Steady Income Growth
The sales figures for the first month of "A History of Number Theory" have been released in the United States.
This mathematical work, hailed as an epic by the American Mathematical Society, sold 5,000 copies in its first month.
"Professor Shen, time to pop the champagne! 'History of Number Theory' is indeed a bestseller," Wieser from Springer Publishing Group called to congratulate them.
"Thank you, Mr. Weiser. Your business operations are very professional." Shen Qi breathed a sigh of relief. Fortunately, it didn't flop. The sales performance in the first month was good, and 5,000 copies sold was perfectly acceptable.
Academic works are not wish-fulfillment novels. An academic monograph is considered a bestseller if it has sold more than one million copies from the day it is published until the author's death.
Such bestselling academic works are few and far between. Among the works widely known to science enthusiasts are < On the On the Correlation of Material Sciences> (published in 1834), <The Mysterious Universe> (1930), <The Way of Physics> (1975), <The First Three Minutes of the Universe> (1977), <A Brief History of Time Universe> (1980), and <A Brief History of Time> (1988).
Apart from the author of " On the On the Correlation of Material Sciences" (the British mathematician Somerville), the authors of the other bestselling popular science books are all physicists.
"A Brief History of Time" is a phenomenal work, with global sales exceeding ten million copies.
Even the bestselling popular science book, "An A Brief History of Time," has only sold a little over ten million copies over several decades.
That's how the market works; the readership determines a work's sales.
Springer analyzed preliminary consumer characteristics for those who purchased "A History of History of Number Theory," identifying a typical consumer profile as: highly educated, middle-class, aged 35-45, currently or previously engaged in research-related work.
The core consumer group of "The History of Number Theory" is highly educated researchers in the United States, a minority elite in any country.
According to preliminary big data analysis of Springer's "History of Number Theory", very few readers "bought it but didn't read it" or "bought it to keep as a collection". The price of $85 is not cheap; the same price can buy seven or eight books of the same thickness.
Big data shows that American consumers tend to be more rational in their spending behavior, which is closely related to the financial situation of the general public in the United States. It also shows that the US economic recovery is not as rapid as their president has claimed.
Regardless, the sales of 5,000 copies in the first month made Shen Qi feel gratified. This was only the sales statistics in the United States; there were many other countries where English was the native language. The English version of "History of Number Theory" would be available worldwide soon.
Versions in various languages, including French, Spanish, German, Arabic, will also be released successively, with a Chinese version being an essential component.
Shen Qi did some quick calculations and figured he could witness the cumulative sales of "History of Number Theory" exceeding 1 million copies in his lifetime, so he had no regrets and could just sit back and collect the money.
The sale of 5,000 copies of "History of Number Theory" brought Shen Qi an income of $65,000. His book "Olympic Math Champion Shen Qi's Math Insights," published after the college entrance examination, is still on sale. With his salary as a Princeton professor, Shen Qi's annual income is expected to exceed one million US dollars. This is fixed income excluding various awards and bonuses.
The prize money wasn't actually that much; the Breakthrough Prize was $1 million, and the prize for proving the Riemann Hypothesis was also $1 million. These two prizes were Shen Qi's main sources of income.
Fields' prize money was a mere 15,000 Canadian dollars, equivalent to 11,364 US dollars.
I just received the Steele Prize, which comes with a slightly larger prize of $25,000.
Shen Qi discovered that he had over two million US dollars in his bank account, had bought Mercedes-Benz, and didn't spend much on daily expenses. His parents were wealthier than him and didn't need his support for the time being.
His girlfriend's family is even wealthier, and Shen Qi doesn't know where to spend his money. The world isn't set in a rebirth scenario; who can guarantee a profit from stocks, real estate, or other types of investments?
Is hardcore techie forcing investment?
In theory, Fields Medal winners possess this ability.
But this requires a huge amount of energy to devote to worldly affairs, which Shen Qi doesn't have.
"What's the use of money?" Shen Qi asked Ou Ye.
"That's enough," Ou Ye replied.
Shen Qi drove Ou Ye's Bentley to accompany her to a hospital in New York for a medical check-up.
Last weekend, Shen Qi came to New York to see Ou Ye and found that Ou Ye's mental and physical condition was not good, so he made an appointment for a hospital check-up today.
This weekend, Shen Qi returned to New York to take Ou Ye to the hospital as planned.
After Ou Ye bought the Bentley, Shen Qi drove it more often than she did. "Little Yezi, you spent $300,000 on this Bentley, and you've driven it less than 1,000 miles yourself, while I've driven it 5,000 miles for you."
"I'm glad you like driving this car." Ou Ye forced a smile. She hadn't been feeling well lately, and increasing the dosage of her medication could only barely maintain her normal cognitive abilities.
Looking at Ou Ye with heartache, Shen Qi had a reason to save money: his girlfriend's medical treatment and medication would cost money.
Ou Ye has been suffering from this illness for over ten years. It's a chronic disease that requires long-term financial investment, and she has already spent a lot of money. Fortunately, her family is not short of money.
His parents will eventually grow old, and one day Shen Qi will have to shoulder the responsibility of caring for his elderly parents and young children. Although he doesn't have a wife and children yet, he will in the future.
In the United States, you need to make an appointment in advance to see a doctor at a good private hospital, and sometimes the waiting period can be as long as several weeks or even months.
Some patients have already recovered on their own by the time they see a doctor.
Ou Ye did not recover automatically; she looked even more haggard today than she did a week ago.
Ou Ye's doctor holds a diploma from Harvard Medical School. She is an American female doctor with many years of experience, excellent medical skills, and a good reputation.
Various medical instruments and procedures were applied to Ou Ye in turn. Blood tests, urine tests, X-rays, and MRIs were all routine examinations. There was a high-end instrument that Shen Qi had never seen before. Ou Ye first drank a glass of blue liquid, and then lay on the examination table with dozens of tubes connected to her body, looking like a vegetable.
After the entire examination was completed, Ou Ye was too exhausted to speak, and she fell asleep on the table.
Shen Qi felt a pang of sadness watching this, and he asked the doctor, "Can you treat my girlfriend's illness?"
The American female doctor said, "Mr. Shen, you can schedule an appointment with me next Saturday. The test results will require a few days to complete data analysis and comprehensive evaluation."
American doctors believe in data; without data, they cannot carry out their work of treating and saving lives.
In this scientific age, most doctors around the world follow this principle. Shen Qi's Mom is a doctor, and he respects the way doctors work.
After leaving the hospital and returning to Ou Ye's dorm at Columbia University, Shen Qi asked, "Little Yezi, will you be able to get your master's degree in the Mathematics Department from Columbia University by the end of this semester?"
Ou Ye nodded. "Mm."
Ou Ye participated in the RT Third Expression project and made certain contributions to this topic. She has almost completed her required graduate credits, and the academic achievements of RT Third Expression can bring her additional credits, meeting the graduation requirements of Columbia Mathematics Department.
Shen Qi: "Let's arrange for PhD students to study at Princeton."