Chapter 54

"No. I don't agree."

In the meeting room beside the laboratory, Professor Lin addressed the man opposite with visible anger. "Putting petals into the toner is absurd. All it will do is destabilise a formulation that is currently stable."

Li Lan sat at the far end of the professor's side of the table with an expression that didn't know where to settle. Today was Keyan's acceptance review, and after Dr Zhang's presentation their research people had said they were very satisfied with the toner.

The researchers on both sides had been getting on perfectly well, and then the man opposite the professor spoke — Keyan's product manager, by his own introduction — and delivered a shock to the laboratory's side with his first request: fresh calendula petals in the finished product.

Hearing it, Li Lan thought: well now. Professor Lin had assumed a joke, and then, as the man went on with increasing seriousness — and above all when he said appearance was worth a small sacrifice in efficacy — he had lost patience and said what he said.

Which reminded Li Lan that in her last life Keyan's calendula toner had indeed contained petals. A good many people complained that the petals got in the way and that it was full of preservatives, and a good many others thought it looked lovely and satisfyingly natural. Evidently the decision had already been taken.

"Professor Lin, we've little choice. The calendula line is a mid-range product for us, and it has to have a selling point." The product manager's voice rose too. Dealing with research people was exhausting — no consideration of the market whatsoever. Effective, yes. What use is effective if it doesn't sell?

Keyan had only just entered the Chinese market and had to establish itself quickly, which required something conspicuous to catch the consumer's eye. The high-end products needed no work, being established abroad; the low-end weren't worth much effort; everything depended on the mid-range.

"And why is improved hydration and soothing action not a selling point? No calendula toner on the market performs like this one." The professor gave no ground.

"Calendula hydrates well, yes. But the market is full of hydrating products. We must have a selling point of our own."

"Setting aside what fresh petals do to the effect, they can't be kept in a product for any length of time," said Dr Zhang. Fresh petals rot.

"Then add preservative," the manager said without hesitating.

"Absurd. Sacrificing efficacy for appearance, and now preservatives on top of it." The professor was angrier still. He had no objection to preservatives as such — it depends what for — and doing it for a useless piece of decoration crossed a line for him.

Getting nowhere, the manager had accumulated some temper of his own, and remembering the professor's standing in the field, produced a smile. "Professor Lin, there's no need to be hasty. We can discuss it. Simply add this one requirement on top of the specification we gave you — hydration needn't be quite so high. That's hardly difficult."

The professor said nothing and stood up, his face cold. "Let's leave it there. I have a class shortly, so I'll excuse myself. Xiao Zhang, you'll handle the rest. Our experiments are finished and the contract is discharged. What follows is nothing to do with us."

And he left, and the rest of them looked at each other. What exactly did that mean? Dr Zhang spoke first. "Professor Lin's temper is what it is. I hope you won't take it amiss."

Having been dealt with so publicly, the manager was scarlet, and held himself together. "Not at all. Professor Lin is busy, quite understandable." He said it, and even Li Lan, habitually slow to read people, heard the anger in it at once.

Dr Zhang had a good deal more patience than the professor — whose meaning was plainly: we have done everything in the contract, you have the product, do what you like with it, and don't come back for more research.

He could hardly contradict him, and having talked it through, Keyan had to accept the product as delivered. The decision had been taken after the contract was signed, after all, and with the professor unwilling to continue there was nothing they could do but find another laboratory willing to take it on or carry on in-house.

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After they'd gone, Dr Zhang and the rest of the team went to the professor's office. He looked up. "Have they left?"

"Just now."

He made a noise, still angry. "Had I known they'd ask for that, I'd never have taken the project. Businessmen chase profit — as researchers we cannot behave like them."

Knowing his mood, Dr Zhang said nothing further rather than add fuel. Their part was complete; what Keyan did next was not their concern.

Sure enough, after a couple more remarks the professor turned to the group. "The calendula project being finished, has your team got arrangements for what's next?"

Dr Zhang again went first. "Professor, I've a few questions about my thesis topic."

He nodded. "Yes — stay behind afterwards and take me through where the experiments have got to."

The two postgraduates then raised their own degree work. Li Lan and the other undergraduate had no separate projects and nothing to report.

Li Lan did have one thing to raise in advance. She put up a hand, and when he looked over, said, "Professor, I may need to go home early next week."

It was the end of May. Peking University breaks up early and the end-of-term exams were under a month away. As somebody sitting in she could sit them or not without consequence — but working in a laboratory, particularly one like his where there was a stipend, leave required a proper reason, and the money would be deducted.

Dr Zhang remembered that she'd mentioned it days ago. "Ah — yes, you said you were going back to sit the entrance exam. Quite right, it's the twenty-fifth already, it's barely any time off."

Which is how the others learned why. One of the postgraduates was curious. "You've already got your place. You don't need to go back and sit it."

Li Lan was faintly embarrassed. Was she to say she had a thing about the entrance exam?

The professor saw it and laughed, rescuing her. "Li Lan is still a high school student. How many high school students don't want to sit it once? Perfectly understandable. Go and do well.

"Oh — and the later stages of the calendula project were led by you. After the exam, try writing a paper on it and let Dr Zhang read it. A core journal shouldn't be a problem, and if it's well done it might go further."

At which the other three looked at her with open envy. If he said so, a core journal was assured, and the odds on something better were good. A first-authored international paper before she had even formally enrolled.

Alongside the envy there was some private satisfaction: they weren't first author, but as project members they'd be second, and if her paper did land well, second author was nothing to complain about. It filled out one's research record.

Li Lan nodded. Some of the key figures couldn't be described in detail because of the contract, but there was a good deal in the underlying principles worth writing about.