Go back in time and be a chaebol

Chapter 1559 The Man Who Changed the World (Second Update, Please Subscribe)

Early in the morning, a Cessna 172 four-seater light aircraft took off from the airport.

“That’s what we do.”

After the plane took off, Professor Knipling said to Zhang Jiuyuan beside him:

"It is to eliminate the tsetse fly! The tsetse fly is also called the tsetse fly and the tsetse fly. It lives in sub-Saharan Africa and south of it. But this little insect is a nightmare for the African people. Because the only food of this insect is human or animal blood. When a person is bitten by it, he is likely to suffer from a fatal disease - sleeping sickness."

Zhang Jiuyuan, who graduated from the Department of Biology of Chang'an University, certainly knows what the tsetse fly is and its impact on Africa.

"In southern Africa, people and livestock are infested with tsetse flies and trypanosomes. Any vertebrate animal, whether human, cattle, sheep, horse, camel, or even crocodiles or monitor lizards, can be infected with sleeping sickness by the bite of tsetse flies. In many places, sleeping sickness is the largest cause of death in the area."

Zhang Jiuyuan said with some curiosity:

"Professor, didn't you eliminate the tsetse fly in East Africa through biological control?"

Biological control of tsetse flies is similar to that of mosquitoes, using radiation to cause male sterility and then using sterile flies to kill flies. This control method invented by Professor Knipling was adopted by the United States as early as ten years ago to eliminate screwworm flies in the southern United States, relieving the trouble of the local livestock industry.

However, what Zhang Jiuyuan didn't know was that Professor Knipling originally came up with this idea for the purpose of preventing and controlling screwworm flies. But at that time, it was an absurd idea and Knipling didn't even dare to apply for research funding using this topic. It was at this time that he received the offer letter from Nanyang University.

At Nanyang University, he received research funding, and his target changed from screwworms to mosquitoes and now to the African tsetse fly.

"Yes, that's right. For the past five years, we have been eradicating tsetse flies across East Africa by continuously releasing laboratory-bred, irradiated male flies into the wild. We release more than a million tsetse flies every day."

While introducing the situation here, Professor Knipling pointed to the grassland outside the barbed wire and said:
"That's why, in recent years, beef from East Africa has begun to appear on the domestic market, because the tsetse flies in this region have been basically eradicated and will not pose a threat to cattle, which provides the fundamental premise for the development of animal husbandry."

As soon as the professor finished speaking, a company employee next to him said:

"Yes, if it weren't for the professor's invention, the damage caused to the cattle by the existence of those flies would be incalculable, and we wouldn't be able to develop animal husbandry here."

The staff pointed to the ranch outside the window and introduced:

"In the past, there were fields there, but now they have become pastures. In fact, these pastures are idle arable land in rotation. In the past, they had to be left there idle because of the threat of flies, so raising cattle was very risky.

But now these cultivated lands are excellent pastures."

"It is not good?"

Zhang Jiuyuan looked at the professor beside him with some doubt and said:

"Doesn't this just prove that the method you are using is correct?"

"This approach is effective, but it's like we've eliminated mosquitoes in the city, but there are still a lot of mosquitoes in the wild."

Professor Knipling said helplessly.

"Although there are no screwworms in East Africa, there will still be new screwworms flying in from outside East Africa, after all, they are still widely present in other parts of Africa. Therefore, we still have to continue to release castrated male flies along the border.

As you can see from the map, East Africa is only a small part of Africa. It is very expensive to keep placing flies on the border for such a long time.

Moreover, doing so is at best a temporary solution and not a fundamental solution.”

Looking at the confused professor, Zhang Jiuyuan said directly
"So why can't we release those flies to other areas?"

“Yes, it is an option.”

Professor Knipling thought for a moment, then said:

"And we all know this option. If we can release those sterile flies all over Africa, then maybe we can expand the area of ​​release step by step in the next 20 to 30 years and eventually achieve the goal of eliminating all tsetse flies, but..."

Turning his head to look at Zhang Jiuyuan beside him, Professor Knipling said:
"But do you know how big Africa is? It's tens of millions of square kilometers.

If we want to realize this plan, it will take not only 20 to 30 years, but also a lot of money.

funds!"

Professor Knipling frowned, and then said in an angry tone:

“The biggest question now is where is the money going to come from?
The Americans, the British, and the French have money to provide to African countries so that they can build buildings, roads, and turn those columns into mansions in New York, Paris, and London.

The Russians and other Eastern countries have the money to export songs here, and the money to support the wars of those they support, but none of them are willing to spend even a penny on tsetse control.”

When the voice fell, Professor Knipling emphasized:

"Even the United Nations would rather waste money on incompetent African governments than spend it on this.

Because they are not willing to save Africans at all. Their so-called saving Africa is just to gain some fame.

Except us..."

Professor Knipling's tone became lowered, and he said:
"Besides us, we are the only ones in the world who spend a lot of money every year to save these people. We are the only ones who are really helping them. Helping the people here."

Looking at Professor Knipling and listening to his words, at that moment Zhang Jiuyuan seemed to understand why the grain company wrote that on the recruitment poster.

"We give them civilization, modernity and the future!"

Because it is indeed giving this land a future and modernity.

Just like eradicating tsetse flies, it is using modern science to help the people here and change the status quo of this land.

"That is to say..."

Zhang Jiuyuan said while looking at the professor beside him.

"We have no way to truly eliminate them."

"Yes, at least until the international community really takes action, until they abandon politics, no longer use political purposes, and truly put themselves in the shoes of this land to help, we have no way."

This is the truth!
Although for the professor and his colleagues, they hope that through their efforts they can completely eliminate the tsetse fly and save this continent that is plagued by diseases.

But due to funding constraints and national border restrictions, there is not much they can do.

"Those countries keep saying they want to help Africa, but what have they actually helped with?"

Rather than complaining, it would be more accurate to say that Zhang Jiuyuan was too young. He had no idea that those countries did not care about the lives of Africans.

Never mind that the tsetse fly kills millions of people every year, takes away tens of millions of livestock, and impoverishes the land.

All they care about is to bring the country into their own camp, and all they need is the owner of the magnificent presidential palaces in the capitals of these African countries.
As for the people of this land, no one cares at all.

Of course, this does not prevent them from inciting and provoking war in the name of the local people.

This is the cruelest part of the real world.

“That’s the hypocrisy of those countries, they are against colonialism, they are against our investment here.

In their view, the most important thing is never whether the people's lives are good or bad, but to whom this place belongs.
For Africa, the biggest danger has never been colonialism or exploitation by foreign corporations, but poverty, disease and tsetse flies. Once exposed in the wild, tsetse flies may bite local people and livestock at any time, which greatly restricts local economic and social development and is an important cause of poverty in southern Africa.

But no one cares because it’s not important.”

The company employee standing nearby complained and said:
"What can we do? The only thing we can do is to do what we can within our ability, just like now... at least we have saved the people here."

"At least we saved the people here..."

Looking around and looking at this ancient land, Zhang Jiuyuan inexplicably felt a sense of sadness in his heart. This sadness was more of sympathy. He sympathized with the people here, sympathized with their suffering, and sympathized with everything they had gone through.

But the most fundamental sympathy is... no one cares about them at all!
Looking at some local natives in the distance, and seeing their dark skin shining in the sun, Zhang Jiuyuan sighed for a long time, and then said:

"I think I understand why you support the East African Federation..."

Looking at the local workers, Zhang Jiuyuan said:
"Because we are the only ones who care about them and are willing to help them. Perhaps, our help is because of the food here, but... I think this is the real reason why we are willing to help them.

Only with our help can we truly change this land and free Africa from poverty!"

Nodding, Professor Knipling said:
"But who can understand?"

He then added in a rather angry tone.

"Even here, we helped them eradicate the tsetse fly, we saved millions of people, but they see us as accomplices of the colonial masters, and they completely ignore the contribution made by the company here, and they are more willing to believe the lies of some people than the contribution made by the company."

This is the helplessness of a scientist. Although he knows what he is doing here, he cannot stop others from splashing ink on his work.

What he couldn't understand was that the local people who benefited from it were unable to express their gratitude for their work.

"In the international community, they all seem to care about this place, but they are blaming the company."

“Big countries, everything is because of the interference of big countries. They are under the banner of opposing colonial rule. What do they want to destroy?

That’s what we do here.”

As he said this, the sunlight shone on them, seeming to cast a halo on them.

No matter how people outside do not understand the efforts of these people, they are very clear that their work is to save this ancient and pristine land.

Their work is destined to change the world.

(End of this chapter)