ushernet Chapter 171 Hundred Million Donation
Chapter 171 Hundred Million Donation
An ordinary afternoon.
Suddenly, there was a rapid knocking on the administrative office door. An administrative staff member opened the door, her face beaming with barely suppressed excitement, and eagerly reported the news she had just received:
"Director! Director! I have some fantastic news to tell you: our school's research and development fund has received a personal donation!"
The director, who had been focused on the documents, slightly raised his gaze to glance at the administrative staff, but his expression did not change much.
Having been in his position for many years, he was already used to this kind of thing.
There are many sources of funding for university research projects, most of which are government grants, and the university itself also allocates a portion of its limited funds to support research.
Of course, many companies also collaborate with schools by making donations or grants in order to seek technological innovation and talent development.
Occasionally, there are also some individual donations, most of which come from alumni and members of the community.
However, based on his past experience, these individual donations are usually quite limited and account for a small percentage of the total research funding.
There were only a few donations occasionally, so when he heard the administrative staff's report, he simply responded, "It's just a personal donation, why make such a fuss?"
The administrative teacher then realized that she had been too excited and had forgotten to say the most crucial information.
He took a deep breath, trying to make his voice sound steady, but the excitement in his eyes was still hard to hide: "It's one billion! Director Huang, the donation is one billion!"
Director Huang froze instantly, nearly dropping his pen. He stood there stunned for a moment before regaining his senses and asking again, his face full of disbelief, "What did you say?"
Seeing this, the administrative teacher quickly explained in more detail: "It's Bai Li, do you remember her? She's the one who sponsored our library. This time, she donated 1 billion yuan for research and development in her own name!"
"What?" The director stood up excitedly, his expression instantly changing from shock to ecstasy. He didn't bother to tidy up the messy documents on his desk or put on the coat hanging on the back of his chair. He said urgently, "From now on, get to the key points first. I have to go to the principal's office right away!" He turned around and hurriedly ran towards the principal's office.
The news of Bai Li's donation of 1 billion yuan quickly spread.
It circulated not only within the school's management but also among many teachers and students.
A billion!
What concept?
Projects that were previously shelved due to insufficient funding, such as research on innovative therapies to conquer cancer and cutting-edge technologies for the efficient conversion of new energy sources, have now been given a new lease on life.
Projects that are struggling to move forward and have not yet been shut down will also benefit from this huge sum of money, and the speed of project progress will be greatly accelerated.
This billion yuan can be used to build scientific research equipment, attract talent, and support multiple cutting-edge research projects at the same time, greatly enhancing Huadan's scientific research capabilities and influence, and may even change the school's development trajectory in the future!
Huadan University, as one of the larger top universities, has received support and donations from all sectors, but it has never received a single donation of up to one billion yuan. This donation is the largest in the history of the university!
As soon as the news broke, the school forum exploded with discussion, with eye-catching headlines:
Shocking! A billion-yuan donation may bring about a major transformation in Huadan's scientific research.
Who is Bai Li? She's spent a staggering ten billion!
Each post is followed by a dense array of comments.
5th floor: One billion! That's incredible!
11th floor: Shirai? Is it this year's new Shirai?
12th floor: It's her, the rich girl who gave her roommate an Apple family bucket as soon as she entered the school. Waaah, why isn't I the rich girl's roommate?
Floor 34: She's no ordinary rich girl. Rumor has it that she donated that super impressive library at our school. As for who she really is, you can search for the legal representative of Day and Night Entertainment; the answer will be there.
Floor 44: Wow, I found out! I really love one of the streamers under Day and Night Entertainment, I watch his streams all the time. Does anyone know? My classmate is the boss of my favorite streamer?! We even have the same class!!! I definitely have to go up and say hello next time! But it seems like she hasn't been to class in a long time.
45th floor: Upstairs, you probably don't have a chance anymore. I heard she's planning to take a break from school, and her return date is uncertain.
55th floor: Hahaha, in order to apply for funding, my supervisor wrote a thousand-word report overnight and sent an email to the administration office early this morning.
57th Floor: What a coincidence! My advisor did the same thing, but he didn't write it himself; he made me write it! Who knows? I stayed up all night! We've been applying for funding for this project for a year now, and every time it's been like throwing a stone into the sea—it hasn't been approved. Hopefully, it will be approved this time, otherwise the project will have to be shut down due to funding issues, and all our previous efforts will be wasted.
Floor 60: Funding is usually so hard to get; even a small amount of funding means several projects are competing for it. I heard two professors even got into a fight over funding before. Now must be the best time to apply for funding; the school's inbox is probably overflowing. [laughs]
……
And so, amidst the heated discussions and debates, the news spread to every corner of the campus, and almost everyone in the school knew that the 1 billion yuan was donated by Bai Li.
This also includes Lin Yue.
When Lin Yue first heard the news, she was holed up in her boyfriend's off-campus apartment, staring at her computer screen filled with rejected game invitations, feeling extremely frustrated.
Her first reaction was to let out an incredulous sneer.
Bai Li has that much money? You're kidding me.
And it's a donation to a research project? Are you kidding me?
Everyone knows that scientific research requires long-term investment and is a money-burning endeavor.
Money should be spent wisely, on things that bring real returns.
Investing in movies at least offers the chance to gain both fame and fortune, but what about scientific research?
A bottomless black hole, into which countless funds may be invested, may not even produce a sound.
In her eyes, donating to research projects is utterly foolish. She simply cannot understand what the point of donating that stuff is.
In this incredibly realistic world, do people really exist who donate selflessly without expecting anything in return?
But as her classmates discussed the matter and the school forum was flooded with related posts, Lin Yue had no choice but to believe it was true.
In an instant, she felt the world spinning around her.
Already frustrated by being ruthlessly abandoned by the gaming community and repeatedly hitting walls in her attempts to reconcile, her heart was now like a bucket of hot oil had been poured over it, and jealousy and regret were burning wildly in her chest.
"Why? Why is she so rich? She did it on purpose, she just wanted to humiliate me and make me look bad!"
In Lin Yue's view, the world has always been realistic and utilitarian, and everyone acts with a clear purpose.
Bai Li's actions completely contradicted her understanding.
Was she really just doing this purely to support scientific research?
Are you kidding me?
Why donate now of all times? Why not earlier or later?
She thought about her recent ordeal, how she had humbly messaged her former best friend in an attempt to return to the gaming world, only to be met with indifference and rejection.
Bai Li, on the other hand, was able to so casually take out 1 billion yuan, winning everyone's praise and admiration.
This stark contrast brought her sense of imbalance to its peak.
Lin Yue suddenly screamed hysterically, realizing she knew Bai Li's "intentions".
She suddenly stood up and paced frantically in the cramped space, cursing incessantly: "She made such a fuss just to let everyone know she's rich, so they'll all come and kick me while I'm down!"
Bai Li is deliberately targeting me.
He was showing off his wealth and status to her.
The intention was to use this huge donation to kick her while she was at her lowest point, making her a laughingstock.
Lin Yue grabbed the water glass on the table and slammed it to the ground with all her might. The glass shattered into several pieces with a loud "bang," just like her broken self-esteem at that moment.
She stared at the shards on the ground, her eyes filled with despair. She slowly squatted down, buried her head in her hands, and tears streamed uncontrollably through her fingers.
Jealousy and regret completely consumed her at that moment.
……
On the other hand, Bai Li couldn't comprehend Lin Yue's breakdown at that moment.
Her reason for donating was not, as Lin Yue had guessed, to humiliate her.
To her, Lin Yue was just an insignificant little character, not worth her attention, much less worth her spending such a huge sum of money to target her.
But this time she did choose to donate under her real name.
In fact, she could have continued to keep a low profile and conceal her identity, just as she did when she donated the library, avoiding excessive attention and discussion from the outside world.
However, Shirai did not choose to do so, mainly for two reasons.
One reason is that she revealed her identity without reservation at the last gathering, so it was only a matter of time before it got out.
Given this, she decided to stop hiding her donation this time and openly chose to donate under her real name, facing the public with an open attitude.
Secondly, and more importantly and at a deeper level, is that Bai Li was setting up a scheme to hide the project she truly wanted to donate.
Upon receiving the news, the principal immediately made a formal phone call to Bai Li to express his gratitude.
He originally intended to come in person to express his gratitude, but Bai Li declined.
Therefore, the principal could only express his gratitude over the phone.
He knew better than anyone what this billion yuan meant for Huadan University and what it meant for him.
This means that during his tenure as president, Huadan University's scientific research achievements will experience rapid growth!
Bai Li's donation is so important; it's a huge contribution to Huadan.
"Bai Li, on behalf of all the faculty and students of Huadan University, I would like to express my sincerest gratitude to you!"
Bai Li knew the principal would react this way, and that he would definitely do the same when she visited him in person, speaking in a very official tone. So Bai Li thought it would be enough to explain things clearly over the phone, and that someone else would handle the rest.
Thinking of this, Bai Li smiled and replied, "Principal, you are too kind. I have been very happy during my time studying at the school, and it is my honor to be able to do something for the school."
Speak human language to humans, and speak official language to officials.
Bai Li has already deeply grasped the principles behind this.
After another round of pleasantries and small talk with the principal, the principal finally got to the point, beyond expressing gratitude.
“There are many projects in the school that need funding this time, and the teachers and students are very eager. However, the allocation of funds is a problem. We really can’t decide how to allocate the 1 billion yuan, which projects to allocate it to, and what the allocation cycle should be. So we still think we need to ask for your opinion.”
Upon hearing this, Bai Li's eyes flashed with understanding; this was indeed their purpose.
Generally, the allocation of funds will respect the wishes of the donors. If the donors have specific requirements for the use of funds, such as supporting a certain field or project, the school will definitely give priority to them.
Bai Li curled her lips into a smile; it suited her perfectly.
Regarding the use of funds, the school has academic experts who will make reasonable allocations.
However, this would mean that we would lose the initiative, which would have some impact on her future plans.
After a moment's thought, she spoke:
"We might as well set up a special committee to be in charge of the allocation of funds."
He paused, then continued his clear and logical explanation: "This committee will consist of school leaders, academic experts, and my representative. Specific matters such as project selection, approval processes, and allocation cycles will be decided by this specialized committee. Principal, what do you think of my proposal?"
The principal was slightly taken aback, not expecting Bai Li to come up with such a reliable plan so quickly. He then repeatedly agreed, his tone full of praise: "This can ensure the scientific and rational allocation of funds to the greatest extent possible, thus guaranteeing the safety of every link."
However, the idea was good, but...
The principal suddenly seemed to remember something and said somewhat uncertainly, "However, establishing a special committee and drafting relevant procedures will take some time..."
His voice carried a hint of helplessness, after all, many projects at the school urgently needed funding and were waiting for this donation to get things moving; time was of the essence.
Bai Li immediately understood the principal's meaning and readily agreed: "Before the committee officially starts operating, any urgent projects of the school that urgently need start-up funds can be listed first, and we can arrange some advance payments to solve the immediate problem. By the way, does the school have any particularly urgent projects right now?"
Upon hearing this, the principal was deeply moved and immediately replied, "Indeed, there is a project with extremely high priority. As one of the pilot bases, our school's artificial intelligence project is now a top priority for the school's development, and we urgently need funds to invest in equipment purchases and technology research and development."
That's right, this is it.
Everything else is just a pretense; this is what Bai Li is truly concerned about.
Bai Li's tone became serious: "Principal, to be honest, besides providing financial support, I can also provide equipment if the school lacks it..."