Chapter 26: Chapter 26 What's that, how much does it cost?_1
December 3
Zhou Ning, wrapped in a down jacket, stepped briskly towards the office.
He stamped his feet vigorously, shaking off a layer of snowflakes; Doctor Liu sat beside the heater, humming an obscure Peking opera tune, smiling at Zhou Ning.
"Cold, isn't it?"
Zhou Ning nodded, rubbed his hands together, took off his down jacket, and quickly started to mop the floor. The office was small, so it didn't take long to clean. After washing his hands, he returned to the office, poured himself some hot water, and moved close to Doctor Liu. He grabbed a pinch of red tea from Doctor Liu's stash and tossed it into his cup before dashing away.
Doctor Liu pretended to reach out, laughing as he scolded:
"You little miser, you're always stealing my tea leaves. I took off two months and four tins of tea leaves have vanished. You don't even think of showing some filial respect to your master. Everyone else drives to work in this big snow, and you, holding a driver's license, walk. Get a car; I could bask in your reflected glory and hitch a ride."
Zhou Ning shook his head like a rattle-drum, blew on the foam in his cup, and took a sip. The scalding tea instantly traveled down his throat to his stomach, dispelling the chill.
In fact, many of his colleagues in the squad, as well as classmates, owned cars.
He wasn't opposed to the idea, but with a monthly income of just over three thousand, and although their district hadn't implemented transparent salary policies, what, was he supposed to ask his uncle or grandpa for money?
They had paid for his education and bought him a house; Zhou Ning was aware of that. He couldn't take everything for himself, especially since his uncle had a son and a daughter, almost his age.
"I don't buy one because I can't afford it."
Doctor Liu shook his head.
"The bonus has been handed out, you know you should take your master out for a meal, right?"
Zhou Ning laughed.
"That's no problem, as long as it's under two hundred, you can pick any restaurant."
"What a sin. I have been stingy all my life, only to find I've trained a disciple who is even worse."
Liu Yongxin raised his hand and gave a resigned look as he lamented.
"I learned it from you."
Doctor Liu was somewhat speechless, and as the two chatted off and on, the door suddenly opened and a white-haired old man peeked in, glancing at Doctor Liu, then fixing his gaze on Zhou Ning.
"Are you Doctor Zhou Ning?"
The old man seemed to have a cold, his voice was hoarse. Zhou Ning quickly got up, a bit puzzled, and nodded.
"Yes, I am Zhou Ning. May I ask who you are..."
The white-haired old man smiled, entered the room, and excitedly rushed over to Zhou Ning, grabbing his hand and shaking it vigorously.
"You probably didn't recognize my voice because my throat is hoarse, but I am Lu Chengxuan, from the Chemistry Department at Qindao University. We spoke on the phone before, do you remember?"
Zhou Ning suddenly understood.
"Doctor Lu, what brings you here?"
Doctor Liu came closer, still with a little limp, and smacked Zhou Ning on the back.
"What are you standing around for? Get Doctor Lu a seat. Oh, why don't you two use the meeting room for your discussion?"
Doctor Lu waved his hand, not minding Zhou Ning's awkwardness. He found a chair for himself, tossed down his coat, and put a briefcase on the desk, taking out a laptop.
"We can talk here. I was in such a rush I didn't inform Zhou Ning in advance, which might have perplexed him a bit, but I understand that, please don't blame him."
Doctor Liu rubbed his nose, appearing to understand that the focus of scholars was really on their work. He knew about Mr. Xu arranging a meeting with the professor, and clearly Doctor Lu's visit was related to this.
Indeed, Doctor Lu opened a file marked in English, alternating between English and Chinese segments.
Zhou Ning was pulled by Doctor Lu to sit next to him, staring at the Chinese part, and read it through. It was Zhou Ning's previous paper he had sent to Doctor Lu, but now it included detailed experimental procedures and data, with some journals listed at the bottom Zhou Ning didn't recognize.
"Doctor Lu, has this paper been published?"
Doctor Lu nodded, taking a deep breath, trying to suppress the tension within him.
"A month ago, after we finalized our paper and combined it with the experiment records, I sent it to a friend. Unexpectedly, it got published in the Forensic Medicine Journal a week later. I've been through a series of checks and had minor surgery, so I didn't turn on my computer. Yesterday when I returned to the office and checked my email, I found a message from the Journal of Forensic Science International wanting to reprint the paper, and I wanted to ask if you agree."
Zhou Ning was taken aback.
"Journal of Forensic Science International?"
Doctor Liu's hand rested on Zhou Ning's shoulder, revealing a slight smile.
"Hold on, could you explain that in a way that I can understand?"
Zhou Ning quickly explained.
"It's an international forensic science journal, currently the most authoritative forensic journal internationally. It often reprints cutting-edge research and discoveries from various countries. But as far as I know, foreign research on skid marks is much more advanced than ours, why would they reprint this?"
In truth, Zhou Ning felt very uncertain, considering that the content of this paper was largely based on a portion of a forensic science textbook he had read, including the experimental steps, possible findings during the experiment, and the comparison methods.
This thing could directly bring money or honor, but if some big shot were to whimsically invite him to give a talk, wouldn't that be a social suicide live on stage?
Doctor Lu looked at Zhou Ning, who, instead of looking excited, seemed worried and troubled. This caught Doctor Lu off guard and dampened his excitement considerably.
However, after a moment's thought, Doctor Lu realized something. A young forensic doctor who could come up with such research didn't want his life disrupted; otherwise, he wouldn't have the peace of mind to continue his research.
"Got it, don't worry. From now on, I'll email you in advance about these matters to avoid causing you any trouble. If someone wants to interview you, we can do a phone interview or an online video interview, how about that?
But Doctor Zhou, there's one thing we need to agree on. If you have papers in this field in the future, they don't have to be related to chemistry. Anything related to your forensic expertise is fine, you can contact me. I'll help you find a lab, and we can conveniently carry out the project.
Of course, if it's very specialized or even requires purchasing large experimental equipment, I will coordinate everything. We can discuss it all."
Under Doctor Lu's rapid-fire approach, Zhou Ning was stunned, his mouth slightly open and eyes wide, exactly with that expression.
⊙0⊙
Clearly, Doctor Lu had misunderstood him. He probably thought Zhou Ning wouldn't agree, so he was going all out to woo him, hoping for future collaboration. After all, people often reach a bottleneck in their scientific research at a certain age and need new directions.
Zhou Ning rubbed at his thin wallet. He had heard that publishing papers could be expensive, and when he heard Xu Dayuan agree so readily earlier, he thought he could avoid the cost. But now Doctor Lu himself had come, bringing such good news. If he didn't take the initiative to say something, it might seem ungrateful.
"This paper is co-authored by us; Doctor Lu doesn't need to ask for my opinion. I agree to the reprint, and as for the expenses..."
Doctor Lu raised his hand and stood up. Doctor Liu, who was watching, was completely confused, glancing back and forth between the two and rubbing his chin.
Just then, the door was pushed open, and a tall figure entered from outside, stomping his feet and looking up to see Doctor Lu. His face showed surprise, and he quickly went forward to shake hands.
"Doctor Lu, how come you're at our police department?"
"Captain Xu, this Doctor Zhou you introduced to me is really impressive..."
Doctor Lu repeated what he had just said, with a face full of self-blame. He felt that if he hadn't been hospitalized during this time, the paper would have already been published. Such an honor was not something that could be achieved by merely publishing a paper domestically.
Xu Dayuan wanted to interrupt, but Doctor Lu slapped his hand away and continued:
"You don't understand. In terms of these technologies, we're all playing catch-up. Being proactively contacted by such a journal and negotiating a reprint is a sign of how much they value us. For our country, this is a big deal."
Zhou Ning was numb. If initially it was just from the ankles down that he couldn't feel, now he was numb from the neck down.
Damn it, I'm screwed.
Somebody save me!
Isn't this just making trouble for myself?
I never intended to do all this. I was just hoping to get a paper published for free, so I could use it when applying for a professional title in the future. Now, all of a sudden, things have escalated beyond my control.
Xu Dayuan, Liu Yongxin, and Doctor Lu all looked at Zhou Ning, who knew there was no use hiding. He couldn't back down now; they had obviously read it and he couldn't give less than what was due.
"Doctor Lu, I have a question. How much does it cost to publish papers in Forensic Medicine Journal and Journal of Forensic Science International? I... I'll go to the bank and transfer it to you right away!"
Doctor Lu was stunned.
Doctor Liu's eyes widened in disbelief as he looked at Zhou Ning, his face nearly plastered with question marks.
"You're not on the same page. I understand everything now; you agree and they publish it, and you probably even get a royalty fee."
Zhou Ning's eyes lit up, and his signal strength surged to full.
"Wait, royalty fee? How much money will they give?"
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