Chapter 364 - 175: Conversation

Chapter 364: Chapter 175: Conversation

However, Jiang Miao changed his tune. "But there are other ways to limit their outflow."

He Jintang immediately perked up and quickly asked, "Oh? Professor Jiang, what might that be?"

"My wife is a mycologist," Jiang Miao began to explain. "After I developed the Immortal Soybeans, she helped me run resistance experiments against viruses, bacteria, and fungi."

"During one of the resistance tests, she accidentally discovered a mutated root rot fungus that can infect the roots of the Immortal Bean. Under the right conditions, it only takes about a week to make the Immortal Soybean’s entire root system rot away."

"A fungus?" He Jintang grew tense. "Is this root rot fungus common? Will it affect the rollout of the Immortal Soybeans?"

Jiang Miao shook his head and explained, "Normal root rot fungi can indeed cause Immortal Soybeans to wither and die, but it can be suppressed and prevented by preemptively spraying a specialized fungicide. You can manage it just like you would with regular soybeans."

He Jintang breathed a sigh of relief.

"That mutated strain of root rot fungus isn’t currently found in the wild. As long as it doesn’t leak from our lab, there’s nothing to worry about."

He Jintang asked cautiously, "I’m speaking hypothetically. If it were to leak accidentally, would this fungus be harmful to humans, livestock, or other crops?"

"You don’t need to worry about that. Root rot fungi generally don’t infect humans or animals; they only target plant roots. The strain we discovered in our lab infects other plants at about the same rate as common root rot fungi, and it can be killed and prevented with the same treatments."

After hearing Jiang Miao’s explanation, He Jintang asked, "If it only targets soybeans, can it be prevented with pesticides?"

Jiang Miao explained, "That depends. This strain of root rot fungus is extremely stubborn, and it’s particularly effective against the Immortal Soybean. Once the roots are infected, even treatments are useless. It can only be prevented beforehand."

"And how do you prevent it?" He Jintang asked with concern.

"By adding special chemical compounds to the seed coating. These compounds dissolve into the soil around the seed, protecting the soybean’s root system from infection for one to two years. Alternatively, you could use drip irrigation to apply the treatment to the roots once a year."

"Additionally, this root rot fungus is vulnerable to low temperatures. For an infected soybean field, you can till the soil in the winter to kill it off. However, that method only works in regions where the temperature drops below minus eight degrees Celsius."

He Jintang stroked his chin. "If other agricultural companies got their hands on your company’s soybean seed coating, could they replicate it?"

But Jiang Miao smirked. "That’s impossible. The formula for the seed coating isn’t one-size-fits-all. It has to be specially configured and adjusted for each type of soil."

"Soil type? Does each soil need its own formula?" He Jintang hadn’t imagined it would be so intricate.

"It’s not one formula per soil type, but one formula for each soil type in a specific region. For instance, the black soil in the Northeast can be divided into several subtypes. And the black soil of the Northeast is chemically very different from the black soils of Kyiv, the Pampas, or the Mississippi River basin."

He Jintang was growing more and more astonished. "So you’re saying that if someone stole the seed coating formula meant for the Northeast’s black soil and used it on black soil elsewhere, it wouldn’t be effective?"

"It would have some suppressive effect, but the protection would probably be very short-lived. It might wear off after just two or three waterings."

"Excellent! This technology of yours is fantastic!" He Jintang seemed to be picturing some people heading for a major disaster.

He chuckled and added a reminder, "Professor Jiang, your lab must keep this fungus secure. We can’t afford any accidents, or it will be a huge mess. It would be best to preemptively use a specific seed coating on all the soybean seeds sold domestically. That way, we’re covered just in case a wild bacteria or fungus mutates and develops a similar targeted effect."

"I understand. From now on, all soybean seeds we sell will have the medicated coating," Jiang Miao replied, nodding. He understood the implication perfectly.

He Jintang picked up his teacup and took a small sip. "Good. A few of my colleagues and I are very much looking forward to Hailufeng Company’s future. Professor Jiang, you must take care of yourself."

"I will not fail to live up to expectations."

Then, remembering something else, He Jintang smiled encouragingly. "Professor Jiang, if everything goes smoothly, you’re a shoo-in for next year’s academician selection. Have you thought about whether you’d prefer the Academy of Sciences or the Academy of Engineering?"

"I’m fine with either." To Jiang Miao, there wasn’t much of a difference between the Academy of Sciences and the Academy of Engineering.

"Well then, we’ll let the academies sort it out when the time comes." Thinking of his daughter, He Jintang’s curiosity was piqued. "Professor Jiang, may I ask a personal question?"

"Please, go ahead." Jiang Miao, feeling a bit thirsty himself, took a sip of his hot tea.

"That pharmaceutical company you acquired—what do you plan to do with it? If you’re going to research those kinds of gene-targeted specialty drugs, I think you’ll have a hard time making it viable." He Jintang stated his honest assessment.

Jiang Miao set down his teacup. "I know. Gene-targeted specialty drugs require a personalized approach for each patient, so they’re certainly not suitable for mass production. We plan to research some drugs with broader applicability, but that’s still in the early stages of research."

"I see." He Jintang then added, making a request, "I heard from Youwei that she’s researching a specialty drug for lupus. Professor Jiang, could you help me persuade her not to waste her time on that? A project like that is incredibly difficult to bring to fruition."

"I’ll talk to her when the time is right."

"Good." He Jintang glanced at his watch. "It’s getting late. I have to get back to the Capital City, so I won’t disturb you any longer, Professor Jiang."

"Next time I’m in the Capital City, let’s have a meal together."

"Haha, you’ve got a deal."

Jiang Miao saw He Jintang to the parking lot, then watched as their motorcade disappeared around a bend in the road amidst a light drizzle.