A nation's industrial development begins with junior engineers.

Chapter 829 Let's take this opportunity to do something big!

The factory manager looked at Jiang Xia's smile and felt a little uneasy: "Comrade Jiang Xia, what...what idea have you come up with this time? Sugar is in short supply, we can't produce it!"

"Just to improve the taste? Then, is it possible that we could use a different kind of 'sugar'?"

Jiang Xia intentionally guided everyone's thinking.

As a person from later generations, how could he not know the role of sucrose in this dry syrup? Besides improving the taste, the most important function of sucrose was to help the medicinal powder take shape and prevent it from clumping.

When you drink powdered medicine, you've all noticed that those with added sucrose always dissolve more easily—that's the logic behind it.

Factory Director Wang's eyes lit up: "A substitute? Comrade Jiang Xia, do you have connections?"

"It's not really about connections," Jiang Xia said with a sly smile.

“But we can use what we have on hand and look for answers in the treasure trove of our ancestors.” He looked at Zhang Chenggui and asked probingly, “Comrade Chenggui, you studied pharmacy. In our traditional Chinese medicine, are there any medicinal and edible herbs that are naturally sweet and perhaps even have some binding properties? For example… licorice? Or stevia, which is used in folk medicine?”

These words instantly cooled the previously lively atmosphere.

Zhang Chenggui's lips twitched slightly: "I didn't realize that Comrade Jiang Xia also had knowledge of the pharmacology of traditional Chinese medicine?"

Jiang Xia shook his tuft of hair and smiled smugly: "Just a little bit, just a tiny bit of skin..."

Zhang Chenggui ignored Jiang Xia's smugness: "Theoretically, it's correct. Licorice, especially its active ingredient glycyrrhizin, is extremely sweet and is indeed a commonly used flavoring agent. It also has the effect of clearing heat and detoxifying, so it doesn't conflict with the medicinal properties of Isatis root. However..."

"But Comrade Jiang Xia, have you considered the price and yield of licorice? High-quality licorice is also a scarce medicinal material with a high price. The cost of large-scale use may be higher than that of sugarcane, and the yield may not be able to keep up."

Jiang Xia covered her face... Well, this path is blocked.

The young girl from Cheng Gui continued, "As for the stevia you mentioned... I've never heard of this plant. It's not recorded in our pharmacopoeia or the list of commonly used medicinal materials."

"However, I'm a career changer... Factory manager, Uncle Liu, have you heard of this kind of medicine?"

The factory manager and Old Liu shook their heads vigorously: "We've been doing this for over twenty years, and we've handled all sorts of chrysanthemums—Hangzhou chrysanthemums, Hao chrysanthemums, Chuzhou chrysanthemums—but we've never heard of stevia..."

This was utterly embarrassing. His attempt to impress in front of everyone had failed, and the boy with the goofy hair hung his head even lower.

It's not surprising that most people haven't heard of stevia. Right now, stevia is still quietly in its South American homeland, being grown as an ornamental plant, and hasn't yet been widely recognized or introduced as a sweetener.

The consequence of recklessly using "prophetic" abilities is an instant awkward silence and an inability to justify one's own explanation.

However, this was no problem for Jiang Xia, who had a strong heart. Humph! If one way is blocked, there are other ways!

It's just auxiliary materials, we can still find a way to deal with it!

“Dextrin! You’ve all heard of it, right?” Jiang Xia raised his head again, his eyes shining once more.

?

The faces of the crowd were still filled with confusion.

"It's that yellow paste used for pasting slogans and gluing cardboard boxes!" Jiang Xia gestured anxiously. "When you mix it with water, it's sticky and has a slightly sweet taste. This is the stuff they used to paste slogans when we were kids!"

"Oh! You mean dextrin, right? The kind used for pasting cardboard boxes. Our pharmaceutical factory even has a small workshop for pasting cardboard boxes. No, that stuff can also be used as an excipient?"

"Isn't that stuff salty?" Old Wang, who was following behind Jiang Xia, frowned, as if he had noticed Jiang Xia's oversight, because he had indeed eaten that stuff before.

"...Nonsense! If I don't add some salt, do you believe I can eat that paste while pasting cardboard boxes?" Jiang Xia waved his hand speechlessly.

Then, brimming with confidence, he continued, "This stuff is basically just slightly processed starch. It's non-toxic, harmless, has moderate viscosity, and dissolves well in water, which helps the powder solidify and prevents it from clumping. If you don't believe me, why don't we try it and see?"

Why is Jiangxia so certain?

Nonsense. In later generations, if you pick up any packet of Banlangen granules, the ingredient list will clearly show: Banlangen, sucrose, and dextrin.

These three simple ingredients make up this well-known medicine. Even the later sugar-free version simply replaced sucrose with sugar substitutes like aspartame; dextrin, as a carrier and shaping agent, remained unchanged. He was very clear about this basic knowledge.

The starch needed for dextrin production...

Don't forget that the Northeast Pharmaceutical Factory set up a glucose production workshop back in 56, which included a corn starch processing section with a daily processing capacity of 80 tons of corn. So, asking them for some corn starch shouldn't be a problem.

Yes, it's support, not direct allocation.

Look closely, the factory that produces glucose is the Northeast Pharmaceutical Factory, while others produce Western medicine using modern technology. But the place where the young girl Cheng Gui works is called the Northeast Traditional Chinese Medicine Factory, where the most advanced equipment is a few traditional Chinese medicine purification tanks equipped with thermocouples.

A single word can lead to vastly different outcomes.

It was a terrible sight... This was Jiang Xia's immediate impression after visiting the entire production process of the traditional Chinese medicine factory.

"Alright, let's not just focus on the drying oven. Let's take this opportunity to do a major overhaul!"

"Major overhaul?"

"Hmm! How about a line that's slightly better than the glucose production line at the pharmaceutical factory? With some automated controls and stuff..."

"Really!"

"Hmm, do you want it?"

"I can't afford it... I can't even get a quote for a single thermocouple..." The pharmaceutical factory manager lowered his head in frustration.

Alas, traditional Chinese medicine is losing its momentum.

Seeing Jiang Xia's wistful look, the factory director slightly raised his head: "Actually, I'm not envious of the main pharmaceutical factory. On the contrary, I wish they were even bigger... What Western medicine can solve with a single pill, our traditional Chinese medicine would take at least a week to finish..."

Uh, a white film?

It's Analgin, isn't it?

This really is a miracle drug.

But you probably don't know that after you're fully healed by using one of these, your maximum health will be permanently reduced!

No, this Chinese medicine factory production line must be built!

This is what the kid with the dazed hair said, and I won't accept any rebuttals!