A doctor who travels through two eras

In the coffee shop opposite Lingnan Pharmacy on Nathan Road South.

Professor Anthony and Professor Witt sat facing the window, observing the business of the pharmacy across the street; they had been sitting there all day.

If they hadn't tipped the waiter generously, they would have been kicked out long ago.

Professor Anthony took a sip of his now-cold coffee and asked softly:
“Victor, do you see? We’ve been observing for a day now, and the crowds outside Lingnantang Pharmacy have never dwindled. The pharmacy has had to put up warning lines to maintain order.”

Also, look around Nathan Road, there's a constant stream of trucks loading boxes of medicine and speeding away. If you didn't know it was a pharmacy, you'd think it was a pharmaceutical factory.

Professor Witt gave a wry smile:
“I saw it, how could I not see it? And I also saw the name on the box: Cefuroxime Axetil, which is the drug invented by Lin Gang.”

Professor Anthony turned his gaze back and asked:
"Has your company, or the hospital you work at, conducted clinical trials for cephalosporins?"

Professor Witt also lowered his voice and leaned closer:

"We've done more than just clinical trials; we've even been doing reverse engineering. We've analyzed the drug pretty much to the point that we know all its components."

The problem now is that while we can synthesize small quantities in the lab, if we want to produce it in large quantities, the cost is impossible to reduce; it's even more expensive than the black market retail price.

Anthony asked curiously:
"How much does a box of cefuroxime cost on the black market in the United States now?"

Professor Witt held up two fingers:

"100 pounds, but if you need it urgently, it could cost 200 or 300 pounds or more. What about in the US?"

"The price is about the same in the US, and the US has a larger population, so the demand for cephalosporins is even greater. As far as I know, the US military is also secretly collecting cephalosporins; this is a huge lucrative market."

Anthony's heart bleeds whenever the topic of the U.S. military's supplies comes up.

Because the United States often purchases in very large quantities, and the prices are opaque, they can be several times the market price.

Even after deducting the benefits given to superiors and various bribes, suppliers can still make a fortune by simply reselling the product.

Having such a large, lucrative opportunity right in front of me and being unable to eat it is more painful than killing Anthony, an internationally renowned medical expert.

Professor Witt then gritted his teeth and said:
“We were working well together on anti-tuberculosis drugs before, so why didn’t Lin agree to continue this time? Did he get in touch with other pharmaceutical companies?”

Professor Anthony nodded slightly:
"We can't rule out that possibility. After all, the pharmaceutical companies under our two names can't be considered top international pharmaceutical companies; at most, they can only be considered well-known distributors. Lin needs more, which is something we may not be able to provide."

When money reaches a certain point, it ceases to be the most important thing. Instead, the power network behind the money becomes the core issue.

For example, many protagonists in time-travel novels like to invest in companies like Taotao, Dongdong, and Tengteng, and they always ask for 40% or even controlling stake.

In reality, this is impossible in the business world.

Their companies have already grown significantly. After N rounds of financing, what they want isn't money, but connections—a power network that can help the company reach even greater heights.

If the protagonist cannot provide assistance to these companies or smooth things over, they may not even be interested in your money.

So what Anthony and Waiter were thinking was, was Lin Sanqi's ambition starting to swell?
For example, do you want to collaborate with foreign pharmaceutical companies to develop drugs? Or do you want to seek positions in multiple international medical organizations? Or do you want to publish various papers in top international medical journals?

Professor Witt asked with some anxiety:

“Anthony, how do we negotiate with Lin to secure this deal? He’s clearly holding out for a higher price.”

Anthony pondered for a moment and then asked:

"Witt, how good do you think the market prospects for cephalosporins are? What are your annual sales projections?"

Professor Witt thought for a moment and said:
"According to our clinical trials, cephalosporins are far more effective than penicillin in killing bacteria, and they only require oral administration, making them more convenient and faster. They can be used for almost all infectious diseases."

If I'm not mistaken, assuming there are no competitors, if cephalosporins can maintain a monopoly for a year, their revenue will be at least $300 billion, if not more.

Anthony laughed:
"The cost of monopolized drugs is often only one-tenth of the selling price, which means that the annual profit is at least 200 billion US dollars, a number that can drive people crazy."

Professor Witt's eyes were bloodshot: "We must take this."

"Then let's do it this way... The bottom line is..."

That evening, at a five-star hotel on Hong Kong Island, Lin Sanqi and the two old foxes "gathered together," raising their glasses and chatting and laughing.

Professor Witt chuckled and pointed to the wine bottle in his hand, saying:

"Lin, this is a Romanée-Conti that I specially brought from France. The production of this wine is extremely limited each year, only about 600 bottles. Its taste is delicate and elegant, and its aroma is rich and layered. Every sip is intoxicating."

Lin Sanqi thought to herself, "Right now, all I want is a bottle of Sprite mixed with red wine; that would taste even better."

Born in an urban village, even wild boars can't appreciate fine chaff.

"Professor Witter, how much does this bottle of Romanée-Conti cost now?"

Witt habitually held up five fingers: "Five thousand dollars a bottle."

Lin Sanqi, who couldn't stand the finest food, immediately started doing the conversion. Five thousand US dollars was roughly equivalent to twelve thousand yuan. If we calculate based on an average monthly wage of 30 yuan per worker, that would be the income of 400 people.

Twelve bottles of wine can cover the expenses of a medium-sized factory.

Goodness, there's never a shortage of rich people in any era.

Professor Anthony then laughed and said:

"Actually, Romanée-Conti tastes just so-so, not much different from Petrus, Lafite, and Leroy. But why is Romanée-Conti the most expensive and the most recognized by high society? It's all because of its excellent marketing."

If it were just the Aubert family, they wouldn't have been able to drive up the price of Romanée-Conti and make it one of the world's top wines; it takes a team.

In your Chinese dialect, it's said that "three Zhuge Liangs are equal to one cobbler."

Lin Sanqi chuckled, thinking to himself that this foreigner had really studied traditional Chinese culture to please him, but unfortunately, he had only learned a hodgepodge.

Professor Witter's confidence grew even stronger when he saw Lin Sanqi smile:

"Yes, Lin, we have had a very pleasant collaboration on anti-tuberculosis drugs. Etopile fumigation tablets have now become the world's best-selling drug, which is inseparable from the joint efforts of our three companies."

Now, Anthony and I have established a complete sales chain for our two companies, and have built comprehensive partnerships with major hospitals around the world. There is no need for additional sales setup costs.

So, Lin, entrust your cephalosporin sales to us. I guarantee you'll have the most worry-free, safest, and most reliable experience. We've known each other for years; we'd never cheat a shareholder like you.

Lin Sanqi owns 10% of the shares in both Weite Pharmaceutical Company and Anthony Pharmaceutical Company.

Professor Witt and Professor Anthony each own 5% of Lingnan Pharmaceuticals, which is essentially a nominal cross-share swap.

This type of share swap can be considered the closest cooperative relationship in the business world; it generally does not break down and does not create competition between the parties.

Lin Sanqi just drank without saying a word, so Anthony decided to get straight to the point.

"Lin, I know you're worried that putting all your eggs in one basket could lead to an overabundance of unsustainable products, with the manufacturer being controlled by the distributor."

Lin Sanqi thought to himself, "Yes, this kind of thing is entirely possible."

Just like when Gome almost monopolized the home appliance retail market, it could squeeze various home appliance manufacturers, making them suffer greatly.

But there's nothing we can do about Gome, since they're the leading home appliance retailer in China with a significant competitive advantage.

Without Gome and its sales channels, these home appliance companies face only death.

This explains why many large home appliance companies later invested heavily in building their own directly operated stores. In addition, with the emergence of various e-commerce platforms, Gome suffered repeated setbacks, and there may have been retaliation from these e-commerce companies behind the scenes.

What Lin Sanqi fears most is the various restrictions that Lingnan Pharmaceutical will face after Witt Company and Anthony Company sign a sales contract.

In the end, Lingnan Pharmaceutical was reduced to a mere producer of cattle and horses, while the two companies amassed great wealth and power.
There are two ways to break this deadlock: one is to change distributors and diversify the risk.

The second one is...

Upon seeing Lin Sanqi nod slightly, Anthony and Witt sat down on either side of him, sandwiching him between them.

"Lin, we've discussed it, and we feel that your 10% stake is too small. To show our sincerity, we've decided to increase your stake in both of our companies to 30%."

Lin Sanqi's eyes lit up:
"You said it yourselves, I didn't force you..." "No, no, it was all our own choice."

Lin Sanqi took the initiative to pick up the wine glass on the coffee table:

"Let's raise a glass to our friendship. Don't worry, even though you've contributed a large portion of the shares, I assure you, you'll only profit, not lose. My lab has plenty of other drugs ready to be developed."

Professor Anthony and Professor Witt exchanged a glance and chuckled; they were also betting on the future.

A 30% stake would be considered a controlling stake in a large company.

Even Anthony Pharmaceuticals and Viter Pharmaceuticals are the second largest shareholders after the largest shareholder.

With a profit of 100 yuan, Lin Sanqi could get 30 yuan, and this 30 yuan already far exceeded the production cost. The two professors gave it away without hesitation.

There's one more crucial point.

Neither Anthony Pharmaceuticals nor Viter Pharmaceuticals are publicly listed companies, so their shareholder lists can be kept confidential and they do not need to disclose their shareholdings.

Lin Sanqi can then set up some offshore companies to hold shares, which will be completely undetectable and difficult to trace in China.

At that time, Lin Sanqi will hand over all the profits earned by Baoan Pharmaceutical Factory, which will earn him a good reputation and domestic friendship. This is what is meant by "reputation".

At the same time, it can let those in the country know that Lin Sanqi doesn't really have much money besides his salary and a very small amount of dividends.

With this level of awareness, they far surpass Cucumber and the Tycoon, right?

Shouldn't such a great and selfless proletarian revolutionary fighter be given a lot of land to buy and sell after the reform and opening up?

While others are constrained by various domestic policies and find it difficult to enter certain fields, Lin Sanqi has already taken the lead and quickly occupied various domestic markets.
You know, after the reform and opening up, our country will become the world's second strongest country. Just how vast that market will be!
The dividends from his shares in these two pharmaceutical companies could become Lin Sanqi's private property, and he secretly gained "profits".

This profit is no small amount; all things considered, it's easy to earn tens or even billions a year.

With this money, the Lin family's wealth for three generations is secure, and they can even make money off their grandson.

Once Lin Sanqi possessed both "fame" and "fortune," he truly had the freedom to soar like a bird in the sky and leap like a fish in the sea, whether in the mainland after the reform and opening up or in the international community.

Thinking of this, Lin Sanqi stretched out his right hand, which hovered in mid-air.

Professors Anthony and Witt both burst into laughter upon seeing this and placed their right hands on it as well.

The three parties have thus reached an agreement on cooperation.

After that, Lin Sanqi devoted himself to the infrastructure construction of Bao'an Special Economic Zone. One pharmaceutical factory workshop after another was built, and one advanced drug production line after another was put into production.

The shortage of pharmaceutical workers and engineers is slowly becoming apparent.

There were machines and orders, but no workers to produce them, making it impossible to earn huge amounts of foreign exchange. This situation was reported by overt or covert agents.

Right now, China lacks everything, but the most scarce thing is money. If we can't make money, what will become of us?
Those in the know were all anxious, while Lin Sanqi remained calm and composed.

It was now January 1964, just before the Spring Festival.

After a year of construction, the Yantian area has become a huge modern pharmaceutical base, with 1000 production lines alone.

The products produced were so numerous that even the Guangzhou-Kowloon Railway branch line couldn't keep up with the demand, necessitating the construction of a new double track.

Decades later, Luohu District has become an area with hospitals, schools, shopping malls, and even a residential area for pharmaceutical factory employees. The buildings are all high-rises and very modern.

It can be said that Luohu at this time was gradually taking on the rudiments of a modern city.

The special economic zone emerged 15 years ahead of schedule, and the conditions are even better than when the special economic zone was first established.

Historically, when the Special Administrative Region was established, it had no money, except for policies, and had to rely on financing and donations from Hong Kong businessmen.

At this time, Bao'an Special Economic Zone already possessed the ability to generate its own revenue and continuously provide support to the mainland, giving it a very high starting point.

Even though the Spring Festival is approaching, Bao'an County is still bustling with activity.

The pharmaceutical factory plans to suspend operations during the Spring Festival. All workers are not allowed to leave Bao'an County and can only consume and enjoy entertainment within Bao'an County.

Of course, what Lin Sanqi didn't know was that the workers might not want to go back to their hometowns; they preferred to stay in Bao'an County.

However, in many parts of Bao'an County, the air is still filled with the roar of machinery.

On the east side of the Guangzhou-Kowloon Railway, hundreds of construction vehicles are digging a canal that stretches forward and seems to have no end.

Accompanied by Shen Guoming and Wang Changtian, commander of the 6th Division of the Engineering Corps, Lin Sanqi was studying the blueprints.

Commander Wang held back for a long time, but finally couldn't help asking:

"Minister Lin, why do you want to dig a canal along the Guangzhou-Kowloon Railway and the border with Dongguan County? And you even require the canal to be at least 100 meters wide. This is a huge project."

As you requested, this canal is already over 100 kilometers long. I'm a little confused; we already have railways and seaports, so what's the point of this canal?

Lin Sanqi coughed lightly:
"Well, transportation is still very important, Commander Wang. Don't worry, this isn't a waste of public funds, and it's definitely not a project decided on a whim."

Commander Wang, with an expression like someone suffering from constipation, continued to look at Lin Sanqi and asked:
"I don't think you've dug a canal, you've dug a moat. You've clearly enclosed the entire Bao'an Special District. Minister Lin, don't take offense, but tell me what you mean by building this high wall?"

Lin Sanqi demanded that a 20-meter-high wall be built on the opposite bank of the canal, a height that would be almost impossible to scale by hand.

Lin Sanqi forced an explanation:

"Commander Wang, our Baoan Pharmaceutical Factory, including the Medical University, the International Hospital, and the living area of ​​100,000 people are all within this area, so the security issue cannot be ignored. I built the wall to prevent enemy agents from infiltrating."

Shen Guoming simply smiled and didn't say much.

He knew that his godson's purpose in building the moat and city walls was indeed to protect the Bao'an Special Economic Zone.

In fact, Lin Sanqi's thinking came from the doomsday fortress, to prevent zombies from breaking in in the future...

Division Commander Wang was still somewhat unconvinced:
“Minister Lin, according to your standards and requirements, we are required to complete all the engineering and infrastructure within six months. I have calculated that, including material costs, it will cost at least 100 million yuan.”

Lin Sanqi waved his hand and said, "One hundred million, I'll personally pay for it out of my own pocket, so the country won't lose a single penny. Now, Lao Wang, you don't need to object, right?"

Commander Wang gave a thumbs up:

"Minister Lin, you're something else. Money talks. We guarantee we'll go all out and complete the task ahead of schedule."

On the way back, Lin Sanqi drove the car himself, with Shen Guoming sitting in the passenger seat.

"Xiao Qi, has it really gotten that serious?"

Lin Sanqi sighed and said:

“This Bao’an Special Economic Zone must be preserved; it absolutely cannot be destroyed by the storm. Godfather, to be honest, I also hope that the country will be peaceful and calm. Just consider it paranoia.”

In fact, Lin Sanqi did more than just protect the entire Bao'an Special Zone with moats and walls to prevent anyone from easily breaking in.

He actually had other arrangements made on the perimeter.

For example, in Dongguan County, he set up an east-west "JS Control Zone" to prevent outsiders from entering or leaving under the pretext of preventing those who fled to Hong Kong.

Bao'an County has never appeared in the media. No newspaper or radio station reports on it, and ordinary people are almost unaware of the current situation in Bao'an County.

It is expected that the wind will not blow south in the future, unless someone doesn't want this money bag.

But whoever it is, would they be willing to give it up?
Lin Sanqi then spoke up:

"Godfather, I'm going to the capital this afternoon to attend the National Rural Doctors' Conference. I'll ask the leaders to bring more workers and engineers. Could you help me with the accommodation?"

Shen Guoming nodded and asked, "How many people do you estimate will come?"

Lin Sanqi sighed: "I don't know, it's hard to estimate..." (End of this chapter)