top student at medical school

March 18, Tuesday, Weather: Sunny.

In the outpatient clinic, Zhu Zhengquan, who came for a follow-up visit, noticed that Fang Ziye and Hu Qingyuan were all smiles after looking at their phones, their upturned lips even harder to suppress than an AK.

Still in his wheelchair, he couldn't help but ask, "Professor Fang, what good news have you seen?"

"Has your research group made new progress and breakthroughs? I'm really looking forward to when you'll let me know again so I can come back for my hospital stay!"

Zhu Zhengquan was the first spinal cord injury patient treated by Fang Ziye. He has since been discharged from the hospital. Now, Zhu Zhengquan can not only relieve himself, but also take a few steps with the help of a walker.

Although he still walks with difficulty, after being paralyzed for many years, he now feels that everything is hopeful, and the sky is much brighter than before.

Fang Ziye shook his head: "It's not about the progress of the research project, it's another piece of good news."

Seeing that Zhu Zhengquan was not an outsider, Hu Qingyuan secretly said, "Uncle, actually it was my master whose research project was approved. It's a Youth Science Fund project (Category A)."

The National Natural Science Foundation of China (NSFC) Youth Science Fund Project (Category A) is the former National Science Fund for Distinguished Young Scholars, and it is a very important honor.

Zhu Zhengquan didn't quite understand the significance of this honor, but he knew the redemptive nature of Fang Ziye's research: "This research is very meaningful and unique in the world. I think it's worth paying attention to it."

"Professor Fang, it's a pity we can't write to any research grants, otherwise I would definitely give them advice to turn this research into a world-class project!" Zhu Zhengquan expressed his sincerity in the simplest of words.

Upon hearing this, Fang Ziye chuckled and said, "That's still a bit of an exaggeration."

“The approval of research projects should not be based solely on the perspective of a single disease, but rather on a holistic view, selecting more important research directions for funding and supporting corresponding basic research.”

"It's already very good to have received this honor. There's no point in exaggerating our fame any further."

There are no world-class projects in the National Natural Science Foundation of China; at most, they are national key research projects.

However, the National Key Research Project is not a particularly prominent title. Although it is highly prestigious, it is not as well-known as the Outstanding Young Scientists Award.

"Professor Fang, how am I doing now? Is my recovery going well?" Zhu Zhengquan asked.

"You can feel your own condition. I'm a doctor, and I can only observe the recovery of your functions. As for your overall condition, you are the one who has the most say."

"It should have met your expectations." Fang Ziye's words were rather restrained.

Actually, from Fang Ziye's current perspective, Zhu Zhengquan's treatment plan is not optimal. If he could have another treatment, Zhu Zhengquan could achieve more functional restoration.

But once the surgery is done, there's no going back.

Even if Fang Ziye makes any further breakthroughs now, it won't benefit Zhu Zhengquan, the patient who has already undergone surgery.

However, the treatment Zhu Zhengquan received at the time of his surgery was the best and optimal solution at that point in time.

Subsequent progress and other breakthroughs, including the treatment plans for Song Heping and Du Kuo, were all based on Zhu Zhengquan's "lessons learned," which led to optimized plans.

This is the process of exploring the unknown!
Zhu Zhengquan will achieve his expected health ahead of schedule, but he will certainly have to pay a certain limit to his recovery in exchange.

Fang Ziye is not a god; he cannot achieve everything in one step.

"That's enough, that's enough."

"Professor Fang, I'll say it again: even if I have no expectations now, I'm still very grateful to you."

"I think it's fine as it is now!" Zhu Zhengquan took a deep breath.

"Compared to myself a few years ago, at least I look like a human being now."

Zhu Zhengquan's daughter also said, "Professor Fang, you don't know, after my father was discharged from the hospital this time, he became much more cheerful and often went out to have tea with his friends."

“Before this, my dad hadn’t dared to go out for two years.”

Zhu Zhengquan rolled his eyes at his daughter: "Your dad is an adult, sixty years old, and when he can't control his bodily functions, how dare I go out and find friends?"

"We were chatting and then we started acting like kids, what kind of talk is that?"

"My friends had to carry me to the bathroom, and I had to change my diaper myself. Oh crap, I just remembered..."

Zhu Zhengquan's eyes immediately reddened, and he choked up: "That day I really wanted to shove my head into the toilet and just flush myself to death."

"What's the point of living like this...?"

“hong~~~hong~~~” Zhu Zhengquan wiped away his tears, his nose twitching, his voice filled with an indescribable embarrassment and loneliness.

Although Fang Ziye and his daughter cannot fully empathize with his situation, recalling this scene makes them realize that such a person has no dignity whatsoever.

The larger the gathering, the more thoroughly a person's social life will be ruined if such a scene occurs.

Hu Qingyuan handed the woman a pack of tissues and comforted her, "Uncle, that's all in the past. There's no need to keep dwelling on the past. We're doing well now."

"Take care from now on."

Zhu Zhengquan wiped his nose with a tissue, then blew his nose, carefully folded it, and skillfully put it into his pocket.

Because of his leg problems, he still puts tissues for wiping his drool and nose in his pocket when he goes out.

"Professor Fang, in short, I am very grateful to you."

"Of course, I'm getting a little more greedy now. If one day, Professor Fang, you can help me stand up completely and take a few more steps without a walker or crutches."

Zhu Zhengquan smiled as he recalled this scene, and said wistfully, "Then I would definitely feel that dying would be worth it."

"But at that time I definitely didn't want to die anymore. I don't know if this was just a fantasy, maybe it was..."

The woman said, "Dad, stop daydreaming and don't put too much pressure on Professor Fang."

"Thinking back to when I was hospitalized, I felt that Professor Fang was under a lot of pressure then. Compared to now, it's like he's a completely different person."

“It is extremely difficult to conduct in-depth research on spinal cord injury.”

Zhu Zhengquan said, "Alright, alright, I won't say anything more."

"Professor Fang, after I went back this time, many of my fellow patients asked me to ask, 'Professor Fang, why aren't you taking on any more patients?'"

"I heard that since I was discharged from the hospital, you have only admitted two patients like me?"

Fang Ziye nodded: "Yes, Uncle."

"Currently, our group has only treated three spinal cord injuries."

"It's mainly for optimization."

Zhu Zhengquan hurriedly said, "No, no, Professor Fang, you should accept more. We are all willing to be tested."

"Really, this is my heartfelt sentiment, and it's also the sentiment of many of my fellow patients."

“You should charge more. Don’t worry about not treating me well enough. For someone like me, it’s already very good. We’re not that greedy.”

Hu Qingyuan glanced at his teacher, Fang Ziye, and seeing that Fang Ziye was focused on his own thoughts, he knew it was time for him to shine.

Hu Qingyuan said, "Uncle, although you have your reasons for thinking this way."

"But when it comes to research, the goal is to get the biggest return with the least effort. Otherwise, there would be no such thing as experimentation in the treatment of diseases. We could just use people as test subjects, right?"

"As clinicians and researchers, our progress requires clinical trials, but we must also cherish every piece of clinical data."

"Even if it's a little slower, we must try our best to be responsible for every piece of material and strive to get the greatest return on everyone's efforts."

"After several treatments, we have obtained the necessary data and materials, and we are still optimizing the process in animal experiments."

"To rashly admit more patients when there is an opportunity to optimize the process is actually irresponsible to the patients."

"Even if you were willing, we can't do that. It's basic courtesy."

"It's like, if my teacher had performed a nerve transposition on you at the beginning, you would have had the opportunity to control your bowel movements, but you would have to do so in a different way."

"Then you completely lose your sense of sensation, and you can only defecate at set times instead of actively feeling the urge to defecate."

"Do you think that state can be compared to the current state?" Hu Qingyuan returned the question to Zhu Zhengquan.

Zhu Zhengquan carefully considered the conversation he had with Zhu Zhengquan before he entered the operating room for the first time.

At that time, Zhu Zhengquan felt that it was good to be able to control his bowel movements at regular intervals, which was better than not being able to control them now. He just needed to go to the toilet at regular intervals, which meant he would just have to go more often.

But back then, I didn't understand how I feel now.

Now I can feel the urge to defecate and go to the toilet on my own, without needing any other 'controller'.

The difference in experience is self-evident!
Upon hearing this, Fang Ziye said, "Uncle, there are advantages to doing it early and advantages to doing it late."

"Relatively speaking, since we are very optimistic about this topic, there is no need to rush."

“Currently, I am very cautious in selecting clinical trial participants. I only select those who are willing to risk everything for me, and I am willing to give up other potentials in order to buy them time in advance.”

"Besides these people, there are some little girls, seemingly healthy adults, some middle-aged people, or elderly people who already have difficulty walking. I'll perform their surgeries now."

"Wouldn't that be a huge loss?"

"Paralysis is just a state, not fatal, so if you can afford to wait, you can wait for a year or two."

“If our research reaches an absolute plateau, a bottleneck, and we expect to make no progress for ten or twenty years, then that’s when the treatment can be standardized.”

"You must have a granddaughter, right? If a college teacher told you that your granddaughter doesn't need to work hard and can go directly to college without even taking the high school entrance exam, would you agree?"

"Should we make her completely give up all opportunities to attend a four-year university, a top-tier university, a 985 university, or even Tsinghua or Kyoto University, and just pre-book a junior college degree?"

Fang Ziye's simple comparison made Zhu Zhengquan understand Fang Ziye's reasoning, and he nodded: "Then let's not be so absolute."

"But, in my current situation, am I just a college graduate?"

Fang Ziye nodded and said honestly, "Perhaps."

"But there always has to be one or a few people, or even a dozen or a hundred people, who need to make such a sacrifice."

"Now that the choice has been made, there's no going back."

Zhu Zhengquan's expression changed for a while, but he still managed to suppress his emotions: "Then I'm satisfied. A junior college is fine. I just went to a junior college, haha."

That was the only way he could console himself...

After politely seeing Zhu Zhengquan and his daughter off, Fang Ziye composed himself and continued with the follow-up consultations.

Word-of-mouth reputation is still very reliable.

At 7 p.m. sharp, after finishing his day's outpatient work, Hu Qingyuan reported: "Master, today, patients with spinal cord injuries accounted for 60% of the outpatients who came for treatment."

"Of the seventy patients, at least forty have spinal cord injuries."

"We spent most of our time explaining things, and there was hardly any diagnosis or treatment advice. Today we only issued ten hospitalization certificates."

"It's half again as low as last week."

"If this continues, will our team run out of surgeries?"

Fang Ziye said, "There will definitely be some. If we open up hospital admission by appointment, the number of patients that can be transferred from other groups will overwhelm us."

"The technology is in place, so don't worry about not being able to have surgery. The hospital appointment book is already booked until June, didn't you know?"

Hu Qingyuan, of course, knew this, and at this moment, very sensibly said, "Master, of course I know!"

"Master, you perform mature surgeries better than others, and some cutting-edge surgical techniques were developed by you."

"There are still some immature treatments available, and Master, you have always been at the forefront of the world, so how could there really be no surgeries available?"

"I'm just really looking forward to the moment when our team can completely unleash its full potential in treating spinal cord injuries, that..."

Just thinking about it made Hu Qingyuan feel good, and he looked forward to that day.

As Hu Qingyuan was speaking, his phone rang.

“Master, it’s Manager Du Meng from Johnson & Johnson,” Hu Qingyuan replied.

“Go ahead and answer it. I’ll have them contact you directly. That means I’m giving you more authority. You can talk to them directly,” Fang Ziye said generously.

Hu Qingyuan went elsewhere, so how could he possibly have had the opportunity to have one-on-one contact with a manager at Johnson & Johnson during his master's studies?
Only Fang Ziye could grant Hu Qingyuan such great power.

This kind of experience was something that even Fang Ziye could only dream of back then!
This is the benefit of having a solid foundation and accumulated experience.

"Hello, Manager Du," Hu Qingyuan greeted him politely.

"Oh, it's almost finished designing, right? Okay, send it to my master's email address when you get back, and he'll process it when he gets back."

"Yes, please also tell Manager Huang at Mindray that sending one copy is enough."

"No need to come to the outpatient clinic. We'll be going to the animal lab later. But my master will go to the department first today to check on the surgical patients for tomorrow."

"Furthermore, we also need to call some patients who have made appointments. My mentor will be taking annual leave next month, so we need to let him know in advance to avoid them making a wasted trip."

"Yes, good!"

"No need for food, my master and I have already ordered. Thank you, you don't need to be so polite."

Hu Qingyuan laughed again as he said this: "Manager Du, you are too kind. I only mentioned on my Douyin that the medical equipment I use is from Johnson & Johnson."

"Your company's equipment is of high quality; this isn't about selling products."

"Medical products are not allowed to be sold through live-streaming now, and I don't have the qualifications. It's just that the materials I practice with are indeed from your company."

"No, no, no, that won't do! If you do that, I'll only use other companies' products from now on, I won't do this." "Otherwise, my master will definitely break my legs."

Hu Qingyuan hung up the phone.

He then explained, "Master, Boss Du Meng approved a batch of operating consumables for us, such as suture needles and instruments for practice."

"The price is only 40% of the market price, which is why I mentioned it in the short video, saying that their company's sutures are of good quality."

"Perhaps some people who follow me will choose to use their company's sutures on their own initiative..."

"There is no such thing as a medical device live-streaming sales channel now."

Upon hearing this, Fang Ziye nodded and said, "To avoid getting involved in any scandals, I suggest you use products from other companies next time to balance things out."

"It is perfectly normal to accurately state the equipment and manufacturer you are using when posting operation videos."

"In fact, the surgical records must be very strict in indicating the manufacturer and model of the surgical instruments, but we haven't done it that meticulously."

“But you can’t take the money!” Fang Ziye emphasized.

Taking advantage of the collaboration between the research group and the company, Hu Qingyuan obtained some low-priced equipment as practice products, which reduced the daily expenses in the practice room.

This also reduces the amount of money spent on teaching within the department, which is normal.

Many teaching hospitals and medical schools purchase low-priced products. If the price is low enough and the quality is better, then everyone will definitely choose the high-quality one to ensure a good operating experience.

Fang Ziye couldn't enjoy this kind of convenience before; he only had the cheapest basic sewing needles and threads.

"Master, don't worry, I'm not that short of money right now!"

"It's not worth taking."

“Besides, Master, isn’t it already March? We published so many articles last year, and I heard that I should be able to get a little bit too…” Hu Qingyuan rubbed his hands together.

Last year, Fang Ziye's team achieved remarkable results. When it came to distributing research grants, even if he only got a sip of soup, it was still a substantial amount.

"Hehe." Fang Ziye grinned at Hu Qingyuan.

The more he thought about it, the angrier he became, and he cursed, "When I was doing my master's degree, I was dirt poor. Although my professor had some research awards, he couldn't even share them with me."

"How come when it comes to you, not only does it not cost money to get a master's degree, but you can also earn so much money every year?"

“Let me tell you, when I went to Enshi for ‘training’ after graduating with my master’s degree, I borrowed money from my senior classmates and also borrowed money from Jiebei.”

Upon hearing this, Hu Qingyuan immediately said, "Master, isn't this just a case of one generation planting trees so another can enjoy the shade?"

"It's all thanks to the excellent platform you provided for us, Master."

"Actually, I don't have to take this money. Although I don't do live streaming anymore, I can still make a lot of money every month from the traffic of the short videos I post!"

Hu Qingyuan's choice of short video platforms is quite unique, including videos sharing Fang Ziye's instructional videos.

Those fancy medical procedures would dazzle even professionals, let alone laymen.

The number of likes and views is quite good, and it has also gained a large number of online 'students'!
Unlike many doctors in the medical field who don't release operational details, Hu Qingyuan releases real operational diagrams of pigskin, rabbits, nude mouse models, and other similar devices.

More realistic, and looks more impactful.

"You go to the animal lab first. I need to go with your teacher's wife to check out the dresses we ordered," Fang Ziye said.

"Okay, Master, I'll go down first and then deliver the takeout to your car."

"I don't think your wife will eat with you, right? You mentioned that before~" Hu Qingyuan had a good memory; his photographic memory allowed him to remember every word Fang Ziye said.

……

Fang Ziye drove from the new campus of Zhongnan Hospital to the Wuhan branch of the sanatorium, which is also the surgical branch.

Fang Ziye's license plate number had already been registered, so he could drive straight in.

The parking spaces inside are spacious, and there aren't many cars.

After sending the message to Luo Tingzhu, Luo Tingzhu quickly went out, and she was followed by a "tagalong"!
The PhD student currently studying sensorimotor dissociation anesthesia under Luo Tingzhu is named Hu Chuchu.

Hu Chuchu is a year older than Luo Tingzhu.

After getting in the car, Luo Tingzhu said, "Sister Chuchu, please give me your feedback later. Remember to be honest. We can make alterations if you're not satisfied with our custom-made dress."

“Okay, Teacher Luo.” Although Luo Tingzhu called her Sister Chuchu, Hu Chuchu still called Luo Tingzhu Teacher.

"Sister Chuchu, then send a message to Dr. Liang and the others, saying that I won't be going to the lab today. Ask them to post the monitoring data in the group later, I want to see it in person."

"We can't be careless!"

"The most crucial aspects of motor-sensory separation anesthesia are the puncture technique and local anatomical localization. Every piece of data must be rigorous and must be repeated at least five times to be effective before it can be shared in the group."

"Don't even think about fabricating data or saving time just to be fast. If I find out that someone is just going through the motions with the data, I'll really get angry." Luo Tingzhu's tone was both cute and fierce.

Upon hearing this, Fang Ziye said, "That's enough, Team Leader Luo. Let's go home. Don't bring your work with you."

Luo Tingzhu's face flushed slightly, but she was still indignant and said, "Senior brother, you don't know how outrageous they are. In order to complete the mission, they even lied to the people in their own team."

“Data that was clearly only processed three times was forcibly fabricated into five sets of data, and an average was calculated.”

"If they keep doing this, how can I trust them in the future? They're just squandering their own integrity!"

Luo Tingzhu's tone was serious.

This is indeed true. Scientific research must be rigorous. Record every instance of research, even if there are errors in the data.

However, in reality, some people still have ulterior motives during the process.

As long as the general direction is not wrong, then they will 'fabricate' another set of data based on the actual situation to make themselves appear larger.

Fang Ziye hasn't encountered such a situation yet, mainly because the people he meets are all familiar to him, unlike Luo Tingzhu, who is a complete stranger.

"Yes, we need to be more careful."

"Research credibility is also a very important part of a person's character."

"Tingzhu, have you eaten? I had a barbecue rice bowl on the way here, can we have an extra meal?" Fang Ziye asked.

“Okay, okay, I said I would treat Sister Chuchu to hot pot. Sister Chuchu said she went to a hot pot restaurant before, and it was delicious, but a bit expensive…” Luo Tingzhu responded proactively.

……

After Fang Ziye and Luo Tingzhu finished looking at the dresses, Fang Ziye took Luo Tingzhu back to her house.

Luo Tingzhu wants to decorate the new house herself. There is less than a month left until the wedding. Although it is still early to decorate the room on the wedding day, Luo Tingzhu has other plans.

Fang Ziye didn't devote too much time to this, but he did find a few students from the Zhongnan Hospital campus to assist Luo Tingzhu.

Luo Tingzhu can send messages to Shu Lang and the others whenever she needs them.

Hu Chuchu certainly wouldn't come to Fang Ziye's house with him, so after the two entered, they spent nearly ten minutes alone together in each other's arms.

It wasn't until Hu Qingyuan called Fang Ziye that Luo Tingzhu got up from Fang Ziye's embrace. She smiled and said, "Senior brother, you can go now."

"It seems that the other side has reached a point where they need you."

As soon as Fang Ziye answered the phone, Hu Qingyuan's words were very brief: "Master, we have completed the preliminary preparations, but we still need you to come over and place the microelectrodes."

"Okay!" Fang Ziye hung up upon hearing this.

Then, Fang Ziye looked at Luo Tingzhu: "Tingzhu, here, look!"

"We, the two of us, together!"

Zhongnan Hospital has had a lot of achievements this year. Not only did Fang Ziye receive the title of Outstanding Young Scientist, but Luo Tingzhu's research project also naturally earned her the title of Excellent Young Scientist.

Luo Tingzhu didn't have the connections to find out this kind of news two months in advance. After hearing Fang Ziye's words, she carefully took Fang Ziye's phone, looked at the screen, and read it carefully word by word.

Then Luo Tingzhu said, somewhat happily but also reproachfully, "Senior brother, why are you only telling me now?"

Fang Ziye smiled and said, "Actually, I forgot. After seeing you, we've been busy with other things. Now that we finally have some free time, shouldn't we talk about our private matters?"

"This is now serious business!"

"Are you happy?" Fang Ziye asked.

Luo Tingzhu nodded emphatically: "I'm very happy, extremely happy."

"This is the first formal research grant I've secured through my own efforts, so of course I'm thrilled!!"

"Are we the only two people in our hospital to have contracted this disease this year?"

Fang Ziye replied, "Of course! Han City University has fewer than ten outstanding young scientists and excellent young scientists a year. Isn't it enough that our hospital has two spots?"

"It's a pity that Brother Nie didn't apply this year, otherwise he might have won too, and then we would have three seats."

Luo Tingzhu replied, "Dr. Nie Mingxian is quite cautious; he doesn't want to have too many conflicts of interest with us."

"Compared to him, my research philosophy isn't actually that pure!"

"Senior brother, Dr. Nie Mingxian truly loves medicine."

“He loves you more than me, Professor Liao Jia, and you probably do. If we’re just comparing who likes you, he and Lan Tianluo should be in the same league.”

Doing something, being good at it, and having a passion for it are three different dimensions of the topic.

"In any case, this can be considered a recognition of our research capabilities by the National Natural Science Foundation of China."

"After all, we have put in so much effort and reaped so many rewards."

Fang Ziye took a breath and said, "I'm going to the lab?"

"Tingzhu, will you take a taxi home by yourself later?"

"Senior brother, I'll take a taxi back later! It won't take long." Luo Tingzhu nodded.

"Send me a screenshot of the information, or forward the email to me."

"Okay!~"

……

On the way to the animal laboratory, Fang Ziye thought of Luo Tingzhu's excited expression again, shook his head slightly but did not laugh at her.

Compared to Luo Tingzhu, his master's reaction after winning the bid was truly 'joyful'!
Luo Tingzhu has published many articles, but she has never received any real honors. This feeling of being recognized by the 'mainstream' for the first time is very good.

The National Natural Science Foundation of China's "regular army" doesn't consider your age; most people only have the opportunity to receive the Outstanding Young Scientist award when they are young or middle-aged.

Those who can receive the Outstanding Young Scientist award are usually close to 35 years old.

Luo Tingzhu is still very young.

"However, compared to what Dean Chen Song is considering, these things seem like nothing special even if we get them!"

"No matter what, it's a good thing, it's an honor, and it's good to have it in my pocket. It also makes me feel a sense of fulfillment at this stage of my life."

“A hollow reputation isn’t important, but it’s not that unimportant either,” Fang Ziye muttered to himself.

It was 10:39 PM.

When Fang Ziye stepped into the animal laboratory, he hadn't yet been called in by Hu Qingyuan and the others.

Fang Ziye was "intercepted" by Nie Mingxian, who was wearing protective clothing.

"Fang Ziye, perfect timing! You've come at the perfect time!"

"Over here, I was just about to come find you!"

“Parallel electrodes, there’s hope!” Nie Mingxian’s voice and eyelids were almost deformed.

"what?"

"Let's go take a look!" Fang Ziye immediately ran after Nie Mingxian.

Fang Ziye's action of driving into the laboratory had already been noticed by Hu Qingyuan and others, and someone had also reported that he had entered the animal laboratory.

There were already people waiting for Fang Ziye at the door. As soon as they saw Fang Ziye turn around, the laboratory staff immediately called out, "Professor Fang, over here!"

"Everything's all set up here, just waiting for you."

"I'm done!"

"Tell them that they're not doing it over there!" Fang Ziye stepped aside and turned back.

"Call Hu Qingyuan and Liao Jia over here. Stop what you're doing over there." Fang Ziye's tone was serious and urgent.

Compared to the research and development achievements of parallel electrode pads, what's the big deal about treating a few animal models?

Even if all the data from animal model treatments were wiped out this month, it wouldn't be as fast as the development progress of the parallel electrode pads!

One is quantity, the other is quality!
At this point, quality is more important than quantity! (End of Chapter)