When Huang He began speaking, especially when he announced that the press conference was to establish a special award, the reporters were a little disappointed.
The establishment of awards was too common; many wealthy individuals would create various awards to enhance their personal or group reputation.
So, when Huang He also announced his intention to create an award, the media reporters felt it was uninteresting, like a wasted trip, believing it was merely Huang He's self-promotion.
However, when Huang He finally announced that the prize money for each individual award was ten million yuan RMB, all the reporters' footsteps came to an abrupt halt.
It wasn't just their footsteps; their minds also slammed on the brakes.
Wait, what did Huang He just say?
Ten million yuan RMB per award?
All the reporters swallowed in unison. That was ten million yuan RMB, ten million yuan RMB in 2002. It was a figure that many people had never seen in their entire lives. Such a sum of money, perhaps enough to last several lifetimes without being spent.
Did Huang He really intend to allocate so much money to establish such an award?
"Ladies and gentlemen, do you have any questions? You may ask them now!" Huang He said with a smile. Instantly, countless hands shot up from the audience. Huang He pointed to a lady.
"Mr. Huang He, after your science award is established, will it be the highest-awarded science prize in our country for individual awards?" the reporter asked.
"Based on the data I have currently, that should be the case!" Huang He smiled slightly. "In fact, it's not just for science awards. Among all the domestic awards I've collected so far, including sports, culture, competitions, and so on, we will have the highest prize money for individual awards and also the highest total prize money."
"Wow!" Hearing Huang He admit this, a great uproar erupted from the audience. They were witnessing the birth of what would be the highest award in the country, and it was established by an individual.
"Mr. Huang He, compared to the Nobel Prize, is your prize money higher or theirs?" the female reporter asked again.
"Of course, my prize money is higher!" Huang He smiled even more happily. "Last year, the Nobel Prize's individual award money was equivalent to 6.8 million yuan RMB. And not just last year; considering inflation and exchange rates at the time, the past Nobel Prize individual awards never exceeded the value of my 10 million yuan RMB!"
"Therefore, I can confidently tell you all that the Huang He Award is currently the award with the highest individual prize money and the highest total prize money worldwide!" Huang He declared loudly, and the atmosphere in the venue suddenly became even more frenzied.
"Headline! This is definitely today's headline!"
"And not just this year's headline, but the headline for the next few weeks!" All the media reporters present trembled with excitement.
Unlike 2022, when the Nobel Prize no longer held any significant media coverage, only appearing in small boxes, and the general public in China was indifferent to the Nobel Prize.
2002 was the year when the Nobel Prize was at its peak in China. All Chinese people were eagerly awaiting a Chinese recipient of the Nobel Prize.
Countless students, when writing about their dreams, considered winning a Nobel Prize for China their ultimate aspiration.
The Nobel Prize was undoubtedly one of the greatest dreams of all Chinese people. Anyone who won a Nobel Prize would instantly become famous and a shining star in China.
All Chinese people were striving, feeling frustrated with the Nobel Prize, yet unable to win it.
But now, a Chinese entrepreneur had established an award, and its prize money was set to exceed that of the Nobel Prize. This was a surge of immense national pride!
Although surpassing the Nobel Prize in influence was impossible, at least surpassing it in prize money represented significant progress for the country and honor for all Chinese people.
No wonder the Deputy Mayor himself had attended the press conference. The establishment of such an award in any location would be a major achievement for that locality. It was likely that the Deputy Mayor in charge of science and education was ecstatic about this unexpected windfall.
The questioning continued, with more reporters frantically trying to raise their hands.
"Mr. Huang He, is the award you are establishing aiming to comprehensively surpass the Nobel Prize?" a young reporter asked.
Many older reporters couldn't help but shake their heads at this question.
The answer to this question was obvious. Even if Huang He harbored aspirations to surpass the Nobel Prize one day, he wouldn't directly admit it.
After all, it was an unachievable goal, and such bold statements would lead to embarrassment.
"Yes, that's exactly what I'm thinking!" To everyone's surprise, Huang He readily admitted it. He continued, "Since I was a student, I've watched many Nobel Prize award ceremonies, but there has never been a Chinese recipient. I felt extremely indignant about this because China clearly has so many outstanding scientists, so much research achievement, and so many renowned literary works. Why has the esteemed Nobel Prize overlooked us?"
"I don't know the reasons behind it, but I believe that since foreigners are unwilling to reward our researchers, we cannot let them be disheartened. Coupled with recent events, my thoughts have been further solidified, and thus the Huang He Award was born."
"Although I don't know when it will be realized, I hope that one day, the influence of the Huang He Award can truly surpass that of the Nobel Prize. This is one of my goals!" Huang He stated frankly.
"Clap, clap, clap, clap!" Enthusiastic applause erupted from the audience. Huang He's words, though perhaps arrogant, were sincere and stirred the inner sense of national pride in everyone.
"Mr. Huang, would you say naming this award after yourself is a bit too narcissistic?" a reporter asked with a smile.
"Actually, I didn't want to name it after myself. But since the Nobel Prize is named after Nobel, why can't my award be named after me? After all, whoever funds it, its name should be after them, isn't that quite reasonable?" Huang He smiled, and the venue erupted in applause again.
"Mr. Huang, we know that the most important reason for the Nobel Prize's global renown is its consistent operation for a century without interruption, continuously providing prize money!"
"If your Huang He Award wants to surpass the Nobel Prize, can you guarantee a continuous stream of prize money? According to my calculations, you've announced a total of six awards. That amounts to sixty million yuan RMB annually. Can you guarantee a continuous cash flow?" another reporter asked.
This was a good question, and all the reporters pricked up their ears.
"Although I'd love to say I can guarantee it, who can truly guarantee such things?" Huang He smiled slightly. "After all, Nobel is dead, and I am not. So, I'm afraid it's difficult for me to guarantee."
"However, the only thing I can guarantee is that as long as I, Huang He, am alive and my personal assets are not depleted to zero, the Huang He Award will not cease to be awarded. In fact, over the past month, the people of the entire nation have given Jiangnan Group unimaginable support. The sales performance of our Jiangnan Blind Boxes this month alone is enough to fund the Huang He Award for ten years."
"Therefore, I plan to set this money aside and not use it for any other purpose, dedicating it solely to awarding prizes. This will at least ensure that the awards and prize money will not be interrupted for the next ten years!" Huang He replied.
"Ten years without interruption means six hundred million yuan! My goodness!"
"Wait, Huang He just said that was a month's sales performance. Does that mean their blind boxes sold 600 million yuan in a single month? What on earth is this thing? Is it selling that well?"
The entire venue was in an uproar again. Regardless of anything else, at least a decade of stability would drive China's technological development for ten years. This was too great a contribution!
"Mr. Huang He, I noticed you said 'performance.' Does that mean these 600 million yuan are not profit, right?" a sharp reporter asked.
"That's correct. These 600 million yuan are indeed the total sales of blind boxes for one month, including costs and profits. If the profit alone was 600 million yuan, wouldn't that be a business more profitable than oil?" Huang He chuckled.
"In that case, your cost burden is indeed very high. Aren't you worried about not having enough development funds for Jiangnan Group? According to our understanding, a loan of over 200 million yuan should be repaid by October this year. Aren't you afraid of your cash flow breaking?" the reporter pressed.
"Cough, cough, have you ever seen an entrepreneur who goes bankrupt doing charity?" Huang He laughed. "I can't tell you much about our company's specific business performance, but I can tell you that our company's cash flow will not break. Our company is developing vigorously."
Huang He's answer made everyone nod involuntarily. Indeed, there shouldn't be any fools in this world doing such things.
This implies that the wealth of the Jiangnan conglomerate must be far greater than 600 million yuan RMB, as only then could it support future development needs. It seems that Jiangnan Group's cash flow is incredibly robust!
As these questions were raised, the doubts about funding gradually subsided, and reporters began to focus on the awards themselves.
"Mr. Huang He, you announced a total of six different awards earlier. The Nobel Prize also has six awards. However, compared to the Nobel Prize, we notice that your Huang He Award has added 'Mathematics and Industrial Award' and 'Individual Award,' but lacks the 'Economics Prize' and 'Peace Prize.' Why is that?" a reporter asked curiously.
"First, let me talk about the Economics Prize and the Peace Prize," Huang He said. "Regarding the Economics Prize, I do not hold a negative view of economics myself. It's just that I believe economics doesn't contribute much to driving social technological development."
"The goal of establishing this award is to hope that China's future talented individuals will concentrate their efforts on scientific research, large-scale industrial production, and enhancing our nation's overall strength, rather than researching economics or engaging in financial industries. These may be very important for social structure, but they contradict my intention to promote scientific research. Therefore, I will never establish an economics prize."
"In fact, Nobel himself probably had similar thoughts. Nobel didn't establish an economics prize; it was later established by the Royal Swedish Academy of Sciences. To some extent, I believe this goes against Nobel's dying wish, and I have decided to respect Nobel's intentions."
Tsk, Huang He's words were quite sharp.
"What about the Peace Prize? The Peace Prize was personally established by Mr. Nobel, wasn't it!" the reporter said.
"That's correct. The Peace Prize was indeed personally established by Nobel. However, on this matter, we must consider our different standpoints. Nobel came from a background in chemistry; he sold explosives worldwide, and later these explosives were used to manufacture weapons."
"As everyone knows, the reason Nobel established the Peace Prize was his shame over the extensive wars caused by his dynamite and the human casualties they brought. He hoped to atone for his mistakes through awards like the Peace Prize, which was the initial intention behind establishing it."
"But I am different. I, Huang He, sell blind boxes and some online services, all of which contribute to the cultural and entertainment life of the people. I have no psychological burden and do not believe I have any guilt to repay. Therefore, I do not need to specifically establish a Peace Prize to compensate for any internal guilt."
"Historically, China has also been a peace-loving nation. Since the late Qing Dynasty, our country has never aggressively invaded any nation. Peace itself is an unwavering belief of our nation and its people."
"Therefore, I believe we do not need to establish a Peace Prize to reward others. On the contrary, it should be the Nobel Peace Prize that rewards our nation's people, because our country is the one truly practicing the concept of peace. Unlike those who frequently initiate wars abroad, we are the ones who deserve rewards!"
Huang He said with a smile, and the sarcasm in his words brought a sense of comfort to many.
This Huang He, he really knew how to speak!
[This chapter surprisingly reached 4000 characters]