Chapter Fourteen

  "Hey, brother Wu, want to collaborate?" Chen Ke said with a big yawn, then couldn't help but let out another one.

  Wu Xingchen thought about Chen Ke's words again and didn't find anything wrong with them. Pharmaceutical manufacturing and sales indeed require the help of brothers in Taoism. Wu Xingchen wasn't worried that Chen Ke would play any tricks. Moreover, what Chen Ke said was right, Wu Xingchen had intervened from the beginning, and the future gains were indeed huge. If he felt something was wrong, Wu Xingchen could simply quit.

  But all this reasonable and rational, in this world itself is unreasonable. This is not Wu Xingchen's rational judgment, but a completely sensory judgment. How black the current world is, Wu Xingchen is very clear. Chen Ke should have some hidden tricks, right? Thinking of this, Wu Xingchen asked: "Brother Chen, what do you want me to do?"

  "First, please find a few prostitutes infected with syphilis. I will personally collect the pus from their facial ulcers. You don't need to lift a finger for this matter." Chen Ke said very seriously.

  Wu Xingchen nodded, this thing was indeed not something that Chen Ke, a rich young master like him, could accomplish.

  "Secondly, after my medicine is made, I will give it to these prostitutes for free treatment. The effect of the medicine can be seen at a glance. This medicine is highly toxic and will either cure or kill. At that time, we will still need to sign a life-and-death certificate. Brother Wu must help with this matter."

  So that's how it is! Wu Xingchen's eyes lit up. Without the help of his brothers in Taoism, Chen Ke would never have been able to do this. Killing a few prostitutes infected with venereal disease wasn't a big deal. However, if he didn't have any backing, it could be either a big or small matter. "I wonder how likely it is that Brother Chen's medicine will poison people to death?"

  "Out of 100 people, at most five or six."

  "Huh?!" Wu Xingchen had thought that out of the ten people, three or four would die. In this era, treating syphilis with mercury-based treatments, which are highly toxic, resulted in a mortality rate of about 30%. Even if they were cured of syphilis, many people would become mentally disabled due to mercury poisoning. Compared to this treatment effect, Chen Ke's medicine was really amazing.

  "What's the third one?" Wu Xingchen felt that Chen Ke's previous requirements were not troublesome, so he continued to ask.

  "Thirdly, I definitely cannot go around shouting about this thing on the streets. After the medicine is made, in Shanghai, contacting patients and selling the medicine, I want Wu brother to personally take charge of doing it. If the illness is cured, Wu brother will also be responsible for collecting the money, and then according to our agreement, give me my share."

  "Is there anything else you want me to do?" Wu Xingchen asked further.

  "I don't want it anymore."

  Wu Xingchen looked at Chen Ke, but couldn't see any malice. Although he didn't know what Chen Ke was hiding, so far, he seemed trustworthy. Wu Xingchen didn't think there was anything wrong with what Chen Ke said, and he was ready to cooperate with him. Not just for the money in the future, but also in practical terms, among the high-ranking members of the Tiandihui that Wu Xingchen knew, some had contracted venereal diseases. More people in the middle and lower ranks were infected. If they could be cured, Wu Xingchen's status within the Tiandihui would naturally rise.

  Chen Ke left a very bad impression on Wu Xingchen. The failure of their first confrontation was still fresh in his memory. Moreover, Chen Ke seemed to be completely indifferent to the matter and even wanted to make friends with Wu Xingchen. This pragmatic attitude was terrifying. However, reality is reality, driven by interests in both the future and present, Wu Xingchen made up his mind.

  "Then I'll help Brother Chen with this."

  There were many people on the street, Chen Ke wore a pair of yellowish trousers, and a white shirt made of the same material as a lab coat. He also wore a white lab coat over it. This set of eerie white clothes, paired with black cloth shoes, was particularly eye-catching. Shanghai is after all a major city in the East, its citizens know that Western doctors wear this kind of white coat. Plus Chen Ke's short hair, it wasn't unusual at all.

  Wu Xingchen couldn't help but glance at Chen Ke beside him, this "funeral" attire was something he just couldn't get used to. Chen Ke not only didn't have any complaints, but even had a somewhat pleased expression. He couldn't resist asking: "Brother Chen likes white clothes that much?"

  "In our line of work, this white coat is the uniform for getting things done. Once you put it on, you naturally feel at ease. Look at me when I'm dyeing fabric, I wear that blue work uniform."

  Wu Xingchen grunted, but didn't say anything else. The two of them walked in silence like this. Chen Ke was originally tall, and Wu Xingchen's height surpassed his by a head. Two tall men walking shoulder to shoulder was already very eye-catching. Chen Ke's white coat added even more attractive elements to himself. As the two of them walked down the street, they were indeed bathed in the gaze of men and women, young and old.

  Fortunately, neither of them cared about other people's opinions. However, Chen Ke found that the eyes of those looking at him were very unsettling. It wasn't curiosity, but something indescribable. Just as he was wondering, Wu Xingchen stopped in his tracks and said, "Let's go in."

  Two people were standing in front of a strange courtyard with an unusual facade, and the people going in and out were all wearing mediocre clothes. It was these guys who looked at Chen Ke with an inexplicable gaze. Chen Ke took another look at himself, his light-colored clothes, a slightly wrinkled white coat, a shiny watch on his wrist, and a pair of clean canvas shoes. Simple and clean. Shouldn't be hated.

  Following Wu Xingchen into the courtyard, the courtyard looked like a cheap hotel, with men and women entering and exiting from each small room. The men had lustful expressions on their faces, while the women had flirtatious smiles. This place was likely a brothel. At the entrance, there were two burly men with menacing looks, who, upon seeing Wu Xingchen arrive, hastily put on smiling faces and approached him, saying something in Shanghainese. Wu Xingchen replied in a low voice using a northern accent in Shanghai dialect: "Isn't it true that you have someone here infected with syphilis, currently suffering from an outbreak?"

  "Ah, Old Wu, you're kidding us. We don't have that kind of thing here. Don't joke around." The leader of the group hastily said.

  "This is a doctor who is making medicine for venereal disease. So we need to find a few people to test the medicine." Wu Xingchen said in a low voice.

  The man looked Chen Ke up and down, "Can't tell at all. Still a foreign doctor, huh? But, Old Wu, we don't have money to buy medicine. And if you're looking for that kind of person, there are plenty on the streets. Why bother coming to make fun of me?"

  Wu Xingchen was tired of the brothel owner's idle chatter, "Take us to see him now. I can take charge, and we won't need your money for treatment."

  The madam of the brothel looked at Wu Xingchen and saw that he was serious, finally sighing in exasperation. "Boss Wu, you're always playing jokes on people." As she spoke, she led Wu Xingchen and Chen Ke out of the gate and towards the back.

  It was almost evening, with the sun setting in the west. The buildings in Shanghai were originally not of a spacious style, and the empty alleys felt particularly gloomy before nightfall. Wu Xingchen, the brothel owner, and the thugs. These people were not good characters, and walking together in this secluded alley made Chen Ke feel quite uneasy.

  The destination was a secluded courtyard far from the city streets."This is it," said the brothel owner.

  In front of him was a locked door in the corner of the courtyard, and the surrounding area was eerily quiet. Chen Ke, who had just come from the bustling street, suddenly felt as if he had traveled through time and space again. Just now it was sunny and crowded with people, but now it was a deserted small yard. He couldn't help but turn his head to glance at Wu Xingchen and others behind him, only to see that their eyes were filled with disgust when they looked at the door.

  "Listen up, now there's a doctor who wants to treat you. All of you get up and listen to the doctor's orders." The brothel owner shouted in an unpleasant tone. Although his voice was loud, he stood far away from the door, not even wanting to look at this room.

  A faint voice came from inside the room, but no one answered. "Did you hear that?" the brothel owner shouted again.

  "Got it." A woman's voice came out.

  "Now the doctor is going in to see you, you all stay inside quietly and don't come out." The brothel owner shouted again, only then did he signal for the thugs to open the door. He himself took two steps back, not even wanting to take a glance at what was inside the room.

  Chen Ke took off his mask and waited for the doorman to unlock. The doorman only unlocked, but didn't push the door open. Chen Ke waited for a moment, then had to push it open himself. As soon as he entered, the door was pulled shut by the doorman, and the sound of the lock clicking into place came from the door ring. This really gave Chen Ke a fright. Although he knew these people wouldn't lock him up, encountering such things was really extremely unpleasant.

  Wearing a mask, before coming here, Chen Ke also sprayed perfume inside the mask. Even so, Chen Ke was still suffocated. The smell of sweat, urine, and mold from poor air circulation, as well as body odor, made Chen Ke frown slightly. The light in the room was very weak, and it took a moment for Chen Ke to adapt. There were several women with large boils on their faces, sitting or lying listlessly on beds covered with straw mats. The women were all disheveled, and although the weather had warmed up, most of them wore only a thin outer garment, revealing their bare chests with boils through the open collars.

  Chen Ke had never felt such a strong aversion to women before. It was an intense, gut-wrenching disgust. The festering sores on the women's faces and bodies, combined with the thought of the unseen but imagined sores in their private parts, made Chen Ke want to flee in terror.

  Settled down, the current task is to obtain pus, not a time for emotional outbursts. Chen Ke said in very poor Shanghainese, "All of you don't move, first sit on the bed." The reason he said this was because Chen Ke was afraid that these women would suddenly lose their rationality and grab him, which would put himself in danger.

  But Chen Ke's outfit was indeed unusual, just a white coat and light-colored clothes. Chen Ke wore a white mask, which scared some women. The women looking at the gate couldn't help but shrink their bodies back. Two of them who hadn't stood up initially slowly turned around, saw Chen Ke's appearance, and were so frightened that they sat up straight.

  Even though they were frightened by Chen Ke's attire, the women's eyes still looked dull and lifeless. It seemed that the suffering of their illness, as well as this dark prison-like "sickroom", had caused them immense psychological harm. As for Chen Ke entering the room, these women reacted very sluggishly. Chen Ke saw that there was no appearance of the imagined "desperate women rushing up to cling to his legs and begin crying and begging". He felt a lot more at ease.

  "Which of you has had this disease for the first time?" Chen Ke asked.

  No one answered. The women looked at Chen Ke with confused expressions. Chen Ke asked again, still no one answered.

  "Didn't you guys hear what I'm saying?" Chen Ke asked in his awkward Shanghai dialect. No one responded, so Chen Ke switched to Mandarin and Henan dialect and repeated himself a few times.

  Finally, a woman asked in Jiangsu-Zhejiang dialect that Chen Ke could barely understand, "Are you really the doctor who has come to see us?"

  The conversation with the patient didn't make Chen Ke feel happy at all, on the contrary, he strongly suppressed the urge to retreat a few steps. He forced a smile and said: "I'm a doctor, that's right, everyone sit there and don't move, speak slowly."

  "Doctor, we know you have the disease. You've come to treat us, how dare we touch you?" A relatively clean-looking woman slowly sat up and pulled her open collar together. Adjusting her clothes, the woman said: "Sisters, everyone sit properly, let the doctor examine."

  After hearing this, Chen Ke immediately felt a sense of respect for the woman. This attitude made Chen Ke, who was pretending to be a doctor, feel somewhat safe. The other women sat down obediently.

  "Sister, can you ask for me, who is experiencing this illness for the first time? Who is experiencing it for the first time, let them raise their hands." Chen Ke asked.

  The woman spoke a few words in the southern dialect, and inside the house, seven women had five of them raised their hands. The woman who was talking to Chen Ke did not raise her hand. Chen Ke took out five test tubes and cotton swabs, each taking enough concentrated liquid.

  With a try-it-out attitude, Chen Ke asked the woman who had been talking to herself, "Sister, is this your first time getting sick?"

  The woman shook her head gently. Chen Ke's heart tightened, his medicine could only cure patients in the first and second stages of the disease. It was not the first time she had fallen ill, 606 or 914 would be useless. Only penicillin-like antibiotics could take effect. The woman and Chen Ke didn't have much contact, but in this terrifying black prison-like place, they were still somewhat understanding. Chen Ke still wanted to save her very much. But the reality made Chen Ke's thoughts fall through.

  At this point, a woman finally couldn't help but ask: "Doctor, do you charge us for treating our illnesses?"

  Chen Ke looked at the somewhat intimidating abscess and forced a smile, "I won't charge you money, don't worry." After hearing Chen Ke's words, the women still didn't quite dare to believe it, "Doctor, we've never heard of this illness being curable..." Just as they said that, the woman from earlier interrupted them, "Since there is a doctor here to diagnose the illness, how can you say such things?"

  After finishing, the woman slowly knelt down on the grass mat, "Doctor, I beg of you. Please make sure to cure us, and for this lifetime, I will repay you by doing all the hard work." The other women also saw this and knelt down on the grass mat one after another. This was not a proper bed at all. Two stools with several broken wooden boards on top, covered with a torn grass mat, that's what they called a bed. When the women knelt on the "bed", the wooden boards creaked loudly. Chen Ke looked around the room and saw a toilet in the innermost part of the room, although it was covered with a lid, but the stench of urine still wafted over from that direction. By each bedside, there was a broken bowl, some were empty, while others had some water inside. The windows in the room were extremely small and high up, with very poor lighting.

  "Alright, I've got the test tube," Chen Ke said. "I'll be back next week... seven days from now. Everyone be careful, and we'll definitely get it done by then." After finishing speaking, he walked to the door and knocked on the door panel. "Open the door, I'm going out."

  It seemed like an eternity, Chen Ke was worried that no one would ever open the door for him again. Chen Ke couldn't help but want to yell at the people outside to open the door and let him leave this hell-like place quickly. Finally, there were footsteps, the sound of a lock being opened, and the door creaked open, with light pouring in from the gap. Chen Ke rushed out of the house in three strides, bursting into the bright light. The small courtyard, which had seemed quiet and deserted just moments before, now looked like a serene and peaceful paradise compared to the dark house looming behind him. A moment later, the sound of the door closing and the lock being hung came from behind Chen Ke. Hearing these sounds, Chen Ke felt a wave of relief wash over him. That hell was finally sealed off.

  At this time, a sharp cry came from inside the house, "Doctor, we are waiting for you to treat our illness. Please." Chen Ke could tell that it was the voice of the woman who had been talking to him earlier. As soon as the sound fell, there was a knock on the door, followed by the crying and begging of other women.

  The madam of the brothel scolded loudly, her voice was fast and shrill, Chen Ke couldn't understand what she was saying at all. The women didn't pay attention to the madam, but continued to beg for something, those were all southern dialects that Chen Ke couldn't understand, but he understood their meaning.

  "Let's go out first." Wu Xingchen said to Chen Ke. Without waiting for Chen Ke's response, Wu Xingchen furrowed his brow and quickly left the yard. It was clear that the women's voices made Wu Xingchen feel annoyed, and he wanted to stay in this place as little as possible.

  Chen Ke followed Wu Xingchen as he quickly left the courtyard, amidst the angry curses of the brothel owner. The women had fallen silent. Chen Ke's medicine couldn't save that sensible woman. Chen Ke understood this clearly; even if the boss allowed it, he wouldn't let those two third-stage patients use his medicine. Even if they did take the medicine, there would be no effect. To increase the success rate of his medicine and make Wu Xingchen witness its miraculous effects, Chen Ke would first tell him that those two people were beyond saving.

  Looking at the boss's attitude, it is impossible to let patients in the first and second stages live separately. Chen Ke had even thought of a way to avoid trouble - he would give physiological saline injections to all third-stage patients, including that reasonable woman. With a house full of patients, Chen Ke wouldn't waste precious medicine on those two useless people, only letting the two women and himself struggle to survive.

  At that time, Chen Ke was absolutely unable to develop any penicillin-like drugs. Only when there was a base would Chen Ke set up a pharmaceutical factory in the base to produce penicillin. Even in the best-case scenario, it would have to be three years later. The kind-hearted woman couldn't wait until then. This era wouldn't give her the chance to live until the medicine that could save her life appeared.

  That woman is done for.

  After calm consideration and a realistic assessment, Chen Ke found that he didn't have any emotions about it. This is the reality of this era, the lives of the weak are so fragile. If one contracts a disease like tuberculosis, which in itself can evoke little sympathy, then even more innocent people are struggling to survive in this cruel era, dying unjustly.

  Wu Xingchen and Chen Ke didn't stop, walking out of the alley, as they got closer to the bustling streets, the sounds of people grew louder. As they walked out of the alley, the lively main street suddenly unfolded before their eyes. In the evening, everyone was rushing home, and the vendors' calls were also much louder. The entire street showed a kind of vitality. Looking at this, Wu Xingchen let out a long sigh, and the suppressed emotions in the small room were greatly relieved. He turned his head, only to see Chen Ke staring blankly at the main street, with two streams of tears flowing down her cheeks. Seeing this, Wu Xingchen's eyebrows furrowed. Treating others' illnesses, yet she was crying instead? Had Chen Ke not been telling the truth? Wu Xingchen couldn't help but feel suspicious, and his gaze towards Chen Ke also became more cautious.

  Wu Xingchen did not follow Chen Ke back to the workshop, but instead bid farewell halfway. When Chen Ke returned to the workshop, there was a bunch of cages in the courtyard with a group of fluffy and adorable rabbits locked inside.

  The abscess was retrieved, and then a small amount of pus was injected into the rabbit's testicle. Soon, an incurable ulcer appeared at the injection site. These rabbits served as a batch of experimental subjects. Chen Ke did not produce 606, but instead chose 914 first. The efficacy of 914 is slightly lower than that of 606, but its safety is much higher.

  Unfortunately, the first batch of rabbits that received treatment were all poisoned to death. Looking at a pile of stiff corpses, no one dared to speak up. Chen Kezhong waved his hand at the rabbits' corpses. The "cremation furnace" had been built long ago. The rabbits' corpses were burned into charcoal, and after they couldn't be eaten, the charcoal was crushed and thrown away in the trash heap. The bamboo cages where the sick rabbits used to live were also burned together. These two things were either toxic or had bacteria and had to be thoroughly destroyed. Especially the rabbits' corpses, if they were picked up and eaten by people, it was very likely that human lives would be lost.

  The second batch of medicine had no effect. Chen Ke reused the waste and injected the third batch of medicine into this batch of rabbits, half of them began to recover, and the other half died. Chen Ke spent money to buy another batch of rabbits and re-tested the third batch of medicine. Still, 10% of the rabbits died.

  "Is this medicine all right?" Chen Ke heard Du Zhenghui say in a low voice outside the house.

  "One out of ten people will die? Is this okay? I won't let He Zuodao use this medicine." Qi Hui Shen rebuked in a low voice.

  "But it's been so long. I thought it would be done in a day or two." Du Zhenghui said with some dissatisfaction. These days, the young people have been helping out and are already familiar with what they can do. Under Chen Ke's simple teaching, the young people's chemical knowledge has also made rapid progress. Du Zhenghui, an outsider, couldn't help but feel a bit complacent. Chen Ke could understand this sentiment, historically, many new medicines in Europe and America were hastily produced and then sold in China, killing many Chinese people.

  Chen Ke was somewhat puzzled that Du Zhenghui thought these medicines could be used, and he hadn't considered that one in ten rabbits would still die. If this were to happen to humans, how many people would have to die? What is the value of human life in Du Zhenghui's heart? Just listening to Du Zhenghui's words, he shouldn't think about entering the core of the new political party again.

  The fourth batch of medicine was quite effective, and the rabbits not only survived but also recovered quickly. This was a rare occurrence. Chen Ke found an excuse to send the other young people out to work, then called in the core members and told them the good news.

  You Yun didn't say anything else, but with a sigh of relief, he repeatedly wrote the word "success" on his notebook. Seeing You Yun's expression, Qi Hui rubbed her eyes, which were filled with bloodshot, and asked excitedly, "Wen Qing, did we succeed?"

  "Next inject five times the amount." Chen Ke said calmly.

  "Five times? You want to poison it to death!" Qi Hui said with a straight face.

  "If five times the amount of poison doesn't kill a rabbit, then this medicine can be considered barely successful. Originally, this medicine has toxicity, we cannot be irresponsible to patients." Chen Ke replied.

  "The rabbit has been cured and is still alive. As long as we control the dosage, I think..." Qi Hui couldn't help but want to argue.

  Chen Ke's low and powerful voice interrupted Qi Hui's words, "Carry forward the revolutionary humanism spirit of saving lives and rescuing the wounded."

  At this time, nothing else can express Chen Ke's feelings so strongly. Thinking back to everything he saw at the prostitute who had contracted syphilis a few days ago, Chen Ke continued: "Revolutionary humanism, you have to take responsibility for the people."

  Chen Ke finished speaking, and Qi Hui Shen's face had already turned solemn. He pursed his lips, reflecting on the words. A moment later, Qi Hui Shen repeated in a low voice, "The humanistic spirit of revolutionary people."

  "Wen Qing, you said last time that revolution is not a dinner party..." Qi Hui Shen asked.

  "When dealing with enemies, revolution is not a dinner party. But the revolution itself must be humane. If it's not to save the country and its people, what's the point of revolution?" Chen Ke's voice was laced with a hint of anger. This wasn't directed at Qi Hui, but rather at the countless discussions he had heard over the past few days, where Chen Ke clearly felt that young people were enthusiastic about revolution as if it were a cure-all for syphilis. As long as it worked, they would accept it. Never mind the side effects, someone else would die anyway. This attitude made Chen Ke extremely dissatisfied. Everyone is human, why should you make fun of others' lives?"

  I recall those women who were tormented by syphilis to the point of being worse off than dead, and their cries for help. Chen Ke felt a pang in his heart. Due to the revolutionary situation, Chen Ke couldn't develop penicillin, some people just can't be saved, it's an unavoidable thing. But within the scope of his own pharmaceutical control, Chen Ke didn't want any irresponsible things to happen.

  "China is already ill. We want a revolution, and it's just like being a doctor. The medicine you take out only cares about whether it works or not, and after using it, whether you live or die is up to fate? Revolution is indeed to kill the germs, no mistake. But revolution is for saving people, not destroying them." Chen Ke's voice had become very severe by this point. Suddenly, two hands simultaneously pressed down on Chen Ke's shoulders, and when he turned his head, he saw that Hua Xiong and You Yun each had one hand on his shoulder. Chen Ke understood their meaning, let out a sigh, and returned to the experimental platform, picking up the injector. Everyone in the room who had heard Chen Ke's emotional words looked at him. For a moment, no one spoke.

  Five times the dose went down, half of the rabbits did not survive. Under this blow, everyone dared not to speak out.

  Chen Ke rubbed his temples, closed his eyes and thought. The original Elixi was selected from hundreds of samples, Chen Ke's goal was clear, it was to produce that specific product. This medicine couldn't be synthesized incorrectly, the reasons for the previous failures were all about reaction control issues, as those problems were solved one by one, the efficacy had already reached this level, Chen Ke thought repeatedly, but still couldn't figure out where the problem lay.

  "Could it be that the purity is not high enough?" You Yun suddenly asked.

  Chen Ke was uncertain about this matter, or it could be said that this was the most difficult thing for him to deal with. Without advanced chemical industry, it is very difficult to improve the purity of chemical products. The chemical industry looks like countless formulas, but formulas are not the most important thing. In the chemical industry, "empirical parameters" are the most important. Many things, even in the 21st century, do not have a reasonable explanation. But empirical parameters can play a huge role in it.

  After a moment of silence, Chen Ke finally said, "Let's purify the reagent again."

  This was a painstaking task, but also an extremely effective one. After going through a round of purification, the final product could effectively treat syphilis, and five times the dose used on rabbits was not lethal. When the second round of purification and synthesis was completed, Chen Ke had gone without sleep for 40 hours, and the rabbits that received large doses of injections were weak but still survived. As soon as Chen Ke sat down in a recliner, he knew nothing more.