Chapter 50

When John got up early in the morning, he had a pair of dark circles under his eyes, and his appearance was so terrible that it startled the butler, who hurriedly asked with concern, "Sir, did you not sleep well last night?"

"Yeah, a bit," John replied without any intention of hiding it, nodding straightforwardly. It was Sunday today, and he had no other plans, so if he really couldn't hold on, he would just go back to sleep.

Entering the dining room, John, in a bad mood, simply greeted his grandfather, who was reading the newspaper, and then sat down at his usual spot. He had eaten very little the night before, and after a long, sleepless night, he finally felt the pangs of hunger.

"You seem to have a good appetite today," Grandpa Hunter said after a while of quiet eating.

"Hmm..." John swallowed the food in his mouth with effort and nodded, "I'm a bit hungry today, probably because I didn't eat well for dinner last night... Mr. Alber, could you please pour me another glass of water? Thank you."

After this unproductive conversation, the two of them finished their meal in silence. Just as John was about to go upstairs to catch up on some sleep, his grandfather called him, "John, wait a moment, I have something to talk to you about."

"Oh, okay," John replied, his heart slightly stirred, and he quickly sat down again.

Waving his hand to dismiss the servants who were tidying up, Grandpa Hunter asked, "John, have you been paying attention to the bicycle factory recently?"

"No... Has something happened?"

"Nothing has happened," Grandpa Hunter frowned and said solemnly, "But you are the major shareholder of the factory. Even if you don't manage it, you should still keep an eye on it, understand? Although your good friend is in charge of the factory's management, in business, the only things you can truly trust are your own eyes and ears!"

"Uh... Okay, Grandpa."

Although John didn't really agree, he nodded to show that he understood.

Staring at his grandson for a while, Grandpa Hunter continued only after he was sure John really understood, "In the past two months, the sales of bicycles have become even hotter, and with the gradual opening of the national market, the demand has also increased... The factory has already completed one round of expansion, and I have advanced the funds needed for the expansion, so your share is still forty percent. In the future, the profits should be enough to support the factory's expansion."

"Ah? Thank you, Grandpa!"

John was initially stunned but then smiled.

If it were before, John would definitely not have agreed, but since Grandpa Hunter made his will in front of him, he no longer cared. On one hand, John never thought that a穿越者 (穿越者 means "time traveler" or "穿越者" in this context) must rely on inheritance to live a good life, so it didn't matter to him whether he had it or not. On the other hand, his relationship with his grandfather was now very good, and being too deliberate would not fit their current state.

Of course, Grandpa Hunter felt the same way. He was a very traditional person, and since he had decided to pass on the family estate to John eventually, he no longer cared about it.

"Today, I mainly want to talk to you about something."

After discussing the bicycle factory, Grandpa Hunter quickly turned to the main topic of the day, saying solemnly, "John, have you thought about your future? Have you considered what you want to do in the future?"

"My future?"

Raising an eyebrow, John was slightly surprised but quickly understood his grandfather's thoughts: a few days ago, he had deliberately shown off in front of his tutor, and the old man was probably worried about his education because of this.

In the past six months, John had frightened Mr. Cole, who was responsible for teaching science.

After more than half a year of teaching, the meticulous German was surprised to find that his student suddenly showed a great passion for physics and chemistry and demonstrated astonishing talent in these two subjects! No matter how difficult the knowledge, as soon as he explained it, the boy could understand it almost perfectly, even connecting it with what he had learned before, thoroughly understanding the entire system!

Even more frightening was John's "self-study" ability!

With the help of Grandpa Hunter and Joshua, John gathered many classic physics and chemistry books and studied them in his study during his free time. His progress far exceeded Mr. Cole's imagination! Especially in the past three months, John had specially ordered many highly specialized journals, and even Mr. Cole couldn't understand some of the latest research, but John read them with great interest!

Therefore, just last week, the upright Mr. Cole resigned to Grandpa Hunter.

In fact, if he hadn't genuinely wanted to see how far John could self-study, Mr. Cole would have resigned at the end of last year. Even after "thick-skinned" staying, Mr. Cole's task in class this year was more about assessing John's level. By the end of the last month, he found that his own level was gradually falling behind John's pace...

So, on the day he resigned, Mr. Cole gave a passionate speech, praising John's "talent" in the field of science to the skies, and strongly suggested that he send his grandson to Europe, to the center of the world, to study and be exposed to the most advanced scientific education and research!

Surprised, Grandpa Hunter took this suggestion seriously.

As a traditional businessman with substantial wealth, Grandpa Hunter originally planned to groom John as his successor. The many tutors he arranged for him were to broaden his horizons and accumulate life experience. However, after hearing Mr. Cole's strong recommendation, Grandpa Hunter's resolve wavered.

The United States of this era was like China in the previous life, where people were increasingly valuing knowledge and science.

Grandpa Hunter, of course, could see this. In New York City, more and more factories were relying on advanced machinery and technology to become market leaders, and inventions like electric lights, telephones, and bicycles were almost changing people's lives and creating huge markets completely different from traditional commerce!

Therefore, Grandpa Hunter had to seriously consider Mr. Cole's suggestion.

If Mr. Cole had only said flattering words, Grandpa Hunter could have ignored them, but the current situation seemed to confirm this. John showed little interest in managing factories or learning business, but he was indeed very talented in science and invention. For example, electric lights were becoming more common in New York City, and bicycles were taking over most of the business from horse-drawn carriages. Even those intricately designed pocket knives were becoming popular...

"If John could become a businessman like Edison, that would be great too!"

Over the past few days, Grandpa Hunter kept thinking about Mr. Edison, who had become a national icon. After the invention of the bamboo filament light bulb, Edison had become a celebrity, a world-renowned one. When the news of electric lights reached Europe, the stock prices of gas companies plummeted, and in the United States, many newspapers had mythologized him, even reporting that Edison had invented a coat with 365 layers, one for each day of the year...

These brought not only fame but also substantial economic benefits to Edison!

Besides the vast market for electric lights, after John's patient explanation, Grandpa Hunter saw the future where countless machines would hum through the night, powered by electricity, and the enormous market potential of the power industry. In this era, Edison would undoubtedly be one of the biggest beneficiaries of the industrial revolution!

So, after much consideration, Grandpa Hunter decided to ask his grandson for his opinion.

If John did not plan to continue with research and invention, Grandpa Hunter would dismiss the idea and continue to keep his grandson by his side, grooming him to be a businessman. After all, Grandpa Hunter was almost 64 years old, and deep down, he did not want his only heir to be away from him for years.

But if John really loved science, the old man would consider Mr. Cole's suggestion and send him to Europe to study. Therefore, taking advantage of the time after breakfast, Grandpa Hunter kept John and suddenly asked this seemingly random question.

Hearing this question, John fell silent.

If it were before yesterday, John would have given only one answer: to stay in New York City for life, using his knowledge and memories from his previous life to become a great industrialist, businessman, and investor, and to enjoy this second, hard-earned life as the United States became a world superpower.

But now?

His exhausted mind was still grappling with one question: in this golden age of medical history, should he become a physician again and lead medicine into the realm of true science?

John had thought about this question all night!

"Do we have a future?"

Suddenly, Miss Philip's hollow and desperate voice echoed in John's ears, growing louder and louder, quickly filling his entire mind!

A doctor once said: A doctor does not grow up with the sympathy given by his mother. His sympathy is formed later. To treat the pain of patients, he bandages their wounds and performs surgery. At first, he can barely hear the patients' cries of pain, just a murmur. But gradually, this murmur gathers and eventually becomes a roar...

...

The simplified second volume has ended. To be honest, I feel it was not well written. I wanted to speed up the pace but didn't control it well, and the middle part got a bit messy. The plot development was also a bit forced, and I couldn't convey the feeling I wanted. However, after fifty chapters, the protagonist will finally start his journey as a physician. I will work hard on the content to come!

Also, I had a bit of alcohol today, and I'm not in the best state. It took me more than three hours to revise this chapter, and the efficiency was very low, so there might only be one chapter today.

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