Those Years When I Was Forced to Top the Forbes List

Chapter 45 The Door to Mathematics

"Ding dong."

"Ding dong, ding dong, ding dong."

When Chen Xuebing woke up early on Sunday morning, he felt the voice was still echoing in his head.

This is the sound that can make Taobao sellers jump out of bed in the middle of the night.

The sound of money arriving.

Yesterday was Saturday, the decisive battle.

After finally getting a surge of traffic, Xin Mengzhen logged off at 8 PM to do some practice problems, while he stayed at the internet cafe until midnight.

We reached agreements with five potential sellers, but only one of them paid via online banking at the time, and that seller was from Chongqing. We agreed to complete the transaction in person.

It would take five or six days for the machine to arrive in Chongqing, and he would have to make a trip there. However, Chen Xuebing didn't mind making the trip; face-to-face transactions made it easier for him to get the positive reviews he wanted.

The remaining four don't have online banking, so they'll all have to make payments in person at the bank. It's uncertain how many will actually make a payment. After all, it's a whole day; people might hesitate about whether to buy, have to go to the bank, wait in line, and fill out remittance forms. Losing patience at any of these stages could easily lead to giving up.

Chen Xuebing got up at seven o'clock and sent two text messages to Xin Mengzhen to report the results of the battle. She replied briefly, "Reading a book, we'll chat in a bit."

Goodness, it's the weekend, and he's already reading at seven o'clock.

This made Chen Xuebing very nervous. He had originally planned to go for a morning run in the nearby park to practice his morning exercises and start his 18-year-old health plan, but he immediately changed it to jumping rope for ten minutes and then starting to do practice questions.

Never mind, the park has a lot of carbon dioxide in the morning, so the air quality isn't good.

……

9:30, Peach Blossom Creek Zoo.

Chen Xuebing and Chen Xuejin are inhaling carbon dioxide at the zoo.

The meeting place was chosen by Xin Mengzhen.

Chen Xuebing originally thought they should go directly to the teahouse, but Xin Mengzhen said that to communicate with the children and stimulate their interest in learning, they should go to a place that the children are interested in, so she asked if there was an amusement park.

Chen Xuebing really wanted to tell Chen Xuejin that she didn't need to be interested and didn't like amusement parks, but he wanted to see her shocked, so he asked her if she wanted to go to the Chongqing Zoo with pandas.

"go with!"

Xin Mengzhen arrived late, carrying several bags.

Today she was dressed exceptionally sweetly, with her hair loose and slightly past her shoulders. The opening of her dark cardigan was slightly bulging, revealing a white shirt underneath. Her slim-fitting light-colored jeans accentuated her straight legs, making her figure appear very tall and slender.

Xiao Xin is developing well.

Xin Mengzhen's fondness for loose-fitting sportswear is indeed for a reason; with her figure, wearing well-fitting clothes instantly accentuates her curves.

Perhaps Chen Xuebing matured too early in his previous life, and never understood what "pure desire" meant online. He felt that those videos claiming to be pure desire were just skirting the edge.

This caused him to misunderstand.

Isn't that just being provocative? Where's the purity?

Purity and desire are inherently contradictory.

Now, looking at Xin Mengzhen, he felt a subtle contrast in her appearance, and suddenly it dawned on him: "Pure desire" means her face looks pure, but her body is alluring.

There was a similar contrasting adjective before, which was much easier to understand: "baby face, big breasts".

What should Xin Mengzhen be called?
A beautiful face and a shapely butt?

"What are you doing?" Xin Mengzhen approached with a frown.

She was originally going to greet the fair-skinned, cute Chen Xuejin, but when she got closer, she found that Chen Xuebing was staring at her butt in a daze. She immediately picked up the bag and covered her already airtight jeans.

Chen Xuebing's eyes immediately regained their clarity.

Damn it, I was careless. We agreed to look at his eyes first and then his butt, but he was still staring at me.

However, the soldier remained remarkably composed, his gaze not wavering.

“Oh! That… grass, it’s quite tall, and the leaves are big too. Didn’t you give Chen Xuejin a complete plant encyclopedia? I’m going to have him identify it.”

Following the path she had come from, Chen Xuebing pointed to a slender, weak plant growing by the roadside behind her, examining it intently.

Xin Mengzhen looked back and found that there was indeed a plant under the tree by the roadside. After observing it for a moment, she said, "Is it... a castor bean? It seems to be poisonous."

"That's a poppy!" Chen Xuejin blurted out, taking a few steps forward and shaking his large head as he pointed at the large leaf, "It's a plant from the poppy family, and it's highly poisonous!"

As he spoke, he walked over to the plant and pointed to a thin branch, saying, "Look, it's bearing fruit!"

Without exchanging greetings, Chen Xuejin immediately began her performance, and Chen Xuebing quickly observed Xin Mengzhen's expressions.

Xin Mengzhen simply walked up behind Chen Xuejin, bent down slightly, looked up, and asked, "Poisonous? Do you know where the poison is?"

With a gentle and persuasive voice, a guided learning session has already begun.

Chen Xuejin, however, put his hands behind his back and said loudly, "Bo Luo Hui is highly poisonous. It grows in the Huai Mountains. Its stems and leaves are like hemp, hollow inside. When broken, it has yellow branches. If a person is poisoned by it, they will die instantly. It should not be eaten."

Having said that, he turned his head, raised his chin, and looked at Xin Mengzhen, saying:

"The stems and leaves are poisonous, would you dare touch them?"

"Dare to touch?" Xin Mengzhen was shocked by these two words. Chen Xuejin's calm expression was just like that of an old expert.

"Then...can I touch it?" Xin Mengzhen tentatively reached out her hand.

"Sure," Chen Xuejin replied readily.

After Xin Mengzhen gently touched it, Chen Xuejin continued, "This is a medicine, also known as 'tube stem.' It can be used externally. Touching it won't hurt. Just don't break the stem or get the sap on it. Wash your hands later."

Xin Mengzhen's mouth formed an "O" shape as she turned her head to look at Chen Xuebing with a puzzled expression.

Chen Xuebing also put his hands behind his back and smiled:

"It's a good thing you didn't give him a copy of 'Animal Encyclopedia' last week, otherwise he could have told you about the zoo from beginning to end today."

Xin Mengzhen took a deep breath, looking at one of the bags in her hand with a hesitant gaze.

Inside were fairy tale books and "Story Collection" magazines that she had bought in advance.

She thought for a moment, then instead of taking out the bag, she took out another delicate little pouch and tentatively asked:

"Chen Xuejin, this is a small cake I bought for you. Would you like to eat it while we're shopping?"

She just bought this from a nicely decorated cake shop, and carefully selected two kinds, which should be irresistible temptations for children.

Chen Xuejin shook his head, looked at Xin Mengzhen and said, "Thank you, sister. I'm starting to lose my baby teeth. I ate glutinous rice balls this morning. My mom doesn't let me eat too many sweets. You can give them to my brother. You're so pretty, he'll definitely like what you bought."

Chen Xuebing gritted his teeth upon hearing this.

“Uh…” Xin Mengzhen was already somewhat lost in thought and did not notice the second half of the sentence. She just felt that all her preparations before coming here seemed to have been completely meaningless.

Chen Xuejin, however, was quite quick-witted. Taking advantage of the moment, he asked, "Sister, are you and my brother classmates?"

"Chen Xuejin, are you itching for a beating? Don't ask me nonsense!" Chen Xuebing couldn't hold back any longer when he saw this kid starting to interrogate him and yelled.

He suddenly remembered that when he took Chen Xuejin out, his mother had pulled Chen Xuejin aside and muttered something to him.

This kid might be here on a mission.

Not taking him to meet two girls at the same time was definitely the right choice.

However, without his mother's protection, Chen Xuejin immediately shrank back and became obedient upon hearing his brother's shout.

Xin Mengzhen, after a moment of internal struggle, walked towards Chen Xuebing with a conflicted expression and whispered:
Why didn't you tell me he was so smart?

Chen Xuebing smiled. He had brought his younger brother for an "evaluation" today and didn't intend to spend much time on "shocking Xin Mengzhen." He stated frankly:
"Didn't I tell you already? You just didn't believe me. You even asked me to teach him poetry and math. Let me tell you the truth, my math is too bad to teach him. I came here today to see if he's qualified to skip a grade, and what his math level is like. At his age, is it suitable for him to enroll in an Olympiad math class or a Hua Luogeng math class or something? I'm planning to keep him busy this year before he starts school and find him a class, but I'm afraid of pushing him too hard and affecting his talent."

Xin Mengzhen's brows furrowed slightly.

"You...you want him to try for the gifted youth program later?"

The university's gifted youth program has no humanities programs, only science programs, and aims to cultivate talents in the fields of science and technology.

The most basic restriction is age, and the most important subject is mathematics. With these two conditions combined, Xin Mengzhen instantly realized Chen Xuebing's intentions.

Chen Xuebing nodded, then noticed her conflicted expression and asked in confusion, "What's wrong? Is it not allowed?"

Xin Mengzhen said with some worry, "It's very bitter."

Chen Xuebing's expression relaxed a bit: "The children in our family can't be afraid of hardship, that's what my dad said."

As she spoke, she added resentfully, "I was only three years old when my father started putting bitter melon in my bowl. He was already five!"

Xin Mengzhen glanced at Chen Xuebing.

After thinking for a while, he turned around and asked Chen Xuejin, who was carefully observing Qi Bo's movements, "Chen Xuejin, what do you usually like?"

"Plants are so interesting, sister. I've already read half of the book you gave me. There are so many plants around me, it's a pity spring hasn't arrived yet, otherwise I could watch them pollinate, and learn English too... Thank you, sister."

Chen Xuejin didn't mention much about the English he had learned the most these days, because of the gift.

Xin Mengzhen suddenly remembered something and turned around to ask, "By the way, that English... how much has he memorized?"

Chen Xuebing laughed: "I think you shouldn't ask anymore. Next time, give him a more intense workout."

Actually, showing off his younger brother gives him a lot of pleasure. In his past life, he rose to a higher social class and gradually realized the importance of cultural heritage for a family. That's why he ultimately married his ex-wife, an English teacher, among many other options. Whenever he talks about culture, he always mentions his younger brother. He didn't study seriously, and his brother represents all his hopes for cultural learning. As long as Chen Xuejin needs money for education, whether it's for graduate school or doctoral studies, even though living in Beijing is incredibly expensive, he never hesitates.

In this life, the feeling of relying on his younger brother for spiritual support has faded somewhat. He has begun to take the initiative to control everything, guiding his younger brother to develop in the direction of maximizing his talents.

Xin Mengzhen reaffirmed Chen Xuejin's genius and chatted with him again.

"So...besides plants, what else do you like to look at?"

"television."

"anything else?"

"Hmm... look at the stars. There's a step in front of my house, and I like to sit there at night. There are so many stars in the sky."

Xin Mengzhen fell into thought.

Stars—this is a topic that can lead into mathematics.

"Chen Xuejin, do you know how far away the stars in the sky are from us?"

"Hmm... some are close, some are far."

“Yes.” Xin Mengzhen couldn’t stump Chen Xuejin, so she squatted down and patiently said, “Some are hundreds of light-years away, and the farthest are billions of light-years away… Do you know what a light-year is?”

"The length of a year's run is a unit of length."

Chen Xuejin was not stumped again.

Xin Mengzhen's expression gradually became serious: "Then do you know what the speed of light represents?"

Now, Chen Xuejin was finally confused and turned his head to say:
"what?"

“It’s time.” Xin Mengzhen suddenly began explaining content completely outside of high school: “The universe that our eyes observe all comes from light. Light has a speed of propagation, and it takes time to reach our eyes. So what we observe is the universe of the past. When you move forward at the speed of light, light is chasing you at the same speed. What you see will be a static universe, and time will no longer exist. Moreover, experiments have shown that the closer the speed is to light, the closer the time axis is to perpendicular, and the slower the shape of objects changes. This is called the time dilation effect.”

"Oh... then that means immortality?" Chen Xuejin began to ask curiously, "What if I exceed the speed of light? Will I become young again? Will I be able to see the universe regress? Will things from the previous second appear before my eyes?"

"You were born a child."

Xin Mengzhen smiled, her eyes crinkling. Chen Xuejin's series of questions had piqued her curiosity, and she felt she had touched upon Chen Xuejin's interest. So she slowly began to explain:

"The speed of light is insurmountable. All objects must follow a straight line from the past to the future. There is only speed, but no turning back."

"why?"

As Chen Xuejin continued, he added, "Why can't the speed of light be surpassed?"

Chen Xuebing, who was standing next to her, had heard a little about special relativity, but it was just something he was interested in and had nothing to do with physics, so he knew what she was talking about.

Xin Mengzhen, a liberal arts student, likely only had an advanced understanding of this subject based on interest.

So when he heard this, he felt that Xin Mengzhen, a high school student, could no longer explain herself, so he interjected, "This is a universal rule, and we live within the rules."

As he spoke, he sighed inwardly.

If this is the rule, then I'm the only man who breaks it, right?

A man who surpasses the light.

Chen Xuebing felt a sense of wonder.

Xin Mengzhen was also somewhat surprised when she heard Chen Xuebing's words.

Then, a smile appeared on his face: "Yes, this is a rule. As for why the rule exists, that is an area that we cannot explore at present, or even for a long time. We are still far from the boundary of the rule. If we master this rule, we will master time, and then we may become four-dimensional beings."

"Very far? How far?"

"It's very, very far away, so many very intelligent people have chosen to embrace theology because they can't break this rule, nor can they explain the randomness of many things, so they prefer to believe that the world was created by a 'God.'"

When Xin Mengzhen brought up theology, Chen Xuebing frowned slightly.

What's going on? Have faith in science, my friend!

But when he turned his head, he found that Chen Xuejin's eyes were flickering, and he looked at Xin Mengzhen with some suspicion.

It also suggests a resurgence of fighting spirit.

After a long pause, he straightened up and asked loudly, "How do you prove the time dilation effect you mentioned?"

Chen Xuebing thought he had finally gotten Xin Mengzhen to the bottom of things.

But Xin Mengzhen didn't bring up this topic for no reason; she had some understanding of it. At this moment, she confidently smiled and said, "From a mathematical perspective, there is a concept called curvature. Once you study differential geometry, you will understand the principle of spacetime curvature. These are things you will learn in university. Before that, you will learn calculus and linear algebra, which are the foundation of differential geometry and are also university content. If you don't learn them, you will not be able to understand the later content."

Chen Xuejin was somewhat disappointed: "Is it only possible to learn this in university?"

University is still a long way off.

"Actually, university courses also provide a foundation. To learn calculus, you need to master derivatives; to learn linear algebra, you need to master algebra, geometry, and trigonometric functions. These are all high school courses... In fact, junior high school also has equations and algebra, as well as inequalities. You will also learn about the area and volume calculations of shapes, which are also fundamental."

This distance is getting closer and closer to Chen Xuejin.

Chen Xuejin also burst into a voice uniquely loud for a child:
"What about primary school?"

"Of course, you'll learn about it in elementary school. You'll learn calculation methods, length, width, height, lines, angles, and surfaces, various units, equations that use letters to represent numbers... The faster you learn the basics, the faster you'll get to what I'm talking about."

"I want it! I want it!" Chen Xuejin jumped up excitedly. "Sister, you're so smart! Can you teach me?"

Seeing Chen Xuejin's admiring expression, Chen Xuebing sighed heavily.

Xin Mengzhen truly lived up to her reputation; in just a few words, she recited over a decade of math lessons with remarkable familiarity, drawing a long trail of knowledge in Chen Xuejin's mind.

“I will ask a teacher to teach you. How quickly you learn depends on yourself,” Chen Xuebing suddenly said.

Chen Xuejin immediately turned his head, staring wide-eyed at his older brother, then suddenly looked doubtful: "Hiring a teacher costs money, right? How long will it take?"

Chen Xuebing's mouth twitched.

You believe everything others say without question, but you repeatedly reason about what Lao Tzu says.

"I said very soon, and I mean very soon! Ask your sister! Your brother earned several hundred yuan yesterday alone!"

Xin Mengzhen laughed: "Yes, your brother may have made money, and your sister admires him too."

Chen Xuejin then began to feel excited.

"Phew..." Xin Mengzhen breathed a sigh of relief and whispered to Chen Xuebing, "I have successfully completed my mission."

Chen Xuebing's expression was conflicted.

"Cough...or perhaps..."

"Ok?"

"...I also have a bit of a thirst for knowledge about mathematics. How about you explain it to me this afternoon using the same simple and easy-to-understand method you just used?"

(End of this chapter)