1900: A physics genius wandering around Europe

Chapter 211 New Solvay Conference

London, Kensington.

This is the most famous wealthy area in the UK, with exquisite and elegant Victorian buildings standing side by side.

Located at the core of the area is Kensington Palace, which has been the residence of the British royal family since the 17th century, with Hyde Park behind it.

Garden Street, which connects to Kensington Palace, has become the most expensive street in the UK because of its superior geographical location and royal status.

The people who live here are all upper class people from Britain and even the world.

In later generations, bigwigs such as the Saudi royal family, the Sultan of Brunei, the Indian steel tycoon, and the richest man in China all had mansions on this street.

Although it is 1909 now, this place is far from being as prosperous as it is in later generations where every inch of land is valuable.

But it is still one of the centers of London at this moment.

16 Garden Street is where Ridgway lives in London.

He rented the house in the name of Pioneer Investment Group and used it exclusively for his own use.

Since he was hired as the head of the Department of Physics at King's College London, he and Li San moved from Cambridge to London and eventually chose to rent here.

At this time, there were not so many mansions on both sides of Garden Street, only ordinary British houses.

It's just that there is lush vegetation here and it's close to Hyde Park. In a smoggy city like London, it's a rare piece of pure land.

Even the air has a hint of sweetness, rather than a pungent chemical smell.

Therefore, this place has become a popular location for rich people.

Li Qiwei personally doesn't like hoarding properties, and he is even a homebody.

If he wanted to get rich through houses, he could become the richest man in the world just sitting at home.

However, that was not what he was after.

Playing with houses is not as cool as playing with rockets.

In the future, he can say to the girl, "Come on, go to my room and I'll show you my big rocket."

However, at this moment, the person who came to his room was not the girl, but Sheng Jingran.

Sheng Jingran came to the UK in 1902, and it has been 7 years now.

During these seven years, he worked frantically and conscientiously, and made great contributions to Li Qiwei's business empire.

It is no exaggeration to say that he is the greatest contributor.

After all, he left his hometown and fought alone in Europe, unlike Hu Xizhong who had the advantage of location and people, making it easier for him to get things done in China.

Sheng Jingran, 37 years old this year, is dressed in a suit and looks energetic. There is no trace of the sense of restraint he felt when he came to the UK.

But he still treated Li Qiwei with respect.

Because in the past seven years, it was the chairman's remote control in the country that enabled Pioneer Investment Group to successfully complete several super investments.

The return even reached a hundred times and was regarded as a legend by all employees of the company.

"Chairman, as of now, Pioneer Investment Group has 102 employees, and its business covers European countries and America."

"The total assets of the group have exceeded 300 million pounds, and the liquidity is

Li Qiwei listened quietly to Sheng Jingran's report on the company's situation, but he was thinking about more.

Although 300 million pounds is not considered the top wealth in this era.

If we only consider the industrial and commercial groups, the richest man in the UK at that time had personal assets of 600 million pounds.

Not to mention, Rockefeller, the world's richest man today, has assets measured in billions of pounds.

Compared with these giants, Vanguard Group, with total assets of 300 million pounds, can only be regarded as a small and medium-sized company.

But no matter what, at least within the UK, a company with assets of 300 million pounds must be registered with the British government.

Li Qiwei knew very well that the British government had already figured out the inside story of the Vanguard Group.

After all, it is hard for a company run by Chinese people to achieve such a scale without attracting attention.

Li Qiwei was very relieved. He was not worried that the British would covet his property and confiscate it directly.

First, our company’s investments and operations are legal and there is no illegal activity.

Second, the UK will certainly be able to find out that all of Pioneer Group’s money flowed to the Science City in Borneo.

This was actually something that the British welcomed because it was originally their colony.

The British were very happy that Ridgway was willing to spend money there to build colonial infrastructure for their British Empire.

Therefore, those in power will certainly not restrict the transfer of wealth.

Third, Li Qiwei at this time was no longer an unknown person, but a world-renowned scientist.

Even if the British government does not need to care about such elites, it cannot break the rules too blatantly.

Otherwise, who from other countries would dare to come to the UK to do business in the future?

Therefore, Li Qiwei set the tone for Pioneer Investment Group to develop faster and more high-profile.

Faster, of course, depends on his little notes, the companies and businesses written on them are definitely super potential stocks.

It's more high-profile. Li Qiwei already has a plan in mind.

"Manager Sheng, you have done an outstanding job. I will give you an award on behalf of the company."

Then, he changed the subject and said with a smile: "Okay, we have finished talking about the company's business, and now let's talk about personal matters."

"Brother Sheng, if I don't force you to take a vacation, you won't be willing to leave."

"My sister-in-law has complained to me several times in China, asking when you can go back."

That’s right, after Li Qiwei settled down in London, he found Sheng Jingran and asked him to hand over his work as soon as possible, return to China to have a good rest, and reunite with his family.

He gave the other party a long vacation of nearly a year.

Now that Pioneer Group is on the right track, Sheng Jingran doesn't have to work so hard.

Sheng Jingran smiled and said, "Ah, old ladies are always troublesome."

"I write to my family every month, and it's still not enough."

Although he said that, Sheng Jingran could not hide the smile on his face, and his muscles trembled with excitement.

After being away from home for 7 years, even the toughest man will miss home.

"By the way, Chairman, this is the company's deputy general manager, Zhang Maodong." "After I leave, he will temporarily take over from me. You can contact him if you have any instructions."

As he spoke, a young man who looked to be in his late twenties stood up and said respectfully, "Hello, Chairman. I'm Zhang Maodong."

Li Qiwei nodded. He had some impression.

When he returned to China, he followed Sheng Jingran's request and asked his family to send several people over there over the next few years.

It seems that Zhang Maodong is the best among them. He has won the trust of Sheng Jingran at such a young age.

It is said that the other party has a distant relationship with the domestic industrialist Zhang Jian. No wonder he is so talented at such a young age.

"Okay, then you two can have dinner together at my place."

"After you finish eating, Brother Sheng, please return home as soon as possible."

"Maodong, please stay. I need you to do something."

Soon, the four of them ate a lot and then got down to business.

Li Qiwei wanted to cry while eating the food made by Li San. He missed Xiang Lan so much.

It seems like it’s time to find a nanny, otherwise two rough guys will live an inhuman life.

In the study, Zhang Maodong sat opposite Li Qiwei, appearing calm on the surface but excited inside.

Meeting this legendary chairman made him feel like meeting his idol.

Any achievement of the other party exceeds the imagination of ordinary people.

And now, it is a great honor for me to be able to talk to each other face to face.

Li Qiwei said, "Maodong, I will organize an academic conference in the name of Pioneer Investment Group."

"All expenses for the conference, including venue, personnel, accommodation and meals, will be borne by the company."

"Remember, the company needs to promote this meeting as loudly as possible."

Zhang Maodong picked up a pen and paper and started taking notes.

The general manager told him privately that if the chairman directly gave instructions for a task instead of discussing it, then he should just do it and not ask any more questions.

Fulfilling the duties of the chairman without compromise is the only way to rise.

Li Qiwei looked at himself and said one sentence, and Zhang Maodong remembered one sentence. Suddenly, he had a sense of déjà vu and thought to himself, I'm not fat.

He put aside the random thoughts in his mind and began to explain his plan to Zhang Maodong in detail.

It turned out that Li Qiwei was preparing to hold a meeting in the physics community.

In just nine years since Lord Kelvin's Two Clouds Speech, countless new theories and results have emerged in the field of physics.

This brilliant development is dazzling and overwhelming.

Even many practitioners in the field of physics were confused by the sudden explosion of knowledge.

Now we need someone to sort out physics.

Summarize the past, review the present, and look forward to the future.

What problems have not been solved yet, what are the shortcomings of the new theory, what is the future development direction, etc.

In real history, this was the original intention of the first Solvay Conference held in 1911.

At that time, big names such as Einstein, Lorentz, and Madame Curie all attended the meeting.

Madame Curie's scandal also broke out at that conference.

And in this life, because of Li Qiwei, the development of physics is more rapid than in history.

So, this meeting is imminent.

Ridgway discussed this matter privately with Thomson and Planck.

The two teachers supported his idea and felt that it was a great integration of the physics community.

Even many times more important than Lord Kelvin's summary.

Because today's physics can be described as a hurricane.

Many old professors, after traveling around the world, found that they could no longer understand the latest papers.

There is no self-media in this era where you can get all the information instantly.

Therefore, professionals are needed to summarize and analyze.

Moreover, both of them supported letting Li Qiwei give the speech, as his qualifications were enough to overwhelm everyone.

So, Li Qiwei began to prepare this plan.

Since it was initiated by him, we can't ask Solvay for help anymore, otherwise that old guy would get a free advantage.

Anyway, I am a millionaire now, so I can still afford to hold a meeting.

So Li Qiwei simply let Vanguard Group take charge of this meeting as a high-profile start to its launch.

It allows you to advertise your company while controlling all the details to ensure the meeting goes smoothly, killing two birds with one stone.

Li Qiwei sighed in his heart that the famous Solvay Conference would disappear in the future.

However, it's just a name change.

Li Qiwei believed that he could make the conference more world-famous, unprecedented and unparalleled.

The more Zhang Maodong remembered, the more shocked he became. The standard of this meeting was too high.

According to the chairman's idea, those invited to this meeting must be at least well-known physicists, and ordinary professors are not qualified to attend.

After all, the meeting is to discuss major issues in physics, and only physics experts can attend.

As a veteran who specializes in investing in high-tech companies, Zhang Maodong naturally has some understanding of the scientific community.

He knew the importance of this meeting.

Therefore, he decided to set up a team within the company to be responsible for this matter, and make sure it was done in a grand and beautiful manner.

Let the chairman see your abilities.

And Li Qiwei has already begun to imagine what kind of shock this conference will bring to the physics community.

(End of this chapter)