Chapter Eleven Penicillin

  In a private courtyard in Guangzhou city, several people were sitting under a large banyan tree with lush foliage and dense leaves, chatting.

  "Mr. Liu, I think you should be very clear about this. This medical accident has made it difficult for you to continue staying at Guangzhou Hospital, or even any hospital in the entire Guangdong province, although the cause of the accident is not your fault."

  Sitting on a small bamboo chair, holding the small teapot in his hand, he took a sip. Liu Shusheng, who had just returned from the hospital, was wearing a tie and suit, looking dejected, and hadn't even changed his clothes when he met this unexpected guest.

  In the courtyard, several moving boxes were placed. A very young and knowledgeable woman, wearing a cheongsam dress, stood beside him, seemingly waiting for Liu Shusheng to return before they would move house.

  If it weren't for this unexpected guest, they might have already called a rickshaw and were ready to head out!

  Liu Shusheng is a somewhat famous internal medicine doctor at Guangzhou Hospital. Ten minutes ago, he had just picked up a letter of dismissal from the hospital that he had long anticipated.

  Liu Shusheng hung his head and let out a sigh. The person standing in front of him, who claimed to be from the Qinghe Village Industrial Zone Security Team, was inviting him to preside over the establishment of the Longteng Hospital at his most down-and-out moment. This young man seemed to have no idea how difficult it was to establish a Western-style hospital system. Moreover, where exactly was Qinghe Village? And what about this so-called industrial zone? When had Guangxi established an industrial zone? Why did he know nothing about it?

  "Director Jian, our Shu Sheng is not wrong, nor is his medical skills poor. That patient was a dead horse treated as a live one. Shu Sheng graduated from..."

  "That's enough!" Liu Shusheng raised his hand to stop his wife from explaining for him. He didn't need an explanation either. The fact that the patient from a prestigious family had died was the biggest reality, and even in a Chinese-run hospital, being fired as punishment was already the best result after the director's efforts.

  "Born into a family of traditional Chinese medicine, studied at Shanghai Medical College, and was recommended to study abroad at Oxford Medical College in the UK due to his exceptional medical talent. He majored in Cell Biology and minored in Clinical Medicine. In early 1914, he returned to China after completing his studies and worked at Guangzhou Hospital."

  Jian San said with a smile that was not quite a smile, "At this time, being able to get into Oxford Medical School and study cellular and biological sciences, such a person would actually return to the country. For this point alone, Liu Shusheng is worthy of respect."

  "Mr. Jian, your news is accurate." Liu Shusheng smiled wryly, seemingly a bit surprised, "I didn't master the skills well, and when I returned home, I originally wanted to use Western medicine to treat illnesses for my fellow villagers, but I didn't expect such a big mistake to happen. How about you? Are you still insisting on hiring me to preside over the construction of a Western hospital? You should know that it will be a huge investment."

  Listening to his frank words, Jian San respected him even more, "Our captain said: The hospital can be established step by step. Western medicine can slowly recruit from Shanghai, Guangzhou and Hong Kong, without a microscope, we can buy it, without an operating room, we can build it, without a blood bank, our boss can lead the way to donate blood... And this is a letter from our boss to you." After finishing speaking, Jian San took out a letter and handed it to Liu Shusheng.

  Tearing open the envelope, inside were two thin sheets of paper, Liu Shusheng read while reciting: "Brother Shusheng, greetings, please forgive my sudden and presumptuous move, I have learned about your situation, after much deliberation, I finally took up my pen to write to you, hoping to dispel the worries in your heart.

  I, Chen Shao, an overseas wanderer, having experienced the prejudice of foreigners, returned to my hometown to establish schools and factories, with the aim of revitalizing China's industries, strengthening our country's power, and nothing else.

  My younger brother also has great ambitions, to stand up for the Chinese people and shed hot blood, but in this world of dialects, powerful countries are standing tall, China has been weak for a long time and cannot compete with them. Now we can only strive for scientific and industrial development. If you have China in your heart, join me, establish hospitals that benefit the people and future medical schools, pass on medical skills from generation to generation. At the same time, I hope you will come to my place to discuss this in detail, I am willing to be open and honest with you.

  Respectfully yours, Chen Shao

  Furthermore, the handwriting is ugly and the writing is poor, please forgive me.

  “Like that……” Liu Shusheng's heart was moved, with a tone of inquiry, “Mr. Jian, although I know the Min Tuan is also a reputable and regular military organization, but as a doctor in the hospital, my research direction is in cell biology and biomedical fields, what I am best at is not hospital management and administration work. And I just received a letter from my microbiology mentor in Britain, inviting me to go to Britain and join a microbiology laboratory.”

  "But you don't want to leave China, and still have hopes of making a big impact with what you've learned, right?" Like most students returning home during this period, Liu Shusheng was indeed a bird that found it hard to settle in its nest, but he still held onto hope. This eventually led to the situation stabilizing later on, and large numbers of talented individuals returning to China. Nowadays, where can you find a bacterial testing lab in China? What are bacteria? If you randomly gather a few hundred Chinese people, it's already a good thing if one of them knows what they are.

  Even as a doctor, I've encountered this kind of bad luck. These days, patients won't reason with you like the British do; only money and power are reasonable. "Don't worry! Cells are the most basic units that make up the human body, right? Although I haven't studied abroad, I did study in Shanghai for a few years. In short, my future work won't give Mr. Liu the feeling of playing the piano to a cow. This time, when you go to Qinghe Village, you'll have an unexpected surprise."

  "Otherwise, let's go to Qinghe Village first, Mr. Jian, and I'll see Commander Chen, then we can talk about whether or not to agree."

  "No problem at all, are you leaving now? If so, I'll arrange for a car."

  Then I'll have to trouble Mr. Kan.

  Liu Shusheng's wife seemed worried about this unheard-of Qinghe Village in Huashi County. Although she was not a scientist, she had been born and raised in the West, with a master's degree in linguistics, fluent in four languages: English, German, French, and Russian - otherwise, she wouldn't have been a match for Liu Shusheng. But what could she do if they went to Qinghe Village?

  "Are you really going to go take a look?"

  "Let's go take a look first."

  Zan sat on a bamboo chair, smiled and said: "Madam, why don't you come together to take a look? I can guarantee that it will definitely not disappoint you."

  Three people came out of the hospital gate and walked to the entrance, where a car was already waiting for them. It seemed that Sanji had made arrangements in advance.

  After several hours of bumpy ride, it didn't take long after passing Huashi County to get on the cement road, and the car became much more stable then.

  Liu Shusheng and his wife sat in the car, gazing out at the golden rice paddies and the trucks and pedestrians coming and going, giving them a sense of disorientation as if they were not in China. When did rural roads become cement roads? When did trucks start running wild on Chinese soil? Along the way, they passed several checkpoints, where the soldiers standing guard also made them feel incredulous, standing like pines and sitting like bells, their words and actions full of strong confidence. As the car drove further in, the highway gradually became more dense, and when it entered Qinghe Village, the streetlights along the road and the neat houses, standardized streets, and trees lined up on both sides of the street, each one standing upright, made them believe that in a few years, these saplings would grow into a shaded avenue.

  The car stopped in front of the Longteng Building, and as soon as Liu Shusheng and his wife got out of the car, they saw a young man wearing a Sun Yat-sen suit walking towards them with a smile on his face, extending his right hand and saying: "I presume this is Brother Liu Shusheng. I am Chen Shao, the head of the security team for Qinghe Village under the Longteng Group. It's an honor to meet you again."

  Liu Shusheng also politely extended his right hand, the two shook hands, and then pointed to his wife beside him and said: "I am Liu Shusheng, this is my wife."

  "Mr. Liu and Mrs. Liu were having an in-depth conversation inside or walking around?"

  The couple looked at each other and then Liu Shusheng said: "Let's take a walk around."

  Chen Shao walked with Liu Shusheng and his wife towards the factory, with San Ge following behind them. The four of them walked in silence all the way. Chen Shao was not in a hurry, since he had come this far, he wasn't afraid that they would refuse him. As for Liu Shusheng and his wife, they were still in shock and hadn't digested what they had seen on the way.

  A group of people slowly passed by Qinghe Village Primary School, Technical School, Reserve Army Camp, Seed Base, Livestock Farm, Pig Farm, Chicken Farm, and gradually entered the factory area. Listening to the pedestrians constantly greeting the young man beside him, Liu Shusheng felt a sense of wonder: he had not expected that in China, apart from Shanghai, he would see such a huge industrial cluster in this small mountain village; it seemed that he really needed to stay here, perhaps this was the future of Chinese children.

  Looking at the couple, Chen Shao said to Liu Shusheng's wife: "I heard that you are a master of linguistics and proficient in four languages. I don't know if you can come to Qinghe Village as a teacher. Although there is no perfect learning mechanism here now, I promise you that within two years, middle schools, high schools, and universities will be established one after another. In the future, this will also be a place for you to realize your ambitions."

  "I believe what Mr. Chen said, but it depends on whether my husband stays or not." In fact, Mrs. Liu Shusheng had already agreed in her heart, but this also depended on her husband's opinion.

  Hearing Mrs. Liu's words, Chen Shao said: "I suppose the two of you haven't eaten yet? It's been a bumpy ride, let's head back first and I'll do my duty as host to treat you to some local food."

  "Alright, let's just go with the flow." As soon as they mentioned eating, the couple felt that their stomachs were indeed a bit hungry.

  Back at the Longteng Building, there was a large cafeteria behind it. San Ge had something to attend to and left, leaving the three of them eating and chatting together.

  "Mr. Liu, as a genius, I understand you and know that you must have been looked down upon abroad. Perhaps they also say that Chinese people are inherently not good at Western medicine and only know those traditional Chinese medicines, right?" Chen Shao asked with a smile, Easterners, especially Chinese people, are discriminated against by Westerners in an all-around and industry-wide manner.

  "How did you know? At that time, when I was at Oxford Medical College, it really made me angry. That year, I was the first to complete a cell division experiment assignment, and several French classmates ridiculed me, saying that the professor helped me complete it... Haha... Speaking of which, Mr. Jian won't laugh at me. At that time, the entire Oxford Medical College, even another Chinese person, a Japanese person, all doubted me. The only one who believed in me was my bacteriology tutor, who described me as a genius from the East. Of course, he also hoped that I could go back and continue working under him."

  Chen Shaodan nodded, put down his rice bowl, and said in a very affirmative tone: "Believe me, within two years, all your classmates, including your instructor, will be ashamed of their short-sightedness and despicable behavior back then. And I will also do my best to help you develop our own Chinese medical system, and develop the world's strongest cell and biological science."

  "The tree is born..."

  Mrs. Liu Shusheng apparently wanted to say something, but before she could finish, she was interrupted by Liu Shusheng.

  "Director Zhang, my wife is also of Chinese descent and a graduate of Oxford University, majoring in linguistics."

  This is something Chen Shao has already realized in his three years at the school, linguistics talent is hard to come by, especially those with Chinese as their mother tongue. Although his school has foreign language textbooks that meet modern needs, it lacks high-level language teachers. Even several coastal cities have recruited teachers who are still stuck on teaching letters, and subsequent grammar and oral teaching require true experts.

  I just said that within two years, a university will be established here and I also urgently hope that Mrs. Zun can stay and teach.

  "University? You, you're really willing to invest that much money?" Again with the hospital and university, it's hard to imagine a civilian team leader having such great courage, but thinking of that huge industrial base, I already believe in this team leader.

  "Besides, Mr. Liu, you won't feel lonely here, because there are not only many patriotic scholars who have returned from studying abroad, but also perfect experimental facilities." Chen Shao took out a check, a $500,000 US dollar check, and showed it to Liu Shusheng, "As the start-up capital for the hospital, this amount of money may not be enough, but it will be the first investment."

  Liu Shusheng smiled readily: "Since Commander Chen is so confident, I'd rather obey than show respect."

  Seeing Liu Shusheng agree to stay, Chen Shaoyi smiled mysteriously, of course, it was a surprise. The invention of penicillin is the company's, but it will depend on this patriotic medical scientist surnamed Liu.

  To put it bluntly, his good fortune was to have met a returned overseas high-end medical talent. And Liu Shusheng's good fortune is that from now on, he will be famous at home and abroad because of him.