Chapter 1672: Chapter 1676: Can’t Keep Them—Why Stay? (Second Update)
Alzheimer’s New Drug Research Project Department.
Yang Lan looked at this enormous campus and sighed, "Wow, if only we had this kind of facility, we wouldn’t worry about not being able to make any breakthroughs."
Qi Kai smiled, somewhat tempted, and nodded, "Yes, Prof. Chen, you must work hard to get Prof. Zhang on board. That way, we’ll be able to use such a large research institution!"
Although Chen Cang didn’t speak, his thoughts were exactly the same as theirs.
The three of them—Chen Cang, Yang Lan, and Qi Kai—walked in side by side. But upon reaching the entrance, they noticed that the name on the stone outside had already been half removed!
The part "Alzheimer’s Xin" was yet to be fully taken off.
This left Chen Cang a bit stunned. Watching the workers still working overtime, he curiously walked over.
"Brother, why... are you taking this down?"
A man chuckled, "It’s being renamed. It’ll be called the Cardiovascular Pharmacology Research Base from now on."
Chen Cang was taken aback, "Isn’t this the Alzheimer’s project department?"
An older man laughed, "Young man, this is just a mobile laboratory. The hard disk is permanent; the staff is transient!"
"Here, changing the name every three or five years is normal!"
"This is not a fixed place. Projects come here, and once they end, the people may need to leave."
Hearing the older gentleman’s words, Yang Lan’s heart skipped a beat.
It seemed this was indeed true!
After thanking several master workers, the three continued walking inside.
As they walked, Yang Lan said, "Prof. Chen, it seems... it is true!"
Chen Cang curiously asked, "What’s true?"
Yang Lan sighed and said directly, "I heard from a friend that Prof. Zhang plans to go abroad."
Chen Cang was stunned, "Going abroad? Why leave when everything is fine?"
Without saying a word, Qi Kai couldn’t help but interject:
"Prof. Chen, you’re not very familiar with the Chinese Academy of Sciences. The academy has many solid institutions with office spaces, research addresses, proper staffing, and benefits, but there are also many temporary projects."
"These projects are like postdoctoral stations. When there’s a project, they recruit people externally, but once the project ends, they’re mostly disbanded."
Both Qi Kai and Yang Lan worked in subsidiary research institutes of the Chinese Academy of Sciences, so they had a good understanding of its practices.
Feeling down, Yang Lan said, "So, you occasionally hear about the frequent resignations of staff from the academy."
Hearing this, Qi Kai glanced at Yang Lan and directly said to Chen Cang:
"That’s just part of it!"
"The main reasons are nothing more than those few!"
"Politics over research, skimming funds, undermining experts, nepotism! Doing nothing!"
"Hmph!"
With that, Qi Kai stopped in the courtyard.
"People say this place is good. If it were truly good, who would leave?"
"To be blunt, you could pick anyone here, even the cleaning staff might be able to speak fluent English!"
"Isn’t everyone here starting with a doctorate from prestigious schools? Would the nation not want to give them permanent positions?"
"These people are all in their thirties and forties; if they didn’t have to leave, who would want to leave? Their wives and children are here, and it’s a place they’ve lived in for many years. No one wants to go!"
Yang Lan sighed.
The situation within the Academy of Sciences is truly... hard to describe in a few words.
"Let’s go up first; Prof. Zhang is waiting."
The three had just reached downstairs when they saw a man in a brown down jacket and sneakers jogging over.
"Prof. Chen, Prof. Yang, Director Qi! Welcome to... our research institute! Come, let’s eat first!" Zhang Mu originally intended to mention his unit’s name, but upon thinking carefully... it seemed the name would be changed in a few days!
Chen Cang looked at this middle-aged man in ordinary attire.
"Hello, Prof. Zhang!" Chen Cang proactively extended his hand for a handshake.
Zhang Mu nodded and smiled, "Come, let’s go to our cafeteria; the food’s quite good."
On the way, sparsely distributed people waved at Zhang Mu.
"Hello, Prof. Zhang!"
"Prof. Zhang."
...
Zhang Mu was unpretentious, nodding and waving back to everyone.
The cafeteria offered a meal with two meat dishes, two vegetables, and one soup.
The taste was good, with a balanced nutrition.
Chen Cang smiled and said, "The food here is quite nice, huh."
Upon hearing this, Zhang Mu laughed self-deprecatingly, "Yes, the cafeteria has a special allowance. Everyone’s meal standard is 50 yuan."
Chen Cang was immediately at a loss for words!
The food was indeed good, but... it fell far short of the 50 yuan per person mark.
After eating, Zhang Mu took everyone to his office and brewed a pot of tea for them.
"Well... I don’t really know how to drink tea, I’m a rough person, so just have a little, everyone," Zhang Mu chuckled.
Chen Cang noticed that Prof. Zhang was very approachable. He seemed unremarkable and could easily be mistaken for an ordinary passerby on the street.
But this was someone who was a key national talent!
Zhang Mu looked at the three and then gave Chen Cang an apologetic smile, "Prof. Chen, I’m truly sorry!"
"I know the purpose of your visit today, but... I might have to let you down. I... just can’t do it!"
Hearing these words, Chen Cang and both Qi Kai and Yang Lan exchanged glances.
Though they had prepared for this, it was still hard to accept once spoken.
Chen Cang said directly, "Prof. Zhang, if there are any issues, we can discuss them, right?"
Zhang Mu nodded, "Yes, but it’s not just my problem."
Saying this, Zhang Mu took out a file and placed it on the table.
The file was thick!
Zhang Mu patted it, feeling somewhat emotional, and asked with a smile, "Do you know what this is?"
"These are 212 resignation and transfer requests!"
Saying this, Zhang Mu couldn’t help but laugh self-deprecatingly.
"Our team as a whole has 430 people, and right now, half of them have left. With the group gone, what research is there to be done!"
Hearing this, Chen Cang and the others felt a shock!
"How did so many leave?"
Qi Kai stood up immediately!
Truth be told, he expected many had left, but he didn’t anticipate... nearly half had gone!
Zhang Mu rubbed the teacup in his hands, his expression also somewhat dejected.
"They couldn’t be retained, so why stay?"
"Our project originally had 190 people, and later we gradually hired over two hundred more."
"But after five years of research, there are no results yet. Several leaders have changed, and where the money went is unknown, but a lot has been spent."
"When the higher-ups came to evaluate, the results didn’t meet expectations. Director Qi had no choice but to discuss in a meeting and decide to temporarily suspend the project."
"At this time, the foreign Tethys Institute is also recruiting, and many people want to give it a try."