In Sumeru, pretend to be a scholar

Kaveton immediately showed a hint of envy: "Indeed, there are, but most of them are scholars of the Life Theory and the Element Theory. Their research can usually be transformed into good technologies, such as the medicines researched by the Life Theory school and the alchemical tools researched by the Element Theory school..."

"But we're different. I'm from the Mysticism school, we're in construction, we can't exactly patent architectural drawings, can we? And there are mechanical drawings, mostly related to weapons, which are also prohibited by our school. As for you Epistemology school, you're in the realm of writing and language, it's even more impossible for you to patent these things..."

Registering text and images as patents is not possible in Teyvat.

“So, our funds either come from someone else’s assistance or from the Order of the Church,” Kavi said, shaking his head.

In fact, the school of subtle argumentation is slightly better than the school of epistemology in this respect.

Because the Myo-ron faction is indeed funded, a cooperation was reached between the two parties after a certain wealthy businessman came into contact with the Myo-ron faction.

The Wise Theory faction will provide great merchants with all sorts of wonderful tools, while the great merchants will provide sufficient funds.

In comparison, the translation market reserved for the intellectual school is too small, barely enough to earn a living for the school's [Tiriyas].

Chapter 52 Invites Kavi to Join

"I want to start a project, create something, apply for a patent, and make money."

After discussing the funding for the Faculty Academy with Kavi, Wang Yan directly shared his thoughts.

If you casually revealed your entrepreneurial project before you time-traveled, you'd basically be considered a fool.

But things are different now. This is Teyvat, and the person opposite me is Kavi.

Putting everything else aside, Wang Yan still has great faith in Kavi's character.

"A money-making project?" Kavi's eyes lit up with curiosity. "What kind of project? Do you need my help?"

Wang Yan briefly explained his toothpaste project, its uses, and then added, "As far as I know, there is no such thing as toothpaste in Teyvat. Although Mondstadt has mouthwash, Liyue has tooth powder, and we Sumeru have herbal juice, these things are not very effective."

"Therefore, I think that developing a toothpaste specifically for oral hygiene is very promising."

After listening to Wang Yan's words, Kavi fell into deep thought.

Wang Yan didn't disturb him and let him think.

After a while, Kavi came to his senses and nodded to Wang Yan: "If this product can really achieve the effect you described, then it certainly has great potential."

Oral care, including dental care, may seem ordinary, but it is very important to humans.

Many people may have heard that dentists abroad earn a lot of money and are generally in the middle class of society.

But many people may not know that the domestic toothpaste market is also booming, with the retail market exceeding 50 billion yuan and still growing.

When people live a good life, they pay attention to details.

"I only have a very basic formula right now. If I want to make a breakthrough, I might need someone's help," Wang Yan said frankly.

His homemade toothpaste formula was acceptable, but it was easy for others to overtake him through unconventional methods.

This thing is too simple. Any bio-theorist scholar from the Church could easily make a better one.

Moreover, Wang Yan was well aware that going it alone usually didn't end well. Bringing in more people and forming an alliance of interests might generate more benefits.

Kavi nodded slightly: "Then you'll need at least one scholar of the bio-theory to provide support on the safety of the products. If the products involve alchemy, it would be best to also find a scholar of the monistic theory... Hmm, what are you thinking?"

Kavi did not offer to join, but instead passed the topic back to Wang Yan.

“It’s pretty much what you thought. I plan to invite Dr. Zakaria to join the project later. However, toothpaste production doesn’t involve alchemy, so we don’t need anyone from the Plain Theory school,” Wang Yan said.

“Dr. Zakaria… well, if we can persuade him, it certainly is possible. With his reputation and ability, he can definitely improve your toothpaste and promote its widespread use,” Kavi nodded.

As the chief physician of the House of Health, Zakaria enjoys a prestige among the Sumerians that most scholars cannot match.

The public cannot recognize how great some scholars' inventions are.

But they certainly know where to go and which doctor to see when they are sick.

"Kavi, I'd like to invite you to join us as well," Wang Yan said, extending an invitation.

Kavi was taken aback: "Me? What can I do?"

"Haha, originally I wanted to develop the technology and then license it out, but now I realize that with you here, we can totally develop another production line," Wang Yan said with a smile.

As one of the most famous scholars of the Mysterious Theory school, Kavi even has the qualifications of a sage of the competing school. With his expertise in mechanism, he could easily have put in a little effort to create a toothpaste production line from production to packaging.

Once Kavi joins, Wang Yan can skip technology licensing and focus directly on production. Although it will require more effort, the profits will naturally increase.

Kavi didn't agree immediately; he hesitated for a moment.

“Forget about joining, I’ll help you out,” Kavi said.

His overly kind nature kicked in again. He felt that joining in might take away Wang Yan's profits, so he preferred to work for free and help out as if he were helping a friend.

Wang Yan immediately said irritably, "No wonder Elhesen always says that you... what is yours, you should fight for. I've practically put it in your mouth, and you won't eat it?"

While Wang Yan could gain more benefits from Kavi working for free, this would also be a blow to Wang Yan's reputation if word got out.

Those who know him well understand that it was Kavi's own choice, but what about those who don't? They might think that Wang Yan used Kavi!

Before Kavi could speak again, Wang Yan waved his hand and said, "Alright, it's settled then. I'll go back and find Dr. Zakaria. We'll take charge of product development, and you can handle the production line."

In fact, there is also the issue of raw materials, but for scholars, this is not a problem because the Academy has enough sources of raw materials.

Kavi's lips moved slightly. He knew that Wang Yan was trying to give him a stable income, and he felt a touch of gratitude.

As an artist and a scholar with an aesthetic appreciation, Kavi may have had some personality flaws, but he was indeed a sensitive person.

Overwhelmed with gratitude, her gaze towards Wang Yan softened even further.

As they chatted, the waiter brought the food, and they ordered two more bottles of sake to eat and drink.

...

That night.

Kavi returned to Elhesen's house in a daze. He pushed open the door and entered. In the living room, the homeowner was sitting and reading a book.

Elhesen glanced at Kavi and frowned slightly: "Are you drunk?"

"Of course not, I only drank one bottle," Kavi denied vehemently, a smile spreading across his face. "I was intoxicated by my own state of mind, not by the alcohol."

Al-Hysen's lips curled slightly: "I heard your school spent the whole day arguing about funding. So, you got the lion's share this time?"

“…How come even the Epistemologists know about our Theory of Wonders?” Kavi muttered under his breath, then shook his head. “No, the school’s funding is mainly used for housing reconstruction in impoverished areas of deserts and rainforests.”

"Then what is this?"

“I met Wang Yan today, and he invited me to join one of his projects,” Kavi said with a smile.

Kavi wasn't loose-lipped; he just knew that Alhesen wouldn't go around blabbing.

"Wang Yan's project?" Elhesen frowned slightly. "Didn't this guy just become Erosan's student? Erosan already gave him a project?"

It's quite normal for professors to assign projects to students at the Academy of Educational Sciences.

Generally speaking, once one has accumulated enough [Tasita], his [Hapanda] teacher will give him a simpler project to complete on his own.

If the [Tasita] performs well enough, then the [Tasita] will be qualified to apply for projects independently and will not need to be affiliated with the mentor.

But this is usually a privilege reserved for those with seniority.

As for Wang Yan… Elhesen knew that this [Tuosaduo] was even specially approved by the Little Auspicious Grass King, so he had no qualifications whatsoever.

After thinking for a moment, El-Hysen shook his head: "Fine, then you do a good job. Wang Yan is better than those who screwed you over."

After saying that, he looked at Kavi, only to find that the guy had already fallen asleep.

"Ha, it's true what they say, people get drunk on their own, not on the wine."

Chapter 53 Happy Cooperation

The next day.

Wang Yan went to Erosan's house to continue learning from her.

Perhaps for personal reasons, Falushan disliked going to the school's classrooms and preferred to teach Wang Yan at home instead.

During his spare time from studying, Wang Yan also told Falushan about his plan to develop toothpaste technology to earn research funding.

Compared to Kavi, Erosanne's reaction was much simpler. She simply said "I understand" and told Wang Yan that he could tell her directly if he needed any help.

She had no intention of interfering with student projects.

“Oh, by the way, if you’re sure you want to do this project, write a project application later and you can apply for funding,” Estelle said.

Wang Yan was taken aback: "Apply for funding from our intellectual school?"

His project has nothing to do with the epistemological study of language and writing.

“Hmm… As a scholar, the most important thing you need to learn is how to apply for funding.” Erosanne said solemnly and earnestly, “I know you started this project to solve the funding problem, but as long as you work hard, you can’t do without the funding from the Faculty of Education.”

Listening to Erosan's words, Wang Yan felt something was off, as if he were experiencing a time-traveling experiment where a laboratory was applying for funding.

"Your toothpaste certainly doesn't seem to have anything to do with our intellectual school, but... whether it does or not is up to us to decide."

"Just say that your formula comes from an ancient book, and this research is to confirm whether the translation of the ancient book is correct. The essence is to study the text in the ancient book, and the toothpaste is just a side result. In that case, wouldn't this be a standard epistemological topic?"

"Even one of your incidental results can be converted into economic benefits, proving that your project is very successful, and you can apply for more funding next time."

That's it, that's the taste.

Wang Yan confirmed that this was indeed a case of using fabricated pretexts to apply for funds.

I never expected to see something like this even after traveling to Teyvat.

Wang Yan's expression changed to one of utter defiance, and he said, "Forgive me!"

Eros nodded in satisfaction: "Hmm, not bad, you have good comprehension."

As scholars, we should apply for funding from the Faculty of Education with great enthusiasm!

"By the way, how long will this project take?" Erosanne asked again.

Wang Yan was taken aback, then did some calculations: "I plan to go see Zakaria this weekend. If all goes well, things will be on track soon."

Erosan nodded slightly: "Then you'd better hurry up... Here's what we'll do, you can focus on your own things for the next few days. We received a message from the desert saying that another ancient site has been discovered. We're going to go and take a look next month, and it may take one or two months to investigate."

Field research?

Wang Yan didn't expect that he would run into it so soon.

"Are we going to go deep into the desert?" Wang Yan asked curiously.

Going with Erosham shouldn't pose any safety issues, so Wang Yan is more curious about how far they'll investigate.

Erosan shook her head: "It's not very deep, probably a few dozen miles past Aru Village. I guess it's just a small ruin."

If it were truly a major discovery, it wouldn't have been accomplished by just one or two scholars.

"Okay, then I'll take care of my business as soon as possible," Wang Yan nodded.

“Then let’s continue the lecture. I’ll talk to you about the mechanical artifacts commonly found in ancient ruins.” Erosham brought the topic back to the lecture.

"The most numerous relics in Sumeru are those left from the era of the Crimson King. Among these relics, the most numerous are primordial energy mechanisms. Generally speaking, these mechanisms are connected by primordial energy. As long as one understands primordial energy, one can move freely within the relics of the Crimson King..."

Elushan spoke eloquently, while Wang Yan listened attentively.

……

Afternoon at Health Home.

Falushan gave Wang Yan an early holiday.

After grabbing a quick bite to fill his stomach, Wang Yan came straight here.

Zakaria clearly still remembered Wang Yan's words.

“Mr. Wang Yan, um... you’ve entered the Order of the Church? Haha, that’s really good.”

Seeing Wang Yan dressed in the scholar's robes of the Order of the Church, and with the Intellectualist badge on his hat, Zakaria smiled and greeted him.

"You're here to see Shahak?"

“No, I came to see you, Dr. Zacharia.”

Wang Yan shook his head, denying it.

He and Dixia had visited several times before and seen the patient with the Yin-Yang technique tattooed on his body. Under Zakaria's treatment, the patient had improved a lot and no longer fell into a coma so easily.

It is said that Zachariah found a way to drive the Yin-Yang spells instead of life force.

However, the research is still unstable, and Shahak still needs to be monitored and cannot leave Zakaria's laboratory.