A Hospital in Another World?

Mage Christoph Norwood dared to request a trial because he was somewhat confident.

As an alchemist, he had spent most of his life dealing with materials. Purification, separation, combination, decomposition... For instance, the purity and concentration of sulfuric acid, even a slight difference could double the price. If the concentration is pushed to nearly smoking levels, then with each advancement, the price could almost increase tenfold.

High-ranking mages could use magic for purification but didn’t have the time to deal with basic materials; low-ranking mages lacked the magical power and control ability, only able to manually shake bottles, stir crucibles, and wash test tubes. Mage Christoph Norwood found a way to make a living in between:

He developed a magic array that could precisely purify a specific substance from a mixture. Even for substances he was unfamiliar with, as long as the client provided a sample, the magic array could naturally operate and separate out the needed material at the other end.

"The only problem is, this magic array is relatively weak..." Mage Christoph Norwood was a bit nervous: "It can only purify liquids and powders, not large solids, so it’s not suitable for mining or ore selection. And the quantity it can purify is quite limited, at most one liter per hour..."

"That’s already very good!" Garrett jumped up:

"The production of penicillin is not high anyway! Whether it’s filtrate or powder, it’s within the purification range! Let’s go and give it a try!"

The result of this trial was much better than before. The penicillin purified using the magic array had half the probability of causing allergic reactions compared to the previous method of dissolving in rapeseed oil, adsorbing with activated carbon, and eluting with distilled water. Garrett was overjoyed:

"Continue!—Crystallize and separate the produced penicillin sodium several more times, test for allergic reactions! If the probability of allergies drops below 1%, that’s exactly what we need!"

Clearly, this was a task that required a lot of manpower and effort. Garrett arranged the experimental methods and tasks, assigning two apprentices from the School of Transformation to assist Mage Christoph Norwood, then left the Mage Tower to check on other projects.

—Planting seeds in winter, harvesting many projects in spring. Garrett finally experienced the joy of being a big shot. The projects arranged when the Department of Public Health was just established and the Mage Tower was just built were now ready for inspection:

Leon Carlos was in charge of improving brewing methods, which was basically completed and undergoing the final verification. It wasn’t too troublesome, simply heating the brewed wine, including the bottle, to 50°C–60°C and maintaining it for half an hour before bottling and sealing;

The young apprentice from the School of Transformation was responsible for refining coarse salt, simply adding caustic soda and soda ash to remove calcium and magnesium ions, then using recrystallization to separate sodium chloride and potassium chloride (finally obtaining a large amount of potassium chloride, to Garrett’s satisfaction);

The most troublesome was the biogas digester project, led by that sister from the Church of Nature. The biogas itself was somewhat developed, and Garrett, squatting beside with a tube inserted into the biogas digester, indeed managed to light it. But the subsequent task of application and promotion had to be taken on by Garrett himself.

"Building biogas digesters in the slums, providing boiling water for free?" The middle-aged accountant of the Department of Public Health, upon hearing Garrett’s request, shook his head like a rattle:

"That’s impossible! Mage sir, have you calculated how much it would cost to build such a boiling water room?

An 18-gallon standard pot costs 1 gold and 1 silver coin; a stove that can hold two pots, including bricks and masonry, let’s say 1 gold coin; even if the land is owned by the council, you still need to build the house, right?

Building a small house of 15 square meters, even the cheapest wooden shack, isn’t cheap. Mage sir, the Department of Public Health has already spent tens of thousands of gold coins, we really have no money left!"

Garrett knew the outcome without needing to calculate. Establishing boiling water rooms in the slums had always been his wish, significantly reducing the spread of intestinal diseases—during the dysentery epidemic in Hartland City, he had set up temporary water supply points. The cost of building boiling water rooms—or in terms from his previous life, "Tiger Stoves," he was already clear about:

Such a boiling water room would require an investment of at least 10 gold coins; according to his estimate, setting up one boiling water room per thousand people in the city’s slums, providing free boiling water, would cost 4000 gold coins.

This doesn’t even include the construction cost of the biogas digesters. A boiling water room that can serve

1000 people needs to boil at least two tons of water a day; a biogas digester capable of boiling two tons of water would start at 50 cubic meters conservatively. Building the digester, laying pipes, and installing faucets, is another significant expense.

"No worries, the council doesn’t have to pay." He gave the accountant a smile: "Do me a favor, please arrange a meeting with the Church of Nature, the Temple of the Spring Goddess, the Temple of the War God, as well as representatives from the council and the municipal department. Oh, and if possible, invite some nearby lords and nobles too. I want to—do business with them!"

Garrett’s invitation was met with a great response. A week later, in the conference room of Garrett’s Mage Tower, clerics, mages, nobles, and low-ranking mages sent by the city hall filled the table.

"Do you want to improve the urban environment?"

"Do you want the streets to no longer be filled with foul smells and sewage flowing everywhere?"

"Do you want to increase food production?"

Garrett posed three questions. The city hall staff nodded at the first question; the city staff, mages, and clerics nodded together at the second question; the nobles’ eyes lit up at the third question. Garrett raised his right hand, and at the end of the conference room, a large roll of paper fell down and unfolded before everyone:

"In all areas except the garden district, with a coverage rate of one per thousand people, increase the number of public toilets;

All citizens must not urinate or defecate anywhere, they must use public toilets, or pour feces into the waste collection port next to the public toilets;

Poultry and livestock manure must also be disposed of at the garbage station;

Construct biogas digesters right below the public toilets and garbage stations, allowing these wastes to fully ferment. My Mage Tower and the Church of Nature have collaborated and mastered this technology. The gas produced can be piped out for cooking, boiling water, and lighting. The liquid and residue left after fermentation can be used as fertilizer for fields, effectively increasing food production.

—Previously in Hartland City, my teacher and the collaboration between the Mage Tower, the Temple of the War God, and the city guards, conducted experiments on the land of the Mage Tower and the temple, increasing efficiency by more than 20%!

I am willing to donate the biogas digester technology to the council for free, only charging a symbolic fee of 1 copper coin per year. The condition is that the council opens up authorization for biogas digester construction, and the builders have the right to use all products, but must use the biogas to build boiling water rooms, providing drinking water to nearby residents for free.

Who is interested in this project?"

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