I'm back in 1990

Chapter 610: Our Conscience Doesn't Hurt

A few days later, as scheduled, Huang Xiaochuan arrived at Harvard Business School. As with his previous lectures, the Baker Library Auditorium at Harvard Business School was packed.

Here, Huang Xiaochuan's speech is titled "The Interactive Relationship between Technological Innovation and Economic Development".

"We are living in an era where economic cycles and technological upheavals are converging."

The speech was insightful yet easy to understand, with a solid theoretical framework and accurate predictions of future economic and technological trends. More than an hour passed quickly, and amidst enthusiastic applause, Huang Xiaochuan stood up and bowed slightly in greeting.

Afterwards, Huang Xiaochuan was arranged to rest in a lounge in preparation for a small welcome reception arranged by Harvard Business School at noon.

"Big spender, no, I should call you Mr. Huang the Rich!" As the voice spoke, a seemingly familiar figure appeared in front of Huang Xiaochuan.

He saw a woman in a well-tailored suit smiling at him, a hint of mischief in her eyes. Huang Xiaochuan exclaimed with delight, "Kong Zi! What are you doing here?"

Upon hearing this, Kong Zi looked displeased: "What do you mean, 'How did I get here?' You're getting a bit out of touch with the masses, aren't you, Mr. Huang?"

As they spoke, their hands were already clasped together.

Kong Zi took the initiative to talk about her situation: "I am teaching here now. I knew you were coming, so I made time to listen to your lecture. After listening to it, I realized how impressive it was. No wonder you have become an academic giant and a business tycoon."

Huang Xiaochuan waved her hand modestly: "It's not as exaggerated as you say. I was just sharing some things I've been thinking about. On the contrary, you've really changed a lot in just a few days. The finance prodigy from MIT back then is now at Harvard Business School. You must be a professor there, right?"

Kong Zi also modestly replied, "Associate Professor, I can't compare to you. I'm just trying to make a living."

Huang Xiaochuan laughed and said, "Alright! There's a saying that excessive humility is arrogance, right? You're arrogant now!"

"Alright, alright, I won't be modest anymore, okay?" Kong Zi lost the argument, but she frankly admitted her inner pride.

Huang Xiaochuan then asked, "What is your main research area now? What courses do you teach?"

Upon hearing Huang Xiaochuan mention this, Kong Zi's face lit up with a smile of satisfaction and passion for her career: "Speaking of which, it's quite related to what you're busy with right now. I'm currently mainly researching corporate finance and cross-border investment and M&A strategies, especially the operating models, risk management, and integration paths of emerging market capital in developed economies. I listened intently to your entire speech today, not daring to miss a single word."

After a long separation and some pleasantries, the conversation turned to reminiscing about the past.

Kong Zi looked at Huang Xiaochuan again and sighed, "Time flies! It must have been eight or nine years, right? Back when you went to MIT to see Wu Duo, there was Lao Xu, Lao He, Lao Zhang, Lao Yu, Sister Xie, and me. We were just a bunch of poor students, relying on Wu Duo to treat us to a few nice meals each month to improve our lives of eating bread every day. And then you came, wow, you booked the whole place and treated us to steak! We could eat all kinds of steaks, and drink as much beer as we wanted. I'll never forget that feast."

She paused, then continued, "What surprised us even more was that you settled Zhang Sui's medical bills of over two hundred thousand US dollars without saying a word. We were so grateful at the time! You can't even describe it. Although it may be nothing to you, it left us speechless."

Now you're even more impressive, handling acquisitions worth billions of dollars at a time, and you've even won the Nobel Prize in economics—truly remarkable!

Huang Xiaochuan smiled and asked, "And you? How are you doing here? Is your research going smoothly?"

Kong Zi nodded: "I'm doing well. To be honest, there are many platforms and resources here, but also many challenges. I'm using this opportunity to study cross-border mergers and acquisitions and financing strategies for companies in emerging markets."

Huang Xiaochuan nodded: "That's good, that's good. Let me tell you, if you have time, you can go find Zhang Sui. Our acquisition of Sun Company is a ready-made case! You can take it and study it carefully."

Kong Zi asked in surprise, "Zhang Sui is in America? I know she works for you, but isn't she in Hong Kong?"

Huang Xiaochuan frankly admitted, "To be honest, I arranged for her to come to the United States. Zhang Sui is currently in charge of the acquisition of Sun Microsystems. She's so busy with work that she has no free time at all, and she's still single. It's all my fault!"

Upon hearing this, Kong Zi's matchmaking instincts kicked in: "Is that all? Leave it to me, I'll keep an eye out for her."

The two then talked about Wu Duo, Xu Zhongxian, He Hong, and others. Among them, Wu Duo, Xu Zhongxian, and Zhang Xiangguang were in frequent contact with Huang Xiaochuan, so Huang Xiaochuan naturally knew their recent situations. However, he had lost contact with people like He Hong, Yu Xingluo, and Sister Xie. Since he had met Kong Zi today, he naturally wanted to ask about their recent situations.

Kong Zi knew all about this: "Lao He went back to China and went to a research institute, where he became a key member and participated in national-level projects. Lao Yu (Yu Xingluo) went back to China and went to BASF Chemical, which is currently under construction. Sister Xie is now doing R&D management at Roche Pharmaceuticals' US R&D center. They are all successful in their careers and are considered top talents in their respective fields."

Kong Zi then thought of something else: "Oh right, Sister Xie doesn't live far from me, only half an hour by car. We get together whenever we have time."

"Really! How about this? You give Sister Xie a call, and I'll send a car to pick her up. I'll treat you two to dinner tonight." It's rare to run into old friends abroad, and Huang Xiaochuan really wanted to see them.

Kong Zi readily agreed: "Okay, we don't need to be polite with you. We won't feel guilty taking advantage of your generosity."

In front of Huang Xiaochuan, Kong Zi dialed Xie Xinyue's number.

"Guess who's here with me?"

"Alright, alright, I won't keep you in suspense any longer. Huang Xiaochuan is with me. He asked me to make this call. He said he'll send a car to pick you up, and the three of us can have dinner together tonight and catch up."

"Alright then! Be careful on the road!"

After hanging up the phone, Kong Zi said with a smile, "As soon as Sister Xie heard that you were treating, she agreed without saying a word. She even said she was going to treat you to a big meal. Her experiment went smoothly today, so she'll probably finish early. She'll take a taxi over, but the fare is on you."

Upon hearing Kong Zi's account, Huang Xiaochuan couldn't help but laugh: "Alright! It's all on me! Sister Xie's personality hasn't changed at all!"

"Yes! She's still as impulsive and straightforward as ever, but now she's in charge of a sizable R&D team and has quite a presence. You'll see when you meet her tonight."

Kong Zi checked the time again and said, "Alright, I won't talk to you anymore. I reckon the party will start soon. See you tonight. I'll go and book the restaurant first."

Huang Xiaochuan nodded: "Okay, it's settled then. I'll contact you after the party!"