Chapter 1441: One Word

Lu Xiaoqiao…

Although only one word was missing, this one word was equivalent to a hundred years.

Lu Zhou never thought that he would meet his descendants in this manner.

After inviting Lu Xiaoqiao into the house, Lu Zhou asked Xiao Ai to help move the dishes into the kitchen, then pour a glass of water for himself and the guest from afar.

After inviting her to sit down on the sofa, Lu Zhou looked at her carefully.

Very similar.

No, almost too similar.

Especially her side profile and her high forehead, she looks exactly like a copy of Xiao Tong.

Xiao Qiao didn’t notice that her ancestor who was sitting across from her was observing her. Suddenly, a faint smile appeared at the corner of her mouth.

She looked at Lu Zhou and spoke.

“It seems that you have begun to integrate into this era.”

Lu Zhou answered casually, “Why do you say that?”

Lu Xiaoqiao: “That kid is a robot, right?”

Lu Zhou nodded.

“Sort of, is there a problem?”

“Hmm, no.”

Lu Xiaoqiao shook her head slightly and looked at the ancestor sitting in front of her who was more than 100 years older than herself. She smirked and said playfully, “I am starting to believe that you are Academician Lu himself.”

Lu Zhou sighed.

“I am him.”

“I believe you, the feeling of bloodline does not deceive, even if it is for two people who have never met.”

Lu Zhou felt that she wanted to call him grandfather or other similar titles, but maybe it was because he was too young, grandfather didn’t seem right.

Just as Lu Zhou was thinking about whether he should say something, Lu Xiaoqiao, sitting across from him, suddenly changed into a serious expression, took a deep breath, and got up from the sofa.

“First of all…

“Before fulfilling the constitution of the Freezing Human Rights Protection Foundation and explaining the current situation to you, I must apologize to you for myself and my family!”

Lu Xiaoqiao, who stood up from the sofa, bowed deeply to Lu Zhou.

Lu Zhou was muddled, and he asked confusedly, “Apologize? Wait, I don’t quite understand what you mean.”

“Here’s the thing…”

Lu Xiaoqiao bit her lip, lowered her head, and told the truth in an ashamed tone.

Apparently, since the loss of Lu Zhou, the Jinling Institute for Advanced Study finally started to gradually decline from its peak.

Although Yang Xu, who took over as the director at the time, made some efforts during his tenure, after his retirement, the Jinling Institute for Advanced Study eventually fell into an unsustainable dilemma.

Especially in the 2050s, when Star Sky Technology’s patents expired one after another, their core competitiveness was gradually lost. The focus of the business was forced to shift from technology research and development to investment in emerging technologies. Although this part of the business had also achieved certain results, it was not as brilliant as Lu Zhou’s era.

Poor management, coupled with the loss of core competitiveness, had gone on for half a century.

Around the 2060s and 2070s, the chairman of the board at the time, Lu Xiaoqiao’s grandfather, made a bold decision.

When Star Sky Technology was on the verge of bankruptcy due to poor management, he accepted the M&A agreement proposed by the Pan-Asian Central Bank and split the business of Star Sky Technology. On the premise of retaining the brand of Star Sky Technology, he packaged the entire company and sold it to the Pan-Asian Cooperation.

Star Sky Technology’s losses and debt were finally properly resolved, a number of outstanding research institutions such as the Jinling Institute for Advanced Study were preserved in the form of public research institutions.

At the same time, the then chairman of the board, who received a large sum of money through the sale of “ancestral property”, Lu Xiaoqiao’s grandfather, followed Lu Xiaotong’s last wish to devote himself to public welfare and used the money to establish the Lu Zhou Education Fund. More than 2,000 elementary schools and middle schools had been established on the land of the Pan-Asian Cooperation, and they made extremely valuable contributions to the modernization of basic education.

It was also worth mentioning that after a century of ups and downs, the Jinling Institute for Advanced Study was eventually reborn after being publicized and became a top research institution in the Pan-Asian Cooperation. Like Jinling University, it became one of the two tall ivory towers looking at each other, watching over the academic prosperity of this land.

In fact, after hearing these past events, although Lu Zhou had some regrets in his heart, he was pleased.

In the face of the truth of the universe, money was just a number that couldn’t bring him any happiness, and making money had never been his goal in scientific research. He already had wealth that he could use for several lifetimes. If his only goal were wealth, he didn’t need to work so hard.

In contrast, he was quite satisfied if he could preserve the brand of the Jinling Institute for Advanced Study and watch his academic legacy being carried forward.

His original intention of establishing Star Sky Technology was only to facilitate dealings with those troublesome intellectual property issues.

However, although Lu Zhou himself didn’t care much about those things, Lu Xiaoqiao obviously still couldn’t let go of it.

After all, in terms of results, this huge family business was lost in the hands of their descendants.

Her grandfather had even made plans to apologize to Lu Zhou personally after he had passed away, but no one thought that the ancestor was still alive.

“I’m really terribly sorry, I am willing to do my best to compensate you for your loss… Also, about the Lu Zhou Education Fund. In addition to those donations from all walks of life, this education fund also has a very substantial asset that belongs to you. If you wish, I can apply for liquidation of this asset and transfer it to you—”

“No need,” Lu Zhou interrupted Lu Xiaoqiao. He smiled and continued in an indifferent tone, “I understand the choice your grandfather made at that time, I don’t blame anyone at all. You guys did what I always wanted to do, but I never had a chance to do it.”

Lu Xiaoqiao opened her mouth slightly, looking at Lu Zhou with eyes full of surprise.

Obviously, she didn’t expect that Lu Zhou would be so carefree.

Lu Zhou did not give any explanation. After a pause, he continued, “I do not intend to take back what I gave. Whether it is the Freezing Human Rights Protection Foundation or the Lu Zhou Education Fund, now that you have found the right way to control this wealth, let this noble and great cause continue.

“As for things like money, it doesn’t matter to me at all.

“Compared to these insignificant things, I want to know…”

The words were at the tip of his tongue, but suddenly, Lu Zhou became nervous for a second.

But, in the end, he took a deep breath, made up his mind, and spoke.

“… Did they live well?”

Lu Xiaoqiao was slightly taken aback. She then said with a smile, “I can assure you, although I haven’t met my great-grandmother, I heard from my grandfather… She was a kind, humble, and good person.”

Lu Zhou was stunned for a moment, and a reluctant but relieved smile appeared on his face.

“Really? I’m relieved.”

The stiff atmosphere finally eased a little.

Although Ms. Lu Xiaoqiao, who was sitting across from him, was still a little cautious, she was no longer as formal as she was when she first met him.

During the conversation with her, Lu Zhou learned that his relatives had lived a happy life in that era.

For Lu Zhou, this was all he cared about.

As for his fiancee, the CEO of Star Sky Technology, Lu Xiaoqiao didn’t have much news about her, but she vaguely remembered that she resigned in 2025.

As for her personal life…

Who would record the life of a CEO of a company from a hundred years ago?

After all, the two still failed to formally enter the hall of marriage…

“Actually, your parents left a holographic image of them for you, which is kept in the safe of the Freezing Human Rights Protection Foundation. But I may not be able to give it to you now. We have to wait for the Pan-Asian Cooperation to notarize your identity before handing over the things that belong to you.”

“That’s fine.” Lu Zhou’s expression on his face was a bit complicated as he smiled. “In fact, I am not ready to face them now. Before I recover my identity, please take care of it for me.”

Lu Xiaoqiao shook her head and said, “Of course, this is our obligation. I will do my best to help you recover your identity as soon as possible… In addition, I came here for something else.”

“Yeah what?”

“Chairman Li Guangya should have already told you about the issue of the Pan-Asian Airlines compensation.”

Lu Xiaoqiao reached out her index finger and tapped her left wrist lightly. When a holographic panel popped up, she selected an electronic contract about 12 pages long and gently pushed it in front of Lu Zhou.

“This contract was jointly issued by Pan-Asian Insurance Company and Pan-Asian Airlines. According to the law of the Pan-Asian Cooperation, Pan-Asian Insurance Company will follow the two standards of major navigation errors and major safety hazards, giving a financial compensation to the passengers on board.

“After the contract is reached, they will immediately pay you a 10% prepaid compensation. After the investigation results are released, the remaining payment will be sent to your personal account at once.”

Lu Zhou: “About how much money is it?”

“One million credits.”

Lu Zhou didn’t have a good idea of how much this was. After scanning through the contract, he printed his ID code.

After the contract was signed, Lu Xiaoqiao saw that it was getting late, so she didn’t stay for much longer. She said she would come to visit him next time, then got up and left.

After sending away his sister’s great-granddaughter, Lu Zhou was about to go to the system space to see the unclaimed mission reward.

But the personal terminal he was wearing on his left wrist suddenly received a transaction notification.

Lu Zhou opened the pop-up holographic window, and he stared at the string of zeros in the dialog box for a moment.

“… One million?”

He originally thought that the one million in the contract was the total amount of compensation, he didn’t expect it to be just an advance payment.

When Lu Zhou thought about the purchasing power of this credit point, he couldn’t help but have a strange expression on his face.

Although he never thought that making money was a difficult thing for him…

But he never expected that he, who had just returned to Earth, would have earned the first pot of gold in the 22nd century in this manner…

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