A Man of Science and Engineering in Troubled Times Wandering in the Late Qing Dynasty

When he returned to Berlin, Li Yu felt that he should go and see what Bayer's headquarters looked like. He would definitely take over the domestic Bayer factory in the future, and he had to know it in advance.

Strictly speaking, Bayer at the beginning of the 20th century was a comprehensive chemical company. It started out as a dye business, and drug development is naturally inseparable from the chemical industry. Therefore, companies like Bayer slowly extended their hands to the pharmaceutical industry. Unexpectedly, they got out of hand.—— Because it’s too profitable.

Bayer attaches great importance to building a factory in Shanghai. As for capital, it is their nature to expand sales. They hope to open up a larger market in Asia.

What surprised Li Yu was that the Asia president selected by Bayer turned out to be Felix Hofmann.

Hoffman mentioned before that he was another incarnation of "angels and devils". He invented aspirin, one of the three miracle drugs, and 11 days later, he invented conchine.

Bayer attaches great importance to technology, and its president is a chemist.

Their two most profitable drugs are aspirin and conchine, especially conchine, which accounts for almost 10% of Europe's pharmaceutical profits.

Bayer is making so much money that it makes its hands cramp.

What’s more interesting is that a common effect of these two drugs is analgesia.

If we look at it a hundred years from now, the best-selling painkillers on the market in the United States will be painkillers, but they are already addictive drug abuse (it is difficult to make an appointment with a doctor, so you can only take some painkillers first).

Li Yu shook hands with Hoffman and said, "Mr. Hoffman, I didn't expect that your company would send you to Asia."

Hoffman said: "Dear Mr. Li Yu, after discussions and research, the company has long understood the importance of the Asian market, which may be the location of the third great Bayer factory."

The first one is naturally Germany's Bayer, which also has companies in the United States.

Li Yu must say something nice: "It will definitely be done, and your company's investment time is relatively good. If it is later, I'm afraid the United States will get there first."

"Americans?" Hoffman asked, "They can only make generic drugs, so how can they be our opponent?"

Li Yu leisurely said: "As far as I know, a chemical company in the United States called Monsanto has been secretly synthesizing aspirin, and it may not take long before it can succeed."

"Damn Americans! These upstarts know how to copy our technology." Hoffman said angrily.

Li Yu said: "And this company called Monsanto seems to understand not only chemical industry but also law. Even if you want to go to court with them, it will be difficult to win."

"We're not going to be afraid of them," Hoffman said.

Li Yu smiled and said: "I'm afraid that if the gangsters are educated, they will definitely be a formidable enemy in the future."

Calling Monsanto a "rogue" company feels a bit insulting to the word "rogue."

Many people may have forgotten this company, which was once known as the most evil enterprise.

Monsanto was founded as early as 1901 by an American named John Queenie. The reason why it was not called the "Queenie" company was because it was Queenie's wife who provided the money.

Queenie's wife must have never imagined that her name would become synonymous with evil many years later, and her name would be infamy for thousands of years.

Monsanto got its start in the saccharin industry.

By the way, the saccharin specialty was also in German hands at that time, and Monsanto still adopted the "use doctrine."

Later, Monsanto got close to the big tree of Coca-Cola and quickly obtained its first pot of gold through the saccharin industry.

That would be fine, but then Monsanto began a series of operations that cost people their lives.

Monsanto entered the chemical industry and produced two famous compounds: PCB and DDT.

DDT, in particular, is so famous that the famous book "Silent Spring" refers directly to Monsanto's DDT.

DDT was introduced to the market as an insecticide. At that time, it was known as the "three major inventions during World War II" along with the atomic bomb and penicillin.

Miller, who invented DDT, also won the Nobel Prize.

However, the accumulation of DDT in the biological chain made its harm gradually recognized by humans, and its use was banned in the 70s.

This is still just the appetizer.

After that, the Vietnam War broke out, and the U.S. military was mired in the quagmire of the war and was beaten dizzy in the jungle. So it became evil and decided to use herbicides to kill the leaves in these dense forests.

The herbicide used was called "Agent Orange" because it came in an orange container.

Agent Orange contains dioxins, which are class I carcinogens and are extremely toxic.

Needless to say, Monsanto was the one who produced Agent Orange. (The recipe comes from the equally notorious Fort Decker Biological Laboratory in the United States.)

The United States sprayed a large amount of Agent Orange in Vietnam, covering a large area of ​​Vietnam, causing 40 direct deaths, millions of people suffering from cancer, and half a million newborns with deformities!

U.S. soldiers were also affected by Agent Orange, and Monsanto was later forced to pay $1.8 million in compensation to U.S. veterans. But it wasn’t until 2012 that they paid Vietnam $900 million in compensation like they were sending beggars, and they called it “helping the disabled.”

Perhaps because it couldn't make it in the chemical industry, Monsanto suddenly started to engage in genetic modification again.

Monsanto was the first company to engage in genetic modification.

In fact, transgene itself is worth studying as a technology. But again, technology is a double-edged sword. If it gets into the hands of evil people, it will become a sharp weapon that hurts people.

At first, Monsanto found that one of its herbicides not only killed weeds, but also killed crops at the same time, which was a bit troublesome.

Most people’s thinking is definitely how to improve herbicides, but Monsanto tells you what a “pattern” is.

Reinventing herbicides? Haha, I directly modify the crops to make them resistant! Just tell me whether you are smart or not!

Genetically modified seeds implanted with drug-resistant genes quickly conquered cities and territories around the world, making Monsanto a huge profit.

The fruits of this genetically modified crop cannot be used as seeds, and seeds from Monsanto must be purchased every year.

Monsanto almost monopolized and controlled agricultural production in some countries through this method.

If agriculture, which is related to people's survival, is controlled by such a profit-seeking enterprise, you don't have to think about how terrible it would be.

A few years later, Monsanto gradually fell into various lawsuits and eventually had to be acquired by Bayer.

After Bayer acquired Monsanto, it immediately threw away the name "Monsanto". It really stinks!

Hoffman doesn't take Monsanto, a small American company, seriously. After all, it attracts attention. There are countless companies that want to steal Bayer, and he doesn't have time to deal with them one by one.

Li Yu negotiated with him: "In the future, when Bayer enters China, it will mainly produce aspirin and a small amount of arsenamine."

"Our company's other flagship product, conch, has an analgesic effect far superior to that of aspirin, so it should also be produced together," said Hoffman.

It was difficult for Li Yu to refuse now. He suddenly thought that your pharmaceutical factory would be taken over by me anyway, and I would have the final say whatever he wanted to do at that time, so he said: "There is an old saying in China, which is to proceed step by step. We can use aspirin first." Open up the market and continue to invest in the production of other drugs after sufficient profits are made."

Hoffman felt that what Li Yu said made sense, so he agreed: "From a business perspective, I fully approve of what Mr. Li Yu did."

In addition to Bayer, Li Yu also roped in Zeiss and Leica to build factories in China.

The purpose is not just to build a few cameras, but mainly because these two companies have deep accumulation in optics.

Li Yu also took out Kodak as a "threat". When he heard that American companies he despised were also entering the Asian market, Zeiss really took action.

It's just that Leica doesn't have much strength because it was just founded.

What Li Yu likes most is this kind of "start-up small and micro enterprises". With a wave of his hand, he will provide financial support, as long as they produce technology.

At present, these two companies should be called optical factories. In fact, they really want to expand their business.

Although the camera industry is still not a big one, the lens industry is very big. Not only eyeglass lenses, but also various lenses such as sights, the sales volume is not small anyway.

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After Li Yu finished all this work, he went to a bookstore in Berlin to participate in a signature sale event for the Star Wars series. Star Wars is still as popular as ever.

During this period, a young man suddenly asked: "Mr. Li Yu, I have a question for you."

Li Yu signed his name without raising his head: "Please speak."

"I have recently carefully read the Star Wars series and some of your articles on astronomy, and I know that space is very large and needs to be measured in light-years, a unit that is difficult to understand."

Li Yu said: "Yes, what do you want to ask?"

The young man said: "I want to know if space is so vast, will there be an indescribable and huge loneliness."

Li Yu stopped and raised his head: "Why do you ask this question?"

The young man said: "I found that even if you are in a busy city, people will seem extremely lonely; so what will it be like to be in empty space."

Being able to ask such a question, Li Yu felt that the young man in front of him was a bit unusual, so he said, "What is your name?"

The young man said: "My name is Franz Kafka, I come from Brak, Czech Republic, and I am an insurance salesman."

"Kafka?" Li Yu said, "Please wait a moment. I will continue the discussion with you after I finish signing."

"Thank you, Mr. Li Yu! I won't disturb you for too long." Kafka said respectfully.

About half an hour later, the autograph session ended. Li Yu stood up and said to him, "Let's talk while walking."

Kafka is currently thirty years old and still unknown.

Li Yuxian answered his question: "Space is indeed very lonely, and it is hopelessly lonely, because it is so big that it exceeds the boundaries of human imagination; but we cannot find other life in it."

Kafka thoughtfully asked: "So human beings are so lonely?"

Li Yu smiled and said: "Loneliness is relative. There is true love in the world. How can a person be destined to be lonely?"

Kafka was not in such a good mood, and said dejectedly: "Who can tell for sure."

Kafka seems to be in an emotional whirlpool now, having just begun a five-year emotional entanglement with a woman named Phyllis.

The two would get engaged in Berlin six months later, but broke off the engagement a month later.

The reason for the cancellation turned out to be that Kafka fell in love with Felice's best friend...

But in the end, Kafka didn’t get along with Felice’s best friend.

A year later, he reunited with Phyllis, and they were engaged again a few years later, but they called off the engagement six months later.

Li Yu couldn't guess what he was thinking, so he asked instead: "Do you also love writing?"

Kafka said: "Write occasionally."

Li Yu continued to ask: "Have you written any works?"

Kafka said: "While reading Mr. Dostoevsky's works, I had some wonderful inspirations and wrote a little article, but I thought it was very poor."

Li Yu said: "What is the work about?"

Kafka said: "I wrote the story of a salesman who turns into a bedbug, and after reviewing it again I decided it was not suitable for publication."

The salesman turns into a bug, which seems to be the masterpiece of "Metamorphosis".

Li Yu asked curiously: "Why not publish it? The publisher doesn't agree?"

"The publishers were interested," Kafka said, "but I thought it was too far off."

Li Yu asked: "The public has the final say whether the work is good or not, why not publish it according to the publisher's intention."

"No," Kafka shook his head, "I'm not mentally prepared yet."

"Psychological preparation?" Li Yu wondered, "What kind of mental preparation does this require?"

Kafka said: "This work seems to be about myself. Once it is published, I worry that others will not be able to understand my inner world after seeing it, and I will still be alone."

Li Yu couldn't even understand his thoughts.

They happened to pass by a dilapidated church. Germany claimed to be the orthodox inheritance of the Holy Roman Empire. There were really too many churches. After the 20th century, science and technology developed greatly, and many churches were affected by the impact and became dilapidated or even closed down.

A man is at the door boasting that he can talk to spirits.

Li Yu only regarded him as a magician, but Kafka was interested in his words: "Mr. Li Yu, do you think the soul exists?"

Li Yu said: "Soul? I don't agree with this statement. I can only say that living people have self-awareness and the ability to think."

Kafka said: “But this man claims to be able to prove scientifically the existence of the soul.”

"Scientific proof of the existence of the soul?"

Li Yu looked at the magician, who was spitting propaganda:

"Six years ago, an American doctor named Duncan McDougall conducted experiments and proved that the soul exists and that the soul has weight. This weight is 21 grams!"

Good guy, he is no ordinary liar.

Kafka said: "Is what that man said true? Does the soul really exist?"

Li Yu said: "This kind of experiment is not rigorous."

Kafka said: "But he said that the American Journal of American Medicine published an experimental article."

Li Yu could only explain: "Experiments need to be carried out by others. Isolated evidence does not stand up! If you don't believe me, check it out for yourself. Has anyone else made the same experimental results?"

Kafka felt a little relaxed after hearing this: "I believe what Mr. Academician said."

The soul weighing experiment conducted by American Duncan in 1907 is still talked about by many people a hundred years later, but it is actually very nonsense.

What Dr. Duncan did was to find 6 people who were dying and do a weighing test on their weight before and after death.

Duncan asked the patient to lie on the hospital bed, which was placed on a designed sensitive scale, and continued to carefully observe the changes in the patient's weight before he died.

He continuously observed a dying patient suffering from tuberculosis for 3 hours and 40 minutes. During this period, the patient's weight slowly dropped, with an average weight loss of about 28 grams per hour. At the moment when the patient died, the pointer of the scale dropped again, and the result was 21.26 grams lighter.

From this, rumors spread that the soul weighs 21 grams. It has been passed down for more than 100 years. It has become more and more popular and is still popular today.

It should be noted that 21 grams is only for one person, not for six people participating in the experiment, so it is not representative at all.

Some of the other five people only lost a few grams, some did not lose, and some even increased. How to explain this?

In fact, body weight changes due to evaporation of sweat, respiration, metabolism, etc., and changes every moment.

But a good lie can make many superstitious people unwilling to pursue the truth.