Newborn 1927

Yang Jiefang was unusually late for work. He used to live at headquarters, so he didn't care about work hours; he'd just do whatever work was available. He'd gone home for the night and overslept this morning. When he arrived at headquarters, Xu Yuezhi was already waiting for him. Yang Jiefang immediately invited Xu Yuezhi into his office. Xu Yuezhi was accompanied by a man in his thirties. Xu Yuezhi introduced him: "Young Commander, this is the person I wanted to recommend. His name is Liu Qianchu, from Pingdu County, and he graduated from Yenching University."

Yang Jiefang greeted him, "Mr. Liu, please have a seat! Since Director Xu recommended you to run the political and legal school, I presume you are prepared. Could you first share your thoughts?"

Liu Qianchu replied, "The young commander wants to establish a political and legal school to train staff for government agencies at all levels within his jurisdiction, so that your new policies can be better implemented. I think this should be approached from both a long-term and short-term perspective. In the long term, it would be best to establish a political and legal university, selecting the best recent high school graduates to train them into high-quality administrative and legal officials. However, this process will take a long time and be slow to show results, and it cannot meet the current needs."

Yang Jiefang nodded and said, "In the long run, this method is the safest and most necessary. What about in the short term?" Liu Qianchu replied, "In the short term, we should also start from two aspects. First, we should recruit graduates from major universities, provide them with short-term training, and then fill positions in various counties and departments, starting as clerks and gradually promoting them. The other method is to select some existing officials for short-term training to improve their professional skills and change their governing philosophy, and then let them return to their original positions."

Yang Jiefang said, "Mr. Liu has thought this through very well. Since you already have the charter, you should run this school. First, help me train a group of grassroots leaders in the short term." Liu Qianchu agreed, and they discussed some specific details of running the school before he took his leave from Xu Yuezhi.

After seeing the two off, the newly arrived secretary, Liu Xijiu, said, "Young Commander, it seems you're short-handed." Yang Jiefang replied, "How could I not be short-handed? I now control half of Shandong, but I haven't been able to find many county magistrates who satisfy me. I'm simply out of manpower, which is why I tolerate these incompetent officials." Liu Xijiu said, "Then how about I recommend a few to you?" Yang Jiefang smiled and said, "Sure! As long as you have suitable talent, just recommend them to me." Liu Xijiu responded, "Okay, I'll write a few letters later. Whether they come or not is up to them."

Subsequently, Yang Jiefang convened another military conference and announced the downsizing of the troops. Feng Yuxiang had promised to help him secure a division with three brigades. Yang Jiefang was always proactive and didn't wait for others to urge him. Therefore, Yang Jiefang ordered the 1st, 2nd, and 5th Divisions to be reorganized into the 1st, 2nd, and 3rd Brigades, respectively. Only the names were changed; the personnel and organization remained the same. Zhao Changming's 3rd Division was reorganized into an engineer brigade, nominally responsible for constructing the railway from Zichuan to Xintai. In reality, the engineer brigade was stationed in the Laiwu and Xintai areas, and those responsible for constructing the railway and military bases were mostly prisoners of war. Shi Zhongcheng's 4th Division was directly reorganized into an air force ground support brigade, placed under the air force's combat order, and its troops would be dispersed to various air force bases.

The cavalry and artillery regiments remained unchanged. Of the three independent regiments, Wang Yaowu's unit was reorganized into a training regiment, and Ji Xingwen's unit into a special operations regiment. The regiment commanded by Gao Huilan was disbanded, the women's special operations unit was placed under the direct command of the headquarters, and the other four infantry battalions and the regimental headquarters were reorganized into the Marine Corps, with Gao Ming as the commander-in-chief, stationed in the Qingdao and Rizhao area. The original guard battalion was expanded into a guard regiment.

A group of older platoon and squad-level officers were selected from various units and assigned to form security brigades in different county towns. These security brigades, unlike police stations, were not under the jurisdiction of local governments. They served as supplementary personnel for the People's Liberation Army. Despite the reorganization, the troop strength remained unchanged. The downsized units were then sent to Tai'an, where Sun Liangcheng transferred them to Feng Yuxiang.

The troop could not be expanded for the time being, but its combat effectiveness still needed to be improved. Yang Jiefang immediately thought of upgrading the weapons. He temporarily put aside other less important work and shut himself in to draw blueprints. He drew up blueprints for the Type 56 family of firearms, including the Type 56 semi-automatic rifle, the Type 56 machine gun, and the Type 56 submachine gun. These blueprints were, of course, not professional design blueprints, but rather exterior drawings. Then he drew up blueprints for the American-made M79 rifle grenade launcher to replace the Japanese-made grenade launcher. This weapon had appeared in American blockbusters; it looked cool, had great power, and was a good infantry support weapon.

After the drawings were completed, they were sent directly to the arsenal. Designers brought in from Germany were consulted, and discussions were held with them to refine the drawings and begin trial production. Although the arsenal was still under construction, these designers were far from idle. They were also dedicated to designing and developing new weapons. Yang Jiefang advised them not to rush into research and development, especially in the area of ​​heavy weapons, but to first imitate existing weapons and then gradually improve upon them.

Upon returning from the arsenal, Liu Xijiu told him that Black Widow had come looking for him, but upon not finding him, left with the words, "Medicine Pot is back." Yang Jiefang was overjoyed and immediately rushed to Black Widow's office. Medicine Pot was considered a veteran of Qinglongzhai; he had gone to Yunnan to search for Qu Huanzhang and had been gone for over a year. Everyone thought something had happened to him, but unexpectedly, he had returned. However, Black Widow herself was not found in the office; the guards informed him that she had gone to the People's Liberation Army hospital.

Yang Jiefang rushed to the hospital and found Black Widow in Liu Yamei's office, along with Medicine Jar and Doctor Sun, who had disappeared for over a year. Medicine Jar and Doctor Sun looked even older and thinner, but their spirits were high. Medicine Jar immediately greeted Yang Jiefang, saying, "Young Master, I've found the owner of the miracle drug, and I've even brought him here. Look, this is Qu Huanzhang." He then introduced him to a middle-aged man beside him.

Yang Jiefang said, "Medicine pot, Dr. Sun, thank you for your hard work! You've been gone for over a year, and I was really worried something had happened to you. And Dr. Qu, welcome to Jinan!" Qu Huanzhang replied, "You're too kind." He looked Yang Jiefang up and down.

The doctor sighed, “We were too naive back then! Traveling thousands of miles through war and chaos, the road was certainly treacherous. Fortunately, we were practicing medicine as we went, so no one gave us a hard time. It took us more than half a year just to reach Kunming. Finding Doctor Qu and persuading him to come to Shandong wasn't easy either. After all, we didn't know each other well, and at first, they thought we were swindlers. Later, when news of your deeds in killing Japanese devils in Jinan reached Kunming, Doctor Qu changed his opinion of us.”

Qu Huanzhang chimed in, "There's no other way, we have to be on guard! Some people will stop at nothing to steal my prescription! I've made up my mind: I'll give you the medicine, but I will never give you the prescription."

Yang Jiefang laughed, "Dr. Qu, please rest assured! I respect intellectual property rights and have absolutely no intention of stealing your formula." Qu Huanzhang smiled, "I believe you, which is why I was willing to come to Jinan with you. Commander, are you planning to buy my Baibaodan?" Yang Jiefang replied, "Buy? More than buy! I want to cooperate with you to establish a pharmaceutical factory. I'll invest, and you'll be responsible for production. Rest assured! You'll have complete control over the formula. What I want is to mass-produce your Baibaodan. Not only for our own army, but also for large-scale sales to the outside world. What do you think?"

Qu Huanzhang pressed, "So how much money do you plan to invest? What percentage of the shares will we each hold?" Yang Jiefang replied, "I don't have a fixed amount to invest. I'll invest whatever is needed. The bigger this pharmaceutical factory is, the better! As for the share, how much do you want? We can discuss it." Qu Huanzhang had clearly already thought it through and immediately said, "Your investment can't be less than 100,000 silver dollars. I don't want more, just 30% of the profits." Yang Jiefang laughed, "100,000 silver dollars is too little. Considering the manpower issue, I'll invest 1 million silver dollars initially. Once we've trained enough skilled workers, I'll increase the investment and expand production." Qu Huanzhang was both surprised and delighted and immediately said, "No problem, let's partner up!"

Yang Jiefang turned back and said, "Medicine Pot, Dr. Sun, you went through so much trouble to bring Dr. Qu from Yunnan. I'll remember this credit for you. I still need your help to get this pharmaceutical factory up and running!" Medicine Pot immediately patted his chest and said, "Don't worry, young master! I, Medicine Pot, will definitely get this done for you!"

Dr. Sun said, "Young Master, I still want to practice medicine. If you don't mind my limited medical skills, how about letting me open a clinic here?" Yang Jiefang replied, "Of course, no problem. I think our hospital needs to add a Traditional Chinese Medicine department. What do you think, Dean Liu?"

Liu Yamei smiled and said, "If you think it's necessary, then let's add a Traditional Chinese Medicine department! However, I studied Western medicine and don't know much about Traditional Chinese Medicine, nor do I know any TCM doctors. I'm afraid I won't be of much help." Qu Huanzhang chimed in, "I do know a few renowned TCM doctors. If needed, I can introduce them to practice there."

Yang Jiefang praised, "That's wonderful! I've always believed that traditional Chinese medicine has its strengths, and Western medicine has its uses. Combining traditional Chinese and Western medicine, taking the best from each, is the best way to treat diseases. From now on, I'll entrust the traditional Chinese medicine department to Dr. Sun." Dr. Sun replied, "I will do my best."

The matter was settled. Black Widow, along with Doctor Sun and Qu Huanzhang, left first, carrying the medicine jar. Since the three were new to the area and unfamiliar with the surroundings, Black Widow personally settled them in. Over the next few days, she personally led them to select a site for the factory.

Yang Jiefang stayed behind alone and said, "Dean Liu, I know you have some reservations about traditional Chinese medicine. I have no intention of getting involved in the debate between traditional Chinese medicine and Western medicine. However, in this hospital, I hope everyone can work together sincerely and avoid internal strife!" Liu Yamei replied, "Oh, the little commander is speaking to me so seriously, how dare I disobey orders? Don't worry! As the dean, I will treat everyone fairly and will definitely assist Dr. Sun in opening the traditional Chinese medicine department. Are you satisfied now?"

Yang Jiefang knew from her tone that she had a grievance, so he changed the subject and said, "Sister Liu, I didn't mean anything by it. It's just that there's too much prejudice against traditional Chinese medicine in this society. No matter what others think, I hope that traditional Chinese medicine can get the same status and treatment as Western medicine." Liu Yamei said, "No! Just call me Dean Liu! I heard you're getting married. From now on, please don't call me 'sister' all the time, whether in public or in private."

Yang Jiefang gave a wry smile and said, "I already have a fiancée, you already knew that. Sister Liu, you're still young, why don't you consider finding a good man to marry?" Liu Yamei replied, "The man I want to marry may not be willing to marry me; the man who wants to marry me, I may not be willing to marry. What do you suggest I do?"

This was indeed a difficult problem, and Yang Jiefang didn't want to dwell on it any longer. He changed the subject, saying, "Sister Liu, this 'Hundred Treasures Pill' really does have miraculous effects in treating external injuries!" Liu Yamei replied, "I know. Qu Huanzhang explained it to me very clearly before you came. He even left some medicine for trial use at the hospital." Yang Jiefang continued with a smile, "I also know of a miracle drug that has miraculous effects in treating external injuries. And it's a Western medicine." Liu Yamei asked, "What drug?" Yang Jiefang replied, "Penicillin." Liu Yamei frowned and said, "How come we've never heard of it?" Yang Jiefang said, "That's because this miracle drug hasn't been officially introduced yet." Yang Jiefang didn't know exactly when penicillin was discovered, but he knew that penicillin had been buried for a long time until it was mass-produced after the outbreak of World War II.

Liu Yamei snapped, "Are you just making fun of me? A miracle drug that hasn't even been invented yet? How dare you say that?" Yang Jiefang explained, "This drug has actually been discovered, but the correct method to extract it hasn't been found yet, so it can't be mass-produced." Liu Yamei immediately became somewhat skeptical and said, "Could you be more specific?"

Yang Jiefang thought carefully for a moment, organized his thoughts, and said, "Penicillin is an antibiotic extracted from Penicillium mold that can kill many kinds of bacteria. Penicillium mold is widely distributed in nature and is not difficult to cultivate. As long as we find the right method, we can obtain it in large quantities."

Liu Yamei pressed further, "Do you have a way to extract it?" Yang Jiefang replied, "I have a slight idea, but I certainly can't do it myself. We need to find a microbiologist specializing in bacteria to initiate a research project on this. You know the medical field better than I do, so think carefully about whether you can find such a person." Liu Yamei then asked, "Are you sure that as long as you have someone with that expertise, you can extract penicillin?" Yang Jiefang said, "The most important thing in scientific research is the research direction. If the direction is wrong, all your efforts will be wasted; if the direction is right, you'll eventually succeed. I can provide a correct research direction, but as for how long it will take to succeed, that depends on the researcher's own professional level."

Liu Yamei clearly agreed with Yang Jiefang's words. She lowered her head and pondered for a moment, then suddenly her eyes lit up, as if she had remembered something. She looked up and saw Yang Jiefang staring at her expectantly. Suddenly, an idea struck her, and she said, "Oh dear, I'm a little dizzy. I clearly know there's such a person, but why can't I remember? Oh dear, my head hurts. Let me rest for a while." As she spoke, she put her hand to her forehead, leaned back in her chair, and closed her eyes.

Yang Jiefang knew she was doing it on purpose, but feigned concern and said, "Where does it hurt? Let me massage it for you." Liu Yamei said, "My shoulders and neck are a bit stiff, probably from sitting for too long causing insufficient blood supply to my head." Yang Jiefang said, "Then let me massage your shoulders." He got up and walked behind her, gently massaging her shoulders. "Oh—" Liu Yamei groaned comfortably, her voice full of allure. Yang Jiefang's heart skipped a beat, and then, through the collar of her white coat, he saw a deep cleavage. Then, his hands slid down and crossed, probing inside.

Liu Yamei was still somewhat rational; she knew this was a hospital office and wouldn't dare to do anything rash. She immediately grabbed Yang Jiefang's hands and said, "I haven't been sleeping well these past few days, so I'll just finish my early shift today since I don't have anything else to do. I'll let you know when I've rested and remember something."