After being separated from my family, I became a darling of the military region thanks to my medical

Li Changqing shook the copy of the contract so loudly that it rattled, then turned to the third page and pointed to the seventh clause.

"President Wang, take a look at this!"

"The publication date is determined unilaterally by the agent based on market conditions."

His finger jabbed heavily into the line of small English text.

"Do you know what that means? It means they can release it whenever they want, or they can hold off on releasing it if they don't want to!"

"A three-year exclusivity period! They have every right to keep our paper to themselves, not translating a single word or publishing a single page!"

President Wang smirked, his face full of disdain.

"Comrade Changqing, aren't you being too sensitive? They actually spent $60,000 in foreign exchange, why are they holding back publication? Are they just wasting money?"

Li Changqing's heart tightened: "I feel like there's a huge conspiracy going on here. I have to make a call!"

As he spoke, Li Changqing grabbed the crank-operated telephone from the table.

Seeing this, President Wang slammed his hand on the table, displaying his official authority: "Li Changqing! What are you trying to do? This is an internal business decision for our company. Who are you going to complain to? You have no organization or discipline!"

Li Changqing pretended not to hear, vigorously cranked the handle a few times, and connected to the switchboard.

"Connect me to the special clinic at the Beicheng Military Region General Hospital and find Dr. Ye Zhen!"

The call was transferred twice, and during the long three minutes, President Wang was so angry that he was panting heavily.

Finally, a young woman's cool voice came through the microphone.

"I am Ye Zhen."

"Dr. Ye..." Li Changqing's throat felt like it was stuffed with a wad of tattered cotton, his voice dry and hoarse.

"I am Li Changqing, the editor-in-chief of the Chinese Journal of Surgery, the same Li Changqing who personally received the manuscript from you three weeks ago."

There was a moment of silence on the other end of the phone, then a steady voice said, "I remember you, Editor-in-Chief Li. What is it?"

"Dr. Ye, I didn't keep an eye on the door!" Li Changqing gripped the black bakelite stethoscope tightly, the veins on the back of his hand throbbing. "This morning, someone claiming to be a representative from Cambridge University Press came to the editorial office and signed an exclusive overseas copyright agency contract with our president—a three-year deal!"

"I was in a meeting and wasn't there. When I came back, the seal was already affixed, and the original contract had been taken!"

Li Changqing vigorously wiped his red-rimmed eyes with the back of his hand, his voice trembling.

"Dr. Ye, your 53,000-word paper is the culmination of the hard work of 37 senior experts! We're afraid our technology won't be able to leave the country for at least three years... The translation and publication rights are all in their hands. If they shelve it, we'll be helpless no matter how long they keep it!"

There was silence on the other end of the phone.

Li Changqing held his breath, waiting for the fury on the other side, waiting for this genius doctor in his twenties to point his finger at him and berate him.

President Wang, standing nearby, slammed a large enamel mug down on the table and scoffed, "Li Changqing! Stop spreading alarmist rumors! We generated $60,000 in foreign exchange for the country—that's an achievement! Don't try to pin this on me!"

Just then, Ye Zhen's voice came through the receiver again, not angry at all, but completely flat:

"Editor-in-Chief Li, what's the name of the person who came to sign the contract?"

Li Changqing was taken aback for a moment: "His surname is Lin, and his name is Lin Qi."

"How much is the copyright fee stated in the contract?"

"Sixty thousand US dollars."

A very soft laugh came from the other end of the phone. It wasn't a bitter laugh, but a calm laugh as if watching a clown jumping around.

"Editor-in-Chief Li, that's not Cambridge University Press at all."

Li Changqing's forehead tightened, and he raised his voice: "What did you say? Not Cambridge?"

Ye Zhen's voice came through clearly:

"That's Gore & Co. The long-established foreign company that makes artificial heart patches, the one that sells a single piece for two thousand pounds."

"Last week, they sent a technical team to Beicheng to question my surgical technique, but they were completely outmatched by us on the operating table, and they even left their original testing equipment with me."

"These people are spending $60,000 to buy your overseas rights, not for publication at all, but to shelve your work!"

"As long as they suppress the English version for three years, they can maintain their multi-million dollar market for high-priced supplementary films. Do you understand?"

Upon hearing this, Li Changqing was so angry that his skull felt like it was about to explode.

"These beasts..."

He slammed his hand on the glass plate on the table, his eyes bloodshot. He instinctively roared, "Dr. Ye! It's all my fault for not keeping a close eye on things at the clinic! Sixty thousand US dollars! The most advanced medical technology in all of China, just like that, was ruined by sixty thousand US dollars!"

President Wang, who had been beaming with pride, froze instantly when he heard the words "Gore Company," "shelved," and "market protection."

He sprang up from his chair, his face pale, and shouted, his voice trembling with fear, "What are you yelling about? What Gore Company? His business card clearly has the Cambridge stamp on it! They were paying with real US dollars!"

Ignoring him, Li Changqing choked back tears as he spoke into the phone, "Dr. Ye, I, Li Changqing, am so sorry! I'm so sorry for the hard work of those thirty-seven senior experts! I've become a sinner in the history of Chinese medicine! I'll go to the Ministry of Health right now, find a lawyer, and even if I have to take the case to the International Court of Justice, I'll tear up the contract!"

"Editor-in-Chief Li," Ye Zhen interrupted him decisively.

"Calm down and listen to me."

Li Changqing, panting heavily, gripped the phone tightly.

"Did you accept the $60,000 check?"

Li Changqing glanced at President Wang: "I've accepted it. The check is right there on the president's desk."

Like a frightened bird, President Wang clutched the check tightly to his chest: "Want a refund? No way! This foreign exchange has already been deposited into the account!"

Ye Zhen said calmly on the phone, "Fine, I'll accept it without any guilt."

Li Changqing was dumbfounded: "Dr. Ye?"

"They practically offered them the $60,000; nobody held a knife to their throats. It's free meat, so why not take it?" Ye Zhen's tone was as casual as instructing a patient to take a few pills a day. "Go buy two pigs for your editorial department to improve their meals, and use the rest to give everyone a bigger bonus."

Li Changqing stamped his feet anxiously: "Oh dear Dr. Ye! This isn't about the bonus! The exclusive copyright has been bought out, so your hard work won't be able to reach overseas!"

"Editor-in-Chief Li," Ye Zhen interrupted him again, her tone carrying an undeniable arrogance, "who told you that China's top medical technology has to rely on foreigners to translate and publish it in order for the world to see it?"

Li Changqing was stunned and didn't react for a moment.

At this moment, Ye Zhen was standing in front of the window of the special clinic of the military hospital.

Through the glass, you can clearly see the stone table in the southeast corner of the small playground.

The three people were squatting by the stone table, their heads pressed tightly together, completely disregarding their appearance.

Williams, a lifetime fellow of the Royal Society of Cardiothoracic Surgery, wearing reading glasses, held a well-worn Xinhua Dictionary and gestured with "ah-oh-e" sounds to pronounce the famous words.

Professor Anderson frantically took notes in his notebook with a pencil, and then handed them to Williams for verification.

Professor Green, holding a copy of the Chinese-English Medical Dictionary, was excitedly muttering to himself as he compared it with the original Chinese version of the journal published by Ye Zhen.

These three foreign experts, whose combined age is nearly two hundred, are arguing heatedly over the pronunciation of a rare Chinese character.

Ye Zhen watched this scene, her tone as calm as if she were chatting casually:

"Editor-in-Chief Li is right here on the playground of the military hospital where I am now. A lifetime fellow of the Royal Society of Cardiothoracic Surgery, he is squatting on the muddy ground flipping through our Xinhua Dictionary."

"Squatting with him were two top professors from University College London."

"The three of them have been arguing for a full twenty minutes over how to recognize a single Chinese medical term."

On the other end of the phone, Li Changqing fell completely silent.

Ye Zhen continued:

"They're not here for a perfunctory exchange. Professor Green has volunteered to stay for six months. He originally had twelve questions in his notebook to nitpick, but after watching one of my surgeries, he crossed them all out himself."

"These three British medical giants, all in their sixties, now listen to my lectures every night, learning to read and write like first-graders."

"Do you know why?" Ye Zhen paused.

Li Changqing gripped the phone, his heart pounding.

"Because they discovered that the world's most advanced and cutting-edge knowledge in this field is only available here."

"There is no English version, no German version, and no Japanese version; there is only a Chinese version."

"The best way to learn a skill is to sit down and diligently study Chinese!"