Chapter 21: Thesis 1

Time passed like a fleeting horse, and in the blink of an eye, Li Yifei had been studying traditional Chinese medicine under Professor Xia for a full month.

For Li Yifei, this month was a golden period of rapid knowledge accumulation and swift skill enhancement.

However, for his senior peers, it was a grueling, pressure-filled stage bordering on isolation.

Li Yifei’s astonishing aptitude for learning and his diligent dedication propelled him forward at an extraordinary pace in mastering the knowledge and skills of traditional Chinese medicine.

Every day, while his senior peers were still grappling with basic theories and common diagnostic and treatment methods, Li Yifei had already delved deep into the core contents of classical medical texts and developed unique insights into complex diseases.

He devoured various medical classics with insatiable curiosity—from the Huangdi Neijing to the Treatise on Cold Damage and Miscellaneous Diseases, from the Compendium of Materia Medica to modern research works on traditional Chinese medicine—each book he studied repeatedly, extracting its essence.

In class, the questions he raised grew increasingly profound, often leaving his senior peers bewildered, and even Professor Xia, a nationally renowned expert in traditional Chinese medicine, sometimes needed a moment’s thought to provide a comprehensive answer.

Watching Li Yifei’s continual progress, Professor Xia felt both gratified and troubled. Gratified because she had encountered a prodigy in traditional Chinese medicine once in a century, one who, given time, would surely shine brightly in the field; troubled because at Li Yifei’s pace, it wouldn’t be long before all the knowledge she had could be completely drawn out.

What troubled Professor Xia even more was Li Yifei’s insatiable thirst for knowledge. His questions often touched on the cutting edge of traditional Chinese medicine theory and interdisciplinary research, posing a great challenge to her own knowledge base and teaching ability.

After a month of arduous study, Li Yifei had already reached a level of mastery and integration in traditional Chinese medicine knowledge and skills.

Whether it was foundational theory, herbal prescriptions, diagnostic techniques, or acupuncture and massage, he could skillfully grasp and flexibly apply them all.

Yet, traditional Chinese medicine is a vast and profound discipline, and further growth would require years of accumulated clinical practice and experience.

For Li Yifei, however, the knowledge he possessed was already sufficient to meet his needs. He did not aim to become a professional physician but sought to use traditional Chinese medicine to safeguard the health of himself and his family, while hoping to apply his skills to solving practical problems in his future work.

Having comprehensively mastered the knowledge of traditional Chinese medicine, Li Yifei began contemplating his future plans. He asked Professor Xia whether he was qualified to take the licensing examination to become a practicing physician.

After a moment’s thought, Professor Xia said that once Li Yifei obtained his graduation certificate next year, she would be willing to recommend him for the exam. With her eminent status in the traditional Chinese medicine community, her recommendation carried great weight, and many usual restrictions could be relaxed for him.

This was thanks to Professor Xia’s long-standing lineage, extensive connections, and deep networks within the field, enabling her to provide outstanding disciples with more growth opportunities.

Given Li Yifei’s exceptional learning ability and solid knowledge foundation, Professor Xia made an important decision: she would no longer continue to guide him personally.

Initially, Professor Xia and two other professors had jointly devised a training plan for Li Yifei, estimating that he would need to study under each professor for at least two years to complete his education smoothly.

Although it had been mentioned before that Li Yifei might graduate with both bachelor's and master's degrees next year, that was merely a preliminary plan contingent on many conditions.

If Li Yifei failed to meet the requirements during his studies, he would still need to follow the traditional "4+2" model to complete his degree.

Now, however, his performance had far exceeded expectations, forcing Professor Xia to reconsider the training scheme.

She faced a thorny problem: how to negotiate with the school to create a special precedent for Li Yifei’s graduation? Reflecting on the initial plan devised by the three professors, Professor Xia couldn’t help but lament that it had been a troublesome “bad idea.”

At this moment, Li Yifei was still immersed in the joy of his academic achievements, utterly unaware of the professors’ dilemmas and plans. He simply believed, as Professor Xia had said, that he would smoothly graduate with both degrees next year.

In his previous life, having studied at an ordinary institution, he had never witnessed such a flexible training model at a top university, nor had he given much thought to the complexities involved.

He had no idea that graduating with both bachelor’s and master’s degrees after just one year of study was nearly unprecedented in such a rigorous academic environment.

In truth, this was a deliberate strategy by the three professors, who hoped that by setting such seemingly lenient expectations, they could assess Li Yifei’s true abilities and development potential across multiple disciplines.

If he truly demonstrated exceptional talent and strong potential, the school would fully support his development; if not, they would advise him to focus on a single discipline and advance steadily.

Having completed his clinical training under Professor Xia, Li Yifei returned to his dormitory, marking the end of this phase of study.

At that moment, he recalled the task assigned by Professor Lu—to write two graduation theses. Li Yifei understood this was a crucial test of his academic ability and an opportunity to showcase his research achievements.

After some consideration, Li Yifei settled on the topics for his two papers.

For the first, he planned to write a relatively straightforward article on the economic impact of real estate development in the coming years, aiming to analyze the current state and trends of the real estate market and explore its multifaceted effects on the macroeconomy and social development.

For the second paper, he intended to delve deeply into the current global economic situation, boldly predicting a possible world economic collapse next year and its profound consequences for national economies.

Drawing on his previous life’s extensive experience in economics and his thorough study of numerous economic texts in this life, Li Yifei found the first paper on real estate economics flowed effortlessly.

He approached the subject from multiple angles—supply and demand, policy regulation, financial risks—combining concrete data and case studies to elaborate on the close link between the real estate industry and economic development.

Before long, a well-structured, detailed paper took shape.

However, he faced significant challenges writing the second paper on a potential global economic collapse.

Predicting such a catastrophic event is an extraordinarily complex and sensitive topic that demands abundant, reliable data and rigorous logical reasoning.

To ensure scientific rigor and credibility, Li Yifei consulted a vast array of domestic and international economic data, research reports, and academic literature, conducting in-depth analyses of the economic structures, monetary policies, and international trade practices of major global economies.

He also paid close attention to international political dynamics, geopolitical conflicts, and technological developments that could impact the economy.

Throughout this process, he continually revised the paper’s framework and content, meticulously scrutinizing every argument and evidence to ensure they were well-founded and persuasive.

During these days of writing, Li Yifei often lost sleep. The dormitory lights frequently stayed on until late at night as he alternated between intense writing, thoughtful contemplation, and fact-checking on his computer.

He knew these two papers were not only crucial to his academic performance but also a comprehensive test of his knowledge base and research abilities.

He was eager to demonstrate his economic insight and talent to Professor Lu through these works and to lay a solid foundation for his academic path.

As time passed, Li Yifei made steady progress on his theses. He looked forward to their completion and felt confident about his future studies and research.

Meanwhile, Professor Xia remained busy negotiating with the school regarding Li Yifei’s training and graduation matters, while the other two professors were about to face the consequences of their original decisions.