Study Monster Cultivation System

Chapter 135 - 134 Is this also within your calculations?

"Could it be that I forgot to account for the mass of the surface dish..." Shen Yiyun slightly panicked as she adjusted her glasses and pressed a few buttons on the electronic scale. Then she swallowed and looked at the display again.

The trembling worsened.

Her expression tightened too.

"This... This can’t be right... How could it be this much..." Shen Yiyun trembled as she stood up and questioned Shi Yang, "You clearly added one milliliter too much piperidine, or did I see it wrongly?"

"That’s fine." Shi Yang still didn’t have the courage to look directly at his senior sister, only revealing a plump side profile for her to admire, "But it wasn’t an extra milliliter, it was 0.78 milliliters."

Shen Yiyun, grabbing her head in astonishment, exclaimed, "Each drop is 0.05 milliliters, how could you possibly be accurate to 0.01!"

"Then what’s the use of a high-precision syringe?" Shi Yang then glanced at the syringe on the table, "Within 0.5 milliliters, I can do it by hand."

"Even so..." Shen Yiyun, leaning on the table with both hands, asked unwillingly, "Why 0.78? Based on what?"

"Hmph." Shi Yang suddenly looked up, his mouth slightly raising, "Feel."

"Tss..." Shen Yiyun’s glasses almost fell off, nearly bursting out with a curse, "You can do that based on feel?"

Caught in the middle, Li Zheng felt the atmosphere between the two was extremely frightening, seemingly even more terrifying than a showdown at the Summit of The Forbidden.

What’s more terrifying was,

he didn’t quite understand.

No matter, it’s not embarrassing to ask.

"This, I’m a bit green... Just going to ask a little." Li Zheng walked up to the stage, picked up the bottle of piperidine reagent, "In this reaction, piperidine acts as a catalyst, right?"

Shen Yiyun answered, "Yes... Normally, the molar ratio of piperidine to diethyl oxalate should be 1:1, converting that, in our reagent concentration, the volume ratio should be 1:10, that is, for every 10 milliliters of diethyl oxalate, 1 milliliter of piperidine corresponds."

"That’s just the most conservative strategy." Shi Yang laughed, "Being conservative can’t achieve high yield."

Shen Yiyun stared at the white crystals in front of her, "The problem lies here, increasing the dose of piperidine, ostensibly, it can indeed increase the yield, but the alkalinity and carbon anion will also increase, which in turn would cause it to further react with the intermediate product, coumarin-3-acetic ester, to form an amide, greatly lowering the yield."

"So, the heated reflux must be quick," Shi Yang, flexing his fingers, scoffed coldly, "Condensing the standard one and a half hour heating process to within an hour, you know, heated reflux is dynamic, with the internal pressure and the reaction fluid constantly changing, thus using only a conservative constant temperature can’t achieve the fastest reaction rate, only my constant observation and dynamic adjustment make it possible."

"This... This was in your calculations?" Shen Yiyun gasped, "I thought you were just rushing for time..."

"Indeed rushing for time, but this isn’t calculation, it’s feeling." Shi Yang emphasized again.

"Feeling..." Shen Yiyun struggled to comprehend, "How can a chemical experiment rely on feeling..."

"You just haven’t done enough of them," Shi Yang retorted.

"..." Shen Yiyun cursed quietly, rage making her pound the table.

I... haven’t done enough?

Barely a month into my master’s program... Stuck in the lab by my advisor... Working 10 hours every day...

And that’s not enough?

For the first time, Shen Yiyun felt like hitting someone.

In Li Zheng’s eyes, a serene senior sister, was gradually evolving into an irritable older sister.

But at the same time, Li Zheng was desperately soaking up the scholarly aura spouting out amidst Shi Yang’s bold declarations.

A truly brilliant chef cooking, isn’t about rigidly following a standard procedure.

He would adjust his cooking technique and the amount of seasoning dynamically based on the freshness of the ingredients, their tenderness, the feel of the cookware, the type of oil used, etc.

These adjustments couldn’t possibly be quantified by calculations.

It’s feeling, only feeling!

Only someone immersed for years, consistently striving for self-improvement, unwilling to settle into some easy routine, always challenging oneself, like a God Chef, could develop such instincts.

In comparison...

Li Zheng looked towards Shen Yiyun, who was gasping for air by the table.

Although the senior sister was also one in ten thousand,

she was shackled by the repetitive heavy work in the lab...

She gradually conformed to procedures and stopped thinking.

Enjoying the convenience of shortcuts, she ignored the growth that came with thorns.

Senior sister,

You,

have already lost.

"But... But it can’t be this much..." Shen Yiyun stared dead at the crystals, "The biggest product loss in this experiment occurs during one step, where it’s necessary to wash with 50% ethanol, but at the same time, the ester will also dissolve in the ethanol... This product loss in this step is unavoidable."

"I, of course, know that." Shi Yang methodically walked toward the wall, silently tapping on a small refrigerator, "A lazy person will never see the sunrise."

Shen Yiyun glared suddenly, "Ethanol... You chilled it???"

Li Zheng clapped his hands together.

Brilliant.

As the temperature decreased, the reaction slowed down, but its impact on the washing effect was minimal.

At the same time, it maximally preserved the precious esters.

Brilliant.

"Good thing ethanol has a low freezing point," Shi Yang lifted his glasses, "Any other questions, senior?"

Shen Yiyun gradually lowered her head, her eyes unfocused: "No... no more."

This guy, he’s only in his second year of high school...

My National Gold Medal, is it really so insignificant...

Four years of undergraduate.

Two years as a graduate student.

What have I been doing?

For over a year, working 10 hours a day in the lab.

What am I really doing?

Me, at Ji University Chemical Institute...

Am I really so insignificant...

Just as she was on the verge of breaking down, Li Zheng came over just in time.

"Shi Yang is indeed terrifying, but I believe, senior, that you also have talent," Li Zheng sighed gently, "But treating the experiment as just work must make it boring, right?"

Ah.

Shen Yiyun groaned inwardly.

Yes, I don’t know when it started.

I hate experiments the most now.

Just finish today’s tasks and that’s it.

My mind is filled with nothing but eating and sleeping.

This is us.

The group of people known as research livestock.

"I... I’m not worthy of teaching you..." With her glasses off and head hanging, Shen Yiyun sighed somberly, "I’ll go talk to the mentor, let him find a doctoral senior brother."

"Don’t, Shi Yang is not ordinary. Even if the mentor comes, he might suffer," Li Zheng said passionately, "Senior, even though he doesn’t need you, I do. At least for the next few days, take a break, don’t work in the lab. Just stay here, start from scratch, teach me bit by bit, and let’s try to find the joy of chemistry together. Wouldn’t that be wonderful?"

Ah.

Shen Yiyun was moved once again.

If it’s only you.

That would be wonderful.

Then, Shen Yiyun rubbed her face, put on her glasses, and tried to muster up a teacher’s authority.

"Junior, I... I am very strict," she said, avoiding Li Zheng’s gaze.

"Why else would I come to Ji University if not for strictness?"

"Ambitious." Shen Yiyun then turned to look at Shi Yang, and instantly, a layer of frost covered her face, "I can’t teach you, you should leave."

"???" Leaning against the refrigerator, hand on his forehead in the pose of a chemistry adept, Shi Yang nearly fell over.

Damn it, why?

Aren’t girls supposed to be attracted to strong ones?

Am I not strong enough?

Then he looked at Li Zheng and Shen Yiyun huddling together, tenderly tidying up the lab equipment.

Shi Yang suddenly understood.

It’s the maternal instinct!

The maternal instinct of a senior sister to protect the weak!

Thinking about it, all those popular male idols, don’t they all look like delicate, soft babies?

Is there an idol who is a tough, rugged man?

Damn it.

Good job, Li Zheng.

Acting so weak, turns out it’s just another player’s tactic.

Is this... is this also within your calculations?