Chapter 2876: with translation of chapter title

2781.2673 academic standing

"I heard Xiao Zhou say that you're figuring out how to treat a child with late-stage cancer." Cui Lao said: "Really full of vigor; I hesitated for years before daring to do this. The project is too big; I don't have much time left, so it will surely end half-hearted, wasted."

"We also happened to run into them." Zheng Ren said softly: "Once, when we went to the ultrasound room for a check-up, we happened to meet that child. It's fate, I guess; we didn't think we'd have to solve it, but letting Xiao Shitou live a bit longer is also good."

"Act within one's capabilities, do one's best." Cui Lao said.

"Mm-hmm." Zheng Ren and Su Yun nodded repeatedly.

"Tell me, besides this, what else have you been doing lately?" Cui Lao said softly.

"Cui Lao, today Manager Zhou encountered something interesting."

At this point Zheng Ren fell silent, and Su Yun told Cui Lao about the various things they'd encountered clinically; the first was the patient whom Zhou Litao met in the Afternoon who had been given insulin injected into a hamburger.

One after another, whether resolved or not, Su Yun related them all.

These matters were like the booming cannon fire of wartime; for an old person who had fought disease all their life, entering old age, they seemed already accustomed to the gunfire and smoke, and as they listened, a smile appeared on their face.

Gradually, Cui Lao's eyes closed, and he entered dreamland.

Su Yun didn't stop right away; his voice grew softer and softer, ever more gentle. He, who was always inclined to argue, was now so tender, looking at Cui Lao as if looking at a child.

Zheng Ren saw that Cui Lao had fallen asleep, covered him with the blanket, and made a gesture.

The two tiptoed out of the room; seeing Cui Lao's son greeting them, Zheng Ren immediately made a shushing gesture.

"You're welcome; Cui Lao is already asleep, we'll leave first." Zheng Ren said with a smile.

No one tried to stop them, and the two left Cui Lao's home.

The old man's vitality had gradually faded; although this was expected, Zheng Ren still felt an indescribable sorrow in his heart.

Everyone will depart; parting in life and death is an eternal proposition from ancient times to now. Zheng Ren knew that pondering this was just a dead knot; he wanted not to think about it, but then he heard Su Yun utter an 'hmm'.

"What's wrong?"

"I received a strange email." Su Yun said, "Look at your phone."

Before going to see Cui Lao, the two had turned off their phones and set them to silent; Zheng Ren didn't have the habit of being unable to live without his phone, and for him its biggest use was chatting with Yi Ren.

He opened his phone, and Zheng Ren saw a list of missed calls.

"Strange, who is this?" Zheng Ren asked doubtfully.

"It's someone from Hua Nuo Pharmaceutical; the email says this." Su Yun said, "What did you say to that sales pharmaceutical professor this Afternoon?"

"I didn't say anything…… oh, I said the drug instructions might have a problem; it would be best to add a note for patients with insulin autoimmune syndrome to take note when using." Zheng Ren struggled to recall exactly what he and that mosaic had said.

"What a quick response." Su Yun laughed, "Look at their efficiency!"

"Why the phone call?"

"Boss, can't you have a bit of a sense of proportion in your heart!" Su Yun feigned surprise, raising his hand and shouting loudly: "You're a Nobel Prize laureate, you're the future academic star or troublemaker, every word of yours will have a huge impact on ordinary people! A company like Hua Nuo Pharmaceutical will surely respect your opinion; this is an olive branch!"

"Can't you not use those terms 'academic star' and 'troublemaker' to describe me?" Zheng Ren said.

"Even if you're unwilling, you'll eventually become such a person." Su Yun said, "This is an objective law, not subject to your will. You don't need it, but the people around you do. Helping Manager Zhou and Quan Xiaocao publish a paper is already a beginning."

Zheng Ren didn't want to argue with Su Yun about such things; after all, it wasn't him but Su Yun who helped Manager Zhou and Quan Xiaocao publish a paper. He frowned and said, "What do Hua Nuo people want from us?"

"Didn't I say that? You suggested they revise the instructions. Your offhand remark, if written into a paper published in a top journal, would halve the drug's sales. Academic standing—why do so many people envy it? Isn't it just because money follows? That pharmacology professor isn't it just that having a title lets them earn this money?" Su Yun said.

Zheng Ren hasn't yet adapted to this life; before, he was merely an undergraduate, with no involvement in academia. Su Yun, however, understands a bit and immediately guessed the pharmaceutical company's intent.

"I was just speaking casually; insulin autoimmune syndrome itself is rare, and in the past little over a year we've only seen two cases. One is today's patient, the other is that other swindler." Zheng Ren said, "I also don't know how that swindler is doing."

"Can't you worry about the things you should worry about?" Su Yun said, "Your offhand remark has probably put Hua Nuo Pharmaceutical's people into a crisis PR situation."

"..."

Zheng Ren was speechless.

However, what Su Yun said makes sense; the matter of academic standing will gradually improve. If I were to put forward a "well-intentioned" opinion, and the pharmaceutical side gave no response at all, perhaps I wouldn't take it seriously, or perhaps I'd consider it the pharmaceutical company's contempt.

In the end, whether it will develop into a schismatic academic controversy is uncertain.

However, Hua Nuo's reaction was still a bit over the top; Zheng Ren sighed, hesitated for three seconds, but did not call back.

"Let's go home and eat." Zheng Ren said.

"You really can keep your composure." Su Yun laughed, "This major matter of verifying your academic standing, and you're not in a hurry to check it."

"Academic standing, I'm not interested in it either. When one's ability arrives, what should come will naturally come; when ability is lacking, even if you think about it, you won't get it."

Su Yun shrugged his shoulders and began looking for a car to go home.

He was somewhat troubled, but driving shouldn't interfere too much with drinking. Even if there is a cost, he always worries about this and that.

Never mind; nowadays Didi rides are also quite convenient.

All the way silent, just very slow. At this time, vehicles in Di Du were moving like snails; Zheng Ren even wanted to get out of the car and run straight home.

But that thought was just a fleeting fancy; after all, I'm somewhat of a public figure—otherwise tomorrow morning everywhere would be scenes of Nobel Prize laureate Dr. Zheng Ren sprinting through Di Du, which is either a distortion of human nature or a decline of morality.

Getting out at the residential complex gate, Su Yun suddenly bumped Zheng Ren with his shoulder, "Boss, they're home."

"They're home?" Zheng Ren frowned, somewhat displeased.

"Mm, Yi Ren is cooking, and Chang Yue didn't let them go up."

Zheng Ren's expression finally improved a little. Going around a building, he saw from afar seven or eight people standing respectfully at the unit entrance, like doormen.