I was reborn and stayed in school to lie down. I really don’t want to roll anymore!

It was four o'clock in the middle of the night, and Jiang Hao was now full of energy again.

Given the potency of Academician Zhang's cigarette, he might not be able to fall asleep after he finishes eating.

“Boom! Boom!”

After two quick knocks on the door, the hotel staff brought up the midnight snack.

Boiled chicken, braised meat with bamboo shoots, braised prawns, and even pickled fish.

It's obvious that the food is freshly made. I guess the hotel's chef team has been on duty these two days!

In addition, there are also grilled skewers, oysters, etc. that are obviously packed from outside.

"The food in this Magic City is pretty good! It's not much different from the food in Songjiang City!"

Academician Zhang held a bowl of rice with fresh vegetables in one hand and ate some dried bamboo shoots and pickles in the other.

Not many people started eating the several main dishes served late at night. Instead, more people ate fried rice, steamed buns, and century egg and lean meat porridge.

Now that they had food, the professors who were playing mahjong at another table stopped and started eating their midnight snack while the food was still hot.

"Old Zou, how is the national project you worked on last year going? Has it been completed?"

Professor Xu drank two sips of century egg and lean meat porridge, and his face did not show any fatigue at all.

Taking advantage of my free time, I chatted with Professor Zou about the project.

"The project is finished. We were busy for the whole year last year and finally achieved the expected results."

"Hey~! What's wrong with you two? Didn't you agree not to talk about work? Why are you talking about it again in the middle of the night?"

Academician Zhang took over the topic from the two and refused.

It seems that they already had a tacit understanding when they were communicating with each other privately.

"Just chat if you want to! Are you only allowed to talk about your winning mahjong?"

Academician Yang, who is a little plump, had been relatively silent at the card table just now.

But at this moment, he naturally refuted Academician Zhang.

I guess after losing a whole night of cards, he finally wanted to go against Academician Zhang.

"I can win because of my ability! Have you forgotten the look on your face the last time you won?"

"I've never seen you talk so much in my life!"

To be honest, Jiang Hao was observing the dozen or so people in the room at this moment.

He was already the youngest one, and the other two young ones looked to be in their early thirties.

The others are either academicians or reserve talents such as Changjiang Scholars and Young Elite Scientists!

However, Jiang Hao felt that several of the big names were somewhat socially anxious.

Academician Zhang is already the most extrovert among this group of people.

"Xiao Zou, do you have any projects on hand for the time being?"

Academician Yang did not respond to Academician Zhang's words at this time, and continued to discuss with Professor Zou.

"Mr. Yang, I still have some projects for now, but I don't have any major national key projects."

"Are you still working on microwaves and digital signals?"

"For the time being, I plan to continue in this direction. Or do you have any suggestions, Mr. Yang?"

"It's not really a suggestion, but I think your research direction has some promise."

Academician Yang paused here and turned to look at Academician Zhang standing beside him.

"Xiao Zou is 40 years old this year. I wonder if we can put some pressure on him?"

When Academician Zhang heard this, he couldn't help but look at Professor Zou.

His hand holding the food never stopped, and he continued to put it into his mouth with a spoon.

"You're right. At Xiao Zou's age, he should be working on a big project."

“When the results come out in a few years, it will be just in time for the Yangtze River selection.”

When Academician Zhang said this, the atmosphere in their area became somewhat tense.

Several people looked at him, waiting for him to continue.

"That's not right! What are you looking at me for? You were the one who suggested it, why don't you help me find the project?"

"I don't have that ability. The boss asked you to help review and release this year's plan. How would I know what new projects there are?"

Listening to Academician Yang's words, Academician Zhang finished the last bite of rice in his bowl and then put down the small bowl.

His eyes narrowed slightly at this moment, and his expression looked a little serious.

"You mean to let Xiao Zou start participating in the "863" project?"

"Isn't this a bit early? There are many people eyeing these projects!"

"They are all much more experienced than Xiao Zou. Should we give it a try in a few more years?"

As soon as Academician Zhang finished speaking, he was refuted by Academician Yang.

"We have to do it even if it's difficult! It can't be another Natural Science Foundation project, right?"

Jiang Hao listened to the two academicians' discussion about Professor Zou, and felt excited for Professor Zou.

Before he started his PhD, he really couldn't tell the difference.

However, although he is still a novice in scientific research, he is still clear about the importance of basic scientific research projects.

The so-called natural fund is the National Natural Science Foundation project, which is also a national-level project.

However, the application difficulty is relatively not that great, especially for the Young Outstanding Scientists Award, which is relatively easy to get.

But the importance of the two major planning projects, "863" and "973", immediately increased.

Once he is able to host one of the projects in the plan, a new title will be added to Professor Zou’s introduction.

He is the chief expert of "863" and once this major project really produces results, he will be the finalist.

From now on, any projects Professor Zou gets will be of high weight.

Being able to continue to participate in such major national projects is a sure step towards becoming an academician.

At this moment, after hearing what the two said, the other people around couldn't help but look over here, but no one said much.

It can be seen that the people Professor Zou is closest to are Academician Zhang and Academician Yang, or in other words, the one he follows most closely is Academician Zhang.

Although everyone's eyes were on Professor Zou, he remained quite calm.

He also kept putting the meat buns in his hand into his mouth. It can be seen that Professor Zou prefers this kind of pastry.

"Just give it a try, but Xiao Zou, let me tell you first!"

"The few research topics you still have a chance to apply for may not necessarily match your research direction."

After all, it is a project of the National High-tech Research and Development Program and it cannot be tailor-made for a certain individual.

Academician Zhang also gave Professor Zou a warning at this time, telling him that if he got a project that was not quite suitable, he must ensure that it was completed.

"Mr. Zhang, I am satisfied with just having a project. As for the specific direction, I am still young and I just need to study more!"

"Okay! Then I'll help you pick a project."

"But for a project like this, I'm afraid the people in your team may not be enough."

"You should also accept more doctoral students, otherwise you will be busy with such a big project."

Seeing Academician Zhang agree immediately, Professor Zou couldn't help but get excited even though he had been calm just now.

Even though nothing could be seen on his face, the hand holding the bun was already trembling slightly.

The final formulation and release of the so-called major domestic projects are actually in the hands of the two academies.

Ultimately, it is still in the hands of academicians in these leading disciplines.

Naturally, it is obvious who will be successful in applying for these projects.

They are either students of the academicians or professors favored by the academicians. This is how academic cliques come about.

You can establish a relationship with an academician, or become a student of an academician.

Your chance of becoming an academician is much greater than that of other ordinary professors.

As for the actual work of an important project like this, it is naturally done by the team.

The reason why Professor Zou leads a large group at Songgong University is that he has the prestige to apply for these big projects.

As for the subsequent work, he just took the lead, splitting the work into several large blocks and then distributing them.

My own doctoral students, as well as others such as Professor Duan, share the work.

Academician Zhang is also reminding Professor Zou that Professor Zou has always had relatively few doctoral students.

The threshold for recruiting people is very high and they won’t recruit easily.

But now, if we can apply for this kind of "863" project, it will be enough to support the graduation of countless doctoral students.

The workload is naturally huge, and Professor Zou now has no choice but to recruit some talented students to help.

It is estimated that much of the institute's doctoral enrollment plan this year will be tilted towards him.