"Stop brooding. Your senior is treating you to a meal," said Fang Ziye, breaking Jie Han's contemplative state.
"Senior, where are we eating?" Jie Han perked up at the mention of food, his eagerness barely contained.
"HanStreet, grilled fish. The relatively cheaper place. Don't expect me to be as wealthy as master," Fang Ziye swiftly crushed Jie Han's fantasies.
This junior brother of his possessed extraordinary skill in academic writing. Since being allowed to work part-time clinically to focus on writing, he had, in just one month, single-handedly crafted a letter that was already published. Moreover, the impact factor of the journal wasn't low, reaching an impressive 7 points.
Being able to spot logical flaws in such a high-impact SCI paper was another testament to his prowess, a different manifestation of his research capabilities.
Furthermore, of Fang Ziye's two previous English articles, one was in the final stages of revision, publication imminent. The other, which Fang Ziye had only recently drafted, had already been revised by Jie Han to the point of entering peer review at the journal's editorial office.
To pass the initial editorial screening without being sent back for revision was another ability that Fang Ziye deeply admired.
As such, it was highly likely that by the time of the doctoral admission assessment in December, Fang Ziye could potentially boast up to three SCI papers, with the most groundbreaking being a first-quartile research article.
With such a high-impact paper laying the foundation, the addition of more papers would only further bolster his strength.
With his junior brother being so helpful, as the senior, Fang Ziye naturally had to fulfill his role in "accompanying eating, drinking, and practice" - the logistics work.
"That's fine by me," Jie Han responded cheerfully, mimicking a TV drama tone.
Jie Han was indeed in high spirits, unburdened by pressure as he was still in his carefree first year of graduate studies. His master's journey had just begun, yet his research pressures were already alleviated.
As a master's student still in the student phase, sharing a meal with his senior was enough to keep Jie Han happy for a long time.
Jie Han's right hand drew circles in the air as he began pondering what flavor of grilled fish to order, muttering to himself that Flame Mountain was a bit too spicy, plain green pepper was a bit too pungent, and finally suggested a mala flavor.
Seeing his junior's current state, Fang Ziye felt quite envious.
When he was at Jie Han's stage, he wasn't as carefree as Jie Han is now. After all, unlike Jie Han, he hadn't completed paper writing during his undergraduate years and published right after starting his master's, entirely unconcerned about meeting the SCI paper requirements for graduation.
"Should we get two fish then?" Fang Ziye asked generously, seeing his junior's indecision.
"We can have two?"
"Isn't that a bit wasteful?"
"It's just 129 yuan per fish, your senior can afford it. Let's go." Fang Ziye briefly shed the various 'burdens' on his back, immersing himself in his junior brother Jie Han's joy.
"Senior, let me tell you, Sister Luo is definitely considered extremely beautiful. If there were really a selection for the most beautiful girl in the college or university, she'd definitely be on the list, and not low-ranked either," Jie Han said earnestly.
"The light's red, senior."
"Where would medical students find the time for such frivolities? From the brutal anatomy classes in freshman year to the guaranteed failure in physiology or biochemistry in sophomore year..."
Jie Han sighed softly, "Come to think of it, the university life of medical students, apart from the regret of not having much free time, is quite fulfilling. Compared to most other majors at the undergraduate level, it's enriching."
Fang Ziye replied, "The master's phase can be even more fulfilling. Of course, compared to the undergraduate phase, it requires more self-directed learning time."
"The light turned green."
"Especially you, Jie Han. You write such beautiful articles. I heard from our master that in your month of part-time clinical work, besides finishing the article revisions, you've also started a meta-analysis?" Fang Ziye marveled.
"Yeah, I've already run the data through Revman[1] once, it's looking good."
"After refining it with R language, if there are no issues, I can start writing," Jie Han said, not without a hint of pride.
"That's quite a speed you've got there, huh?" Fang Ziye's eyes suddenly lit up.
This wasn't just his junior brother, this was practically his own unique lucky star!
Jie Han leaned in closer, rubbing the acne on his face with his right hand, and said in a lowered voice, "Everyone in the department says that after you relieved your research pressure, your operational talent is the best, but honestly, the gold content of my articles isn't high."
"But the improvement in operational ability is a solid benefit."
Jie Han was self-aware. The articles he was currently writing weren't of high value.
Letters and meta-analyses were "plastic topics" for padding article counts.
...
Two days later.
When Fang Ziye was seeing patients with Yuan Weihong again, it was around noon.
After Yuan Weihong's professional errand runner Fang Ziye bought KFC to the clinic, a patient who had just had an X-ray examination pushed open the door of the clinic, hoping to catch them before lunch.
Seeing Fang Ziye and Yuan Weihong unwrapping their food, the patient hesitated, his mouth twitching several times.
Finally, he said, "Doctor, I'm sorry..."
He was about to leave.
Yuan Weihong pushed the KFC bag aside, "It's alright, it's alright. Since you're here, let's finish looking at your scans first! Otherwise, you'd have to wait quite a while just to see your scans."
"There's no one behind you, right?"
The patient quickly slipped in.
Yuan Weihong quickly looked at the follow-up X-ray, then prescribed two medicines, before sending the patient away. As soon as the patient left, Fang Ziye promptly locked the clinic door.
They needed time to eat. They had already worked overtime for more than forty minutes until 12:43. If they didn't eat now before the afternoon clinic officially started, they wouldn't get to eat at all.
Yuan Weihong tossed chicken nuggets into his mouth, tilting his head, his entire demeanor exuding vigor. His voice was like thunder, "Your debridement skills have improved quite a bit recently, haven't they?"
Fang Ziye was momentarily stunned by Yuan Weihong's high spirits, "It's alright, Master. I'm still a bit short of the requirements to leave the training room, but I estimate I can reach that level by October."
"Thank you for the 'secret manual', Master." Fang Ziye didn't forget to attribute his rapid progress to Yuan Weihong.
"If you can leave the first training room before December, do it as soon as possible. The graduate school and medical education department of the hospital are responsible for handling doctoral admission quotas for those who complete the training room."
"It has nothing to do with Professor Deng's admission quota, so you can freely give up Yuan Pei's spot."
"By then, whether Li Yuan Pei can pursue a doctorate or not will have nothing to do with you." Yuan Weihong suddenly brought this up.
Fang Ziye was stunned for two seconds, "The admission quota obtained from completing the training room is additional?"
"Hanshi University is, after all, a long-established 985 institution. Although the medical specialty isn't top-tier in the field, it's good to have such a strong backing. You just focus on being excellent, and don't worry about the rest."
"Your teacher and Professor Deng will naturally find ways to get the college to help resolve this."
"For surgery to develop, we can't lack either specialized operational talent or research talent." Yuan Weihong's voice remained high-spirited.
"Knock knock knock!"
"Knock knock knock!"
When Yuan Weihong was speaking loudly, someone finally couldn't bear it and knocked on the door.
A voice about Yuan Weihong's age came from outside, "Brother Wei, that's enough, isn't it?"
"What business is it of yours how I speak?"
"Have you forgotten your boastful nature? I have a recorded video, want me to play it for you?" Yuan Weihong shouted deliberately at the door.
The voice outside immediately fell silent.
Yuan Weihong ate with even more gusto.
Now, one of his students had a talent for writing research papers that was like a flood breaking through a dyke. The other's growth speed in professional operations was like a steel pipe stabbing a frog[2], not only earning him the reputation of a talent scout in the department but also settling all his 'grudges'.
Translation Notes:
[1] Software used for conducting meta-analyses in medical research.
[2] An idiom meaning extremely fast or efficient.