Chapter 70
When Hao Zhonghua finished his lecture, it was his wife Yue Yang's turn.
Dressed in a plain suit, Yue Yang had a determined temperament. Her sharp eyes and clear tone reminded people of the portrait of Madam Curie in the hallway.
Her lecture was about her research on one of the most impoverished areas in Africa, Lesotho Kingdom; this country had the highest alt.i.tude in the world. This three-year research made her the recipient of one of the most valued awards in the scientific community, the Graff Award. Moreover, in this research, she brought up an effective cultivation project for cereal crop based on the local ecological environment and state of the nation and its civilians in the hope of solving the most severe famine problems. As a result, it had drawn in enormous attention from all over the world.
Similarly, n.o.body made a sound during the entire lecture. The professors were listening carefully with knitted eyebrows while the students were also paying full attention.
Yue Yang's lecture started from the local environment to the local politic climate, then from the living s.p.a.ce of the residents to the influence of ecology on the industry. Next, she mentioned how the unproductive land could be altered through science…
She gave a lively description of the three-year and five-year plans for the country as well as for its poverty and future developments. She also expressed how convinced she was that this troubled land would be revived.
"That is so great..." sitting beside Hao Ren, Xie Yujia mused.
Hao Ren was no longer s.p.a.cing out like earlier as he was listening earnestly.
The one-hour lecture soon finished, and the stormy applauses also lasted over five minutes. Yue Yang slightly bowed to the audience in the hall then walked down from the podium.
The Princ.i.p.al showed up on the podium again, making his conclusion.
At this moment, Xie Yujia took two books out of her purse. She said to Hao Ren in a worried voice, "Rush to the front with me later. I want to get their autographs!"
"What?" Hao Ren looked at her, dazed.
"Don's worry about anything, just rush to the front with me in a bit!" Xie Yujia put a book in Hao Ren's hand and said.
At the same time, the Princ.i.p.al standing on the podium said, "In order to allow everyone to meet with Academician Hao and Academician Yue, both academicians have agreed that students with their books can ask them for autographs after the lecture. However, in consideration of the big crowd here today, each student can only have one book signed. Meanwhile, I hope all the students can keep order and maintain an excellent image of the university."
Hao Zhonghua and Yue Yang left the lecture hall under the security of a group of guards. The Mayor and Deputy Mayor tightly followed them, chatting and smiling.
Swoosh, swoosh, swoosh... although the Princ.i.p.al had asked the students to keep order, nothing could slow down the pa.s.sion of the fans. All of them flooded out of the door like a free-flowing water.
Xie Yujia also dragged Hao Ren and ran
Although Xie Yujia and Hao Ren were sitting at the front of the third area, about a hundred people were lining up ahead of them when they rushed outside.
The master and doctoral students at the front were all well-prepared as everyone had a science book written by the academicians. Their seats closer to the front also allowed them to leave the hall earlier than others.
Xie Yujia waited at the back of the line, and her pretty face had turned red. She was still dragging Hao Ren's arm, and it even had five fingermarks on it. Standing beside Xie Yujia, Hao Ren felt quite helpless.
"The Cla.s.s President who is usually serious and poker-faced... I didn't know there are times that she would be this cute..." staring at her pink cheeks and s.h.i.+ning eyes that radiated, Hao Ren thought.
Hao Zhonghua and Yue Yang sat behind a long desk, smiling at every student that came up and asked for autographs.
The officials of the city didn't leave probably out of respect. Instead, they stood beside the desk and looked at the couple signing autographs with smiles on their faces.
The scene of Hao Zhonghua and Yue Yang sitting down signing autographs while the officials of the city stood beside them modestly was great for the news and their images.
Instantly, all the camera flashes got turned on, and various cameras were aimed at the officials and the academicians. They didn't only record the enthusiasm of the students but also the great respect the government officials had for the scientists.
It was an honor for the officials to come to the lecture given by both academicians in person. However, their cheerful and supportive presence during the autograph signing portion had definitely promoted Hao Zhonghua and Yue Yang's status as well.
Those two scientists were well-known worldwide, and even the officials of the city treated them with great respect. If anyone ever offended the two respectable scientists, that person would probably be in trouble.
With the world-famous scientists' contribution to East Ocean City, the development of technology as well as the high-tech and environmental protection industries in East Ocean City had soared incredibly. The fast-paced growth also dramatically improved the image of the city, which was something that could never be bought with tens of billions or even hundreds of billions of yuan!
The lineup for autographs was moving slowly. Xie Yujia stood on her tiptoes as if it drove her crazy that she wasn't able to talk to her idols while they were so close to her.
Finally, after waiting in line for half an hour, they were getting closer to the long desk. It was eventually Hao Ren and Xie Yujia's turn to get their books signed when a few doctoral students ahead finished talking to the academicians unwillingly.
Xie Yujia rushed forward with a book in her arms, but she got irritated when she saw Hao Ren moving slowly behind. She called to him, "Hao Ren! Hurry up!"
Her tone wasn't too kind since she was undoubtedly impatient because she waited for so long. Also, Hao Ren was indeed moving too slow when it was their turn to get her idols' autographs.
Hao Ren paced himself, held out the book, and went up to Xie Yujia awkwardly. With the long desk in between, Xie Yujia was facing Hao Zhonghua while Hao Ren was facing Yue Yang.
"Academician Hao, I am your loyal reader! I bought all the books you published! It is such a pity that only one book can be signed!" it wasn't easy for Xie Yujia to have the chance to be so close to her idol, and she couldn't help but speak quickly.
"Huh, huh, alright," Hao Zhonghua took over the book from Xie Yujia, opened it to the t.i.tle page, picked up his pen, and signed his name smoothly.
Meanwhile, Yue Yang looked up at Hao Ren who was silently standing on the other side of the desk. She also opened the book to the t.i.tle page and signed her name.
"Academician Yue, I am also your fan! I have read all of your books as well!" Xie Yujia said to Yue Yang contentedly after getting the autograph from Hao Zhonghua.
"Huh, really?" Yue Yang observed Xie Yujia from top to bottom as she gave an elegant smile to Xie Yujia.
Xie Yujia was staring at them in excitement but had no idea what to say. As she was wondering if it was time to leave, Hao Zhonghua asked unexpectedly, "Is this your boyfriend?"
"Ah?" Xie Yujia paused for a second. Afterward, maybe due to being too nervous, she blurted out, "Not yet!"
Hearing the answer from Xie Yujia, Hao Ren was slightly surprised, and his body s.h.i.+vered a little.
"Huh, huh," Hao Zhonghua laughed as he looked at Xie Yujia's pretty and pa.s.sionate face without saying anything.
"Excuse me, please walk forward if you have gotten the autographs," the student who was in charge of maintaining order said to Xie Yujia and Hao Ren.
Xie Yujia then realized that she couldn't continue to stay there. She smiled at Hao Zhonghua and Yue Yang brightly and dragged Hao Ren, who was still blanking out, out of the autograph-signing area.
"Give it to me!" seeing Hao Ren holding Yue Yang's book, Xie Yujia pulled the book with Yue Yang's autograph on it into her arms, worrying that Hao Ren might accidentally damage it. Then, she put it cautiously into her purse together with the book signed by Hao Zhonghua.
"You are so silly. It is such a rare chance to see great scientists like them, and yet you didn't even say a word," Xie Yujia complained to Hao Ren. Then, she looked down at her purse and smiled contentedly.
She was cheered up, and she said to Hao Ren, "Alright, but you did do a good job today for getting me a book with their autograph. I'll treat you to midnight snacks!"