This sentence seemed to bear a hint of resigned frustration, but Qiao Ze agreed with it deeply.
When he first arrived at the school, Uncle Xu would often care about whether he had eaten or not.
Now, it's probably been two months since he last asked of his own initiative.
In fact, Qiao Ze didn't mind being invited out to eat, as long as it wasn't too far from the school.
After all, the ineffective chatter over the dinner table went in one ear and out the other. If there was something to be done, he could simply leave right after the meal.
"Sigh..." Having vented all the thoughts he had accumulated over these days, Li Jian Gao felt a great sense of relief.
It's no exaggeration to say that the conversation with Qiao Ze about helping him become an academician that day had been incredibly stressful for him.
These past few days, as he watched Qiao Ze lay out the fruits of his labor from the past few months, he came to realize some things and the pressure on him lessened a lot.
Yes, perhaps his academic level hadn't yet reached the highest honor.
But after all, he was only 34 years old, with room for improvement.
More importantly, as long as he stayed true to his original aspirations, protecting and guiding this young man before him, to help Qiao Ze make a difference, it would all be worthwhile.
Just like what Zhang Chunlei said yesterday, let those who want to sour, sour on.
After all, from the beginning to the end, he genuinely had no ulterior motives.
After Li Jian Gao relaxed, he thought of Qiao Ze's research question. His recent research into a series of papers had made him feel a deeper understanding of the field of mathematics, so he said enthusiastically, "Alright, after talking so much, let's discuss the topic you applied for last time. It's been almost a month since the project was approved.
If it had been your Group Wisdom project, you'd already be able to submit the final report by now, but there's been no movement yet. It seems to be really challenging. Show me your approach to the problem, maybe I can give you some inspiration."
Although there was a hint of joking in his tone, Li Jian Gao was genuinely rubbing his hands together in anticipation, hoping to offer Qiao Ze a pleasant surprise.
It's like a martial arts master in Jin Yong's world, who, after diligent cultivation, finally breaks through the meridian barriers and feels a significant advancement in skill, naturally wanting to spar with another master.
Not to mention that he was Qiao Ze's nominal mentor, so he could advance or retreat as needed.
If he could provide some ideas for Qiao Ze's research, and spark the young man's inspiration, his role as a mentor would be even more justified.
Even if he couldn't offer any advice, a mentor checking in on a student's progress is only natural.
Qiao Ze responded, then brought up all his previous thoughts and the proofing process related to his research question on the computer.
Since he hadn't planned to write a paper yet, it wasn't organized and appeared rather scattered.
However, Qiao Ze's research approach was very rigorous, so simply sorting by date was enough to clearly grasp the thought process and context.
There was a printer in the office.
After organizing all the materials, the printer began its work.
Two minutes later, a thick stack of materials was printed out.
Li Jian Gao looked at Qiao Ze with a skeptical eye and asked, "You have this much proof already?"
"The main thought process of the calculation is in there, along with some discarded drafts from previous proofs. Since the research isn't complete, I haven't organized it all," replied Qiao Ze.
"Oh," Li Jian Gao said, suddenly realizing.
So Li Jian Gao happily picked up the drafts and began to read them carefully.
It wasn't necessarily that he expected to help Qiao Ze find a direction, but what if he could bring a new perspective to Qiao Ze's thoughts?
That sense of satisfaction must indeed be very pleasing.
Not long after, Su Mucheng returned to the office and promptly greeted Li Jiangao, "Li, you're here?"
"Yes, I came to talk to Qiao Ze about something and took the opportunity to see how far Qiao Ze's project has progressed." Li Jiangao, who had just looked over a couple of pages, replied with a smile, then jokingly added, "I haven't disturbed you, have I?"
"Not at all, actually I often catch up on dramas when Qiao Ze isn't paying attention. It's his fault for arranging too many courses for me in advance. By the way, Li, when I am a junior, I'll apply for your direct PhD program. If you agree, then Qiao Ze probably won't assign me so much coursework every day."
Li Jiangao grinned, glanced at the silent Qiao Ze, and laughed, "Sure, just remember to apply when the time comes."
"Haha, thank you, Li."
Su Mucheng sat down in front of her computer and put on her earplugs.
The office quieted down again, and Li Jiangao returned his attention to the materials Qiao Ze had given him.
A stack of more than fifty A4 pages, quite thick, but thankfully not as condensed as a research paper.
Many whole pages were just records of a rough idea, so Li Jiangao flipped through the first dozen pages quite quickly.
But as he gradually progressed, Li Jiangao's speed slowed down.
Starting from page thirteen, Li Jiangao noticed that Qiao Ze had already begun to make connections between gauge fields and Riemanian geometry, complete with a thorough proof process.
By page twenty, Li Jiangao looked up, surprised, at Qiao Ze.
Seeing Qiao Ze engrossed in his work, he shook his head slightly, and continued reading the materials, but the relaxed expression was gone, and he became serious.
When he reached page thirty-two, Li Jiangao looked at the remaining pile of materials and fell into contemplation.
He couldn't help but raise his hand, scratch his head, and then stare blankly at Qiao Ze, asking, "Qiao Ze, what's going on here?"
"Hmm?" Qiao Ze looked up with bright eyes at Li Jiangao, slightly puzzled.
Su Mucheng also curiously looked up at Li Jiangao, feeling a bit confused. Why did Li's lips tremble, looking so excited? Hadn't Qiao Ze said his research had been stuck in one place for a long time?
Could it be that Li had figured out the problem troubling Qiao Ze?
"No, isn't this a complete proof process? Hasn't the problem been solved? Why haven't I heard you mention it? Do you think there is an issue with the proof process, so the rest is revisions?" Li Jiangao couldn't help asking.
Qiao Ze replied, "The proof process is correct. But after completing the proof, I was certain that I could do a universal correspondence proof. This would unify the gauge fields in Riemanian space geometry. If I can prove this point, it would simplify the next proposition. The rest are my thoughts about establishing the unity of the two."
Li Jiangao was stunned, and after a moment, he muttered, "So when you always said you hadn't figured it out, you meant proving a Riemanian space corresponding to any gauge field?"
Qiao Ze nodded, "Yes."
Li Jiangao then asked, "You mean, while you fully proved a class of gauge field problems, you also wrote those two papers on photolithography and chips?"
Qiao Ze nodded again and replied, "Yes."
After thinking, he added, "I wrote them during breaks in thought, because contemplating the unification took up too much of my time and I am still without much of a clue, so it didn't delay me too much."
Li Jiangao took a deep breath, and his tone became especially kind, "Qiao Ze, don't you think there's a possibility that the advancement of this unification is a massive proposition, one you don't need to solve alone?"
Qiao Ze tilted his head slightly, looking at Li Jiangao's gaze with some confusion.
"For example," Li continued, "as I just mentioned, you could organize your previous proof into a paper and raise this problem at the end of it. In this way, mathematicians doing similar research might see it and get inspired. Then they might have some thoughts, which they could share with you, or they could publish in a paper.
Everyone could contribute ideas to this argument, whether ultimately proven or refuted. Either way, the problem could be resolved."
"Qiao Ze, you have to believe me, most of the world's difficult math problems are tackled collaboratively. Calculus itself is the result of several generations' work. Although I know you have many, grand ideas, there really is no need to be too hard on yourself."
In his last words, Li Jiangao's tone wasn't just serious, but also carried a hint of pleading.