After a long silence, Yu Liang asked Lin Hongying, “Xiao Lin, I have two questions for you. First, can those critically ill pigs be eaten if they recover?”  

“Second, we have a batch of pigs that are severely sick—it’s only a matter of days now. We plan to slaughter them to minimize losses. Can the pork be safely consumed?”  

Lin Hongying nodded firmly. “To the first question—absolutely, yes.”  

“As for the second question…” She paused, considering her words carefully before continuing, “Yes. Swine fever ultimately targets pigs. The virus doesn’t transmit between humans and pigs. As long as the meat is cooked at high temperatures for a sufficient duration, the virus can be killed.”  

In later years, critically ill pigs would never pass animal quarantine. Pigs with mild symptoms might still be considered for consumption, but severely sick pigs often suffered from multiple overlapping diseases by the later stages—not just swine fever alone.  

But given the current circumstances, how could people enduring famine be expected to worry about non-life-threatening issues like diarrhea or vomiting?  

Though Lin Hongying had always insisted on upholding principles, this time, she wavered. “However… considering the potential complications from other diseases, the meat must pass my inspection before it can be eaten!”  

With her confirmation, Yu Liang calmly issued his orders: “Take all those pigs and burn them.”  

A site for the incineration was quickly chosen—a rocky stretch of land far from human settlements and water sources, unsuitable for farming or habitation. Over a hundred workers dug tirelessly, pouring boiling water over the frozen ground three or four times until they had excavated a pit three meters deep.  

The pigs that had died earlier on the farm had been stored in the freezer, and now, under Yu Liang’s orders, they were all hauled out.  

Out of concern for food safety, they had chosen not to release the meat into the market. Originally, they had planned to keep it for themselves…  

Over half a month, the freezer had accumulated 908 dead pigs. The trench for burning was dug deep—so deep that the pigs couldn’t all be burned at once and had to be disposed of in batches.  

With reddened eyes, the workers silently pushed the pigs into the pit.  

After dousing them with diesel, Yu Liang took one last reluctant look at the pigs, regretfully tossed in the torch, and turned away without another glance.  

With a roar, the flames surged, blazing fiercely.  

The firelight illuminated every face in the crowd.  

The acrid smell of burning pork brought tears to the workers’ eyes, overwhelming them with grief.  

Some, in their desperation, nearly rushed into the pit to drag the pigs back, only to be held back by their fellow workers.  

These were pigs they had raised with their own sweat and blood, fed mouthful by mouthful with real, hard-earned food!  

To keep the pigs fed, they had cut grass, scavenged for anything to fill the animals’ bellies. They ate sweet potatoes while the pigs ate sweet potato vines, laboring tirelessly to stockpile winter feed. In the bitter cold, to keep the pigs from freezing, they built thick brick walls and layered straw over straw, burning charcoal braziers to warm the pens.  

Many of them still lived in thatched or earthen houses in their rural hometowns—yet the pigs lived in greater comfort and ate better than they did.  

They had waited with desperate hope, longing for the day these pigs would grow big enough to fulfill the state’s production quota, dreaming of a taste of pork by year’s end. But instead, the pigs had fallen sick, one after another. How could they not be heartbroken?  

Lin Hongying took in the sorrow, pain, and reluctance on every face. Silently, she swore to herself that she would develop a vaccine as soon as possible.  

May China never again know famine.  

May its people live in peace and prosperity, with full granaries and years free from hunger, never again worrying about food.  

She vowed to steady China’s rice bowl!  

…

H University.

After personally witnessing Zhenhua Pig Farm incinerate all the dead pigs, Lin Hongying immediately set off for the pharmaceutical laboratory at H University.  

She made a list of all the materials needed for drug production.  

She wasn’t in a hurry to develop a vaccine yet—it would take several days for the pigs to develop immunity after taking the medicine, and cultivating a vaccine using animal cells and serum was also a lengthy process.  

Right now, her first priority was to prepare a powerful weapon—tetracycline.

When mixed into feed and paired with traditional Chinese herbal decoctions, tetracycline was highly effective. It worked wonders against swine fever, gastrointestinal and respiratory infections, blue ear disease, and even swine flu!  

Tetracycline, full name oxytetracycline hydrochloride, was a broad-spectrum antibiotic produced through bacterial fermentation. At the time, only one pharmaceutical factory in Shanghai could produce penicillin, and even then, their industrial production techniques were immature, resulting in low yields. Combined with the general scarcity of antibiotics in this era, tetracycline was incredibly valuable—a golden antibiotic that was nearly impossible to obtain. 

The backdrop of the TV drama Parents’ Love is set in the 1960s. In one plot, the female lead’s nephew falls ill with a high fever and urgently needs penicillin. She has no choice but to seek help from the male lead, who uses his connections to secure a single dose of penicillin—ultimately winning her heart in the process. Penicillin was that rare.

This showed just how scarce antibiotics were at the time.  

So when Lin Hongying briefly considered contacting the Shanghai No. 3 Pharmaceutical Factory to produce penicillin for the pigs, she immediately dismissed the idea. Time was tight, and she needed to purify a batch of tetracycline in the lab for Zhenhua Farm’s use.  

As for finding a qualified pharmaceutical factory to scale up production and manufacture antibiotics for livestock—that could wait.  

Drug preparation was a fundamental skill for any agricultural pharmaceutical researcher, and Lin Hongying had the steps for tetracycline synthesis memorized.  

She selected a batch of well-cultured Streptomyces aureofaciens spores and began fermentation in a bioreactor. Coincidentally, H University happened to have a research project exploring tetracycline production. When the agricultural authorities sought out a lab, it was a perfect match—like a pillow handed to someone just about to doze off.  

Lin Hongying was able to use the mature spores they had already cultivated, saving a significant amount of time.  

The fermented spores then underwent oxalic acid treatment. This step typically took 48 to 72 hours, so after setting up several bioreactors, Lin Hongying left the lab, planning to check on the fermentation progress two days later.  

…

Two days later.

Lin Hongying performed acidification treatment on the fermented Streptomyces aureofaciens spores, adjusted the pH, added reagents, and obtained crude tetracycline base.  

Through chemical reagent modification and impurity removal, she derived a more stable form of tetracycline. After final distillation and drying, the finished tetracycline product was ready.  

Wiping the sweat from her forehead, Lin Hongying gazed at the golden crystalline tetracycline in satisfaction.  

She didn’t plan to refine all the fermentation broth herself—after all, the lab had plenty of ready-made workhorses… ahem, talented researchers available.  

She meticulously documented every step and key point of the preparation process in the experimental records, assigning the team to work overtime and produce as much as possible daily.  

The faculty and students at H University’s lab eagerly took samples of the tetracycline for testing. Under the microscope, they observed that chlamydia, Gram-positive bacteria, mycoplasma, protozoa, and other microorganisms were all inhibited or killed by the tetracycline.

Reverse-phase high-performance liquid chromatography (HPLC) analysis showed that each milligram had a concentration of 1,000 units—exceptionally high purity!

Their breathing grew heavy.  

They couldn’t believe that such a precious preparation process for tetracycline had been mastered by this still-youthful researcher.  

And she had freely handed over the method to them—when even the production technique for penicillin was still considered a state secret!  

Their eyes burned with admiration as they looked at Lin Hongying.  

She simply said, “It’s fine—exceptional circumstances call for flexibility. We urgently need a batch of tetracycline to treat swine fever. I hope you can help!”

The faculty and students competed to take on the task—after all, protecting state and public property was every citizen’s unshirkable duty!  

“Instructor Lin, we can do it, but…” Professor Ning said with a bitter smile, “You’ll have to supervise us. Because… we’re still inexperienced! We’re afraid of messing up!”

So, for the next day, Lin Hongying stayed in the lab guiding the students. As for keeping the preparation method confidential?

Unnecessary.

Tetracycline had already been patented by foreign companies years ago. Lin Hongying wished domestic manufacturers could start mass-producing it immediately to benefit the livestock industry.  

Soon, batches of high-purity tetracycline tablets were delivered to Zhenhua Farm.