Chapter 65 Baldy Gets Talked into a Limp

Staring at the small vial before him, Old Du was completely dumbfounded.

"Are you kidding me?"

Lin Ran smiled slightly, leaning back comfortably against the expensive leather sofa as if he were sitting in his own living room.

"Mr. Du,"

Lin Ran picked up the small vial.

"Do you know what this is? What is contained in this vial is currently more precious than gold—Penicillin! And I possess its complete and highly efficient production technology!"

"What?"

Old Du jolted upright from his chair as if struck by an electric current!

As a senator, how could he not know about penicillin?

With the entire world at war right now, this stuff was of paramount importance.

It was a hundred times more expensive than gold!

It was just that the current production technology was still imperfect, and the yield was miserably low.

On the black market, a single dose could cost as much as several thousand dollars.

Old Du stared intently at Lin Ran: "Mr. Lin, may I ask what the yield of your production technology is?"

Lin Ran smiled, picking up the small vial and waving it in front of Old Du.

"Mr. Du, this tiny vial contains a mere ten milliliters, yet it holds ten million units of penicillin. That means it can be diluted into one thousand individual doses!"

"Fuck?"

This time, Old Du practically yelled it out!

Ten million units?

Diluted into a thousand doses?

He planted both hands on the desk, leaned forward, and fixed his eyes dead on Lin Ran.

"Mr. Lin, is what you're saying... true?"

His voice was trembling!

He was all too aware of the price of a single dose of penicillin on the black market right now!

It was measured in thousands of dollars!

And it was frequently unavailable no matter how much you were willing to pay.

This tiny vial in front of him could actually be diluted into a thousand doses?

Wouldn't that make it worth millions of dollars?

Lin Ran smiled and nodded: "Mr. Du, I wonder if this technology can help you win your campaign successfully?"

Seeing that Lin Ran spoke with absolute certainty, Old Du's breathing grew ragged.

"Oh! Good God!"

Old Du hurried out from behind his desk, looking at Lin Ran with more warmth than he would have shown his own father.

"Mr. Lin, you must be sent by God to save me!"

If he could secure this technology, and leverage his own political maneuvering, winning the election would be an absolute certainty!

At this thought, Old Du felt a surge of blazing heat in his heart.

"Mr. Lin, thank you for bringing me this technology. Once I successfully win re-election, I will definitely—"

"Stop, stop, stop! Hold on!"

Lin Ran raised a hand to interrupt Old Du.

It turned out that changing attitude as fast as flipping a dog's face wasn't exclusive to Li Yunlong.

"First,"

Lin Ran held up a single finger.

"I never said I was giving this technology to you!"

What kind of daydream was the man having? How could he possibly just give it away?

Then, Lin Ran raised his second finger.

"Second, can you show a little ambition? A mere senatorship has you grinning like this?"

Old Du was left bewildered by the remark.

"Mr. Lin, then what do you mean?"

Lin Ran smiled faintly and said, "Not only am I going to help you win re-election as a senator, but I am also going to... send you to the seat of the Vice Presidency!"

"Oh! My God!"

Upon hearing the words "Vice President," Old Du could hardly believe his ears!

Immediately afterward, a wave of wild euphoria surged within him!

That was right! Why had his horizons been so narrow?

With this heaven-defying technology, the presidency might be a bit of a stretch—that cripple possessed far too much prestige—but the vice presidency... was by no means impossible!

However... time seemed a bit tight.

"Mr. Lin, if I may ask a bold question, how much of this powder do you currently have?"

If the quantity was limited, its influence would be limited as well.

Lin Ran didn't speak; he just leisurely raised his middle finger.

"A ton!"

Swish!

Old Du abruptly stood up, then straightened his suit, adjusted his tie, and assumed an expression of utmost solemnity.

"Mr. Lin, you simply must help me!"

"As long as you can help me retain my seat as a senator and even ascend to the vice presidency, then within the scope of my authority, I will do everything in my power to satisfy your every demand!"

"Alright then!"

Lin Ran was amused.

The process had gone even smoother than he had anticipated!

It was also possible that Old Du was indeed in a desperate plight right now, making Lin Ran his lifeline—enough to make him willing to pay any price.

"Sit, sit down. Don't be so nervous."

Lin Ran waved a hand.

Only then did Old Du slowly sit back down.

Lin Ran smiled.

So this was the power of capital!

Thrilling!

"Mr. Du, rest assured, a man of my word is as good as gold!"

"Next year, I will make sure you are re-elected. By forty-four at the absolute latest, I will get you into the vice presidency!"

Lin Ran spoke with absolute finality, because this was originally Old Du's destined historical trajectory.

Old Du wore an expression of intense agitation.

He wasn't crippled physically, but right now, he felt as though his legs had gone weak.

"Mr. Lin, I also guarantee you that I will do my utmost to satisfy any request you have!"

Lin Ran nodded. This was characteristic of Eagle Country, after all; political contributions were never made for nothing.

He patted Old Du on the shoulder: "As long as you satisfy me... as you know, Mr. Roosevelt's health hasn't been very good lately..."

"Hoo—"

Old Du drew a sharp breath!

He wasn't a fool; he caught the unspoken subtext in Lin Ran's words instantly.

That's right, that cripple's health was poor; there was no telling when he might kick the bucket.

And when that day came...

A colossal ambition burned fiercely in his heart like a wildfire!

He tightly grasped Lin Ran's hand, as though holding the key to the very pinnacle of power.

"Mr. Lin, just tell me. What exactly do you need me to do?"

Lin Ran smiled again.

He propped his feet up on the table in front of the sofa and pulled out a cigarette.

Old Du reacted with lightning speed, striking a match with a crisp *snap* to light it for the noble benefactor who was about to become his ultimate sugar daddy.

Exhaling a slow ring of smoke, Lin Ran said, "Relax, my demands are very simple."

"First, I want to build a few factories here in your state."

"One will be a pharmaceutical plant producing penicillin. As for the others... they will produce food, daily general merchandise, and... some small electronics."

Lin Ran spoke casually and lightly.

Hearing this, the heavy stone in Old Du's chest finally dropped to the ground!

Just building factories?

That was entirely too easy!

He patted his chest in guarantee: "Consider it done! Land, policies, permits—all green lights! I'll have everything sorted out for you at the absolute fastest speed!"

Lin Ran nodded and continued: "Aside from those, I also want to dabble in the arms trade. Rifles, bullets, artillery shells... anything I can get my hands on, I'm interested in."

"This..."

The smile on Old Du's face instantly stiffened, replaced by a look of difficulty.

If it were merely livelihood commodities, everything was negotiable, but once the arms trade was involved...

Seeing the hesitation on Old Du's face, Lin Ran added:

"Oh, right, for that penicillin factory, I plan to give you a five percent silent partnership. In addition..."

Lin Ran pointed to the small vial.

"As for this ton of powder, I also plan to allocate five percent of its sales proceeds to serve as your campaign fund."

Boom!

Old Du felt a surge of hot blood rush straight to the top of his head!

Stars danced before his vision!

His heart hammered so violently it felt as though it was about to leap out of his throat!

A five percent campaign fund?

Ten milliliters, which was roughly ten grams, was already worth millions of dollars.

A whole ton...

Old Du drew ragged breaths as he calculated frantically in his mind.

"Billions..."

Old Du felt as though his heartbeat was about to stop.

"Calm down!"

Lin Ran patted him on the shoulder.

"Once such a massive quantity of penicillin is dumped onto the market, the price is bound to crash. It won't stay this expensive."

Old Du nodded, understanding the logic.

Even if the price dropped a hundredfold, it would still amount to billions of dollars.

Five percent of billions was still an astronomical sum in this era!

With that kind of money, he could literally buy his way into a senate seat through sheer financial force.

Not to mention the five percent silent partnership in the pharmaceutical plant, which would be a golden goose continuously pumping wealth into his family for generations!

Old Du quickly drew a few deep breaths, standing straighter than a presidential guard.

"Mr. Lin, please give me your instructions!"

He couldn't wait another moment.

Lin Ran waved a hand: "I know you're eager, but don't rush."

"There's someone I still need your help introducing..."