Zhao Yi even decided to pay him double the wage for the day, sowhat making up for Fan Lei’s emotional distress. He quickly went back to his dorm to rest.
After taking up the ’part-ti contract job’, Fan Lei hardly had any free ti.
On weekdays, he would either be in class or in the lab, running here and there. It was normal for him to be busy from morning to night.
Of course.
Fan Lei also gained quite a bit.
The salary for the part-ti contract work in the lab was not bad. Zhao Yi would give the highest level of compensation. As long as one worked seriously, it was fairly easy to earn over three thousand a month.
This salary was quite impressive among the student community.
More importantly, you could et many people and learn a lot during the working process. The work experience was also very important.
If you could work in the lab for two years, your resu would look great. Finding a job in the logistics departnt of a pharmaceutical company or research institution would be a breeze. Becoming a pharmaceutical representative would an having connections in advance, advancing several steps ahead in your career compared to others.
ng Zheng was very envious. He hadn’t thought about graduation yet, just focusing on normal study and work. His grades were among the top five in the class. There wasn’t much problem striving for postgraduate recomndation with his grades. It was a good choice to go to school steadily, but he felt there was a gap compared to Fan Lei.
Looking at the resting Fan Lei, ng Zheng asked quickly, "You’ve been really busy lately. How do you feel about working? Is it tiring?"
"I’m not tired."
Fan Lei sighed, "I just get scared occasionally."
"What do you an?"
"AIDS, you know?" Fan Lei continued, "The virus, I see it every day now. Look at my wrist..." He said, removing the gauze from his wrist to reveal three small, red holes. "Just punctured."
"...Did you get injected?" ng Zheng quickly stepped back a few paces.
"What injection! It’s daily routine! To work in the lab, you must be prepared to be a guinea pig. That’s what I learned from the job."
ng Zheng’s mouth hung open for a long ti, suddenly wondering if he should consider a dual major?
Biological research is a little scary!
Zhao Yi walked into the dorm, calling Fan Lei to get up, "Wake up, it’s a paid holiday. Hurry up, let’s play a few rounds! It’s a rare chance to rest."
"That’s why I want to rest."
"Hurry up!"
"Alright!"
Actually, Fan Lei was not really hurt, or anything else. He just felt frustrated about being drawn blood from, and he had been punctured several tis in a row, which made him a little scared. After resting for a while, he felt energetic again.
The two began to play gas, earning ’Leisure Coins’ was quite easy.
Halfway through the ga.
Zhao Yi’s phone rang. He glanced at the screen and saw it was Zhou Li, frowned with so headache, but still picked up the phone and answered.
The reason Zhou Li called was to invite him to the School of Sciences to discuss the matter of attending the academic conference.
Zhao Yi imdiately declined, but decided to go over to the School of Sciences anyway.
After playing a few rounds of gas with Fan Lei and earning enough ’Leisure Coins’, it was already past six o’clock.
They all left the dorm together.
While the others went to the cafeteria for dinner, Zhao Yi went straight to the School of Sciences.
Zhou Li and Hu Zhibin were both in the office.
By this ti, most of the teachers were preparing to go ho. Those who could stay probably would be working until very late. Zhou Li was quite normal, but if Hu Zhibin was there, there must be sothing important.
Hu Zhibin was specifically asked to persuade Zhao Yi, "Zhao Yi, I heard that you do not want to attend the math eting next week? It’s being held at Capital University, so it’s quite close..."
"I’m not really interested in going."
Zhao Yi shook his head, "Going there is just for the lectures. Not very interesting. Besides, the main the is Mathematics and Computer Science. I’m now mainly researching Fermat’s Last Theorem. They are not related at all."
"You should go and participate!" Hu Zhibin sighed, "This year, there are new mbers being selected as academicians. You should attend more of these etings and get to know more people..."
That was his main point.
In China, academicians are selected. Individual achievent is one thing, but networks also play a role. Attending more etings and knowing more people definitely increases the chances of being selected.
Zhou Li also said, "I know that you do not like to participate in such etings, but the academic circle in our country is only so big..."
Zhao Yi shook his head, "Professor Zhou, Professor Hu, I understand your intentions, but I really don’t want to participate. As for being selected as an academician or not, it doesn’t matter to . Being selected as an academician would certainly not be a bad thing, but if not, it doesn’t matter either. I don’t care about it."
"The title of academician really doesn’t an much to , and besides, I’m still young. There will be plenty of opportunities in the future."
Zhou Li and Hu Zhibin exchanged glances and found this statent to be quite true after giving it so thought.
Regarding the election of academicians, their initial thought was to seize the opportunity if it arises. Most scholars think the sa way—why wouldn’t anyone want to take a shot if given the chance?
As for Zhao Yi, it wasn’t only about having an opportunity—the odds were greatly in his favor.
Under such circumstances, it made sense to give it his best shot.
However, what difference would it make whether Zhao Yi becos an academician or not? Many scholars aim for the academician title to not only enhance their professional ranking but also in the quest for self-affirmation.
So professors in their sixties or seventies are already in the twilight of their lives. To suggest that they seek the title of academician for any financial advantage is almost slanderous. At that age, they hardly have any big aspirations left.
Affirmation makes a significant impact.
Everyone hopes for acknowledgent—after a lifeti of research, everyone wishes for a high ranking as a form of self-affirmation, and likewise to be acknowledged by others.
Does Zhao Yi need this?
From the perspective of seeking outside affirmation, he doesn’t need the academician title at all. Even without any professional titles, he is still regarded as one of the top mathematicians and computer specialists in the world.
There’s no need to dwell on the perks that co with the academician title.
So people owe their fa to this title, using it to secure more funding and to deliver lectures elsewhere.
Zhao Yi already enjoys these perks.
Compared to an ordinary mathematician who is an academician, Zhao Yi’s benefits undoubtedly surpass theirs.
So it really is...
The title of academician doesn’t hold much significance for Zhao Yi. Whether he has it or not doesn’t matter. Besides, he is only in his early twenties—there will be plenty of opportunities for him to participate in academician elections in the future. If he were to beco an academician early on, what else would he aspire to?
Zhou Li and Hu Zhibin didn’t try to dissuade him further.
Zhao Yi didn’t take this seriously at all. He ca to the School of Sciences to explain his stance because other people were concerned. Making his stance clear made everything much simpler.
Now, he focuses on his life, occasionally conducting research, without intentionally pursuing anything ambitious.
...
One week later.
Zhao Yi’s visits to the laboratory beca more frequent, as the research on the Vif toxin gene entered its final stage.
Watching the Quick-Vif research continue, even with his patient Fan Lei’s blood sample, didn’t hinder the in-progress research on the Vif gene.
The project was in its closing stages.
Ai Lixin had started writing the project report. Of course, there was still so research and experintation to be done, but completion was just a matter of ti.
At this ti, Zhao Yi suddenly received news that Edward Witten was coming to the capital once again.
"I was invited to visit the Shuimu University Mathematics Science Center," Edward Witten said during a video chat with Zhao Yi, "but primarily, I want to discuss the issue of particle composition in string theory with you."
"Particle composition?"
"A transition from theoretical mathematics to quantum mathematics," Edward Witten clarified, explaining that the primary focus was on the process of how ’strings form particles’.
Strings forming particles.
This statent isn’t entirely accurate, because strings are incredibly tiny. Even if strings really did exist and were the basic building blocks of the universe, the leap from strings to particles would require crossing many levels.
It’s like saying how atoms compose the Earth.
At any rate...
The concept sounded quite strange.
"Are you trying to initiate the third revolution in string theory?" Zhao Yi said with a hint of sarcasm.
He and Edward had grown quite familiar with each other, and so he occasionally joked around with him.
Edward laughed and said, "I knew you would respond like this. Yes, I can tell you with certainty, that is exactly what I am thinking."
"...Alright then."
Zhao Yi felt he couldn’t compete with Edward, the ’theoretical physics madman’, in this realm of imagination. He simply shook his head and said, "I’m looking forward to it."
He was indeed a bit curious.
If they were discussing string theory or M-theory alone, he wouldn’t be that interested. But if particles that could be detected were involved, perhaps they could discover sothing tangible?
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