Both people from the city and the provincial council were here, and the reporters from the TV station were ready. However, in the end, they waited futilely at the semiconductor industrial base entrance.
But there was nothing they could do.
After all, they didn’t make an appointment, nor did they have Academician Lu’s phone number. It wasn’t like they could chase him on the highway and bring him back?
That wouldn’t end well.
Lu Zhou was already on the highway, back to his hometown, Jiangling.
When his car approached the Jiangling highway exit, he was shocked when he looked at the toll station.
Several large searchlights were placed on top of the toll booths, shining white laser beams into the sky. It was something out of a concert or sporting event.
Lu Zhou wasn’t the only one who was shocked; Wang Peng was also surprised.
“Why are there signal lights at the toll station?”
Fortunately, the lights were aimed toward the sky instead of the highway.
Otherwise, a few car crashes were bound to happen.
“…”
Lu Zhou looked at the toll station for a while before finally realizing that the lights weren’t aimed toward the sky. Instead, they were illuminating a banner above the toll station.
He looked closely and was astonished.
His name was on the banner.
“Should we go through another entrance?” Lu Zhou said; he was a little embarrassed.
Wang Peng awkwardly coughed.
“We’re already here, how else are we supposed to get in?”
Even though Lu Zhou was reluctant, this was his only option.
Wang Peng drove that black sedan toward the highway exit. A group of people in suits stood next to the toll booths in the cold.
The moment they saw the black sedan, Sun Xiaofeng all sighed in relief.
Sun Xiaofeng looked at the mayor and quickly said, “Mayor! That one!”
The people around him sighed in relief as well.
They had been waiting here since noon, and it was already nighttime. Fortunately, they didn’t have to wait overnight.
The group of people began to whisper quietly.
“Is that Academician Lu’s car?”
A veteran government official who was about to retire spoke with an envious look in his eyes, “Black sedan with a red flag… Not bad, Beijing probably gave him the car.”
“Have you watched the news?”
“No sh*t, which politician doesn’t?”
“Then you probably don’t pay enough attention.”
“Why do you say that?”
“Just look at the car model.”
The group of people quietly exclaimed.
Another young official couldn’t help but ask, “I heard he has a one of a kind sports car? How come he didn’t drive that?”
Another person began to explain.
“Driving a sports car is too much publicity. This sedan was given to him by the state, and it’s much more lowkey. It’s also more spacious, more suitable for long drives. Seems like Academician Lu isn’t sloppy, and he’s quite a careful person.”
Mayor Wu happened to overhear the conversation, and he said, “What do you mean sloppy, of course he’s not sloppy!”
“Yes, sir, my bad…”
The person lowered his head and shut his mouth.
The black sedan drove over and passed the toll booth. It then drove toward the parking space near the toll booth.
Wu Dingrong walked over with his team behind him as he enthusiastically reached out his hand.
“Academician Lu, it must have been a long journey!”
“No, no, it was fine.” Lu Zhou got out of the car and looked at Mayor Wu. He shook the mayor’s hand and said, “I’m just coming home for the holidays, no need for all the formalities…”
“This is our duty.” Wu Dingrong shook Lu Zhou’s hand and said, “There are only 17 academicians in Jiangling, and you’re the youngest and most accomplished of them. You’re the pride of Jiangling, the pride of the country. We’re just showing our appreciation to our hometown friend.”
The mayor had quite the speech prepared.
Even though Lu Zhou was a little embarrassed, he still appreciated the kind words.
However, he was still a little remorseful.
Not only did this welcoming ceremony waste his time, but it also wasted a bunch of other people’s time.
After Lu Zhou let go of Mayor Wu’s hand, he spoke in a serious manner.
“Mr. Mayor, please don’t do this in the future. We’re all Jiangling people here, so no need to waste the taxpayers’ money on me. It’s making me feel bad for coming back.”
After some small talk, Lu Zhou euphemistically declined the mayor’s offering for sending him home. Lu Zhou was finally able to get rid of the city council people and returned to his black sedan.
Lu Zhou sat in the backseat and sighed.
“Finally got rid of them.”
Wang Peng started the car and said, “The low-level leadership team is quite enthusiastic.”
Lu Zhou smiled and said, “The city council isn’t low-level. right?”
“You might not realize it in Jinling, but after you stay in Beijing for a while, you’ll realize that…” Wang Peng shook his head and said, “The mayor of a city is such a small role.”
Lu Zhou thought for a second and realized Wang Peng was right.
Everyone he met in Beijing was a higher level than a city mayor…
Lu Zhou suddenly remembered something and spoke.
“Then, which level am I?”
When Wang Peng heard this, he nearly crashed the car.
“You don’t know?”
“… I never thought about it.”
Lu Zhou stayed in his university office most of the time, and occasionally, he handled some work for the Lunar Orbit Committee. As the chief designer, he was mainly responsible for decision making and research rather than delegating specific tasks.
Apart from attending some conferences with the Lunar Orbit Committee and the State Administration for National Defense, Lu Zhou didn’t really interact with anyone from the state. He spent the majority of his time in his laboratory.
He remembered hearing a long time ago about the treatment for various government administrative levels, but he didn’t really care about that stuff and forgot about it a long time ago.
Wang Peng realized that Lu Zhou wasn’t joking with him, so he looked in the rearview mirror and spoke.
“The Lunar Orbit Committee is directly controlled by the Communist Party of China. There are more than a dozen military members guarding your home. The car we’re in right now… What level do you think you are?”
Lu Zhou went silent and began thinking.
Emmmm…
He had never paid attention to this stuff before; he just knew that academicians received special treatment.
But now, he suddenly realized…
I guess I’m quite important?