Translator: Henyee Translations Editor: Henyee Translations
Jin Ling University, Institute of Computational Materials.
The period between 9 a.m. to 10 a.m. was the quietest time at the research institute.
Liu Bo sat in front of his office desk as he searched for journals containing their relevant research keywords. Once he confirmed that there wasn’t a clash in research, he downloaded several interesting theses on arXiv into a folder.
This process took a long time. By the time he was finished, it was already 10 o’clock at night.
Liu Bo stretched. He then stood up from his chair and walked over to Qian Zhongming’s desk. Looking at his computer screen curiously, Liu Bo asked, “Oh, why are you watching the morning news?”
“It’s the National Science and Technology Award Conference,” Qian Zhongming said as he looked at Liu Bo. He then clicked on the computer, making the broadcast fullscreen, before he added, “It’s the CCTV live broadcast, not the news.”
Liu Bo suddenly remembered something and asked, “Award conference? Oh yeah, isn’t Lu Zhou there?”
“No sh*t, did you just realize? He’s been back in Beijing for nearly two weeks now.”
The national anthem began to play on the screen.
The camera panned away from the big names and gave the audience a bird’s eye view of the venue.
Liu Bo was jealous of all of the nutty people at the venue.
“What award do you think God Lu can get?”
Qian Zhongming stared at the computer screen and didn’t answer the question.
He didn’t know how to answer the question.
While these two were talking about this question, in an office of the Computational Materials department, someone else was giving their own opinion…
“… First-level prize is difficult, second-level prize is possible.”
Academician Lu was sitting on the sofa while he watched the television. He had his legs crossed and was smoking a cigarette.
Academician Xu smiled and said, “Just the Goldbach’s conjecture alone isn’t worthy of a first-level prize?”
“It’s not about wort; it’s about if it’s appropriate.”
Academician Lu lit another cigarette. He then smiled and said, “The State Natural Science Award is more focused on physics than mathematics. After all, the award organizer isn’t an academic institution. They would consider more than just academic achievements.
“If his achievements were made while working in a domestic research institute, then his chances of winning would be higher. If he had a decade or two of working in domestic research institutes, then he would definitely win the first-level prize.”
Lu Zhou was Academician Lu’s best master’s student ever.
Talent aside, the more important thing was the effort and courage to explore.
He would remember that CERN report for many years to come.
Academician Lu had asked himself; if he were in Lu Zhou’s position as an intern, would he have the courage to stand on the report stage and challenge the entire physics community.
In Academician Lu’s opinion, it didn’t matter if the kid won the first-level prize.
Because Lu Zhou had infinite potential; the medal was just a piece of evidence of that.
Academician Xu remarked, “What a shame.”
Academician Lu smiled. “It’s good. After all, the kid still has a long way to go. He’ll only be forty by the time you and I go six feet under. If he doesn’t win it this year, he’ll definitely win it before he hits thirty.”
Academician Xu smiled as he said, “You old f*ck! Are you saying I’ll be dead in twenty years as well?”
Academician Lu noticed that his statement was somewhat wrong. He coughed and tapped the cigarette on the ashtray before he said, “It’s just a metaphor, we can easily live another forty years… Okay, stop screwing around, it’s about to start.”
It was exactly ten o’clock.
Once the national anthem ended, the venue was dead silent. The annual Science and Technology Award Conference had finally officially begun.
The scholars in the crowd were all from top research backgrounds that ranged from everything from natural sciences to engineering and technology. Everyone was quietly listening to the spokesman’s speech on stage.
After a while, the most important part of the conference finally began— the awards ceremony.
By convention, the list of winners was announced first.
The first award was the 2017 Highest Science and Technology Award.
The winners were Academician Wang from the Jinling University of Technology, and Academician Hou from the Chinese Academy of Epidemic Prevention and Control Center.
The former was a leader in the field of military explosives and had made great contributions to the national military industry. The latter was the main founder of Chinese molecular virology, modern medical biotechnology, and various modern infectious disease prevention and control systems.
After the two names of the winners were announced, the scholars in the crowd gave them a warm round of applause.
After the Highest Science and Technology Award was the State Natural Science Award.
Compared to the Highest Science and Technology Award, which was a type of “lifetime award”, the Natural Science Award was aimed toward those that had made significant contributions to fundamental applied research.
The Highest Science and Technology award was divided into two levels. The first-level award was awarded to those that had made the most outstanding research results for the country.
Last year, the person who received this honor was the leader of the “Daya Bay Reactor Neutrino Oscillation Experiment” which was led by the Institute of High Energy Physics of the Chinese Academy of Sciences. The discovery was sensational and affected the entire international theoretical physics community.
The project alone was worthy of the glorious award!
The venue was exceptionally quiet; everyone was waiting for the announcement of the winners.
“Agricultural production is an essential part of the national economy. Only by consuming nutritious food can we build a better future. The molecular catalyst and design of the ‘high-yield high-quality rice traits’ led by the Institute of Genetics and Developmental Biology of the Chinese Academy of Sciences achieved a breakthrough in rice production…
“The first-level award winner is Academician Li Jiayang!”
The crowd erupted in applause the second the name was announced.
Wang Haifeng, who was sitting in the crowd, clapped his hands enthusiastically.
He didn’t care who won, as long as it wasn’t that kid Lu Zhou!
The announcement of the second winner was also made, and the winner was Academician Tao Benzhong, who was awarded for his “aggregation-induced luminescence technology” project.
When Professor Wang heard the second name, he smirked as the knot in his heart was finally untied.
Normally speaking, there were more than 40 second-level State Natural Science Award winners, but there were very few first-level winners.
For example, there hadn’t been a first-level winner from 2010 until 2012.
The last time a first-level prize was awarded twice in succession was back in 2006.
As for three first-level winners…
The last time that happened was in the ’80s.
After the applause ended, Wang Haifeng picked up the vacuum flask on his desk and sipped on some hot water.
He really wanted to see what Lu Zhou’s reaction was.
However…
Just when everyone thought that the first-level prize for the natural science field was finished, another announcement was made…
“The Goldbach’s conjecture is a crown jewel of the number theory building, and the Chinese number theory community left a splendid proof on this proposition…”
Wang Haifeng froze.
His heart was instantly shattered.
It was like he was turned into stone as he sat in his chair and muttered to himself, “How is this possible…”
There are three first-level prizes this year!
This is impossible!
Wang Haifeng wasn’t the only one stunned.
The people that wanted Lu Zhou to win the first-level prize, the people that didn’t, even the people that didn’t care…
Everyone froze for two seconds.
Everyone was in shock.
However, the announcement continued in spite of the emotional fluctuations in the crowd.
“… The Goldbach-Lu theorem is a monument of the human mind and spirit. It is a gift from China to the people of the world…”
The spokesperson paused for a second.
Then, he spoke in a solemn voice.
“The third award winner is…
“Lu Zhou!”
