Chapter 1504: The Father of Optical Fibre Joins

Unknowingly.

Xia Yu and the others had already passed through the main building of the School of Computer Science and entered the interior of a three-storey building behind it.

What came into view were tall machines that were neatly arranged in rows and gleamed with a metallic luster.

There was no doubt that this was the computer room where the root servers were located.

And inside this computer room, there were some staff members walking around.

Two of them seemed to have been waiting for a long time. They hurried over to Xia Yu and the others as soon as they saw them.

One of them looked familiar to Xia Yu. Seeing this, Huo Jianning, who was standing next to him, whispered a few words in his ear, and Xia Yu suddenly understood.

It turned out that the person in charge was Luo Jian, the general manager of Hong Kong Telephone Company, who had taken office at the end of last year.

Hong Kong Telephone Company is a subsidiary of Jiuding Industrial Group. Xia Yu is only the titular chairman of Jiuding Industrial Group, and the group is mainly run by Wei Li.

What's more, Luo Jian was only appointed at the end of last year, and Xia Yu had only met him once or twice.

Xia Yu of course understood Luo Jian's motives for being here, but that was only natural, and he understood.

What's more, the construction of the root server was indeed assisted by Hong Kong Telephone Company.

While thinking,

Luo Jian walked over with the man, and respectfully greeted Xia Yu, 'Hello, Chairman.'

The man who followed, a gentle-looking man in his early fifties, also greeted Xia Yu, 'Hello, Chairman.'

'Who is this?'

Facing Xia Yu's question, Luo Jian hurriedly introduced, 'Chairman, this is the company's consultant Gao Kun, who mainly provides guidance on the relevant communication technology when building the root server.'

Xia Yu smiled and nodded, but the next second, he suddenly thought of something, and with a slightly narrowed gaze, he looked at Gao Kun for a while before suddenly asking, 'Consultant Gao, you proposed the use of optical fibres in communications, didn't you?'

'Yes!' Gao Kun replied in a relatively reserved manner, with a polite smile at the corner of his mouth and a very calm expression.

'I didn't think it was really you. Your discovery is definitely the result of changing the world. I didn't think my company could hire you as a consultant,' Xia Yu said with some emotion.

This bigwig has the reputation of being the 'Father of Optical Fibre', the 'Father of Optical Fibre Communication' and the 'Godfather of Broadband'. In his previous life, in 2009, he won the Nobel Prize in Physics for his research results published in 1966.

When Xia Yu was building Jiuding University, he was once asked to come and work at Jiuding University, but it didn't work out for various reasons, and Xia Yu forgot about it after a while when his schedule became busy.

When he met Gao Kun at this time, memories of the past suddenly came flooding back.

'You are too kind. It so happened that I returned to Xiangjiang at the end of last year, and Manager Luo and President Chen kindly invited me, so I shamelessly accepted the position of advisor. It is an honour to be able to contribute to the communications industry in Xiangjiang,' Gao Kun said with a slight smile, still speaking in a reserved manner.

'Advisor Gao, I don't know if you still remember, five or six years ago I asked someone to invite you to take up a position at Jiuding University, but unfortunately it didn't work out. Now that I've seen you, you must support the cause of Chinese education. The position of vice president at Jiuding University is waiting for you, and we will give you the best research environment.'

Xia Yu directly issued a sincere invitation to him. Not only was Gao Kun taken aback, but even Wang Gengwu and the others were momentarily stunned.

However, the others quickly came back to their senses.

Wang Gengwu hurriedly applauded and persuaded, 'Professor Gao Kun, you are the top scientist among us Chinese. I can understand if you didn't accept my previous invitation, but this time Chairman Xia has personally invited you, and the sincerity is there. I look forward to working with you to make Jiuding University a world-renowned institution together.'

Chen Shiqing also laughed heartily and said to Gao Kun with great anticipation, 'Professor Gao, it seems that I am not the only one who hopes that you will join us. Anyway, your previous research has come to an end, and the SEL Research Center in West Germany is still xenophobic after all. You have also seen for yourself the research conditions at Jiuding University. Now that Chairman Xia has personally invited you, I believe that no one will be able to impose restrictions on your research. What are you hesitating about? Join us! I have long looked forward to working with you!'

Luo Jian also hurriedly persuaded, 'Yes, Consultant Luo...'

The persuasion of everyone made Gao Kun, who had always remained calm, break his defences.

However, he had indeed wanted to change his environment when he left Germany and came to Hong Kong this time, and he had received quite a few invitations so far.

But there was no doubt that none of the previous offers were as weighty as the current one.

Wang Gengwu and Chen Shiqing had also invited him before, so he had also paid special attention to Jiuding University. It was indeed very attractive to him, and the only drawback in his opinion was that there were still not enough talents in the same field.

But now Xia Yu had personally invited him in person, and he could feel Xia Yu's enthusiasm and passion for the cause of education in Xiangjiang.

Therefore,

Gao Kun took a deep breath, his gaze became determined, he looked around at the crowd, and said gratefully, 'Thank you all for your regard and recognition of me, it makes me feel deeply uneasy. I am willing to contribute my strength to the cause of education and scientific research for the Chinese people, and I hope you will take good care of me in the future.'

'Haha, today is a double celebration!'

'President Gao Kun, welcome to the team!'

Xia Yu laughed heartily, said, and held out his hand to shake hands with Gao Kun.

'Clap, clap...'

The others applauded immediately upon seeing this, which made Gao Kun unable to hold back his tears.

'Thank you all for your consideration, thank you...'

Gao Kun kept saying thank you, and also bowed deeply to the crowd.

'President Wang, President Gao's induction will have to trouble you personally later, and if there are any difficulties, you can talk to me at any time,'

Xia Yu then told Wang Gengwu on the spot.

The latter naturally agreed: 'Chairman, please rest assured, I will definitely make Principal Gao feel at home.'

The group laughed and joked again, and the atmosphere of the visit became even more intense.

The next introduction was given by Chen Shiqing and Gao Kun together.

Although root servers are very important, they are ultimately still servers. Having experienced the era of the information explosion, Xia Yu quickly returned to his usual state of mind after the initial sense of wonder.

After touring the root server for ten minutes, Xia Yu finally emphasised and reminded everyone before leading them away.

On the way back,

Xia Yu instructed Huo Jianning, who was sitting next to him, 'Jianning, just now President Gao Kun mentioned that although there is currently a fibre-optic communication system in Xiangjiang, there is no problem with technological iteration and upgrading. He also mentioned research on auxiliary subsystems to enhance fibre-optic communication signals, as well as the idea of connecting Xiangjiang to the global internet via satellite cables and radiating it throughout East and Southeast Asia.'

'Computers and the Internet represent the future. After you get back, have someone change the name of Hongjiang Telephone Company to Hongjiang Telecom Company. This company needs to increase investment in the construction of telecommunications and network infrastructure. Hongjiang needs to create a model first.'

'Only if the results are presentable will it be easy and quick to promote. We need to control most of this cake.'

'As for President Chen Shiqing, I have already instructed him to increase research and development efforts on the supercomputer. If he has any progress or difficulties, you should report directly to me.'

Fok Kin-ning nodded and quickly took notes...