for academicians. The idea is that we can offer you one set at half the market price."

This offer was incredibly generous, equivalent to giving Meng Zezhi eight million for nothing.

Meng Zezhi raised an eyebrow slightly, saying, "Dean Fu, there seems to be more to what you're saying!"

　　Dean Fu spoke frankly, "Isn't Professor Meng's brilliance already evident? With the Goldbach Conjecture, you're bound to have a share in next year's Fields Medal. With the Fields Medal in hand, your name will definitely be on the list for the selection of academicians of the *two academies in the following year."
(Chinese academy of sciences and Chinese academy of engineering)

The Fields Medal is the most prestigious international mathematics award, often referred to as the "Nobel Prize of Mathematics," awarded every four years to 2-4 mathematicians under the age of 40 who have made outstanding contributions to the field.

And the selection of academicians of two academies happens every two years.

"What we can think of, other schools can certainly think of too. Isn't this just a precaution against them poaching talents? The school has no choice but to act preemptively."

The predecessor was selected as a Changjiang Scholar in 2014, and then signed a five-year contract as a distinguished professor with Capital University, which means the contract will expire in a year.

More importantly, for research fields like physical chemistry, no matter how many ideas one has, without cutting-edge laboratories, it's difficult to produce good research results.

But mathematics is different, especially in number theory. Purely theoretical things, as long as one has the ability, can still accomplish it even while sitting in a corner. Laboratories are irrelevant to mathematicians.

With that in mind, what might make Meng Zezhi take notice is probably just the salary and benefits.

"Ah, so it's like this," Meng Zezhi smiled, "Since we're speaking frankly, Dean Fu, rest assured, my feelings for Capital University are extraordinary. Under equal conditions, I would definitely choose Capital University first."

This statement was somewhat utilitarian. It might not align perfectly with the position of Capital University, considering the cold treatment and disdain he had faced over the past four months... but being a bit more utilitarian at least wouldn't hurt financially!