Chapter 85 Research Institute
With Deputy Factory Director Mao's full protection of the production workshop, Lin Yuanshu successfully produced sulfadiazine tablets without interference from others, and the process proceeded unexpectedly smoothly.
In the renovated production workshop, Deputy Factory Director Mao held a tightly packaged bottle of sulfadiazine tablets. She couldn't suppress her smile and said excitedly to Lin Yuanshu, "I used to hate taking medicine. Just seeing a medicine bottle would give me a headache. But now, when I see this medicine bottle, I like it more and more. You've cured my problem that I've had for many years."
Lin Yuanshu chuckled and teased, "That's great, one medicine for two different ailments."
Deputy Factory Director Mao patted Lin Yuanshu on the shoulder and encouraged him, "You did a great job and didn't let me down. We'll have a good chat after this project is completely finished. I have to take the medicine bottles to the research institute now, so I won't talk to you any longer."
Lin Yuanshu nodded and smiled, "Business is important, we can chat anytime."
Lin Yuanshu watched Deputy Factory Director Mao leave. Once the research institute's report was released, the plan could be declared a success.
Engineer Tian stood behind Lin Yuanshu and joked, "Now I can finally get a good night's sleep."
Lin Yuanshu turned to Engineer Tian and the others, and said with a smile, "You've all worked hard these past few days. Everyone should go back and get some rest! Recharge yourselves, we still have tough battles to fight ahead."
They've already exhausted themselves just from renovating two production workshops. The entire dye chemical plant will need a major overhaul later, which will be a real project. The first thing to address is the "dirty, messy, and poor" conditions. Fortunately, the old equipment in the naphthalene intermediate production workshop had just been renovated, so it won't cause the produced drugs to exceed the heavy metal limits.
However, these are matters for Director Qian and other leaders to worry about; she only needs to design the drug production process.
Everyone unanimously agreed.
Before leaving the chemical plant, Deputy Director Mao went to Director Qian's office to tell him the good news that the production workshop had produced sulfadiazine tablets.
Looking at Director Qian, whose expression was complicated, she said earnestly, "Director Qian, I know you are reluctant to part with Hongguang Dye Chemical Plant, but people have to look forward. Its days as Hongguang Dye Chemical Plant are over, but it can continue as Hongguang Pharmaceutical Plant. When people talk about Hongguang Pharmaceutical Plant in the future, they will say that its predecessor was Hongguang Dye Chemical Plant. No one will forget Hongguang Dye Chemical Plant. Do you know why I agreed to Comrade Lin Yuanshu's plan? Because I know that medicine can save lives and is far more important than daily chemical products."
Factory Director Qian sighed and gave a helpless smile. "You don't need to try to persuade me anymore. I've already decided to convert Hongguang Dye Chemical Plant into a pharmaceutical plant. Since Hongguang Dye Chemical Plant has this opportunity to be converted into a pharmaceutical plant, why should I continue to obstruct it? Others don't even have this opportunity!"
After receiving Director Qian's consent, Deputy Director Mao breathed a sigh of relief. Director Qian was not only the factory director but also the party secretary. If he strongly opposed it, it would cause her considerable trouble. Unless necessary, she did not want to break ties with Director Qian or deal with him.
After Deputy Director Mao left, Director Qian stared at his desk and said to his secretary with a sad expression, "Do you think I'm getting old? Now I tend to be hesitant and indecisive when I do things, and I don't have the drive I had when I was young. If this had happened when I was young, I would have been even more radical than Comrade Lin Yuanshu."
The secretary thought for a moment and then whispered to comfort him, "Factory Director, you're not old at all. You're several years younger than Deputy Factory Director Mao! As the factory director, you're bound to be cautious. You're like the golden headband on Sun Wukong's head. Without you, Lin Yuanshu and the others would be out of control. You developed the Red Star Dye Chemical Plant single-handedly, so it's normal that you're reluctant to give it up."
The secretary really didn't expect Lin Yuanshu to be so capable, actually able to work with Deputy Factory Director Mao to transform the dye chemical plant into a pharmaceutical factory. If Factory Director Qian had also contributed, they might have been able to complete the task even faster.
At first, he just thought Lin Yuanshu was a bit clever, but now he has to admire Lin Yuanshu's work ability. If he had such strong work ability, wouldn't he be able to walk around the chemical plant with impunity?
Factory Director Qian composed himself and solemnly instructed, "Go and get me a few books about pharmaceuticals. It's time for me to catch up with them. I can't be managing such a large pharmaceutical factory and yet know nothing about pharmaceuticals!"
"Okay, I'll go get it right away," the secretary said gently.
Not only does Director Qian need to learn this knowledge, but he also has to learn it. If Director Qian doesn't learn, he'll still be Director Qian; if he doesn't learn, he won't be able to continue being a secretary.
On the other side, Deputy Factory Director Mao arrived at the First Pharmaceutical Research Institute of Beijing in the factory's car.
It was named this not because it was more advanced than other research institutes, but because it was the first medical research institute established in Beijing, with a history dating back to before the founding of the People's Republic of China.
She and the institute director's husband were close classmates, and she also had some connection with the institute director, which is why she was able to send the medicine here for testing.
After Deputy Factory Director Mao showed her identification, the security guards allowed her to enter and sent someone to personally escort her to the director of the research institute's office to prevent her from moving around at will, as the information inside could not be lost.
When Director Yu saw Deputy Factory Director Mao enter the office, he warmly greeted him and poured him a cup of hot tea. He smiled and said, "A-Zhu was very happy to hear that you had returned to Beijing and has been thinking about you ever since. I remember you used to be completely uninterested in pharmaceutical knowledge. How come you've become interested in pharmaceutical knowledge after being away from Beijing for more than ten years?"
Deputy Factory Director Mao jokingly remarked, "People always change; studying chemistry won't save lives."
Director Yu was taken aback for a moment, then laughed heartily and said, "That's pretty much what I was thinking back then. Leave the medicines that need to be tested here, and I'll have someone test them for you in a bit."
Deputy Factory Director Mao nodded, took out a medicine bottle from her pocket, and placed it on the table. She repeatedly instructed, "This is sulfadiazine tablets produced by the factory I currently manage. If there are no problems with the ingredients, I will start production. I hope you can speed things up, and I hope I can get the test report tomorrow."
Director Yu knew that Deputy Factory Director Mao was just like that; he didn't like to procrastinate in anything he did. So he readily agreed, "Don't worry, I definitely won't mess it up for you. Come to my house tonight to pick up the test report, and we can have dinner together. A-Zhu misses you quite a bit."
"No problem, then I'll leave it to you. I'll head back to the chemical plant now," Deputy Director Mao said as he left the office.
Director Yu paused for a moment, feeling that something was off about the statement.
Only after Deputy Factory Director Mao's figure had completely disappeared from sight did he realize that the factory managed by Deputy Factory Director Mao was not a pharmaceutical factory, but a chemical factory. Producing medicine in a chemical factory? That was too much of a challenge!
As expected of Deputy Factory Director Mao, he always liked to do things that ordinary people couldn't do.
He called over Team Leader Bai, who was in charge of researching antibacterial drugs, and instructed him with a serious expression: "Before you leave work tonight, help me analyze this bottle of sulfadiazine tablets and write a test report. Anyway, your group is researching improvements to the synthesis process of sulfadiazine, and I can only feel at ease if this task is entrusted to you."
Team Leader Bai paused for a moment, then agreed without hesitation, "Okay, I will definitely get the results as soon as possible."
Fortunately, it's just a simple test, only the ingredients need to be tested. There's no need for impurity checks, microbial tests, or physicochemical property tests. The so-called physicochemical property tests are just to simulate the dissolution rate of the tablet in the stomach solution.
Otherwise, it would be impossible to get the test report in less than three days.
Before Team Leader Bai was about to leave, Director Yu reminded him, "This bottle of medicine was produced in a chemical plant, so you need to be careful when you test it and don't try to do it half-heartedly."
Team Leader Bai said with a wronged expression, "I'm different from Team Leader Lü. I take every job seriously and will never try to do it half-heartedly. Please don't believe Team Leader Lü's attempts to sow discord."
Director Yu smiled awkwardly and explained, "I didn't mean anything by it. I just wanted to remind you that Team Leader Lü didn't try to sow discord in my ear. You two just have too many misunderstandings about each other. You were classmates, so how did your relationship become so bad!"
Team Leader Bai sneered, a hint of disdain flashing in his eyes. "It's Team Leader Lü who insists on competing with me in everything, yet he can't beat me in anything. If he weren't so competitive, we could definitely become friends."
Director Yu gave a helpless smile. He admired the two of them quite a bit; they had been arguing for most of their lives. As the saying goes, hatred lasts longer than love.
Team Leader Bai took the medicine back to the lab. One of the team members asked curiously, "Team Leader, why did the director call you over? Could it be to urge us to improve the synthesis process of sulfadiazine? He wants to keep the cost of producing sulfadiazine low, increase the monthly production batches, and also requires that sulfadiazine have few impurities. He's really thinking too much. We are human, not gods who grant wishes."
His team member next to him quickly said, "Why are you complaining so much? Our job is to find ways to improve the quality of medicines! If things don't change, then there's no point in us researching medicines, and our job wouldn't exist."
Team Leader Bai nodded in approval and praised, "Xiao Li has a high level of awareness, and we should all learn from her. Director Yu asked me to test a bottle of sulfadiazine tablets, and I'm entrusting this task to you. Give me the test report before you leave work, and I believe you will take it seriously."
Li Jia quickly took the sulfadiazine tablets and promised, "I guarantee I will complete the mission."
After Team Leader Bai left, the team member said sarcastically, "You're really good at pretending."
Li Jia looked indifferent and said with a smile, "After all, I'm different from you. I don't want to be a technician in the research institute for the rest of my life. You still need to learn to watch your mouth in the future, otherwise you will be kicked out of the research institute sooner or later if you talk nonsense like this."
The team member stubbornly insisted, "You're just trying to scare me. I won't be kicked out of the research institute. A woman like you shouldn't be in the research institute. Why don't you go get married?"
Li Jia looked the group members up and down and said with a disdainful look, "If I were to marry someone like you, I might as well shave my head and become a nun."
The team member was furious, but couldn't argue with Li Jia.
Fearing the two would start fighting, the lab members quickly came over to mediate.
Li Jia sneered, ignored her colleagues, and began to test the drugs in the medicine.
This was the first task assigned to her by Team Leader Bai, so she wanted to do it perfectly. She not only conducted component analysis but also tested the purity of sulfadiazine, testing everything that could be tested.
As a result, she found that the purity of sulfadiazine was as high as 95%. She could hardly believe her eyes. She randomly picked another sulfadiazine tablet for testing, and the test results were the same as before, with a purity of 95%.
Currently, the purity of sulfadiazine produced domestically is only about 90%, while the sulfadiazine tablets in this bottle contain 95% purity. This is something they have been researching without success, and it suddenly appeared in front of her.
She took the handwritten report to Team Leader Bai, who asked in surprise, "Why are you here? Is there a problem with the test? You don't need to worry about the results, you just need to write down the data truthfully."
Li Jia nodded thoughtfully and said with a smile, "Since there are already pharmaceutical factories that can produce sulfadiazine with a purity of 95%, then we should be able to temporarily stop our research on the purity of sulfadiazine."
Upon hearing this, Team Leader Bai immediately put down his pen and asked excitedly, "What did you say?"
Li Jia, puzzled, asked, "Don't you know that the sulfadiazine tablets in the medicine bottle contain 95% pure sulfadiazine?"
Team Leader Bai frowned as he looked at the test report handed over by Li Jia and said, "I didn't know before, but I do now. But this shouldn't be happening! Director Yu said that this bottle of sulfadiazine tablets was produced in a chemical plant. What kind of professional equipment could a chemical plant have to achieve such a high purity of sulfadiazine?"
Li Jia wore an incredulous expression. She didn't know whether to be shocked that the purity of sulfadiazine could reach 95%, or that such a high purity was actually produced in a chemical plant.
These professionals had worked hard for years, yet they couldn't produce sulfadiazine with the same purity as a layman using unprofessional equipment in a chemical plant. She felt incredibly ashamed.
"No matter what, we have to go to that chemical plant and find out. If their process for producing high-purity sulfadiazine can be replicated, it will change the domestic production process of sulfadiazine." Li Jia's tone revealed a hint of excitement.
As the saying goes, even a novice can defeat a master with a flurry of punches; perhaps the sulfadiazine production process at this chemical plant can provide them with some new inspiration.
Team Leader Bai said with a serious expression, "I'll go find Director Yu right now and ask him which chemical plant produces this sulfadiazine, and if we can visit their sulfadiazine production process."
Li Jia nodded excitedly.
Afterwards, Team Leader Bai took the test report and left his office.
Although Li Jia could no longer stay in the office, she chose to stand guard at the door of Team Leader Bai's office, waiting for him to return.
She's not stupid; if she leaves the office now, she might not get a chance to visit the chemical plant's production workshop.
She was waiting for Team Leader Bai to return. As the first discoverer, Team Leader Bai would surely give her a spot, no matter what. She couldn't possibly be here and Team Leader Bai would just leave her out!
Half an hour later, Team Leader Bai returned to his office and saw Li Jia standing at the door.
Li Jia looked at Team Leader Bai expectantly and asked, "How did it go?"
As Team Leader Bai unlocked the office with his key, he explained, "Director Yu doesn't know the name of that chemical plant either. He only knows that his friend is the deputy director of that plant. His friend asked him to help with the testing. However, they will meet tonight, and Director Yu will ask his friend the name of the chemical plant and whether he can visit the sulfadiazine production process. We will know the answer tomorrow."
A hint of disappointment flashed in Li Jia's eyes. She smiled and said, "I just thought about the chemical plants in Beijing that can produce medicine. Apart from Hongguang Dye Chemical Plant, I can't think of any other chemical plants. I heard that the deputy director of Hongguang Dye Chemical Plant is planning to convert the chemical plant into a pharmaceutical plant. This bottle of sulfadiazine tablets is very likely produced by Hongguang Dye Chemical Plant."
Team Leader Bai asked in surprise, "How did you know about this?"
Li Jia smiled awkwardly and explained, "My mother is a female worker at Jishi Pharmaceutical Factory. She told me about Hongguang Dye Chemical Factory, saying that now only the leaders of Hongguang Dye Chemical Factory in Beijing want to convert the chemical factory into a pharmaceutical factory."
Her mother's words were certainly not so mild; she said that Hongguang Dye Chemical Plant was just daydreaming, and said all sorts of unpleasant things. Now it seems that if the process of producing high-purity sulfadiazine by Hongguang Dye Chemical Plant can be replicated, her mother's pharmaceutical factory really has to learn from Hongguang Dye Chemical Plant.
Team Leader Bai thought for a moment and finally gave up on going to Hongguang Dye Chemical Plant right now. He said with a serious face, "Let's talk to the director and his friend first! If that chemical plant is really Hongguang Dye Chemical Plant, they probably don't have time to deal with us right now. They're busy converting the chemical plant into a pharmaceutical plant."
Li Jia nodded obediently, pleadingly saying, "Team leader, once this matter is resolved, you must call me. I'm very curious about what the chemical plant did to improve the purity of sulfadiazine."
Team Leader Bai nodded in agreement, saying, "No problem, I won't forget you, my hero."
After receiving approval from Team Leader Bai, Li Jia left the office with peace of mind.
As soon as she returned to the lab, her former team member grinned and said, "The bootlicker is back!"
Li Jia raised an eyebrow and said sarcastically, "Which gossip is buzzing in my ear like a fly?"
She glanced at her team member and said disdainfully, "Oh, it's you! I thought it was some loose-lipped person!"
"With your sharp tongue, you'll never get married," a group member said, uttering what they considered the most venomous words.
Li Jia smiled slightly, "Thank you for your blessing."
Group member: "..."
After getting off work, Deputy Factory Director Mao went to the state-run fruit store to buy some fruit. On his way, he also bought some pastries at the grocery store. Carrying these two items, he went to Director Yu's house.
Director Yu hadn't gone home yet. A-Zhu looked at Deputy Factory Director Mao with a look of surprise and delight. She pretended to complain, "You've been back in Beijing for so long, and you're only now thinking of coming to see me. I really don't know what you've been so busy with all day!"
As Deputy Factory Director Mao carried his things inside, he explained, "Besides being busy with work, what else can I be busy with?"
"You've only just been transferred back to Beijing. What are you busy with?" A-Zhu took the things from Deputy Factory Director Mao and placed them on the table.
Deputy Factory Director Mao said with a smile, "I was busy converting the chemical plant into a pharmaceutical plant. Today I just handed over the sulfadiazine tablets produced by our chemical plant to Lao Yu for testing. I came to see you and also picked up the test report."
Azhu paused for a moment, then said with admiration, "You're still as energetic as ever, unlike me, who can only stay at home taking care of my grandson."
Deputy Factory Director Mao disagreed, saying, "You're just being family-oriented. Without your wholehearted care for your family, Lao Yu wouldn't be the director of the research institute. Lao Yu's success today is partly due to you. But then again, this time I met a female comrade who is just as driven as me. Her name is Lin Yuanshu, and she looks a lot like me when I was young."
Azhu thought for a moment and replied, "I have a vague impression of this woman. My son works at the Chemical Industry Bureau and was previously responsible for promoting the use of solvent sulfonation technology to produce naphthalene intermediates in other provinces. This technology was proposed by this woman."
Deputy Factory Director Mao said thoughtfully, "It seems I underestimated Comrade Lin Yuanshu. She is far more capable than I imagined, much stronger than I was in my youth. She was in charge of modifying the sulfadiazine production line this time..."
Azhu didn't know how capable Lin Yuanshu was, but she knew that her friend greatly admired him and spoke of Lin Yuanshu as if he were her own.
Deputy Factory Director Mao was a restless person, so she helped Azhu cook dinner and they were still busy until Azhu's children came home one after another.
Deputy Factory Director Mao came to the conclusion that she preferred working in the office to cooking. She admired A-Zhu for cooking for her family day after day for ten years.
As night fell, Director Yu returned home. The first thing he did upon seeing Deputy Factory Director Mao was to hand her the test report and say with a smile, "The composition of the sulfadiazine tablets is fine, and the chemical plant can now produce sulfadiazine tablets. However, there is one thing: Team Leader Bai discovered that the sulfadiazine contained in the tablets has a purity of 95%."
Deputy Factory Director Mao asked with suspicion, "Is there a problem?"
Director Yu nodded and said excitedly, "Of course there's a problem. This is really amazing. The sulfadiazine tablets produced by the current pharmaceutical factories in Beijing have a purity of only about 90%, which means that the sulfadiazine tablets produced by your chemical plant have even fewer impurities, making them even better than those from professional pharmaceutical factories! If this data hadn't been obtained by Team Leader Bai from the research institute, I would have seriously suspected that the data was fabricated."
Deputy Factory Director Mao patted his chest and breathed a sigh of relief, saying, "It's not that we can't produce it. We've been friends for many years, and you should know that I know nothing about pharmaceuticals, so asking me won't help. The production process of sulfadiazine is handled by Comrade Lin Yuanshu and Engineer Tian. You'll only know the specifics if you ask them."
Director Yu quickly said, "Then I'll bring Team Leader Bai to the chemical plant tomorrow to talk to Comrade Lin Yuanshu and Engineer Tian about your chemical plant's sulfadiazine production process. It would be best if we could have a tour."
Deputy Factory Director Mao looked troubled and said apologetically, "Tomorrow won't work, but the day after tomorrow is fine. Tomorrow I need to take Comrade Lin Yuanshu to see the Director of the Chemical Industry Bureau, the cadres of the Drug Supervision Department, and the cadres of the Health Bureau."
Director Yu exclaimed in shock, "Are you planning to introduce your connections to Comrade Lin Yuanshu? I remember you haven't been back in Beijing for very long! How could you do something so crazy!"
He felt that Deputy Factory Director Mao had lost his mind. If he didn't know that Deputy Factory Director Mao hadn't wronged his lover, he would have suspected that Lin Yuanshu was Deputy Factory Director Mao's illegitimate daughter.
It seems Lin Yuanshu is quite shrewd, managing to get Deputy Factory Director Mao to go to such lengths for her.
Deputy Factory Director Mao laughed heartily and said, "Over the years, I have met many female comrades. Some of them are ambitious but lack the ability, while others are capable but lack ambition. Therefore, I like to give capable and ambitious female comrades a helping hand. Whether they can take advantage of this opportunity depends on whether they can seize it."
After a moment of silence, Director Yu slowly said, "You really do act impulsively."
Deputy Factory Director Mao said earnestly, "Perhaps they just need that kind of favorable wind. Who knows the specifics!"
Director Yu recalled that back then, everyone around Deputy Factory Director Mao disapproved of her going to work in another province, including his own wife. But Deputy Factory Director Mao still went resolutely, saying that she would not be bound by anything and that she was free.
After all these years, Deputy Factory Director Mao really hasn't changed at all!
"Let's eat first! We can talk after you've finished eating," A-Zhu called out, holding her bowl of food.
Deputy Factory Director Mao carefully placed the lab report into his briefcase, then said with a smile, "Here it is! So much delicious food! I'm in for a treat tonight."
Lin Yuanshu was unaware of everything that was happening at the research institute. She was enjoying her time playing with the baby. She really loved the chubby little baby; it was so cute it melted her heart. The only problem was that she didn't have to give birth to the baby herself or take care of it; she only needed to play with it when she was happy.
Little Ruyi is no longer as thin and small as she was when she was born. Because Zhou Ma makes foods that promote lactation every few days, Xue Da Sao has plenty of milk. Little Ruyi is chubby and healthy, and she loves to laugh, making her incredibly adorable.
Even Zhou Dafu and his mother, who were very patriarchal, fell in love with Xiao Ruyi and played with her every day. The main reason was that no other child was born in the family, so they only had Xiao Ruyi as their choice.
Seeing Lin Yuanshu playing with Xiao Ruyi, Zhou Ma was somewhat incredulous. She had thought Lin Yuanshu didn't like children! She had originally wanted to advise Lin Yuanshu that if he liked children, he could have one.
Suddenly remembering that Lin Yuanshu was not in a good position to have children because of her, she immediately swallowed back what she wanted to say, not wanting Lin Yuanshu to remember this and then scold her.
She felt like the most aggrieved mother-in-law in the tenement building, having to watch her daughter-in-law's every move. Sadly, no one understood her; everyone just envied her for having a good daughter-in-law.
Sister-in-law Xue was delighted with Lin Yuanshu teasing Xiao Ruyi and couldn't wait for the two of them to get closer. She had been calling Xiao Ruyi "Auntie" every day recently so that Xiao Ruyi would learn to call her "Auntie" as soon as possible.
Early the next morning, Lin Yuanshu took the materials he had prepared in advance to see Deputy Factory Director Mao. These materials included experimental data on the sulfadiazine production process, as well as various data and design drawings for the modified equipment.
Deputy Factory Director Mao handed the test report to Lin Yuanshu and said in a serious tone, "I chatted with the director of the Pharmaceutical Research Institute yesterday. He said that the sulfadiazine in this batch of sulfadiazine tablets has a purity of 95%, which he found hard to believe. The institute has been trying to improve the purity of sulfadiazine, but has not been successful. So he wanted to come to the chemical plant to learn from their experience. I agreed and told him to bring people over tomorrow."
After receiving the test report, Lin Yuanshu glanced at it subconsciously, then put it together with the documents he had prepared, and said with a smile, "Okay, I understand. I will give the director of the Medical Research Institute a good reception."
With the director of the research institute endorsing her improved sulfadiazine production process, presumably no one would dare to raise any objections.
Deputy Factory Director Mao patted Lin Yuanshu on the shoulder and said solemnly, "I don't even need to persuade Factory Director Qian. He has already come to his senses and will no longer obstruct the conversion of the chemical plant into a pharmaceutical plant. In fact, he will strongly support it. The meeting later is just a formality. The main purpose is to discuss the relevant work arrangements for the conversion of the chemical plant into a pharmaceutical plant. After the meeting, you will accompany me to the drug supervision department and the health bureau. After all, you have improved the sulfadiazine production process, and it needs to be filed."
Lin Yuanshu was taken aback. She had thought that this time, like when the naphthalene intermediate production workshop was renovated, the factory leaders would be responsible for liaising with the leaders of the relevant departments. She didn't expect that Deputy Factory Director Mao would be willing to take her along.
For her, following the past would certainly bring more benefits. It would allow her to showcase her abilities to these leaders, increasing her chances of participating in major projects, and also make these leaders remember her.
For the factory leaders, it was certainly more advantageous not to bring her along, as it would not distract the attention of the department leaders and would allow them to firmly hold the reins of power.
She, who is usually eloquent, now doesn't know what to say.
This was the first time she had felt her boss's kindness so directly. If she had met such a good boss in her past life, she would never have slacked off at work.
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