African Entrepreneurship Records 2

Chapter 1359 The plague rages
On the streets of London, General Bruce, after finishing a meeting, sat in a car, ready to leave the center of the world in the early 20th century.

It is no exaggeration to say that London is the center of the world today. In terms of population alone, London, with a population of seven million, undoubtedly exceeds most countries in the world today. In terms of economy, politics, industry, and shipping, London has almost no shortcomings except for the environment.

If London were a separate country, it would rank among the top in the world, which is what is called "one city is worth a country".

General Bruce looked at the crowded London and said to his secretary: "It can be seen with the naked eye that the population density of London has reached a very scary level. No city in East Africa can compare with it. Even Dar es Salaam looks like a large village compared to London."

His secretary, Kovaye, said from the passenger seat: "I guess only New York can compete with London. Our cities in East Africa still have a long way to go to develop to this scale."

"However, London has too many people, too many buildings, too many traffic jams, and poor air quality, so it can only scare country folk who have never seen the world."

Bruce agreed and said, "Then I definitely prefer the cities of the Empire. However, it is indeed shocking to first arrive in London. The density of buildings is like a forest of steel and concrete."

From the very beginning, the development of East African cities has followed a different path from that of cities in Europe and the United States. They have paid more attention to the living environment and have only started to build some high-rise buildings in recent years. In terms of visual effects, they cannot be compared with cities such as London, New York, and Paris.

After all, the urban environment in East Africa is more like small towns in Europe and the United States in terms of details. The numerous green belts, parks, waters and other landscapes tend to simulate nature, but because of design and planning reasons, they are not as "pure" natural as small towns in Europe and the United States.

Kovalye said: "This is also because the traffic in London is so bad now, the traffic jam is so serious, I don't know how long it will take us to reach the port."

The East African convoys have been submerged in the streets of London, and it is almost impossible to move forward because there are too many cars, too many buildings, and the roads are narrow and the design is unreasonable.

Bruce also complained as he looked at the crowded crowds and traffic: "This is indeed a big pain point. No wonder London was the first country to build a subway. With so many people living in such a small area, every inch of land is valuable. It is very difficult to further transform it. This shows how much effort Napoleon III put into transforming Paris in the last century."

In this way, the two waited in the car for about thirty minutes before finally leaving Inner London and entering the so-called Outer London area. There were still many buildings around, but the atmosphere of life here was also more intense.

Bruce and Kovalye chatted idly to kill time, but soon Bruce discovered some problems.

Inner London, at least in terms of planning and management, is very good. After all, it is where the London government and wealthy people are concentrated. However, after entering the Outer London area, the air quality and environmental sanitation become worse.

Bruce was not concerned about the environment here. What he paid attention to was the situation of British citizens living in Outer London.

Bruce noticed that some pedestrians on the road were coughing and sneezing from time to time, but this situation did not attract the attention of pedestrians around them.

These small details appeared frequently, which made General Bruce notice this.

His expression turned serious, and he said to Kovalye: "There should be a large-scale epidemic spreading in London now, but it doesn't seem to have received much attention."

Kovalye said: "General, you have been busy with meetings these days, so you haven't paid much attention to the situation in London, especially since we are meeting and living in Inner London, where the environment and sanitation are much better."

"In fact, our people have long discovered that there may be a large number of people infected in Outer London, but it is probably only in the last few days that it is so common now."

"There may have been similar cases in London before, but they were rare. However, as an open metropolis, London has frequent exchanges with various countries, so people from the European continent inevitably gathered in London."

"It now appears that the plague is finally about to break out in London. However, the British may not have regained their vigilance yet. British newspapers have also been focusing on several important international conferences these days and have not mentioned the plague in detail."

Although it was not mentioned in detail, it was mentioned nonetheless. However, the reports on the plague in some British newspapers were more of a mockery of East Africa and France.

Kovalye said: "The British think we are making a fuss and are afraid of death, and the early symptoms of the virus are indeed not prominent, but the people of London are afraid that they will see the power of this plague next."

"According to the intelligence we received from our country, the mortality rate of plague patients quarantined by customs is over 4%. If this data is not interfered with by other factors, I'm afraid that the whole of London will be in big trouble."

Hearing this, General Bruce said, "London is indeed a place of trouble. Let's leave quickly! I heard that this flu is mainly transmitted through the air. I feel uncomfortable staying here now. If we stay any longer, the possibility of us getting into trouble will be higher. Let's go back home as soon as possible!"

As Bruce said this, the East African convoy sped up its pace towards the dock, but it still took a long time in congested London.

At the dock, the East African personnel took Bruce's temperature and carried out simple disinfection. Two of them had abnormal body temperatures and had to be isolated. At the same time, the ship's doctor also suggested that Bruce and others be observed on the ship for a period of time.

The ship that Bruce and others were on was a passenger ship from an East African country. The ship was equipped with professional medical personnel and related medical supplies. Of course, only East African senior officials like Bruce could enjoy this treatment.

Just one day later, the passenger ship urgently returned to the country with no intention of staying here any longer.

Just one day after Bruce and others left, the epidemic in London spread like a wild horse that had run away from its reins. A large number of patients appeared on the streets of London. Because of the previous actions in East Africa and France, this deepened the panic of Londoners.

After all, before you and the people around you are infected with the virus, everyone can naturally continue to live and work calmly. But when the crisis really comes to you, or even befalls you, that is another matter.

The content of conversations among Londoners on the streets has also changed.

“Qiao Sen, your condition seems to be the flu symptoms described in East Africa. East Africans can’t tell the truth!”

"Bowles, I feel so bad. I have trouble breathing, a headache, and I have no strength at all."

"Qiao Sen, maybe it's just a minor cold, you don't have to worry too much."

Having said this, Bowles still consciously took a step back. If it was just Qiao Sen who was like this, Bowles might not believe in the existence of the so-called European flu. However, Qiao Sen was not the first one, but one of Bowles' many acquaintances who might have been infected with the influenza virus.

"Qiao Sen, I think you need to rest or see a doctor. I believe you will get better, but I have something else to do at home, so I won't chat with you for now. Bye!"

Bowles simply chose to take a detour home, and muttered to himself: "This should be the fifth one. Could it be that the European flu really existed? It is likely to be so. Damn the Sun, which said two days ago that the European flu did not exist at all."

"Now, it seems that the so-called European flu is not groundless. When I go home, I will also ask others to be more careful."

Soon, Bowles hurried to the door of his home, which was just a small, inconspicuous house in the entire slum.

The surrounding environment is very bad, the road in front of the door is bumpy, and there are illegal buildings everywhere on the street. Various awnings or temporary wooden houses are crowded together, and even these illegal buildings occupy more than half of the public road. The materials of these illegal buildings are also strange, all kinds of wood, bricks or rags obtained from nowhere, combined with rusty nails.

These materials may come from the countryside, be dismantled from abandoned ships, or be brought back from a construction site.

The furniture in the shack was also very simple and worn out, and its origins might not be clean. After all, London in the early 20th century was also a paradise for thieves, and the residents of London's slums were obviously not very wealthy, so the origins of many things were not considered.

However, as the richest city in the world in the early 20th century, most of the citizens in London had a good income. As for the slums, the residents here were obviously not real London citizens in terms of identity.

Bowles is such a person. He is also a countryman who just arrived in London a few years ago.

So the situation at Bowles' home in London is obviously not much better now, but Bowles turns a blind eye to it.

He opened the door and said, "Alice, I'm back!"

A young British girl is making a fire to cook in a narrow house. There is only one coal-burning stove in the whole house. Due to the long-term use of this stove, the walls and roof have been smoked black.

"Bowers, you're off work!" Alice said.

Bowers lay in bed and said, "Yeah! I've been burning the boiler all day. I'm tired and hot. I don't know when it will end."

The Bowles family's small house has only one room, so all the furniture is here. There is no concept of kitchen, bedroom, bathroom, etc.

Living in a slum is certainly not without its benefits. Although the environment is poor, you can save a lot of money, especially rent.

"By the way, Alice, are there many neighbors suffering from colds and fevers recently?" Bowles said to his busy wife.

Alice said: "Now that you mention it, it seems to be true. Mrs. Fowle and her family have caught cold, and many people in the street have had the same problem recently."

Powers said with embarrassment: "If this is true, we should be careful. According to what I heard from the factory, this is very likely the European flu."

Alice asked, "What is the European flu?"

Powers said: "It's a contagious virus, a terrible virus like the Black Death. The factory newspaper said it was just an East African scare tactic, but, in my opinion, it's probably true."

Alice was shocked when she heard about the Black Death. Although she didn't know what the European flu was, the Black Death was well known to Europeans.

Alice asked in a panic, "Is this true? Is the European flu more severe than the Black Death?"

Bowles shook his head and said, "I don't know whether this news is true or not, because this is only what East Africa and France say. Our government agencies have not mentioned this."

Alice asked, "What should we do then?"

Bowers said: "If there is no special situation recently, you'd better not go out. We should stay away from the crowd as much as possible. This is the only thing we can do."

Alice said, "But you still have to go to the factory every day..."

Powers said helplessly: "Yes, I have to work. This is unavoidable. After all, how can we live without work? You also have to go out to buy food. I certainly can't refuse to work, but let's stock up as much food as possible while food prices are cheap now."

"Besides, I'm in the boiler room of the factory, where few people go. Maybe I can avoid the European flu pandemic."

Alice sighed and said, "It can only be like this. Oh God! When will these miserable days end?"

It is no wonder that Alice complained so much. After all, the lives of ordinary British people had been greatly disrupted because of the war. Now that the war is over, the plague has occurred again. It is simply endless.

End of July 1920.

The epidemic in London broke out completely, and just a few days later, almost the entire London was full of patients infected with the European flu.

In addition to London, other places in the UK were also unable to avoid the impact. At this time, the British government in London began to panic.

At the same time, the situation in Europe is not optimistic. Even in France, which has made adequate preparations, the epidemic has spread across the country.

Germany, Austria-Hungary, Spain, Belgium, the Netherlands, Portugal and other countries have become epidemic areas.

On the other side of the ocean, a large number of cases began to appear in coastal cities in the United States. Other countries along the Atlantic coast were not spared, but the impact they suffered varied depending on the distance or degree of openness.

The epidemic continues to spread around the world, and the European flu "predicted" by East Africa has really come.

As the first country to announce the European flu, East Africa was also hit by the pandemic, and epidemics began to appear in coastal areas of East Africa.

This means that East Africa cannot keep the European flu out of the country. However, fortunately, the East African government is well prepared, the people have a high level of awareness and experience in dealing with epidemics, which means that the epidemic is still within the control of the East African government.

By February, the horror of the European flu had truly reached a peak worldwide, and a large number of infected people began to die, especially in megacities such as London and New York.

Moreover, most of the deaths were young and middle-aged people, which undoubtedly further caused panic in various countries, especially France. President Clemenceau convened an emergency meeting and introduced more stringent epidemic control bills.

After all, population is the most valuable asset for the French government today. After losing a large number of people in the war, France's population structure has already been seriously damaged. Now French leaders such as Clemenceau do not want to suffer another major population loss.

When France was preparing to launch a second round of anti-epidemic efforts, European and American countries had to learn from France and East Africa, because this flu not only targeted ordinary people, but some politicians and businessmen also began to be affected. This made people from various countries realize the horror of the European flu, and all countries had to follow up and adopt corresponding epidemic prevention policies.

(End of this chapter)