Chapter 87: So Damn Good

  As one of the few academicians at Meining University, Shangguan Hong was usually uninterested in school administration. However, he held a position that couldn’t be ignored—an Academician of the Chinese Academy of Engineering, enjoying deputy minister-level treatment. Administratively, his rank was equal to the university president’s, and as the former Dean of the Medical School, he was a respected elder whose words carried great weight.

  When Zhang Yang brought up renting that plot of land in the coastal district, Shangguan Hong didn’t respond immediately.

  He put his glasses back on, looked at Zhang Yang, and said slowly, “I get what you’re saying. You want to use that land to build a factory and production base.”

  Zhang Yang nodded.

  Shangguan Hong pondered for a moment, rubbing his nose as if he had a bit of a cold. “Although, as a researcher, I don’t like seeing my students overly focused on commercial profit and losing sight of their true ideals, I’ll respect your decision.”

  “After all, scientists and businessmen aren’t always separable. Edison founded General Electric, Bill Gates created Microsoft, Nobel opened an arms factory… maybe your Nuwa will reach the same height someday.”

  Shangguan paused, closing his eyes briefly before continuing slowly, “Since you’ve made up your mind, I’ll help you secure that university land. Give me a few days—I’ll have an answer for you soon.”

  “As for the rehabilitation center, I think the sooner the better. Our next batch of reagents will be ready in about a month—just over twelve kilograms total. That means around 1,200 vials of 10 milliliters each. In theory, that’s enough to treat 1,200 patients. I suggest leaving 200 vials for clinical trials across partner hospitals, and allocating the remaining 1,000 to support your rehabilitation center.”

  He paused again, hesitating slightly. “Where are you planning to set up this rehabilitation center?”

  Right now, Zhang Yang only had a villa and nowhere else. Even if the university transferred the surrounding land to him, it would take time to build anything, so the question was natural.

  But Zhang Yang had already thought it through. He wasn’t planning to build a separate facility right away, just establish the name first. Finding a location wouldn’t be hard.

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  After some thought, he shared his idea. “Our university already collaborates with Zhongshan Hospital. If we partnered with them and borrowed some space in their oncology department, that shouldn’t be a problem, right, Professor?”

  Hearing this, Shangguan Hong leaned back and nodded. “Good idea. Setting it up there benefits everyone. Zhongshan Hospital would definitely welcome it, and their facilities are already top-notch. Patients would receive proper care—it’s a win-win. I happen to know their former dean, Elder Yang. I’ll give him a call later, and then you can visit him personally. It should be settled easily.”

  Professor Shangguan knowing the former dean of Zhongshan Hospital? That surprised Zhang Yang, but it made things much more promising.

  Sure enough, Shangguan Hong made a call, and a few minutes later, he hung up. “Done. Dean Yang agreed. Let me tell you—Elder Yang’s an old Red Army veteran, a retired official from the Ministry of Health, and the mentor of Zhongshan Hospital’s current dean, Dean Wang. Go meet him this afternoon. Dean Wang will be at his house too.”

  He picked up a pen, scribbled an address on a note, and handed it to Zhang Yang.

  “Thank you, Professor.” Zhang Yang was thrilled—he nearly bowed on the spot. Everything had gone so smoothly today: Li Jindong and the others’ recommendation issue resolved, the land issue handled, and the rehabilitation center partnership settled. What insane luck.

  “Look at you, getting all worked up. If anyone else saw your intelligent charged cell technology, they’d have a heart attack.” Shangguan Hong teased, then suddenly asked, “Oh right, since you’re starting a rehabilitation center, have you decided on pricing? The institute isn’t short on money now, but if you want this commercialized, you’ll need a clear idea of fees before negotiating with Dean Wang.”

  Zhang Yang hadn’t planned to bring this up, but since Professor Shangguan asked, he decided to explain.

  “Right now, even the most basic late-stage cancer treatments cost seventy to eighty thousand yuan. With nutrition and all, it easily exceeds a hundred thousand. Reliable treatments go for five to six hundred thousand, even up to a million. I’ve done the math—Nanxing One’s cost per ten milliliters is roughly three thousand yuan. Adding equipment wear, salaries, and management, it’s about five thousand per ten milliliters. So I plan to price it at twenty thousand per ten milliliters, which should be affordable for most families.”

  “Twenty thousand.” Shangguan Hong nodded. “With that kind of efficacy, only a fool wouldn’t choose Nanxing One.”

  “Also, if the patient’s family is truly struggling, I plan to treat them for free.”

  “Good. That shows I wasn’t wrong about you. Research should serve humanity, not money. Don’t worry—if you ever face difficulties, I’ll help you. If I can’t, the university will. And if the university can’t, the state will.”

  “Understood. Thank you, Professor.”

  “Alright then, go handle it. It’s almost two o’clock—you can head to Elder Yang’s house directly.”

  Just as Zhang Yang reached the door, Shangguan Hong knocked his own head and called out, “Ah, I almost forgot something. Damn this memory of mine.”

  Zhang Yang turned back and smiled. “No problem, Professor. Go ahead.”

  “Here’s the thing.” Shangguan pursed his lips. “Qiao mentioned something to me—she said your English is, uh, terrible. Her words, not mine, don’t blame me.”

  Zhang Yang’s face darkened. Damn it, Qiao the beauty, why bring that up? Still, he had to admit it, pouting miserably. “Professor… yeah… that’s true. But it’s not my fault—those squiggly worms might know me, but I sure don’t know them.”

  “I’m not blaming you. Honestly, I hate that stuff too. But when you give reports, you’ll need to handle some English papers. You can’t be writing a molecular cell report like it’s a Harry Potter review. I talked it over with Old Zheng—we’ll have to cram some English into you. At least pass Level 4 first.”

  “So, we found you a tutor. She’ll help you for a while.” Shangguan glanced at him nonchalantly. “Funny enough, she’s Elder Yang’s granddaughter—Yang Fei, an English teacher from the Department of Chemistry. Go find her at Meining University first, then head over together.”

  Yang Fei? Zhang Yang staggered. Almost fell over. Wasn’t that the icy beauty he’d been set up on a date with?

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