The Science Fiction World of Xueba

"By the way, Pang, Christmas is coming soon, and I'm going to go back to the United States to finish the submission. Do you want to go to Princeton with me?"

Edward Witten thought for a while, and said again.

Edward Witten signed a two-year contract with Tsinghua University. He originally thought that it would take at least one to two years to develop m-theory, but he did not expect that he and Pang Xuelin had already completed the creation of m-theory before this year was over. .

But now that he has come to Tsinghua, Edward Witten has no intention of terminating the contract with Tsinghua early.

In the past six months, Tsinghua University has given him a high degree of freedom, and the cooperation with Pang Xuelin is also very comfortable.

The two exchanged views on the latest advances in physics and mathematics from time to time, and both felt that they had benefited a lot from each other.

Moreover, under the leadership of Edward Witten, Princeton and Tsinghua University have also reached many cooperation agreements.

It even directly contributed to a joint postgraduate training program between the Department of Mathematics and the Department of Physics.

At the same time, Princeton University also put forward a proposal, hoping that Pang Xuelin could work as an adjunct professor at Princeton University, and only need to stay there for three months every year.

Pang Xuelin didn't have much opinion on this.

After all, whether it is the patent issue of sildenafil and atorvastatin, or whether he wants to make a difference in the Internet field in the future, the United States is a country that cannot be avoided.

Staying in the United States for several months every year helps Pang Xuelin to have a clearer understanding of the development of the Internet and the latest international economic hotspots.

Pang Xuelin said: "Okay, anyway, I have to go to Princeton for two months every year, this time I will go to the United States with you during Christmas."

Witten smiled and said, "Okay, then come to my house for Christmas. I think Jennifer will definitely welcome you very much."

Jennifer Witten is Witten's wife. She and Witten have a son and a daughter, both of whom are adults.

The eldest son has just graduated from university and is a programmer. It is said that he has entered Microsoft to work.

The youngest daughter has just been admitted to the School of Motion Picture Arts at the University of Southern California.

After Witten came to China, Jennifer stayed here for half a year, and Pang Xuelin got along well with the Witten couple.

But this time to America,

But Ah Qing couldn't go.

In the first half of this year, after Ah Qing transferred to the primary school affiliated to Tsinghua University, she passed the school test and could only enter the fourth grade because of her poor foundation.

Fortunately, this girl is considered to be up to date, and with Pang Xuelin supervising her tuition, within half a year, Ah Qing's grades have already caught up to the top five in the class.

If there is no accident, there is no problem entering Tsinghua High School after graduating from elementary school.

"Ah Qing, this time my brother is going to America, you have to listen carefully to what Sister Liu says, okay, brother will come back from America within three months at most!"

Pang Xuelin touched Ah Qing's head and said.

"Um!"

Although Ah Qing's eyes flashed with reluctance, she still nodded obediently.

Pang Xuelin smiled, raised his head and said to Liu Jiahuan: "Jiahuan, I will trouble you to take care of Ah Qing during this time."

Liu Jiahuan looked at Pang Xuelin and said with a smile: "Professor Pang, don't worry, with me here, you can go to the United States with peace of mind."

Since the interview at the beginning of the year, Pang Xuelin and Liu Jiahuan have maintained a good friendship.

Liu Jiahuan liked Ah Qing very much, and would come to visit Ah Qing on weekends from time to time and take her out to play.

Therefore, when going to America this time, Pang Xuelin considered for a long time, and decided to speak to Liu Jiahuan and entrust Ah Qing to her care.

Liu Jiahuan agreed immediately.

Her family is in the suburbs of the capital. She works for CCTV and rents a small apartment. Living alone on weekdays makes her feel deserted.

Now that she has Ah Qing by her side, she feels very happy instead.

On December 15, 1993, Pang Xuelin and Edward Witten officially boarded the flight to New York.

After a long flight of thirteen hours, the two arrived at Newark International Airport. As soon as they walked out of the passenger exit, they saw a young man in his twenties holding a sign with their names on it, standing Wait at the passenger exit.

"Hey Eddie, long time no see!"

Edward Witten went up and hugged the other party, then turned around and introduced: "Pang, let me introduce you, this Morse Eddie, Deligne's assistant!"

"Professor Pang, hello, nice to meet you!"

Eddie warmly shook hands with Pang Xuelin.

"Eddie, nice to meet you too!"

The three exchanged some pleasantries, then Pang Xuelin and Witten followed Eddie to the parking lot and boarded a Chevrolet off-road vehicle.

Two hours later, the car drove into the small town of Princeton. The residence arranged for him by Princeton University was just opposite Witten's house—a small villa with a single family and a single family. It only had two floors, with two bedrooms upstairs and a The living room, study room, kitchen, dining room, and a fireplace cost a monthly rent of US$1,000, which was paid by Princeton University for Pang Xuelin.

After Pang Xuelin settled the luggage, Witten knocked on the door and said that Jennifer had prepared dinner for their arrival.

That night, Pang Xuelin ate at Witten's house, a typical American meal, mashed potatoes, fried steak, tuna salad, and a roast turkey.

Early the next morning, Pang Xuelin and Witten went to Deligne's office together, and then went through the relevant procedures for adjunct professors at Princeton University.

Although it is a part-time job, and only needs to teach one undergraduate course in Princeton every year, and stay in Princeton for more than three months, Pang Xuelin can still receive a monthly salary of 5,000 US dollars, which is 20 times his domestic salary.

It is said that big men like Deligne and Wiles have an annual salary of more than 300,000 US dollars.

After completing the entry procedures, Pang Xuelin was fine for a while because the Christmas holiday would be one week away.

So on the third day after coming to the United States, Pang Xuelin went to the second-hand car market and bought a five-year-old second-hand Ford Tempo for $12,000 as a means of transportation during his stay in the United States.

He got his domestic driver's license as early as August this year, and had a translation of his international driver's license before coming to the United States. In addition, he was used to the American traffic rules in his previous life, so he didn't worry about driving.

On December 19, early in the morning, Pang Xuelin got up and drove out.

This time, his destination was Cambridge, located in the Boston area of ​​Massachusetts, northeast of New York.

After spending nearly five hours, Pang Xuelin finally arrived at Harvard University.

After parking the car in a parking lot on the campus of Harvard University, Pang Xuelin got out of the car and strolled around the campus.

He did not tell Wang Muhui the news of his coming to the United States in advance, and he came here this time as a surprise for her. 13