Carrying a Jurassic on me
Chapter 1510 - 725 Difficult to Meet a Talent_2

Chapter 1510: Chapter 725 Difficult to Meet a Talent_2

Kuber also said, "When I knew your age, I simply couldn’t believe it. I thought it was a joke at first, but after meeting you, I believed it. Even without the discovery of these two new species, I’m convinced that in the not-so-distant future, within the halls of science, there will definitely be a place for you."

Yan Fei laughed shyly, a bashfulness characteristic of young people, which even made Hofstadter feel an impulse at that moment, leading him to directly say, "Mr. Yan Fei, please allow me to address you this way. Have you ever considered going to a better place with a more conducive academic atmosphere to continue pursuing your dream in science? You know, the journey of science is lonely when walked alone, and sometimes, we might need some like-minded classmates or friends."

"Professor Hofstadter, what do you mean?" Yan Fei asked in surprise and perplexity.

Hofstadter and Kuber exchanged glances, and after receiving an affirmative nod from Kuber, he spoke again, "I mean, if there’s such an opportunity, would you seize it? For instance, an admission invitation from Cambridge University?"

After all, Cambridge University is a well-known university in the world; is recruiting a student this casual? Can I just get in because you say so? Now, I have two professors living in my house, and I still need to take exams to enter the Agricultural University!

Yan Fei mused silently in his heart, yet his face showed great surprise, "Cambridge University, are you talking about Cambridge? I know that place, we have a famous poet here who wrote a poem about Cambridge University, and that poem has always been my favorite."

Saying this, Yan Fei started to recite in English with great emotion, "Very quietly I take my leave, As quietly as I came here; Quietly I wave good-bye, To the rosy clouds in the western sky..."

As Yan Fei recited, smiles appeared on the faces of Kuber and Hofstadter, and the group of young scholars behind them. Some of them even had a reflective look, obviously touched by the poem, which evoked their feelings of homesickness and made them think of their own campuses...

Some say that music knows no borders; indeed, any beautiful thing is without borders.

As Yan Fei finished the last line of the poem, Kuber immediately started clapping, "I know, this was written by a poet named Zhi Mo. Every time I read this poem, it really makes me think of the willow trees by the river... He is truly a great poet, and it was only after coming here that I realized, because of this poem, people thousands of miles away all know about Cambridge..."

"I think this poem should be engraved on a stone monument, placed on our campus to honor the poet. After coming here, nearly every person who knows where we come from excitedly tells us if we are from the place described in this poem," Hofstadter said, becoming somewhat angry and disheartened as he spoke. "Yet, some people’s perceptions are just too superficial..."

Hofstadter’s words came true nine years later, when a willow tree at Cambridge University was about to be cut down and many people protested. Then someone curiously asked why the willow tree couldn’t be cut down.

Among the curious was a professor who learned of Zhi Mo’s poem due to this incident. Whenever he told people in China where he was from, almost everyone would invariably ask him if he was from the place described in the poem — similar to Kuber and Hofstadter’s experience when they were invited for an academic exchange.

Later, that professor went back to his school and proposed setting up a stone monument to honor the poet, thanking him for bringing Western culture to the East and promoting cultural exchange between the East and the West.

Of course, this was also because it was nine years later, by which time China had shed its image as poor and backward in the minds of Westerners and had become a powerful nation, allowing the proposal to pass.

If Hofstadter were to propose it now, the chances of it being approved might not be as great. Just like he said, some people’s perceptions are just too superficial!

"Brother Yan truly has great talent, see, you bunch of simpletons, don’t know the value of education, now you see, right?" Old Niu, who was performing menial work at the front, sarcastically said as he saw Yan Fei and a group of blond-haired, blue-eyed foreigners conversing so delightfully before him.

"Dad, why didn’t you study hard before, and now you’re telling me off?" Little Niu, who was also doing manual labor with him, grumbled discontentedly.

"Brat, how dare you talk to your old man like that?" Old Niu exploded with anger. "Back in our days, we didn’t have the opportunity like you do now, and you still won’t study hard. If you got into a good university, maybe you could chat happily with a group of foreigners just like Brother Yan, I’d hand over the factory to you to be the boss right now!"

Being a son naturally doesn’t come with the ability to resist his dad’s scolding, so comrade Little Niu could only vent his frustration on the bushes and branches blocking the way.

The people following them were a bit dumbstruck. Those who came from the city were prepared and even brought two translators. But these translators, just like when Yan Fei humbly attributed his discovery to mere chance, told the leaders around them, "Boss Yan is being modest!"

By the time Yan Fei had recited half of his poem, the translators finally snapped out of it and conveyed to the expectant leaders, "Boss Yan is reciting a poem, the famous Goodbye, Cambridge by Zhi Mo..."

It’s a helpless situation; everyone came in a rush and there wasn’t enough time to find really professional talents. They just had to pick the ’least lame generals from among the lames,’ getting two relatively professional language talents. Usually, they don’t have many chances to interact with foreign friends, and even if they do, their clumsy exchanges never caused serious problems. But now, as Yan Fei and Kuber and others converse rapidly, these translators were struggling to keep up.

"Talent, talent is the key to development!" A leader exclaimed sincerely as he witnessed the situation.

Why is economic development not easy? Because in places with less developed economies, they can’t offer good compensation, so let alone attracting foreign talents, many local talents who have moved out prefer to develop in bigger cities with more opportunities rather than returning to their small origins.

Take now, for example, Wancheng City has a large population, but finding someone particularly skilled in foreign language oral interpretation is hard—aside from a few professional professors in university campuses, it’s really difficult to find such talents elsewhere—either they have achieved higher success and do not want to be translators, or they are not talented enough.

These days, anyone who can be a professional translator can easily receive considerable compensation in any big city. But in Wan City, the opportunities to interact with foreign friends are scarce; they’re almost like the mute helpers in Yan’s field, having the skill to shoe horses for a use that’s nearly extinct in their town. What can they do about a skill that grows obsolete from lack of use?

Now they have discovered a foreign language talent, but he’s already Boss Yan. What could the city offer to make him work as a translator? So everyone could only look at Boss Yan, who was chatting and laughing with foreign friends, without any particular thoughts.

"If only we had discovered a talent like Boss Yan earlier..." Another leader murmured softly but chuckled after saying so.

Seeing his self-deprecating smile, someone joked, "If we had discovered him too early, our city would have lost an entrepreneur who could sell Wan City’s beef to Hong Kong!"

"The capable are truly capable of anything!" Another leader spoke up. "It seems we really don’t know enough about Boss Yan!"

Not knowing enough means not supporting enough, someone made such a remark, and it seems that Boss Yan, who’s still chatting merrily, will probably have good fortune coming his way again soon.

But nowadays Boss Yan is almost becoming Expert Yan, the city can only offer some preferential policies. Expert Yan might even feel embarrassed to always take advantage of the city’s favors...