Chapter 34: Chapter 34 Secret Weapon
Lamark glanced uneasily at the physician beside him, Larseny, who stepped forward and said, “Your Highness, I will take care of the matters afterward. Mr. Lamark, he’s actually leaving here in a few days.”
“Leaving?”
Larseny continued, “Actually, Mr. Lamark has received a special grant from the French Medical Association and is preparing to go to South America for botanical research. As you know, there are many unimaginable plants there, and perhaps new medicinal agents can be discovered. Ah, in fact, he has already resigned from his position as a court physician.
“As for the technique of purifying salicin, he has already taught me in detail, which means he has no more business in the workshop here.”
Lamark coughed slightly and bowed sincerely, “Your Highness, I truly apologize.
“To be honest, one of the major reasons I got this funding is that the Medical Association read my paper on the effects of salicin. Oh, and you are still the first author of the paper. But the opportunity to go to South America is really rare, and I thought…”
It was only then that Joseph remembered receiving a letter from the Medical Association a couple of days ago, complimenting him on his contributions to salicin, but he hadn’t paid much attention to it at the time. It turned out it was because of Lamark’s paper.
If it had been before, he would have congratulated Lamark and personally seen him off to South America, but today, after seeing the professional processing and experimental equipment in the workshop, as well as the numerous skilled technicians, he had other ideas.
That was to try to manufacture the legendary medication in the pharmaceutical world that he had been thinking about ever since he arrived in this world — penicillin.
If penicillin were available, firstly, his own pneumonia could be completely cured, and secondly, this miracle drug would be very important militarily — in the wars of the 18th century, being wounded almost meant death due to infection, but penicillin could bring the wounded “back to life.” One could imagine, in war, one side’s wounded continuously returning to the battlefield, while the other side’s numbers dwindled. How could the latter side keep fighting?
The idea of making penicillin had been with him for a long time, but the manufacturing process and technology were extremely complex; not only did it require a highly professional laboratory, experimental and cultivation equipment, but also a professional experimental team to operate it, to possibly succeed in creating it.
Previously, these conditions did not exist, but now there was a possibility, that being this pharmaceutical workshop right in front of him.
With just a few additional experimental devices and Lamark, an eminent figure in biomedical science, along with the workers here, perhaps penicillin could be introduced more than a hundred years in advance!
So, he certainly couldn’t let Lamark leave at this moment.
With this in mind, Joseph shook his head and said, “No, you need not apologize; it’s my lack of consideration. Your stage shouldn’t be limited to this small pharmaceutical factory. Those unknown areas of biomedical science are where you can truly shine.”
Lamark was moved and said, “Thank you for your understanding. Please trust that wherever I am needed here, I will come back at any time.”
Joseph smiled slightly, as if making an offhand remark, “It’s just a pity. I originally wanted to ask for your help in trying to make a new medication. Now, it seems we can only wait for your return from South America.”
Upon hearing “new medication,” Lamark immediately became interested, “Oh? May I ask what medication Your Highness is referring to?”
Joseph was about to say penicillin directly, but then he thought that just the preliminary preparations for making this substance would take quite some time. It would be better to start with a “small toy” to get Lamark warmed up, which would also help to train the experimental team in the process.
So he temporarily put aside penicillin and said, “I heard about a medication that can delay aging, treat miscarriages, and even make a man’s, cough, performance much more formidable.”
Lamark searched his mental database and found nothing that matched this description. He was about to shake his head in denial when he suddenly remembered the miraculous effects of salicin and quickly dropped his dismissive attitude, “That’s really incredible, are you certain such a thing exists?”
“There’s no mistake,” Joseph nodded, “it also has a special name, called tocopherol.”
The so-called tocopherol is vitamin E, a substance that was very common in later times but had not been extracted in the 18th century.
He chose vitamin E for a couple of reasons, one being that its extraction is relatively simple with a high success rate. Second, it could be mixed into cosmetics as nearly all skincare products related to anti-aging and suppressing age spots in later generations contained vitamin E.
This would be the second secret weapon of the “Paris Angel” company to extract money from the purses of wealthy ladies.
Mr. Lamark, upon hearing such a professional name, became even more serious, “Your Highness, do you know how to obtain this… ah, tocopherol?”
Joseph affirmed, “I know of a method to extract tocopherol from corn germ, which will require the purchase of some additional equipment, such as centrifuges, sedimentation dishes, and so on, oh, and the construction of a constant temperature greenhouse.”
“A constant temperature greenhouse? Is that a laboratory that maintains a fixed temperature? How could that be achieved?”
In this era, without air conditioning, maintaining a constant temperature was indeed not easy.
After some thought, Joseph explained, “Lay dense water pipes beneath the flooring and inside the walls of the room, and build a large water tank outside, connecting these pipes. When you need to raise the temperature, heat the water in the tank; to cool down, draw water from the Seine River. This waterwheel could be put to good use.”
Even in the summer, the temperature of the river water can stay below 20 degrees Celsius, which is sufficient for biological cultivation.
Lamark was obviously interested in this substance that could delay aging, but on the other hand, his long-standing wish to explore the plants of South America made him appear indecisive.
Seeing his hesitation, Joseph promptly threw out even bigger “bait”:
“Mr. Lamark, after acquiring facilities like the constant temperature greenhouse, there is actually another, more miraculous medicine that I need your help to experimentally produce.
“This medicine can treat diseases like pneumonia, wound infections, childbed fever, and can even cure deadly diseases like the Black Death, syphilis, and septicemia.”
Lamark was stunned!
If such a medicine really existed, wouldn’t it fulfill his life’s dream—for there to be no more death from disease in the world!
He breathed excitedly, almost out of breath, “Your Highness, are you, are you not joking?”
Seeing that he had “taken the bait,” Joseph smiled and said, “After you have produced this medicine, try it and see, won’t you?
“Right, about going to South America, I will fund your expedition later on, and guarantee it will be a larger sum than the Medical Association would offer, with more freedom too.”
With that said, where would Lamark hesitate any further? He nodded vigorously, “Your Highness, I will give it my all to produce that miraculous drug with you!”
…
After leaving the workshop and giving Mr. Lamark the method for extracting Vitamin E, Joseph’s carriage arrived at Paris City Hall by a little after 3 p.m.
Eman exited the City Hall and waved at the slightly overweight man with the large ears behind him, “No need to trouble yourself further, please go back.”
The man could only reluctantly turn and head back into City Hall while Eman approached the carriage across the street, bowing to Joseph, “Your Highness, I have inquired clearly. There are a total of fourteen properties registered for sale in Paris that meet your requirements.”
Without hesitation, Joseph said, “I want the best.”
“Your Highness, that would then be the Nagel Jewelry Store on Champs-Elysees.”