Chapter 226: 225, Medical Suturing Device, Mysterious Notice Letter, Penicillin Miraculous Sterilizing Agent
Seven days after the assassination incident.
Five corpses floated up in East Lake of the Old Summer Palace.
From their clothing and body shapes, it could be determined that they were the five Japanese assassins who fled midway and jumped into the river.
Security Department military police immediately arrived and collected the corpses.
The whole matter became strange.
Teachers and students from both Huaqing University and Peking University were discussing the matter. Many people had seen with their own eyes those five fleeing into the Old Summer Palace and jumping into the lake. At the time, everyone thought the Security Department had deliberately let them escape.
But now it seemed not to be the case. These five had actually jumped into the lake and committed suicide!
Even the people from the Security Department were puzzled, but the corpses proved they had really jumped into the lake and drowned themselves.
Even a specially invited medical autopsy confirmed it was drowning.
This matter, besides the two presidents of the Huaqing and Peking student unions, Fang Wen, and action team members, no one else knew the truth.
But this outcome, everyone could accept. Dead is good.
The subsequent recruitment activities went smoothly.
20 engineering students were willing to join the Taishan Aircraft Manufacturing Plant.
On average, only 10 per school, which was not beyond Fang Wen’s expectations. After all, they were nationally famous universities, and not all students were willing to enter an aircraft manufacturing plant starting as workers.
Fang Wen was already very satisfied with these 20.
In the Huaqing Mechanical Engineering Department, Fang Wen borrowed a teaching workshop fully equipped with processing equipment and was researching a device that had suddenly come to mind.
What he wanted to make was a surgical suturing device.
That day, suturing Wu Yingzong’s blood vessels made him realize the danger of surgical operations.
In a state of continuous blood loss, the faster the surgical operation is completed, the safer for the wounded, but the suturing process requires the doctor’s hands to be steady without mistakes. To complete suturing quickly, only a few talented doctors and experienced veteran surgeons can do it.
If there was a device that could solve the problem of quick suturing, it could save many lives, especially wounded soldiers who were shot and bleeding on the battlefield.
What kind of device could achieve that?
Fang Wen, with future memories, had heard of surgical suturing devices. There were complex ones, as well as handheld mechanical suturing devices mimicking stapler and sewing machine functions.
Fang Wen thought about it for a long time and designed it.
It should be simple: a grip, controlled by a trigger-like device to operate the suturing device at the front end.
The final suturing effect would be similar to the stitching of a sewing machine on fabric.
But the front-end device producing the suturing effect used a stapler structure.
After this idea emerged, he had been busy in the workshop. Through constant making and improvements, it gradually took shape.
Finally, he made the version that felt most suitable.
“Let’s go to the Peking University medical office to see Wu Yingzong, and have Professor Bing take a look at this thing,” Fang Wen said excitedly.
The group left the Huaqing campus and went to the adjacent Peking University clinic.
There, everyone visited Wu Yingzong together.
After several days of recuperation, Wu Yingzong’s complexion had improved a lot. Everyone gathered around him, all smiling.
Fang Wen left the ward and found the old doctor: “Professor Bing, what do you think this is?”
The old professor looked at the tool in Fang Wen’s hand, not understanding: “I don’t know.”
“For surgery, a suturing tool.”
“What? This can be used for suturing?” The old doctor was incredulous.
“It can’t suture blood vessels, but it can suture wound surfaces. Let me tell you how to operate it.”
Fang Wen demonstrated the device, and the old doctor saw the trick, immediately even more amazed. For a surgeon, this was a divine tool!
He immediately called his colleagues and students.
Doctors and students from the clinic crowded the office inside and out, all listening to Fang Wen explain the functions of this device.
Just listening wasn’t enough; they wanted to see actual operation.
Soon, a student brought rubber props used for usual suturing practice.
Two doctors performed suturing simulation: one used the tool to close the wound, the other used the suturing device to suture.
They quickly mastered this simple and practical device and continued wound suturing operations.
This device was indeed very useful. With it, in cases of large numbers of wounded, surgical operations could be completed smoothly and quickly.
Immediately, the Peking University Medical Department wanted to order 200 sets for teaching use.
Fang Wen did not refuse, but informed them that production and sales could only start after the aircraft manufacturing plant officially began operations.
（First generation medical handheld mechanical suturing device from the 90s）
The aircraft manufacturing plant hadn’t started operations yet, and not a single airplane had been produced, yet there was already an order.
A medical equipment order at that. It could be said this would become a fun anecdote in the history of the Taishan Aircraft Manufacturing Plant.
Three days later, the Beiping recruitment fair officially ended. The recruited students would take the admission forms and board a train to Jinan within a month, then use the admission forms to ride Taishan Airlines aircraft for free to Shanghai for assembly.
Subsequently, Tianjin recruitment began.
Because of the Beiping matter, Fang Wen did not participate in the Tianjin recruitment activities, which were mainly hosted by the school side and action team members who went to Tianjin.
Perhaps because Fang Wen didn’t go, there were no major issues with the recruitment there, just some minor disruptions attempted by Japanese in the Tianjin area.
Despite that, Nankai University still had 8 students join.
With this, Northern China recruitment was complete. Wu Yingzong was carried out of the medical office on a stretcher by his companions, boarded the seaplane moored at East Lake of the Old Summer Palace, and flew back to Shanghai.
The airplane moored at the seaplane airport in Shanghai Suburbs.
Wu Yingzong was sent to a hospital in the SH urban area that same day for follow-up treatment, and the other action team members were arranged for 3 days of leave.
Action team members drove away with Wu Yingzong, and Fang Wen also drove his own car back to the street outside Shanghai Airport.
He parked the car outside the house and pushed the door to enter.
The house was quiet. His wife and Chun Cao and Qiu Ju should be at the company, and the cook Wu Ma might have gone to the street to buy vegetables.
Fang Wen put down his luggage, leaned back in the rocking chair in the courtyard, and closed his eyes to enjoy the sunlight.
Until his wife returned and gently stood behind him, rubbing his shoulders with both hands.
“I know about the Beiping matter, husband. The Japanese have started paying attention to you.”
“They were already paying attention to me before.” Fang Wen replied with his eyes closed.
“This time is different. You’re making airplanes. A pilot and someone who can manufacture large quantities of airplanes—they’re more unwilling to see the latter continue. Mister, you can’t take risks anymore.” Kuang Mingzhu was a bit anxious.
It wasn’t the most dangerous time yet. Fang Wen sighed inwardly. The real war hadn’t come.
But danger was indeed approaching, and preparations must be made.
Fang Wen made his judgment.
Future recruitment would be handled by the Special Action Team.
Shanghai couldn’t be stayed in for long. After recruitment ended, he would take people to Yangon to start aircraft manufacturing.
But before leaving Shanghai, there was one very important thing left undone.
Promoting penicillin.
On this matter, Fang Wen, realizing his delicate situation, decided to abandon any public sales channels and switch to covert sales.
Only by hiding in the darkness could all variables targeting him become useless.
But how to hide in the dark and promote penicillin?
Fang Wen thought about how to make it mysterious and untraceable.
The previous flying club, though completed with subsequent member joins, hadn’t met his requirements.
This time, Fang Wen felt the plan needed to be more rigorous.
He brought in the one among the Five Senior Brothers of Toumen who was skilled in scams as an assistant.
Qian Yinxing’s master.
A nameless Jianghu person.
Ranked Old Third in Tou Men, everyone called him Old Third.
Old Third was called by his disciple and had a private talk with Fang Wen.
Fang Wen smiled and poured tea for Old Third, asking his question: “Third Master, I’m planning to set up a scheme to let all parties know about a miraculous product, but require that before and after, no participants can trace the organizer’s identity. Do you have any suggestions?”
Old Third took a sip of tea and replied: “These days, scammers are rampant. Has the general manager heard of Liang Zuoyou?”
“No.” Fang Wen, busy with matters these two years, really didn’t know who Liang Zuoyou was.
Old Third explained: “In December two years ago, Shen Bao published an article saying a Shandong wealthy merchant named Liang Zuoyou was willing to donate 30 million silver dollars to save the country. The matter even alarmed Finance Minister Song and the president, who specially summoned him. In the end, it turned out he didn’t have the money, and the matter fizzled out. What I mean is, for a scam to work well, two points: one, be bold; two, prepare well in advance.”
Fang Wen nodded. He heard the confidence in Old Third’s words.
“What high opinion does Third Master have? Please speak freely.”
Old Third smiled. Another key to scams was that all participants needed extremely high execution. He thought Fang Wen of Taishan Airlines and his Special Action Team were good.
He spoke: “For the general manager to act secretly, the first step must be with great fanfare.”
Great fanfare?!
Fang Wen was puzzled.
In the Republic of China, no internet, no cameras, no rigorous household registration system, no blood tests or fingerprint identification.
This was a paradise era for criminals, with lawbreakers filling every aspect of society.
Stealing, robbing, trafficking, scamming—these crime forms appeared in different guises across all social classes.
Even the president couldn’t escape a scam.
Therefore, mutual trust between people was extremely low.
Now, a mysterious organization without a public identity wanted to attract the attention of many forces in Shanghai, so it had to take an unconventional path.
November 1934.
Action team members disguised with disguise technique found intelligence dealers in Shanghai.
Intelligence dealers were the terminals of the Shanghai Far East intelligence network, possessing the most news dissemination channels and clients.
Through Shanghai’s intricate intelligence network, exquisitely hand-drawn notice letters were delivered to celebrities, wealthy merchants, and even political figures inside and outside the concessions.
Each notice letter featured a mysterious pattern symbolizing the organization, ‘Azure Dragon’, and a passage of text: “Now there is a medicine, with unprecedented miraculous effects, able to break through bacterial barriers, like a sharp sword unsheathed, invincible. For any bodily infection, whether severe typhoid fever, lingering tuberculosis, or poisonous boils, one dose reduces the disease’s momentum, restores vitality, truly the fortune of the people and the great achievement of medicine.”
No identity, just a passage of text, couldn’t convince Shanghai’s shrewd people.
The invitation letter had an attached page with another passage.
“In two days, medicine will be donated to Guangci Hospital. To know the effects, send someone to inquire.”
The two passages together successfully sparked many people’s interest.
Who wouldn’t want a genuine miracle drug to save their life in critical illness?
Thus, for a time, various parties sent people to Guangci Hospital to investigate.
Guangci Hospital was located in the French Concession, the largest hospital in Shanghai today.
The hospital had multiple departments, hundreds of beds, over a dozen French doctors, and 3 Chinese doctors.
It was the first choice for Shanghai’s rich and powerful when ill.
That day, a package mysteriously appeared at the hospital’s entrance.
French text on the package specified it was to be given to the dean of Guangci Hospital.
The French dean had also received the mysterious notice. He didn’t open the package alone but called some colleagues and friends to witness.
The package was opened, revealing several bottles of powder.
The bottles were small, with very little powder inside.
Everyone wondered if such a small amount could really cure diseases.
Fortunately, there was a manual in the bundle.
The dean read the manual aloud.
Drug name: Miraculous Sterilizing Agent
Properties: This drug is white, with fine powder, soluble in water.
Effects: Targets bacterial diseases, whether internal or external infections caused by bacteria, such as typhoid fever, tuberculosis, boils, etc., all show miraculous effects. One dose enters the body, bacteria disintegrate, symptoms gradually fade, recovery to health is hopeful.
Usage: Must be administered by those skilled in medicine, dosed according to severity. Requires intravenous injection via needle. Note: Perform skin test before use to avoid allergy risks.
Precautions: Though miraculous, not omnipotent. Use with extra caution in pregnant women, infants, and the weak. During use, diet should be light, avoid spicy and greasy foods to prevent clashing with the drug.
Storage: Keep in a cool, dry place, away from light and sealed to prevent deterioration.
Following that were instructions for preparing injection solution, skin test solution, and notes on skin tests and injections.
After the dean finished reading, as a doctor, he really wanted to see the drug’s effects.
But the patients in Guangci Hospital were all rich or noble; he didn’t dare use it on them.
So he posted a poster outside the hospital recruiting patients with typhoid fever, tuberculosis, boils, or other bacterial infections for free treatment.
The announcement spread quickly, and soon a batch of test subjects was recruited.
They were placed in different wards in the same area, underwent skin tests respectively, and after no allergic reactions, were injected with Miraculous Sterilizing Agent solution.
After several days of continuous treatment and observation.
Doctors at Guangci Hospital were amazed to discover that these drugs really had miraculous effects.
Typhoid fever patients had extremely high cure rates.
Tuberculosis symptoms also lessened after injection.
A large portion of boils and external bacterial infection patients were recovering.
Exactly as stated in the mysterious notice letter.
Such a divine drug was too astonishing.
Guangci Hospital’s dean immediately made a public statement: “The hospital is willing to purchase Miraculous Sterilizing Agent at a high price. Please contact the hospital, gift giver.”
But after that, the mysterious gift giver and the organization that sent the notice letters to everyone vanished without a trace.
No one knew where they were or where they came from.
