Literary Master 1983

Chapter 336 Painting Cake
"Our Chicago School has produced several Nobel laureates, and my student—Gallicon Becker, who performed the exquisite mathematical verification of 'human capital theory,' is now a Nobel Prize nominee. I believe he will soon win the Nobel Prize."

Becker was also on Yenching University's list of people they wanted to invite. He was a leading economist of our time.

Schultz was a pragmatist and not good at math; Becker, on the other hand, was a mathematical genius, and together they perfected the "human capital theory".

Why would Schultz bring up this old story?

Lin Yifu was puzzled, but Schultz's next words surprised him.

“My math was very bad, but Becker made up for my weakness. He helped me win the Nobel Prize in Economics, and he himself will win the prize one day.”

"Haven't you noticed? Your relationship with Yuqie is just like my relationship with Becker. I know how things are. I know that traditional theories are all wrong! But I can't prove it logically because I'm not that kind of hardworking person."

“But you are that kind of person. Therefore, you need Yuqie, and Yuqie needs you too.”

Lin Yifu suddenly realized the truth.

It turned out that Schultz was giving him pointers: he could collaborate with Yuche on research, which might create a similar success story as Schultz and Becker.

This is beneficial to both of them.

Yu Qie wasn't good at hands-on research, but he possessed a remarkable talent and intuition, and he was adept at marketing his theories through novels. This was incredibly important, even more so than research in this day and age.

Lin Yifu was an honest researcher who was willing to spend ten years on a single project. He was also known for his silence.

When Lin Yifu came to the mainland, he had been planning for many years, and no one else knew about it except him.

That really suits you perfectly!

Lin Yifu became more and more excited as he thought about it.

Yu Qie's economic talent should not be buried.

"Economics is about believing in the power of belief." Many economic giants are also good writers and speakers—they often have their own books and excellent oratory skills.

He personally visited Yu Qie on Gulou Street. After knocking, a pretty young woman opened the door for him: "You are..."

"I am Lin Yifu, the deputy director of the Agricultural Development Center. I am here to see Yu Qie."

"Brother? Brother—" The man paused for a moment, then immediately drew out his voice and called into the house.

Is this Yu Qie's sister?
Lin Yifu couldn't help but scrutinize her: Yu Qie's sister resembled him a lot, but wasn't as flamboyant. She wore glasses and hadn't said much since leading him in.

Lin Yifu was even more surprised when he went inside the house:
Yu Qie's whole family was there, and Yu Qie himself was kneading dough with a chef's hat wrapped around his head. Two women were busy making dumplings, and Yu Qie's parents were also busy—the stove couldn't possibly accommodate so many people.

One of them was someone I knew, Zhang Li.

I don't recognize the other one very well.

Is she also Yu Qie's younger sister?

Upon seeing the guests arrive, the unfamiliar woman subconsciously glanced at Zhang Li, who then took over Yu Qie's duties and told him to entertain the guests.

She even smiled at Lin Yifu.

Then, the woman he didn't know smiled at him.

On the contrary, Yu Qie's younger sister, who had led him in at the beginning, rolled her eyes at Yu Qie.

After they came out, Yu Qie said, "You came at the right time. I was feeling so suffocated. My whole family was criticizing me. This whole thing is so bizarre..."

"what happened?"

“It’s a long story,” Yu Qie sighed. “The first person you meet is my younger sister, Yu Xian. She studies mathematics, do you remember? She looks like my father, and she has the same talent as him… You may not know, but my father is a mathematics teacher, so one of us is named Yu Qie and the other is named Yu Xian.”

"Your sister doesn't read novels at all?"

"No way! She's not interested in literature. Her grades were just average; she went to Wuhan University, which is in the south."

"What about the other two?" Lin Yifu asked.

"The other two..."

The words were on the tip of my tongue, but I didn't know how to describe them.
After he returned, Zhang Li and Chen Xiaoxu stayed at home.

It's understandable that the two girls are close. Chen Xiaoxu visits Zhang Li every year. But it's already the 28th of the twelfth lunar month, and Chen Xiaoxu still hasn't gone back, which is a bit strange.

She insisted on making herself a meal of dumplings to repay herself... Just then, Yu Qie's whole family arrived from Wanxian without a word, just like Ma Shitu who suddenly came to inspect the area two years ago.

Yu's parents quickly realized something was wrong. Why were there two wives? Then they glared angrily at Yu Qie.

Normally, with the whole family over, it should be time for the daughters-in-law to show off their culinary skills, but Mr. and Mrs. Yu dared not let the two girls do anything anymore—they were being treated too unfairly.

Even Yu Qie understood.

How could Chen Xiaoxu like me?
It wasn't enough that she was with Zhang Li; she wanted to be with me too. She rides my motorcycle, lives in my house, and even offers herself to me for free, expecting me to support her... How should I confront her about this?
Lin Yifu noticed that Yu Qie's expression was constantly changing.

He said, "Actually, I came here to seek cooperation with you."

“Cooperation is good. Some people are born to cooperate,” Yu Qie said quietly.

Lin Yifu pretended not to hear, in his view, none of this had anything to do with academics.

"Mr. Schultz suggested that we collaborate academically. As you can see, you have some influence in the Western world, which is something that domestic researchers find difficult to obtain. Let me tell you a true story..."

Inside the room, everyone gradually fell silent.

Mr. and Mrs. Yu asked their daughter, "They're coming to pay New Year's visits in the twelfth lunar month? Is this how it is in the north? Who is this person?"

"The Agricultural Development Center," Yu Xian said.

"Oh, a technician who distributes fertilizer to farmers and cultivates hybrid rice?"

“I don’t know, but he’s an official,” Yu Xuan said.

At this moment, Chen Xiaoxu suddenly said, "--This is an institution of the Academy of Social Sciences. It was just established this year and specializes in the study of agricultural economic development. Ah! Yu Qie himself is a graduate student in economics; this is a matter for his school."

Zhang Li, standing nearby, suddenly realized: the Agricultural Development Center, established this year, had its name listed in the journal "Economic Research".

Yu Qie recommended that she read "Economic Research Journal." He said, "In our time, all the ways to make money in China are found in this journal. Not in the news, because the news comes two or three years later than these studies."

"Think tanks will also express their opinions here, and their opinions will determine the winner here—and then you'll know what to do next."

Is this the unit after Yuqie?
Is this Yu Qie's leader?
But then Lin Yifu told us something very serious:

"Mr. Yu, would you like to improve further?"

"Of course, who doesn't want progress?" "Mr. Schultz believes you shouldn't waste your economic talent. He thinks you're a darling of the communications world and more likely to succeed in this field than others. Using bottle caps as currency is a brilliant idea—no metaphor could more bluntly describe today's fiat money, which is actually worthless."

“I am indeed a novelist,” Yu Qie emphasized the last three words.

Lin Yifu patiently said, "You can be a novelist, but you can spend some extra energy doing other things. That's not a conflict."

Lin Yifu did not mention Schultz's so-called "double Nobel Prize" because it was too difficult and too far-fetched.

It's now highly likely that Yu Qie will win the Nobel Prize in Literature, while the chances for others are slim. This isn't to suggest Yu Qie is eligible for the Nobel Prize, but rather because it involves an inside story of the Nobel Prize:
During his years living in Chicago, Lin Yifu truly came into contact with how top scholars ascended to godhood.

Why does the Chicago School produce so many Nobel laureates?
They are not only accomplished in economics, but also in communication studies, architecture, physics, and biology—they have nearly a hundred Nobel laureates, producing Nobel Prizes like a factory.

To win a Nobel Prize, you first need to be nominated by a Nobel laureate, and then you enter the selection process.

In literature, there were only eighteen old men judging the awards. After Yu Qie's legendary experiences, all he lacked was seniority. Due to the enormous impact of the "Latin American Explosion," there were many people in the world literary scene who spoke up for Yu Qie.

Yuche uncovered the truth about Neruda, which led to Nobel laureates from all over Latin America nominating him every year, year after year, until he too joined the club.

There are also many Nobel laureates in other parts of the world who are willing to speak up for Yu Qie.

Those eighteen old judges would get a headache just looking at Yu Qie's name.

Then, under pressure, they would have no choice but to give Yu Qie this honor.

Economics is different. There are about five thousand top economists in the world, who are all Nobel Prize judges. Of course, they will choose their own people and look down on others.

Of these 5,000 people, not a single one is Chinese.

How could a Chinese person possibly win the Nobel Prize in Economics without a nomination?
Yu Qie is precisely the bug in this system; he is a well-known Chinese figure who can attract others. Just as Schultz observed, those physicists who "disdain Yu Qie but actually want to talk to him" are always circling around Yu Qie's books.

Therefore, the probability of Yu Qie winning another literary prize, or even a prize in economics, is higher than the combined probability of all other people in China.

This isn't to say that Yu Qie alone is worth a country, but rather that this damn award system is like this.

After Lin Yifu explained the logic clearly, Yu Qie understood.

No wonder that despite China's remarkable economic achievements, there has been no mention of an economic Nobel Prize.

The key point is, even India has it...

People say that Lin Yifu is the person in China who is closest to winning the Nobel Prize in Economics, but he himself says, "I have no chance of winning this prize."

It turned out to be the case.

What's wrong with helping him out?
Yu Qie said, "It seems inappropriate for us to discuss things too deeply today, but there are some things that really need to be made clear from the beginning. Otherwise, I won't do it."

"Do you mean……"

"Do you know the story of Yang Zhenning and Li Zhengdao? I actually met them. I asked them if it was possible for them to reconcile. They said that even when President Zhou came to mediate, it was unsuccessful. No one in the world can make them reconcile, not even death."

Lin Yifu knew why Yu Qie had brought this up.

The reason Yang Zhenning and Li Zhengdao fell out was because they both expressed dissatisfaction with the division of credit for academic contributions.

The two had been friends for over a decade. Yang Zhenning was older, while Li Zhengdao was wealthier. They often traveled together in a secondhand car that Li Zhengdao had bought, and they were very close.

When submitting the Nobel Prize-winning academic paper, Yang Zhenning listed himself first, citing his advanced age.

Li Zhengdao never expected to win the Nobel Prize, and he was very resentful afterward. On many occasions, he claimed that his contribution was greater and portrayed Yang Zhenning as someone who exaggerated his own abilities.

Yang Zhenning was also furious: In his view, “I am older” is just a Chinese virtue of humility. In reality, you got a Nobel Prize without even realizing it. I’ll smash the crystal and make you soar to new heights!
How dare you slander me?

The two became enemies for many years as a result.

Lin Yifu said, "We're talking about something with a one in a thousand chance, but I'm willing to say it upfront. If we succeed one day, you'll definitely be ahead of me. Because under this mechanism, it's completely impossible for me without you."

This is the most exciting thing Lin Yifu has done in recent years.

He was overcome with emotion after saying this, just like when he swam to the mainland years ago. The sea was incredibly deep and pitch black. Exhausted, he raised his head and finally saw the light from the flashlight.

Just like back then, Lin Yifu trembled as he said, "I am Lin Yifu, and I came here specifically for this purpose."

Yu Qie understood his current feelings and hugged him like an old friend: "Give it a try. I think Schultz is making empty promises to you and to me, but it would be a shame not to give it a try."

Lin Yifu came in such a hurry that he arrived empty-handed. After the initial excitement subsided, he realized that this was rather impolite.

He murmured, "I..."

Yu Qie didn't mind and saw him off outside Gulou Street, then hailed a taxi for him. "Schultz is going back, right? I've prepared gifts for him and for you; I'll bring them over in a few days."

Lin Yifu thanked him repeatedly, being exceptionally polite.

"Okay, let's go!"

"Master, take him back!"

When Yu Qie walked home through the snow, he entered the kitchen and was about to knead dough. But the atmosphere inside was quite different.

Suddenly, that "rejection" towards him vanished. The whole family stared at him blankly. Yu Xian swallowed hard, and his parents blinked. They wanted to touch him, but were too embarrassed.

He laughed and said, "What, don't you recognize me?"

Yu's mother said, "How could I have given birth to such a son? I just... I can't figure it out at all!"

Mr. Yu said, "He inherited the glorious tradition of our Yu family. Our ancestors produced many intellectuals. Moreover, they have always been pioneers."

Everyone laughed.

That night, several rooms were vacated. Yu Qie slept with his father, and Yu's mother slept with Zhang Li.

As for Chen Xiaoxu, she asked Yu Xian about Yu Qie's childhood.

Did Yu Qie wet the bed when he was a child?

“I don’t know, I’m younger than him. He won’t tell me.”

"So what's so great about him?"

"He's not particularly outstanding, he just has a big appetite and can run fast. I thought he would go to a sports school, since his grades used to be worse than mine and he would ask me to do his homework. Then he got seriously ill and suddenly his mind became clear... and he understood a lot of things."

Yu Qie's sister said, "So my brother is a bit slow sometimes. He might go through a few steps, but then he's really nice to people, I mean... he's really nice to you too."

(End of this chapter)