novelden #131 - Professor Fang was shocked
#131 - Professor Fang was shocked
"Professor Fang, let's talk while we eat. The wine has been warmed. It's our first meeting, and I apologize for any shortcomings in the hospitality. Please accept this humble cup as a token of my sincerity, and I hope Professor Fang won't take offense," Ren Zhong said, raising his glass and inviting Fang Guangqi, who seemed a bit dazed.
This time, Fang Guangqi didn't hesitate and drained his cup in one gulp.
"Mr. Ren, does this information of yours truly contain a complete set of processes?" Fang Guangqi asked, his eyes fixed intently on Ren Zhong.
"Of course, I wouldn't dare make a false claim about that," Ren Zhong said with great certainty. "However, while Songlin Slope is a good place, it's not conducive to in-depth scientific breakthroughs."
"Who says it isn't? Even my students struggle to maintain their daily meals. Where would we find the manpower, resources, and peace of mind to engage in scientific research? But now the situation is precarious, and with the nation crumbling, what can we scholars do?" Professor Fang sighed after finishing his drink.
"Professor Fang, forgive my bluntness, but in the past, you researchers had no choice. The country's long-standing poverty and weakness meant there was little financial and material support for scientific research. But now it's different. Our organization comes from overseas and is dedicated solely to enhancing China's technological strength. We're now launching the Dawn Program to change the current state of China's overall technological backwardness, to gather China's scientific research elites, and to find a pure land for them to immerse themselves in research. There, you won't have to worry about food, clothing, housing, or transportation. We will raise over a million silver dollars annually to support the entire Dawn Program. Professor Fang, I hope that within this program, you can support the sky of Chinese optics."
Ren Zhong's words, with the groundwork laid by the useful information he provided earlier, were indeed tempting to Professor Fang.
"Mr. Ren, it's not that I don't trust you, but where in China is there still a pure land suitable for scientific and technological research?" Professor Fang poured himself another cup of wine and drank it down before saying somewhat dejectedly.
"But in terms of funding, can you really support such a huge expenditure of millions of silver dollars?" Fang Guangqi pressed, clearly tempted. Living in this era, Fang Guangqi knew the weight of a million silver dollars, an amount of funding the Nationalist government couldn't possibly invest in ten years.
But precisely because the amount was so large, Fang Guangqi was somewhat hesitant to believe it.
"Of course. Because our organization has mastered this." Ren Zhong had prepared in advance and took out a small bottle of penicillin sample. "Has Professor Fang heard of the recently released anti-inflammatory drug, penicillin? Our organization now has exclusive control over its production and sales. Each gram can sell for more than five silver dollars, and we don't seek profit. We can invest all the proceeds from sales into the Dawn Program's research and development."
Fang Guangqi was greatly moved. "Mr. Ren, did your organization produce penicillin?!"
Fang Guangqi was no stranger to this thing. His child had a persistent high fever, and it was this miracle drug that brought the fever down with a single injection. Of course, the price was also very expensive, as much as ten silver dollars per injection!
"Yes, these are produced by our organization," Ren Zhong said affirmatively. Anyway, the future generations are also considered a part of the organization, so it's not entirely a lie. "We're now building a nationwide sales network, and the sales revenue from this drug will be our main source of income. But as our research achievements come to fruition, a portion of the new profits generated will also be allocated to the research rolling plan."
"Professor Fang, one million silver dollars is just the baseline for the research funding we provide for the Dawn Program. As research achievements come to fruition, the Dawn Program's research and development expenses will increase to two million, three million, or even five million silver dollars!"
Ren Zhong's big pie made Fang Guangqi even more uneasy. He picked at the food he had eaten, poured another glass of wine, and sipped it slowly, pondering for a while.
"May I ask, Mr. Ren, forgive my dullness, but I'm a little confused about the relationship between research achievements and funding. Please enlighten me," Fang Guangqi said somewhat tactfully.
"Professor Fang, it's like this. Although we don't interfere with the scientists' research process according to the Dawn Program, we do reserve the main research directions and products. At the beginning of the project, we'll provide the basic materials for the project and the requirements for achieving the product. On this basis, the scientists can then independently exercise their subjective initiative. This is because we have market demand as a foundation, and the products developed will naturally have sales opportunities and form a certain scale."
"The audience for optical products is currently limited, mainly as accessories for other products. The market space may not seem large. In the future, it will basically be enough to achieve a balance between profit and loss. After all, this is a basic industry and is indispensable for national defense and other industrial development."
"For example, metallurgy, the research of new alloy steels, manganese steel, nickel steel, and other special alloy steels, is currently focused on the national defense industry while also taking into account the needs of other industrial steels. After these products are developed, the scale of sales will be particularly large, and we can retain 20% of the profits for further research funding."
Speaking of this, Ren Zhong prepared to give Fang Guangqi a small demonstration. "To be honest, Professor Fang, in the northern base area, we have opened up a new steel production system and have new production processes. The daily steel output has exceeded one hundred tons!"
As soon as Ren Zhong said this, Fang Guangqi's hand trembled, and a piece of braised pork fell on the table. However, Fang Guangqi unhesitatingly picked it up and ate it!
Seemingly focused on not wasting anything, Fang Guangqi was actually trying to hide his shocked mood.
After calming down for a while, he took a sip of yellow wine and said, "Mr. Ren, are you joking with me? Where does the base area get such a high steel production capacity? How are the blast furnaces built? How are the mines mined? How does the production site avoid attacks from the Japanese devils?"
First update! Seeking votes!