Chapter 878: Firece


    The day after Christmas, it started to snow in Jin Ling City.


    The snow made Lu Zhou think back to when he was in Princeton, of the firece in his old house. Whenever it used to snow in New Jersey, he would study in the living room instead. His back would be against the sofa, and he would sit on the ground while facing the firece.


    Even though he was far from the age of being nostalgic...


    When he saw the snow falling outside the window, he couldn’t help but miss his old life.


    He was sitting in the living room. He grabbed a dumpling, dipped it in vinegar, then stuffed it in his mouth. He looked at the white pine trees outside his window and suddenly said, “I want to install a firece here.”


    Wang Peng looked around the living room and asked, “Is it not warm enough?”


    Lu Zhou looked at him with a strange expression and said, “It’s not cold, I just want one.”


    Wang Peng paused for a second and said, “Okay then... Do you need me to do anything?”


    Lu Zhou said, “No, unless you know how toy bricks.”


    Lu Zhou was joking. He didn’t expect Wang Peng to take it seriously. Wang Peng contemted it for a while and answered, “The General Staff Department has people in that expertise.”


    Lu Zhou: “Are you a genie?”


    Why do you have everything?


    Wang Peng: “...?”


    In the end, Lu Zhou didn’t ask the People’s Liberation Army General Staff Department to build a firece for him. Instead, he contacted the designpany that originally constructed the Jinling Institute for Advanced Study.


    After all, using state resources for his little firece was a little overkill.


    Lu Zhou didn’t like two things, one was to ask others for help, and the second was to overreact over small matters.


    Other than being handsome and smart, he didn’t think he was better than others in any way. He didn’t need special treatment.


    Instead, he would feel morefortable if other people treated him normally.


    That was one of the reasons he was still single.


    The constructionpany took Lu Zhou’s phone call very seriously.


    Even thoughpared to nine-figure projects, a small firece was a drop in the ocean, the constructionpany still had the highest level of professionalism. The next day, they sent a team of designers to Lu Zhou’s home. By night time, they sent the design drawings and asking price to Lu Zhou.


    Some were Victorian style, others were modern minimalistic style, and there were even some that were of the ssic retro red brick style. There were a total of 15 designs, all of which were made ording to Lu Zhuo’s living roomyout. Each design even included a set of handmade wool rugs.


    Lu Zhou looked at the price and began to wonder if thepany was even making money on this project.


    The asking price was 5,000 yuan, including the carpet. Lu Zhou couldn’t help but want to increase the price.


    “Are you sure about the price?”


    The salesdy put on a professional smile and politely replied to Lu Zhou, “It’s fine, don’t worry, you’re an important client for ourpany. Giving our clients the best price has always been thepany’s leading philosophy.”


    Lu Zhou was baffled. He looked at the design ns and pinched his eyebrows as he said, “My math might be wrong here... But why does thise with a rug that is worth four times the asking price?”


    The salesdy smiled and said, “This is our VIP discount.”


    Lu Zhou: “...”


    Discount my a**!


    Lu Zhou wasn’t going to stop them from saving him money. He hesitated for a bit and chose his favorite design.


    “We’ll go with this one then.”


    The salesdy circled the design Lu Zhou wanted and asked politely, “Okay then, we’ll install it for you as soon as possible. What time is convenient for you?”


    “Anytime is fine, preferably the afternoon...” Lu Zhou looked at Wang Peng, who was standing next to the sofa. He then asked, “Are you free this afternoon?”


    Wang Peng gave the same answer he always gave him.


    “I am avable 24 hours a day.”


    Lu Zhou nodded and looked at the saledy.


    “We’ll do two to six every afternoon... How long will it take?”


    The saledy gave him a morous smile.


    “Three days at thetest.”


    Actually, Lu Zhou didn’t have to wait for three days. The firece was installed on the night of the second day.


    Lu Zhou politely declined the offer from the saledy to install floor heating pipes for free. After Lu Zhou paid the 5,000 yuan fee, he bid farewell to the construction people. He then immediately ignited the smokeless charcoal he bought and made a fire in his firece.


    Lu Zhou sat on his new wool rug, leaning against his sofa. He listened to the fire crackling and felt the warm fire on his body. He yawned and felt sleepy.


    “So nice...”


    He stretched his back and was about to fall asleep. However, his phone suddenly rang.


    When Lu Zhou saw the caller ID, he immediately picked up the phone.


    The other end of the phone spoke first.


    “Sweetheart, how are you?”


    “I’m doing good, Mom, not as busy asst year,” Lu Zhou said with a rxed smile on his face. He paused for half a second before asking, “How are you and Dad doing?”


    Fang Mei’s face lit up the second she heard the word “Mom”. She had a hearty smile on her face as she spoke.


    “Don’t worry about us, we’re doing good. Your dad is retiring in a few years, so he doesn’t have to do much at work these days. All he does is drink tea and read the news. If it weren’t for me making him exercise, I couldn’t even imagine what he would be like. I just called to see how you’re doing, I didn’t interrupt your work, right?”


    Lu Zhou smiled and said, “Of course not, you’re more important than work.”


    Fang Mei said, “Don’t say that, your career is growing, don’t focus on me and Dad. We don’t need you to worry about us. But I just hope you don’t burn out, health is always the most important... Oh yeah, are you busy after New Year’s Day? If you are, your dad and I cane to look after you.”


    Lu Zhou didn’t want to give them more trouble, so he said, “No no, it’s fine, I’m good! I’m not busy this time of the year, so I’ll go back home instead.”


    Fang Mei sighed and said, “You’re such a good kid, just too polite.”


    Lu Zhou was perplexed.


    “Mom, what are you talking about... I’m not being polite, I just haven’t been home in so long, and I miss you guys. Anyway, don’te to Jinling, I’ll drive back home this year.”


    Even though his research was important, it wasn’t as important as his family.


    Not to mention that the Riemann hypothesis wasn’t something he could solve overnight. He had just finished solving the Quasi Riemann hypothesis, so he needed some time to chill out and rx his mind.


    Of course, more importantly, his parents were getting old. Lu Zhou wanted to spend as much time with them as possible.


    Also, everything at the lunar orbit project was going ording to n, so he, as the chief consultant, didn’t have to do anything.


    If the n needed to be changed or something unexpected happened, he would obviously stop his scientific research and go fulfill his duties.


    Fang Mei could tell that Lu Zhou really did have time to go back home this year. She finally rxed and smiled.


    She obviously wanted her son toe home. Even though her son had a big mansion in Jinling, she had lived in Jiangling her entire life. Jiangling was her roots, and all of their family friends were in Jiangling.


    This was why they never agreed to move to Jinling, even with Lu Zhou asking many times.


    “Good good, I’ll make you some dumplings, don’t think about work all day... Sigh, I used to tell you to study hard so that you would have a good future. Your dad and I never thought it would be like this. We just hope you’re not in aboratory all day eating takeout. Go out sometimes, meet some new people.”


    Lu Zhou coughed and said, “I’m trying to change, also don’t believe everything you see on documentaries. Whether it’s mathematics or physics research, everyone has to meet new people.”


    The stereotype of the loner schr didn’t exist anymore.


    Even Lu Zhou couldn’t cut all outside contact with the world and lock himself in a room. He needed at least arXiv and some other theses databases.


    Fang Mei: “Anyway, I just hope you’re happy. Your dad and I just want a grandson. That’s all we want.”


    Lu Zhou said, “Um... We’ll talk about thatter, there definitely will be one.”


    Fang Mei didn’t seem to believe Lu Zhou, but she still smiled and spoke as if she wasforting herself.


    “I hope so...”


    Lu Zhou: “...”


    Even though Lu Zhou knew his mom wasn’t trying to give him pressure, he still felt like his heart was just stabbed...