13: Chapter 13 Experimental Experience

In the early morning, winter in Z Province was exceptionally cold.

Early risers on the road held steaming breakfasts, their breath visible in the air.

The laboratory was already buzzing with activity in the morning; senior students in white coats were busy with their tasks, the autoclave hummed softly, and the Pipettes made crisp clicking sounds.

Chen Youhua arrived early and stood at the door waiting for Wang Zhe, his eyes unconsciously scanning the instruments he had only ever seen in books.

"You've come at just the right time."

Wang Zhe walked in with his bag on his back, nodding slightly when he saw that he was already prepared and ready to go.

"Let's start with the basics. We'll use the morning to get familiar with the core operations; these are things you'll be handling every day from now on."

He led Chen Youhua to a vacant workstation where Pipettes, centrifuge tubes, petri dishes, and other consumables were neatly arranged.

"Don't underestimate pipetting. The vertical aspiration and slow release you memorized from textbooks can ruin an entire experiment if you're off by just a bit in practice."

Wang Zhe picked up a P200 Pipette.

"When adjusting the volume, exceeding the maximum range will damage the internal spring. You definitely know this, but in actual operation, many novices make mistakes because their hands slip."

Chen Youhua took the Pipette, his finger placement as precise as a textbook illustration.

He had intentionally rehearsed it countless times in his mind the previous night.

He adjusted it to 100 microliters and drew up some colored buffer solution. His movements were standard, but Wang Zhe pointed something out.

"Your wrist is too stiff, like a robot.

Relax a bit. Feel the contact between the tip and the liquid. When dispensing, the angle against the wall should be adjusted according to the container; centrifuge tubes and petri dishes are different."

Wang Zhe demonstrated, the subtle movements of his fingertips harboring years of experience.

"Look, tap the barrel of the Pipette gently when dispensing to ensure there's no residue.

These details aren't written in books, but they determine success or failure."

Chen Youhua took a mental note. During his second attempt, he consciously adjusted the strength of his wrist; although still a bit awkward, his progress was evident.

This caused a flash of approval to cross Wang Zhe's eyes.

This freshman not only had a solid theoretical foundation but was also quick to pick things up, catching on immediately.

Next was the centrifuge.

Wang Zhe took out several centrifuge tubes.

"Balancing is the top priority; the weight difference between the two sides cannot exceed 0.1 grams.

Don't find it troublesome. Once unbalanced, the high-speed rotor could explode; accidents have happened in the lab before."

He intentionally set up an unbalanced combination.

"You adjust it."

Chen Youhua quickly calculated the difference and used a micropipette to precisely add buffer solution, soon bringing the balance's needle back to its center.

"Very good."

Wang Zhe nodded.

"But remember, in actual operation, not only must the weight be balanced, but the volume and the placement of the centrifuge tubes must also be symmetrical."

From the UV disinfection time and wind speed adjustment of the Clean Bench to the temperature and humidity checks of the incubator, and then to the handling of cuvettes for the spectrophotometer, Wang Zhe explained everything in meticulous detail.

As Chen Youhua operated, he compared everything with his textbook knowledge in his mind; those abstract words now took on concrete forms.

He could even point out a minor irregularity in Wang Zhe's demonstration.

For example, when turning off the Clean Bench, Wang Zhe habitually turned off the fan before the lighting, whereas the standard procedure should be the opposite to avoid backflow of outside air.

"Oh? You certainly are observant."

Wang Zhe was taken aback for a moment, then immediately corrected himself.

"Not bad. You've memorized the theory well and can apply it to practice.

But remember, sometimes operating procedures are fine-tuned based on the specific conditions of the lab. Follow the established ones first; you can raise questions, but don't make unauthorized changes."

By the time the set of basic procedures was completed, the sun outside had risen directly overhead.

Chen Youhua took off his gloves; his palms were slightly damp, not from nervousness, but as a physiological response to intense concentration.

He felt that those cold instruments were no longer foreign, as if they had become extensions of his own body.

During lunch, while shoveling down his food, Wang Zhe handed over his phone.

"I have a task for you this afternoon."

On the screen was some experimental data; the steps were written clearly, with a graph and a set of data attached at the end.

"This is something that was done before, verifying the glucose standard curve,"

Wang Zhe said.

"Follow the steps to repeat it and record the data."

Chen Youhua flipped through it quickly; they were all operations he had practiced in the morning. He nodded.

"Okay."

"This is a replication experiment."

Wang Zhe put down his chopsticks and looked at him.

"The results must match these. If they don't, redo it until they do."

Chen Youhua was stunned for a moment. "Keep redoing it?"

"Yes,"

Wang Zhe's tone was very flat.

"Scientific research isn't just messing around. If you can't replicate results others have already achieved, what's the use of doing your own? This is to train your patience and your attention to detail."

Chen Youhua didn't ask further and lowered his head to continue eating.

He understood what Wang Zhe meant. It was like solving problems; no matter how well you knew the formulas, it was useless if you couldn't get the numbers right.

In the afternoon, Wang Zhe went off to attend to his own business, pointing to the spectrophotometer in the corner before leaving.

"Use that one. The parameters are set. Call me if you don't understand something."

The lab was very quiet. Chen Youhua sat at the workstation and read through the experimental steps once more.

Preparing reagents, diluting standards, measuring with the instrument—he performed every step slowly, staring at the decimal point on the balance while weighing reagents and intentionally slowing down while pipetting.

After finishing the first round, he entered the data into the computer. Comparing the plotted curve with the data provided, two points were slightly off.

Chen Youhua wasn't in a hurry to find Wang Zhe; he reflected on where the problem might have occurred.

It might have been that it wasn't shaken well during dilution.

He prepared the reagents again, this time shaking the centrifuge tube with extra force to ensure the solution was mixed thoroughly.

During the measurement, he stared at the flickering numbers on the instrument screen, recording them only once they had stabilized.

When the second set of data came out, Chen Youhua held his breath and overlaid the curves.

This time, all the points fell steadily on that line, with almost no visible difference.

He breathed a sigh of relief, only then realizing his forehead was covered in sweat.

Although he was just repeating an experiment someone else had done, he felt an indescribable sense of joy at this moment.

Practice truly was the only criterion for testing truth; no matter how much he learned from books, he had almost failed once he got into the lab.

After all, the system only gave him memory and that rarely appearing prompt; in reality, he still had to rely on himself to take things step by step.

Wang Zhe had stood beside him at some point and glanced at the screen. "Not bad."

Chen Youhua closed the page and nodded. "I see."

"Tomorrow I'll teach you cell subculturing,"

Wang Zhe said suddenly.

"Professor Zhang mentioned that he'll let you try cytoskeleton staining next week."

Chen Youhua's heart skipped a beat.

Cytoskeleton—that was exactly the direction he was interested in.

He didn't show it, simply tidying up the workstation calmly and pouring the waste liquid into the designated bin.

Wang Zhe then added some instructions.

"You have many experiments to do this week. If the data doesn't match once, you'll waste a lot of time. So, you must memorize the instructions for those steps and the laboratory manual well; they are the guarantee of your success rate.

That's all for today. You can leave after you finish the experimental records."

By the time he walked out of the lab, it was already getting dark.

Chen Youhua looked at the notebook in his hand; it was filled with today's key operational points, the handwriting neat and orderly.