Section 258

Fefferman spread his hands: "We don't eat steak every day."

Xiao Yi laughed.

Although beef is indeed cheaper abroad, Fefferman is indeed right.

Compared with the somewhat monotonous dishes abroad, the various cuisines in China are more suitable for his stomach.

Without further ado, they were going to the hotel next door for dinner.

But when they had just taken a few steps, another person walked towards Xiao Yi in front.

Seeing this person, Terence Tao and others were stunned.

"Mr. Thomas, you are here too?"

Mr. Thomas smiled and nodded at them and said, "Of course, I will not be absent from such a report meeting."

Then he looked at Xiao Yi again, stepped forward and stretched out his hand to him, saying: "Hello, Professor Xiao, I am Thomas Clay, Chairman of the Board of Directors of the Clay Institute. Nice to meet you."

Xiao Yi was stunned.

Thomas Clay?

Clay Institute?

The Clay Institute was founded by Landon Clay as a private research institute affiliated with the Clay Family Foundation.

So the Thomas Clay in front of him is obviously from this family.

As for the Clay Institute, it is most famous for the Seven Millennium Problems announced in June 2000, and will give a $1 million bonus to any mathematician who solves one of the problems.

So it is also called the Millennium Prize Problem.

Of course, taking inflation into account, US$1 million in 2000 is equivalent to US$1.73 million today, so the value of this bonus has actually depreciated.

But it is undeniable that 1 million US dollars is still a huge amount of money even now. You know, the Nobel Prize bonus is almost equivalent to this much.

As for now, the reason why Thomas Clay suddenly came to him is very obvious.

Xiao Yi smiled, stretched out his hand to shake the other person's hand, and then said: "Hello, Mr. Clay, I am also very happy to see you. What do you want to see me for?"

Thomas Clay nodded, glanced at the people present, and said with a smile: "Obviously everyone is already waiting to enjoy today's meal, so let's go to the restaurant to talk."

Xiao Yi agreed, nodded and said with a smile: "Mr. Clay is right, please."

Soon, they arrived at the hotel next door.

Probably because Huainan beef soup was mentioned just now, Xiao Yi went to ask for a bowl of Huainan beef soup and brought it to a table.

Thomas Clay also brought a bowl and sat next to Xiao Yi.

"Professor Xiao should be able to guess the reason why I came to you."

Thomas Clay blew on the slightly hot soup and said to Xiao Yi with a smile: "You have already solved two of the seven millennium problems."

"Speaking of which, after we announced the grand prize problem plan, within a few years, Professor Perelman solved the Poincaré conjecture. At that time, we were shocked and even began to worry about the plan we set up. Will these seven major problems be solved soon?"

"But fortunately, now that you have appeared, the millennium problem has been solved again. The quality gap problem two years ago, your proof can be said to make our eyes shine."

Hearing Thomas Clay's words, Xiao Yi raised his eyebrows and asked with a smile: "What about now? After the NS equation is solved?"

"Uh..." Thomas Clay was startled, and then said honestly: "To tell you the truth, we are a little nervous now."

Xiao Yi suddenly laughed.

The Cray Institute's Seven Millennium Problems were naturally designed to enhance the reputation of the institute, and the fact is that they succeeded. As an institute that was only established in 1998, it is now considered the most well-known research in the world of mathematics. All this is said, which fully proves that the money-making ability is really useful.

And as long as all seven major problems are not solved, the reputation of their institute will continue.

But now Xiao Yi suddenly appeared and solved two problems in two sudden steps, so they couldn't help but feel nervous.

"Okay, Professor Xiao, we won't say more about other things. The purpose of coming here this time is to invite you to participate in the Millennium Award Puzzle Award Ceremony that we plan to hold at the end of July this year."

"The time for you to prove the mass gap problem is at the International Congress of Mathematicians in 2022, so by July this year, the two-year verification period will be completed. At that time, at this ceremony, our Cray Research We will award you with a prize of US$1 million, and we hope you will be able to attend.”

Thomas Clay also stated the purpose of his personal visit to China.

Xiao Yi hesitated for a moment, and then asked: "I would like to ask, where do you plan to hold the award ceremony?"

"Uh..." Thomas Clay was stunned, and then replied: "Of course it is at MIT. The opening ceremony of our Clay Institute was held at MIT, so the first Millennium Problem We also hope that the award ceremony will be held here. As for why it is the first time... you know, Professor Perelman did not accept our award."

"Oh my god, I still can't understand people like Perelman. I heard that he still lives in a small house outside St. Petersburg..."

Looking at Thomas Clay's incomprehensible expression, Xiao Yi twitched his lips and finally said: "Uh... Well, I'm sorry, if it is held at MIT, then I might not be able to go."

Thomas Clay was stunned again.

"Walter? Professor Xiao, are you sure? Why!"

"Well, strictly speaking, if it is held somewhere other than China, it might not be convenient for me to go." Xiao Yi spread his hands and said, "So, I just want to apologize."

Thomas Clay was stunned.

He never expected that Xiao Yi actually refused.

Obviously in his opinion, this invitation to Xiao Yi is guaranteed to succeed.

After all, Xiao Yi is not like Perelman, who is stubborn and unwilling to accept any reputation. Xiao Yi accepted the Fields Medal at the beginning. He is more or less a normal person, but his IQ is a bit high.

"That's $1 million!"

Thomas Clay couldn't help but said.

"Uh..." This time it was Xiao Yi's turn to be stunned. He looked at Thomas Clay strangely and asked, "Don't you know my financial situation?"

Thomas Clay showed a blank expression, "Do I need to know?"

As a kid from a wealthy family who often interacts with mathematicians, he has a basic understanding of the financial situation of those mathematicians.

Although mathematicians often enjoy very wide respect in society, there is really not much money.

Otherwise, their Clay Research Institute would not have become a famous research institute in the mathematics world just by relying on its financial capabilities.

But in this regard, Xiao Yi could only remain silent.

"...Well, to be honest, Mr. Clay, one million dollars is really not particularly attractive to me, so I probably won't make a special trip to the United States for this."

At this moment, another woman's voice came from the side: "Mr. Clay, I see that your family has not investigated Professor Xiao's net worth."

Then, I saw a foreign woman with blond hair and big waves walking over.

She walked up to Xiao Yi and introduced herself: "Jennifer Aikenna, reporter for Time Magazine."

Xiao Yi nodded towards her and said, "Hello, Ms. Aikenna."

Jennifer Aikenner smiled at him, and finally said to Thomas Clay next to him: "Mr. Clay, Professor Xiao himself is the chairman of the largest algorithm software provider company in Bitcoin. This fact makes Xiao The professor’s net worth has reached $3 billion.”

"In addition, the three major lithium-sulfur solid-state battery patents held by Professor Xiao are worth at least US$10 billion according to market assessments. They are high-quality patents and will inevitably rise in the foreseeable future."

"So the US$1 million you just proposed is really nothing to Professor Xiao, even if it is US$7 million, it is the same."

Thomas Clay looked at Xiao Yi in shock.

So, don’t the two items combined have a net worth of US$13 billion?

This is richer than his family, okay!

"This...I..."

Finally, Thomas Clay stood up and had no choice but to leave: "Sorry, Professor Xiao, I'll excuse you now."

Jennifer Aikenna smiled as she watched Clay's leaving figure, then looked at Xiao Yi and said, "So, Professor Xiao, can I conduct an interview with you? Time Magazine has been following you for a long time. , now our editor-in-chief has finally decided to interview you, and at the same time, we have also decided to make you the cover of the next issue.”

Xiao Yi raised his eyebrows.

Time magazine cover?

He didn't expect that the other party would be willing to give up such a position to a Chinese like him.

After all, the cover of Time Magazine can be regarded as an important window for attracting attention to Western society. Putting a Chinese on it is all propaganda for China.

After thinking about it, he said: "Of course there is no problem with the interview, but it is up to me to decide whether to answer the questions you raised."

"Of course." Jennifer smiled and nodded, and then asked: "So, can we find a place to start our interview? My photographer colleague is at the door."

Xiao Yi pointed to the bowl of Huainan beef soup in front of him and said, "Wait until I finish eating."

Jennifer was startled, then smiled and said, "Of course, no problem."

…

Xiao Yi finished the Huainan beef soup in twos and twos, and then went to find leaders such as Bao Hexin and asked them where there was a suitable place to conduct interviews.

When Bao Hexin heard that Xiao Yi was going to be interviewed by Time Magazine and could even become a cover star, of course, without saying a word, he directly arranged the conference hall where the report was held just now for him.

After some preparation, the interview officially began.

"So, Professor Xiao, what do you think is the most important research in the world? Mathematics? Physics? Or something else?"

The first question is very original.

Jennifer smiled and said: "We all know that you are not only a mathematician, but also a physicist and a materials scientist, but what research do you think is more important?"

Xiao Yi thought for a moment, and finally gave an original answer: "I think it should be education."

Jennifer obviously didn't expect Xiao Yi to answer like this. She was stunned for a moment, and then asked curiously: "Education? I can probably understand, but why do you think so?"

Xiao Yi smiled and said: "I don't know if you have heard of this technology that often appears in science fiction works, called knowledge inheritance technology?"