Chapter 63

"......In summary, there has been almost no time for rest along the way, so I have some leisure today to write this letter to you."

Sitting at his desk, John couldn't help but scratch his head as he wrote this, unsure of how to continue the letter to Miss Emma Stone.

On the morning of the second day after moving into the new house, John stayed at home to write letters. Since leaving New York, he had hardly put pen to paper, and now that he had settled down, it was only natural to update his grandfather and friends about his recent situation. The letters to friends like Joshua were the easiest to write; he just needed to inform them of his choice of Berlin University, so he put them first. Emma, being a young girl and at a particularly sensitive age, required a bit more time.

However...

Writing to a teenage girl wasn't John's strong suit. Apart from recounting his journey, what else could he say? Should he chat about trivial matters of daily life?

After hesitating for a while, John decisively concluded the letter. Having known each other for so long, John had a good impression of Emma. Sometimes he felt like he had gained a little sister, so he wrote some nice words before signing his name.

"Next, it's the letter to Grandpa."

After a brief rest, John's expression gradually became serious. There was no doubt that the letter to his grandfather required the most thought!

"How should I say it?"

Looking at the unfolded letter on the desk, John subconsciously bit the pen tip, frowning, as if deeply troubled.

He had already sent telegrams to report his safety when he arrived in Liverpool and again in Berlin. This time, John was writing mainly to explain his choice of Berlin University. If it were just a choice of university, there would be no difficulty, as Old Hunter had always supported his decision to attend a German university. However, if he chose the medical school at Berlin University, he would have a lot of trouble!

As mentioned many times before, in this era, except for a few physicians at the top of the pyramid, the status and income of others were not great. John found it hard to believe that Old Hunter would support his choice.

"What a headache!"

After thinking for a while without any clear direction, John, feeling anxious, threw the pen on the desk and stood up to look out the window.

The house John rented was very close to Berlin University, just a few minutes by carriage, and even on foot, it wouldn't take more than half an hour. From a distance, he could even see the spire of a church next to the university. After moving in, John often enjoyed standing by the window, partly because the environment was indeed nice, and it was a good way to rest his eyes when his mind was tired. The other reason was that many of the neighbors were Berlin University professors, and guessing their specialties was one of John's few pleasures. Although the house wasn't top-tier, many teaching assistants and some associate professors lived there, and there might be future great figures among them.

Soon, John focused on a black dot in the distance.

Because it was so far away, even with his excellent vision, John found it hard to tell if it was a carriage or a pedestrian. However, due to his烦躁的心情，他无心做其他事情，干脆一直盯着看，直到那个黑点逐渐清晰起来，约翰瞬间瞪大了眼睛！

竟然是一个骑自行车的人！

不是欧洲早就已经出现的那种“奇怪”的自行车，而是标准的约翰“发明”的自行车！

“难道约书亚他们已经把车卖到德国来了？”

约翰心中顿时又惊又喜，不由自主地想道。不过很快他就自己推翻了这个想法，毕竟以自行车工厂的产能而言，即使已经经过了扩建之后也只是勉强满足美国本土市场而已，就连英国那边也只能是少量的供应，否则约书亚和冯克他们也不会那么着急来英国考察筹建新工厂的事情了。

如果不是仿制品的话，应该就是个人的交易行为了。现在的自行车绝对处在供不应求的阶段，不过约书亚他们也不可能限定客户的身份，自然不能排除少数德国人购买的情况存在。

“看起来自行车市场还有很大的潜力可挖！”

眼看着一位三十多岁的德国绅士骑车从自己房前经过，约翰的心情竟然好转了起来。

19世纪的最后二十年正是世界各大强国迅猛发展的时代，科技的频频突破和第二次工业革命的深入让人们的生活发生了翻天覆地的变化。约翰仿佛已经可以看到，未来短短的几年间，自行车的洪流将会碾遍欧美大陆的大街小巷，在汽车普及之前成为人们首选的交通工具！

“这可都是钱啊！”

约翰的眼中此时充满了笑意，心中暗暗盘算了一下自行车可能给自己带来的收益后忍不住感叹道：“果然，超越时代的眼光才是挣钱的不二利器！尤其是像现在这样，根本就不需要花费什么力气，只要画出图纸就行了！”

心情愉悦之下，约翰忍不住立刻便琢磨起自己在德国期间可以再搞些什么了。相对于此时还相对比较落后的美国而言，德国的产业工人素质要高上许多，技术也更加的精良，最近这些年可能是最适合他发展的地方。

“首先要写信给约书亚，让他来德国也建设一个自行车厂！”

没花费多少时间，约翰就想清楚了一件事情，暗暗下定了决心。虽说英国是现在的世界第一强国，而且拥有着广袤的殖民地，将是最主要的客户，但是德国本土再加上依托着整个欧洲大陆，也是不能忽视的庞大市场。

“其次，完全可以考虑利用一下德国强大的工业基础，尤其是化学工业！”

想想德国人最强大的地方，再想想自己脑海中那几本化学教材，约翰久未涌动的念头便再次冒了出来。

很多脑海中的东西都是可以借用的。

重生之后他一直都比较谨慎，一方面是因为年龄太小，而且生长的环境太狭小，拿出太多东西会没法解释；另一方面则是因为他缺乏自我保护的手段，即使拿出来好东西恐怕也会被别人夺走。

但是现在的话，情况就有所不同了。

再过半年，约翰就要十五岁了，在这个时代已经是大多数国家都会给予尊重的年纪了，而且身后站着老亨特拉尔，还有约书亚和冯克等诸多的同盟者，只要不是这个时代强人们最关注的钢铁、石油、铁路等领域，约翰就有足够的信心能够守住自己的产业。

转身回到书桌前坐下，他一边凝神细思，一边用笔无意识的在纸上画着。

虽然他打定主意要再次成为一名医师，不过就目前而言，推出磺胺、青霉素什么的完全不现实，就算能制造出来也根本不可能大规模生产。制药工业需要的是扎实的工业基础和足够的人才，眼下约翰根本就不具备这些条件。约翰很清楚在这个时代想要大规模制造前世那些药品难度有多大，所以他暂时还是把目标放在夯实基础上面。

至于说医学领域的话……

“目前来说，主要精力还是应该放在外科上面。”

这是外科学发展的黄金时代，约翰必须在其中插上一脚！

作为一名曾经的外科医师，这一点约翰是绝对不会放弃的，至于其他的各个方面倒是可以慢慢来。毕竟医学学科不同于其他，进步与发展必须要依靠大量的证据才行，而且如果约翰能在外科领域取得巨大的成就，获得足够的声望的话，那么后面其他方面的发展自然就事半功倍了！

想着想着，约翰刚才心中的烦闷也不知道什么时候彻底的消失掉了，他开心地摊开信纸，用超快的速度重写了给约书亚的信件，强烈建议他们来德国考察一番，顺便也能来看看自己。在柏林他还没有认识一个朋友，习惯了纽约的热闹之后，一时间他还真有些不太习惯。

不过就在写完了给约书亚的信，约翰想要趁热打铁完成给外祖父的信件时，他又开始烦恼了：“唉，到底该怎么和外公说呢……”