Chapter 84 Mercenaries

Shennong Biopharmaceuticals, Los Angeles, USA.

Zhang Feng came to the company's laboratory to learn about the research progress on penicillin.

"Boss, at your suggestion, we purchased Alexander Fleming's research results. Based on this, after more than a year of research, we can now extract penicillin, but it will take some time before we can mass-produce it."

Sharlock reported to Zhang Feng.

In 1928, British bacteriologist Fleming first discovered the world's first antibiotic - penicillin. Alexander Fleming discovered penicillin by a lucky accident, but because the technology was not advanced enough and the understanding was not profound enough at that time, he did not isolate penicillin alone.

In 1929, Fleming published his research results. Unfortunately, this paper has not received attention from the scientific community since its publication.

It was not until 1938 that German chemist Chain saw Fleming's paper in a pile of old books and began to conduct purification experiments.

In 1940, Chain isolated a small amount of penicillin. Although this was a major breakthrough, it was still far from clinical application.

In 1941, the baton of penicillin purification was passed to Australian pathologist Florey. With the assistance of the US military, Florey isolated the bacteria from the soil brought back by pilots from airports in various countries while on missions, increasing the production of penicillin from 2 units per cubic centimeter to 40 units.

Zhang Feng told Sharlock the information he knew and asked him to first buy the patent for penicillin and then conduct further related research. Penicillin can now be extracted normally, but it can only be extracted in the laboratory, so this amount of output is destined to be affordable for only a few people.

"Okay, let's arrange a product launch conference first to announce this miracle drug to the world. The production volume is low now, and our current sales target is those wealthy and powerful people who are not short of money. Let's price it at US$500 per unit." Zhang Feng ordered.

Penicillin is suitable for various infections caused by Gram-positive cocci such as group A and group B hemolytic streptococci, Streptococcus pneumoniae, and penicillin-sensitive Staphylococcus aureus, such as bloodstream infections, pneumonia, meningitis, tonsillitis, otitis media, scarlet fever, erysipelas, puerperal fever, etc.

It is also used to treat endocarditis caused by viridans streptococci and enterococci, tetanus, eczema, diphtheria, epidemic meningitis, rat-bite fever, syphilis, leptospirosis, angina, and actinomycosis caused by Clostridium difficile.

Penicillin is a more miraculous drug than sulfa, so it is now the new panacea and must be worthy of its value.

历史上在1943年时，一支针剂类型的青霉素售价高达200美元，1944年更是被炒到1克830美元，是黄金价格的670倍。

When Shennong Biopharmaceutical Company was preparing to launch a new product and make huge profits, the intelligence personnel of the Public Opinion Survey Office also received a task, which was to collect soil from all over the world and send it back to America.

Madagascar, Zhangjiacheng.

Today, the population of Zhangjiacheng has reached 60, and several surrounding towns have also been upgraded to cities. However, the current territory of the Meihua Company has reached its capacity limit, and it will soon be forced to launch a new expansion plan.

"Selling newspapers! Selling newspapers! Yulin is hiring a military contracting company to recruit employees, offering generous benefits." On a busy street in Zhangjiacheng city, a newsboy was selling newspapers in his hand. He was a temporary worker for the Meihua Daily News Company, and only worked part-time selling newspapers when he was not in school.

"Kid, give me a copy of the Chinese American Daily." In front of a tavern, a young man stopped a newsboy, handed him 20 cents and asked for a newspaper.

Then he and his friends looked at the newspaper and saw that the Yulin Military Contracting Company had just been established and was about to go overseas to perform missions. The missions were dangerous, but the pay was also high. They were looking for tough guys with strong physical fitness, accurate shooting skills, and fearlessness to join. All of them were immigrants from the Eastern country two years ago. They had eaten well and drank well in the past two years, and their bodies were very strong. They would go to the shooting club opened by the American Chinese Company to shoot a few shots when they had nothing to do, and their shooting skills were pretty good.

The Meihua Weapons and Shooting Club covers a large area and has many shooting ranges, providing a variety of firearms for customers to shoot, and also sells various weapons from Raytheon.

In recent years, many martial arts masters have come from the Eastern country. Some of them have been recruited by the military, while others have been invited by clubs to be martial arts coaches to teach young people who are interested in martial arts.
Recently the club acquired several light armored vehicles and tanks, as well as special trainers, for wealthy patrons to experience.

In fact, in most cases, a few people with average conditions rent a tank together, and men cannot resist such a big toy.

The club will also observe the driving skills of these people, and for those who are talented, they will be recommended to go to military academies for systematic training, or simply enter the Wolf's Lair for training to become a formal tank soldier.

There is little entertainment in Madagascar now, and not many goods available for consumption, so the Meihua Arms Club has become a veritable den of money.

In Zhangjiacheng, men's spending power ranks first, and the sum of the second to tenth places is not as high as the first.

"Li Yuan, I plan to give it a try. I don't want to screw screws in the factory every day. It's boring. I have a feeling this is my chance to make a name for myself." The young man who bought the newspaper just now said to his companion.

His name is Ye Qian. He is quite tall and often goes to the Meihua Weapons Shooting Club. Most of his money is spent there, so at the age of 22, he has not yet married or had children.

"Ye Qian, I think you should just forget it. Bullets on the battlefield don't have eyes. We finally got here and have just had a few years of comfort. You'd better not bother with it. Actually, screwing is not bad. It's just that the salary is a little low and the working hours are a little longer every day."

When Li Yuan heard Ye Qian's thoughts, he quickly dissuaded him. After all, they had been good brothers for several years. If he heard that he had died overseas one day, he would still be very sad.

"Yeah, Ye Qian, you'd better just do your job of screwing screws steadily. You should go to the weapons club less often in the future. Just do your job of screwing screws steadily for a few years, take out a loan to buy a house, buy a bicycle, and then get married. Isn't that a good idea?" another friend also advised.

"You don't need to persuade me anymore. I have made up my mind. I would rather die on the battlefield than continue to be a screwdriver for the rest of my life. A life that can be seen at the end at a glance is not what I want."

Ye Qian said with a firm look in his eyes.

Ye Qian was actually the son of a gentry landlord in a big oriental country. He came to Zhangjiacheng after his family was destroyed by war and banditry.

He has some cultural knowledge, such as the Four Books and Five Classics, chess and Go, etc., but his culture is of no use here. The grassroots and middle-level management positions are occupied by white people, and his age is not suitable for continuing his studies.

The Meihua Company is currently undergoing a large-scale construction and only needs various workers to enter the factory to work and create value and benefits. This place is still a cultural desert for the time being, so his talents will have no place to be used.

A few days later, Ye Qian passed the assessment and officially became a member of the Yulin mercenary military contracting company. After a few days of simple military training, he would be sent overseas to carry out this military mission.

(End of this chapter)