Chapter 48: Chapter 46 A Crucial Big Step.
Cockroaches, generally referring to insects that belong to the order Blattaria, are part of the phylum Arthropoda, class Insecta, order Blattaria.
This species has survived on Earth for over 350 million years, even longer than dinosaurs.
However, in the entire ecosystem, the significance of cockroaches is actually not that great.
Of course, that’s not to say they are completely useless — they possess the nature of decomposers in the natural world, which can accelerate the decomposition of organic materials into inorganic substances.
Moreover, they even have some value in the medical field. For example, Yunnan Baiyao’s peptide toothpaste contains cockroach extract, which means you might be kissing a cockroach every day.
But compared to the harm they bring, these contributions are simply insignificant.
Cockroaches carry multiple pathogens like Shigella, Salmonella paratyphi A, Escherichia coli, Pseudomonas aeruginosa, Proteus mirabilis, as well as roundworm, hookworm, etc., making them major vectors of disease, yet they do not fall ill themselves.
Additionally, due to their flat bodies, cockroaches are adept at living in tiny crevices, surviving almost anywhere there is water and food. Thus, they also venture into computers, copiers, electronic scales, water dispensers, and various communication devices and electronic instruments.
Once they chew through wires or components, causing a short circuit, it can lead to equipment malfunction, communication disruptions, and other unforeseen incidents.
Historically, behind almost every plague, there’s been the fluttering wings of cockroaches involved.
Therefore, the notion that cockroaches are utterly useless is untenable, but the harm they cause is undoubtedly greater than their contributions.
Besides, the role of cockroaches as decomposers is not irreplaceable, at least within cities:
For instance, mealworms can perfectly substitute cockroaches in waste decomposition facilities, with even lower costs.
As for cockroaches in the natural world...
That’s not within the range Xu Yun plans to eradicate.
Xu Yun made it clear earlier; he intends to eradicate cockroaches in ’living areas,’ that is, urban pests like the German cockroach, American cockroach, and Oriental cockroach.
The primary reason cockroaches are so hard to eradicate is that female cockroaches only need to mate once in their lifetime to lay eggs indefinitely.
After mating, a female cockroach grows a bean-pod-like object at the end of her abdomen, called an ootheca, where the eggs are laid.
A female cockroach can produce as few as over a dozen oothecae, or as many as over ninety, with each ootheca yielding as few as ten, or as many as over fifty young cockroaches. This is one of the main reasons why it’s so hard to completely eliminate cockroaches.
If a pheromone could be synthesized with imidacloprid to create a new poison, it would undoubtedly be a huge help in eradicating cockroaches.
"Targeted eradication of cockroaches..."
In the office, Tian Liangwei’s gaze was somewhat deep as he stroked his chin and asked Xu Yun:
"Not pursuing broad-spectrum research, but focusing on one species, Xiaoxu, are you planning to go into business?"
Tian Liangwei’s tone wasn’t accusatory, but it subtly carried some opinions.
In this day and age, it’s not frowned upon for researchers to start companies.
On the contrary, whether at home or abroad, almost every capable expert starts a company or collaborates with institutions.
Earning money with knowledge is just like licking your own teacher, not shameful.
Domestically, the age threshold is roughly 65 — top scholars above 65 engaged in industry are fewer, while experts under 65 almost all have some involvement in the business sector.
For example, Tian Liangwei has a collaboration with Jilin University Medical Department, focusing on NK cell research, all legal and compliant, unlike those needing to pay billions in back taxes.
However, considering Xu Yun’s current age, Tian Liangwei is still a bit uneasy about him getting into industry right now.
In his view, Xu Yun could first hone his skills within Ke Da’s research module for a few years.
Once he has enough experience, capability, and social connections, he could then consider starting a business.
After all, as one of the country’s top-tier universities, Ke Da offers excellent research benefits, and many make millions or tens of millions through patent royalties by the age of thirty, without it being considered a waste of youth.
Facing his teacher’s slightly diplomatic question, Xu Yun hesitated for a few seconds, finally saying:
"I do have that plan, but definitely not now — we haven’t even developed the fourth-generation imidacloprid yet, how could I start a company without the technology?"
"Besides, even if I do plan to start a company by then, I would definitely seek help from our school, hail Ke Da People after all."
Xu Yun’s final words were both a compliment yet also partly heartfelt.
After all, with the backing of Ke Da, whether in entrepreneurial support or networking resources, it’s unparalleled compared to venturing into the sea alone — never mind that Ke Da ranks after Qingbei Jiaofu, in terms of heritage, Ke Da, National Science University, and Harbin Institute of Technology are the domestic top three giants.
"Alright, I respect your idea."
Seeing that Xu Yun’s words subtly revealed some attitude, Tian Liangwei didn’t persist, steering the topic back to the present:
"So tell me, Xiaoxu, what do you plan to do now?"
Xu Yun took out a neatly folded piece of paper and handed it to Tian Liangwei:
"Teacher, I’d like to apply for a pharmaceutical chemistry laboratory, here’s the equipment list."
Tian Liangwei took the paper and muttered to himself while looking it over:
"Conductivity meter... gradient liquid chromatography.... drug dissolution tester... fully automatic refractometer..... hmm? Electro-pulse remelting and resolidification device and ICP-MS700?"
Tian Liangwei put down the list, tapping his index finger lightly on the table:
"Xiaoxu, other equipment is fine, but these last two items... are a bit troublesome."
The electro-pulse remelting and resolidification device and ICP-MS700 are equipment from national major scientific research instrument development projects.
The latter is cheaper, at over seven hundred million, but the former is nearly fifteen million.
Such equipment is naturally fine if the applicant is an academician, but Xu Yun is just a doctoral student, applying for an independent lab, honestly, it’s a bit overstepping.
"There’s no way around it, teacher."
Xu Yun also wore a trace of bitterness on his face, shaking his head lightly:
"The short-term precision of ICP-MS700 is much higher than ICP-OES and GFAAS, and when it involves the matrix acid interference of methyl groups, the advantages of ICP-MS are significantly superior, without these two pieces of equipment, how can we manage?"
Tian Liangwei glared at him in a somewhat annoyed manner:
"Sure, the equipment is good, but why don’t you mention that the startup cost of ICP-MS700 is four times that of the latter two? Not considering the price, comparing a Bentley with a BYD, right?"
Then he sighed lightly, took a separately stored application form from the drawer, and pushed it in front of Xu Yun:
"Fill it out."
Xu Yun took the form, ready to write, his eyes suddenly catching the lower right corner of the application form:
"Huh, teacher, something’s off here."
"What’s off?"
"How come the stamp on this form is your personal seal?"
Tian Liangwei sipped his goji berry tea and rolled his eyes at Xu Yun:
"What a fuss, you don’t qualify to apply for this level of equipment, so I diverted a quota from this year’s Hundred Talents Program for you, rest assured, all procedures are compliant.
Also, let me remind you, be careful when using the equipment, if you break it, sell yourself to repay the debt, alright, alright, enough talk, don’t dawdle, hurry up and fill it out, and get lost once you’re done!"
Looking at the seemingly impatient Tian Liangwei, Xu Yun remained silent for a moment, took a deep breath, and leaned down to start writing the application.
Over twenty minutes later, the application was completed.
Tian Liangwei took the form, glanced over it, smacked his lips:
"Hmm, looks pretty decent, but although you can apply for instruments as per a doctoral supervisor’s level, don’t expect funding to be at the same tier, and you have to recruit your own independent research team, at best you’ll get meal reimbursement and maybe one or two team-building activities."
"The research team is no problem, I already have my candidates."
Xu Yun calmly replied, then asked:
"Teacher, if the funding won’t be at the same tier, by how much will it be reduced?"
Tian Liangwei pondered and said:
"The funding for biotoxin research is generally released in stages, the first phase for a doctoral supervisor level would be about two to three million, and subsequent funding depends on your results; for Nobel Prize level research, even a hundred million isn’t impossible.
As for you... I’ll try to secure an equipment budget of five hundred thousand for you, thirty thousand for materials, five thousand for miscellaneous expenses, and an additional fifty thousand from the department, totaling nine hundred thousand, of this, cash flow is four hundred thousand, that’s about it."
Xu Yun nodded lightly, a slight surge of excitement rising within him.
Nine hundred thousand funding, this figure isn’t huge to Xu Yun — in his past life, not to mention nine hundred thousand, he had participated in national projects worth nine million or even nine billion.
But this nine hundred thousand is different from before, it might pave the way for a significant unexplored field, helping Xu Yun, and countless others, fulfill a lifelong desire...
To kill cockroaches!