Nervous?
Maybe a little.
But he couldn't feel it anymore.
Excited?
Of course he was.
As the highest honor in the scientific community, it was also the greatest reward for a scholar in the academic community and the world.
The Nobel Prize could bring far more than the nine million kronor prize.
Even the Fields Prize was inferior to the Nobel Prize.
Lu Zhou walked steadily onto the stage amidst the thunderous applause.
Academician Claes smiled at him, Academician Olof nodded at him, Ms. Linse was expressionless, and Academician Brzezinski … didn't look too happy?
Obviously, even now, there was still a lot of disagreement within the Nobel Prize in Chemistry committee.
But in any case, it was a foregone conclusion.
Under the watchful eyes of people from all over the world, Lu Zhou received the award certificate and the golden medal from King Carl XVI Gustav.
Carl XVI Gustav shook Lu Zhou's right hand and spoke with a smile, "Congratulations, young scholar.
"Congratulations, young scholar. You are the youngest of all the prizes I have given out over the years."
Lu Zhou nodded politely and said, "Thank you, I promise I will get younger and younger in the future."
Carl XVI Gustav smiled and said, "Haha, I hope so. I wish science will always be young!"
The guests all stood up.
The applause resounded in the Stockholm Concert Hall again.
And it lasted for a long time …
…
After the award ceremony.
According to tradition, all the winners and guests invited to attend the ceremony would move to the Blue Hall of the Stockholm City Hall to attend the famous Nobel Banquet.
Lu Zhou looked at the red brick building next to the lake. He was walking up the stairs when he suddenly said, "Actually, I wanted to ask the last time I came here."
Academician Staffan said, "What do you want to ask? Maybe I can answer it for you. "
Lu Zhou looked around and said, "Why is this place called the Blue Hall? I don't feel like this place is blue at all. "
When Academician Staffan heard this question, he smiled and said, "A lot of people have asked me this question. It is said that the designer of the City Hall originally intended to paint this place blue in order to set off the view of Lake Mälaren. In the end, everyone found that the red bricks looked more solemn. "
Lu Zhou teased, "So you're saying that the Blue Hall isn't finished yet?"
Academician Staffan smiled and said, "From the perspective of a blueprint, that's the theory."
Regardless of whether it was "completed" or not, the Nobel Prize had been held here for more than a century. This was an ancient ritual in the academic world. Not only were the people in the academic world interested in it, but people outside of the academic world were also interested.
Every year, thousands of people would write to the Nobel Prize Foundation to apply for the right to attend the gala, even though the probability of being selected was no different from winning the lottery.
Lu Zhou took a seat under the host's welcome and looked around the Blue Hall.
Rows of long tables were packed with people. It was even more crowded than the report venue.
The only difference between this and the Crafoord Prize ceremony was that it was crowded.
1,300 people ate at the same time. After all of the guests were seated, everyone was almost shoulder to shoulder. Legend had it that the width of the dining space per person was only 40 centimeters. However, Lu Zhou felt like the situation was more serious than he imagined.
Soon after, the first dish was served. It was an unlabeled bottle of red wine.
After the cork was opened, the dense air bubbles stretched from the bottom of the bottle to the top of the bottle. It was so long that it seemed like the bubbles would never stop. In addition to the elegant floral and fruity aroma, the wine also had the fragrance of toasted oak barrels.
Academician Staffan poured a glass of wine for Lu Zhou and himself. He smiled and said, "Tiffany, this is a special French champagne. It's sweet and mellow. In order to meet the demand of more than a thousand people, the Nobel Foundation signed a manor. "
Lu Zhou looked at the clear wine and smiled. "You guys really know how to enjoy life."
"Not just enjoyment, but also respect." Academician Staffan smiled and raised his glass. He said, "Cheers."
Lu Zhou clinked glasses with him and said, "Cheers!"
Just like how Academician Staffan described, the wine was exceptionally sweet and memorable.
Maybe this is the taste of victory?
…
The atmosphere inside the Blue Hall was in full swing, and the same was true outside.
Even though it was already dark in Northern Europe, it was still far from bedtime.
Many local citizens of Stockholm would subconsciously walk to the shore of Lake Mälaren when they were walking and look up at the red brick building from afar.
There were also local Chinese students and students.
If there was anyone happier than Lu Zhou and his family, it would undoubtedly be the local Chinese community.
Apart from the extreme, there is no one more empathetic to the achievements of their fellow countrymen than the vast majority of people who live in a foreign country.
As early as October, when the Nobel Prize in Chemistry Committee announced the winners of the Chemistry Prize, the entire Chinese community in Stockholm held a celebration.
But now, it seemed that the celebration was just a preview of today's event.
That was because the number of people gathered here today was much larger than that day.
They stood outside the Stockholm Town Hall with red lanterns in their hands, and they formed a dark mass along the side of the street.
Because they were curious, many local citizens also joined in.
From afar, it looked like a stroll, but it also looked like a festival.
This scene obviously didn't escape the eyes of the reporters.
The CTV reporter pointed the camera at the crowd gathered outside the Stockholm City Hall. She faced the camera and spoke in a passionate voice.
"On the night of the Nobel Prize award, many local people, overseas Chinese, and Chinese students gathered outside the Stockholm City Hall. They held red lanterns in their hands. They hope to send their warmest and most sincere blessings to Chinese scholar Lu Zhou in this special way.
"Let's interview them and see how they feel at this moment!"
As she spoke, she caught a passerby who looked younger and had a Chinese face, and used a pleasant voice to ask.
"Hello, sir, are you an international student?"
The young man in the down jacket nodded. "Yes."
"Is it always this lively on the 10th of December in previous years?"
The foreign student: "It depends. It's always very lively outside the Stockholm City Hall at this time of year, but it's especially lively this year."
The reporter smiled and asked, "How do you feel about Professor Lu Zhou winning the Nobel Prize?"
The young man smiled and said, "Well, after I saw Professor Lu, I finally realized the distance between me and the Nobel Prize."
The reporter had an awkward but polite smile on his face.
Nonsense, do I need you to say that?
Out of habit, he shook his head.
The young man coughed softly, adjusted his expression, and continued to speak.
"Of course, in addition to these, what touched me the most was that I saw the progress and development of China's academic community."
You've already exceeded your reading limit for today. If you want to read more, please log in.
Login
Select text and click 'Report' to let us know about any bad translation.
