Chapter 125: 124, Napalm Production, Tsinghua University Shopkeeper Liu Reads From The Script
While in Europe, Fang Wen sent a telegram back requesting a translator proficient in German.
At that time, the domestic reply stated that a suitable candidate had been found, currently teaching in Shanghai, bishop of Chinese and Western architecture, who studied in Germany in his early years and is proficient in German.
But he hadn’t expected it to be a woman.
Fang Wen thought about it and realized that in academic circles, female scholars are sometimes respectfully addressed as “Mr.” to show respect for their academic achievements and status.
He and Shunzi walked over and introduced themselves proactively.
“Hello, you two. I’m Fang Wen, just back from Europe, bringing some German weapon information that needs someone proficient in German to translate.”
The man wearing glasses came down from the scaffolding, and the woman supported him to avoid slipping.
The man smiled and said, “We know who you are, General Manager of Taishan Airlines. Your wife has already visited our home twice. Let us see the information. After all, it’s German weapon information, and we don’t dare guarantee we can definitely do it.”
Fang Wen had Shunzi take out the suitcase and hand it to the man.
The two leaned against the scaffolding and flipped through the information, exchanging remarks from time to time.
Watching the two, Fang Wen found them increasingly familiar, and they overlapped with memories from his previous life.
“Mr. Liang Shicheng, Lady Lin Hu yin?”
“Yes.” The two responded without looking up, focused on browsing the German information.
After a while, they gave their reply.
“We’ve looked it over. Some professional terms might not be accurately translatable, but we can ask friends who know German, and it should be solvable. The question is, what are you using this weapon information for?”
“Of course, to strengthen our country’s military equipment and drive out the Japanese.” Fang Wen said confidently.
“That’s good then. We’re willing to translate it for you.” Mr. Liang replied.
Fang Wen was overjoyed and shook hands with the two in thanks.
By then, it was already noon, time for lunch. Fang Wen invited the two into the city for lunch together.
Lady Lin replied, “There’s a restaurant near the Forbidden City with good food, and it’s close by. Why not go there? We can also hear about Mr. Fang’s European trip.”
Fang Wen agreed and went out to drive.
As it turned out, Mr. Liang and Mr. Lin had come by bicycle.
He put the bicycles on the car roof, took them along, and the four of them left the Ming Xiaoling Mausoleum for the restaurant near the Forbidden City.
The car drove from Zhongshan East Road to the moat by the Ming Palace, turned onto the road by the moat, went up several hundred meters, and arrived at the restaurant.
《Zijin Restaurant》
The name is prominent, but the place is not large, just a small courtyard with one entrance.
But the layout is very elegant, with each room being a private booth.
Fang Wen’s group sat in the room on the east side, and the waiter came over to take orders.
“Mr. Liang and Mr. Lin, please order. You’re familiar with this place.” Fang Wen said with a smile.
The others didn’t stand on ceremony and directly ordered a few dishes they thought were good.
Before the dishes arrived, the four began chatting.
Mainly Fang Wen speaking, the others listening.
Departing from Shanghai, via Wuhan, Chongqing, Kunming, Kolkata, Delhi, Karachi, Tehran, Istanbul,
Each place has different geographical environmental characteristics.
As an eyewitness, Fang Wen spoke knowledgeably.
This greatly interested Mr. Liang and Mr. Lin.
Mr. Liang sighed, “My wife and I have also been to many places abroad. It was precisely seeing the diverse architecture everywhere that made us decide to specialize in architecture. But you have experienced the world in another way, even more carefree. We envy you greatly.”
Mr. Lin took out a notebook from her small bag.
“Mr. Fang, why not recount this journey in more detail? I’ll compile it into a travelogue for serialization in newspapers and periodicals, so countrymen can appreciate foreign customs.”
Shunzi agreed, “Good idea. Young Master, this ten-thousand-li journey with so many experiences—if not published, what a pity.”
The three all looked at Fang Wen.
For this request, Fang Wen thought it feasible. At most, omit things that couldn’t be said, just talk about scenic and romantic matters—it would be fun.
He also wanted to share his experiences with others, just like posting travel serials on a blog in the future to share online.
Immediately, Fang Wen recounted the itinerary in more detail.
These experiences were still fresh in memory, vivid and clear. Fang Wen spoke fluently and in detail.
From the beautiful mountains and rivers inland to the exotic natural landscapes abroad, as well as local customs and people.
The humid and rainy countries of the Indochina Peninsula.
The arid and barren India.
The revival of the ancient Persian country, as well as its local plateaus and ancient cities.
The Mediterranean’s unique climate, with the Istanbul strait connecting the Black Sea and the Mediterranean.
And so on.
The whole process was interpreted from a pilot’s perspective, with a unique viewpoint.
After Mr. Lin finished recording, she thought for a moment and came up with a title.
“How about calling this travelogue ‘Asia-Europe Flight Travelogue’?”
“Fine.” Fang Wen agreed and called the waiter from outside again: “Reheat these dishes and add some tasty ones.”
Because they had been recounting the Asia-Europe trip, they forgot to eat lunch. Everyone started eating then.
After lunch, Fang Wen made an appointment with the two scholars to pick up the German translation in a month. As for the “Asia-Europe Flight Travelogue,” he didn’t care when it was published.
Then he sent the two scholars back to the Ming Xiaoling Mausoleum.
Shunzi was sensible: “Young Master, drop me at the airport. Don’t we have a suite there? I’ll stay at the airport side tonight waiting for you.”
After sending Shunzi back, Fang Wen drove back to the urban area.
It was already 4:30 in the afternoon.
The car stopped on the street outside the National Government, waiting.
After a while, Yue Jinping, changed into a qipao, walked out gracefully. Seeing the car from afar, she came straight over and got in.
The two had dinner together and chatted happily.
Yue Jinping suddenly looked up at the door and smiled: “The person is here.”
“Who came?” Fang Wen turned back puzzled.
Kuang Mingzhu walked over gracefully, with Shunzi following timidly behind.
Seeing Fang Wen looking at him, Shunzi quickly protested: “Young Master, it wasn’t me. I don’t even know the way.”
“I sent the telegram to your wife. We’re friends.” Yue Jinping smiled faintly.
Kuang Mingzhu naturally sat next to Yue Jinping: “Yes, we’re friends.”
“Then am I also your friend?” Fang Wen suddenly realized his wife was quite capable.
The two women smiled, as if agreeing, yet not quite.
Back in Nanjing, Fang Wen got into work mode.
The first thing was to understand the airline company’s operations over the past two months.
Shopkeeper Liu, who hadn’t gone to Beiping yet, as the company’s chief accountant, that is, Financial Director, reported the situation during this time.
Currently, the company has stable income on 5 flight paths, with occupancy rates of seventy to eighty percent, making it China’s top civil aviation.
But at the same time, other civil aviation companies have appeared domestically.
However, they all run short routes, even seaplanes running along the coastline.
After hearing Shopkeeper Liu’s words, Fang Wen made operational decisions.
“In this situation, for Taishan Airlines’ domestic flight routes, besides the yet-to-open Shanghai-Wuhan and Shanghai to Fuzhou, there’s no need to expand operations further.”
Shopkeeper Liu agreed: “I think so too. Better quality over quantity. With Shanghai as the center radiating 7 flight paths, it’s enough. It’s time to focus on employee training to lay the foundation for the General Manager’s international flight plan.”
Yes, opening Taishan’s international flights on the Hump Route, connecting Asia-Europe, was Fang Wen’s next target.
But this was a long-term plan that couldn’t be rushed.
Afterward, Shopkeeper Liu, having finished reporting, went to Beiping with Sun Debiao to discuss the penicillin matter with Tsinghua University.
And just as Shopkeeper Liu boarded the plane and left, Huo Duanyang came over from Nanjing.
Huo Duanyang was eager to know how his napalm project was progressing.
Fang Wen was considering this too.
He discussed it with Huo Duanyang.
“Do you have a complete process for preparing gel gasoline?”
“Yes, I’ve quantified the formulas needed for the complete preparation process. Every proportioning process and reagent amount in the chemical reaction are accurately recorded. These can replicate my operation.”
With Huo Duanyang having prepared the most critical part, Fang Wen breathed a sigh of relief.
He listed 1234 on his notebook.
“Let’s break down the tasks one by one. Now we have the process for gel gasoline. Then you can recruit a batch of people who understand chemistry to help you prepare it. That’s the first step for the entire napalm. Next is the carrier for the gel gasoline. I thought the pewter wine pot we used before was good, but it’s too crude. Have Fang Shun find a factory that produces pewter wine pots and have them make a batch of containers to your specifications. Then there’s the filling and loading, which is the most dangerous. How to solve that?”
The two pondered bitterly over this.
For secrecy, the filling and loading of napalm requires a batch of skilled workers who follow safety operations.
Where to find such people?
It’s impossible from the Jinling Arsenal; those skilled workers can’t leave in large numbers.
Are there other alternatives?
Huo Duanyang hesitated: “How about getting people from a fireworks factory to do the filling and loading? They’re also skilled workers and understand safety better than randomly recruited people.”
This suggestion was feasible.
Fang Wen had Fang Shouxin inquire about the current national fireworks production situation.
This information was easy to obtain. Fang Shouxin went around and came back to report.
“Fireworks are produced everywhere in the country, and most demand can be met locally. But for the highest output and best craftsmanship, it’s Liuyang fireworks. Their fireworks sell well domestically and are exported abroad, reportedly accounting for half of the exports.”
Hearing Fang Shouxin’s words, Fang Wen felt this was a breakthrough.
Shopkeeper Liu went to Beiping,
Fang Shouxin went to Liuyang,
Shunzi went to find the pewter wine pot factory.
Huo Duanyang went to his alma mater Danfu University to seek chemistry department alumni resources and visit them one by one.
Fang Wen himself had to find a pilot in Shanghai to fly his airplane back from Kolkata.
Five branches blooming, one by one.
Beiping.
Shopkeeper Liu and Sun Debiao got off in Jinan and took the train directly to arrive.
After getting off the train, the two followed the agreed plan and went straight to Tsinghua University.
Arriving at Tsinghua University, Sun Debiao asked, “At the chemistry department, how should we start?”
Shopkeeper Liu took out a piece of paper, glanced at it, and carefully put it away. “The General Manager said to read what’s on it, and those people like to hear that.”
“What’s so good about that? I can’t even read it well.” Sun Debiao scratched his head; the content on the paper was too profound for him.
The two asked students for directions and arrived at the chemistry department.
After knocking on the door of the chemistry department office, they introduced themselves proactively.
“We’re from Taishan Airlines, here mainly to discuss cooperation on research and development.”
“Cooperation on research and development?” A teacher remembered. “Last year, it was also Taishan Airlines cooperating with the Physics Department on an electromagnetic gate, right? Cost 3000 silver dollars.”
“Yes, a security gate.” Shopkeeper Sun replied.
“So what do you want to develop this time? We’re the biology department, dealing with animals and plants.” That professor became even more interested.
Shopkeeper Liu took out that piece of paper.
“Research project introduction: Manufacturing process of penicillin. It comes from the metabolic product of penicillium, which can destroy bacterial cell walls and exert bactericidal effects during bacterial reproduction.”
As soon as he spoke, the other professors looked up.
Under their gaze, Shopkeeper Liu continued.
“It has good therapeutic effects on various bacterial infections, such as streptococcus and staphylococcus. However, a skin test must be done before each use to prevent allergies.”
“Wait.” A professor interrupted Shopkeeper Liu. “If I heard correctly, this is a medicine.”
“Yes.” Shopkeeper Liu nodded.
“A medicine extracted from microorganisms to treat bacterial infection?” Another professor asked incredulously.
“Yes.”
This greatly aroused the interest of the biology professors.
They argued intensely.
“I knew it—everything in nature has its checks and balances. For sick animals, there are always medicinal herbs to treat them.”
“Microorganisms can inhibit bacteria—this is a fact I’ve observed in experiments. Why didn’t I research it further? What a pity.”
“If our biology department develops this medicine, it will save so many lives!”
Seeing their excitement, Shopkeeper Liu spoke up:
“Um, um. Do you still want to hear me continue?”
“Yes.” The professors immediately quieted.
Shopkeeper Liu continued.
“This project was first discovered by a biologist in London, United Kingdom. He has traded the production and preparation process and original strain he mastered to Taishan Airlines. Currently, Taishan Airlines is the owner and promoter of this technology.”
“Our company believes that once this technology is realized, it will benefit all humanity, so we decide to fully support the development project.”
“If Tsinghua University Biology Department is willing to cooperate, we will provide the above technical data, bear the research and development expenses, and all kinds of biological experimental equipment.”
Shopkeeper Liu finished speaking.
The professors were somewhat disappointed; they wanted to hear ideas on the penicillin manufacturing process and more details.
But these words were enough for them to agree to jointly develop penicillin with Taishan Airlines.
At this point, Shopkeeper Liu made another request.
“Due to war factors, Taishan Airlines does not want the penicillin research project to fall into the hands of the Japanese Army. If you’re willing to participate in the development project, you must go to the new laboratory inland. Taishan Airlines will cover all expenses of the laboratory.”
The professors thought of the Japanese Army attacking outside the Great Wall and did not object.
They asked, “Where is the laboratory?”
“In Wuhan, on our Taishan Airlines flight path soon to open, convenient access.” Sun Debiao replied.
