Chapter 248 Winning the Prize
The match between Spain and France has not yet started, but the stands are already full. Fans from both sides wore the uniforms of their respective teams, clearly distinguishing each other, forming a unique landscape.
Two French fans ran to the area where the Spanish spectators were sitting. One of them took out a piece of red cloth and assumed the posture of a matador, while the other put his hands on his head and imitated a bull.
The French fan pretending to be a matador immediately fell to the ground, as if to say, the matador was hit!
When other French fans saw this scene, they immediately screamed and taunted them in French.
Not to be outdone, the Spanish fans on the opposite side took out a baguette and slapped a rooster mascot, meaning they wanted to beat up the Gallic chicken.
Just hit him with a baguette. It won’t hurt much, but it’s extremely insulting!
Before the players from both sides entered the stadium, the fans on both sides began to taunt each other.
The German fans have a leisurely expression. Germany has successfully advanced to the next round. Of course, the German fans will look more relaxed.
When the French pretend to be matadors, the German fans will cheer along with them; when the Spaniards beat up the Gallic chicken dolls with baguettes, the Germans will cheer along too. Big deal.
Zhang Wei looked around at the carnival-like fans, who were burning like hot flames. He couldn't help but sigh: "European fans are so enthusiastic!"
"Brother, you are the first Watching a live football match in Europe, right?" Lu Yunxiang said, waving to the beer seller and asking for two glasses of beer.
For Germans, how can you watch football without beer!
Zhang Wei nodded: "Not to mention the scenes in Europe, even the scenes in China, I haven't seen them a few times."
"I have! I traveled to Europe before. I watched a game of Juventus and a game of Manchester United!" Lu Yunxiang hesitated for a while, and then asked: "Brother, there is a Chinese Super League team in your hometown, right? The football atmosphere there should be very strong, right? ! ”
"The football atmosphere used to be good, and there were specialized football schools, but the club kept failing to win and was often at the bottom! The fans' patience has been worn away," Zhang Wei said.
"That's right!" Lu Yunxiang nodded suddenly, leaned towards Zhang Wei, and whispered mysteriously: "Brother, do you really think the French team can win?"< br>
“Nonsense, otherwise why would I buy 20,000 euros to win in France!” Zhang Wei said.
“I also bought 500 euros for France to win!” Lu Yunxiang muttered in a low voice.
“You, Mr. Lu, still care about a mere five hundred euros?”
"No matter how small a mosquito is, it's still meat! The key is that after spending these 500 euros, it feels like it was wasted!"
"When you go to redeem your prize two hours later, you won't feel this way. "Zhang Wei said, glanced at Lu Yunxiang, and then asked: "Why are you so sneaky? Did you meet an old lover?" "I'm not afraid of our conversation. , If others find out that you spent 20,000 euros in betting, they will definitely think that you are a rich man and might rob us! How good is the security in Germany during the World Cup?" Lu Yunxiang explained! .
“Are you stupid?” Zhang Wei snorted coldly: “We speak Chinese, do you think any foreigner around us can understand it!”
“That’s right. ! We are in Germany, foreigners can’t understand Chinese! ”
...
The referee blew the whistle to start the game, and the whole stadium suddenly boiled. The cheers and shouts of the fans gathered into a boiling ocean, and the air was filled with excitement.
On the court, every run and every fight of the players touches the heartstrings of tens of thousands of fans. Whenever a wonderful moment occurs, the entire stadium will boil instantly, with cheers and screams one after another, as if the stadium is about to be overturned.
In the 27th minute of the game, Spain successfully created a penalty kick and successfully scored, making the score 1-0. The scene was instantly overwhelmed by the shouts of Spanish fans.
"Brother, the Spanish team scored a goal!" Lu Yunxiang looked panicked.
"Calm down, we're only halfway through the first half, why are you panicking!" Zhang Wei glanced sideways at Lu Yunxiang, and then said: "I mean, Xiao Lu, I never thought you were so irresistible before! I Only then did I realize that you are both pretentious and cowardly! You are the second generation of a rich man and the heir to a large company. How can you inherit the family business in the future if you have such a poor psychological quality? They are mining coal, you know that, right?" Lu Yunxiang asked.
"I know, your dad is a coal boss!" Zhang Wei nodded.
“My dad said that the most important thing when mining coal is to be careful. In this industry, if something goes wrong, it is a matter of life and death! So my personality is the most suitable for inheriting the family business. ."
"This is different from the coal bosses I know! Don't you think the coal bosses are ruthless?" Zhang Wei asked.
"What you are talking about is most likely an illegal small coal kiln or a regular coal mine. The Work Safety Bureau sends people to inspect you every three days. The Taxation Bureau and the Labor Bureau are also watching you all the time. How can you dare to be so ruthless? Ah!”
“Then your profits will be much less?” Zhang Wei then asked.
"No less. We are a regular coal mine. Naturally, we sell coal through formal channels, and the price is higher than that of illegal small coal mines. Of course, our quality is also better."
Speaking of the coal at home. In the coal mine business, Lu Yunxiang was about to complain again.
Zhang Wei didn’t want to see Lu Yunxiang show off, so he quickly changed the topic and said, "You can be cowardly, but you won’t be cowarded like this just for five hundred euros, right? With this little money, Isn’t that a drop in the bucket for you? The dinner you treated me to yesterday cost more than two hundred euros, right? Five hundred euros is just two meals for you!”
"It's different!" Lu Yunxiang sighed, and continued: "My dad said that with our worth, as long as we don't gamble or invest blindly, we will lose everything in our lives. This lottery is almost the same as gambling. If this is done by my dad, You know, I bought a football lottery ticket, so I won’t get scolded if I say anything!”
“Well, uncle is right. Many rich second generation people are ruined by gambling and investment.” Zhang Weishen agreed. The nodded.
Lu Yunxiang continued: "My dad also said that buying lottery tickets is the thinking of the poor. Only the poor want to take the chance to turn their bicycles into motorcycles, hoping to use the lottery to change their lives. For example, in our family, Not to mention motorcycles, they all have Rolls-Royce, so there’s no need to give it a try.”
“Well, uncle is a wise man!” Zhang Wei nodded again and then came back to his senses. Come.
“No, why do I feel that you are thinking about me!”
The two chatted, and time soon came to the end of the first half. The French team scored a goal to equalize the score.
In the second half, the French team scored two more goals and defeated Spain with a score of 3-1.
Zhang Wei bet 20,000 euros, which turned into 45,600 euros.
In this game, the betting company's odds are Spain 1.63 versus France 2.28, which is obviously more optimistic about Spain. The French team can be regarded as a weak victory over the strong in this game.
Zhang Wei has invested most of his funds in buying Italy to win the championship, so even though he knew that France was guaranteed to win, he only bought 20,000 euros.
And the odds of 1 to 2.28 are definitely not as good as the odds of 1 to 13. If the calculation is always based on 1 to 2.28, winning three games in a row will only reach 1 to 11.85, which is still not as profitable as the odds of 1 to 13.
But in the next game, Zhang Wei can bet 45,600 euros.
After the 16th to 8th round, Brazil still has the highest winning odds, with Germany rising to second place, followed by Argentina and Italy, and France ranking sixth.
The next game of the French team is against the Brazilian team, the favorite to win the championship. Of course, the betting company is more optimistic about the five-star Brazil in this game, giving odds of 1.48 for Brazil and 3.16 for France.
As a result, France eliminated the five-star Brazil with Ronaldo, Ronaldinho, Kaká and Adriano 1-0. Zhang Wei's 45,000 euros directly turned into 142,000 euros.
The French team has proven its strength by winning consecutive games against Spain and Brazil. Their next opponent is the Portuguese team. This time, betting companies are finally optimistic about France.
Although Portugal also eliminated the Netherlands and England to advance and is also very strong, fans generally believe that France's overall strength is still better than Portugal.
Zhang Wei felt dissatisfied with the odds of this game, so he did not buy it. Instead, he ALLINed another semi-final match between Italy and Germany.
Italy's path to promotion went very smoothly. The first game of the knockout round was against Australia and the second game against Ukraine. Both games were brutal games. It wasn't until the semifinals that the real test came. The opponent was the German team playing at home.
As the Brazilian team was eliminated by France, the German team's winning odds at this time have climbed to the first place, 1 to 2.75, which is higher than Brazil's 1 to 3 in the previous round.
After all, Germany was the runner-up in the last World Cup, and it was playing at home, so it was natural for them to be favored.
The second best odds of winning are France with 1 to 3, the third with Italy with 1 to 4.33, and finally Portugal with 1 to 6.
In the match between Italy and Germany, betting companies, media, and even fans are generally optimistic about Germany. German fans also support their home team and bet crazily on Germany winning.
In order to hedge the odds, the gaming company could only increase the odds of Dali. In the end, the odds of the two sides differed by 2.7 times. This is already a considerable gap in lottery betting.
What’s more, there is not that big a gap between Germany and Italy. The reason why the odds are so different is mainly because the local German fans paid real money to support them.
If it were in Italy, the odds would definitely not be so different. Italians would definitely support their home team and would bet on Italy to win. So in order to balance the odds, the odds of Germany winning would be increased.
At this time, some people will definitely be wondering, is it possible to make interest differences by taking advantage of the different odds of gambling companies in various countries?
It can only be said that this idea is too naive. Large bets need to be confirmed by the gaming company, and if you use Ant Moving style small bets, with the labor cost in Europe, it is equivalent to charity.
At this time, German fans believed that Germany would defeat Italy. Because Germany's way to advance was to defeat the two powerful enemies of Sweden and Argentina. The gold content of Germany's top four is obviously higher than that of Italy. The Italians have not been tempered by strong enemies, so they should be strong on the outside and strong on the inside!
What the Germans didn’t expect was that in this semi-final that they were bound to win, Germany lost to Italy. Italian coach Lippi's substitution did play a key role in helping Italy defeat Germany 2-0 and advance to the final.
On the other side, the French team also defeated Portugal and met the Italian team in the final.
......
In the hotel room, Lu Yunxiang put down his mobile phone and said; "Brother, let me ask you clearly, a final ticket will cost an additional 1,000 euros! Can you buy it?" "You mean? A ticket price increase of 1,000 euros? Not a ticket price of 1,000 euros?" Zhang Wei was surprised.
The ticket prices for the World Cup finals in Germany have long been announced and are divided into four levels, namely 120 euros, 220 euros, 360 euros and 600 euros.
As the final day approaches, the price of the ticket will definitely increase, and it is normal to double it, so if it is sold for 1,000 euros, it is not outrageous. You can increase the price by 1,000 euros, which is indeed a bit expensive. This price increase alone is more than first-class tickets.
"Is the scalper you are looking for reliable? Don't encounter scammers!" Zhang Wei said.
“What scalpers are you? This is the user privilege of the Centurion Black Gold Card. This is the World Cup finals, and it’s hard to get a ticket. If it weren’t for the Centurion Black Gold Card, you wouldn’t be able to buy tickets at all. " Lu Yunxiang replied.
“The Centurion Black Gold Card really doesn’t cheat the poor!” Zhang Wei snorted coldly, and then asked: “Where does this one with an additional price of 1,000 euros sit in?”
“ Of course it's the special ticket area!" Lu Yunxiang said.
World Cup tickets are divided into four areas. The third-class ticket locations are located in the corner kick area and behind the goal. The second-class ticket locations are in the corner kick area, behind the goal and the long side stands. The first-class ticket locations are in the long side stand and corner kick area. The special ticket position is located in the middle of the first-class ticket position, which is the best viewing position in the stadium.
Tickets in the special price area were not sold to the public in the first two rounds of ticket sales. Later, they were opened for sale, but not all were released. Apparently, some tickets were reserved for some VIP customers. For example, users of Centurion Black Gold Card.
After learning that he could sit in the best viewing position, Zhang Wei said: "We have come to the World Cup every four years, so why not go and watch one? Don’t leave any regrets!"
Although Zhang Wei said this, his heart was bleeding. 1,000 euros was 10,000 yuan. In 2006, if he paid an additional 10,000 yuan to watch a game, he always felt that he was losing money.
But then I thought about it again. Being able to witness this once-in-a-lifetime scene of Zidane hitting someone with his big head seemed to be able to make some gains.
At this time, the doorbell rang, and someone outside shouted: "Roomservice!"
"Did you order room service? What delicious food did you order?" Lu Yunxiang asked.
"It should be the newspaper delivery person. I asked the room service to deliver several English newspapers every day." Zhang Wei said, took out ten euros and walked to the door.
“Sir, the newspapers you asked for, I sent you, include The Times, The Guardian, The Daily Telegraph, The Financial Times, and the French World "The English version of the newspaper." the waiter said.
The waiter specifically emphasized the French "Le Monde" because Germany also has a "Le Monde" with a large circulation. It's just that Germany's "Le Monde" does not publish an English version.
Zhang Wei handed the ten-euro tip to the waiter, then returned to the room with the newspaper.
"Brother, you are quite concerned about international affairs!" Lu Yunxiang said and came over, casually taking a newspaper from Zhang Wei's hand, looking like he was swallowing a jujube.
Soon, a piece of news came into Lu Yunxiang’s sight.
“It was learned from the International Mathematical Union Organizing Committee that the 2006 Fields Medal was officially announced yesterday. The four young mathematicians who won the award are:
Andre, Professor of Princeton University -Okunkov, for his contributions to probability theory, algebraic representation theory, and algebraic geometry
Steklov Institute of Mathematics, Grigory-Perelman, for his revolutionary insights in geometry and the analysis and geometric structure of Ricci flows.
Wendelin Werner, professor at the University of Paris 11, was awarded for his contribution to the development of stochastic conformal mapping, the geometry of Brownian motion in two-dimensional spaces, and the theory of conformal fields.
Tsinghua University, Zhang Wei, in recognition of his contribution to Mersenne primes.
It is reported that this year’s Fields Medal award ceremony will be held in Madrid, Spain...”
Lu Yunxiang has no intention of watching the following content. At this time, he only has one His face was shocked, looking at the newspaper in his hand.
"The British "Guardian" is also a relatively authoritative newspaper. It should not be fake news!"
Then Lu Yunxiang came to Zhang Wei with some trembling, pointed at the newspaper and asked: "Brother, this Is the Zhang Wei mentioned above you?”
Zhang Wei glanced at the contents of the newspaper, and the news he had been waiting for was finally here!
These days, Zhang Wei asks the waiter to deliver English newspapers, just waiting for news about the Fields Medal. Now that the Fields Medal has been officially announced, the momentum in Zhang Wei's heart has finally come to fruition.
So Zhang Wei nodded: "Zhang Wei from Tsinghua University, it should be me!"
"Is it possible that they have the same name?" Lu Yunxiang asked next.
"Is it possible that another Zhang Wei also discovered five Mersenne primes?"
"This is absolutely impossible!" Lu Yunxiang shook his head.
"Then you still ask!" Zhang Wei snorted coldly.
Looking at Zhang Wei's calm face, Lu Yunxiang asked in a loud voice: "Brother, are you too calm? Aren't you excited? Aren't you excited? Are you stupidly happy?"< br>
"Isn't it just a Fields Medal? I'm so happy that it doesn't matter!"
"Brother, this is the Fields Medal, the Nobel Prize in mathematics!"
< br>"Don't say this is just the Nobel Prize in mathematics. Even if I win the real Nobel Prize, would you be surprised?" Zhang Wei asked.
"Uh..." Lu Yunxiang instantly felt that Zhang Wei had tricked him again.
"When it comes to showing off, you have to look at my Viagra! I will never be able to learn this level in my lifetime!" Lu Yunxiang sighed inwardly.
Zhang Weize continued: "After watching the World Cup, I will take you to Madrid to attend the World Congress of Mathematicians!"
...
Zhuge Xuegeng ran into Principal Gu excitedly In the office, he shouted excitedly: "Principal, good news, great news!"
Principal Gu kept a calm face. He knew that Zhuge Xuegeng always liked to exaggerate his words. , I can only believe eight points.
So just listen to the great good news as ordinary good news!
"Zhuge, you are so old, why are you still acting like a child!"
"Principal, Zhang Wei won the Fields Medal!" Zhuge Xuegeng said.
"Fields Medal? Are you talking about the Nobel Prize in Mathematics?" Principal Gu was suddenly startled and stood up from his chair.
“Isn’t it the Fields Medal!” Zhuge Xuegeng nodded.
Principal Gu frowned and thought for a while, then said: "You want to say that Zhang Wei won the Nobel Prize. It is possible. After all, his several scientific research achievements can also be regarded as Nobel Prizes. A strong contender. But what does the Fields Medal have to do with him?"
"Didn't Zhang Wei discover several Mersenne primes?" Zhuge Xuegeng reminded.
"If you didn't tell me, I would have forgotten about this!" Principal Gu showed a surprised expression.
"Principal, this is the first Fields Medal that we Chinese have won. When the award ceremony comes, we have to send someone there, right?" Zhuge Xuegeng asked expectantly.
"Don't worry, I won't leave you alone. You write a report and I'll report it to the ministry." Principal Gu paused and then asked: "By the way, Zhang Wei, you contact him "Really?"
"No!" Zhuge Xuegeng shook his head: "I came to you when I got the news!"
"Zhang Wei is not in the country now."
"Going abroad?" Zhuge Xuegeng was stunned and asked cautiously: "Principal, our school has expelled Zhang Wei again?"
"What? Called and fired!" Principal Gu snorted, and then said: "He went to Germany to watch the World Cup."
"This kid is quite leisurely." Zhuge Xuegeng looked at his watch and continued: "Germany is seven hours behind us. Zhang Wei should be up now, right? I'll call him and he should be able to answer the phone!"
"It's six hours!" Principal Gu added: "Germany It's daylight saving time, so the time is one hour ahead."
"Six hours, it's time to get up now, then I'll give him a call. Ask him to help me buy a French team to win for 100 yuan!" Zhuge Xuegeng said.
"I can't tell, you know football! I didn't watch any of the World Cup games. At most, I read the scores from the newspaper." Principal Gu said.
However, Zhuge Xuegeng shook his head: "I don't understand football."
"Then you let Zhang Wei help you buy the French team to win?"
Zhuge Xuegeng But he smiled: "Although I don't understand football, I understand odds! I have studied mathematics for most of my life. By calculating odds, I know which team will win!"
"Can the team's win or loss be calculated through odds?" Principal Gu said to himself, after all, I am a physicist and have studied mathematics. Don't lie to me.
Zhuge Xuegeng said proudly: "It's not the World Cup recently, so I studied a formula. As long as I apply this formula, I can calculate which team can win. It's very reliable!"
(End of this chapter)