Encouragement from Professor Shen

Evening, Yenching University Stadium.

After Shen Qi finished warming up, he went onto the track, where his family and friends came to cheer him on.

"Nofi, look! That's Daddy!" Ou Ye held her baby in the stands and pointed her daughter toward the track, where Shen Qi was starting from lane 2.

"Daddy!" Shen Nuo Fei danced with joy. She had received all sorts of early education before she turned one year old, and today she was receiving physical education.

"The 100-meter dash is just a race to see who runs the fastest," Ou Ye explained to her daughter.

Bang!

A gunshot rang out.

The match begins.

The eight athletes set off.

"Go, Dad!" Ou Ye encouraged her daughter to cheer on Shen Qi.

"@*@!" Shen Nuo Fei uttered a string of gibberish, looking like she found it hilarious.

After setting off, Shen Qi accelerated at full speed and entered the intermediate stage, where he ranked in the middle.

"Dad, run!" Ou Ye was quite excited; her husband had actually outmaneuvered several young men from the school team and hadn't fallen to the back.

Shen Qi sprinted bravely on the track, but he was unable to overtake the runners ahead of him, nor was he overtaken by anyone else.

Shen Qi finished fourth, with a time of 10.75 seconds.

Shen Qi was quite satisfied with the result; each shot was faster than the last, and the improvement was ultimately gratifying.

The fact that a professor could finish in the top four in the 100-meter final, which was filled with students admitted through special sports programs, and run an astonishing 10.75 seconds, amazed the faculty and students of Yenching University.

Shen Qi was unstoppable; in the long jump final the following day, he jumped 7.70 meters on his first attempt.

"Holy crap?"

"Isn't this too fake?"

"Professor Shen is an all-rounder?"

The other student long jumpers were stunned.

If an athlete under the age of 21 can jump 7.70 meters, they are eligible to join the national youth team.

The best male long jumper on the current Track and Field team is from the Department of Physical Education, a freshman, and his personal best is 7.68 meters.

Shen Qi jumped 7.70 meters, defeating the entire Yanda men's long jump team.

The long jump team is under immense pressure.

This freshman, whose personal best is 7.68 meters, participated in today's final. He took a full-fledged leap and jumped 7.71 meters on his first attempt.

"Yay!" The sports scholarship student was very excited. He never expected that the strongest opponent in this sports meet would be a professor.

"7.71 meters, classmate, are you targeting me?" Shen Qi joked with the freshman in the rest area.

"Professor Shen, you're a superman!" The first-year students found it hard to understand how a man who was almost 30 years old could run 100 meters in 10.75 seconds and jump 7.70 meters in the long jump without long-term professional training. He had only done intensive training for a little over a week before the competition.

"I'm not Superman, but I have passion." It was Shen Qi's turn to perform his second jump. He stepped over the line on the board, which was a foul, and he got no score.

The first-year students discovered that Shen Qi's springboard and take-off techniques were not very proficient. Shen Qi's first jump of 7.70 meters was due to his good physical qualities.

The freshman became more and more courageous, and his second jump was a smash, clearing 7.80 meters.

"7.86 meters!" After leaving the sandpit, the freshman knelt on the ground and pounded the plastic surface.

The school team coach was also very excited. A young athlete who can jump 7.86 meters has no problem getting into the national youth team, and may even have a chance to enter the national team.

The long jump final at Yenching University only had three jumps. Shen Qi committed a foul on his third jump, and his final score was 7.70 meters.

The freshman's third jump was also a foul, but his final score was 7.86 meters, winning him the championship.

Inspired by Shen Qi, a promising star emerged from the Yanda long jump team.

This freshman, at the tender age of eighteen or nineteen, jumped 7.86 meters; he has a bright future ahead of him.

What Yenching University found even more incredible was that Shen Qi possessed the level of a professional athlete in sprinting, long jump, and his former long-distance running events.

Of course, this is nothing to be surprised about. Excellent decathletes can achieve very good results in individual events such as sprinting, jumping, and long-distance running, in addition to throwing events.

Even after the school sports meet ended, Shen Qi's passion for sports continued. He trained every day, focusing on endurance, explosive power, strength, and related skills.

In the central conference room, Old Yan asked Shen Qi, "The Boss, are you planning to transition into a professional athlete?"

Shen Qi said, "It's for physical exercise, to prepare for the future?"

"Are you preparing for a second child?" Cheng Haonan asked.

"That's a consideration. The most important thing is that life is about movement. If the country sends me out on a scientific expedition, I won't be able to complete the mission without a strong physique." Shen Qi called a meeting with the two chemical researchers, and after chatting for a while, he got to the point. "The patent for C01B has been sold, and you two will receive a sum of money soon."

"Really sold?" Old Yan and Cheng Haonan were encouraged upon hearing the news, after all, money is better than nothing.

"C01B is history. Now we're starting a new project, codenamed C01C." Shen Qi showed some materials. The target molecule is a benzothiazide ketone core with a hydrophobic side chain.

"The structure of this target molecule is quite interesting," Old Yan immediately said, showing interest.

"I've reviewed a lot of literature and, based on logically sound deductions, the target molecule is intended for research on glycogen synthase kinase-3β inhibitors, specifically non-ATP-competitive inhibitors. The initial route design involves four steps, and the remaining work will be handled by the two of you. Now, please offer your suggestions." Shen Qi outlined the target product, starting materials, and three intermediates; this route requires four steps to obtain the target product.

Shen Qi didn't write down the reaction conditions for each step; he wanted to test the two researchers.

After thinking for a long time, Old Yan said, "The starting material is set as benzothiazinone. For the first step, I think we can obtain compound 2 through a nitrogen alkylation reaction with the help of Potassium Carbonate."

"Then you'll handle the first step, Old Yan." Shen Qi agreed with Old Yan's point of view. The current discussion was a theoretical exchange, which could be verified with Computer Science, but the final sample would still have to be determined by experiments.

Old Yan's inspiration flowed endlessly. "Following this logic, the second step can be done like this: add Sodium Hydride under nitrogen protection, and obtain compound 3 through an acylation reaction."

This is like a brainstorming session. The most difficult part is defining the target molecule and the intermediates and starting materials that are derived step by step.

From the starting materials to compound 2, from compound 2 to compound 3, and finally to the target product, whether each step has a reasonable reaction mechanism to support it, and under what conditions the reaction should be carried out, are questions that Shen Qi and his colleagues are currently discussing.

Old Yan's thinking was very clear. After all, he had always stayed in an academic research institution like Yenching University, where he had the opportunity to start from the very beginning of route design and accumulated a lot of valuable experience.

After graduating with a master's degree, Cheng Haonan worked for an organic outsourcing company for five years. His strengths lie in executing strategic plans and his practical skills.

Everyone reached a consensus on the first three steps. The current task is the fourth step, which is the most crucial step and the one that directly yields the target product.

"This is troublesome. How can we obtain hydrazide compounds with high yields?" Old Yan and Cheng Haonan fell into deep thought.