Go back in time and be a chaebol

Chapter 1558: Civilization Spreader (First update, please subscribe)
"We give them civilization, modernity and the future!"

On all college campuses and at on-campus recruitment fairs, this sentence is prominently displayed on the recruitment posters of International Grain Corporation.

If it were in some Western countries, there would definitely be people who would think that this is condescending and colonialist.

But everyone here knows it is true.

In fact, as a biology graduate student, Zhang Jiuyuan knew very well that the grain company's statement was not an exaggeration.

Not only is it not an exaggeration, but they have even set up several research institutes in Africa. The industry that Zhang Jiuyuan applied for is the position at the Dar es Sami Agricultural Research Institute.

For him, who graduated from the Department of Biology of Chang'an University, it was so easy for him to get this overseas job that even now some people feel sorry for him.

"Hey, Jiuyuan, tell me, what on earth are you thinking? You actually want to go to Africa!"

At the international airport, several friends who came to see him off surrounded Zhang Jiuyuan, their tone full of regret.

"That's right, Jiuyuan. There are so many research institutes in our country, but you chose to go to such a faraway place. It's really true."

Listening to the complaints from classmates and friends, Zhang Jiuyuan said with a smile.

"It's a bit far, but someone has to go there. After all, we are more needed there."

His answer made everyone silent. Sometimes, people always have their own pursuits. Zhang Jiuyuan is one of those people who have pursuits, but his pursuits are different from others. He believes that he should go overseas and make due contributions to the development of overseas careers through his own efforts.

After all, overseas is the lifeline.

After saying goodbye to his friends, Zhang Jiuyuan pushed his suitcase into the waiting room, and soon he got on the plane.

The aircraft is a long-range C717. Compared with the C707, it has lower airport requirements and is more suitable for airports in Africa with poor conditions.

The flight was going directly to Nairobi and after the flight reached Nairobi, he would take other flight from there to Dar es Lasam.

Although the flight was a bit long, there were no legendary romantic encounters or anything else along the way. After all, it was a plane to Africa.

Most of the passengers on the plane were employees of grain and mining companies.

There are not many researchers like Zhang Jiuyuan. A few hours later, after the plane landed at Nairobi Airport, he quickly changed to the Viscount plane of African Airlines and flew to Dar es La Sam. He traveled all the way until the evening when he finally arrived at the airport.

In the airport waiting room, Zhang Jiuyuan saw the driver who came to pick him up. The driver was a local black man, taciturn, wearing a khaki uniform, with his eyes always looking forward.

Since getting on the car, Zhang Jiuyuan felt that everything around him was new. After all, this was his first time in Africa.

There were black people everywhere, dark-skinned ones, just like the driver.

It is rare to see black people in China. At most, there are only some diplomats from African countries. In fact, whether you are willing to admit it or not, it is very difficult for Africans from countries such as Britain and the United States to enter SEA, and they are almost never allowed to enter.

There are many reasons for being denied entry, such as failure to submit a criminal record certificate, failure to undergo infectious disease review, and of course, having an intention to immigrate.

In short, it is difficult to see African Americans in the local area.

But in Africa…everywhere you look, it’s black.

After the car drove out of the city of Dar es Lasam, the road soon turned into a dirt road, a standard dirt road. When we were in the mainland, although most of the roads were simple roads after leaving the city and the highway, those simple roads were also 5.5 meters wide asphalt roads, not this primitive dirt road.

All traces of civilization seemed to have vanished, and the telephone poles were no longer visible. But the driver nimbly navigated the bumps and potholes on the road, and it was obvious that he had driven this difficult road many times before.

“This isn’t Africa…”

Although someone had told Zhang Jiuyuan before coming here that the roads in Africa were difficult to travel, he thought at the time that these people were just trying to scare him because they didn't want to work there.

The first person who told him was Barry, an American professor at the school. When he learned of his choice, he said to him:
"Don't imagine the place you are going to be a paradise. It is more terrible than hell. It is far away from human civilization. Although there are humans there, they still live in a primitive society. It is a desolate place that people can only imagine in their imagination."

At this moment, Zhang Jiuyuan finally understood why Professor Barry said that. He also remembered the recruitment poster he saw at the campus recruitment fair:
Any young biological experimenter who is not afraid of hardship and wishes to go abroad to engage in experimental work will be hired with a high salary. This profession is unique and has a bright future.

Zhang Jiuyuan readily agreed to apply. After receiving an advance of 1,000 yuan, he hurriedly said goodbye to his friends. He applied for a passport when he was studying abroad in high school, and then he came to this place far away from civilization.

The setting sun scattered orange and yellow rays of light. The car was running, rolling over its increasingly long shadow, and gradually approaching a bright red area. There were cornfields on both sides of this area, endless cornfields, and soon, there was a large grassland, where herds of cows were eating grass.

As a biology student, Zhang Jiuyuan knew that this was the "grass-fed cattle" in East Africa, which he had heard Professor Barry mention.

"On the pastures in Africa, livestock companies will let cattle graze on the pastures without paying any attention to them. Hundreds or even thousands of cattle will grow up eating grass on the pastures. Only in the dry season will the companies send silage corn stalks to the pastures..."

The cost of grass-fed cattle is extremely low, which is also the source of cheap SEA beef. Although African beef is much cheaper than local cattle, I have never heard of organizations such as livestock associations calling for increased tariffs to protect local livestock industry.

After all, people need to eat meat.

“So this is the big ranch!”

Looking at this pasture that seemed to stretch as far as the eye could see, Zhang Jiuyuan seemed to understand why some people in China called this place a "granary" and a "pasture".

"This place is the lifeline!" As he sighed, a barbed wire fence appeared in his sight.

The wire fence stretched out in both directions, north and south, and disappeared into the distance. In the center of the wall, a vague square could be seen. On the wire fence, electric poles were erected at even intervals, with electric lights installed on them. In the afterglow of the setting sun, the electric lights looked like blood-red spots.

When the car drove to the entrance, Zhang Jiuyuan remembered what Professor Barry said:

"At the end of the world God created, you will see the existence of civilization..."

It’s here too!
The car drove into the gate. There was a huge mud platform at the gate, and next to it stood a few sentries with carbines. They were short East Asians with chess "Black Knight" armbands on their sleeves.

The security guards not only checked the trunk of the Land Rover, but also used mirrors to observe under the car.

The inspection was meticulous, of course, including Zhang Jiuyuan's ID.

After checking his ID, the security officer grinned at him and said:

"Welcome to the Agricultural Research Institute, Mr. Zhang."

After entering the institute, the car drove for another five minutes and stopped in front of a building.

When Zhang Jiuyuan got off the bus, a few people came out of the building, led by a European. He saw Zhang Jiuyuan, was stunned for a moment, looked at his luggage, and said:

"Mr. Zhang Jiuyuan, please come in."

He spoke authentic Mandarin and extended a hand to Zhang Jiuyuan.

"Let us meet, I am Edward F. Knipling."

Edward F. Knipling!

Hearing this name, Zhang Jiuyuan immediately became excited and said:

"I know, I know, you are Professor Knipling! Oh my God, you are my idol!"

Looking at the idol in front of him, Zhang Jiuyuan said excitedly:

"Professor, to tell you the truth, the reason I chose this place is because you are here!"

Zhang Jiuyuan's excitement made Kniplin laugh:

"Haha, is that true? This is my honor. I never thought that someone would admire me."

Listening to the professor's answer, Zhang Jiuyuan shook his head and said:

"Professor, don't you know?"

"what do you know?"

"Everyone knows you're a hero!"

The reason why Zhang Jiuyuan was so excited was that more than a decade ago, Kniplin, a biology professor at Chang'an University, proposed a wonderful idea:

If infertile male mosquitoes are released in the wild, female mosquitoes will not lay eggs after mating, and will not harm other animals. More importantly, if castrated male mosquitoes are continuously released in the wild, the number of such male mosquitoes will decrease from generation to generation until there is no offspring. In other words, mosquitoes can be eliminated by releasing a large number of male mosquitoes.

To be precise, it is to eliminate Anopheles gambiae, also known as the malarial mosquito, which is the vector of malaria.

This is, of course, the biggest problem facing SEA, along with infectious diseases such as dengue fever and Zika, which are all transmitted by mosquitoes.

Although DDT is very effective in killing mosquitoes, using it once or twice a week will always cause harm to the human body.

Knipling's idea of ​​using "sterile mosquitoes" to eliminate mosquitoes achieved certain success after experiments.

"Professor, when I was in college, I studied the data of urban areas. The mosquito population in the main urban area of ​​Chang'an has been basically eliminated, and the average suppression effect of larvae and female mosquitoes has reached 94% and 89% respectively. The mosquito bite rate has dropped by an average of 96.6% and 88.7% respectively."

When mentioning this data, Zhang Jiuyuan also emphasized:
"In the main urban area, we could not even detect any mosquitoes for 13 weeks. It was basically cleared. Now we only spray insecticides once a month in the urban area."

When Zhang Jiuyuan mentioned these data, Kniplin shook his head and said helplessly:

"That is only temporary suppression. There are still many mosquitoes in the rainforest and plantations. We can't eliminate mosquitoes. We can only suppress them as much as possible."

Compared with Professor Knipling, Zhang Jiuyuan seems more optimistic, he said.

"I know, professor. The military uses airplanes to drop tens of millions of sterile mosquitoes into the rain forest every day. I believe that one day, we will be able to eliminate mosquitoes!"

"Well, maybe, but it will take time, ten years, maybe longer, and a long time,"

Facing the little fanboy in front of him, Professor Knipling's tone became more intimate and he asked:
"Do you know what the biggest problem with this method of mosquito control is?"

(End of this chapter)