CHAPTER 1713: CHAPTER 813: LITTLE THIEF ZHAO SHUAI_2

A night... indulgent...

Early the next morning, Yan Fei dropped his wife off and went to find Professor He.

Comrade Old He saw Yan Fei and immediately pulled a long face. Even the pile of gifts Yan Fei brought didn’t soften his expression. "How long has it been since you came to school? Are you even planning to attend anymore?"

Yan Fei casually handed over a freshly bought newspaper. "Take a look at what I’ve been up to!"

Professor He paused, startled. "Hah! This newspaper’s pretty high-level. Let me see... This has nothing to do with you... this one doesn’t either... this one..."

The newspaper was not a local one—it was from the Capital—but you could still buy copies here.

After rifling through it for a while and finding nothing, Professor He got frustrated. "Just tell me where it is. I can’t find it."

Yan Fei pointed to a corner. "This bit right here."

"Tsk... I thought it was something special. Turns out you just donated two pieces of equipment?" Professor He skimmed through the section and dismissed it. "If you had donated ten or twenty machines, then maybe the newspaper would’ve given you a full-page spread."

"What’s written there is surface-level stuff. The real contributions won’t be made public until a few years later," Yan Fei responded, feeling quite smug. "Anyway, this period of work wasn’t for nothing—I won’t list out all my accomplishments here. I’m actually here to ask for your advice."

Upon hearing this, Professor He immediately understood, nodded with a smile, and said, "Fine, I see you’ve done something proper for once. What’s up? Spill."

"I’m planning to recruit more people and set up another laboratory for drug research. What do you think?"

"Haven’t you pretty much figured it all out already? You need me to help brainstorm where to find people, right?" Professor He correctly guessed Yan Fei’s underlying intention. "So what projects are you planning to work on?"

"One is for cancer treatment, another is for conditions like angina and myocardial ischemia. And the last one... is about extending human lifespan..." Yan Fei hesitated slightly on the third point. He had just added it on a whim, inspired by a project being researched in the Dinosaur World Lab. He was mentioning it now as a way to prepare for the future.

"You..." Professor He was fairly composed when he heard the first two, but when Yan Fei mentioned the third, he almost choked.

The first two research topics were nothing surprising—plenty of labs and companies were already diving into such projects. Although current tech limitations might make any developed drugs less effective, as long as they had therapeutic benefits, there’d be a market. But the third one? That was harder to explain...

The problem with life-extension research in China is simple: mention extending lifespan and people immediately think of one thing—immortality!

Isn’t this the sort of obsession usually held by delusional old men who’ve lost their grip on reality? A kid like Yan Fei talking about researching life-extension drugs? Rural folks would say, "The boy hasn’t even grown enough hair yet, what’s he messing around with longevity for?"

Yan Fei, however, hadn’t thought it through that far. His experimental lab was indeed conducting such research, so it didn’t hurt to talk about it. His priority now was: "Where should I go to recruit researchers for these projects?"

"Of course, the Traditional Chinese Medicine University!" Professor He’s eyes widened. "You’re sitting right next to it, and you don’t even think about approaching them for drug research? What, were you planning to poach people from our own school?"

"Do you have any acquaintances there? Can you introduce me, so I can reach out easily?" Yan Fei relaxed—having connections helped a lot. Since Professor He said getting people from TCM University could work, then it should definitely be worth trying.

"Why would you need acquaintances? Just go straight to their principal—I guarantee he’d roll out the welcome mat for you!" Professor He rolled his eyes hard. "Come on, spit it out. What are you really here for?"

"I just got back—I thought I’d check in on you," Yan Fei chuckled.

"If you have something to say, say it quickly. If not, I’m leaving. In a good mood today, was planning to give some lectures to the students."

"Wait, wait, wait! How about this: since you’re not too busy usually, why don’t you help oversee my laboratory?" Yan Fei, sensing he was about to be chased out, didn’t waste any more time. "Don’t rush to reject me! The lab can be built anywhere you want—whether it’s Sancha River or here—it’s totally up to you. What do you say?"

Sometimes, you just had to throw it out there—what if Professor He actually agreed?

Though his field wasn’t perfectly aligned, with the old man’s connections and experience, Yan Fei wouldn’t need to do much himself. Just set up the lab and place the equipment inside—that would be it. This wouldn’t just be recruiting soldiers, it’d be securing a general!

"You’ve got some nerve." Professor He tucked his folder under his arm and walked out the door. After a couple of steps, he paused. "Go focus on your own work for now. I’ll think about it and let you know later."

"Alright then." Yan Fei stood up and walked him out. "I’ll start by setting up the lab here. The one at home doesn’t have enough people yet but has plenty of space—it can be expanded anytime. Just waiting on you!"

After leaving, Yan Fei went to his academic advisor to check in and extend his leave of absence...

Then, he hopped in his car and called Wang Lei: "Boss Wang, what’s keeping you busy these days?"

Wang Lei replied cheerfully, "Provincial City has tons of construction projects right now, and we snagged a few small jobs—been busy as hell!"

Wang Lei had been worried about being targeted by Young Master Fang’s people, but now that family was struggling to survive, he didn’t have to worry anymore. The Provincial City was booming, and his construction team was swamped—which naturally kept his spirits high.

Yan Fei grinned, "Congrats, congrats. Busy work means you’re making money! I’m thinking about building another lab—do you have anyone who can spare their time?"

"Absolutely, absolutely!" Wang Lei answered without hesitation. "Don’t worry, I’ll even send over the workers who’ve done this kind of project before—quality guaranteed. Just let me know when you want to start, and I’m ready anytime."

No need for contracts or paperwork—his agreement was as crisp as it could get.

The reason was simple: payment speed. For most projects, Wang Lei would have to front some costs, and collecting payment afterward would often be troublesome. But Yan Fei’s projects were always prompt with payments. Given this, even if other jobs got delayed, he’d still prioritize Yan Fei’s work.

Plus, the Provincial City had never lacked workers. With a population of over a hundred million in the province, there was no shortage of manpower. As long as there was a trustworthy employer who paid on time, plenty of workers would be eager to join.

Seeing Wang Lei agree so readily, Yan Fei was pleased too. Since Wang Lei’s workers already had relevant experience, it saved him the trouble of finding replacements. "Come over when you get a chance; I’ll give you the blueprints, and we can discuss starting in the next few days."

As for the permits, Yan Fei wasn’t worried about running into obstacles anymore. Fang Family’s earlier misstep was a lesson to all—those who crossed him didn’t end well. Besides, he was only planning minor projects now, and apart from Young Master Fang, no one really had a reason to cause trouble.

After hanging up with Wang Lei, Yan Fei drove directly to the local police bureau.

As for the nouveau riche who’d put up a $200,000 bounty to catch the culprit, Yan Fei remained unforgettable. When he arrived, he didn’t even need to sign in; they let him drive straight in.

There wasn’t much to handle—just signing his name on a batch of documents.

Then came some follow-up matters. The Fang Family wanted to settle things privately, offering compensation to Teacher Yu to reduce Young Master Fang’s sentence during court proceedings.

But Yan Fei outright rejected the notion.

He genuinely didn’t need their dirty money, not to mention that once a verdict was rendered, whether the Fang Family’s assets would still belong to them was anyone’s guess.

Right before leaving, the station told him another key detail: Boss White, who was still in the hospital, wanted to meet him. Apparently, meeting Yan Fei was part of Boss White’s deal to testify during the trial.

Yan Fei was puzzled—why did this guy want to see him? He was lucky enough to still be alive, and now he dared to make requests?

However, the staff at the station were quite earnest in their approach and hoped Yan Fei would cooperate. For the sake of the case proceeding smoothly, they asked for Boss Yan’s understanding.

Since they were being so sincere, Yan Fei couldn’t outright refuse too bluntly. Besides, he’d be picking up his wife later and had a gap in his schedule. Hearing that Boss White had been transferred to the TCM Hospital, which was conveniently on Yan Fei’s way, he figured he might as well go.

Boss White had been transferred to the TCM Hospital for "conservative treatment" because he was initially assumed to never regain consciousness. His family chose the hospital since it was closer to home. Plus, with a mix of Traditional Chinese Medicine and Western Medicine, they figured there was no harm in trying everything—a "treat a dead horse like it’s still alive" approach. To their surprise, Boss White actually woke up here, which was a pleasant shock.

Arriving at the hospital, Yan Fei noticed there was even a young police officer stationed to keep an eye on Boss White, indicating they weren’t fully confident in him yet. Yan Fei exchanged greetings with the officer and pushed the door open...