"If you go the third way," Scrooge said, "it means I can't get a lot of money in a short period of time, and it's a loss for me." Unless you're willing to raise the percentage of patents to more than 15 percent of the selling price of goods. ”

Of course, this is a sky-high asking price, and Scrooge knows very well that the other party will not agree to such conditions, but isn't this exactly what he wants, for him, investing in patents is the most long-lasting. Sure enough, just as Scrooge had expected, the request was rejected by Lawrence.

"Mr. MacDonald, that's a bit too much to ask. There has never been a patent grant that has had such a high percentage of the shares. Lawrence shook his head, "Your request is so insincere. ”

"I think that's a reasonable ratio. You should know that there are also a number of patents related to the production process of sulfonamides. To be honest, it's not impossible to bypass those patents on the production process, but the cost is at least doubled. Scrooge said unhurriedly.

Listening to Scrooge's words, Lawrence almost fainted, he realized that he had once again underestimated the face and thickness of the child opposite, and the walls of Windsor Castle were probably not comparable.

"Mr. MacDonald, there has never been such a calculation, this percentage is too high for us to afford."

"So let's talk about how I can take a stake in patents. I think it's in your best interest. Scrooge said.

"I want to hear about it." Lawrence lifted his spirits, and he felt that perhaps this was the child's true purpose.

"The sooner a drug is put into production, the sooner it will make money. If I take a stake in the patent, it means that you don't have to give me a penny at least for now, and all the money can be put into production immediately. After the first batch of drugs is sold, all the funds returned can be immediately invested in production, sales, advertising, etc. It's almost like I gave you the patent. Scrooge said.

"But we're going to give you dividends too." Lawrence wouldn't be fooled by Scrooge's nonsense.

"Oh, but you have to know that only if you make a profit, you will pay dividends. Isn't it? It's not like selling patents, whether you're making money or losing money, I'm a lot of money. Scrooge replied. Of course, this is sometimes nonsense, at least according to the third plan, if the cost is lost, the factory will immediately reduce production, in this case, the money that Scrooge can get will naturally be greatly reduced. However, Scrooge did not intend to give Lawrence a chance to come back and refute him. To continue:

"And even if I take a stake in the patent, I can't be a major shareholder, right? Whether to pay dividends, when to dividends, and how much to divide are not for me to decide. Perhaps this method is more detrimental to me, but it is not unacceptable to His Royal Highness if he can give me some preferential treatment in other areas. ”

Throwing out a new topic to cover up the loopholes and problems in the old topic is a common trick gun, Lawrence didn't check it for a while, and sure enough, it was bypassed, and he asked directly: "So Mr. MacDonald, what other benefits do you need?" ”

"Your Royal Highness may know that in addition to buying and selling medicines, I also buy and sell firearms." Scrooge smiled and said, "Not long ago, the Kingdom of Sardinia ordered tens of thousands of rifles from me. Well, this rifle of ours is very good, and anyone who has used it will praise it, if the United Kingdom is willing to ......"

"With all due respect," said Lawrence, "the United Kingdom is not the same as the Kingdom of Sardinia, and we cannot be armed with a rifle that is not of British production." ”

"You did not understand what I meant, I mean, if His Royal Highness is willing to use his influence to get the United Kingdom to buy the patents relating to this rifle — which, of course, cannot be sold on the international market — or to help me sell it to Europe, I am willing to make concessions in other respects. It's not a lot of work for His Royal Highness, but for me, it's important. ”

Lawrence thought for a moment and said, "I can't make a statement on this matter, but I will bring your will to His Royal Highness." Well, let's go back to the previous topic, if you were to take a patent stake, how much would you like to be able to take a stake? ”

"It depends on the total amount of investment His Royal Highness and how many shares he is willing to give me." Scrooge replied.

"Her Majesty the Queen, Her Royal Highness the Prince and Excellencies, will not invest less than £3 million, and, Mr. MacDonald, you will understand, the social impact of these investors is also an invisible investment. So the value of the company's initial share capital is actually well over three million. So ......"

"According to your view in the first condition, the value of the locks of my patent is equivalent to a direct payment of at least one million pounds. And His Royal Highness the Prince, their total investment, plus their social impact, I would count it as nine million pounds. "Well, then, the estimate of a million is a little lower." But if His Royal Highness can help me in other ways, I am willing to convert my patent into a million shares. Scrooge took Lawrence's words and said.

"Okay then." Lawrence stood up, "I will pass this on to His Royal Highness." Personally, I would love to see this deal go through. He picked up the hat on the table and nodded to Scrooge, "If you have nothing else to do, I'll go back to Windsor Castle and bring your thoughts to His Royal Highness." ”

"Ah, then there's Your Excellency Law." Scrooge also stood up.

……

"Lawrence, what do you think of this Mr. Scrooge 61 MacDonald?" On the lawn of Windsor Castle, Prince Albert asked Lawrence Knight. At this time, Queen Victoria, the supreme ruler of the most powerful kingdom in the world, was also accompanying her, and when she heard this question, she also shifted her attention to Lawrence with interest.

"Mr. MacDonald is a quick-witted and clear-minded man," replied Lawrence, after a moment's thought, "and he is very learned, but though he is a great scientist, he is a crude Yankee with money in his eyes in his conduct and upbringing." ”

"Lawrence, how do I think there is a taste of grape sour in your words." Queen Victoria laughed, "However, I heard that this Mr. MacDonald has no higher education at all, and is entirely self-taught. It is natural for such a person to lack a little in terms of etiquette. Don't say that the person from that background, even me, is not also a semi-barbarian in Albert's eyes? As she spoke, Queen Victoria reached out and grabbed her husband's arm.

"My dear," said Prince Albert to his wife, "what do you think of this Mr. MacDonald's request?" ”

"A businessman's reaction couldn't be more normal, isn't it?" Queen Victoria said, "What about his rifle?" ”

"Pretty good." Albert replied, "In fact, our army has been paying attention to this rifle for a long time, and compared with the rifle we are equipped with, this gun has a huge advantage in terms of range, accuracy, speed of fire, etc." According to Army estimates, this gun is at least five times more effective than the rifles we use today. So, in a small country like the Kingdom of Sardinia, it is a good option to equip such a rifle. But for us, many people feel that the direct use of foreign rifles, or the use of foreign-designed rifles, is a disservice to the prestige of the United Kingdom. So even if you buy a patent outright, there will be people who will jump out and oppose it. ”

"But if you wait until the Sardinians and the Austrians fight, things may change, right?" Queen Victoria smiled, "If this rifle can really increase the effectiveness of firepower by more than five times, then the Sardinians armed with tens of thousands of these rifles are equivalent to tens of thousands of more troops." Coupled with the intervention of the French, the Austrians were in big trouble this time. If the Sardinians had been able to fight a particularly good battle, perhaps the country's perception would have changed. ”

"But that's not going to happen right away. Our negotiations cannot drag on for so long. Prince Albert smiled and said, "Otherwise, Lawrence, you will go and send a message to Mr. MacDonald, and we will make a bet with him." If his rifle was excellent in Italy, I would agree to his request and count his stake in the future pharmaceutical company to eleven percent. If his rifle table is not good and the Kingdom of Sardinia is defeated, then ask him to abandon his claim and agree to convert his shares in the future company into nine percent. Until the results are known, his stake in the company will be calculated at 10 percent for the time being. See if he agrees. In addition, he should be more concerned about the new hospital standards. Also, you have to remind him to prepare the content of the lecture in Cambridge in three days. In addition, after his trip to Cambridge, the Royal Academy of Sciences will vote on whether to invite him to the Royal Academy of Sciences. Prepare the corresponding speech as well. ”

……

That afternoon, Scrooge got what Lawrence had relayed, and after much thought, Scrooge decided to agree to Prince Albert's offer and take the gamble. In World War I and World War II, the clumsy performance of the Italian army made many people think that the Italians could not fight even if they had good weapons. However, Scrooge knew that their opponent Austria was not very strong in this battle, and they were also not very good at fighting. Historically, the Kingdom of Sardinia won this battle. Now, the Sardinian army, reinforced with rear-loading guns, can't be as far as it has been in history? "A well-armed tease is better than a tease with nothing, right?" Scrooge thought.