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To her surprise, the result was the same as before.
She had no idea where else penicillin-producing molds might exist in plants or whether there were any differences between them.
But the mold on the cucumbers grew much faster than on the orange peels.
"My lord, this is probably like growing peas," Dechio muttered. "Even though it’s all about planting beans, the ones in the south with fewer flowers grow faster."
Could it be that there were different varieties of penicillin-producing molds?
Hedy thought about it for a long time and decided to collect a variety of green and light green plants, recording and observing how they grew mold in different conditions.
Da Vinci, who had painting and theater commissions to attend to, couldn’t help but visit her lab whenever he had a moment.
Lorenzo had arranged for her a new independent workshop near Palazzo Vecchio, which not only provided a larger space for her experiments but also allowed her growing number of rabbits to run wild and graze.
Every time Da Vinci came over, he eagerly helped her observe the mold growth on various fruits and even kept her updated on the rooster’s progress.
Sometimes, while listening to him, Hedy would suddenly imagine deep-frying that rooster with breadcrumbs and salt, maybe even sprinkling it with black pepper.
...Did black pepper exist in this time?
It did, though it was extremely expensive—so expensive it was harder to afford than a spoonful of purple dye.
Feeling like a little rich lady, Hedy, upon learning the price, decided she would have salted chicken instead.
...Modern times were definitely better.
It took a long time for the lord to respond, but when he did, his feedback was thorough and comprehensive.
He agreed to Hedy’s request to establish the "Penicillin Workshop." After all, the costs were minimal—less than ten gold coins a month—compared to the artwork he had purchased and the properties he had reclaimed from the pests. It was practically nothing.
In the entire Doge's Palace, apart from the Medici family, Botticelli was probably the wealthiest person.
One of his paintings could earn over a hundred gold coins, and on top of that, there were various occasional rewards. His status and position were almost on par with a member of the Medici family, having grown up with them.
In addition, Botticelli had opened a two-story painting studio, hiring various sculptors and painters to do the work while he just sat back and counted his gold coins.
As Hedy was instructing workers to build the large mixing vats for the penicillin, she suddenly thought of these things and had a vague inspiration.
Shouldn’t she also... find some larger business ventures to pursue?
Perhaps she could sell oil paints or open multiple chain textile workshops?
The machinery for the penicillin workshop had all been designed by Da Vinci, and clearly, he had great contributions to the industrial side of things.
It almost seemed as though there was nothing he couldn’t do.
This era had already invented the upstroke waterwheel, and both the kinetic structure and fuel were constantly improving.
Initially, she had planned to send workers for round-the-clock mixing, but everything was replaced by the interlocking machinery Da Vinci had created.
This reminded Hedy of the days when she had created the frequency-hopping communication patent—she would come up with abstract concepts and ideas, while the professors at Caltech did the actual engineering and construction.
But compared to those professors, Leonardo was a self-taught genius.
He loved books, loved knowledge in both the sciences and the arts, and when he grew tired of sketching, he would play her a tune on his lyre.
And there was never any possibility of him hurting her.
