Chapter 14 14 [The lesser of two evils]


    Hearing what Xiang Nan said, Howard thought about it and felt it made sense.


    Sheldon is indeed arrogant and always puts himself first.


    As long as someone surpasses him, whether it is a friend or a competitor, he will become very unhappy.


    When Leonard collaborated with him on supersolid research, Sheldon insisted on signing the paper as the first author.


    ??Howard could imagine that once Sheldon joins the project, he will rush to be the person in charge and confidently regard others as subordinates.


    At that time, even if the results are achieved, he will definitely take the credit. Others work hard in vain and end up with nothing.


    "You''re right, we can''t cooperate with Sheldon." Howard nodded vigorously, "What about Leonard, do you want him to join?"


    "Not yet. Haven''t you seen it yet? Leonard is Sheldon''s slave. As soon as Leonard joins, Sheldon will definitely know." Xiang Nan waved his hand.


    "Leonard is not as miserable as you said." Howard frowned and said in confusion.


    “Why not? Leonard is responsible for helping Sheldon drive, pick up meals, send doctors, do shopping, and take care of all aspects of his life. This is what slaves do.


    ?Sheldon controls Leonard''s life, entertainment, work, love, and even his defecation time. To be honest, this is wider than a slave supervisor. Xiang Nan analyzed it for him.


    Howard blinked, feeling that what he said did make sense.


    ?Sheldon did manage Leonard very strictly, and even the two of them were affected.


    For example, because Sheldon is afraid of the sun, they can''t play outdoors in the summer; because Sheldon is overbearing, they can''t sit in his special seats; because Sheldon drinks cold drinks too quickly, which causes headaches. Many times, they stop watching the movie halfway through. Forced to leave with him...


    Not to mention that Sheldon also customized a recipe for them. They eat strictly according to the recipe every week without any changes.


    In this case, Leonard really cannot join.


    ?He was more influenced by Sheldon. There was no difference between him joining and Sheldon joining.


    “But, can only the two of us do it? You are just an astrophysicist, and I am just an engineer.” Howard said worriedly.


    "Let''s try it first. If it doesn''t work, we''ll find a way." Xiang Nan nodded.


    He admitted that the two of them cannot conquer the world, and they will definitely encounter many difficulties during the research and development process.


    But there must be a road before the car reaches the mountain. He didn''t want to get anything done, so he retreated first.


    Besides, it’s the lesser of two evils. He would rather the pace of research and development be slower than Sheldon coming in and messing around, which would end up making everyone busy.


    “OK!” Howard also nodded.


    …


    Subsequently, Xiang Nan and Howard met with the real estate agent and looked at several houses.


    Finally, he chose to rent a single room with one bedroom and one living room at 6175 York Road.


    ??This is about ten kilometers away from the California Institute of Technology. If you drive, you can get there in only 20 minutes. The transportation is very convenient.


    ??Moreover, it is surrounded by convenience stores, gas stations, fast food restaurants, museums, parks, etc., and the supporting facilities are also very complete.


    The most important thing is that the security environment here is relatively good, and the apartments also have access control systems to protect the personal and property safety of residents.


    So after comprehensive comparison, Xiang Nan decided to choose it as his new home.


    ?Its rent is also relatively cheap, with one bedroom and one living room only costing US$1,500, which is much cheaper than renting a house before.


    Xiang Nan then signed the contract and paid the rent and deposit. Renting here in the United States requires one deposit and one payment.


    After choosing a house, Xiang Nan started to move. Leonard and Howard were both captured by him.


    "I want to accompany my mother to a water aerobics class, so I really can''t help you." Howard declined politely.


    “My computer has a problem and I need to reinstall the system.” Leonard also refused.


    Neither of them likes sports, let alone such a tiring thing as moving.


    “If anyone helps me move, I will give them a limited edition Green Lantern energy lamp and Hulk gloves signed by Stan Lee.” Xiang Nan said with a slight smile.


    "When I think about it, I seem to have misremembered the time my mother went to class. She should have gone to class tomorrow." Howard immediately changed his tune.


    "I don''t think there is a need to reinstall the system in a hurry." Leonard immediately changed his words.


    “You two really hurt your friends.” Xiang Nan rolled his eyes and said.


    ?It took three people and two cars a day to move, and finally they were almost done.


    Some large luggage, such as refrigerators, ovens, air conditioners, etc., are handled by the moving company.


    ?After everything was settled, Xiang Nan went through the check-out procedures with the original landlord and got back his deposit.


    The move is finally over.


    …


    "I lived well in the previous house, why do I want to change it all of a sudden? This house is not as good as your old one." Penny asked curiously.


    “The monthly rent for the previous house was US$4,500. Although my father helped me pay the credit card bill, I feel that men should not always rely on their parents.” Xiang Nan explained.


    Hearing what he said, Penny nodded, thinking it made sense.


    She came to Hollywood from Omaha alone, without any financial support from her family, but she persisted on her own.


    “Honey, when you say that, you make me feel so manly.” Penny smiled.


    “Thank you.” Xiang Nan nodded.


    …


    Monday, back at school, Xiang Nan completed the paper "Edgeworth-Kyber Fragment Disk".


    He had almost finished writing this paper last week, and only some verification work was left today.


    After verifying that it was correct, he sent the paper to the preprint server.


    The reason why this is so is that, on the one hand, if a paper is submitted for publication according to the normal process, peer journal review alone will take several months. Publishing a paper on a preprint server only requires one or two days of screening.


    The same research result belongs to whoever publishes it first. Therefore, in the field of scientific research, time is more important than money.


    ?On the one hand, the preprint server is open access, allowing more readers to read this paper, thus bringing more popularity and reputation.


    Xiang Nan’s purpose in writing this paper is to become famous, so naturally the more people he sees, the better.


    After finishing this paper, Xiang Nan began to study the "N-dimensional Superfluid Surface Tension Model" with Howard.


    Once the research is successful, he and Howard can build a superfluid vortex model and create a quantum navigation system and quantum communication system.


    Once these two new inventions are successfully developed, he and Howard will be able to use them endlessly and no longer have to worry about money for the rest of their lives.


    So both of them were serious about it. I started doing calculations in the afternoon and kept busy until I got off work.


    (End of this chapter)