Rebirth: Starting from Lighting Up the Tech Tree

Chapter 153 Talent Competition

The headhunter named him Li Guodong, 62 years old, former chief engineer of the China Aerospace Research Institute, who led the overall design of three types of launch vehicles. He retired two years ago and now gives part-time lectures at several universities.

Zuo Cheng finished reading the resume, placed it on the table, and asked Han Lu, "Does he know I want to meet him?"

"I know," Han Lu said. "I had someone put in a good word, saying that the CEO of 402 wanted to invite him for tea. His exact words were, 'I've heard of 402, it's interesting, and I wouldn't mind meeting him.'"

"The phrase 'interesting' means he's not opposed to it, but he doesn't take it too seriously either." Zuo Cheng pushed back his chair and stood up. "Okay, I'll go see him."

The café was located by West Lake; it was quiet and not crowded at 3 PM. Zuo Cheng arrived first, found a seat by the window, and ordered two cups of tea.

Li Guodong arrived five minutes early, wearing a dark gray jacket. His hair was graying, and his back was slightly hunched, but his eyes were clear. He glanced around the café, walked straight over, sat down, looked at the tea on the table, and without further ado, asked, "Are you working on space photovoltaics?"

"right."

"Who told you that this direction is feasible?" he asked, picking up his teacup.

Zuo Cheng didn't beat around the bush and went straight to the point: "Regarding microwave transmission efficiency, we've already accumulated low-latency beam control algorithms in inter-satellite communication. Theoretically, the conversion efficiency of the ground microwave receiver can be optimized using the same logic. I'd like to hear your assessment: is this approach feasible?"

Li Guodong took a sip of tea, put the cup down, and remained silent for about five seconds before saying, "It's feasible, but there's a condition."

"What are the prerequisites?"

"For the model of atmospheric penetration efficiency, are you currently using theoretical values ​​or measured data?"

"Theoretical value," Zuo Cheng said without hesitation, "We don't have the actual measured data yet."

"That's a bit off," Li Guodong said. "There's a correction factor for atmospheric turbulence between the theoretical and actual values. This factor varies greatly at different altitudes, in different seasons, and in different regions. We encountered a major problem when we were doing Earth observations; two years' worth of data were skewed."

Have you corrected the data?

"Yes. Of the students I mentored, three are now working at universities and two at research institutes. The correction model we developed together back then is one of the most complete experimental data databases in China."

Zuo Cheng looked directly at him and said, "So, that means if your team joins 402, our technical path can bypass this pitfall?"

Li Guodong did not answer immediately. He turned his head and glanced at West Lake outside the window, where several water birds were skimming low over the water.

"I've been retired for two years," he said. "Not really retired, but there's just no suitable place to work. Universities don't offer engineering opportunities, and research institutes are all about seniority. If I want to do something real, there's more room for opportunity outside."

"Then come to 402," Zuo Cheng said. "The position of director of the research institute will be retained, nominally with Chief Scientist Yu Ying in charge, but in the field of space photovoltaics, you will be the core technology leader, with an independent team, an independent budget, and you will decide the direction. I will only look at the results."

"Yu Ying," Li Guodong thought for a moment, "the PhD student from Huaxia University of Technology who does adaptive signal processing?"

"right."

"I've read her paper; her thinking is very clear." He twirled his teacup. "She's young, I'm older; one does theory, the other engineering—they complement each other."

"So what do you mean?"

Li Guodong raised his head and said, "I have a few conditions."

"explain."

"First, the salaries of the people I mentor will be no less than 1.5 times the market rate for the same level. Second, patent authorship and engineering credits will be based on actual contributions, without using administrative ranks to pressure people. Third, I can continue to lecture at universities one day a week, which will not be considered as taking leave."

Zuo Cheng thought for three seconds and said, "I agree to the first and second points. As for the third point, giving lectures is your responsibility, but if there are project conflicts requiring temporary adjustments, you will cooperate."

"That makes sense." Li Guodong nodded slightly. "Then there's one last question: when do you plan to launch your first verification satellite for space photovoltaics?"

"Within three years."

"Three years." He repeated, paused for a moment, then said, "Okay, I'll go get them."

He took out his phone and sent a message. Zuo Cheng couldn't see the content when the screen flipped over, but less than a minute later, two people entered the coffee shop, a man and a woman, both in their thirties, wearing casual jackets and carrying laptop bags.

Li Guodong raised his hand to signal, and the two men walked over.

"This is Qiu Pei, she works in orbital mechanics," he said, pointing to the man, then to the woman, "This is Wei Jia, atmospheric modeling; she was mainly responsible for that correction database back then. The remaining eight people are outside parking the car, waiting for my message."

Looking at the two faces, Zuo Cheng understood that Li Guodong had actually made his decision before he came.

He stood up and extended his hand.

"Welcome to 402."

Qiu Pei shook hands with him, a strong grip, his gaze direct, and said, "If we're aiming for spaceflight within three years, we need to review your technical documents first to assess the practical feasibility."

"Okay. I'll have Shen Yiming arrange it tomorrow morning."

Wei Jia nodded and said, "Access to the atmospheric correction database requires communication with the original unit, which will take about a month. Before that, I'll conduct theoretical verification."

"No problem." Zuo Cheng looked at Li Guodong. "Han Lu will handle the onboarding process for the other eight people. Give her their contact information."

Li Guodong stood up and said, "I'll pay for the parking." He walked out, and Qiu Pei took out a tablet from his bag and pushed it in front of Zuo Cheng. It was a roadmap for space photovoltaic technology, written by someone who had been immersed in this field for many years.

"This is something we compiled ourselves last month; you can use it as a reference."

Zuo Cheng quickly scanned the list, stopping at the microwave transmission section. Three technical nodes were marked in red, but he wasn't sure. He mentally compared them to the accumulated aerospace communication branches in the system; two had coverage, and one was a blind spot.

Do you have a solution for adaptive beamforming control at the transmission end?

"The existing solution is based on a fixed phased array, and there are problems with dynamically adjusting the frequency. If you have experience in inter-satellite communication, you can integrate it."

Zuo Cheng nodded. The beam control algorithm in the Nebula communication protocol is working correctly when migrated to the space photovoltaic transmission terminal.

Li Guodong walked back, sat down to the side, and ordered a glass of water without disturbing anyone.

Zuo Cheng glanced at the figure's back and made a judgment in his mind: this person was really here to do something.

He handed the tablet back to Qiu Pei and said, "Send this to Shen Yiming tonight. All three of you should come to the technical coordination meeting tomorrow to coordinate the planning and division of labor."

Qiu Pei stood up, extended her hand, and said, "See you tomorrow."

"See you tomorrow."

Stepping out of the coffee shop, the wind was a bit chilly than in the afternoon. Zuo Cheng put his hands in his pockets, his mind starting to consider new combinations: Li Guodong plus a ten-person team, the research institute's structure after Yu Ying joined, the verification of space photovoltaic technology, and working backwards from the three-year launch deadline…

Things are starting to take shape.