Free Web NovelChapter 593: Chapter 344: Do I Really Care About Money? _3
Zhao Yi is really too young, far from the ’peak age of scientific research’, that is, from thirty to forty years old. It’s indeed inappropriate for him to be in charge of similar work, but building a mathematical center around him is extremely tempting.
Wu Chenglong sighed and said, "Of course, this is not something that can be decided directly. You can think about it slowly for a year, two years, or even longer. No matter when, the school will always support you."
"Thank you."
Zhao Yi, after seeing off Wu Chenglong, also felt great emotion in his heart.
The impact after solving Fermat’s Last Theorem was really huge. Even if he did nothing, good things would come to him. freewёbnoνel.com
Before he could finish his contemplation, he heard voices outside the door. Before he could go out and take a look, the door was knocked again. It was Vice President Tang Rongxiu.
The old man came to deliver benefits. With hands behind his back, he said directly, "Zhao Yi, I noticed that you haven’t moved into your assigned house yet. Are you still staying in staff dormitory?"
"Hmm? The dormitory area is convenient."
Zhao Yi’s new house was indeed ready, but it seemed pointless to live there alone, so he hadn’t moved in.
"It is indeed convenient in the school," agreed the old man. He then continued, "How about this, on the rooftop of the postgraduate dormitory, there is a nice house. You can use it as your dormitory."
"No need."
Zhao Yi waved his hand, "The staff dormitory is pretty good."
The graduate student building was a tall structure with over twenty empty floors, situated on the southwestern corner of the campus, so it was relatively remote.
Staying in the graduate student building would be less preferable than staying in his newly decorated house.
Tang Rongxiu glanced at Zhao Yi, nodded and said, "How about this then, I remember in the staff dormitory where you live, there are two nicely decorated houses on the top floor. They used to be for entertaining guests, but after the hotel was built nearby, they were left vacant. If they are cleaned up, they should be livable."
"Top floor of the staff dormitory? The fifth floor?" Zhao Yi was slightly surprised.
He was living in the staff dormitory every day. He knew that the dormitory was a five-story horizontal building. The room layout was a bit like a student dormitory, with a desolate corridor outside and rooms placed next to each other.
That’s how it was on the first four floors.
Above the fourth floor, there was a fifth floor, which was almost half the size and had only two rooms. The doors facing each other from a significant distance. He initially thought it was a laboratory or storage place. He hadn’t anticipated that it could also serve as a dormitory?
Seeing that Zhao Yi seemed somewhat interested, Tang Rongxiu promptly said, "Let’s go and take a look together."
A group of people soon arrived at the staff dormitory.
As Zhao Yi got to the second floor, he noticed that there were several people standing at the entrance of his dormitory. They seemed to be moving, and he suddenly realized what Tang Rongxiu was up to.
Was this old man planning to ’preserve’ his belongings as if they were treasure yet again?
Indeed!
Tang Rongxiu laughed, "Your previous room is quite interesting, it is the place where you solved Fermat’s Last Theorem. Don’t worry, we won’t tamper with the entire place and will preserve it well."
"..."
Zhao Yi felt he had nothing to say. He realized he had ’no choice but to move’.
It happened that Qian Hong came over and followed them up to the fifth floor. She asked Zhao Yi, "President Tang said that the fifth floor used to be the place to entertain VIPs?"
"That’s what he said. Didn’t you know?"
Qian Hong shook her head. "I was wondering why I saw so many people moving furniture and appliances in the morning. I thought some teacher was moving in, turns out they were changing things for the fifth floor."
The group soon arrived on the fifth floor, and the logistics personnel took out the keys and opened the door.
The house was very beautifully arranged and somewhat resembled the ’zero pressure rooms’ in five-star hotels. The bed, desk, wooden floor, sofa- every place was extremely tidy.
The area of the house was not small either. It had two bedrooms, a large living room, and a large balcony. Stepping out onto the balcony, you’d be on the roof. The balcony was enclosed, and not only was it paved with gleaming floor tiles, but several flowers and plants were also placed, making it resemble a small garden.
Zhao Yi was smitten at the first sight.
It seemed that Qian Hong was even more smitten than him. She kept hovering around, eyeing the place. She was saying continuous praises, "This house is so amazing. I really didn’t expect this from a staff dormitory."
Then she said somewhat sourly, "It is indeed a staff dormitory, but why does it look like a luxury villa here. Zhao Yi, are you going to move in?"
"It’s quite good."
Zhao Yi gave his answer.
After all, he was bound to move somewhere. If it’s still within the staff dormitory area and he could live in a better place, he certainly wouldn’t refuse.
Seeing the look on Qian Hong’s face, he asked, "How about it? Shall we both move in together?"
"What are you talking about!" Qian Hong blushed instantly and spat lightly.
Zhao Yi innocently said, "What’s up? If the two bedrooms are vacant, I might as well rent one to you. Co-renting is trending now, isn’t it?"
Qian Hong glared at him and left.
...
The same day, Zhao Yi moved into the fifth-floor dormitory. Living in the luxurious house, he seemed to be in a different mood.
Not necessarily better.
Instead... more lonely.
It was a sense of loneliness that comes from standing at the peak. The saying ’it’s lonely at the top’ ultimately holds true.
"When a person reaches the world’s top-tier in a certain field of study, what should they do next?" Zhao Yi suddenly thought that he should do something for mathematics.
Then he remembered Qiu Chengwen.
After Qiu Chengwen had won the Fields Medal, he returned to his home country to engage in education when he got older. He greatly cared about mathematics development in his homeland and established a foundation with a large sum of money.
"Maybe I should also form a foundation? With my influential status, perhaps it would hold some significance..." Zhao Yi thoughts were swirling around this.
The next day, coincidentally, a Central TV reporter came for an interview. He talked about the problem of proving Fermat’s Last Theorem, and the reporter suddenly brought up Country D’s Science Academy.
"The Science Academy of Country D wants to invite you to work there for a high salary." The reporter casually said, "Many people are talking about it. It seems that the Science Academy of Country D wants to pay you the Wolf Skyler Prize money as a salary. How do you see it? Will you consider it?"
The prize money to be paid as salary?
Moving to Country D to work?
Zhao Yi felt insulted. He prided himself on not caring about money. How could pure academics and scientific research be tainted with the smell of money?
He suddenly recalled the idea he had before going to bed the previous night, shifted the topic, and resolutely said, "I haven’t considered working or going abroad, whether it’s Country D, M Country, Y Country, or any other country."
"I am considering setting up a foundation now, to support those young mathematics researchers."
"In the academic field, we lack researchers in the field of basic mathematics because it’s really hard to get results in theoretical maths. Many young scholars, initially devoted to mathematics, had to switch to other fields due to reasons such as living conditions and work. Or, they gave up scientific research early."
"This is a huge loss. Maybe among them, there are potential Fields Medal winners. Therefore, I have decided to set up a foundation dedicated to young scholars engaged in independent mathematical research. This way, it can help them continue their research in mathematics."
"I won the Shaw Prize last year. That’s one million dollars, enough to establish a fund. Once the foundation is formally established, perhaps we can raise funds from society."
Zhao Yi was serious about his plans.
First, he wanted to announce it to the media.
Secondly, this served as a response to the Science Academy of Country D: You want to pay me a prize money of a million pounds as my salary? Do you think I would care about it?
I would rather throw a million dollars into a foundation because that is tantamount to directly donating it out.
Do you think that I, Zhao Yi, care about money?
