Chapter 362 Exchange of Interests
The hotel that the Americans prepared for Zhang Xingjiu was the Mark Hopkins InterContinental Hotel, which had just opened four years ago. This hotel had a great location, only two kilometers away from the famous Fisherman's Wharf. Now, looking out from the window of the top floor suite, you can still see a huge construction site. In two years, if you come back, you will be able to see the Golden Gate Bridge that has been destroyed countless times in Hollywood works.
Zhang Xingjiu used the excuse of being tired from the journey and sent them away in a few words. Now that Zhang Xingjiu had arrived in the United States, they didn't mind spending a day or two there, so they made an appointment to meet tomorrow and then said goodbye and left.
It was at this time that Situ Xianyi was able to meet Zhang Xingjiu. The two were in the room, chatting while eating the food just prepared by the Chinatown chef. When talking about the current Great Depression in the United States, Situ Xianyi shook his head repeatedly.
"The United States was doing so well in the past few years that no one expected it to suddenly become like this. Banks collapsed, factories closed, workers lost their jobs, and the streets were full of people doing nothing. A nursery rhyme became popular in New York: 'Mellon pulled the whistle, Hoover rang the bell, Wall Street gave the signal and the country went to hell!'"
"So how are you doing?" Zhang Xingjiu asked with concern.
"We also suffered heavy losses. You reminded me before, and I did sell all the stocks as you instructed, and withdrew the money from the bank, mostly exchanging it for supplies. But Anliangtang is not just about me after all. Many people thought that the US economy was improving, and your words were just alarmist. And then... then everything was gone, and several elders were even killed." Speaking of this, Situ Xianyi was still frightened.
"My condolences." From a certain perspective, this is not entirely a bad thing for Situ Xianyi. At least after this incident, his influence within Anliang Hall will be greatly increased, and he can also win over some people by taking out the supplies he purchased before.
"The United States is experiencing overproduction right now, and many things, especially the production equipment that China needs, are being sold at a discount. You can help me buy some equipment and ship it back to China for sale. If you are interested, you can also do this business." Zhang Xingjiu pointed him in a new direction.
He knew very early that the United States was about to face an economic crisis, but he did not engage in large-scale short selling. Even if you had the ability to earn this money, you had no ability to get it, so you could only sip the soup quietly and did not dare to eat it like Livermore. Even he lost all the money after a few years.
However, this amount of soup is an astronomical figure for ordinary people, and it can buy a lot of things. It is just right to use this money to strengthen domestic industrial capabilities and support Zhang Guoqiang and others.
"Okay, I'll listen to you!" Situ Xianyi agreed without any hesitation. They have been friends for more than 20 years. Zhang Xingjiu had never made a mistake in judging the economic situation, and Situ Xianyi had accumulated a lot of wealth because of it. He believed that it would be the same this time.
"Tell me about the situation in the United States. How do they view penicillin? What do those capitalists plan to do?" Before the negotiations officially began, Zhang Xingjiu hurried to collect more information.
Situ Xianyi has been doing very well in the United States in recent years. Anliangtang is spread across major cities in the United States and has very well-informed channels of information. Even if those capitalists are careful, some clues are bound to leak out.
These clues have been summarized by Situ Xianyi and explained to Zhang Xingjiu in detail so that Zhang Xingjiu can prepare for the upcoming negotiations.
Over the next month, Zhang Xingjiu still did not reach a final cooperation agreement with them. Instead, he took Tang Feifan around to give speeches and academic exchanges. Almost everywhere he went, he would take out penicillin samples and let local hospitals give them to selected voluntary patients.
In an era when many bacteria had not yet developed drug resistance, penicillin was definitely a powerful weapon. Most patients who had been sentenced to death by the hospital recovered their health at a speed beyond imagination.
In the laboratory, American scientists also conducted rigorous tests on the effectiveness of penicillin, and they found that this miracle drug really had incredible magical effects as described in the paper.
In this way, the Americans' appetite was whetted step by step. When Zhang Xingjiu came to New York, they finally couldn't bear it anymore. Several large consortiums fought among themselves. The winners collectively found Zhang Xingjiu and put forward their own demands, "Professor Zhang, this invention is definitely a great invention that can benefit all mankind. His patent should belong to all mankind."
Zhang Xingjiu was already used to their shamelessness, but he was still stunned for a while after hearing this. He responded, "If the results of this time are made public for free, I'm afraid scientists will have less motivation to develop new drugs in the future."
"Of course, of course, great scholars like you and Dr. Tang deserve the respect of the whole world. We will fully support you and Dr. Tang in winning the Nobel Prize. The value of penicillin is absolutely worthy of this honor. We will also invite you and Dr. Tang to serve as visiting professors of the US presidential election. Harvard, Yale, Johns Hopkins. These universities are up to you to choose. Of course, if you are willing to stay in the United States, that would be even better!" These people quoted their own prices.
"I also think that penicillin deserves the Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine." Zhang Xingjiu ignored the invitation to stay in the United States, "but a Nobel Prize alone is far from enough for us to transfer this patent."
"What else do you need?" The men were ready to start bargaining.
"I need to build a penicillin factory in China. You can provide the necessary equipment and help me build a hospital for clinical research on penicillin. I need money to build this factory and to sponsor outstanding students to study in the United States," Zhang Xingjiu offered his price.
As the representatives of the capitalists listened, satisfied smiles appeared on their faces, because compared with the value of penicillin, what Zhang Xingjiu wanted was really too little.
Zhang Xingjiu was also helpless. It was like this without a strong motherland behind him. Even if he created good things, he couldn't keep them. Fortunately, he still had a certain reputation in the international community, otherwise he couldn't even get these little things back.
"Professor Zhang, you are truly a great scientist and a compassionate philanthropist. We can agree to all your conditions!" After hearing the last sentence, these people went out to discuss it briefly and then directly agreed to Zhang Xingjiu's request.
"Then the patent for penicillin in the Americas will be yours." Zhang Xingjiu stood up and shook hands with them, completing the exchange of interests.
(End of this chapter)
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