Training the Heavens

Chapter 365 Tsinghua University
These people were very well-informed. Before Zhang Xingjiu returned, they had heard about the huge sensation that penicillin had caused in Europe and the United States. They also regarded penicillin as an opportunity to make a fortune. They didn't expect that such news would spread just after Zhang Xingjiu returned and before they had time to visit him.

If it were someone else, they would definitely try every means to snatch the penicillin, but now that it was Mr. Song who came forward, they were in a dilemma. Although Mr. Yixian had passed away, he was still revered as the founding father by the Nationalist government. Now his wife wanted to do good things for the people of the world. If anyone stood up to oppose it, Zheng Sanfazi would chop them to pieces without anyone else's help.

With their biggest support gone, these people could only hold their breath and watch Mr. Song take his team to Wuhan to select a site and prepare to build a factory. At least for now, they dared not make any big moves.

Now we can only think of ways to bribe some people to plant themselves in the penicillin factory and find an opportunity to steal the technical methods of producing penicillin. Maybe this way, it will come in handy when the situation changes.

Mr. Song diverted most of the attention for Zhang Xingjiu, but he still couldn't completely get rid of the harassment from these people. Some tried to continue visiting, and some were trying to find ways to win over Tang Feifan and other technicians who had worked in the laboratory.

This made Zhang Xingjiu very annoyed. During this period, he even dared not contact Chen Shukang. Now there are people watching at his door every day. How could he dare to do something that might arouse suspicion?

At this time, Chen Shukang's ability was revealed. He dressed in a suit and tie and pretended to be a comprador from a foreign company to recommend factory equipment to Zhang Xingjiu. He walked into Zhang Xingjiu's house openly and informed Zhang Xingjiu of some news that he was concerned about.

"The traditional penicillin experiment in Jiangxi has been a success. The two people you mentioned asked me to convey their gratitude to you. The information and supplies you provided were of great help to us and saved many comrades from sacrifice."

"That's great! You know the current situation, so I can't give you large quantities of supplies. However, I've recently verified some folk remedies. You can take them back and give them to them. When there are fewer people at my door, I'll take the opportunity to deliver goods to Wuhan and give you the supplies!" Zhang Xingjiu said, and took out a deposit slip. "This is a bearer deposit slip from Citibank, with $100,000 in it. I thought you must need foreign exchange, so I prepared some for you. I hope it can help you buy the things you need."

"This is too expensive, we can't accept it!" Chen Shukang did a quick calculation. According to the current exchange rate, 1 US dollar is approximately equal to 3.38 silver dollars. In actual use, the value of the US dollar will be even higher. This amount of money really made him feel embarrassed.

"Just take it if I tell you to. This isn't for you, but to support your career. If this money can help you reduce some of your sacrifices, it's totally worth it! I still say the same thing, no matter what you need, I will do my best to help you find a solution." Zhang Xingjiu firmly stuffed the deposit certificate back in.

This time Chen Shukang did not refuse. He also knew that this money could indeed play a big role, so he solemnly bowed to Zhang Xingjiu and sincerely expressed his heartfelt gratitude to him.

When he returned with the deposit slip, he reported it to Feifei, who was quite moved. "Mr. Zhang has helped us so much. We should keep it all in mind. When the revolution succeeds in the future, we can publicize it and let future generations remember Mr. Zhang's contributions."

"It's a pity that we can't obtain the advanced equipment needed to produce penicillin now, otherwise we can reduce more losses." Chen Shukang felt a little regretful.

"It doesn't matter. We are now on the right track. We will have the opportunity to obtain these equipment in the future. Mr. Zhang must also be researching newer methods. By then, we may be able to produce high-quality penicillin with relatively simple equipment." He guessed what Zhang Xingjiu was planning, but it was not enough. Not only new methods, but Zhang Xingjiu was ready to help them with even the equipment, but not now. Their territory was not stable yet. Even if they gave it to them, they would not be able to produce for long after they worked hard to build the factory, and they would be exposed.

When they arrive in the north in a few years, we will hand over the prepared equipment to them, and it will be able to play a long-term role at that time.

A few days later, Zhang Xingjiu also led a team to Wuhan and chose a location for building the factory with Mr. Song. In the end, they chose a valley close to the Yangtze River. The mountains could increase the concealment, and the proximity to the Yangtze River made transportation easier.

The architect trained by Aurora University came up with a high-standard construction plan. He followed Zhang Xingjiu's arrangements and designed the pharmaceutical factory almost according to the standards of a military factory. In fact, the role of penicillin in war is no less important than that of weapons and ammunition, so such a standard is reasonable.

Zhang Xingjiu stayed in Wuhan, teaching students at Wuhan National University and other local schools while overseeing the construction of the penicillin factory. With the efforts of him and his students, the factory was completed and put into production at the fastest speed.

Thanks to Aurora University for training a large number of talents over the years, Zhang Xingjiu has high-level factory managers, engineers, and various technical personnel available. Otherwise, he alone would not be able to build a factory so quickly.

Mr. Song used this time to travel around the country and gradually streamline the work of the Red Cross. As soon as the first batch of products passed the quality inspection, he used the Red Cross's channels to send these medicines to all parts of the country.

Part of it is sold in exchange for funds to support the factory to continue production, and the other part is provided to poor people who are seriously ill but cannot get medical treatment.

Many problems arose during this process. Some Red Cross branches secretly resold drugs, and some impoverished patients, reluctant to use their own medication, secretly took it away to exchange for money for their families.
But thanks to the efforts of Mr. Song and Zhang Xingjiu, this model was barely maintained. However, there were some questioning voices in the newspapers, which made A Zhang so angry that he wrote several articles to argue with them. The two sides quarreled fiercely in the newspapers, but in the end, A Zhang won.

Seeing that the penicillin factory was able to operate normally, Zhang Xingjiu left Wuhan and returned to Shanghai, where he went back to Aurora University to teach and do research. He would occasionally contact Chen Shukang and provide them with some help within his ability.

In October, Zhang Xingjiu's home welcomed a special guest. When Zhang Xingjiu saw the three words "Mei Yiqi" on the name card, a smile immediately appeared on his face. This time he was finally going to Tsinghua University.

(End of this chapter)