Human life is fleeting, like the life of plants in autumn.
Now that I have returned to this world, I must leave something behind to make this world different and better.
Thinking about this, he suddenly realized that he still had an important reminder to give.
"Mr. Lin, we must never let our guard down when it comes to these large and small foreign companies. I know that our country needs foreign exchange, technology, management experience, and so on, but we must conduct thorough assessments before letting them in. We also cannot relax our supervision in normal times. Of course, you already know these things even if I don't say them."
Seeing that Elder Lin only smiled and remained silent after hearing his words, Chen Dong continued, "I just used soybeans as an example. Although it hasn't actually happened yet, it's very likely in the future. Seed breeding is actually an important part of genetic engineering. Speaking of which, I believe that all of our country's animal and plant genetic resources are important strategic resources. We must do a good job of protecting them to prevent foreign companies and governments from plundering them and using them against us."
Fearing that Elder Lin and the others might not believe it, or that they might not be able to convince others, Chen Dong cited a well-known example from later generations.
"Let me give you an example. You know, the Chinese invented silk. In ancient times, one tael of silk was equal to one tael of gold. At first, they didn't know which country produced silk, nor did they know that there was a very powerful dynasty in the East, the Han Dynasty. They wanted to imitate it, but they didn't know where to start. They even thought that silk thread was something that grew on trees and was spun into silk after being harvested."
Upon hearing this, both Mr. Lin and Secretary Wang laughed.
However, their smiles soon faded.
"Later, Roman merchants went to sea and learned about the Han Dynasty, which was the true origin of silk. So, the Byzantine emperor sent spies to China, asking them to learn the secrets of silk production."
"Did they steal it?" Secretary Wang asked anxiously.
"Don't rush..." Chen Dong said, picked up his chopsticks, took a bite of food, and drank a sip of wine.
Old Lin said with some displeasure, "Kid, are you deliberately keeping us in suspense?"
"Heh... These spies disguised themselves and infiltrated the Han Dynasty. Through various means, they finally managed to steal silkworm and mulberry seeds from the government. But smuggling them out wasn't easy. Many Roman spies were beheaded. But ultimately, the silk-making technology was leaked... Guess how they managed to smuggle them out?"
"Alright, just tell me already, I'm not interested in guessing!" Old Lin said impatiently.
"They hid it inside a bamboo cane and took it out."
Secretary Wang slapped his thigh and exclaimed, "Oh, what a pity!"
Chen Dong continued, "In this way, Byzantium was also able to produce exquisite silk. Its silk was more vibrant in color and more beautifully crafted. This directly caused serious losses to China, possibly hundreds of billions of yuan, or even more."
After Chen Dong finished speaking, Old Lin and Secretary Wang remained silent for a long time.
"Returning to the present, how many of our country's traditional skills are being coveted by foreigners? For example, our traditional Chinese medicine, martial arts..."
......
Secretary Wang opened his mouth again.
Chen Dong chuckled, "Don't believe it? Even we ourselves don't believe in traditional Chinese medicine, so why would outsiders? Look at Japan and South Korea, they're all rushing to register pharmaceutical patents. Chinese patent medicines are selling like hotcakes. Heh, that's the culmination of thousands of years of experience from our ancestors, is it really useless? Let's not even talk about the specific treatment theories, just look at those single prescriptions and empirical formulas, they're built on human lives, how could they be useless?"
A hint of sadness flashed in Chen Dong's eyes as he spoke of these things.
Old Master Lin remained silent, and Secretary Wang was at a loss for words.
"Alright, let's get back to the food issue. We need to pay attention to the world's four major grain traders, ABCD, which are ADM, Bunge, and Cargill from the United States, and Louis Dreyfus from Frankfurt. They are known in the industry as the 'Big Four' grain traders. They are all formidable players."
"Among them, we need to be especially careful about a company from the United States called Monsanto. Many people still think it's a good company, but you should know that it developed and produced Agent Orange! This substance can cause a variety of diseases. Right now, Monsanto is being sued by many people..."
"Agent Orange, America used it in South Vietnam..." Old Lin sighed softly.
As a military expert, Mr. Lin had certainly paid attention to this information and knew the dangers of such so-called herbicides.
"At the same time, genetically modified crops are an unstoppable trend, but they also pose great risks. Monsanto is using them as a weapon to sweep across the world."
Upon hearing this, Old Lin immediately said to Secretary Wang, "Make a note of this. Gather intelligence on the four major grain merchants, especially Monsanto. Oh, and genetically modified organisms (GMOs) as well."
Next, Chen Dong talked about issues such as returning farmland to forests and grasslands, and white pollution caused by plastic products.
Finally, Chen Dong was almost hoarse from talking.
Then, he saw Secretary Wang raise her wrist to signal to him, and only then did he realize that it must be getting late.
I glanced at my watch and sure enough, it was almost eleven o'clock.
He then gestured for Old Lin to rest.
Old Lin was listening intently, so he had no choice but to say, "Alright, it is indeed getting late. And this time it has been rather rushed. How about this, kid, you stay in Yanjing for now, and we'll do some research before you come and give me your lecture."
Chen Dong was dumbfounded. "I'm just a businessman..."
What he said just now was indeed quite disorganized, with some parts being inaccurate and others lacking detail.
Old Lin instructed Secretary Wang to escort Chen Dong out.
Chen Dong was escorted back by guards.
......
Chen Dong smiled throughout the journey.
In this lifetime, the government will find a way to curb the arrogance of the four major grain merchants, thus avoiding other disasters such as the cotton crisis and soybean crisis a few years later.
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