Chapter 16 - Orchids, like his majesty

Zhang Yi was studying his older literature to figure out how he sped up the test for the previous outbreak he fought against:

-This is strange, I used exactly the same components, but it only took a different mix ratio between the coarse and the fine powder. This somewhat increased the speed of the reaction.

As he has a limited supply of that water he brought from the river, and the samples should be made exactly with the same medium to be verified, he used very small cups:

-I'll have to keep track of the concentrations used in each cup to make sure I get the right solution.

He tries for hours. He progressed a lot, a new composition has reduced the test time from 24 hours to just 30 minutes, a 4800% improvement, but it still too long for him:

-Half an hour still way too long, it would take hundreds of containers to store individual samples in a medium town, people also will have to accurately keep track of them. 

After trying many different combinations, he can't work out a way to reduce the time of the test to less than 30 minutes:

-This is good, but far from ideal. I think some component is missing, there is no way I could not achieve the same result using exactly the same compounds. 

He then goes downstairs. Yu Lexuan gets up and moves towards him:

-Hi, Zhang Yi, any news?

-Yes, my prince. I got to speed up my test to 30 minutes...

-That's impressive, a 48 times faster test!

-Yeah... but do you remember when we got it to only 3 minutes? 

-That test using dry, milled orchids?

Zhang Yi stops:

-Yu Lexuan... Yu Lexuan! You saved us!!!

-I.. what?

Zhang Yi hugs him:

-This is the compound that is missing! I forgot to annotate that on my books... But you managed to remember.

-Well... I was used to referring to our majesty as an orchid when I kissed him because he really loves the purple color.

-Fortunately, this plant is very common and easy to find. Let's call Ding Qi and ask him for some.

-Right.

Yu Lexuan goes to the door, and calls Wang:

-Wang, please. Call Ding Qi if you can.

Wang gives a thumbs up and moves away. It does not take long until he meets Ding Qi:

-My majesty, Yu Lexuan wants to talk with you...

-I was going to visit him. Thanks.

Ding Qi reaches the guesthouse. Before Yu Lexuan and Zhang Yi bow, he says:

-Hi, no need for formalities. Do you have anything to say to me?

- Ding Qi, Zhang Yi developed a new test that is much faster, but we want another compound he hadn't brought with him.

-Sure, you can ask me anything. 

-We want some dry, milled orchids. It has to be only the petals.

-Ha, easy, we use it in our cuisine! And, talking about it, I'll need Zhang Yi to talk to my counselors. They refused everything I told them...

-I can do that for you, Ding Qi. But, first, I want to validate my test.

-Right. 

Ding Qi quickly finds a container with the milled orchid. He brings it to Zhang Yi. He mixes a small amount in a solution and puts it to the test. The result came out in about a minute. Zhang Yi celebrates:

-I not only managed to get my test down to 3 minutes, but it is now only about a minute, it was perfected! - He smiles.

 

-This is nice, Zhang Yi, I'm so proud of you! Feng Long will be so happy!- Yu Lexuan hugs him.

Ding Qi smiles:

-Well, how is it supposed to work on people?

-I'll need a drop of blood, I'll try it now.

Zhang Yi taps a tiny hole on one of his fingers using a sharp needle. He lets this drop fall inside another container with the solution ready to be used. Nothing changes:

-It says I'm not infected, with is probably right. Please, Yu Lexuan, let me do it for you and for Ding Qi.

Yu Lexuan offers his left hand. Zhang Yi puts another container below it, pierces a tiny hole in one of his fingers carefully until a drop of blood falls down the cup. Again, nothing changes.

He does the same for Ding Qi. The solution also doesn't change color:

-That's good news, no one here seems to be infected. 

They smile at each other. Zhang Yi annotates the right ratios he needs to replicate the test:

-We can now make it in larger quantities, but I only have enough powder to test about 1000 people. This is not enough to test everyone in the city, but we can send more to Huangshan when we come back home. 

-I'm happy knowing it, Zhang Yi. Huangshan will be grateful. 

-Before we proceed, I need to test it in the hospital. I need to be sure the results are exactly the same, so we know the test is accurate.

-This is a dangerous thing to do, Zhang Yi.- Yu Lexuan puts a hand over his shoulder. 

-Maybe, but has to be done. Given the test is so fast, I'll expose myself for a very small amount of time. I'll need a completely new set of clothes, so my ones are not infected.

-I can provide it for you.- Ding Qi smiles.

Good, so let's get it done. The faster we go forward, the better.

Zhang Yi was really happy about this new breakthrough. He perfected his test, and it may give him an edge over the disease by rapidly testing everyone.

...

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