After class, Lu Zhou spent around ten minutes answering all the students' questions. Regardless of whether they were simple or complex, he put away his textbook and left the classroom.
Perelman, who had been waiting for a long time, stood up from his seat and walked out of the classroom. He walked next to Lu Zhou.
After walking for a while, he suddenly opened his mouth with a contemplative expression on his face.
"A very ordinary class."
Lu Zhou smiled and said, "It's a course for undergraduate students. If it's too difficult, they might not understand."
Perelman: "Why are you lecturing to undergraduate students?"
Lu Zhou: "Occasionally reviewing why the obvious is obvious helps us think about why the less obvious is not obvious … In fact, this is also Fermi's point of view, and I agree with him. Maybe some of the students in my class will win the Nobel Prize in Fields, which is much better than winning the prize myself. "
Perelman's expression didn't change.
He had always pursued pure mathematics awards. Therefore, when Lu Zhou said this, it didn't resonate with him.
However, the first half of Lu Zhou's sentence made him fall into deep thought. He couldn't help but mutter to himself.
"… Something not so obvious."
"Yeah." Lu Zhou nodded and said in a casual tone, "For example, motive theory and the Langlands program. These things seem easy to understand, but they actually explain the less obvious principles. What is the nature of numbers and shapes? Our civilization has been thinking about this question since the existence of mathematics. And in history, great mathematicians were often theologians or philosophers. "
Perelman: "Are you a theologian?"
Lu Zhou: "Unfortunately, I'm a stubborn materialist … We're here, this is my office."
Lu Zhou took out his keys and opened the door. He then turned on the lights.
Normally, there were people on duty here, but today was Saturday, so his three assistants got off work at four o 'clock. As for the students, because he never made it mandatory for them to clock in at the office, they basically spent their weekends in the library or doing their own things.
"Help me move the whiteboard in the corner."
"Okay."
Perelman walked up and dragged the whiteboard out from the corner. Lu Zhou took out a marker from his desk drawer.
He walked to the whiteboard and was about to answer his friend's question when he heard footsteps coming from outside the office. Another acquaintance knocked on the door and walked in.
"Academician Lu, I'm here again. Are you Professor Perelman?" When Dean Qin saw Perelman standing next to Lu Zhou with his arms crossed, he was so shocked that he began to speak incoherently.
He just came back from a meeting and was about to talk to Lu Zhou about how to deal with this matter. He didn't expect to see Lu Zhou in his office.
When Perelman saw this unfamiliar old man, he hesitated for a second before he nodded and spoke in fluent English.
"Yeah … Is there a problem?"
"No, no problem, we just didn't expect you to suddenly visit." Dean Qin controlled the excitement in his heart and said, "It would be better if you told us in advance."
Perelman looked at him strangely and said, "I'm just here to talk to Professor Lu, do I need to apply?"
"No, no, no, that's not what I meant. There's a difference between saying hello and applying, we just need to prepare. What do I say … "
Lu Zhou looked at Dean Qin awkwardly and thought for a bit. He immediately understood what Dean Qin was thinking and shook his head with a smile.
"Leave it to me."
Dean Qin sighed in relief and smiled as he said, "Thank you … I'll talk to you later, you guys go back to work."
After that, Dean Qin left the office and closed the door.
Because Lu Zhou and the old man were communicating in Chinese, Perelman didn't understand. He looked at Lu Zhou in confusion.
"What did you guys just talk about?"
"Nothing, just a small matter about work," said Lu Zhou. He smiled and opened the pen cap with his thumb. He looked at the whiteboard and said, "Let's continue."
…
Perelman clearly made ample preparations for this trip to China.
From the small notebook that he carried with him, he could see that not only were there some commonly used Chinese books with phonetic symbols and corresponding words, but there were also a lot of densely packed notes that he had made while researching the thesis.
Honestly speaking, it wasn't easy for Lu Zhou to answer Perelman's questions. He was still researching a lot of things, and he was only able to answer 60% to 70% of the questions.
"… Your questions are interesting, but unfortunately, I can only answer these. I'll only be able to answer the rest after the research is completed."
"It's okay." Perelman closed the notebook in his hand and shook his head. He had a look of admiration on his face as he said, "I was planning on discussing these things with you, I didn't expect you to know so much …"
Lu Zhou: "…"
F * ck.
Why didn't you say so earlier?
He thought Lu Zhou was reading his thesis and came up with these questions. He didn't expect Lu Zhou to only be half right. These problems were indeed summed up by Lu Zhou when he read his own thesis, but they were not problems in his thesis at all.
The expression on Lu Zhou's face didn't change. He smiled and spoke humbly.
"Same here. Hearing you ask these questions, I'm sure you've done some research on the Grand Unified Theory. It just so happens that my research project is still lacking people … I don't know if you're interested. "
When Lu Zhou said this, he didn't have much hope. After all, Lu Zhou's temper was well-known in the mathematics world.
Unexpectedly, Perelman's reaction was beyond Lu Zhou's expectations. Lu Zhou didn't even think for a second before he nodded and spoke.
"If my work is necessary, please let me join you."
Perelman saw that Lu Zhou didn't say anything, so he frowned and spoke.
"… Is there a problem?"
"… Nothing, I'm just a little surprised. I didn't expect you to agree so readily."
After recovering from the surprise, Lu Zhou was happy. He said cheerfully, "Everyone's work is indispensable. With your help, I believe this building will be more complete … Anyway, welcome, we are now comrades in the same trench."
Lu Zhou turned around and returned to his desk. He opened the drawer and took out a document. After briefly checking the contents and confirming that he didn't take the wrong document, he handed it to Perelman.
"This is a document about visiting exchanges. It has been stamped. You just need to sign your name. With this, you can get a new long-term visa at the immigration office.
"Also, I'm guessing you don't have a place to live. The new dormitory building at Jin Ling University happens to have a pretty good apartment. It's about 90 square meters, and it's on campus. It's very close to the library and the mathematics department's laboratory building. I can help you apply for a visiting scholar status. Again, you just need to sign this document — "
After listening to the series of arrangements that Lu Zhou threw at him, Perelman paused for a second. He then quickly interrupted him and said, "Wait a minute, what does visiting scholar mean?"
Lu Zhou: "Literally. In short, it's in the form of a special professor at Jin Ling University. After all, you live in their dormitory."
Perelman frowned and said, "I don't want to work, and I'm not interested in teaching. After completing the Grand Unified Theory of Algebra and Geometry, I will leave here. If possible, just give me a sofa to sleep on. There's no need to prepare an apartment for me. "
Lu Zhou shook his head and said, "That's not possible. Even if it's a sofa, you have to have a place to put it."
Perelman shrugged and said, "I heard from Schulz that your house is quite big."
Lu Zhou coughed and said, "… Don't even think about that. Other than my parents and my sister, no one has ever spent the night at my house. "
Perelman: "…"
Seeing how Perelman didn't say anything, like he was hesitating, Lu Zhou said, "You don't have to worry about classes. Even though you're a special professor, it doesn't mean you have to go to class. Of course, if you want to teach, I think the students who love mathematics will be sincerely grateful for your generosity, and you will also have a high salary based on the number of hours you teach. "
Perelman muttered and explained, "It's not that I don't like teaching, I just don't want to waste time on these unimportant things."
Lu Zhou: "That's why I didn't force you."
"Thank you."
"You're welcome." Lu Zhou smiled and reached out his right hand. He said, "It's my honor to work with you on this great project."
Perelman shook Lu Zhou's hand and had a rare smile on his face.
But soon, he seemed to have thought of something, and his expression suddenly became a little embarrassed.
"I … have a request, I might have to trouble you."
Lu Zhou let go of his hand and smiled.
"Tell me, I can help you."
Perelman coughed and spoke.
"A ninety square meter apartment is too big, can you give me a smaller one, around twenty square meters … I don't feel comfortable living in an empty house."
Lu Zhou paused for two seconds and looked at him strangely. He said, "I always thought you chose to live in that kind of place because you were poor."
Perelman stubbornly corrected him.
"Poverty is only one of the reasons."
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