Go back to the past and be a schoolboy

"The day-to-day sickness of the poor in the country is that outsiders come with the industry formed by their machine chemistry. We Chinese people want to change the decline. We must quickly prepare our own machinery factory and sulfuric acid factory. Now the sulfuric acid industry has made a breakthrough with the help of Mr. Wang. It is gratifying Congratulations, the whole country celebrates.

Sir, you are the head of our Academy of Sciences. Although you have never been appointed by the country, you are also admired by the world. You are indeed a model for our generation...

However, the strength of a country depends on the amount of iron it uses.Look at the railways and ships used in commercial wars, the various equipment used by workers, and the plowing and digging of wells in farming. Coal and iron are considered to be the elements of national survival.

Lamenting that manpower is exhausted and powerless, the old man has spent half his life's savings, but unfortunately no results have been seen, and the consumption is quite expensive. The youth is gone, the old age is over, and the ambition to start the iron and steel industry is no longer there.

I heard that Mr. Wen traveled to Germany for a study visit, and the response was enthusiastic, which greatly raised the face of the people of the country.In addition to congratulating the old man, he also has his own selfishness. Mr. Pan took this opportunity to hire one or two German professional craftsmen with a little related technology to help the domestic steel industry get rid of toddlers...

I wrote this in Changganli, Jinling in the Wuwu year of the lunar calendar.Grass Temple old man. "

On the pier after leaving Germany, Cheng Nuo read the letter several times. Not only was his heart not at peace, but his thoughts became even more agitated along with the waves.

Speaking of which, the protagonist of the letter is also a legendary figure. The second master Qin in the real-life version of "Tea House" was thinking about saving the country through industry during the [-]-[-] period.

When the Manchu Dynasty fell and the Republic of China ushered in, the machinery factory founded by the old man expanded to the upstream steel industry, trying to solve the bottleneck of raw materials through the vertical integration strategy.

Even in this era, the high cost and high risk of investing in the steel industry will increase the burden on the enterprise, and the old man will not hesitate.

It is precisely because of this tenacity, relying on excellent technology, that the old man has won a large order for shipbuilding, and it seems that he will lead the factory to a new level, thus completing the positive cycle of technology-research and development.

Unfortunately, due to well-known reasons, the steel plates required by the machinery factory are not only expensive, but also out of stock, so they had to buy them at a high price as a last resort, resulting in huge losses.

In addition, the investment cycle in the iron and steel industry was too long, which further exacerbated the company's financial difficulties in the short term and led to the deterioration of the machinery factory's financial situation. Although it borrowed money to raise funds during the period, it failed in the end, and the factory was also taken away by the creditor, the Bank of England.

In the end, all the things he had worked hard for all his life were in vain, and he ended up in a situation where his family's wealth was wiped out like Qin Erye, which is embarrassing.

But even so, the old man still ordered newspapers on time. After learning about the development of the chemical industry by the Academy of Sciences, he saw the shadow of himself in Cheng Nuo when he was young, and he became more and more fond of him. He even began to ask about Cheng Nuo's family situation , ready to match up the juniors in the clan.

Recently, I learned that Cheng Nuo had made a small success in Germany as a visiting student. Thinking of Germany's best industrial strength and the pain of failure, the old man's heart that had been silent for a long time became agitated again, and he insisted on writing a letter to Cheng Nuo. The letter, and therefore the content of the letter.

It tells the experience of the old man's life, and also tells the last request of the old man.

It was not easy to send the letter from China to Germany. In addition, there was no way to determine Cheng Nuo's location, so the process of delivering the letter was very bumpy.

In the end, the letter was delivered through the hands of the foreign students.

When Cheng Nuo got it, he was already on the way back.

"How about it, what are you talking about in your heart, I think you look very stressed?"

Li Hua took the initiative to help Cheng Nuo carry the suitcase and looked at him with concern.

Cheng Nuo put the letter away and put it back in the envelope, and said in a gentle tone, "It's not a big deal, it's the seniors in the country who care about our juniors, since we're getting old, it's inevitable to be a bit verbose, but it's all out of good intentions. "

Li Hua nodded and let go of his heart: "I am old, I can understand it, just like before I left home, my grandma always held my hand and told me while weeping, when I was young and ignorant, I still feel annoying, but now that I am older, I miss it.

In a flash, I haven't been back for several years, and I don't know how the old man is doing. "

Cheng Nuo patted Li Hua's shoulder and said kindly, "When you're done with this work, go back and have a look."

Li Hua let out a long sigh: "Yes, it's time to go back."

"Woo~"

A ship's whistle sounded, reminding the travelers that it was time to board the ship, and interrupted the conversation between the two of them.

"Okay, it's getting late, I should go too." Cheng Nuo took his suitcase over and said with a smile, "I'll leave it to you to keep in touch with Germany."

Although there is reluctance in the eyes, there is no banquet in the world that lasts, not to mention that they are not saying goodbye this time.

Li Hua pursed his lips, and was about to say something when he suddenly realized that he had brought something with him, so he quickly turned his satchel from his back to the front of his body: "Professor Cheng, this is the common wish of our classmates, take a look." How about it?"

"Isn't this nonsense? You are all poor enough to eat radishes. What are you spending? I can't accept this thing. Take it back quickly. It's best to return it wherever you bought it from." Cheng Nuo didn't open anything. Just let the students take things away.

"No, Professor Cheng, you have misunderstood." Seeing that Cheng Nuo was not going to accept it, Li Hua hurried to him and opened the contents of the bag: "We didn't buy this, and if we want to buy it, we can't buy it." So, it was made by a few of us.”

Opening the bag, there is a mini cannon that is pieced together and welded by small steel plates, and the appearance is polished and shiny, which looks very delicate.

"The workmanship is rough and the equipment is simple. I hope Professor Cheng will not dislike it." While handing over the things, Li Hua secretly observed Cheng Nuo's performance.

Unfortunately, from the outside alone, it was impossible to detect what Cheng Nuo was thinking.

With a blank face, Cheng Nuo asked, "Why did you think of giving me a cannon?"

Li Hua lowered his head and said nervously: "My classmates and I saw that you were studying cannons, Professor Cheng, and thought you liked it. We thought that by borrowing cannons, you could help the motherland drive out the big powers. Who... who knows that you don't like this .”

Before he finished speaking, Cheng Nuo immediately interrupted him with a smile on his face: "Who says I don't like it anymore? Not only do I like it, but I like it very much. When I return to China, once there are guests at home, I will tell you They introduced that a certain month in a certain year, a young man named Li Hua personally gave me a cannon."

Li Hua scratched his head embarrassingly: "Professor Cheng, you have misunderstood. In fact, I did not do this alone, and other students helped me."

Cheng Nuo smiled and said, "Then change the introduction, it was given to me by a German student, what do you think?"

Li Hua replied: "This is good..."

"But having said that, all of you students gave me things, and I, a teacher, don't give you some things, so it's not justified." After thinking about it, Cheng Nuo took out his mask and handed over half of it:
"There are frequent epidemics. These are the masks I brought from China. They were all made by Mr. Wu Lien-teh of the medical school. Unfortunately, they have been delayed in Europe for a long time, and there are not many left. I will share some with you today. I will go to places with heavy traffic. Be sure to wear it properly when you are in the place.”

Masks are still a bit unfamiliar to Li Hua, and even if he takes them, he doesn't know how to use them.

Even though Cheng Nuo demonstrated it himself, Li Hua put it on backwards when he first started wearing it.

With a blushing face, Li Hua asked curiously, "Professor Cheng, what are you doing wearing this? Is there really a disease?"

He raised his hand and looked at his watch. There was still some time before the ship departed. Cheng Nuo simply avoided the flow of people, pulled Li Hua aside and said seriously, "Do you know about the Northeast plague?"

Li Hua nodded: "I learned something from the newspapers. I heard that it swept the entire Northeast region at that time, because of this, 6 to [-] people died."

"I want to tell you, the next epidemic will sweep across the world, and the estimated death toll may be 2000 times that?" Cheng Nuo said without hesitation.

Hearing this number, Li Hua was stunned for a moment, and his voice couldn't help raising his voice a few decibels. He said in disbelief, "Professor Cheng, what you said is true?"

Cheng Nuo was a little helpless, and quickly covered Li Hua's mouth to prevent too much noise.

After Li Huameng blinked and made sure he had calmed down, Cheng Nuo let go and said seriously: "The flu has already broken out once, but it was concentrated on the battlefield and has not spread to the rear cities for the time being, but even so, it has already Nearly 50 German soldiers contracted the flu.

The Allies were also affected, but their soldiers had better supplies and food and were therefore more resistant to epidemics.But this is just the beginning, and we at the medical school have determined that the flu is back in the fall, and worse.

Just imagine, when the virus has adapted to the climate, and the soldiers who were infected in the front returned to their hometowns because the war ended, how many local residents would be affected, then the hell will begin. "

Thinking about the scene, Li Hua couldn't help feeling terrified: "Why didn't I hear any news from the German officials, and I didn't even hear similar news from the hostile country."

Cheng Nuo smiled wryly and said, "Because of the fear of exposing the damage caused by the epidemic to the enemy, the governments of the warring countries failed to take preventive measures to prevent the development of the epidemic, which would worsen step by step. If we don't pay attention in advance, let alone the situation. German sausages are gone, and we don't even have anywhere to eat radishes."

In fact, counting from the official outbreak of the First World War to Cheng Nuo's 1918, it has entered the fifth year. All the warring countries are at the end of their battles. The battlefield is in a stalemate. Everyone is fighting to see who The country couldn't hold on and fell first.

It was precisely in this year that a highly pathogenic infectious disease appeared, resulting in a very high mortality rate, known as the "Spanish flu" in history.

The speed of transmission is very fast. In the era of underdeveloped traffic conditions, it quickly spread throughout the world in just two years. Although there are no accurate statistics on the death of this pandemic, it is estimated by later generations that it is about 2500 Between 1 and 17 million people, and the total world population at that time was only about [-] billion people.

During the spread of the epidemic, nearly half of the world's population was infected.

The reason why the pandemic was called "Spanish flu" or "Spanish lady" was because experts diagnosed the respiratory disease in Spain, not because it originated in Spain.

In other words, countries such as Britain, France, the United States and Germany have joined forces to bully honest people and forcibly put the stigma hat on others.

The British also thought that it was spread by our workers who supported the European war, saying that Chinese workers had experienced similar influenza before and had developed certain antibodies, so they could carry the virus across oceans.

Although Cheng Nuo scoffed at the claim that the virus originated from China, one thing is undeniable is that the mortality rate of young and middle-aged people in this epidemic is extremely high, and the elderly and children can survive the difficulties.

The higher the immunity, the stronger the virus power.

So in the face of this thing, Cheng Nuo put 120 thoughts on guarding against it.

Not only for the sake of my own personal safety, but also for the School of Medicine to seize this "opportunity" so that the name of the Academy of Sciences will be completely publicized in front of the people of the world.

And accumulate experience from it, so that more compatriots can avoid being killed by the epidemic.

"The steps to make these things are not complicated, and the materials are easy to find and not expensive. When you go back, you must make more for emergencies." Cheng Nuo instructed.

Although he was not used to wearing it for the first time, Li Hua tried his best to abide by Cheng Nuo's opinion. He not only put it on himself, but also handed it to Cheng Nuo: "Professor Cheng, I think the flow of people is not small now. For the sake of your health, I think you should wear one now."

Cheng Nuo smiled and said, "Oh, it's ok to learn and sell now. But you're right, I'll wear it now."

Sending you thousands of miles, you have to say goodbye in the end.

Even though there is much reluctance, the two still have to separate.

Looking at the back of Cheng Nuo boarding the boat, Li Hua suddenly shouted: "Professor Cheng, do our cannons really work?"

Cheng Nuo, who was in the crowd, smiled and said nothing. He just held the mini cannon and fired in the direction the boat was going to go.

It was a coincidence that the cloud cover gradually dispersed in the originally cloudy weather, and a beam of light happened to hit the direction where the gun was fired just now.

"Li Hua, whether the cannon is useful or not depends on us."

……

"Woo~"

The whistle of the ship came again, only this time it was a farewell after leaving the port.

At some point, Planck and Einstein appeared at the port, standing side by side, silently watching Cheng Nuo's boat heading out to sea.

"It's still a step late, and I didn't catch up with him." Einstein complained, "Why didn't you inform us before he left? Not only did he have no chance to give gifts, he didn't even have a chance to say goodbye Don't you think we are friends?"

Plank folded his hands behind his back, and comforted him: "Cheng wouldn't choose to do this if he had to. These days, his reputation in Berlin is too big, and some bad people have noticed him. Before he leaves, he will make a big fuss. It is easy to have accidents, and it is not impossible to be forced to stay in Berlin."

Thinking about the recent situation, Einstein said with emotion: "No wonder Cheng made us a special Chinese meal yesterday. He originally wanted to say goodbye to us. At that time, he only cared about tasting the food and praising Cheng's craftsmanship. Looking at him now, he doesn't care. Easy, I just hope the war ends as soon as possible, so that we have a chance to meet again."

Plank shook his head with a smile: "Actually, at that time, Cheng had the intention of leaving both inside and outside the words. Although I could see it at the time, I just didn't expect it to be so sudden. I was not prepared at all. It's just a war situation. Who can tell?" Are you sure? But then again, Cheng invited me and you to study in China, are you going?"

Einstein opened his eyes wide: "Why don't you go? There are so many things I'm looking forward to. Besides my friend Cheng, there are food and musical instruments. Most importantly, I want to see Cheng personally sow the seeds." What kind of garden will be born out of scientific soil.”

Planck laughed loudly: "First is the flower of mathematics, then the flower of physics, and then the flower of chemistry... The name of the garden is the flower of science!"