Chapter 404: Genius Scholar

“As for that young woman, the governor of Qi Province’s daughter-in-law—her name is Qiu Yuexin. She’s thirty-one years old, has a Ph.D. in Engineering from Tsinghua, is a Young Top-Notch Talent in the national ‘Ten Thousand Talents Program,’ and a recipient of the National Science Fund for Distinguished Young Scholars.”

Jiang Man continued, “She’s currently a doctoral advisor at the School of Materials Science and Engineering at Jilin University. She has an immense talent for materials science and chemical engineering, making her one of the nation’s most outstanding young scientific researchers.”

“That’s truly exceptional.”

Gu Heng nodded slightly, his voice tinged with amazement.

Although he’d only finished middle school, his recent and continuous in-depth discussions with numerous female students and graduates from prestigious universities meant he could actually understand the specialized terms Jiang Man had just mentioned, like “National Science Fund for Distinguished Young Scholars” and “Ten Thousand Talents Program.”

To put it simply, for Qiu Yuexin to have earned so many titles and honors at the tender age of thirty-one, even calling her “a phoenix among mortals” felt like an understatement.

What was the National Science Fund for Distinguished Young Scholars?

Its full name was the “National Science Fund for Distinguished Young Scholars,” a fund established by the National Natural Science Foundation of China to promote the growth of young scientific and technical talent.

Every outstanding young talent selected for the program receives an annual grant of four million yuan from the fund to support their research. The funding period lasts for four years, and only a little over a hundred people are selected each year.

You have to understand, there are millions of outstanding young talents eligible for consideration each year. Describing the selection process as “one in ten thousand” is no exaggeration.

Some young researchers start applying at the age of thirty and continue until they hit the program’s age limit of forty-five, yet still never get selected. You can imagine just how absurdly stringent the requirements are.

To borrow a phrase from the world of competitive sports, every single young talent qualified to even apply for this fund is already considered a bona fide genius by their peers, schoolmates, and graduating class.

And yet, these geniuses have only met the minimum requirement to be on the same list as the people who are *actually* chosen.

If you’re not a researcher, you’re a frog in a well, and I am the moon you can only gaze at.

If you *are* a researcher, you’re a mere ant, and I am the boundless heavens above you!

If the National Science Fund for Distinguished Young Scholars was something a mortal could still dream of achieving, then the “Young Top-Notch Talent” designation in the “Ten Thousand Talents Program” was a realm a mortal could never even hope to touch, not in their entire lifetime.

The “Ten Thousand Talents Program” is the colloquial name for the “National High-Level Talents Special Support Plan.” Its mission is to support homegrown high-level talent in innovation and entrepreneurship. Starting in 2012, its ten-year goal was to select roughly 10,000 individuals—categorized as distinguished talents, leading talents, and young top-notch talents—from the fields of natural science, engineering, and social sciences, and provide them with special support.

Qiu Yuexin was selected for the “Young Top-Notch Talent” category, which is the third tier of the “Ten Thousand Talents Program.” Those chosen for this tier are all under thirty-five and possess immense potential for future development.

Selections for the “Ten Thousand Talents Program” happen every two years, with each candidate being evaluated on a case-by-case basis. The process is incredibly complex and demanding; only the absolute top tier of national talent can be chosen. To an ordinary person, their resumes and accomplishments would look no different than if they were using a cheat code in a video game.

For Qiu Yuexin to be selected for both the “Ten Thousand Talents Program” and the National Science Fund for Distinguished Young Scholars at the age of thirty-one showed just how exceptional she was. It would be no exaggeration to call her a “future academician.”

With that level of excellence, it was no wonder a heavyweight like Qi Guowei held her in such high regard.

As the saying goes: A good wife blesses three generations; she is worth more than a thousand fertile fields!

With a daughter-in-law like Qiu Yuexin, as long as Qi Guowei’s son wasn’t an idiot, then even if their descendants regressed to the mean, their level of intelligence would likely still far surpass that of an average person.

“For Qiu Yuexin to have achieved so much at such a young age…”

Jiang Man couldn’t resist drawing out the suspense. “That would be impossible without a strong academic pedigree, of course. So, any guesses as to who her parents are?”

At her words, Gu Heng’s expression shifted slightly.

“Who are they?”