After filling out the laboratory application, Xu Yun stopped bothering Tian Liangwei, made an excuse, and left the Medical Center.
Approvals and filings for a Drug Chemistry Laboratory usually took seven to fifteen business days—nearly two weeks if you included weekends. But with an academician-level heavyweight like Tian Liangwei involved, the whole process would probably be wrapped up in three or four days.
As for the funding, it would be deposited into a card linked to a corporate account opened by the School of Life Sciences. Whenever Xu Yun withdrew money, he would need to list what it was for, and the account would be subject to regular audits.
For a regular doctoral supervisor, the rules were much looser. Some would even transfer the money directly to a card under the project group's name that was actually a private account, giving rise to all sorts of shady dealings.
Anyway, back to the point.
The challenge Xu Yun needed to overcome this time was the binding barrier involved in creating fourth-generation Imidacloprid. The process was extremely complicated.
So besides a place to conduct the experiments, there was one other essential element he needed to secure:
Researchers!
Xu Yun was certainly a top student, but even the most talented person needed help. More often than not, the two went hand in hand.
For example, Little Ox had John Condit, Einstein had Shirley Wright, Dirac had T. R. Reddy, and Melody had Jacqueline and her convertible, among others.
Even with his mysterious aura, whether Xu Yun wanted to focus solely on research or dive into entrepreneurship in the future, he would inevitably need capable people to help him.
That would be true in the long run, and it was true now. Going it alone just wasn't realistic.
As for who to recruit for this experiment...
Xu Yun already had a few people in mind.
Getting assistants would be easy. He could just ask a few junior graduate students to lend a hand. Research on biological toxins had always been a major field, and plenty of people wanted the chance to conduct related experiments.
Afterward, he could treat everyone to a meal costing four or five hundred yuan per person, and maybe hand out a bonus if they made a breakthrough. Plenty of students would be eager to sign up.
After all, the application was being submitted under one of Tian Liangwei's secondary projects. It would look pretty good on a resume. Someone shameless enough might even call it a national-level project.
But besides a few pairs of hands, Xu Yun also wanted to find a partner with serious expertise.
At that thought, Xu Yun stopped and found a quiet corner to make a call.
"Beep, beep, beep—"
A moment later, a man's voice came from the other end:
"Hello? Old Xu?"
"Yeah, it's me."
"What's up? I'm at the badminton court with a junior."
"Old Fire Big Bone. My treat. You coming?"
"...Okay, okay! Give me fifteen minutes. Meet at the South District entrance!"
"..."
After hanging up, Xu Yun shook his head.
"That guy..."
He slipped his phone back into his pocket, turned around, and headed for the South District.
About twelve or thirteen minutes later, as Xu Yun reached the entrance to the South District, a hearty shout came from behind him:
"Old Xu! Old Xu!"
Xu Yun glanced over. A man with a buzz cut was waving to him from nearby.
The man was around twenty-seven or twenty-eight. His tracksuit collar was slightly open, and his shirt sleeves were rolled up to the middle of his arms. He had short hair, a square face, sharp brows, and a somewhat handsome look—though nowhere near as handsome as the readers.
This was Xu Yun's best friend, Qiu Sheng, a doctoral student in the School of Life Sciences.
At Qiu Sheng's call, Xu Yun raised a hand in greeting and hurried over. He glanced curiously behind him.
"Old Qiu, weren't you going to play badminton with that junior? Where are your racket and your junior?"
Qiu Sheng had jogged all the way over, and a sheen of sweat was already on his forehead. He tugged at his collar as he replied,
"I had her take the racket back to the dorm. Say, Old Xu, you're not kidding about treating me, are you?"
"..."
Xu Yun looked at him speechlessly and sighed, utterly exhausted.
"I'm serious! Let's go!"
Old Fire Big Bone was one of the most famous snack joints near the University of Science and Technology of China.
It was an Anhui-style restaurant. The owner was very friendly, and the prices were reasonable—fifty yuan per person was enough.
And if you discreetly showed your USTC student card at checkout, the owner would punch in a 0.85 discount on the computer.
Many USTC students joked that Old Fire Big Bone in the South District was practically holding off the entire snack street at the East Gate of the West District all by itself.
The restaurant was at the intersection of Tongcheng South Road and Shangpai Road. Xu Yun and Qiu Sheng walked for a little over ten minutes before reaching the entrance.
"Boss, one pot of bone broth, one Seafood Vermicelli Pot, one Beef Braised Oxford, and a plate of pickled cucumbers!"
As soon as they went in, Xu Yun confidently rattled off a few dishes. Then he wandered over to the drinks fridge, grabbed four cans of Budweiser, returned to the table, and popped one open with a hiss.
"They don't have Huiquan, so Budweiser will have to do."
Xu Yun and Qiu Sheng were both from Fujian Province and had loved Huiquan beer since childhood. But after moving to Hefei for school, they rarely came across beer from home. Most of the time, the options were Xuejin or Budweiser.
Restaurants like this, catering mainly to gatherings of university students, served food quickly. In just a few minutes, all the dishes Xu Yun had ordered were on the table.
Qiu Sheng picked up the soup ladle and stirred the pot as it heated. Then he picked up a small piece of cucumber, crunched into it, and asked,
"Old Xu, what's up?"
Xu Yun gave him an amused look and teased,
"What, can't I have won the lottery and decided to treat you to a nice meal?"
Qiu Sheng snorted in disdain.
"With your bad luck? You could buy three tickets and still go a whole month without winning a thing. As if I'd believe you won. Come on, just tell me what's going on. I won't enjoy my food until you do."
Seeing that, Xu Yun stopped joking around. He gave a strategic cough and explained in detail what had happened between him and Tian Liangwei.
"...That's pretty much it. The professor has submitted the application. The research group should be set up in about three days."
Qiu Sheng held a rib bone in one hand and noisily sucked out the marrow. When he finished listening, he looked at Xu Yun in surprise.
"Not bad! How'd you think of bringing transition metals into it?
"The pheromone contains an alkene. If you can really get that CH3 to cyclize selectively...
"Damn, this might actually work!"
Xu Yun picked up a can of Budweiser, took a sip, and said,
"So, what do you think? Will you come give me a hand?
"You know more about directing-group assistance than I do. If this works, I'll give you second authorship."
Second author, as the name suggested, meant the paper's second-listed author.
Besides the first author and corresponding author, the second author was the third most important person on a paper.
Qiu Sheng had been Xu Yun's best friend since high school. He was also a genius who'd gotten into the Gifted Class on his first try. In the few memories Xu Yun still had from his previous life, Qiu Sheng had helped him out a lot during his worst days.
Later, when Xu Yun managed to make a successful career change into the tea business, he had Qiu Sheng to thank for the connections and the money he'd lent him.
Xu Yun would handle the main research for this project, so he had to be the first author. Tian Liangwei would certainly be the corresponding author, which left Qiu Sheng with second authorship.
Qiu Sheng didn't seem to mind. He agreed without much hesitation.
"Sure, but you'll have to give me two more days. I'm wrapping up another project right now. I'll make another trip to the lab next week and try to finish before Thursday."
Xu Yun nodded and readily agreed.
"No problem. I'm not in a hurry, so I can wait a few days."
Qiu Sheng took another bite of meat off the bone and chuckled.
"Heh, if we manage to make fourth-generation Imidacloprid, we might get it into PLOSOne. But the publication fee isn't cheap—1,400 dollars. And there's no way to apply for a fee reduction here in China. You should ask Director Tian whether the school can cover that part."
As Qiu Sheng chatted on, Xu Yun, sitting across from him, couldn't help shaking his head to himself.
Old Qiu, you've got it all wrong. How could my goal possibly be some pay-to-publish journal like PLOSOne?
After all, what I'm actually trying to develop this time isn't fourth-generation Imidacloprid, but the fifth generation.
Before you continue