Li Xu waited for a whole day, but his phone remained silent.
His email inbox was empty, and no red unread notification appeared next to his professor’s profile picture on WeChat.
He sighed, tossed his phone aside, and rubbed his sore eyes.
’Looks like it’s vanished without a trace...’ He gave a self-deprecating laugh.
After all, a conjecture without supporting experintal data was probably no different from a wild fantasy to the rigorous academic world.
Of course, it was also possible that not enough ti had passed, and they simply hadn’t seen it yet.
Just as he was about to shut down his computer, his phone suddenly vibrated.
The two words "Professor Gao" flashed on the screen.
"Professor Gao?" Li Xu was a bit surprised and quickly answered the call.
"Xiao Li, am I interrupting you?" Gao Guanghui’s voice sounded sowhat urgent.
"Not at all, not at all. Please, go ahead."
"That brown rice of yours, where did you get it?" Gao Guanghui got straight to the point.
Li Xu was taken aback. "I just bought it by chance... How did you find out, sir?"
"Well, it’s like this..." Gao Guanghui briefly explained the situation and chuckled. "If I had known the rice ca from you, I wouldn’t have had to go through such a roundabout way to find you."
"Can you still find the seller?" Gao Guanghui pressed.
"Sorry, I can’t find them anymore."
"Is that so..."
Gao Guanghui’s voice was filled with regret. "How many jin do you have left?"
"About sixteen or seventeen jin."
He had originally gotten over twenty jin and sold five to Ding Kaifang.
"Over ten jin..."
Gao Guanghui said, "I have a few patients here with pediatric anorexia. How about I have them co find you?"
"Of course."
Li Xu readily agreed.
His clinic didn’t have many patients; it mainly served the surrounding residents.
He might not encounter another patient with pediatric anorexia all year long.
There was no use in him keeping the rice.
"I knew I was right about you."
Gao Guanghui’s tone was gratified.
"Professor Gao, do you need any more? I can mail so to you."
"No, that’s alright. I still have four liang, which is enough for my research." Gao Guanghui paused, then said, "And I’ll say it again: if there’s anything you don’t understand in the future, you can ask anyti."
"Thank you."
A thought struck Li Xu, and he rembered the matter of the Apigenin.
Gao Guanghui was an expert at the Provincial Hospital of Traditional Chinese dicine and a professor at the Provincial dical University.
He was also fairly well-known throughout the country.
’Wouldn’t this be the perfect opportunity to have him look at the paper I wrote?’
"Professor Gao, actually, there’s sothing I’d like to trouble you with..."
Li Xu explained his conjecture in detail. "I believe that Apigenin combined with Luteolin can effectively protect the organs, like the liver, of patients with the tick-borne disease. It’s just that after I submitted the paper, I never heard back..."
"What?"
Gao Guanghui was stunned.
The paper Wang Tao’s team published in *Dragon Country Virology* had caused quite a stir in their field.
In the past, the thods of Traditional Chinese dicine were rather lacking when it ca to infectious diseases due to their rapid onset.
They had developed the ’Clearing Qi and Stabilizing Blood Formula’ to treat the infectious tick-borne disease.
Everyone was incredibly envious.
Of course, the Clearing Qi and Stabilizing Blood Formula also had a drawback—it was slightly insufficient in protecting the internal organs.
And Li Xu had actually found a way to compensate for it?
"Send the paper on WeChat."
Gao Guanghui said hurriedly, "I’ll go to the lab and run a live-subject experint to verify the effects. If your conjecture is true... Haha..."
He laughed heartily. "I know Wang Tao. This will definitely take him by surprise."
"Okay, I’ll send it over right away."
「...」
Gao Guanghui received the paper Li Xu sent, imdiately printed it out, and began to study it carefully.
"Apigenin... Luteolin..." he murmured to himself, his fingers tapping lightly on the desk. "Indeed, both of these substances have antioxidant and anti-inflammatory effects. In theory, they could reduce the damage the tick-borne virus causes to the organs."
He wasted no ti, imdiately contacting the lab to arrange a live-subject experint.
The Provincial Hospital of Traditional Chinese dicine had a lab, as did the Provincial dical University.
He used the one at the university.
Wearing an isolation suit, Gao Guanghui personally supervised the experintal procedure.
Step one: Virus injection.
The lab staff injected ten healthy lab mice with the tick-borne virus.
Soon, the mice began to show symptoms—elevated body temperature, listlessness, piloerection, and sluggish movent.
Step two: Administering the ’Clearing Qi and Stabilizing Blood Formula’.
Gao Guanghui had the lab staff administer the "Clearing Qi and Stabilizing Blood Formula" herbal decoction to five of the mice, leaving the other five as a control group with no treatnt.
The results ca in a day later.
Control group: The mice’s condition continued to worsen, and all of them died within 24 hours.
Treatnt group: The virus was suppressed and the mice’s symptoms eased, but blood tests showed that their liver and kidney functions were still slowly declining.
"Just as the paper said," Gao Guanghui frowned. "The ’Clearing Qi and Stabilizing Blood Formula’ can kill the virus, but it doesn’t adequately protect the organs."
Step three: Administering Apigenin.
He had the lab staff administer an Apigenin solution to the mice in the treatnt group.
hours later, blood tests showed that their liver and kidney function indicators began to recover!
hours later, the mice’s spirits had clearly improved, and the organ damage was effectively under control!
"It really works!" Gao Guanghui shot up, slamming his hand on the table in excitent. "Li Xu... he actually found the solution!"
"Compile all the data..."
Gao Guanghui instructed his assistant, "And format it into an experintal report. I’ll need it shortly."
"Yes, Professor."
He left the laboratory.
Still incredibly excited, Gao Guanghui dialed Li Xu’s number.
"Xiao Li! Your conjecture was correct!" he said happily. "Apigenin really does protect the organs! The experintal data is beautiful!"
Li Xu had expected this all along.
The information was provided by the System; there was no way it could be wrong.
He feigned excitent and played along, "Really?"
"Absolutely certain!" Gao Guanghui laughed. "Although your paper lacked experintal data, your theoretical deduction was completely correct! I’m going to contact Wang Tao’s team right now and have them verify it too!"
"Professor Gao, thank you so much..."
"What’s there to thank for? The credit is all yours!" Gao Guanghui’s tone turned serious. "Don’t worry, I will absolutely fight for the credit you deserve. If they want to revise their paper, or publish a new one, I’ll make sure they add your na to it!"
"Professor Gao, you’ve misunderstood. I wasn’t looking to gain anything. Besides, I only proposed an idea; you’re the one who did the experint..."
"The idea is the most important part!" Gao Guanghui interrupted him. "dical breakthroughs often begin with a bold conjecture! Xiao Li, you have a lot of potential. Don’t sell yourself short!"
After hanging up, Li Xu shook his head and smiled.
He really hadn’t thought that far ahead.
But now it seed that if Wang Tao’s team added his na to a new paper, he would get a share of any national awards or comrcial profits.
Song Sisi had been watching him anxiously. "Boss, how did it go?"
A smile played on Li Xu’s lips. "My conjecture... has been confird."
Sisi froze for a second, then her eyes widened. "Really?! Doesn’t that an..."
"Mhm," Li Xu nodded. "Professor Gao said he’s going to fight for my credit. I might make a small fortune from this."
"Whoa!"
Song Sisi’s eyes sparkled. "Boss, you’re amazing! I don’t even want to go to a hospital after I graduate. How about I just work for you?"
Li Xu shook his head. "You should still go to a hospital and get so experience. If it doesn’t work out, you can always co back here."
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