More than a dozen countries had set up their own exchange areas in the yard outside the competition venue. Every country's booth had many writing boards and racks, as well as a translation booth. There was also a display area that displayed the achievements and achievements of the various countries in the mathematics world. The prize and exchange topic were also displayed in the booth.
"Come on!"
"Beat them!"
"Don't lose this time!"
"Children, don't cry. Let your teacher get back at you!"
The Chinese tourists were cheering them on. Some of the foreign tourists were also cheering for their own countries' mathematicians. The scene was bustling with noise and excitement.
The prize was revealed.
The United Kingdom's booth displayed a donation check, or rather, a scholarship check. It was 50,000 GBP, which was not a small amount. Then, a red-haired staff member at their booth flipped open the question board. Everyone looked at the topic. The commoners naturally did not understand it, but the other countries' mathematicians and the young contestants could see it clearly. They knew that it was the same as previous years and the United Kingdom did not set any difficult questions. Although they were not easy, there would definitely be people who could answer them.
At the Chinese booth, the team leader, Wang Yiming, and the assistant team leader, Xin Ya, were hosting the event. Han Henian and some of the seniors of the mathematics world were also present. As this was their home ground and they were the hosts, the scale of their booth was quite large. There were many people here, including some of the authoritative figures of the mathematics world. Some of them went into the booth area, while others did not. They were in the yard looking at the other countries' topics.
The prize for the Chinese team was an ink painting. It seemed to be the work of a famous Qing Dynasty artist. The brush strokes were bold, yet exquisite. The painting depicted a majestic eagle that looked very lifelike. The value of this painting should not be low. It should be worth at least a million RMB. As for the topic, the Chinese team had set up a rather difficult one. After all, they were the organizers, so if the topic was too easy, it would be a little embarrassing. They could not allow people to answer it too quickly. The topic was a geometric diagram that was derived from a new topic by one of the Chinese mathematicians. After much discussion and research by Xin Ya, Han Henian, and the others, they finally decided on this topic. They had put a lot of effort into it.
The Japanese team...
The Korean team...
The prize and topic were displayed one by one.
"Wow."
"The Koreans' prize is not bad."
"Yeah, it's quite expensive."
"The Germans' is not bad either."
"The Japanese are a little scared. It doesn't look valuable at all."
They could not understand the questions, but the tourists still knew the value of the items. They were all pointing at the inside from the periphery. They were at the top of the platform. Although they could not enter the exchange area, there was a blockade that only allowed relevant personnel or media personnel to enter. However, the exchange area and competition area were a few steps below the platform. Looking down from above, they could see everything clearly, and there was no obstruction in their line of sight.
Wu Zeqing was also in the venue, talking to a few other leaders from the higher education institutions.
When Han Henian saw Wu Zeqing, he was surprised. He went over to greet her, "President Wu, why are you here?"
Wu Zeqing smiled. "It was a coincidence."
The Head of Nanjing University's Mathematics Department stroked his beard and chuckled, "Teacher Han, you've got guts. I heard that you've confessed to President Wu on Weibo?"
A few people from the mathematics world smiled. Although Han Henian was a newcomer, he had a good foundation and a bright future. Many of the older people in the mathematics world were optimistic about him.
When Han Henian was mentioned, he also felt very embarrassed. "Ahem."
The department head said, "Our University's President Wu is not easy to woo. All the best. If you can really woo President Wu, you'll be bringing honor to our mathematics world."
Han Henian gave a dry laugh and said, "Alright, I'll work hard." Saying that, he noticed Wu Zeqing's expression. She looked exceptionally beautiful today and looked very dignified in her qipao.
Wu Zeqing was still smiling gently. "Let's work hard for the Mathematics Grand Competition's exchange event. I think it's already started?"
Everyone knew that Wu Zeqing did not like to hear such things, so they did not say anything more. Some jokes should not be made.
At the mention of the competition, a few people from the mathematics world turned serious. "Little Han, are you going to answer the questions for this exchange?"
Han Henian nodded. "I'll go first. If I can't do it, there's still Professor Xin and Professor Wang."
A senior mathematician said, "That American question must be won. We are the organizers this time, but our children only managed to get third place. You guys have to work harder." With a pause, he said, "Last year, the Americans did not pay much attention to the questions. They did it on purpose and had no intention of having an exchange at all. But this year, it should be better. I don't think there will be any Math Conundrum from now on."
Han Henian said, "I understand."
Suddenly, the American prize was the last to be revealed.
But when they first saw it, many of them were slightly taken aback.
A few blonde American mathematicians took out a small box and opened it. They placed it on the prize column on the display stand. Inside was an emerald jade thumb ring. It was still chipped, and from the looks of it, it was definitely an old item. It was an old piece of jade and looked like it was more than a hundred years old. It seemed to be from the Qing Dynasty. Back then, the quality of the jade was not very good, and it was probably not that particular. It was not like now, where emeralds could be found everywhere. However, its value was definitely not any lower than the quality of jade now. This was because it was an old item!
There were experts in the crowd.
"Jade thumb ring?"
"This chipped piece is from the palace!"
"Is this a thumb ring that was stolen from the palace?"
"It must be. This coating is at least a hundred years old!"
A lot of the history of this world had not changed. The history of the Eight-Nation Alliance invading Beijing was still there. This jade thumb ring that was either from the palace or the royal family was probably stolen at that time. It was unknown how it ended up in the hands of the American mathematics world and was used as a prize this time. Generally speaking, every Math Conundrum exchange event was also a showcase of the culture of the various countries. Most of the countries would bring out some of their own cultural specialties. No one could have expected that the American team that came to China to participate in this international competition would actually use an item that was stolen from China as a prize. It was even done in a place like Summer Palace Park!
Many of the park visitors were having none of it!
"Holy sh * t!"
"The Americans are doing this on purpose!"
"F * * k! They're trying to take advantage of us! "
The park visitors and mathematicians from the other countries did not understand why the Chinese people were so agitated. They were all blinking their eyes in confusion.
Xin Ya was also angered to the point of amusement, "What an American!"
The team leader, Wang Yiming, who did not like to speak much, also had a sullen expression, "Is this a provocation?"
An old senior of the mathematics world suppressed his anger and said, "It's fanning the flames! The Americans must solve this problem! It's our own thing, so we will take it back ourselves! "
Han Henian said with a sullen expression, "Don't worry!"
At this moment, the Chinese mathematicians were in high spirits!
The Chinese media reporters immediately pointed their cameras at them and started snapping away. The reporters did not look too good either.
Wu Zeqing also saw the old jade thumb ring and seemed to be thinking about something.
Zhang Ye was also tickled by the Americans' actions. He was so angry that he started laughing. But when he noticed the look in Old Wu's eyes, he suddenly had an idea.
Jade thumb ring?
Old Wu seemed to like it a lot?
Zhang Ye touched the token of love that Old Wu had given him on his wrist and pondered.
On the other side, under the watchful eyes of everyone, the American mathematicians flipped open the question that they had given this year. When the question was flipped open, a lot of cursing and swearing could not be held back!
"They must be doing this on purpose!"
"It's this question again?"
"They're not done yet? It was this question last year! "
"It's the same question as last year?"
The Chinese mathematicians all had ugly looks on their faces. The people from the other countries' mathematics world were also frowning and shaking their heads. The American mathematics world was too arrogant.
The park visitors did not understand why everyone was reacting so strongly to this question. It was only when the university volunteers who were in charge of the math game explained it to them that they understood!
This was Dale's Conjecture!
A world-class mathematics problem!
A problem that had troubled the mathematics world for decades without being able to solve!
This conjecture was first proposed by the Americans several decades ago. Countless mathematicians from all over the world had tried to solve it for several decades without being able to solve it. This mathematical conjecture had not received much attention at the beginning, but later on, it became the focus of the entire world. More and more people knew about this world-class problem. Even the park visitors who were watching from the sidelines did not understand anything from the question, but when they heard the words "Dale's Conjecture", they were suddenly enlightened. This was one of the top ten world-class problems of the modern mathematics world and no one had been able to solve it before!
The Americans had brought it out?
They had done it once last year and were doing it again this year?
They had no intention of having an exchange at all. The American mathematicians who had come to lead the team for this year's competition did not seem to care about this event at all. They were just doing it half-heartedly and had directly brought out a conjecture that had been proposed by a mathematician from their country. They were just going through the motions and were preparing to return to their country after the exchange ended. They did not put the other countries' mathematicians in their eyes at all and were very arrogant.
Xin Ya said angrily, "If they were to bring out such a world-class problem, then what's the point of an exchange!"
A park visitor shouted angrily, "Solve it! Show the Americans what we're made of! "
"Right, solve it! The Americans are going too far! "An old man also shouted at the top of his lungs.
But when they heard that, the Chinese mathematicians did not know whether to laugh or cry. Solve Dale's Conjecture? If we can fucking solve it! Then what are we still standing here for!? We would have won a world-class mathematics award a long time ago! Do we still need to wait for an exchange like this to solve it? This was a conjecture that had stumped the entire mathematics world!
The Americans were not particular about it!
Wang Yiming, Xin Ya, and the others all knew that they would not be able to get the jade thumb ring back from the palace, but they could not say anything about it either. After all, Dale's Conjecture was indeed proposed by an American mathematician. Even if they brought it out for an exchange, they would not be able to find fault with it!
A British mathematician shook his head and said, "The Americans are too ungentlemanly."
A female French mathematician said, "There's no point in coming up with such a question."
Everyone knew that there was no way to solve it. The mathematicians from all over the world shifted their attention away from the Americans' question and looked at the other countries' questions.
There was only one exception, and that was Zhang Ye.
Zhang Ye stared at that so-called "Dale's Conjecture" for a long time. He had never heard of the name "Dale's Conjecture" in this world before, but the content of this conjecture made Zhang Ye stunned. Eh, why did it look so familiar?
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