King of Beiyang

Carl's mother, Louise, represented the Hollen family in investing in Li Jingyuan's Oriental Pharmaceutical Company.

Meanwhile, Princess Irene of Hesse, the wife of Prince Heinrich, represented Prince Heinrich in investing in Li Jingyuan's Oriental Pharmaceutical Company.

Later, at the Oriental Pharmaceutical Company, Li Jingyuan contributed his patented technology, holding 50% of the company's shares. The Hollen family contributed 500,000 marks, holding 20% ​​of the shares. Prince Heinrich also contributed 500,000 marks, holding 30% of the shares.

However, Prince Heinrich would not directly intervene in the company's management, but would only enjoy a share of the profits.

Li Jingyuan, on the other hand, also didn't have time to directly participate in the company's management.

To this end, Li Jingyuan specially hired Jin Kaili, the counselor of the Qing Empire's embassy in the German Empire, as his representative to be in charge of the company's management.

Meanwhile, Li Jingyuan's classmate Carl, with the support of his family, dropped out of Kiel Naval Academy to participate in the company's management and operations.

The entire Oriental Pharmaceutical Company quickly got on track.

With both money and technology, the company directly acquired a small pharmaceutical factory in Hamburg.

Subsequently, a large amount of equipment was purchased to expand the pharmaceutical factory.

Based on the patent and the technology provided by Li Jingyuan, the technical team also began production of the first batch of drugs.

Subsequently, the Hollen family and Prince Heinrich used their influence to begin clinical trials of the drug.

Everything is proceeding at full speed, and we are striving to bring the new drug to market within six months.

Li Jingyuan was also very satisfied with this.

Although he had to share half of the profits, without the support of the Hollen family and even the royal family, it would have been extremely difficult for him to develop the new drug and expand the market in the German Empire all by himself.

Even if we manage to succeed by sheer luck, we don't know how long it will take.

You see, he was waiting to use the money to buy warships and build modern shipyards and arsenals.

If it's too late, the daylily will probably be cold.

If he cannot reverse the outcome of the Sino-Japanese War a few years later, wouldn't all his efforts have been in vain?

After bringing in local strongmen as shareholders, Li Jingyuan's plan to make money progressed very smoothly.

Starting in late July, newspapers in the German Empire and throughout Europe began reporting on a new drug called "sulfanilamide sterilization tablets".

These newspapers began to publicize the new drug's effectiveness against bacterial infections.

Furthermore, it includes not only dry text but also laboratory and clinical data.

  

This caused a great sensation in the German Empire and even throughout Europe or the Western world.

It is important to know that the mortality rate caused by bacterial infections remains high.

Especially during wartime, countless wounded soldiers died from infections.

This new drug undoubtedly fills this gap!

More and more people are starting to pay attention to this new drug, and hospitals are also asking when it will be available for purchase.

Even the German Empire's military supply department began inquiring about when large-scale purchases could be made.

After all, the military must prepare for war.

Once war breaks out, casualties are inevitable. It's easy to imagine how large the demand would be for medicines that can truly kill bacteria and are also highly effective against diseases like pneumonia and puerperal fever.

This pleased Li Jingyuan, the Hollen family, and Prince Heinrich greatly.

This means that the entire project is already more than halfway to success.

In mid-September, Kiel Naval Academy had already started its semester.

Carl von Hollen, who had already dropped out of school, traveled to Kiel again over the weekend to meet with Li Jingyuan.

"My friend, we've succeeded. The entire German Empire, all of Europe, and even the entire Western world are talking about our medicine. If we start taking orders now, the demand will be unimaginable—it's simply impossible to keep up with the supply!"

Congratulations, my friend, you've really struck gold this time!

Carl was very excited.

"My friend, it's not me who struck gold, it's us, it's us who struck gold!" Li Jingyuan emphasized.

Although Lee Kyung-won was at school, Kim Gae-ri still regularly reported the situation at the company to him.

The world's first drug capable of effectively sterilizing people caused quite a stir.

Similarly, it will attract the covetous eyes of many.

To put it bluntly, if Li Jingyuan hadn't brought the Hollen family and the German imperial family into the picture, he probably would have been swallowed up and left with nothing.

Therefore, from the current perspective, even if half of the profits were given away, it was still worthwhile.

"Haha, that's right, it's us!" Karl laughed heartily.

Karl was very satisfied with Li Jingyuan's attitude.

"We plan to officially launch it at the end of the month, priced at 20 marks per box, with twenty tablets per box. However, His Highness the Prince has relayed the request from the military supply department. The military hopes that we can supply in large quantities at a more favorable price."

The military can also guarantee that the purchased medicines will be used exclusively by the military and will absolutely not be sold on the market.

Carl explained.

Regardless, Li Jingyuan owns half of the company's shares. He also holds patents for sulfonamides in various Western countries.

Many important matters in the company also require Li Jingyuan's approval.

"We can supply the military with medicines at half price. That way, we'll still make a profit, right?" Li Jingyuan asked.

This was an opportunity to build good relations with the military of the German Empire, and he certainly wouldn't miss it.

"Even at half price, our profit margin is still substantial. Each box of medicine, even after factoring in all costs, only costs about three marks. The rest is gross profit."

After deducting taxes and other expenses, our net profit can reach about 70%.

Even if we supply the military with medicine at half price, we can still make a profit of four marks per box!

Carl said with a smile.

The biggest cost of pharmaceuticals actually comes from research and development.

But this time, they skipped that step entirely.

Li Jingyuan directly provided the drug's patent and production technology. As a result, the cost was reduced to a very low level.

As production continues to increase, costs will continue to decrease.

"Then, the next step is to see if our production capacity can keep up. We not only need to supply the German market, but also other countries. If our production capacity is insufficient, it will seriously affect our profits!" Li Jingyuan said.

Karl nodded repeatedly.

What's limiting their profits now is undoubtedly production capacity.

It is certain that the new drug will be in short supply for a long time to come.

As long as it's produced, it can make money.

"The company is already expanding its factory, aiming to double its production capacity by the end of the year. If sales remain strong next year, we will seek to build new pharmaceutical plants in other regions or countries to further expand our production capacity," Carl replied.