Rebirth 1977 Great Era

Chapter 1203 Real Combat Shows True Skill: Elite Class Prodigies Enter Research Institute (Two Chapters Combined)
In the movie "Once Upon a Time in China", the protagonist doesn't use any underhanded tricks. At most, he uses silver needles to puncture acupoints, which can only be considered as using hidden weapons.

As a result, Fang Yan went all out and used the trick of smearing chili peppers on his face.

"And then?" Old Fan asked Xiao Li curiously.

Xiao Li said:

"Dan Haoran's eyes and nose were burning like fire, and he covered his face, howling like a banshee!"

"Taking advantage of this opening, Junior Uncle scurried around to his side like a shadow... *smack!*" Little Li mimicked the dialect's move, slashing with his hand:
"It was a clean and decisive Bagua Palm strike! It landed right on that bastard's temple! The sound... 'boom!' His weight slammed into the ground, sending dust flying! Now it's finally over! He's completely still! If it weren't for Junior Uncle's last two blows, the consequences would have been unimaginable!"

At this moment, Huo Fuguan and Wenwu all said:
"That felt so good! It really felt good! He deserves to taste what it's like to be so unruly!"

"Exactly, that's how you teach someone like that."

Fang Yan picked up the conversation and said:

"There was no other way at the time. Dan Haoran was just too strong to go head-to-head with him. We had no choice but to do this. I hope Master Hai Deng will forgive us for this."

Hai Deng waved his hand and said:

"No, no, no, just now my mind was still focused on parrying moves, but I forgot that the most fundamental aspect of kung fu is protecting people. Young friend Fang was able to protect his master and senior brothers, that's a good skill."

"Young friend Fang's skills were honed through real danger."

“You are the one who knows when to defend, when to advance, and even… when to use less-than-honorable methods.”

"This is not about taking shortcuts, but about being resourceful in real-world situations. It's like treating an acute illness; you can't always think about preparing medicine step by step. When you need to use strong medicine or unconventional remedies, you have to be decisive."

He paused for a moment, then sighed:

"Young friend Fang, your moves, whether they're made of chili powder or ironwood, may look rough, but they're full of sincerity in protecting the person behind you. That's the true soul of kung fu."

He showed a hint of reminiscence and said:

“I remember when I was young, I practiced boxing in a temple. I always wanted to make the moves smooth and beautiful. My master said I was like offering flowers in front of the Buddha, only concerned with appearances.”

"Later, after traveling around and witnessing some things in the martial arts world, I realized that in real fights, there are no such things as just a few strikes and then stopping. If your opponent has used a killing move and you're still thinking about sparring, you're just playing with your life."

After saying that, he looked at Fang Yan and said with a smile:

“My methods may look impressive, but when it comes to real trouble, they may not be as effective as your methods, young friend Fang.”

Feeling a little embarrassed by the dialect, he said:

"Master, you flatter me. Now I think about it myself. At the time, I didn't care about being dignified. All I could think about was making sure that person couldn't stand there anymore. In terms of technique, my few moves were nothing. I just caught him off guard because I reacted quickly."

Hai Deng said:

"A quick reaction is a real skill, and you've also been retaliating in kind. Shan Haoran's methods weren't exactly clean either."

Ding Jian nodded and said:

"That's right, Shan Haoran also started by taking advantage of the situation."

Hai Deng chimed in:

"So what you did, young friend Fang, is fine."

Upon hearing the old monk's words, Fang Yan knew that there was no need for a sparring match today.

As expected, the old monk turned the conversation back to his sparring sessions with others when he was young, and made no further mention of his intention to spar with Fang Yan.

After lunch, Fang Yan asked where Hai Deng was staying.

At that time, there weren't many temples in Beijing. Guangji Temple, which served as the location of the Buddhist Association, was closed for the previous ten years and has not yet reopened. Longquan Temple in the western suburbs (near Phoenix Ridge) still has monks remaining, but it's quite far. There is Fayuan Temple in HD District, but I haven't been there and don't know if it accepts monks from other places.

Fang Yan's plan is that if they haven't arranged accommodation yet, they can arrange it here directly. This way, the problem of food will be easier to solve. After all, they brought so many books with them, and they are also Lao Fan's relatives. It's only right and proper for Fang Yan not to take advantage of them for free.

At this moment, Ding Jian picked up the conversation:
"We've arranged for them to stay at the martial arts school."

“There are rooms over there; one room for each of the three masters is enough.”

Fang Yan asked again:
"What about the food?"

Ding Jian stated:
"No problem, we have plenty of vegetables and steamed buns where we live."

Hai Deng also said:
“We are very satisfied, young friend Fang, you don’t need to worry too much.”

Hearing them say that, Fang Yan felt relieved.

As they exited the Yanjing Hotel, Monk Haiteng stood at the bottom of the steps, twirling the string of polished Bodhi beads in his hand. He glanced up at the sun, then smiled at Fang Yan, who was beside him carrying the large bag of books he had given him:

"Young friend Fang, please stay a while. If you continue to see me off, it will make us seem distant. You go ahead with your business. I will be in the capital for several more days. Let's talk again later."

Nodding in dialect:

"If you are not comfortable with the accommodations, or if the martial arts school needs anything, just send someone to let us know. Whether it's the film set, the hospital, the research institute, or you can just contact Changting directly. It's not difficult for me to find you."

Hai Deng nodded.

He paused in the dialect, then added:

"I will send someone to contact them immediately about the Artemisia argyi from Zhongnan Mountain. I will let you know as soon as I have any news."

“Okay!” Hai Deng nodded.

Then everyone parted ways. Lao Fan, as the nephew, had to see them off, while Fang Yan continued with his own business.

They found Zhao Xiwu with the specimen of Artemisia argyi from Zhongnan Mountain.

As soon as those few dark green mugwort leaves with golden veins appeared, a strong, bitter medicinal aroma rushed into the nostrils.

Zhao Xiwu was taken aback. He then picked up a leaf and went to the window to examine it closely in the sunlight. Golden threads were visible between the veins, and the edges were serrated like small saws. When he rubbed the leaf between his fingers, it had a sticky, oily feel.

“This is good stuff! The leaves are thick and dense, and the oil content is so high it could be used to light a lamp…” Zhao Xiwu took a deep breath, thought for a moment, and said:
“I saw something similar in the Qinling Mountains in 1956. It grew on the shady side of Eagle Beak Cliff. Herbalists called it ‘Golden Scale Artemisia.’ It took thirty catties of fresh leaves to produce one catty of down! Where did you get it?”

Fang Yan recounted the events of the day to him in detail. After hearing about the origin of the object in Fang Yan's hand, Zhao Xiwu took it very seriously.

Fang Yan opened the map of the slope marked in the Dao Men Huo Jiu Jing (Classic of Daoist Moxibustion), and with a withered finger, pointed to the topographical annotations of Zhongnan Mountain.

He then shared his thoughts with Zhao Xiwu.

“The current yield from Zhongnan Mountain is only enough for the temple’s own use. I’m thinking of acquiring similar plots of land in the nearby mountains, using drip irrigation to control the water volume, and then using leaf mold mixed with crushed rock to simulate mountain soil…”

After speaking in dialect, Zhao Xiwu paused for a moment before saying:
“Then I will contact the Shaanxi Provincial Health Department in the name of the research institute and ask them to organize experts to go into the mountains to collect samples.”

This is exactly what Fang Yan wants, he nodded and said:

"Okay! Then I'll leave it to you."

Zhao Xiwu waved his hand and asked Fang Yan:

“This Master Haiteng is quite something. I think we should take some time to invite him over, and then find some people to discuss with him the things he has, as well as the good things he saw during his travels.”

“Okay!” Fang Yan nodded, then added:
"However, Master Hai Deng's medical skills are not actually very high. His knowledge is not comprehensive enough. He belongs to the folk practice school. If we academics want to talk to him, there are many things he doesn't know. The effect of the communication may not be as good as we imagine."

Zhao Xiwu said:
"You don't need to worry about that. As long as we can find out something we don't know, then it's a successful exchange."

He said in dialect:

"So, he's seen quite a lot of strange and unusual things, including Tibetan medicine alone, which sounds quite peculiar to me."

Zhao Xiwu smiled and said:
"Tibetan medicine is indeed very mysterious, but it's not like no one in our hospital understands it. If you come along, you might gain some insights."

Fang Yan looked curious when he heard Zhao Xiwu say that.

He then chatted with Zhao Xiwu for a while before leaving the office.

Then he went back to the research institute for a look, and the people there were already fully engaged in their work.

After assigning their roles in the morning, they started working in the research lab below. Although there weren't many people, everyone was quite busy.

Fang Yan went around and hardly anyone noticed him. A month might be a long time for Fang Yan, but for the group of people in front of him, once the research direction was determined, it was time to start producing results that met international standards.

This is their first shot since returning. Whether they can fire this shot will determine whether they can establish themselves here.

Although this local director is a bit ruthless, he doesn't skimp on the benefits at all.

The food, accommodation, and family arrangements alone are far superior to what my previous workplace could provide.

What's more, they distribute profits directly in US dollars.

Unlike my previous job where there wasn't much difference between doing a lot or a little, here, if you achieve something, the research institute will support you; if you don't, you'll be eliminated.

This place only values ​​strength and results, unlike other research institutes; it's more like the foreign research institutes they've heard of.

As expected, this place was invested in by overseas Chinese businessmen.

On the other side, Fang Yan saw that everyone was getting back on track with their work. He told Huang Li and Zeng Luquan that another group of students would be coming tomorrow, all of whom were Fang Yan's classmates.

Tell them to prepare to insert some people into each group.

Tell the two groups this news when you get off work.

Zeng Luquan and Huang Li agreed.

The students in the dialect class are all experts. Although they are not engaged in research, they are likely to be better than most of the pure researchers here in terms of clinical practice and some traditional Chinese medicine theory.

The entire class grew up under the guidance of renowned teachers from a young age. What kind of value does that have?

Once you get here, you'll be more than capable of being an assistant. If you can learn more, that would be even better.

After making the arrangements here, Fang Yan left.

Back home, Fang Yan began studying the medical book the old monk had given him that day.

Unlike other places, I couldn't understand most of the dialects here... This was the first time I'd encountered this.

Most of the systems of Tibetan medicine and monastic medicine were like gibberish to him, with the gaps between the characters clearly discernible.

He temporarily set them aside and focused on the Taoist medical classics that he was relatively familiar with.

These are still within the scope of conventional Chinese medicine understanding.

But when he opened another unsigned, yellowed, thread-bound booklet, his brow furrowed.

This is a book I didn't understand before.

The first page inside is:
It is used to treat hysteria in women, also known as 'loss of soul'.

method:

In the quiet of the night, he took cinnabar, mixed it with water without roots, and wrote the four characters "Imperial Edict to Soothe the Soul" on yellow paper.

Burn the incense in front of the sick person's bedside, letting the smoke surround their seven orifices, while reciting the "Qingjing Jing" three times.

Take three qian of cypress seed kernels, two qian of albizia bark, and one qian of polygala root, decoct them into a soup, and administer the decoction before burning the talisman.

After the talisman burns out, say: "The soul returns to its proper place, the spirit is at peace and need not be alarmed." The patient will surely wake up the next day. If this method is ineffective, then it is not a cure.

Fang Yan frowned.

Using cinnabar to calm the mind is understandable... but what about using rootless water to keep it pure and untainted by the earth? And what's with burning talismans and chanting scriptures?
I feel this belongs to the category of incantation therapy, which is probably a fusion of Taoist medicine and folk witchcraft.

He scrolled down and found another case: A treatment for incessant night crying in children without any apparent illness. Method:

Prepare three drops of rooster comb blood and drop them into a bowl of clean water.

Under the moonlight, take a green bamboo leaf, dip it in this water, and write "Night-crying star lord, retreat quickly" on the child's forehead.

After finishing the writing, he wrapped the rooster's blood in bamboo leaves and buried it under the peach tree in the east.

The mother was instructed to hold the baby, face east, and silently recite the baby's nickname ninety-nine times. The crying stopped that night.

Yan rubbed his chin; this completely defied his understanding of "theory, method, prescription, and medicine."

However, he did not easily deny it, but instead fell into deep thought.

Is the baby crying at night due to fright?

But the key point is probably 'instructing his mother to hold him and recite silently,' which is considered by the local dialect to be a very strong psychological suggestion and emotional comfort.

The mother's focused intention and the sense of security in her embrace may be the core therapy beneath the surface of the 'spell'.

As for the moonlit night, the eastward journey, and the ninety-nine times... they seem more like rituals used to strengthen the mother's confidence, which in turn affects the child's emotions.
Not really sure.

Turn the page further, and you'll find even more unusual things:
The spirit that possessed him was manic and talking nonsense.

This was clearly copied by a different person; the handwriting is different from the previous ones.

The method described above is:
Prepare one black dog tooth (the dog must be three years or older) and one piece of lightning-struck wood (preferably jujube wood).

Grind dog teeth into powder, mix with strong liquor, and have the patient take it all at once. Burn lightning-struck wood to ash, then mix it with yin-yang water (half hot, half cool well water) and administer it to the patient.

At the same time, four strong men, holding willow branches dipped in realgar wine, whipped the ground around the patient (without touching the patient's body), and shouted in unison, "Wraiths, begone!"

It should be performed at noon when the yang energy is at its peak.

Goodness, if I did this in Beijing, I'd probably get a warning from my boss that very day.

This thing looks like the secret recipe of the slovenly doctor Chen Zhao.

It's even more mysterious than that.

Lightning struck the wood... Willow branches whipped to the ground, roaring in unison...

He watched it several times.

Trying to find a place that can explain it.

If black dog tooth powder is mixed with strong liquor and taken immediately, could it be that the strong liquor itself has a numbing or stimulating effect on the nerves?
Grind dog teeth into powder and take orally...

And lightning-struck wood ash...is the psychological suggestion greater than the actual therapeutic effect?
As for the willow branches striking the ground and the angry shouts in unison... it seems more like creating a huge momentum, using intimidation and psychological pressure to interrupt the patient's manic state?
In any case, this prescription is highly questionable! Perhaps the core of it lies in using the midday environment and the intimidation of the crowd to impact the patient's mind.

After studying it for a while, Fang Yan realized that no matter how much he studied it, he couldn't put it into practice.

It would be better to study Tibetan medicine or monastic medicine.

At least some of the methods used in Tibetan medicine and monastic medicine are still quite valuable for reference.

Fang Yan then picked up the book again and started reading the parts that were more difficult.

The next day soon came.

After studying it last night, I think I've figured out some of the basic logic behind the dialect.

However, this kind of thing still needs to be learned systematically. Learning it from the books that Hai Deng has will only result in a piecemeal approach. Reading books is like playing a puzzle game, requiring all sorts of guesses and deductions to reconstruct their underlying foundation.

Next, you should try to distinguish them in a way that you can understand.

That would be a waste of time. Fang Yan has a lot on his plate right now, so after last night, he plans to wait until Vice President Zhao Xiwu invites Master Hai Deng and then invite someone from the research institute who knows Tibetan medicine over so he can ask them questions.

At this moment, Fang Yan felt a sense of regret for not having enough knowledge when he needed it. The things he wanted to know could have been found online with a little effort in his previous life, but in this era, it required much more effort.

Why wasn't I curious back then?
After breakfast, Fang Yan went to Peking Union Medical College Hospital for rounds. Today, another overseas Chinese businessman was discharged from the hospital.

Every time a patient is discharged from the hospital, everyone feels both happy and sad. They are happy because the patient is finally discharged and can receive a red envelope (cash gift), but sad because there are no more overseas Chinese businessmen to replace them, and each one who leaves is one less.

If there were no overseas Chinese businessmen left that day, everyone's income would probably drop significantly.

So in the past few days, people have been asking about the dialect and when the next batch of overseas Chinese patients will arrive.

The dialect wasn't really clear either; it was all thanks to Director Liao's arrangements.

Currently, this is still one of the main tasks of the Overseas Chinese Affairs Office. They need to gather enough people before bringing a group back, trying to make the scale as large as possible, while maintaining grade restrictions and scarcity, so as to achieve some of the goals of promoting investment.

It can't be arranged casually.

Dialects can only appease everyone:

"Don't worry, Director Liao is even more concerned about the arrangements for the overseas Chinese businessmen than we are... The Overseas Chinese Affairs Office has already sent a message, and the next batch of patients is being coordinated. They are expected to arrive by the end of the month, and the number will be even greater than last time."

“We are affiliated with Peking Union Medical College Hospital. We have cured so many overseas Chinese businessmen. When they go back and spread the word, how many people will want to come to us? Besides, we earn our living through our skills, not just by accepting bribes... Even without overseas Chinese businessmen, do you think we don’t treat patients in our daily outpatient and inpatient services?”

A young nurse muttered, "That's what they say, but the red envelopes are real..."

He said in dialect:

"Giving red envelopes is an extra token of appreciation, not something to be taken as the main job."

"In that case, I'll talk to the dean and we'll open more outpatient appointments in a while. This will not only help us accumulate cases, but also let more people know about our department's capabilities."

"If you're really that capable, why worry about not having patients? Don't just look at overseas Chinese businessmen, maybe patients from all over the country will come to us in the future."

When managing affairs in a dialect-based manner, you can't just let the subordinates do as they please. It's best to give them something to do; if they have nothing to do, they'll start thinking about all sorts of things.

As for overseas Chinese businessmen seeking medical treatment, there will definitely be even more people after the reform and opening up.

The dialect is definitely a factor, but the level of medical care here also needs improvement. If you want to get paid, you need to improve your skills.

After finishing her work here, Fang Yan went straight to the research institute.

I used to have to go to the Yanjing Hotel to see Ma Wenying, but now that girl is at Fang Yan's house. She no longer studies her perfumes and has started learning Japanese mechanical engineering vocabulary.

She was still bothered by the fact that she had only helped halfway through last time, and now she was determined to get her revenge.

Dialect doesn't matter. Ma Wenying is basically normal now. As long as she's not sent back to her home in Haojiang, she's a normal person.

Her brother sends money every month, and they are also discussing an investment project to build a factory with Director Liao. Fang Yan considers it as helping the country's development.

Today was the day our classmates went to the research institute. Except for a few who went home and couldn't come, and two who were seeing patients at Peking Union Medical College Hospital, everyone who could come came.

However, after Fang Yan arrived at the scene, he saw that although everyone in the class had come, three people were still missing!
Professor Wang Yuchuan's three students, Xie Chunrong, Zhao Qingkai, and Chen Wenwei, did not attend.

"Old Meng, have you forgotten about them?" Fang Yan asked Meng Jimin, who was in charge of making the notification.

"Oh dear! I completely forgot. You told me to notify everyone in the class, but I only notified those in our class."

"It's alright, it's alright..." Fang Yan waved his hand, saying that Meng Jimin was not to blame for this.

Fang Yan shouted to Su Yue, who was standing to the side:

"That... Su Yue!"

Su Yue was originally transferred here as He Puren's secretary, but Old He went to the research vessel at sea, so she is now working at the research institute as an assistant to Zeng Luquan, Jin Shiyuan, and Huang Li. Anyone can give her orders.

Anyway, I did all sorts of odd jobs, like writing reports and submitting them.

I don't feel anything when she's around, but others can fill in even if she's not.

Fang Yan simply told her to call the three people over, since they were all from the same sect.

Upon hearing this, Su Yue immediately agreed and hurried off to contact the person.

Then Fangyan began to gather everyone together.

Start calling the roll.

"Li Zhengji, Xiao Chengzhi, Cheng Baogui, Song Jianzhong, Lei Lian, Zhu Lina, Fan Changting, Yan Yifan, Du Heng, Yang Jingxiang, Zhang Yanchang, Wang Zhijun..."

After checking everyone's names one by one, apart from the two from the hospital, only Yuan Qingshan, who was returning to Maoshan, and Xu Ping, the propaganda committee member, were absent today.

Just as Fang Yan was about to start speaking, Su Yue arrived with the Lucky Three Treasures.

After asking them in dialect if they had nothing else to do, they were allowed to join the ranks.

Next, Fang Yan started speaking, talking about his participation in the research institute's project that day.

At nine o'clock in the morning, Fang Yan stood in the corridor on the first floor of the research institute, his gaze sweeping over the assembled elite class.

Their faces showed a mixture of excitement and curiosity.

The three disciples of Wang Yuchuan, Xie Chunrong, Zhao Qingkai, and Chen Wenwei, who had just been hastily summoned by Su Yue, were now almost all present.

These are all Fang Yan's loyal followers.

Meng Jimin and Huang Li stood a little further back, while Zeng Luquan was organizing several documents not far away.

Fang Yanshen walked up to the crowd, clapped his hands, and everyone's attention turned to him, and the noise disappeared.

He said in dialect:

"Everyone's here. I've gathered you all here today for one thing: to find you some work to do and to let you learn something real!"

He skipped the pleasantries and got straight to the point:
"The research institute's key project has been launched. It has been divided into two groups, with the main focus on the international standardization of 'Bone Injury Relief Patch' and 'Sanhuang Qingwen Capsules'. The goal is clear: within one month, we must come up with a preliminary solution that is presentable and can withstand the test of the international market!"

He paused, his gaze sweeping across everyone's faces with an almost tangible intensity, and emphasized:

"This is not just empty talk; it's a real national mission with a hard target of two million US dollars in foreign exchange earnings! The core team of the research institute consists of top talents drawn from all over the country by the ministry, as well as returning experts whom we have painstakingly recruited. They possess exceptional skills, but you are also my comrades-in-arms, classmates, and shareholders who have placed high hopes on me!"

"The elite class isn't called that for nothing!"

His words, tinged with pride, caused all the elite class members, including Li Zhengji, to straighten their backs subconsciously.

"The purpose of sending you here this time is very simple: first, to learn! Open your eyes wide, prick up your ears, and do more observation, listening, and thinking! Make sure you understand and master how others analyze pharmacology, design experiments, overcome difficulties, and tackle the tough nut of international standards! This is a practical opportunity that money can't buy!"

Fang Yan's sharp gaze swept across the room, exuding a leader's aura that seemed to pierce through people's hearts. He said, "Secondly, keep a close eye on things! I require each of you to keep a detailed daily log of the work of the project team you are involved in. What did you do? What were the difficulties? How was the communication and collaboration within the team? Even... were there any signs of anyone hiding things or undermining each other?"

When he mentioned "undermining each other," he emphasized it more, and Zeng Luquan and the others immediately thought of Helian Zhang's public expulsion the day before.

“Don’t be afraid of offending people. Report any problems directly to me or other cadres! But there’s one thing,” Fang Yan suddenly emphasized, his eyes flashing with a sharp edge:
"Your task is to observe, learn, and record!"

"Unauthorized interference with professional judgment is not allowed, and you must not cause trouble for key personnel! You are now excellent interns, competent assistants, and, more importantly, the eyes and ears I trust!"

Hearing this, everyone understood.

Fang Yan paused and continued:
"The mission is urgent, and time waits for no one."

"Once you're in the team, your schedules will be aligned with the project! No lateness or early departures, and absolutely no unexcused absences! The shifts at Peking Union Medical College Hospital can't be delayed, so coordinate between the two sides. Bear the hardships yourself! Don't let me hear anyone complain about being tired! Understand?"

There was a moment of silence, then everyone responded in unison:
"understand!"

PS: The basic chapter of 6000 words has been updated.

(End of this chapter)