Chapter 303 - 274: Mr. Yang

Chapter 303: Chapter 274: Mr. Yang

Three small, two-story buildings stood scattered along the edge of a bamboo grove.

Li Dong glanced from a distance.

The rearmost building had three words on its lintel.

[Gui Gen Residence].

The words were inscribed by Mr. Yang himself.

After Mr. Yang returned to the country, he wrote a poem titled *Gui Gen*.

The name of this small building was taken from that poem.

The two of them walked to the courtyard gate.

A small guard booth stood by the entrance.

Inside sat a security guard who looked to be in his fifties.

Gao Yuanlin handed his ID to the man.

"Academician Gao."

The old security guard in the booth looked up and immediately stood.

"You’ve arrived."

Gao Yuanlin smiled.

"Old Wu."

"Please sign us in."

"This young man is Li Dong. It’s his first time here."

Old Wu opened the logbook, and Li Dong filled it out.

After he finished, Old Wu picked up his walkie-talkie and spoke into it, addressing someone in Gui Gen Residence.

"Madam Yang, Dean Gao and Li Dong have arrived."

A gentle female voice came from the other end of the walkie-talkie.

"Okay, I’m coming down."

Li Dong glanced at Gao Yuanlin.

Gao Yuanlin nodded at him but didn’t speak.

The two of them stood outside the courtyard gate and waited for about half a minute.

The door to Gui Gen Residence opened with a CREAK.

A woman in her forties walked down the steps.

She was wearing a simple, plain cloth dress.

Her hair was tied back, and she had a gentle and elegant air.

A smile naturally appeared on her face when she saw Gao Yuanlin.

"Academician Gao, you’ve come."

Gao Yuanlin nodded.

"Dr. Weng, sorry to disturb you."

Li Dong greeted her as well.

"Hello, Dr. Weng."

Dr. Weng smiled and nodded at Li Dong.

"Academician Gao, Li Dong."

"Mr. Yang is waiting for you in the reception room."

"He just woke up from a nap."

"His spirits are pretty good."

With that, she led Li Dong and Gao Yuanlin into Gui Gen Residence.

...

Inside, Gui Gen Residence was far simpler than Li Dong had imagined.

There was no magnificent decor.

The most eye-catching thing was a wooden bookshelf that made up one wall of the hallway.

The shelves were crammed full of books.

Not the kind of fancy, hardbound editions put on display for guests.

These were books that were actually used.

Li Dong sighed softly.

’This is the kind of place a centenarian lives.’

’Not some "historical residence," but a real home.’

Dr. Weng led the way.

She stopped in front of a door on the second floor.

It was only then that Li Dong noticed his phone had been vibrating gently in his pocket for some time.

But now was not the time to check his phone. This was a matter of basic respect for Mr. Yang.

At that moment, Gao Yuanlin straightened his collar slightly.

He raised his hand and knocked lightly on the door twice.

KNOCK KNOCK.

A voice, not loud but crisp, came from inside the room.

"Come in."

Gao Yuanlin pushed the door open and walked in.

Li Dong followed behind him.

The reception room wasn’t large.

A wooden coffee table.

Several photographs hung on the wall.

One was a group photo of a young Mr. Yang with a few old friends at Princeton.

Another was a photo of Mr. Yang with Mr. Chuan, with a handwritten year below it.

There was also a more recent one, a side profile of Mr. Yang at a lectern at Shuimu, his temples already gray.

On a sofa at the far end of the room sat a centenarian.

A thin woolen blanket was draped over him.

After entering the room, Dr. Weng walked naturally to his side and pulled the blanket up a little for him.

The centenarian’s eyes were not particularly bright.

But the moment he looked toward the door, Li Dong’s heart skipped a beat.

He recognized those eyes.

He had seen them on the title page of his university Quantum Field Theory textbook, and in the author photos of old papers that read "Yang-Mills."

’This was Mr. Yang.’

’The undisputed number one figure in the world of physics alive today.’

Gao Yuanlin spoke then.

His voice was a few notches lower than usual.

"Mr. Yang."

"We’re sorry to disturb your rest."

"This is Li Dong."

He gestured toward Li Dong.

Mr. Yang looked at Li Dong.

Li Dong’s heart tightened under his gaze.

Mr. Yang smiled.

"Gao Yuanlin."

"It’s no disturbance."

"I’ve long wanted to meet the leading figure of Huaxia’s new generation of mathematics."

Mr. Yang always addressed people by their full names, because he felt it made everyone equals.

Hearing Mr. Yang’s praise, Li Dong also spoke.

"Mr. Yang."

"You flatter me."

Mr. Yang waved his hand, gesturing for them to sit.

"I am not flattering you."

"I read the evaluation Langlands gave you."

"It was very good."

Li Dong knew that Mr. Yang followed the world of mathematics.

Although the old man was a physicist, his connections to mathematicians ran incredibly deep.

But he never expected that Mr. Yang would have personally read the evaluation Professor Langlands had written for him.

Mr. Yang smiled and spoke to them slowly.

"Have a seat."

Dr. Weng was now setting three teacups on the nearby coffee table.

Mr. Yang looked at Li Dong.

"The Langlands Program."

He said these three words.

"I heard from Qiu Chengtong that you and your colleagues are preparing to complete it?"

Li Dong nodded, not surprised that Mr. Yang would know.

The influence this old man before him had on pure mathematics was never as simple as just being "interested."

It could be said that throughout the entire twentieth century, he was, without a doubt, the single physicist who had the greatest impact on the development of pure mathematics.

1975.

Mr. Yang and Wu Dajun wrote a paper at Shi Xi.

It was titled *Concept of Nonintegrable Phase Factors and Global Formulation of Gauge Fields*.