Chapter 111: A Visit to the University of Hong Kong
"Of course," Yang Wendong replied formally. "Anyone who can figure out a universal solution for restoring the cube is eligible for the HK$10,000 reward."
If someone really could solve it that quickly, paying the prize would be the least of his concerns. Someone that talented in mathematics would be worth far more—and Yang would gladly pay up.
Based on the Rubik's Cube's history in his past life, the first complete solution method emerged about two years after its release. But that was with a global pool of mathematical minds working on it.
In short, the chance of anyone in 1950s Hong Kong cracking it was near zero. In terms of pure mathematics, Chinese communities were still far behind their Western counterparts.
Professor Yang looked down at the cube in his hand, its six faces still perfectly aligned in their original colors.
He'd been focused on the reward earlier, but now that he was holding it, he absentmindedly twisted it a dozen times.
Within seconds, the cube was scrambled—and his mind felt scrambled too.
He hadn't thought it through yet, but he could already tell: this was going to be very complicated. Even after just a few moves, he had no clue how to get back to the starting point.
"Professor Yang?" Wei Zetao prompted gently. It was normal; they themselves had gotten absorbed in it more than once.
"Oh, sorry," the professor snapped out of it, chuckling apologetically. "I got a bit lost in thought. No problem, gentlemen. I'll spread the word to my students.
But since this involves a large sum, we'll need some proof. You're not actually leaving this check with us, are you?"
"Of course not," Yang Wendong said with a smile. He then pulled out a simple contract document explaining the bounty. At the bottom, it bore the official seal of Changxing Industrial, as well as that of Zhang Weida Law Firm.
Coming to the university wasn't just about handing out cubes. It was about creating buzz—and that meant motivation and credibility.
A rumor of a HK$10,000 reward wouldn't convince anyone. But once the university publicly confirmed it, the campaign would gain real traction. HKU wasn't a top-tier global school, but its word still held weight.
And from the school's point of view, they weren't going to trust just anyone. But a signed and sealed document from a recognized law firm gave everything credibility.
Of course, even with all that, Professor Yang himself stood to gain from this. Otherwise, he wouldn't be so cooperative.
After politely excusing himself, the professor returned about ten minutes later. "Gentlemen," he said with a smile, "the board has approved.
They said they'd be happy to see their students use their intellect to earn a HK$10,000 prize."
"Wonderful. Thank you, Professor Yang," said Yang Wendong. "It's nearly noon. Would you care to join us for a simple meal?"
"Hmm… I suppose I could. I have a class this afternoon, though," he said, pausing. "So just a quick one—no heavy drinking."
"No problem," Yang agreed readily.
In this era, many Chinese men loved drinking—something that persisted even as they aged. Yang could understand it; life offered few pleasures. Alcohol was one of the most affordable escapes.
Later generations had more entertainment options. That's why modern youth weren't nearly as fond of drinking.
The group exited the academic building and made their way toward the university gates. On the way, they passed a grassy area filled with tents and students—some sitting, some standing, all lively.
Seeing Yang's curiosity, Professor Yang smiled and explained, "The weather's perfect this time of year. On weekends, lots of students come here to picnic and relax."
"College life looks nice," Yang remarked with a smile.
The contrast was stark. These students were the same age as the thousands of young people struggling to survive in Hong Kong's shantytowns. There, people labored for over ten hours a day just to avoid going hungry.
Here? It wasn't paradise, but it might as well have been.
So much in life came down to the circumstances of one's birth.
If Yang hadn't been armed with memories of his past life, even with his talents, he probably would've done no more than scrape his way out of the slums. At best, he might have landed a stable job or managed a small business. That would've been the peak of "success" for someone from the squatter settlements.
Professor Yang had no way of knowing what his guest was thinking. He continued, "British university students love camping, so Hong Kong students have gradually picked up the habit too."
"Hmm," Yang murmured in response, saying nothing more. He glanced again at the young men and women living comfortably within the university's ivory towers.
He had to admit, there were indeed some beautiful women around. Nothing too flashy—this era's fashion was still quite conservative.
Even though it wasn't cold, most female students were covered from head to toe. Short sleeves were rare. No legs, no arms.
Hong Kong still followed the Qing Dynasty's legal code in some respects. Things had become more liberal, yes, but women were still expected to dress modestly.
That same code allowed for polygamy and concubinage. Over the past year, Yang had noticed that many successful men had multiple wives.
At a nearby hotel, they shared a modest lunch with Professor Yang.
In the afternoon, the professor brought the cube to his classroom, with Yang Wendong and Su Yiyi joining in—posing as visiting students.
Given their age, they blended in perfectly.
"You two aren't in our class, are you?" a young female student turned around and asked after hearing them whisper behind her.
"We're just here to audit Professor Yang's lecture," Yang replied with a polite smile.
From where he sat, he could only see half her face, but she was clearly very pretty. Smooth skin, good features.
There were many attractive women in Hong Kong, but it was still a surprise to randomly sit behind one in class.
"Oh," she said, a little surprised. "Professor Yang's math lectures really are excellent."
She then turned back around and resumed listening attentively.
Yang also pulled out a notebook. It was the first time he had ever attended a college class in this era.
He had overestimated himself—Yang Wendong found himself completely lost during the advanced mathematics lecture. Halfway through, he was already nodding off.
It wasn't until half an hour later, when the technical portion of the lecture ended, that Professor Yang smiled and said, "Students, today I've brought you a toy."
"A toy?"
The classroom fell into collective confusion. The students looked at one another, puzzled. No one knew what was going on. Even the female student sitting in front of Yang Wendong turned around and asked, "Do you know what's happening?"
"I do. We're here to deliver a little surprise," Yang said with a smile.
On stage, Professor Yang added, "Alright, quiet please. Mr. Yang and Miss Su, if you would."
At his cue, Yang Wendong and Su Yiyi stood up and began handing out Rubik's Cubes—one for each student.
"What is this?" the students murmured as they received the cube. Some quickly discovered it could be twisted.
After distributing the cubes, Yang and Su returned to their seats. Even now, decades later, the etiquette remained the same: in someone else's lecture, never steal the spotlight. This was Professor Yang's platform.
"You two aren't in this class, are you?" the girl in front asked again, clearly curious.
"We're just auditing Professor Yang's lecture," Yang replied with a grin.
Now that she had turned fully around, he could see her whole face—she was indeed beautiful. Smooth skin, elegant features. While Hong Kong had plenty of pretty girls, running into one at random like this was still a pleasant surprise.
Since he wasn't offering more information, she didn't press further. It wasn't the kind of setting where you could chat casually.
Professor Yang resumed, "This is called a Rubik's Cube. It's a twistable puzzle toy. Originally, each face has a single color—six colors in total.
The goal of the game is to scramble the cube, then figure out how to restore it to its original state."
As he spoke, he rotated the cube in his hands. In seconds, all six faces were scrambled into chaos.
The students below immediately began twisting their own cubes. But after just a few turns, they were completely lost—unable to return to the solved state.
Small clusters of students began whispering, theorizing, speculating.
After about ten minutes, Professor Yang checked his watch and called for silence. "Alright, everyone, settle down."
The room quieted quickly.
"This toy was invented by a local Hong Kong toy company," he announced. "They're offering a challenge to anyone here at the University of Hong Kong: if you can figure out how to consistently solve the cube—no matter the configuration—they'll pay you a reward."
"And just how much do you think that reward is?" he added, holding up one finger.
"100?" many students guessed aloud.
HK$1 or even HK$10 seemed too low to be worth it. They hadn't fully grasped the difficulty of the puzzle, but they instinctively knew it wasn't simple.
"Nope," Professor Yang replied in English—a common practice among Hong Kong professors at the time.
"1000?" The class erupted.
Even for relatively well-off families, HK$1,000 wasn't pocket change. Students especially would never turn down that kind of money.
Seeing they couldn't guess, Professor Yang finally said loudly, "It's HK$10,000."
The room exploded like a thunderclap. Gasps, exclamations, and murmurs filled the space.
From the back of the room, Yang Wendong watched the chaos unfold with satisfaction. In today's terms, HK$10,000 was worth far more than 2020's equivalent of a million renminbi. Though maybe not quite a million USD, it still packed serious weight.
"Professor, are you sure?" asked a student who looked like the class monitor.
"Of course," Professor Yang nodded. "In a few days, word of this will spread across campus.
Anyone who discovers a universal method to solve the cube—regardless of whether you work alone or in a team—will receive the reward.
How you split the money is up to you."
Another wave of chatter surged through the room.
He continued, "You are the first group to know about this—and the only group to receive a free cube. Take advantage of the opportunity.
Once you graduate and enter the working world, you'll understand just how valuable HK$10,000 really is."
The students understood. Some came from wealthy homes, but most were middle class at best. Few would say they didn't care about ten grand.
After the lecture, Yang and Su strolled down a shaded campus path.
"Brother Dong," Su Yiyi asked curiously, "why did you only hand out cubes to this class and not the rest of the students?"
Yang smiled. "It's not about cost—the cubes are cheap. I just want to see how many people are willing to buy it at the 2.5-dollar price point."
That was the factory price he had decided on, offered here as a promotional discount to their first group of customers.
Su nodded. "Ah, I see."
Yang continued, "I don't think that price is too much for the wealthy. But no one can be 100% sure.
Hong Kong's moderately wealthy families are probably on par with average Western households.
If I can gauge purchasing interest from this group, it'll help me estimate future market potential, advertising budgets, and the type of distributors we should target."
The first sales numbers in any market were critical. Overseas partners would use these figures to decide whether to carry the product, and to negotiate pricing and profit margins.
Product positioning was notoriously tricky. In the modern data-driven era, companies had analytics and entire marketing teams—and they still got pricing wrong.
Fortunately, in this old-school era, the lack of transparency was an advantage. A misstep on initial pricing wasn't fatal. You could always adjust it later—unlike today, where dropping your price would anger existing customers, and raising it would drive new ones away.
"Let's head back," Yang said. "Campus marketing is efficient, but it won't yield results overnight."
"Alright," Su nodded—then suddenly paused. "Brother Dong, isn't that the girl from class who sat in front of us?"
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