Chapter 448: n.o.bel and FieldsTranslator: Henyee Translations Editor: Henyee Translations
October 4th was the national holiday in China.
Most people were either taking a break, traveling, or playing with their phones in bed.
Other than the prize giving day in December, very few people paid attention to the names of the n.o.bel Prize winners.
Unless…
There was a special name on the list of winners.
The moment the news was broadcasted, or rather, there was no need for the news broadcast at all.
The second the list was announced, the news of Lu Zhou winning the n.o.bel Prize spread across the fields of chemistry, materials science, condensed matter physics, and mathematics at an incredible speed.
After the first news article came out online, the rest followed like a tsunami, flooding Weibo and WeChat.
After the legitimacy of the news was confirmed, almost half of China was discussing this event.
[Oh my G.o.d, a mathematician won the n.o.bel Prize!]
[Jesus, if I recalled correctly, G.o.d Lu won the Fields Medal at the International Congress of Mathematicians, right?]
[Winning both the n.o.bel Prize and Fields Medal! Scary…]
[Organic chemists must be crying right now; this year’s n.o.bel Prize wasn’t stolen by biologists…]
[24-year-old n.o.bel Prize winner… One year younger than the youngest n.o.bel Prize winner in history. This might be a world record!]
[G.o.d Lu is nutty!]
[Shuimu University sent a congratulatory message!]
[Yanjing University sent a congratulatory message!]
[Jin Ling University sent a congratulatory message!]
[…]
Lu Zhou had never been number one on trending. He hadn’t even had time to share his joy with his fans, but he was already b.u.mped to number one on trending.
What did the n.o.bel Prize represent?
For the country, this represented confidence as it meant that China’s scientific research was on par with international research standards. It meant that more students doing the college entrance examination would major in biochemical. It also meant many other things…
At the same time, it also meant that Lu Zhou’s birthplace, residence, and schools would try to develop themselves into a tourist, education, and cultural attractions.
As for Lu Zhou himself, the significance of the n.o.bel Prize was extraordinary.
There wasn’t a single international scientific research inst.i.tute in the world that would refuse the partic.i.p.ation of a n.o.bel Prize winner.
The same thing applied in China.
Not just that, but he would receive an insane amount of respect, special treatment, and resources. The kind that most scientific researchers couldn’t even begin to imagine.
…
They spent around two hours eating.
Chen Baohua was somewhat off his game.
He never expected Lu Zhou to win the n.o.bel Prize. Not just that, but he was afraid that the Communist Party also didn’t expect this to happen.
A n.o.bel-level scholar and a n.o.bel Prize winner was completely different…
After dinner, Chen Baohua went back to Philadelphia International Airport. He didn’t spend an extra day in Philadelphia. He was on the next flight back to China.
Apparently, the Communist Party called him in for a meeting. Therefore, he didn’t want to stay here for long.
Also, he said that he would convey Lu Zhou’s requests to the higher-ups.
After driving Chen Baohua to the airport, Lu Zhou drove Chen Yushan back to the University of Pennsylvania.
While getting off the car, Lu Zhou suddenly remembered something.
“Are you interested in the n.o.bel Prize?”
“Of course I’m interested.”
“Are you available in December?”
“I am! Are you taking me there?” Chen Yushan’s eyes lit up, and she quickly nodded. However, she realized she might cause trouble for Lu Zhou, so she asked, “Can you bring people to the n.o.bel Prize award ceremony? This won’t cause any trouble, right?”
If it caused trouble for Lu Zhou, she wouldn’t want to go…
Lu Zhou smiled and said, “What trouble, friends and relatives can all go.”
Whether it was the award venue or the world-famous n.o.bel Prize dinner, as a n.o.bel laureate, he had powers to invite any family and friends he wanted.
Also, apparently in the past, there was no upper limit on the number of friends and family he could bring to the n.o.bel Prize party.
That was until 1988, when Camilo José Cela, the winner of the n.o.bel Prize in Literature, brought 68 people from his village to the dinner. His action had frightened the n.o.bel Committee.
Therefore, a new rule was implemented—n.o.bel Prize laureates couldn’t bring more than 14 relatives or friends.
However, 14 people were a bit too much for Lu Zhou.
He didn’t have that many relatives, and he was only close to his parents and Xiao Tong.
His parents and Xiao Tong definitely had to go, so that took up three spots. Because this all happened so suddenly, Lu Zhou didn’t know who else he should invite for the remaining 11 spots.
Therefore, since Chen Yushan seemed to be very interested, he decided to ask her.
Chen Yushan said in a happy tone, “Really? Then I’m going! I have never been to a n.o.bel Prize award ceremony before.”
Lu Zhou smiled.
It’s totally normal that you haven’t been to one.
99.9999% will never have the chance to go…
…
It was pretty late once Lu Zhou got back to Princeton.
He didn’t go to his office at the Inst.i.tute for Advanced Study. Instead, he drove straight home.
After taking a shower, Lu Zhou lay in bed with his phone. When he saw the 99+ notifications on Weibo, he couldn’t help but smirk.
Should I do a n.o.bel Prize dinner lottery for my fans?
Lu Zhou thought about it for a bit and decided to give up on the idea.
Although it sounds interesting, the logistics are way too complicated…
His phone suddenly rang.
It was from Xiao Tong.
Lu Zhou picked up the phone.
An excited voice came from the other end of the telephone.
“Brother, brother! My mathematical modeling compet.i.tion results are out! I receive a first-level national prize!”
When Lu Zhou heard the good news, he smiled and said, “First-level national prize… Not bad at all. You have potential!”
Lu Zhou was thinking about the time when he was in the mathematical modeling compet.i.tion.
He hadn’t been in contact with his two compet.i.tion teammates.
He wondered how they were doing.
Xiao Tong smirked at Lu Zhou’s compliment. Although Lu Zhou couldn’t see her face right now, he could imagine her narcissistic smile.
In many ways, Xiao Tong was like him.
The only difference was their levels of humbleness.
Xiao Tong laughed and asked, “Then brother, is there a reward?”
Lu Zhou smiled. “There is, how about I take you on a trip?”
“Really?” Xiao Tong’s eyes lit up, but suddenly, she felt suspicious of it. She said, “But brother, you’re usually very busy. When did you have the time to go on a vacation?”
Lu Zhou said, “It’s not just for vacationing.”
Xiao Tong asked, “Not just for vacationing?”
Lu Zhou smiled and said, “Yeah, it’s also to receive a n.o.bel Prize.”
In addition to the n.o.bel Prize, there was also the long-awaited Clay Inst.i.tute Millennium Prize Problems.
Since he was going to Europe anyway, he might as well visit the Inst.i.tut de France to receive his million-dollar reward for solving one of the Millennium Prize Problems…
Xiao Tong: “…”