On 29 July, Beiping and Tianjin fell one after another.

Beiping is the former capital of China and occupies an important significance in the hearts of the Chinese people. Tianjin is the second largest industrial and commercial city in China, second only to Shanghai in terms of economic status. The two cities were occupied by the Japanese army, and the whole country was shocked, and the call for the whole people to resist Japan became even louder.

Four days later, an ocean-going freighter from England finally arrived at the Shanghai terminal.

Wooden boxes full of goods were carried to the warehouse by the porters, and they were densely piled up.

Zhou Hexuan picked up the crowbar, opened one of the boxes, and said, "Brother Du, please take a look!" ”

Du Yuesheng picked up a box in the box, which was printed in English. Naturally, he didn't know English, but he recognized a few abbreviated letters, and was surprised: "It's all sulfonamides?" ”

Zhou Hexuan nodded and said: "Eighty percent is sulfonamide powder used to treat wounds, and the remaining twenty percent are sulfonamide tablets used for oral administration." ”

"How much does it cost?" Du Yuesheng looked at the boxes of goods in the warehouse.

Zhou Hexuan said: "Slightly above the cost price, including the freight, this batch is worth about 3 million pounds. ”

"Now that the war is raging, the price of these drugs in China has increased tenfold at least." Du Yuesheng exclaimed.

Zhou Hexuan suddenly clenched his fists and said, "Brother Du, the foolish brother has a reluctant request." ”

"But it doesn't hurt to say it." Du Yuesheng said with a smile, looking forward to Zhou Hexuan's next words.

"I am going to donate these medicines to the soldiers of the Anti-Japanese War," Zhou Hexuan explained in detail, "according to my estimate, the south is about to go to war, and the war in the south will inevitably start in Shanghai." I hope that Brother Du can take good care of the medicines, and once the Songhu Anti-Japanese War breaks out, please deliver them to the wartime hospital. ”

Du Yuesheng originally thought that Zhou Hexuan was going to join forces with him to do business and make a fortune in the war at the time of the national crisis. Unexpectedly, the drugs with an actual value of hundreds of millions of legal currency, Zhou Hexuan said that he would donate it, and he also entrusted it to him. Du Yuesheng was ashamed and at the same time, she felt very frightened, and said: "Brother Zhou, these medicines are too expensive, you should donate them yourself." ”

Zhou Hexuan shook his head and said, "I'm about to leave Shanghai, and I don't have the time to keep it properly." The Nanjing Central Committee is preparing to convene a national defense conference, and military officials at all levels are bound to make major adjustments, and it is not good to hand over the medicines to anyone now. You know the corruption of the Kuomintang, and if you give them the medicine early, you will inevitably be resold by some people for profit. After thinking about it, only entrusting the medicine to Brother Du is the best choice. ”

Du Yuesheng hesitated about this, although he had made a lot of black money, and he was also very jealous of sulfonamides worth hundreds of millions, but he valued commitment and righteousness more. Once he agreed to help Zhou Hexuan keep the medicine, he must be responsible for it, otherwise his reputation will be completely ruined.

This is a hot potato, and if the news is leaked, not only the Japanese will be targeted, but also some officials of the Kuomintang will be targeted, and if they are not careful, something will go wrong.

It was too hot, Du Yuesheng didn't dare to take it.

"Please, Duke Du!" Zhou Hexuan suddenly shook to the end, which is a traditional gift for the Chinese.

Seeing the internationally renowned university scholars doing something for himself, and thinking that this was related to the lives of countless soldiers of the Anti-Japanese War, Du Yuesheng suddenly felt a stirring in his chest and a heroic feeling. His blood surged, and he gritted his teeth and said, "Sir, please rest assured, as long as I don't die, no one will think of the idea of fighting these medicines!" If war really breaks out in Shanghai, I will definitely send a lot of these sulfonamides to the wartime hospital! If this promise is violated, the heavens and the earth will be destroyed, and there will be no good death! ”

"Thank you!" Zhou Hexuan clenched his fists and said.

"Brother Zhou, don't hesitate, I'll arrange it first." Du Yuesheng is colorful.

Du Yuesheng pretended to be indifferent, and transferred reliable Qinggang disciples to guard this warehouse closely. He also deliberately leaked his mouth, claiming that this batch of tinplate was imported from Britain and was going to be shipped to Hubei to make military cans.

Tinplate is tin-plated iron, which China cannot produce on its own at this time, and is a very important strategic material.

Since it is tinplate, it is easy to understand that the guards are tight, and the children of the Green Gang have become active, and at the same time, outsiders will not overdo the idea of this batch of goods.

Du Yuesheng arranged things properly, came back and asked, "Brother Zhou, will there be a rumor from the customs?" ”

Zhou Hexuan smiled: "Don't worry, I have already opened up the relationship." The medicines arrived with Sassoon's cargo, and when they entered the customs, they were only symbolically inspected, and the boxes were not even opened. ”

"That's good." Du Yuesheng relieved his last worries.

Victor Sassoon is the richest man in Shanghai, black and white, both Chinese and foreign, and customs officers will not carefully inspect his goods unless they deliberately find faults.

The Battle of Songhu is about to break out, and all Zhou Hexuan can do is to donate medicine to the soldiers of the Anti-Japanese War.

The factory price of 3 million pounds of sulfonamides is enough to save the lives of countless wounded soldiers, especially in the case of a shortage of medicines, and its role on the battlefield is not inferior to that of an integrated division.

You must know that during the Anti-Japanese War, not to mention the Chinese officers and soldiers, even the Japanese army invading China was in urgent need of sulfonamides. As a result, the Japanese army designated sulfonamides as a strictly controlled military drug, and private use was severely punished by military courts.

The Royal Pharmaceutical Factory, which was jointly established by Zhou Hexuan, Ernis and George VI, and its subordinate drug research and development laboratory, have invited Ferory and Qian to do penicillin experiments. However, it will take at least two or three years for penicillin drugs to come out, and it will take even longer to really popularize it - the initial production cost of penicillin is too high.

In the original time and space, penicillin was not completely popularized until the end of World War II, and the price was ridiculously high, in China, one penicillin was worth a small yellow croaker (gold bar).

The real life-saving during World War II, whether in China or abroad, had to rely on sulfonamides.

Some time ago, Zhou Hexuan and Kong Xiangxi went to the United Kingdom together, not just to attend the coronation ceremony of the British king. It took half a month for Zhou Hexuan to persuade Ernis and George VI, and the two agreed to Zhou Hexuan to open a branch factory of sulfonamides in China.

The prerequisite is that sulfonamides produced in Chinese factories can only be sold in China.

Of course, Zhou Hexuan can also bypass the two partners and go it alone, after all, the drug patent is in his hands. However, setting up a sulfonamide plant is too complex and requires a sufficient number of skilled professionals, all of whom are in the hands of Annis.

Relying only on Zhou Hexuan to smash it with money, it is difficult to recruit enough people. After all, China is too remote and backward, and war can break out at any time, so it has no attraction for those British elites.

In addition, if Zhou Hexuan wants to produce sulfonamides in Chongqing, he must build a raw material factory together. This is a big project, and without the help of the King and Ernis, it is extremely time-consuming and labor-intensive.

Even so, the British elite, who had promised to come to China to work, demanded that contracts be signed in advance. They must be guaranteed to return to the UK every two years for a long leave of six months, and their dependents must be properly arranged, each of whom must have their own high-end home in China, and their salary is five times that of their in the UK.

In order to support the Anti-Japanese War and develop national industry, Zhou Hexuan agreed to come down.

Zhou Hexuan plans to recruit the top biochemists in China to study with the British, nominally as an assistant to the British. Two years is enough for the Chinese to learn the technology, and the British who do not want to continue to work can get out of the way.