Chapter 1558 Civilized Communicator (first update, please subscribe)
"We give them civilization, modernity, and the future!"
On all university campuses, at recruitment fairs, this sentence is clearly written on recruitment posters from International Grain Company.
If you are in some Western countries, some people will definitely think that this is condescending and colonial.
But everyone here knows this to be true.
In fact, as a biology graduate student, Zhang Jiuyuan knew very well that the cereal company's statement was not an exaggeration.
Not only is it no exaggeration, he has even set up a number of research institutes in Africa, and the industry Zhang Jiuyuan applied for is the position at the Agricultural Research Institute in Dar es Lasam.
It was not easy for him, who graduated from the biology department of Chang'an University, to get this overseas job. Even now, some people feel pity for him.
"Hey, Jiuyuan, tell me, what on earth do you think you want to go to Africa!"
At the international airport, several friends who came to see him off surrounded Zhang Jiuyuan, their voices filled with pity.
"That's right, Jiuyuan, there are so many research institutes in the country but they go to places so far away. It's true."
Listening to the complaints of his classmates and friends, Zhang Jiuyuan said with a smile.
"Although it's a little far away, does anyone need to go there? After all, we are needed there more."
His answer made everyone silent for a while. Sometimes, people always have their own pursuits. Zhang Jiuyuan is the kind of person who has pursuits, but his pursuits are different from others. He believes that he should go overseas and make due contributions to overseas career development through his own efforts.
After all, overseas is the lifeline.
After saying goodbye to his friends, Zhang Jiuyuan pushed his suitcase into the waiting room, and soon he was on the plane.
The aircraft is a long-range C717. Compared with the C707, the airport requirements are lower and it is more suitable for airports with poor conditions in Africa.
The flight was direct to Nairobi, from where he would take another flight to Dar es Rasam.
Although the voyage was a bit long, there were no legendary encounters or anything else along the way. After all, it was a plane bound for Africa.
Most of the passengers on the plane were employees of grain companies and mining companies.
There are not many researchers like Zhang Jiuyuan. A few hours later, after the plane landed at Nairobi Airport, he quickly transferred to the Viscount aircraft of African Airlines and flew to Dar es Lasam. , didn’t finally arrive at the airport until late in the evening.
In the airport waiting room, Zhang Jiuyuan saw the driver who came to pick him up. The driver was a local black man, silent and wearing a khaki uniform. A pair of eyes always looking ahead.
Ever since he got in the car, Zhang Jiuyuan felt that everything around him was new. After all, this was his first time in Africa.
There are black people everywhere, the dark and swarthy kind. Same as the driver.
It is difficult to see black people in the country. At most, there are only diplomats from some African countries. In fact, whether they are willing to admit it or not, it is very difficult for Africans from countries such as the United Kingdom and the United States to enter SEA, and they are almost never allowed to enter.
There are many reasons for being refused entry, including failure to submit a criminal record, lack of infectious disease review, and, of course, a tendency to immigrate.
In short, it is difficult to see African Americans in the mainland.
But in Africa...everywhere you look, it's black.
After the car left the urban area of Dar es Lasam, the highway soon turned into a dirt road, a standard dirt road. When traveling in the mainland, although after leaving the city and the highway, most of them were simple roads, but those simple roads are also A 5.5-meter-wide asphalt road instead of this primitive dirt road.
All traces of civilization seem to have disappeared, and the telephone poles have all disappeared. The driver nimbly avoided the bumps on the road. It was obvious that he had driven on this difficult road many times.
"This is not Africa..."
Although someone told Zhang Jiuyuan before coming here that the roads in Africa are not easy to travel. At that time, he thought these people were just trying to scare him because they didn't want to work there.
The first person to tell him was Barry, an American professor at the school. When he learned about his choice, he said to him:
"Don't think of the place you are going to as a paradise. It is more terrifying than hell. It is far away from human civilization. Although there are humans there, they still live in primitive society. It is a wilderness that can only be imagined in people's imagination. A place of human presence.”
At this time, Zhang Jiuyuan finally understood why Professor Barry said this. He also remembered the recruitment poster he saw at the school recruitment fair:
Any young biological experimenter who is not afraid of hardships and goes abroad to engage in experimental work will be hired with a high salary. This profession is unique and has a bright future.
Zhang Jiuyuan readily agreed to apply. After receiving an advance of 1,000 yuan, I said goodbye to my friends in a hurry. He applied for a passport when he was studying abroad in high school, and then he arrived in this place far away from civilization.
The setting sun scattered orange light, and the car ran over its longer and longer shadow, gradually approaching a bright red area. There were cornfields on both sides of this area, endless cornfields, and soon, there was another large grassland. , there are herds of cattle grazing on the grassland.
As a biology student, Zhang Jiuyuan knew that this was the "grass-fed cattle" of East Africa. He had heard Professor Barry mention it.
"On African pastures, livestock companies will let cattle graze on the pastures without caring about them. Hundreds of cattle grow up grazing on the pastures. During the dry season, the companies will only send the corn stalks from the green reserves to the pastures. …”
The cost of grass-fed cattle is extremely low, which is also the source of cheap beef in SEA. Although African beef is much cheaper than local cattle, I have never heard of organizations such as the Livestock Association calling for increased tariffs to protect the local livestock industry.
After all, people want to eat meat.
"It turns out that this is a big ranch!"
Looking at this endless pasture, Zhang Jiuyuan seemed to understand why some people in China call this place a "granary" and "pasture."
"This place itself is a lifeline!" While sighing, a barbed wire fence appeared in his sight.
The barbed wire wall stretched out in both directions, north and south, and disappeared into the distance. A blurry square is visible in the center of the wall. On the barbed wire fence, poles with electric lights were erected at even intervals. In the afterglow of the setting sun, the electric lights looked like blood-red spots.
When the car drove to the entrance, Zhang Jiuyuan remembered Professor Barry's words:
"At the end of the world created by God, you will see the existence of civilization..."
It’s here too!
The car drove into the gate. There is a huge mud platform at the gate, and there are several sentries with carbines standing next to the platform. They are East Asians and are short in appearance. They wear the armbands of the "Black Knight" in chess on their sleeves.
The security personnel not only checked the trunk of the Land Rover, but also used mirrors to look under the car.
The inspection was meticulous, of course, including Zhang Jiuyuan's ID.
After checking the ID, the security guard grinned at him and said:
"Welcome to the Agricultural Research Institute, Mr. Zhang."
After the car entered the institute, it drove for another five minutes and stopped in front of a building.
When Zhang Jiuyuan got off the bus, several people happened to come out of the building, led by a European. When he saw Zhang Jiuyuan, he was stunned for a moment, looked at his luggage again, and said:
Please...you...Collect_6Ⅰ9ⅠBookⅠ(Six\\\Nine\\\Book\\\!)
"Mr. Zhang Jiuyuan, please come in."
He spoke authentic Mandarin and extended a hand to Zhang Jiuyuan.
"Let us meet you, my name is Edward F. Knipling."
Edward F. Knipling!
Hearing the name, Zhang Jiuyuan immediately became excited and said:
"I know, I know, you are Professor Knipling! Oh my god, you are my idol!"
Looking at the idol in front of him, Zhang Jiuyuan said excitedly:
"Professor, to be honest with you, the reason why I chose this place is because you are here!"
Zhang Jiuyuan's excited look made Kniplin laugh:
"Haha, is it true? This is my honor. I never thought that someone would actually admire me."
Listening to the professor's answer, Zhang Jiuyuan shook his head and said:
"Professor, don't you know?"
"Know what?"
"Everyone knows you are a hero!"
The reason why Zhang Jiuyuan is so excited is because as early as more than ten years ago, Kniplin, a biology professor at Chang'an University, came up with a wonderful idea:
If sterile male mosquitoes are released into the wild, the female mosquitoes will not lay eggs after mating and will not harm other animals. More importantly, if castrated male mosquitoes continue to be released into the wild, the number of these male mosquitoes will decrease from generation to generation until they have no offspring. In other words, mosquitoes are eliminated by releasing large numbers of male mosquitoes.
To be precise, it is to eliminate the Anopheles mosquito, also known as the Anopheles mosquito, which is the vector of malaria.
Of course, this is also the biggest problem facing SEA. Of course, it also includes infectious diseases such as dengue fever and Zika, which are all spread through mosquitoes.
Although DDT is effective in killing mosquitoes, it will always cause harm to the human body once or twice a week.
Kniplin's idea of using "sterile mosquitoes" to eliminate mosquitoes achieved certain success after testing.
"Professor, when I was in college, I once studied urban data. In the main urban area of Chang'an, the mosquito population was basically eliminated. The average suppression effect of larvae and female mosquitoes reached 94% and 89% respectively. The average mosquito bite rate dropped by 96.6% respectively. % and 88.7%.”
While mentioning this data, Zhang Jiuyuan emphasized:
"In the main urban area, for 13 weeks, no mosquitoes were even detected, and they were basically eliminated. Now the insecticide spraying in the urban area is only once a month."
When Zhang Jiuyuan mentioned these data, Kniplin shook his head and said helplessly:
"That's just a temporary suppression. There are still a lot of mosquitoes in the rainforest and plantations. We can't eliminate them, we can only suppress them as much as possible."
Compared with Professor Kniplin, Zhang Jiuyuan seems more optimistic, he said.
"I know, professor, the military now uses planes to release tens of millions of sterile mosquitoes into the rainforest every day. I believe that one day, we will be able to eliminate mosquitoes!"
"Well, maybe, but it will take time, ten years, maybe more, and, for a long time,"
Facing the little fanboy in front of him, Professor Kniplin's tone became more friendly and asked:
"Do you know the biggest problem with this method of killing mosquitoes?"
(End of chapter)