Chapter 594 - 609: Mentor

The plan for the traditional Chinese medicine factory was proceeding in secret. Cheng Jun remained in the village for the time being, awaiting the next move.

The allure of Luo’s Pharmaceutical was too great. Its countless traditional Chinese medicine formulas and blood disease medications held a fatal attraction.

They were obsessed with Huaxia’s traditional medicine but had no way to plagiarize it on a large scale. Many of the formulas were constantly changing, passed down by word of mouth.

Traditional Chinese medicine was different from Western medicine; it wasn’t something you could master just by attending a school. It required hands-on instruction to appreciate the nuances of every prescription.

Treatments were tailored to the individual, not based on a one-size-fits-all answer.

The bait had been cast; now it was just a matter of waiting for the fish to bite.

While waiting for the big fish to take the bait, An Ning began her teaching journey at Beijing University, becoming colleagues with Yu the Elder.

While the revelation of An Ning’s status as a patent mogul might not have drawn much public attention, the academic world was watching her every move.

So when a few PhD students learned they would be studying under An Ning, they were so excited they couldn’t sleep all night.

This was An Ning!

A titan of the academic world!

To put it simply, countless patents meant countless connections. With a mentor like her, they could practically see a clear path to the top.

Three PhD students—two men and one woman—all received a message from An Ning: be on campus, on time, tomorrow morning.

The next morning at six o’clock, the early winter sky was still dark.

The three PhD students arrived at the Beijing University athletic field on time, their hearts filled with excitement as they awaited their idol.

"What do you think Professor An Ning wants us to do?"

"My guess is she’s bringing us to watch the sunrise. The dawn of a new day, a vision of the future."

The two men tilted their heads up at a forty-five-degree angle, lost in their fantasy. The woman next to them, however, sounded less optimistic. "I don’t know... I get the feeling Professor An Ning isn’t that... um... romantic."

’She’d almost called the idea a bit soft,’ she thought, ’but decided to be more tactful since it was their first meeting.’

The two men, busy contemplating their futures, didn’t agree with her.

"What else would we be doing on the athletic field at this hour?"

"My thoughts exactly."

Their opinions divided, the three of them walked onto the field.

Lampposts were illuminated at regular intervals across the vast athletic field.

Beneath the lamps, people were reading, reciting texts, and jogging. It was nowhere near as deserted as the three had imagined.

"Um, do you guys know which one is Professor An Ning?"

"I’ve seen her photo, but there are so many people, I don’t know where to start looking."

The two men looked to the woman beside them. Her eyes scanned the field before she pointed to a spot. "I think that’s her."

All three looked in the direction she pointed.

"Let’s go!"

It was the only spot that was relatively quiet. Many of the joggers were giving it a wide berth.

As the three of them approached, An Ning, who had been holding a horse stance, opened her eyes and checked her watch.

"You’re not late. A good start."

"Let’s start the warm-up."

With that, An Ning rose from her horse stance and began to stretch her arms and legs, clearly preparing to exercise.

The three exchanged glances, not daring to speak. Her presence was a little intimidating.

In the end, the three students awkwardly mimicked An Ning’s movements from behind. At her command, their small, four-person running squad joined the morning activity on the Beijing University athletic field.

The three following her, breathing heavily with even heavier footsteps, completed the first lap.

"I’m exhausted—finally—"

"Keep up."

Just as one of them was about to collapse onto the ground, he bounced back up. Supported by his peers, he managed to keep up with An Ning for the second and third laps.

By the end of the fourth lap, the three of them were too breathless to speak. Sweat poured down their faces as they stood with hands on their hips, waving their arms in surrender. It felt like this was going to be the death of them.

"This is our first meeting. I trust you’ll remember me. I’m An Ning."

"Alright. Same place, five-thirty tomorrow morning. And remember to wear comfortable shoes."

Without even seeming out of breath, An Ning jogged away.

The three students stood there, resting for a good ten minutes before any of them could utter a word.

"That’s it?! No questions about our research? No guidance at all?"

"Who knows? I have to get to class. I’m going to go crawl back to my dorm."

The female student let out a long sigh. "I guess she was just putting us in our place."

"Huh? Does she need to put us in our place? I already revere her completely!"

The three couldn’t figure out An Ning’s thought process, but they didn’t dare disobey her. They would be back to fight another day.

The next day at five-thirty, An Ning once again had the three of them run four laps.

The third day, at five, she had them run five laps.

Every day after that, at five in the morning, she would have them run five laps.

This continued for half a month. Not a single academic question was discussed—only running.

After two weeks of this, the three of them finally couldn’t stand it anymore. They blocked An Ning’s path to question her.

"Professor An Ning, when can we ask you questions?"

"Yes, about our research?"

An Ning stopped in her tracks and looked at the three of them. "Tell me," she asked, "why do you think I’m making you run?"

The three of them pondered her question.

"I think Professor An Ning wants to teach us that where there’s a will, there’s a way."

"I think it’s to forge our willpower, so we can be more focused in our research."

"I think... it was all leading up to today, to make us take the initiative and question you. Professor An Ning is trying to teach us that on our future path of scientific research, we must question boldly and seek proof carefully."

As soon as the woman finished, looks of regret appeared on the two men’s faces. They’d clearly given the wrong answer.

An Ning looked at the three of them, a pained expression on her face. "I was originally going to tell you one thing. But after hearing your answers, it has become two."

"First, don’t overthink things. Second, I just think you’re out of shape and need to exercise."

With that, An Ning shook her head, chuckled, and turned to leave.

Her answer left the three students dumbfounded.

"Keep up! You’ve all got brains, how about you use them?"

An Ning’s voice drifted back to them. She turned to look at the three and said, "I run with you every single day. Did it never occur to you to ask questions while we’re running? The thing about questions is, if you don’t ask, you’ll never get an answer."

A wave of realization washed over the three students behind her, and they scrambled to catch up.

An Ning watched their pace and nodded. "Look at that. We can add another lap tomorrow."

The three sour expressions on their faces brought a wide smile to hers.

’Being a professor is actually pretty fun,’ she thought.

It was perfect timing, as she’d been a bit bored lately with no active research projects. Her plan to pursue someone close to home had been put on hold because said person had gone abroad.

The mere thought of it annoyed An Ning. Jiang Xia had gone abroad.

And with Jiang Xia abroad, her standard of living had taken a nosedive.

She wasn’t sure if it was because she’d been spoiled by Jiang Xia’s cooking, but now, food made by anyone else always seemed to be missing something.

"Come on, let’s take a look at the papers you’ve written."

At An Ning’s words, the three students behind her lit up with excitement.