Chapter 156: Catch the Turtle in the Jar (Seeking Subscriptions)

Fang Ziye didn't exchange much with Wu Guo Nan, nor did he make any harsh threats.

To be honest, Fang Ziye never felt his current manuscript foundation was weak. A basic experiment for an 8-point article type produces at least around 20 workloads' worth of output; placed on a master's student, how could it be described as a weak foundation?

Although the few papers published in collaboration with fellow trainees had low impact factors and were tool-type papers, Fang Ziye still couldn't understand Zhang Mingcan's understanding that the output wasn't enough...

Naturally, Fang Ziye could understand Zhang Mingcan's other line of thinking: at Zhongnan Hospital, there are many students, and although resources are also plentiful, averaged out, they're basically insufficient.

This point is a fact, but such a fact doesn't actually exist for Fang Ziye.

Returning home, Fang Ziye wrote his manuscript while occasionally tapping into the WeChat chat windows of Luo Tingzhu, Jie Han, and Lan Tianluo, chatting with each separately.

Luo Tingzhu had the fewest questions; more often she shared what she was doing, occasionally raising one or two difficult points while sharing work steps for Fang Ziye to answer.

Since Luo Tingzhu went overseas, Fang Ziye keenly detected a change in her chatting personality.

Before going abroad, Luo Tingzhu was somewhat reserved and slightly haughty. Sometimes she even expected Fang Ziye's praise and recognition.

After going abroad, her first few days she pretended to be bold, feeling she feared nothing.

But soon after, by mid-March, hesitation and reluctance, plus maladjustment to the strange environment, were hidden in Luo Tingzhu's messages.

From late March to now, Fang Ziye discovered Luo Tingzhu's entire chatting temperament had become that of a compliant girl.

This compliance wasn't about being pretty; it meant her personality was more restrained, gone were the previous boldness and openness, now honest and proper.

Furthermore, Fang Ziye also found Luo Tingzhu's daily chat times were stuck to a very precise schedule, for no known reason.

Because Fang Ziye had no romantic experience and relatively limited EQ, but reasoning through his own understanding and from Luo Tingzhu's perspective, he estimated she felt that with the distance so far, she feared the now rather excellent Fang Ziye would be snatched away by someone else.

Distance being far, besides being an obedient, well-behaved girl, she had no other means at all.

So-called tsundere or high-coldness would only widen the distance that had already arisen between them.

Naturally, this was Fang Ziye's rational speculation; he just thought it occasionally.

Fang Ziye felt she was a bit simple-minded; didn't she realize she was already high-quality? In this situation, he himself was quite obtuse; rather, he should be the one worried.

But Fang Ziye didn't dwell on it; career first, get the career going, pass the chief resident hurdle, and days would barely count as having turned the corner, with his own exclusive time.

After answering Luo Tingzhu's experimental question, Fang Ziye said: "Actually there's no need to chase speed; experiments still need to be steady."

Then wrote another sentence.

Jie Han's questions came again.

This fellow trainee Jie Han asked really quite a lot of questions.

Who knows if it's because I left, Jie Han suddenly passively grew into a senior brother, thus feeling the pressure of being a senior brother or something; in just two or three days, regarding the methods of WB and flow cytometry experiments—

All kinds of details, he pursued relentlessly, as if he had to thoroughly grasp the principles in a short time, as if to be a teacher before Lan Tianluo.

Answering the second-to-last question, for the last question Fang Ziye pointed out: "Jie Han, you can check the literature first; your question relates to immunoblotting, which I don't know deeply either; I may not give you the answer you want; you can solve it through literature."

"Get!"

"Senior Brother, Master has also been staying up late writing recently; our budget is at least early May to get the manuscript finished; why don't you assign me a portion of yours?"

"My manuscript finishing speed might be a bit faster than yours."

"Okay, fine, then I'll outline some for you; you turn these results into text." Fang Ziye thought a moment and felt time needed to be hurried.

After all, Master's Qiqian defense is at the end of June; if this paper can't be published in time, the foundation will ultimately be slightly lacking.

At this moment, a desperate battle with no reserves held back is the best choice.

"Mm, one more thing, Senior Brother."

"Master says this year's General Project he most likely won't get. So our group may still have to use existing project funds for basic experiments; do them first, talk later."

"So Senior Brother, you might have to lend me and Tian Luo some money, roughly seventy or eighty thousand." Jie Han explained this to Fang Ziye.

"A General Project isn't guaranteed just by applying; no one can get it every year; Master says if it's not funded it's not funded, no problem."

"The fund ledger is in Master's hands now; probably after a while Master will hand it to you; as long as it's not used too recklessly, the money inside is completely fine for basic experiments; no need to explain to me."

"But at least leave me around six hundred thousand." Fang Ziye said.

General Project grants are competed for by multiple industries nationwide; whether they succeed depends not only on accumulated depth but also luck.

The funds Yuan Weihong gave, Fang Ziye used up completely, even exceeded. The return to Yuan Weihong was naturally huge.

Three hundred thousand for a 20-plus point article as corresponding author; worldwide, people willing to pay this are countless. Even as co-corresponding author, no one would refuse.

The achievements Fang Ziye returned to Yuan Weihong far exceeded original expectations.

Other funds were from Teacher Deng to Fang Ziye and Luo Tingzhu; Fang Ziye can use them, Yuan Weihong can use them, but not too much. After all, Deng Yong and Yuan Weihong are not direct master-disciple.

Fang Ziye must not only ensure he has money, but also ensure Luo Tingzhu has money.

On the fund ledger there should still be over a million, all free startup funds Teacher Deng successively obtained from the hospital.

"Senior Brother, that definitely won't use this much."

"Miss you being here so much; when you were here I could ask directly." Jie Han's questions seemed finally finished.

Fang Ziye sent three dots.

Couldn't be bothered to reply.

Lan Tianluo's dialogue box was simpler.

After Fang Ziye shared recent days' experiences with Lan Tianluo, Lan Tianluo's tone was: "Holy crap."

"Awesome."

"Worship."

"Senior Brother!"

Mm, that carefree, easily startled Lan Tianluo, after Luo Tingzhu left, gradually returned.

Perhaps for Lan Tianluo, his sister not being around is his most comfortable, freest state.

After all, unilaterally being a simp sometimes makes the mood a bit stifling...

So when Fang Ziye replied to Lan Tianluo about what he did, Fang Ziye also said: awesome, worship, worthy of a science student.

Gradually, Lan Tianluo realized this senior brother was knocking/warning him, so his text also restrained a bit.

Facing Fang Ziye, Lan Tianluo still held a measure of respect and fear.

……

In the early morning, after Fang Ziye finished dealing with his two junior fellows' tempers, and then saw that Luo Tingzhu had sent a message saying she had finally been taken by her senior sister to eat her first Chinese meal, he fell asleep with a smug sense of satisfaction.

April 1st, still a weekend.

However, the Trauma Surgery Department of Enshi Central Hospital still maintained a normal work schedule.

At eight in the morning, in the handover room, there was a dense crowd of people, from Director Zhang Mingcan down to the hospital's own socialized standardized trainees, none daring to be absent.

On the Nursing Department side, the head nurse had also summoned all the nurses to the department, except for one on maternity leave; everyone else, even sporting dark circles, had to sit through the day shift.

Those who had just come off the late night shift also had to sit through the day shift.

Special times call for special measures.

Because although there were only five or six surgeries yesterday, today the surgical volume for the department's three groups reached a high of eighteen. Each group was assigned six, plus there were three critical patients in the department who might need to go to the ICU at any moment, so the Nursing Department's manpower had to be fully staffed……

After the quick, concise, and to-the-point handover ended, Zhang Mingcan said: "After ward rounds, start going to the operating rooms and begin normal work. I have nothing else to say."

"Two points."

"One: be cautious, meticulous, the patient volume is large."

"Two: in an organized, prepared, and planned manner, properly settle every patient in the department. Whether discharging or transferring patients, you must follow up!"

"That's all from me. Director Hong, any instructions?"

Hong Du shook his head: "Director Zhang, start ward rounds, every group's task is heavy."

"Good!" At Zhang Mingcan's command, everyone stood up at once.

However, just as Fang Ziye was about to follow Wu Guo Nan on ward rounds, Zhang Mingcan remained seated in his spot, not moving immediately, but called out: "Director Wu, mind lending me your group's Dr. Fang for today? Is that convenient?"

Wu Guo Nan turned slightly at those words.

He hesitated a moment, then looked at Fang Ziye, who currently wore a blank and conflicted expression.

"Ziye, since Director Zhang is looking for you, you go to Director Zhang first." Wu Guo Nan still didn't forcefully keep Fang Ziye.

Now is a special period, Zhang Mingcan is still the Ward Director, he couldn't afford to have a disagreement with Zhang Mingcan.

A divergence at this time would be very detrimental to the department.

"Thank you, Director Wu, I'll return him right away." Zhang Mingcan said with a smile.

Fang Ziye could only wait while everyone else departed; even Zhang Mingcan's group, though Zhang Mingcan wasn't leading rounds, still had Attending Physician Zhong Xue Gao leading people on rounds.

Fang Ziye deliberately glanced at Zhong Xue Gao a few times, finding this person quite interesting.

He noticed him because he shared a name with a brand of ice cream, but heaven knows, when he was born, Zhong Xue Gao didn't know where it was wandering; strictly speaking, it was that company that misappropriated his name.

Mainly because Fang Ziye had heard people say that Big Brother Zhong Xue Gao was a very interesting person.

"Director Zhang." After everyone left, Fang Ziye put away his notebook, walked over with a beaming smile, and sat down beside Zhang Mingcan.

Zhang Mingcan's smile at this moment was even more radiant than Fang Ziye's.

No helping it — big bald head, wide cheekbones, a broad grin, seemingly born with the aura of Maitreya; ordinary people can't out-smile him.

"Ziye, I never expected you're actually Wei Ge's student; I always thought you were Professor Deng's student." Zhang Mingcan straightened his back, as if meeting a long-lost friend, and slapped the table.

Seeing Zhang Mingcan's action, Fang Ziye suspected whether Director Wu Guo Nan had a problem with Zhang Mingcan, otherwise why would he give himself that kind of hint.

"Director Zhang and my Master know each other?" Fang Ziye asked curiously.

Zhang Mingcan is at least forty-three, while my Master is only around thirty-five now. A difference of seven or eight years.

"Of course. When I was promoted to Deputy Chief Physician, I was doing advanced training at Zhongnan Hospital. Back then, Wei Ge was just a PhD student, but even as just a PhD, he had already become the Chief Resident of the department."

"Let me tell you, Wei Ge and I have a very good relationship."

"You didn't mention it that time; what I received was the message conveyed by our department's Old Director Qiu, saying Professor Li Guohua said you were coming here for counterpart exchange. Professor Li is Professor Deng's teacher, isn't he?"

"I naturally assumed you were his student. Wei Ge and I."

"You can go ask your Master." Zhang Mingcan said with a hearty laugh.

"If you'd said so earlier, with my friendship with Wei Ge, I definitely wouldn't be giving you such a meager subsidy every month. To tell the truth, it's not about offending Professor Deng or anything."

"Professor Deng's level is too high; he has no impression of me." Zhang Mingcan hurriedly added.

Regardless, Fang Ziye is now Professor Deng Yong's PhD student; saying his relationship with Deng Yong isn't good right in front of Fang Ziye — isn't that courting death?

"I wouldn't dare. My Master's social circle is quite wide, I wouldn't know." Fang Ziye could only force a smile.

Zhang Mingcan sighed with emotion: "Wei Ge, he's truly amazing. That professional strength and professional ability."

"Back then, I remember there were still old professors leading groups in the department. At that time, Professor Deng Yong was still just an Associate Professor……"

Zhang Mingcan reminisced about the past, quite moved.

Some of the details Zhang Mingcan described indeed allowed Fang Ziye to confirm that Zhang Mingcan was very familiar with his Master, Yuan Weihong.

After all, if someone isn't familiar, they wouldn't know some small details about your teacher.

For instance, Yuan Weihong likes to show off, especially in front of friends, deliberately taking the initiative to act 'arrogant'; every time he feels his hairline has receded, he touches it……

After speaking for seven or eight minutes, Zhang Mingcan shook his head slightly: "I really feel indignant on Wei Ge's behalf. Later, after I returned, I heard Wei Ge almost couldn't stay at the hospital."

"It was only when Huang Kai went for advanced training that the actual situation was known. They said when Wei Ge was doing his PhD, his research output and professional ability produced a super huge deformity — meaning his professional skill was great, but he had almost no research output."

"I said that's not right. With Yuan Weihong's research ability, how could he not have several high-impact papers? During his Master's, he published a 5-point paper."

"You don't quite understand what a 5-point paper meant back then, but at that time, a single meta-analysis was more than enough for a PhD graduation, full and solid."

"Later I found out that it turned out one of Wei Ge's senior brothers, an old Attending Physician at Zhongnan Hospital at the time, directly swiped all of Wei Ge's experimental results, leaving him only a bit for graduation."

"Heard the fellow disciples even quarreled over this." Zhang Mingcan stopped abruptly here.

Because he saw Fang Ziye's gaze gradually becoming dazed.

Zhang Mingcan lightly patted his own big bald head, his tone and expression growing increasingly serious.

"Ziye, you don't know about this?" Zhang Mingcan's voice visibly dropped at least seven degrees.

"Holy crap~"

"Wei Ge finds out I told you this, he'll skin me alive." Zhang Mingcan deliberately pushed his chair back several body lengths, speaking only in whispered consonants, basically without any tone.

A face full of embarrassment after getting carried away talking.

Fang Ziye's gaze pondered, his complexion on the verge of changing but not quite.

He did not doubt the authenticity of Director Zhang Mingcan's words; in fact, sometimes Fang Ziye also suspected that his teacher's professional ability was relatively deformed compared to his research output.

It was just that Fang Ziye had always believed this was merely a specialty product of the era when Yuan Weihong read for his PhD — his professional skill was excellent, but his academic achievements were not high.

Moreover, after graduation Yuan Weihong very rapidly gained the Youth Fund, and began investing in experiments, and published papers, so relatively it was still alright.

It was just that his output in research, compared to the level his professional ability had reached and his age, was truly too mismatched.

By rights, Yuan Weihong should have been promoted to Associate Professor ahead of schedule; after all, his current ability was on par with Associate Professor Xie, not much difference, only his research foundation could not be much stronger.

However, when Associate Professor Xie was promoted to Deputy Chief Physician, the degree of internal competition was much smaller than in Yuan Weihong's time.

Of course, Fang Ziye was not someone to be manipulated at will; he merely said: "Director Zhang, thank you for telling me this, but if you told me so much just to make me enter the lab full-time, then I also have my own ideas and persistence."

"And I will continue my persistence."

Actually, if it were not for Wu Guo Nan's hint, and not for Wang Zhongxing's hint, Fang Ziye fundamentally would not have realized the true meaning behind Zhang Mingcan's words.

High-end controlling people is absolutely not fighting and wrangling with you, but treating you as a resource.

Using the most reasonable method, the most equal exchange, entrapment.

Of course, this urn — Fang Ziye felt he had stepped one foot in, but how the other foot would step might not be what Director Zhang Mingcan considered and imagined.

Real talk, Fang Ziye felt Director Zhang Mingcan did not have this capability, to treat himself as a kind of resource and complete some kind of exchange with himself.

That was all.

Zhang Mingcan immediately put on a solemn face: "Ziye, what are you saying? How could I possibly have that kind of meaning?"

"What I said." Zhang Mingcan hurriedly changed his expression.

"Motherfucker, not saying anymore, the more I say the messier, the more I say the more wrong."

"My main purpose in finding you is just one thing: want to give you a slightly higher subsidy, then ask you to incidentally guide those few students of mine in the lab, just show up occasionally."

"I'll go apologize to Wei Ge myself, you don't need to go file a lawsuit either." Zhang Mingcan's whole person seemed a bit not good, as if he had really done something wrong. Waved his hand letting Fang Ziye leave.

(Chapter End)