Morning, 8 AM.
Zhang Ye, who was at home flirting with Old Wu, suddenly received a very unexpected call. It was so unexpected that he was not prepared for it at all. The news had come so suddenly!
"Hello, is this Teacher Zhang?" It was a young man's voice on the other end.
Zhang Ye asked: "That's me, who is this?"
The young man immediately said: "Hello, I am a staff member from Peking University's administrative office."
Zhang Ye was puzzled: "Peking University? Oh, hello. "
The young man sounded very anxious: "I would like to ask, are you in Beijing right now?"
Zhang Ye said: "I'm here."
"That's great! Could you please come to Peking University right now? " The young man immediately said: "We just received a notification a few minutes ago. It was a fax from the American Abel Math Foundation informing us that you will be the recipient of this year's Abel International Mathematics Prize. The person in charge is already on the way here. We have also informed the school and the School of Mathematical Sciences. Everyone is already on their way here!"
Zhang Ye was a little taken aback: "Abel Math Prize?"
"Congratulations, Teacher Zhang!" The youth was very happy, and from the tone of his voice, it was not one of flattery, but of genuine excitement. "You've really brought glory to our Peking University this time. Ever since the first edition of the prestigious Abel Prize in the international mathematics world, you're the first person to receive Chinese citizenship! In the past 40 years, there has never been a Chinese person who has won the prize! "
"Is that so?"
"That's right!"
"Thank you. Alright then, I'll be there in a bit."
"Don't be in a bit. It's best if you go out now. Dean Pan and the others have already heard the news and canceled their leave to come back!"
"Alright then, I'll be there right away!"
"Alright, we'll be waiting for you!"
After hanging up, Dean Pan Yang from Peking University's School of Mathematical Sciences called.
"Professor Zhang, did you hear?" Pan Yang was very excited.
Zhang Ye laughed: "I just heard about it too. I didn't know how to react."
Pan Yang laughed heartily, "Me too. I thought that such an international award would have to wait until your proof of Dale's Conjecture was proven. I never expected that the award would come so early. But then again, even if Dale's Conjecture has not been proven yet, the basic idea has already been revealed. The few arguments to the contrary that you proposed in the proof all have great mathematical value and significance. This is more than enough for you to receive the award as an exception. Giving you the award even before the proof is completed isn't too much. After all, Dale's Conjecture is known as one of the hardest mathematical conjectures in the world!"
Zhang Ye was also very polite. "It's all thanks to Dean Pan's guidance."
Dean Pan said happily, "Don't say that. I don't dare to accept any credit from you. Congratulations."
"Same to you," Zhang Ye said.
Dean Pan said, "I'm almost at Peking University, so you should hurry over as well. We'll talk about the rest when we arrive. Oh right, don't forget to dress formally. I've already informed the reporters, so there will be a lot of people here today!"
"Alright." Zhang Ye hung up.
In the house.
Wu Zeqing got the gist of it. "You won an award?"
Zhang Ye smiled and said, "I heard it was some Abel Prize or something."
Old Wu nodded and turned around to open his wardrobe. She found a suit for him and said, "Hurry up and go. Put on a suit and make it look more formal. Where's the tie?"
"There's a small drawer at the bottom." Zhang Ye pointed.
After putting on his clothes and looking in the mirror, Old Wu carefully helped Zhang Ye tie his tie. It was actually quite good to tie it once, but Old Wu was not satisfied with it, so she untied it and tied it another two times before she was satisfied.
"It's done," Old Wu said.
Zhang Ye was a little embarrassed. "I've only just asked you to come over, so I have to get going. Why don't we do it this way? Since you're off today, why don't you wait for me at home? I'll be back in the afternoon after I'm done with work."
Wu Zeqing said, "OK."
"Then I'll get going."
"What are we having for lunch?"
"I love anything that you cook."
On the way to Peking University, while Zhang Ye was waiting at a red light, he purposely took out his cell phone and searched for the so-called Abel Prize on the Internet to understand more about it. Perhaps the people of this world were very familiar with it, but Zhang Ye was different. Strictly speaking, he was not considered a person of this world.
According to the information on the Internet, this award was not the most prestigious award in the field of mathematics. But even though it wasn't the most prestigious, it was still a very well-known international award in the mathematics world. The value of the award was quite high, and the vetting criteria were very strict. This was also the convention of all international awards. If you didn't have a superhuman achievement, it would be impossible for you to be awarded the award. Moreover, this superhuman achievement only applied to foreigners or Westerners. For a Chinese person to receive an international award like this, it was even more stringent. They would have to be the best of the best in order to have a chance of winning it. Quantifying the past international awards, if a Westerner and a Chinese person had roughly the same achievement, then the chances of the Westerner winning the award would definitely be more than ten times higher than the Chinese person. There might be an element of chance, but to say that there wasn't any bias at all? In any case, Zhang Ye didn't believe it.
Furthermore, in the decades since the founding of the People's Republic, the Chinese mathematicians had also received some achievements and awards in the international arena. But an internationally important award like the Abel Prize was still very rare. Almost no one had ever received it before. The Chinese mathematicians had at most received some of the less prestigious awards or were awarded by their own country. Many of the famous mathematicians in the country had no chance of getting any of the more prestigious international awards!
As such, the value of the Abel Prize that Zhang Ye was about to receive was even higher. This was also the first time in history that a Chinese citizen had received this award, so it was of great historical significance. To put it in a more positive light, it could even be said that this was a big step forward for the Chinese mathematics world on the international stage!
...
Peking University.
When the car arrived at the school entrance, there was a huge crowd!
"It's Zhang Ye's car!"
"Professor Zhang is here!"
"Professor Zhang!"
More than 20 media reporters had rushed over after hearing the news. When they saw Zhang Ye's car, they immediately swarmed over and surrounded him at the school entrance. Above the school entrance, many of the Peking University students and school staff were arranging banners. A large red banner had been hastily made, with the words "A warm congratulations to Peking University's Math Department Associate Professor Zhang Ye for winning the International Abel Prize" written on it. The left side of the banner had already been hung up, while the right side of the banner was being hung up by many people standing on ladders to the school entrance. As time was tight, the scene was relatively simple, but it was very lively!
The Peking University students who were staying at the dormitory came out to watch the commotion.
The number of people from the media also increased gradually. Many of the reporters had driven over and ran back to the school, all of them panting. Clearly, the news had come too suddenly and the Chinese side was not prepared for it!
Seeing this, Zhang Ye naturally did not want to drive his car in directly, so he found a roadside parking spot.
"Professor Zhang, congratulations!" a female reporter from the Beijing News Channel shouted.
Zhang Ye smiled and said, "Thank you, I also just found out about the news."
A newspaper reporter raised his voice recorder and said loudly, "Professor Zhang, you've become the first scholar in the history of China to win the Abel Prize. What are your thoughts on this?" As Zhang Ye had many identities, the reporters would address him differently depending on the occasion. Sometimes, they would address him as Teacher Zhang, and at other times, they would address him as Professor Zhang.
Zhang Ye said, "The award has just been decided and hasn't been handed out yet."
A reporter laughed and said, "We're just short of going to America to receive the award. Why don't you tell us your thoughts first?"
Zhang Ye laughed and said, "We'll talk about it later, we'll talk about it later." He squeezed his way into the school.
If it were any other mathematician, a low-key academic worker would definitely not be used to such a situation. They might not even be able to handle the media, but Zhang Ye was clearly different. This fellow was not only involved in academic work, he was also a big shot in the entertainment industry. He dealt with reporters all year round, so be it entertainment reporters, news reporters, or even academic newspaper reporters, he was able to handle all of them.
Not long after, a group of teachers and professors from Peking University's Math Department walked over.
Dean Pan Yang led the way. "Haha, Professor Zhang, congratulations!"
Behind him, the teachers and professors from the School of Mathematical Sciences also congratulated him.
"Congratulations!"
"Professor Zhang, you've really brought honor to our Peking University!"
"This award is such a surprise and a pleasant surprise!"
"We've all come out to welcome you, Professor Zhang!"
Everyone was in a jubilant mood. Zhang Ye's honor in the international mathematics world was an honor for the Chinese mathematics world, as well as an honor for their Peking University's Math Department. Everyone was very excited as the halo that Zhang Ye had brought to their Peking University's Math Department was clearly not ordinary. Even the Chinese Academy of Sciences' Math Fellows had not received the Abel Prize before, but now it had been won by Peking University's Zhang Ye. What kind of honor was that?
But Zhang Ye was overwhelmed by the favor and quickly walked over. "Don't do that. How could I deserve to have all of you seniors and teachers come out to welcome me? You're all being too polite."
An old professor from the Math Department stroked his white beard and said with a smile, "Kid, don't stand on ceremony. If you can bring back a few more international mathematics awards for Peking University, I'll welcome you back every day!"
Pan Yang smiled and said, "Old Professor Sun, it's not an award for Peking University. It's an individual award."
The old professor stared at him. "Isn't Little Zhang from Peking University? If Little Zhang wins an award, it means that we will win an award as well! We're all family here, so what's the difference? "
The people from the Math Department all laughed, thinking to themselves, "Who would take on everything like you do?" However, they also knew that Old Professor Sun did not mean anything by it. He was just really happy, happy for Peking University and also happy for the Chinese mathematics world. After so many years, China had finally produced such an amazing person like Zhang Ye. This was a height that very few people from the older generation had ever reached, but now, it had been reached by a young mathematician in his twenties. The proof for Dale's Conjecture had not been completed yet, so it couldn't be said that Dale's Conjecture had been solved yet. But thinking about it, it was only a matter of time. When Dale's Conjecture was really proven and Zhang Ye's proof procedure was confirmed, then there was no doubt that Zhang Ye would reach even greater heights. Who knows, maybe even the most prestigious international mathematics award that was given once every four years would no longer be just a dream.
Amidst the joyous atmosphere, the school leaders of Peking University arrived one after another. One of them had taken a few days off from work due to a cold, but when he heard the news, he also rushed over from home.
A few of the school leaders met at the entrance.
"Is the news true?"
"It's absolutely true! We've already confirmed it with the Abel Foundation! "
"That's great! In the future, there will no longer be any doubts about our Peking University's standing in the Chinese mathematics world. Even our international rankings will surely rise!"
"Zhang Ye's suspension?"
"Resume his classes! Immediately! "
"Right, quickly inform the school administration that it has to be dealt with immediately. Don't put the resumption date on today, just put it on last month and directly file it into the archives. Otherwise, if the media finds out about this, it won't look good on us. As for resuming his classes, we'll do as Zhang Ye wishes. But it looks like we can't set a schedule for him anymore, so he can come to Peking University to teach and talk about some things if he has the time. If he doesn't have the time, we won't force him to do so.
"Alright, I'll get someone to handle it!"
With just a few words, the matter of Zhang Ye's reinstatement was settled. At this point, no one was too embarrassed to suspend Zhang Ye's classes anymore. Actually, the reason why Zhang Ye was suspended previously was actually to protect him. It was to deal with the matter of him scolding the foreign guests in a low-key manner. Otherwise, they could have just fired him instead of taking the unnecessary step of suspending him. As for those teachers and leaders of Peking University who had conflicts with Zhang Ye, they did not dare to say anything about the school administration's decision to allow Zhang Ye to resume his classes. There were many teachers in Peking University and they did not lack teachers, but there was only one teacher like Zhang Ye who had won the Abel International Mathematics Prize. Who was more important, even a fool would know!
Ten minutes later, someone from the Mathematics Association arrived!
Another ten minutes later, even someone from the Chinese Academy of Sciences came to congratulate him!
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