Daily Life in the Countryside After Being Reborn-Chapter 286 - 54: Help Request from the Online Forum (Part 2)

In the middle of the night, Old Lady Feng hugged a quilt and tiptoed into the living room, finding her son curled up on the small sofa. Being a mother, she felt restless and couldn’t sleep properly in her room.

Despite the heating in the house, it being an old property, some wind still seeped in at night. Just as Old Lady Feng was about to add another blanket to her son, she noticed he was already covered with one that had a faint scent of perfume.

Old Lady Feng glanced at the rooms where Zhuo Feng and his niece were sleeping, didn’t make a sound, and silently returned to her room.

Apart from Zhuo Feng, Zhou Qiang also had a frustrating meal tonight.

Tonight, Zhou Qiang managed to invite a group of directors and chiefs, a challenging task these days, as everyone knows that dining is not for the food but for networking. However, his beloved son, Zhou Ziang, embarrassed him by arriving late in front of all these seniors.

Not only was he late, but during the dinner toast, Zhou Ziang declined every drink, citing a rule from the research institute to maintain sobriety at all times, following the protocol even stricter than civil servants.

Late and refusing drinks was one thing, but today at the banquet, that kid... actually outshone him.

Upon hearing he graduated from a prestigious overseas university, one of the directors started asking him advice for his son, who was poor in studies, on what to do about studying abroad, where to apply for visas, which tutoring centers to use, and advising on banking with Bank of China for funds – Zhou Ziang answered all these questions proficiently.

Not to mention a director from a governmental research institute, upon learning he was from Mengshan Pharmaceutical Research Institute of Cornell University, immediately extended an invitation with a promise of an annual salary of two hundred thousand, which his son flatly refused. He argued that he was still young and might continue his Ph.D. overseas.

"What does he really want, refusing everything without clear intentions whether he wants to stay in the United States or not, I don’t even know how to plan the next step," Zhou Qiang complained in the bedroom.

"What’s there to worry about? Didn’t you hear Director Zhu from the Business Administration say? Our son could start a study-abroad consulting firm. With so many people in Beijing studying abroad, just by setting up the company he could earn more than two hundred thousand a year. Besides, look at the invitation from that research institute, it might sound good being under the Ministry of Agriculture, but they haven’t produced much research output in years," Xi Lijuan retorted, of course, these were things Zhou Ziang specifically told Xi Lijuan after the dinner, hoping she would relay it to Zhou Qiang.

"Humph, he’s calling the shots on everything, let’s just sleep," Zhou Qiang couldn’t argue, so he sulkily quieted down.

At that moment, the light was still on in Zhou Ziang’s room; he hadn’t rested yet as nighttime was his working time.

Since returning to the mainland, Zhou Ziang spent his days looking for various research institutes and concluded that those under Mengshan Company surpassed the domestic ones in standard.

"If all else fails, I might have to return to the United States," Zhou Ziang opened up his work laptop and began dealing with his emails.

Lab affairs were managed by Locke, so he didn’t need to worry too much, just need to check the general progress occasionally. Over the years, his relationship with Locke had evolved from a mentoring to a collaborative one, where they didn’t intrude into each other’s work. This understanding with Locke significantly affected Zhou Ziang’s plans for working in the mainland; after all, finding a comparable partner like Locke in China would be tough.

After checking the emails, Zhou Ziang visited some familiar English websites and browsed forum posts. The internet was a fascinating discovery for him after arriving in the New Continent. Numerous strangers debated over a single issue. The forums Zhou Ziang frequented were famous ones related to botany and pharmaceuticals, many hosting botanists and pharmaceutical experts.

"Hm, a new post? Unanswered yet?" The forum was full of capable people, many posts were quickly resolved upon going live. Zhou Ziang noticed this was a new post by a newbie from the registration name, posted around dinner time, with an IP address from the mainland.

"Hm, it’s about converting traditional Chinese medicine into Western medicine, no wonder many have viewed but not resolved it," Traditional Chinese medicine is a unique branch of botany, and not many in the English forums are skilled in both pharmaceuticals and traditional Chinese medicine, let alone understanding the translations indicated in the post which hint at specific Chinese medicinal knowledge.

"Hangover medicine? And it includes a formula, doesn’t look like a complicated one, considering it’s from a compatriot, let me help," Zhou Ziang took out a piece of draft paper and simply noted down the herbal ingredients listed. Before he could create a modified solution, he first had to purchase those herbs and then test their effects; after all, any medicine coming from his hands couldn’t be ineffective.

On the other side of the internet, Zeng Xuerou was also getting ready for bed and went online again to check if anyone had responded to her post about the medicine recipe she had sent during dinner. After refreshing multiple times over a few hours, she was disappointed to find many views but no replies.

"Is it because Chinese medicine is too obscure, or did I choose the wrong forum?" Zeng Xuerou refreshed one last time and soon, the reply count turned to "1."

"Fantastic," Zeng Xuerou jumped up in joy, wanting to call Xiao Xian immediately, "Someone’s willing to help us improve the medicine, named ’anonymous’?"

Regardless if it’s a criminal or a celebrity, as long as their identity is hidden online and they can help solve the problem, it’s fine. Zeng Xuerou eagerly awaited the "anonymous" person’s next reply. (To be continued. If you like this work, you are welcome to visit Qidian (qidian.com) to cast recommendation tickets and monthly tickets. Your support is my greatest motivation.)

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