From child prodigy to chief scientist

Yuan Jiyang's enthusiasm for Xu Xiao stemmed not only from his hope to win him over with his sincerity and make him more inclined to choose him, but also from his genuine feelings.

He sincerely hopes that Xu Xiao can make good use of his mathematical talent and become a world-class mathematician in the future.

Regardless of whether I will become Xu Xiao's mentor in the future, as long as I can provide some help to Xu Xiao with my own abilities, it would be a joyful thing.

As he read the contents of the email, Yuan Jiyang nodded repeatedly, the dissatisfaction on his face completely disappearing.

"That's great. It's only been a few days, and you've already learned so much."

Normally, the material that Yuan Jiyang sent to Xu Xiao would take about a year to learn.

Being able to complete the course in six months is already considered exceptionally fast.

But less than a month has passed, and Xu Xiao has already finished learning most of it. This learning speed is truly amazing.

But that wasn't the most surprising thing for Yuan Jiyang. After reading the contents of the email, Yuan Jiyang's eyes widened involuntarily.

"Xu Xiao... has actually started looking for research topics on her own?"

This was a result that Yuan Jiyang had never expected. Even students in the mathematics department of Yenching University usually don't attempt to do some simple projects until their junior or senior year.

He wondered if this was too hasty for Xu Xiao, but after reading Xu Xiao's research, Yuan Jiyang clicked his tongue in admiration.

"This topic is really well chosen."

Strictly speaking, the topic Xu Xiao chose is number theory, not algebra, which Yuan Jiyang had previously suggested Xu Xiao study.

Of course, algebra and number theory have a lot of overlap, and there is even a dedicated subject called "Algebraic Number Theory". There is no very clear boundary between the two.

Yuan Jiyang could tell that the topic Xu Xiao had chosen definitely had academic value, and its difficulty was probably slightly above average, a problem that the more outstanding graduate students in the Mathematics Department of Yenching University should be able to solve.

Based on his own experience, Yuan Jiyang also felt that Xu Xiao's hypothesis should be valid.

Of course, even a professor like him would not be able to solve this kind of problem in a few days; he would have to invest a considerable amount of time and energy.

"To have independently accomplished this much is truly remarkable!"

Although Xu Xiao has not yet found a clue to prove this problem, the discovery of some new properties is already a significant breakthrough.

What Yuan Jiyang didn't know was that even this index and its form with distinctive features were actually Xu Xiao's own ideas. It just happened to be the same concept proposed by his predecessors, which is why Xu Xiao didn't mention it in the email.

If Xu Xiaozhen can actually complete the entire project, she will probably surpass all the graduate students in the lab.

Moreover, Xu Xiao came up with this topic on his own, and this ability to find research topics is also very valuable.

After the initial excitement, Yuan Jiyang started typing in his reply email.

"Xu Xiao, I have received your email. I am very happy that you have made another step forward and are even trying to conduct research on your topic."

"The topic of this research is very suitable, and the abilities you have demonstrated and the progress you have made in your research so far have amazed me."

"If I were to offer some of my own thoughts, sometimes it's not necessary to use the most advanced theories. Sometimes, going back to elementary methods can still produce surprisingly good results..."

…………

Steel City.

After returning home, Xu Xiao continued to immerse herself in her research every day.

In the past few days, Xu Xiao has been trying to prove this inequality using several advanced theories, such as the Weil conjecture.

Unfortunately, Xu Xiao's attempts at either method ultimately failed.

"It seems I'll have to find more academic papers to study."

Xu Xiao felt it was time to buy a computer, so that it would be more convenient to look up information or send emails.

When Xu Lang returned home that evening, Xu Xiao brought up the matter with him.

"Great! Tomorrow's the weekend, I'll take you to the No. 1 Computer Mall."

Xu Lang readily agreed. In the past, he certainly wouldn't have easily agreed to Xu Xiao's request.

In Xu Lang's memory, most children buy computers to play games, which not only affects their studies but also makes them prone to nearsightedness.

But Xu Xiao is no longer the same person he used to be, which means Xu Lang has no worries about his son at all.

This is the main distribution center for digital products in the steel city. As soon as you enter, many vendors start hawking their wares to you.

"Hey bro, wanna get a PC built?"

"I guarantee the lowest price here, a Pentium 4 desktop computer, you can take it home for just 3,000!"

"Looking to buy a computer for your child? Come check out my place!"

Looking at so many computer stores, Xu Lang was a little confused and didn't know which one he should go to.

"Xiaoxiao, do you want to buy a desktop computer or a laptop?"

Xu Xiao originally wanted to buy a laptop so she could bring it with her to university.

However, laptops were only just starting out in this era, with poor configurations and very high prices. It would be better to build a desktop computer for home use first.

"Let's buy a desktop computer, Dad. Let's go upstairs and take a look."

"Okay, let's go up."

The second floor is much quieter than the first floor. There are not as many customers, and you can hardly see any vendors trying to attract customers for the shops.

Xu Xiao knew that there were many shady shops in the computer mall, and the more aggressively they advertised, the more they often ripped people off.

The two found a shop on the second floor that looked relatively reliable. When they came in, the owner immediately greeted them warmly.

"Hey bro, are you getting a computer for your kid?"

"Hmm, how much does it cost to build a computer?"

"We have all price ranges available. What kind are you looking for?"

"The regular kind is fine. My son doesn't play games. He mainly uses the internet to look up information and stuff."

Hearing Xu Lang say this, the boss looked at Xu Xiao with amusement, and then wrote down a configuration on a piece of paper.

"Then I'll recommend a configuration for you. The CPU is a Pentium 4, 2.4GHz, 512MB of RAM, an 80GB hard drive, and a 17-inch flat-screen monitor... This set would originally cost 4000, but to be on good terms, let's make it 3800."

After hearing the price, Xu Lang felt it was acceptable.

His original budget was four or five thousand, but the boss offered a configuration that was even cheaper.

However, he didn't know much about computers and didn't know whether the price was expensive based on this configuration.