Chapter 142: Talent Is Paramount

What is the most important thing in the 21st century? Without a doubt, it is talent. Then, what was important in the 20th century? Without a doubt, it was still talent. Now that Liu Jun had firmly decided to join Base 0011, he had to start thinking from the perspective of the base.

Having just heard Yang Hui vaguely reveal that the base’s aerodynamics team would soon be placed under his charge, Liu Jun worked even harder. Over the past half-month, he had gained a rough understanding of the technical proficiency of the aerodynamics personnel at the base, and now his thoughts were naturally aligned with Yang Hui’s.

"Team Leader Yang, why don't you tell me your plan? How do you intend to persuade my classmates to join the base? Do you need my assistance?"

The development of the base and the takeoff of the aviation industry required young people with a sense of responsibility like Liu Jun. Even before officially setting foot in the base, he had already begun plotting to recruit his own classmates for the sake of its future—where else could one find such a person?

Quite delighted, Yang Hui knew he had struck gold. "That won't be a problem. I have already thought of the general approach. When the time comes, you can do some lobbying among your classmates; that way, I can achieve twice the result with half the effort."

Learning that Yang Hui already had a plan, Liu Jun didn't say much more. He himself had been swayed by Yang Hui's silver tongue, so he decided to simply follow Yang Hui's lead.

"No problem, Team Leader Yang, you can count on me. I still hold some sway among my classmates, so lobbying them won't be an issue. Roughly when do you plan to start the operation, so I can be prepared?"

When to start? Yang Hui already had a plan. As soon as the time was right, he would begin the recruitment.

"The specific timing is after the wing aerodynamic tests are completed. Once these complex test projects are finished, I will start the operation. Before that, we shouldn't talk about it; job assignment is a major life event. If we mention it too early, it will cause instability, which will inevitably affect the tests. That absolutely cannot happen."

Product quality is of paramount importance. In wind tunnel testing, the product consists of these aerodynamic data points. Issues with the data are quality issues, which directly affect subsequent airframe design; there is no room for negligence.

Feeling Yang Hui's emphasis on quality, Liu Jun felt a sense of camaraderie. Liu Jun was also someone who could not tolerate even the slightest flaw.

"Right, that should be noted. However, I can start the preliminary promotion and lobbying. As long as I don't say that I have already decided to join Base 0011, it should still have a positive effect in the early stages."

The two discussed the plan for maximizing recruitment. Nearby, the tests had already begun, and both Yang Hui and Liu Jun returned to their respective tasks, each harboring their own thoughts.

Wing aerodynamic testing is a troublesome process. With the help of dozens of people, the arrangements for the wing tests were finally finalized. A week later, four designs were eliminated in the first round of low-speed aerodynamic design, leaving six.

These six designs would be continuously winnowed down in subsequent transonic and supersonic wind tunnel tests until the most excellent one remained.

The low-speed wind tunnel tests were nearing completion. The remaining high-angle-of-attack unsteady tests, spin tests, and free-flight model tests were fairly simple, as the new aircraft was a modification based on the J-7, requiring only a few dozen hours of wind tunnel time in total.

Seeing the pile of test data, Liu Jun collected it all to prepare for the subsequent data processing. Passing by Yang Hui, he saw that no one was paying attention and whispered, "Everything is set. Everyone generally has a good impression of the base. It's up to you now."

Without waiting for Yang Hui's reply, Liu Jun walked ahead. Yang Hui immediately felt confident. Seeing that all the graduate students participating in the aerodynamic tests were present, he knew there was no time like the present.

"Alright, the low-speed wind tunnel test project is nearing its end. In this short month, we have come to know and understand each other, and now it is time to say goodbye. Personally, I am quite reluctant. Before I leave, I will say one more thing: the gates of Base 0011 are wide open for all of you."

...

After Yang Hui finished speaking, the crowd began to murmur. Recruiting directly at schools was extremely rare, and everyone knew that no matter how good things sounded, it was hard to overcome the official assignment system. Thus, although some were tempted by Yang Hui's words, they lost interest when thinking about the hurdle of job placement.

Only Professor Zhu felt relieved. Ever since Yang Hui mentioned his intention to go after these students, Professor Zhu had been worried that Yang Hui would use high-handed tactics to interfere with the assignments. Seeing Yang Hui's straightforward and ordinary approach now, he felt at ease.

If he could win people over just like this, Professor Zhu would accept it. He had seen such attempts at schools before, and most didn't yield significant results, usually netting only two or three recruits at most.

Such a small loss of personnel wouldn't cause a significant drain and could still be explained to the leaders of the Aviation Ministry who had already reached out to him. That leader seemed to be from the Shenyang Institute, so these people would ultimately be assigned there anyway.

Since the loss of students wouldn't be significant, Professor Zhu decided to help cheer him on. After all, there wouldn't be any major results anyway, and cheering a couple of times might even earn him some goodwill.

"That's right, Base 0011 is quite suitable for you young people. They are short-handed, and you will be valued and have many opportunities there. It is up to you to volunteer."

Seeing Professor Zhu step up to support Yang Hui was a surprise. Yang Hui was astonished, but he also resolved that no matter how many people were willing to go, he would find a way to accommodate them. At worst, he would shamelessly go and trouble Director Yang again; Yang Hui believed he could manage that.

"Exactly. Our base is short-handed, and young people have many opportunities. To be honest, I have been working for less than a year, but because my technical skills are good, the base values me highly, which is why they entrusted me with the position of aerodynamics team lead."

This caused a stir in the crowd. At first, Yang Hui hadn't mentioned himself, so people hadn't paid him much attention. Now that he had, the comparison made some people waver.

Pushing through the people standing in front, someone stepped forward to ask, "I see your point, and I am willing to go; I think highly of Base 0011's capabilities. But I don't know how you will handle the job assignment after we graduate? If that isn't handled well, then no matter how much we want to come to Base 0011, it won't work."

Yang Hui was observant and recognized the person who stepped forward. He was a decent person—steady in every way, without any standout qualities but also without any glaring weaknesses. Overall, he was a qualified researcher and worth recruiting.

The others were focused on Yang Hui's answer. Although few were willing to go to 0011 yet, the question of how to independently arrange graduate assignments concerned everyone's personal interests.

Liu Jun was also curious about how he planned to arrange their move to 0011. Yang Hui had only said it was simple and changed the subject, so Liu Jun hadn't asked further.

Feeling it necessary to listen, Liu Jun set down his materials and said, "That is indeed a big problem. If that can be solved, I am willing to join Base 0011."

Liu Jun’s statement made him the first to publicly commit to joining Base 0011, surprising everyone. Liu Jun was the most talented graduate student in this cohort; his joining 0011 was a major development. Thinking back to how Liu Jun had praised the base over the past few days, it was no longer a mystery.

Several of Liu Jun's close friends began to carefully consider his choice. Could they go together? After all, with more people and friends, things would be easier to handle, and they wouldn't be at a disadvantage.

Seeing that everyone was concerned about this, Yang Hui explained his method. There was no need for secrecy, as this was how everyone with connections did it.

"If you are willing to join Base 0011, we can go directly to the Science and Technology Commission. They can contact the university and arrange for you to work at our base. You won't have to deal with the assignments for those who don't want to come to 0011. A forced melon is not sweet; we hope to find those who truly want to come to our base."

The disappointment was palpable; they had hoped for a loophole, but this was a matter of pulling strings at the top, which students couldn't do. Most shook their heads and fell silent.

However, a few were still willing to go, including the person who had asked the question, as well as Liu Jun and two others.

"Fine, I'll go."

"I'm from the South, I'll go too."

"I asked the question, and since there's a way to solve the problem, I'm going, naturally."

Although the number was smaller than Liu Jun expected, he remembered Yang Hui's words about forced melons not being sweet. Four people were actually quite good.

"That's acceptable. Among our twenty-plus people, having several willing to advance together is good. I believe that in the Great Southwest, we will have opportunities to showcase our talents and ambitions."

Professor Zhu saw that Yang Hui had managed to recruit four people—double what he had expected, but it was still a small fraction of the twenty-plus students. It was acceptable.

However, the reality was not what Professor Zhu, Liu Jun, or most others thought. Yang Hui’s real trump card was yet to come; this was just the warm-up.

"I am very happy that four comrades are willing to join the Base 0011 family. Now, I have an announcement to make. I believe that after hearing this, those who are still hesitating will be able to make a decision."

There was more? Professor Zhu immediately sensed that things were going south. It seemed that the departure of this batch of students would spark a battle between the Northeast and Southwest institutes.

Though worried, he remembered his promise not to interfere with Yang Hui's recruitment, so he couldn't say much. As a professor of integrity, he had to keep his word. Besides, he heard that Base 0011 had people at the top too; it would be a clash between the Science and Technology Commission and the aerospace system—none of his business.

Watching the curiosity and surprise on everyone's faces, Yang Hui couldn't wait.

"The news is that after this low-speed wind tunnel test project is completed, we will continue to select people from among you to participate in the subsequent aerodynamic design, until the entire design process is finished. However, the prerequisite is that these people must be willing to work at Base 0011. During this period, we will provide these individuals with the same treatment as base design staff, including salary, allowances, and various benefits."

This caused a sensation. They had studied for so many years just to showcase their talent. After participating in some of the low-speed wind tunnel tests, they hadn't had their fill. Now, there was an opportunity to continue participating in the design, even until the completion of the entire process—this was the dream of every graduate student present.

Professor Zhu sighed helplessly as he watched the excited students. He couldn't stop them; he knew best what these students needed technically. As a teacher, he could not block such an opportunity.

The reason for all this was also Professor Zhu's situation. According to the plan, he was supposed to lead the students to complete the entire aerodynamic testing and design with Yang Hui, but he had been assigned to a long-term academic exchange abroad, making it impossible to continue the full follow-through.

With a long sigh, Professor Zhu finally gave in to Yang Hui’s plan: "So be it. If you are willing to go, I won't stop you. If you go, work hard and don't disgrace me."

Professor Zhu’s words were a tacit approval of Yang Hui’s actions, and they also signaled that after he left for his exchange, the battle for talent between the Shenyang Institute and Base 0011 had officially begun.