Chapter 156: Isn't this a coincidence?_2
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He Danchang couldn't be bothered to think about such a mess of problems.
At this moment on the high-speed train, he was reflecting on the reply he had received from Xilin University of Technology.
The gist of the message was that although they were very welcoming to Everybody Daily for wanting to do a feature interview with Qiao Ze, and the university was willing to make every effort to facilitate this interview, due to Qiao Ze's introverted nature among other reasons, the university couldn't guarantee the expected outcome of the interview.
Ha...
That was indeed a rather unique response.
However, He Danchang didn't take it to heart.
Geniuses, after all, tend to have their quirks, and he could understand that.
Having traveled far and wide over many years, he had encountered all sorts of people; a just-of-age student who wasn't good at socializing was nothing unusual, and he always found a way to pry open their mouths.
...
Xilin University of Technology.
For the university's senior leadership, learning that Everybody Daily wanted to conduct a feature interview with Qiao Ze was a mix of joy and concern.
After all, it was Everybody Daily.
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Even if the newspaper industry was in its twilight years, one still had to consider the organization behind the newspaper, and Everybody Daily was an official paper. Theoretically, it was on the same level as the Press and Publication Administration that oversees other newspapers.
On the other hand, they wanted to interview Qiao Ze.
Even Chen Yuanzhi, who had the least contact with Qiao Ze, could likely imagine what a scene it would be for Qiao Ze to accept an interview.
How to put it?
It would certainly not be a scene anyone would wish to witness.
Especially when asked some foolish questions, the way Qiao Ze looked at people could really be quite hurtful.
If they ended up offending someone, a good thing could turn bad, which wouldn't be ideal.
In truth, upon hearing the news for the first time, the university promptly reached out to Qiao Ze, wanting to know his thoughts.
The answer they got wasn't too surprising.
"I'm busy."
A very direct rejection.
But as a university, they definitely couldn't reply to Everybody Daily in that manner, hence the ambiguous response in the letter.
There was no choice; strictly speaking, Everybody Daily's organizational level was actually a notch higher than that of Xilin University of Technology.
They certainly couldn't relay Qiao Ze's original words.
But if they insisted on coming, then there was nothing to be done.
What caused even more headaches for Chen Yuanzhi was that a bunch of the doctoral students at the university happened to kick up a fuss at this time.
The president's mailboxes in the administration building were stuffed full, and there was even a thick stack of letters placed directly underneath the mailboxes.
It wasn't just through the mailbox channel either.
Lately, Chen Yuanzhi had been hearing quite a few complaints from faculty professors about the dissatisfaction with the International Students Management Bureau.
It had to be said that the recent reforms at the School of Mathematics were indeed too radical.
Xu Dajiang was hell-bent on cutting international students' various benefits and left the university without much to say.
The shrewdness of the dean of the School of Mathematics lay in the fact that a portion of the money saved by the School was directly allocated to subsidize the college's graduate students, doctoral students, and lecturers and professors who had teaching responsibilities with international students.
Such maneuvers left the university with little they could object to.
It was only that Xu Dajiang understood the importance of uniting all the forces that could be united.
If the university forcibly demanded that the School of Mathematics conform to the other departments, that would stir up another group of discontented people.
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The School of Mathematics was indeed able to attract a full quota of international students, who were all uniformly provided no financial assistance; even their tuition had increased significantly.
He wanted to summon Dajiang and give him a scolding, but there was no valid reason to do so.
But indeed, other departments were also in a difficult situation.
If the university were to fund other departments so that graduate students teaching international students could also enjoy the same subsidies, it would mean tens of millions of additional investment every month. Letting each school resolve it on their own would probably lead to even more chaos.
Really, it was as if all kinds of trouble had converged all at once.
The school's Publicity Department had already arranged for someone to meet the senior reporter coming from Everybody Daily. Chen Yuanzhi was still considering how to quickly placate these protesting graduate students when the door to the president's office was suddenly pushed open, and the secretary rushed in.
"President Chen, there's trouble. The School of International Education just called to say that at least 200 international students are striking and have surrounded the administration building."
"What? What are they trying to do?"
"They're protesting the cuts in benefits by the School of Mathematics and the eviction from the dormitories."
"Wait, the School of Mathematics doesn't even have that many international students, right?"
"The International Institute said that students from other departments are worried that the school will follow the School of Mathematics' policy, so..."
Chen Yuanzhi stared at the secretary, who looked back innocently at President Chen.
A nameless fury began to well up at that moment...
Heh, did they really take him for a pushover to be squeezed?
"What about the security department? Send everyone available over there, and resolve this issue immediately! After the situation is under control, tell the School of International Education to inform the striking students to return to class immediately.
Today, the attendance of every school will be tallied, and all absentees will be expelled as per the prior contract, citing serious violations of school discipline and regulations! Love it or leave it!"
"But President Chen, shouldn't we have an emergency office meeting before making..."
"Just do as I say! At this juncture, you still want to have an office meeting? The reporter from Everybody Daily will be here in two hours, what kind of scene do you want them to see? Or do you think I'm not as responsible as that Xu Dajiang?!"
"Alright, President, I'll contact Minister Li immediately."
With that, the secretary promptly left the office.
Sitting at his desk, President Chen's anger had not yet subsided; he took a deep breath and then picked up the phone.
"Hello, Secretary Zhang..."
...
"Dean Xu, there's trouble. Have you heard about the incident at the International Institute?" Almost at the same time, Xu Dajiang's secretary also burst into the dean's office.
"What are you panicking about? What happened?" Xu Dajiang looked up and chided annoyedly.
"The international students are saying that because our school cut various benefits and kicked them out of the dorms, it's triggered a backlash among the students, who are now striking and have surrounded the administration building of the International Institute. They're demanding a restoration of the previous benefits."
"Really? Is there such a thing?" Xu Dajiang seemed surprised and then showed an excited smile.
"A good thing?"
"Why wouldn't it be a good thing? We've just found an opportunity to expel a batch of them, haven't we? They've walked right into the line of fire. Hurry up and notify the teachers in our School of Mathematics who are in charge of teaching international students. Tell them to take note of all the students who skip school today and expel them all."
"But Dean Xu, it's not just the students from our School of Mathematics. Look, these are the live photos sent from the International Institute. Look, there must be at least two or three hundred people, right? And if they're all expelled, wouldn't that leave us with no students?"
Xu Dajiang glanced at the phone and remarked disdainfully, "If there aren't enough people, we'll just recruit more. At least there surely aren't many new students this year... Tsk tsk tsk, are there really that many people? But what does this have to do with our School of Mathematics? By the way, Qin, have you been promoted to school leadership now?"
"Ah? No, that's... of course not..."
"If it's not your concern, why bother with these meaningless tasks? We only need to manage our School of Mathematics properly, what do other department's international student protests have to do with us? Don't you trust the wisdom of the school leaders?"
"It's not that. Dean Xu, after all, it was our School of Mathematics that caused this. Are you really not afraid that in the end, the blame will fall on us?"
"Afraid? What should I be afraid of? Did our School of Mathematics fail to complete any tasks this year? Did we do anything that doesn't comply with the regulations? I did everything by the book, fulfilled my duties conscientiously.
We've exceeded our tasks, and overall, our school has developed better than in previous years, with our undergraduate admission scores averaging fifteen points higher than before. What do I have to be afraid of? Are you suggesting I should fear that the school will give us a banner as the most advanced unit by the end of the year?"
Having said that, Xu Dajiang extended his hand and patted his uncertain secretary, speaking earnestly, "Qin, don't look at issues too broadly. Focus on the problems at your position. Don't engage in empty talk about the big picture when you can't handle the specific responsibilities of your own backyard. Only when you manage your own tasks well will you have the ability to think about higher realms.
Understand?"
Qin nodded blankly.
Well, Dean Xu certainly seemed to be different from before.