Chapter 103: The Strongest Biologist in France

Chapter 103: The Strongest Biologist in France

Joseph felt a bit embarrassed by Besançon's praise—wisdom in public toilets, really?

But he understood, given that without his intervention, Paris wouldn't have its first public restroom for another half-century.

He continued, "Oh, and trash bins. Every 200 to 300 feet along the main streets of Paris, we should install large stone bins for people to throw their trash into."

Besançon nodded in agreement but then thought of something and quickly asked, "Your Highness, building these public toilets and trash bins will cost a lot of money, and we'll need quite a few people to manage them afterward."

As expected from the Chief of Police, he quickly grasped the deeper implications. Joseph nodded, "The construction costs will be covered by the treasury, and management can be handed over to your 'Daily Affairs Squad.'

"As for transporting the waste from the public toilets, it can be used as fertilizer—someone will likely volunteer to handle that. The 'Daily Affairs Squad' will just need to do some cleaning; they should be able to manage."

Besançon hesitated again, "Your Highness, the citizens might not cooperate..."

"Post some notices on the streets, and I'll have the newspapers help with the promotion," Joseph thought for a moment and added, "Let's call it the 'Beautiful Paris' campaign.

"Oh, and of course, the police will need to supervise. Anyone caught relieving themselves in public or littering should be reminded or warned. If they don't comply after repeated warnings, they can be punished by cleaning the toilets."

After Besançon left, Joseph looked out at the empty streets and muttered to himself, "Maybe we could also lay some wooden tracks and start a bit of urban rail transport. With wooden tracks, a carriage pulled by two horses should be able to carry over ten people. It would also help the craftsmen get familiar with laying tracks, which will be useful in the future.

"Ugh, but it all requires money... Why is France so poor?"

Aymon's voice came from outside the door, "Your Highness, Count Lamarck has arrived."

"Oh?" Joseph was surprised, "Please, let him in."

The door opened, and Lamarck entered with a broad smile, bowing deeply. "Your Highness, I went to Versailles to find you, but they told me you've moved here, so I came to see you. Seeing that you look well puts my mind at ease."

"Please, have a seat." Joseph returned the bow, "I must thank Dr. Pernet for regularly checking on me."

"That's her duty." Lamarck nodded with a smile, then took out a small glass bottle. "Look, this is the latest batch of tocopherol, now highly purified."

Joseph took the small bottle and saw that it contained a fine, light-yellow powder.

"Your technique is truly impressive."

"Oh, it's all thanks to the thermostat room you had built," Lamarck said, staring intently at Joseph as if trying to remind him of something.

"The thermostat room is finished?" Joseph asked, surprised.

"Yes, Your Highness. We did have a failure at one point, but Mr. Lasseny and I brought in the royal craftsmen to help, and we finally got it right. Now it can maintain the temperature within a 5-degree Celsius range, which is a huge help in refining tocopherol."

He looked at Joseph with hopeful eyes, "So..."

"?"

Lamarck couldn't hold back any longer, "Your Highness, you said that with a thermostat room, you could create a miraculous drug to cure deadly diseases like pneumonia, puerperal fever, and the plague. Have you forgotten?"

"Oh, yes, of course." Joseph suddenly realized what Lamarck was hinting at—he wanted penicillin. Joseph had been so busy lately that he'd completely forgotten about it.

He quickly nodded, "In that case, I'll go to the pharmaceutical workshop tomorrow and teach you how to make it."

Lamarck stood up excitedly, clutching his chest, "Wonderful! Your Highness, if this drug can be successfully produced, it will save countless lives!"

Joseph then seriously reminded him, "Dr. Lamarck, this drug is extremely important, and it must be kept absolutely secret! I'll also assign guards to protect the pharmaceutical workshop."

"Rest assured, I won't breathe a word to anyone!"

Early the next morning, Lamarck arrived at the Industrial Planning Bureau, clearly having set out before dawn.

Joseph had a quick breakfast and was practically dragged into the carriage by Lamarck.

Having spent the previous night dealing with grain procurement issues, Joseph's mind was still filled with thoughts of wheat and bread... But he had no choice—the time left to prepare was really running out.

As the carriage bumped along, Joseph remembered that the man sitting across from him was France's most brilliant biologist. Perhaps he would have some ideas. "Count Lamarck, is there any way to protect crops from being destroyed by hail? Oh, I mean hail this size." He held up his fist for emphasis.

Lamarck frowned, "I'm afraid that's impossible, Your Highness. Hail that size could even damage small trees."

Joseph sighed in resignation, but then Lamarck added, "Unless you're growing potatoes, then you might save some of the harvest."

Joseph was stunned, and his eyes began to light up.

Of course! Why hadn't he thought of that? Potatoes grow underground, and by July, even if they aren't fully mature, they would be about 70-80% grown.

This was much better than wheat, which could be completely destroyed by hail!

Of course, this year's drought would likely also affect the potato yield, but promoting potato cultivation across France could still help alleviate the famine to some extent.

Lamarck, however, shook his head, "But the French don't eat potatoes."

Joseph asked in confusion, "Why do you say that? I often see mashed potatoes and similar dishes at Versailles."

Lamarck laughed, "Only the nobility eat them, and that's mostly in Paris."

"What?"

"Didn't you know?" Lamarck spread his hands, "There was a time when someone ate a sprouted potato and got poisoned. After that, rumors started spreading that potatoes were toxic.

"Later, people began saying that potatoes came from the 'devil underground.' Because they grow underground, they were given the name 'Devil's Apples,' and were considered bad luck—eating them was believed to bring misfortune.

"As the rumors spread, people even claimed that eating potatoes would cause strokes, lung disease, and leprosy.

"Anyone with common sense knows this is nonsense, but the general public believed it. During the famine in Naples, people would rather starve than eat potatoes."

Joseph asked, "So why don't the nobility care about this?"

Dr. Lamarck explained, "We can thank the great Queen for that. Dr. Parmentier believed that potatoes were an excellent food and recommended them to the royal family.

"The Queen loved the potato flowers and even wore one on her chest, and she tried eating potatoes herself. You know how the nobles at Versailles love to imitate the Queen's actions."

(End of Chapter)

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