A doctor who travels through two eras

How many smart people are there in the world?
The essence of commerce is exchange: selling goods produced in one place to another, and the difference in price earned by merchants is their profit.

As the pioneers of modern commerce, the people of the United States have the most authority to speak on this matter.

Because a hundred years ago, they liked to sell their domestically produced goods abroad, and then send back the cheap raw materials and treasures from abroad, which were practically given away for free, to the United Kingdom.

This back and forth is equivalent to transporting boatloads of wealth.

Of course, the British also have a very thuggish business style. They use cannons and guns to pave the way. If you, the natives, are convinced, you can buy my tooth-shaped ...

This also enabled the United Kingdom to quickly become the most commercially developed country in the 19th century.

Later, when the United States declined, Americans took on the role of "world merchants."

But the Americans are smarter; they use both the stick and the carrot, chanting "freedom and democracy" while paving the way with artillery and guns.

So before Black people were still growing cotton and before the rise of hardworking Asians, white people effectively monopolized all trade in the world and were extremely adventurous.

Large capital is used for cross-border trade, leaving those with small capital, or no capital at all, with no choice but to engage in smuggling.

Nobody thinks that only Huo Daheng is involved in smuggling, right?

Huo Daheng doesn't own any factories and doesn't produce penicillin, gasoline, machine tools, or anything like that. So where do all these smuggled goods come from?

To put it bluntly, he actually has foreigners supporting him.

Foreigners were responsible for supplying goods, Fok Tai-heng was responsible for transportation, senior Hong Kong government officials were responsible for providing protection, and triad members provided armed protection.

In the end, we share the profits together.

As for legal restrictions, such as the prohibition by the Coordinating Committee, businessmen consider it utter nonsense.

Blocking someone's path to wealth is like killing their parents; this saying is universally true.

Therefore, smuggling is essentially a form of "business," only it is tax-free, which makes it more profitable and more likely to entice white people to take risks.

Philip's team from the United States is a small smuggling group that trades in-demand goods between the East and the West, selling whatever is profitable.

In a secret warehouse at the port of Southampton.

A large, fat white man was counting the goods that Philip had brought from Hong Kong, scratching his head as he looked at the boxes and boxes of medicine in front of him.

"Philip, is this the miraculous oriental antibiotic you've been talking about? I'm a little skeptical."

Asia, even present-day Japan, is not taken seriously by the British, who consider it a barbaric and backward region, a paradise for adventurers.

Philip, however, was very confident and chuckled:
"No, no, no, Blunt, you're wrong this time. This kind of antibiotic is selling like hotcakes in Hong Kong right now. It's a complete panic buying, so Lingnan Hospital, which sells this medicine, has had to implement purchase limits."

Medications can only gain patients' trust if they are effective. People aren't stupid; if a drug doesn't work, why would anyone rush to buy it? Why would they limit purchases and prevent you from buying more?

I'm certain these antibiotics are amazing because we've personally tested them. They work for everything, from the common cold to pneumonia to wound infections, and their effectiveness far surpasses that of penicillin.

"And Blunt, look, the amazing thing about this antibiotic is that it's in tablet form, so it's very convenient to take. Just take a few at home regularly, and it can solve any infectious disease. It's simply fantastic."

The obese Blunt was still suspicious; after all, he was a businessman, and his greatest skill was boasting, exaggerating to the extreme.

But since his companion had already delivered the goods, he couldn't refuse to sell them, so he asked:
"What are the selling prices and profit margins for these drugs?"

“In Hong Kong, a box of cefuroxime costs about £1. Azithromycin and moxifloxacin are more expensive; for example, this box costs more than £50.”

Blunt clicked his tongue:
"The name sounds a bit strange, and it doesn't seem very expensive. How much are you planning to sell it for?"

Philip greedily stretched out his hands: "I'm prepared to sell them all for 10 times the price. I absolutely won't sell them if they're cheaper."

Blunt was furious: "Fuck, are you crazy? Selling a drug of unknown origin for tens of pounds? Only a fool would buy that. Aren't we losing money?"

Philip, however, was full of confidence, shaking his head and pointing his finger:

"No, no, no, I'm not crazy. I just mentioned something I didn't add: the company that invented the anti-tuberculosis drug, etorizine fumigation tablets, is Lingnantang Pharmaceutical Company. Now, do you still think this antibiotic has an unclear origin?"

Business people are all very smart; their IQs are absolutely top-notch.

When Blunt heard about the incredibly popular ethylpiperazole tobacco tablets, his eyes lit up instantly:
"Were they produced by the same pharmaceutical company?"

Philip pointed to the traditional Chinese characters on the packaging box and said:

"It's the same pharmaceutical factory, and this factory is very secretive. It's located in a border region separated from mainland China by a river. According to my information, these drugs are actually produced by Chinese people."

Blunt's heart began to race again:
"Chinese people? Aren't they even far inferior to Hong Kong? Can medicines produced in such a country be any good?"

Philip is very confident:

"Whether it works or not, we can just try it out. Nathaniel Hospital is owned by my friend. We'll provide the medicine for free and let the hospital test it on you. Then you'll believe it."

However, it's best to be quick. Many people are interested in this business, and the earlier we start selling, the more money we can make on our first pot of gold. I estimate that Hong Kong will open up the sale of pharmaceuticals on a large scale later.

It has to be said that Philip is indeed a man who makes a living from smuggling; his judgment is very accurate.

Blunt nodded in agreement, saying, "Yes, let's test it first. If someone dies from it, we won't be able to escape either."

The same scene was not only happening in Hong Kong. At the same time, antibiotics from Lingnan Hospital were being rapidly transported to various countries.

Pfizer headquarters in the United States.

A week earlier, cefuroxime, azithromycin, and moxifloxacin were urgently delivered to the laboratory and then distributed to various researchers.

Today is the day the conclusion is reached, and Pfizer's General Manager, Scott, along with a host of the company's top executives, have all arrived.

Professor Hoffman, the director of the experimental center, wearing a white lab coat, was personally delivering documents to the company's senior management.

Scott, without even glancing at the documents, tapped the table and asked:

"Professor Hoffman, just tell me directly, are these so-called antibiotics real or fake? Are they really a breakthrough in pharmaceutical technology?"

Professor Hoffman handed the materials to his assistant before returning to his seat, nodding solemnly and saying:
"We have completed drug analysis, and we have also conducted internal testing at the Presbyterian Hospital, which confirmed that the bactericidal effect of these three new antibiotics is far superior to that of penicillin."

Let me put it this way: these three Hong Kong antibiotics can kill the same bacteria that penicillin can kill; they can also kill bacteria that penicillin cannot kill, covering almost all known bacterial species.

Upon hearing this, everyone in the laboratory gasped in unison.

With the emergence of this "super germ killer," everyone realized that these were indeed three revolutionary drugs that could change the history of human diseases.

This also means that the Hong Kong company that invented and produced these three drugs is going to make a fortune.

Pfizer understands this best. This long-established pharmaceutical company, founded in 1849 and now with over a century of history, had previously made huge profits from sulfonamides and penicillin, eventually completing its initial capital accumulation.

Scott looked at the three boxes of medicine in front of him, his eyes filled with greed.

"Honey, this is amazing! This isn't just medicine, it's practically billions of dollars in sales every year! By the way, is there any chance we can still register a patent?"

An assistant next to him replied:
“I have checked the relevant patents. Lingnan Pharmaceutical Company has already registered global patents, and they are already in effect. There is no way to register them first.”

Rogue companies from rogue states have a first thought of robbery, at which point procedural justice and respect for intellectual property rights are thrown to the wind.

Scott was clearly still somewhat unwilling, and after pondering for a moment, he gave the order:
"Hong Kong Lingnan Pharmaceutical Company? I've never heard of it. Since it's an unknown little company, let's acquire it. We'll just spend a few hundred million dollars; I don't believe they won't be tempted." (End of Chapter)