22: I'm hooked, I'm hooked!

"Is there a cure?"

"Sir, please remove the 'is there' from that sentence."

Lu Fan stated this with a relaxed expression, then strode away with a grand, enigmatic air.

Seeing Ma Jieli's dazed expression, Howard hurried forward to explain.

"Mr. Ma Jieli, Viscount Louis has already completed the diagnosis. Our hospital's doctors have begun treating your daughter. Please wait patiently!"

"It's finished that quickly?"

Ma Jieli still looked incredulous; less than twenty minutes had passed from diagnosis to the start of treatment.

Are you trying to fool a foreigner?

"You two, I have full confidence in the Viscount's treatment of your daughter. Please trust us."

Seeing the situation, Reister decisively stepped forward to provide his endorsement.

It wasn't so much that he trusted Lu Fan, but rather that he trusted penicillin.

Over the past three days, he had been completely won over by the efficacy of penicillin.

As soon as these words were spoken, it was like a shot of adrenaline for Ma Jieli and his wife; in an instant, their spirits rose from hell to heaven.

"Doctor Louis, Sir Reister, I... I... I..."

Madame Ma Jieli tightly gripped Lu Fan's hand, so emotional she couldn't speak clearly, her eyes filled with nothing but gratitude.

"You two, please follow me to the office to wait for the good news!"

Reister invited the Ma Jieli couple away, casting a discreet glance at Howard as he left.

Lu Fan was such a treasure; he didn't want the Frances to have close contact with him.

Howard understood immediately and took Lu Fan back to his own office, serving him fine coffee and desserts.

"Mr. Louis, your cigarettes are clearly top-shelf goods."

"But I've never heard of this 'Liqun' brand. Is it a special custom order?" Howard asked, opening a conversation.

Howard found a topic to start the conversation.

"You like them? Have some."

Lu Fan smiled slightly and casually tossed over a pack. "Good friends should share, don't be polite."

"Mr. Louis, you are truly too generous."

Howard didn't stand on ceremony and accepted the cigarettes directly.

With the aid of the cigarettes, the two began chatting about everything under the sun.

It wasn't until noon that there was a knock on Howard's office door.

News came from the ICU that Evelyn's fever had broken, and the two ended their chat.

As soon as Lu Fan stepped into the ICU, all the medical staff cast reverent glances his way.

At this moment, in the eyes of the medical staff, he was no longer a mortal, but a God of Medicine radiating a holy halo.

Several bold, blonde, blue-eyed nurses even had stars in their eyes.

If not for the constraints of the environment, they would have loved to pounce on him and take a few bites.

Even Lu Fan, who had seen many grand scenes, felt flustered by those looks.

"Observe for two hours. If there's no relapse, move her to a private room. Keep the skin clean and hygienic, and avoid scratching with hands."

"Once the patient wakes up, focus on liquid or semi-liquid food to maintain balanced nutrition."

"Inject penicillin again in twelve hours."

After issuing the medical orders with an air of expertise, Lu Fan turned around gracefully.

It wasn't that he didn't want to stay longer and bask in the glory for a while.

But having only taken a crash course in being a 'barefoot doctor' for five hours, this was the limit of what he could do.

Any more and he would be exposed.

"Viscount Louis, penicillin is truly miraculous!"

Outside the ward, Howard looked at him with eager eyes; he was now completely conquered.

To be honest, Lu Fan was also quite surprised that penicillin worked so quickly.

But on second thought, it was normal; people of this era had never truly experienced antibiotics.

This perfectly compensated for penicillin's weakness regarding drug resistance, so the powerful efficacy was within reason.

"penicillin has good curative effects on bacterial infectious diseases."

Subconsciously, Lu Fan's remark was a bit of a humblebrag.

Seeing the topic turn to penicillin, Howard asked, "Mr. Louis, may I ask how much penicillin you brought this time?"

Lu Fan smoked and said nonchalantly, "I brought twenty kilograms this time."

"How much?"

Howard looked astonished; this amount made him doubt if his ears were playing tricks on him.

One gram of penicillin was enough for an adult patient's daily dosage, and three to five grams could successfully cure a patient.

This guy actually had a full twenty kilograms, enough to cure at least 4,000 people!

How could he not be shocked?

"Twenty kilograms!" Lu Fan turned to look at Howard with an innocent expression. "The new machines just went into production, so this is all I have for now."

"Starting next month, production capacity might go up a bit, but not by much—at most a hundred kilograms or so a week."

Lu Fan calmly humbebragged again, leaving Howard completely stunned.

He had rushed to Shanghai this time specifically for the imitation of penicillin.

So he had done his homework on penicillin and knew full well the difficulty of producing such a drug.

According to his knowledge, even with mature production technology, the annual output of this drug would not exceed twenty kilograms.

But Lu Fan nonchalantly said the weekly capacity was twenty kilograms.

And that wasn't even the limit; twenty kilograms wasn't the ceiling, a hundred or so kilograms was just ahead.

For a moment, his understanding was completely overturned.

After a brief daze, a burning desire ignited in Howard's eyes.

This is a golden thigh; I must cling to it tightly.

"Mr. Louis, I will be setting off for Britain in a few days. Can this batch of goods be supplied to me as a priority?"

He pleaded impatiently, and seeing Lu Fan frown, he decisively changed his tune: "Oh no... giving me half first is also fine."

Lu Fan asked calmly, "I already discussed this with your father earlier. What are you playing at?"

Howard took a deep breath, composed his words, and spoke: "Mr. Louis,"

"My father is a Knight of the Empire; many times he must put the Empire first."

"But the family has faced financial difficulties in recent years. I want to be the first to introduce penicillin to the European aristocratic circles."

"You should also know that syphilis is currently rampant in aristocratic circles."

"It's the perfect time to earn a wave of profit on a small scale first."

Lu Fan looked at Howard calmly. He quite appreciated this man's frankness.

A businessman—if they don't pursue profit, what do they pursue?

The corners of his mouth curled up slightly as he looked Howard straight in the eye. "You haven't tested it yourself; how can you be so sure penicillin can treat syphilis?"

"Aren't you afraid I'm fooling you?"

Howard lit a cigarette, gathered his thoughts, and spoke with certainty: "There is absolutely no need to worry about that!"

"First, I have deep faith in Viscount Louis's character."

"Second, as a drug about to be launched on the market, you have no reason to lie to me about such things."

"Most importantly, the excellent antibacterial effect penicillin has shown is obvious to all."

The logical analysis made Lu Fan's eyes light up, and he nodded with satisfaction.

Then he pulled a note from his pocket and handed it over. "This is the treatment plan for syphilis that I've tested."

Don't ask where the treatment plan came from; when in doubt, ask Baidu.

Howard solemnly took the note and read the treatment plan in detail.

The more he read, the more shocked he became. The completeness of the plan was absolutely textbook-level, covering every detail and aspect.

If he returned to Britain with this batch of medicine and followed this plan for treatment...

With the powerful healing power shown by penicillin, wouldn't he firmly become a demigod in the medical world?

Unconsciously, his face flushed, and his breathing became rapid.

It's going to my head, it's going to my head!