The appearance of what Han (tai) Li (le) unfolded was no less than a timely rain for Little Niu, solving his simplification of m/n in non-integer situations, while also opening a brand new door for him.
In the following two days, Little Niu hardly left the house, continuously optimizing the relevant formulas.
Indeed.
For Little Niu, this short amount of time wasn't sufficient to systematically define infinitesimals—after all, according to history, this concept wouldn't be formally proposed in writing until 1704; speeding up wouldn't break through in a single night.
However, besides that, Little Niu still optimized some other notational forms:
For example, using a^1/2 instead of √a, a-1 instead of 1/a, and so on.
Such changes in notation are common for people in later generations, but in this era when exponents were still very unfamiliar, these changes in notational forms were an extremely bold move.
Once Little Niu extends the general analysis of finite term equations to infinite expressions, he won't be far from formally deriving the universal gravitation formula.
Meanwhile, in these few days, Xu Yun took on the role of a meal deliverer—once Little Niu entered his zone, he was practically eating and sleeping in his work, once even nearly drinking ink as hot water if not for Xu Yun watching over him.
On the other hand, however, Xu Yun's efforts didn't go unrewarded:
Although there was no task completion prompt, Little Niu gradually started acknowledging Xu Yun's abilities:
He occasionally would chat with Xu Yun and even discuss some mathematical and physical problems.
Keep in mind, Little Niu's full name is Isaac Small-minded Bitter Woman Newton.
In his view, humanity basically divides into the idiotic and slightly idiotic...
Besides delivering meals, Xu Yun would mostly wander outside in his spare time, pondering his next steps.
Even without a phone, which was a bit inconvenient, Xu Yun was no stranger to such times—earning his biology Ph.D. in this life purely through hard work, spending ages in the library was something he was long accustomed to.
Moreover, Xu Yun found a nice fishing spot by a small river not far from Little Niu's house and crafted a lure rod with his good hands-on skills.
Bored, he would throw a few casts, and time passed just like that.
In these two days, Xu Yun caught a worn-out boot, a decomposed squirrel carcass, knocked down a sparrow, caught a snake, and stumbled upon a pair of cheating lovers, but didn't catch any fish.
Fishermen, you know the deal.
And so, two days swiftly passed.
On the third day, early in the morning, Xu Yun woke up on schedule and walked out of the bedroom as usual.
As soon as he opened the door, he saw Little Niu sitting at the round table, flamboyantly grooming his hair in the mirror, wearing formal Cambridge College attire.
Xu Yun blinked at the scene:
"Mr. Newton, what are you...?" (After reader correction, Little Niu should indeed be called Mr. Newton, as Newton is his surname, and he shares the same name as his father. English terms are indeed my weak point, William stays unchanged, or2....)
Little Niu first picked up a hairpin from the table, fixed his wig with the mirror, and then raised his eyelids to glance at him:
"Today is Sunday, did you forget Uncle William's invitation?"
Xu Yun was momentarily dazed, then suddenly slapped his forehead:
"Oh, I remember now, going to the church, right?"
Little Niu nodded, putting on a serious expression:
"You should tidy up too; worship should be clean, the fear of God is the beginning of wisdom, and to know the Holy One is understanding."
Xu Yun muttered under his breath that he should have taken a bath first, but on the surface, he still obediently complied.
After all, faith is Little Niu's fatal weakness and his core spiritual support; there's no need to argue about things in the realm of belief.
Modern mirrors wouldn't be invented by Liebig until 1835; at this time, mirrors were mainly made by applying tin foil and mercury to the back of the glass, and they reflected just as clearly.
Three days had passed (including the day Xu Yun first crossed over), and Xu Yun's complexion had visibly turned quite sallow, unsure if it was the body or the soul that crossed over —if it's the former, Xu Yun might need to consider gaining weight when he returns to reality.
Then, after tidying his hair a bit with a comb, he took the Holy Bible and left the house following Little Niu.
Woolsop was just a very ordinary small village, so to attend service, they had to walk seven miles to Grantham.
Grantham in the 21st century has long been a city, but at this time, Grantham was just a small town with a population of over 3000, but this little town would become a feng shui treasure land in a certain sense:
Besides Little Niu, the Iron Lady Lady Thatcher also came from here.
In 1665, Grantham had only one church, located in the southwest of the town, named Saint Titus Diya.
In 1866, it would be replaced by another church, Saint Ulfric Church, which remains a very famous attraction to this day.
Seven miles is approximately over 11 kilometers. In later generations, most people might choose the metro or bus, and those with better conditions would drive or take a taxi.
However, at this time, William's family and Little Niu were really too poor to afford a carriage, so once the group met at the village entrance, they had no choice but to take the 11-route bus on their way.
"Mr. Feiyu, catch."
After meeting up and setting off, William Asku threw something wrapped in broad leaves at Xu Yun while walking, explaining:
"This is your lunch and dinner—the gathering starts at one in the afternoon and ends at three thirty, so going there and back will take about seven hours, leaving dinner to be eaten on the road.
There's bread and water inside the leaves; you can discard the leaves after eating, but the water sack must be brought back."
Xu Yun nodded and felt the shape of the leaf package with his hands.
Hmm, four pieces of bread and a hard water sack, William surely is a hearty person.
Then, the group of eight officially started off like this:
William carried Lilani, Mrs. Williams held hands with Elura and Andrea, while Little Niu continued chatting along with Lisa.
Xu Yun glanced around somewhat bewilderedly, feeling like something was off:
Why, even after switching worlds, am I still single...
.....
Winter in England wasn't particularly hot, but due to inadequate nutrition intake, the members of the William Clan didn't have very strong constitutions, so after walking for more than an hour, a noticeable amount of sweat appeared on William and the others' foreheads.
When they reached a large tree, Mrs. Williams let out a weary breath, pointing to the shade and saying:
"Darling, shall we rest there for a bit?"
William glanced at the sky and roughly estimated the time:
"There are still a few hours before worship starts, alright, let's rest for a bit then."
So the group stopped there.
"Gurgle gurgle—"
William leaned against the tree and took a big gulp of water, just as he was about to speak, a carriage suddenly appeared on the forked road not too far away.
It was a four-wheeled carriage pulled by two glossy chestnut horses, covered on all sides with luxurious high-quality fabric, the windows overshadowed by a light blue silk curtain, with many intricate patterns engraved at the corners.
Clearly, the person inside the carriage was either rich or noble.
Elura, the one with the smallest courage, couldn't help but shrink her neck and timidly leaned behind William.
The two chestnut horses slowly walked by on the road, snorting as they passed the group.
However, after only a few steps, with a whistle, the carriage suddenly stopped.
......
Note:
Let's play two games.
1. Easy question, guess who's in the carriage, guess correctly and there's an extra chapter on the launch day.
2. You can guess what the protagonist will think of to make money, guess correctly and there are five extra chapters; actually, there are already hints in the front...