Nineteenth Century Medical Guide

Chapter 471 467. Each Takes What He Needs
When Kavi saw Hag, he realized that he had been so busy with surgery that he had forgotten his former supporter. He had met Laszlo because of the truckload of oysters shipped from France. The reason why French oysters could remain fresh in Vienna was mainly due to the cold chain transportation that he had invested heavily in.

This kind of cold chain transportation is different from the modern one. The refrigeration is complicated and inefficient, and the installation and replacement of power supply are even more troublesome. However, the money was spent, and the result was good, at least it could ensure the freshness and deliciousness of the oysters.

This means that the refrigeration level has barely reached Kawi's requirements. As long as the refrigeration process can be customized, vacuum will be relatively simple.

The night Hager came to the laboratory, Kavi met Laszlo in the salon of the 8-square-foot mansion at 18000 rue de Astorgue. Coincidentally, the hostess of the mansion was Sherice, who had just been discharged from the surgery department of the Hôtel-Dieu.

House No. 8 was mainly used for daily socializing, salons, and entertaining guests. No. 10 next door was where her parents lived, and No. 12 further back was given to her sister Ruth and brother-in-law, August, chief physician of the Hôtel-Dieu.

She specially chose the reception hall at the corner to hold the salon because it had two large windows facing the back garden and the entrance courtyard, which allowed plenty of sunlight. However, in her opinion, the reception hall was still too large and would not be cozy enough when the number of guests was not enough.

A few days ago, she wanted to invite Kavi to come here for a follow-up and check on the condition of the arm incision, but Kavi had no time at all, so in the end it was Landreth who came to the door.

Now Kawi suddenly appeared at the door, giving her a sense of surprise: "Doctor Kawi, why are you here?!"

Before Kavi could reply, Shelly invited the person in.

After casually introducing several VIPs, she became more and more excited, and even the red wine in her hand could hardly be held steady. She quickly found a small table and put it down, then took Kavi's arm and pulled him to sit on the sofa: "I have been looking for you these days. I have looked in hotels, schools, and hospitals, but no one knows where you are. I want to send you an invitation letter, but you have no chance to come to the salon."

When she said this, the image of the Prince of Wales smiling and shaking his head appeared in front of her eyes. No matter what she did before, she could not get Kavi's whereabouts from him. Shelly felt angry and amused.

Kavi couldn't resist the other party's enthusiasm and had to reply: "I have been doing pre-operative experiments these days. Director Landreth showed me the follow-up records before. Your arm has recovered well, much better than Mr. Devinke."

"Devink"

Shelly hoped that this man would get better. Even if they were not injured in the same explosion, her family had invested in Devinke's chocolate business, and it would be bad for no one if he collapsed. But she didn't want this guy to get better too quickly, or there would be another guy showing off his bone nails, stealing her limelight.

Of course, I thought so in my heart, and I couldn't lose any concern in my mouth: "How is Mr. Devinke now? Is his leg better?"

"The recovery is good, which is within my expectations, but it will take some time before I can be discharged from the hospital."

Out of courtesy to the hostess, Kavi answered every question, but his eyes were full of Laszlo who had just greeted him. Laszlo also knew that Kavi must have something to do when he was in a hurry to find him, so he followed him and helped him out: "Doctor Kavi, how come you are in the mood to come to the general's wife's salon to look at paintings today?"

Originally, Kavi had no intention of looking at the paintings, but since Laszlo said so, he felt embarrassed to refuse.

Anyway, I am here and cannot escape. I must get custom refrigeration equipment today. "Yeah, I encountered some troubles in the experiment, so I wanted to come out and relax. I originally wanted to have a good chat with Mr. Laszlo, but I didn't expect you to be here, so I came here without invitation."

"What do you want to talk about? The pharmaceutical factory business?" Laszlo knew that Kavi wanted to work alone, so he asked him specifically. Then he looked at Shelly with a smile, "The general's wife and I have been discussing business."

Shelly had no intention of talking about business at all. While she kept praising Kavi to everyone, she was thinking about how to maximize the benefits brought by "Kavi's appearance in the salon".

There were only two salons in Paris that Carvey could visit, Melanie and Mathilde, both of whom were top names in the upper social circles. Now that his salon had become the third one, the pain caused by the explosion and the tens of thousands of francs spent suddenly became irrelevant.

"Business is not urgent, let's look at the paintings first."

Shelly winked at Laszlo, clearly wanting him to help her. After helping, business would be easier. "Dr. Kavi is also a painting lover. I heard that he has collected many excellent paintings before. It's an honor for me that you can come here. If you like the paintings here, it would be even better."

Kavi has always been very picky about works outside of China, especially the oil paintings that are flooding the market. For him, it doesn't matter how well the painting is done, but what matters is the name of the painter. If he encounters something he is not familiar with, he will skip it and easily filter out paintings that were famous at the time.

If he were a commoner, he would be considered to have no vision and no artistic accomplishment. But now he is a count and a talented surgeon, so "eccentric" is a more appropriate description.

The only ones he was familiar with were the Impressionists, who were not only famous in modern times but also had come into contact with them here. But in Paris in 1867, Impressionism was not popular.

The salon run by Shelly was a more traditional one, not as avant-garde and inclusive as Melanie's, nor as high-standard as Mathilde's. To put it bluntly, it had no special features. After walking around, they were all painters that Kavi didn't know, and naturally, they were all works that he didn't like.

The problem was given to Shelly, but fortunately Laszlo beside her was smart enough: "Madame General, I remember that Dr. Kavi did not value fame, but admired those emerging painters who were not favored by others, such as Manet and Morisot."

"Yes, yes, I remember now!!!" Shelly reacted quickly and immediately thought of a painting hidden in the studio upstairs. "All the paintings on display today are realistic paintings. It seems that they are not to Dr. Kavi's taste."

"Not entirely. I really like Mr. Miller's 'The Angelus'." Kavi looked around and shook his head. "It's a pity that there is no painting here that can compare with it."

Hearing this, Shelly became completely excited, as if the two paintings that had been piled up in her hands finally had a place to go.

According to the custom, she should take Kavi upstairs to the studio to see the two paintings that could not be exhibited. But a woman who can mix in social circles cannot be so stupid as to see at a glance that Kavi came here for Laszlo, not really to see the paintings.

Since she had given him enough face, she should know how to reciprocate. Instead of forcing him to go upstairs, it would be better to free up some time for Kavi to allocate on his own. Anyway, he was already here, and the words had been spoken, so he could sell the painting anyway.

"Please wait a moment, Dr. Kavi. I will have the painting brought down."

"it is good."

Taking advantage of this gap, Kavi talked to Laszlo about business: "Mr. Laszlo, I heard that you have a freezer?"

"Yes, I have."

Laszlo didn't know why he asked this. He just drank the red wine in his hand and said, "The source is a meat freezing factory opened by a British friend of mine in Darling Harbor, Sydney, Australia, which specializes in supplying frozen meat to local restaurants." Kavi was not surprised but delighted: "Is this the freezer in your hand?"

"Indeed, but I put it on the train and I don't usually use it." Laszlo gradually realized the real purpose of Kavi's visit this time and made a plan in his mind, "Are you eyeing this machine?"

"My surgery requires taking a large number of blood vessels from corpses, preserving them and then selecting the best ones to transplant into the patient." It was rare for Kavi to explain so much to a layman. "I have tried many reagents, but none of them could meet the requirements of the surgery. Last time I ate the oysters you sent me, I felt that only freeze-drying could ensure that the blood vessels would not have a serious inflammatory reaction and greatly increase their shelf life."

Laszlo did not understand this knowledge of physiology and pathology, and even the experts at the forefront of physiology and pathology might not understand it. He only knew that Kavi had once again asked him for help, and he had to take this opportunity to reset their already seriously unbalanced relationship.

Unlike before, he did not rush to answer, but put down the empty red wine glass and asked the servant to replace it with a glass of white wine. After taking two sips, Laszlo changed his topic and asked, "Dr. Kavi, I heard that you are going to open your own pharmaceutical factory in Switzerland?"

Kavi knew that once this guy made a request, he would definitely be confident about the freezer.

In fact, there were so many mechanical products in the World Expo, but Kawi never saw any freezers, otherwise he would not have blocked the "freeze-drying" route in the first place.

However, Laszlo's question was not difficult to answer. He had already thought of the reason: "I have no choice. The whole of Europe is not peaceful. You have seen the Austro-Prussian War. If it were not for Count Morasso's efforts to save the situation, the Prussians would have invaded Vienna. The pharmaceutical factory is my lifeblood and the guarantee of surgery. I must ensure its safety."

"Is Switzerland safe?" Laszlo wondered.

"Neutral countries are naturally safe, at least there will be no robbery. After all, I am a doctor with some reputation, who can guarantee that I will not get sick or injured?" Kavi replied, "Besides, the interest rates offered by the banks there are very low, and I don't have to pay any storage fees for my collections."

Laszlo was confused by the sudden excuses and didn't know how to pursue the matter further. He could only catch one and ask, "The interest rate is very low? How low can it be? 3% per year?"

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Kavi shook his head.

Laszlo frowned, and his face suddenly became serious: "1%?"

Kavi also followed his example and asked the servant for a glass of champagne. "It's a bank opened by a friend's family. The interest is high. Actually, I just opened a new pharmaceutical factory in Switzerland. The equipment factory still needs the support of Mr. Laszlo. Your steel is the best in Europe. The general's wife's arm is made of you."

The atmosphere between the two was not harmonious.

Laszlo didn't like Kawi being too independent in the pharmaceutical company, and he didn't like him unilaterally giving up drug research and development. But he had not gotten angry before because of Kawi's rising status. Now that he had the chance, he must get back what he had lost.

Cavi also recognized this guy's greed early on. The fact that he demanded to keep the drug patent from the very beginning was enough to explain the problem.

At this time, the two paintings were moved into the salon one after another.

One painting is a very familiar rural theme. The composition, brushstrokes and colors are all from the same series of "The Angelus" and it is an authentic work of Millet.

"The Gleaners was a painting by Millet 10 years ago. It was included in the Salon that year. I remember that the transaction price was only 1000 francs. Later, it was sold to the general's wife by a British art dealer for 5000 francs. But she regretted it after the purchase. Millet's works often entered the annual Salon, but he was never famous. He can be regarded as the most difficult type of painter to estimate."

Laszlo knew Shelly's life and preferences very well, and had guessed that she would definitely move out the two paintings. After seeing the paintings, his attitude softened, and he thought that there was another way to resolve the dispute between him and Kavi: "If Dr. Kavi could do me the honor of buying these two paintings, I would consider it."

"I want it." Kavi did not hesitate, but as soon as he finished speaking, he asked politely, "Mr. Laszlo doesn't like oil paintings?"

“No, I’m not interested in art merchandise.”

In Laszlo's eyes, you can find dozens of oil paintings in any shop on the streets of Paris, so there is no need to collect them. So he was very confused about Kavi's straightforward purchase behavior, and seemed to be even more stupid than the general's wife: "Do you really like this painting?"

"Of course I would like it," said Kavi, smiling. "It's a companion piece for my collection of 'Venetian Angelus'."

Laszlo smiled helplessly, and then introduced another giant oil painting on behalf of Shelly: "This should be the work of the painter who borrowed the venue here before. I don't know what it's called, and it probably didn't even enter the Paris Salon this year."

"Yes, I thought the previous painting 'Lady in Green' had already made a name for itself in the salon, but it failed miserably in the preliminary round this year. The judges said that his use of colors was too monotonous, his movements were uncoordinated, and his facial expressions were too veiled. I couldn't understand his aesthetic sense." Xie Lisi also lamented the injustice of the world. "He is 27 years old this year, which is not young anymore. What will he do in his future life?"

Kavi didn't recognize the painting, but he knew the lady in green, and immediately thought of Claude Monet, who was mentioned repeatedly at Melanie's salon at the end of last year: "Is this a painting by Mr. Monet?"

"Oh? Dr. Kavi also knows Monet?"

"Of course I know him." Kavi was very straightforward, not only for the collection value of the paintings themselves, but also to do a favor for Shelly, "I want both. How much?"

"How about 8000 francs?"

"No problem. I'll have the bank transfer the money to your account tomorrow," Kavi said. "But the painting will have to be kept here for a while. Someone will take it away at the end of the year."

Shelly had no reason to refuse.

With Kavi's purchase of the two paintings, Shelly and László's back-and-forth negotiations came to an end. She would pay László's steel mill a large sum of money to invest in the railway business she was developing in partnership with the French authorities.

On the other side, Kavi's freezer would naturally be delivered to him: "I can give you the freezer, but the stuff is in my special train compartment, it should still be in Hungary."

"How long will it take to get back to Paris?"

"I'll send a telegram. It will take about ten days to reach Paris." Laszlo saw that he was anxious and explained quickly, "Don't get me wrong. I'm thinking about the machine. You can't go too fast with this thing. If something goes wrong, it will be very troublesome."