Chapter 285 Signing a Contract
Congo (DRC), Parliament Building.

“Hasn’t international food aid arrived yet?”

"not yet."

Atu Guerra looked at Kabila, the usually calm and composed leader, with respect, but the unrest in recent days had obviously affected his mood.

"There were several large-scale demonstrations in the city today. If no more food comes in, I'm afraid unrest will soon break out."

"The police and the army must remain stable," Kabila said. "It's not that there is no food in the country, it's just that the price is too high."

Artu was silent for a while.

Food is more than just expensive!
A ton of corn costs $500, which is difficult for even government officials to afford, let alone the poor.

"Damn the international grain traders! We have to do something!"

Kabila thought for a moment with a serious expression. Although he had just officially taken office, he had actually been in control of the country for several years.

Many wars, big and small, were fought.

The external situation is extremely complicated. Armed forces are entrenched in the eastern mining areas, especially in Rwanda, Uganda and other countries, which have supported a large number of armed forces to steal and smuggle mineral resources.

And these minerals eventually fell into the hands of Western countries.

Similarly, the food lifeline of the Democratic Republic of the Congo is in the hands of international grain traders, and there is no room for resistance.

Can only be imported.

Kabila thought for a while and said, "Some time ago, a company wanted to invest in China. I remember there was a paid food aid program."

Atu hesitated and said, "The food is still far from enough, and it is said that after several negotiations, no agreement has been reached."

Kabila frowned and asked, “Where is my Minister of Agriculture, Nzanga?”

"He is busy asking the Food and Agriculture Organization for food. Now all countries have begun to restrict food exports. Only China has provided a batch of aid to the Food and Agriculture Organization."

Kabila said: "Follow up on the negotiations with the Chinese company and make sure the grain comes in as soon as possible."

“I heard that it was the people of Mumba who had the idea to get Jiahe to invest in Kisangani.”

Kabila frowned, but thinking of the recent famines and rebellions in various places, this batch of food could really save lives.

"Tell them that this is my order. Anyone who dares to obstruct will be killed!"

……

2 month 18 day.

This day is the Spring Festival in the lunar calendar.

Guo Yang and his party drove to a prosperous manor somewhere west of Kinshasa to meet Eddie, a senior official of Equator Province.

He is also the chief of one of the Pygmy tribes, mainly concentrated in the Equatoria Province.

This time we have to go through the city.

For safety reasons, two cars were specially driven, and in addition to Guo Yang and Yu Honghai, there were also 6 security personnel.

But at a certain intersection, a group of black people still rushed towards the car, holding a variety of weapons in their hands, including sticks, knives, and barrels of gasoline.

"Have you got to fight? Hare, don't stop, charge ahead." Cannon roared, taking out his pistol, ready to shoot at any time.

Fortunately, there was no danger.

Yu Honghai sighed: "It's getting more and more chaotic."

Guo Yang calmed himself down and asked, "Was Mbandaka so chaotic a few months ago?"

Yu Honghai thought for a while, "The security there is not good, but there should be no war. Eddie has a great influence there."

War and security are also among the four factors that Jiahe needs to consider in this investment.

Guo Yang smiled and said, "It seems like you had a good talk before."

“Yes,” Yu Honghai said without hesitation, “I can feel that he attaches great importance to this project, otherwise he would not have flown all the way from Mbandaka to Kinshasa.”

Originally Guo Yang wanted to go to Mbandaka, but Luo Xiu, Gan Jian from the Dry Farming Center and others dissuaded him.

Because of the food crisis, no one knows what the current situation in Mbandaka is, and no one dares to let Guo Yang take the risk.

So Eddie came on his own.

We nervously passed through the city of Kinshasa and arrived at N'jili, a satellite city in the west of the capital.

Guo Yang looked at the overgrown weeds on the flat wilderness, and further away, there was a rapidly flowing and tumbling river - the Congo River.

“Actually, this place is suitable for growing rice.”

"I think it's suitable too." Luo Xiu said.

Guo Yang smiled in surprise, "Then Expert Luo, can you tell me why? I want to see if you have made progress again."

"The land is flat and close to water." Luo Xiu pointed in another direction, "But the most important thing is that this place is close to the airport. We can run away at any time."

Yu Honghai exclaimed: "Good fellow!"

Guo Yang smiled and said, "Be prepared, Lao Yu! Transportation is very important, especially in case of emergencies. Employees must have a route to evacuate the Democratic Republic of the Congo in a timely manner."

Yu Honghai thought for a moment and said, "Well, there isn't much else in the Democratic Republic of the Congo, but there are still many airports."

Guo Yang said: "Then we can buy a small plane to fly between Matadi, Kinshasa and Mbandaka."

The three cities correspond to Jiahe’s three industries: fruit, grain and oil palm.

Yu Honghai pondered and said, "Will the investment be too large? Apart from exporting various resources, it is difficult for Congo to make money from the domestic market."

The best business is definitely making money from rich people. You won’t make much money by dealing with poor people.

This is what Yu Honghai thinks.

It can be seen from Fengkai’s export of agricultural machinery that Africa has the least profit, followed by Southeast Asia, South America and other places.

Guo Yang said without hesitation: "Buy. In addition to the Democratic Republic of Congo, other African countries can also become Jiahe's market."

"Then buy a second-hand one first."

"what ever."

In the suburbs, about 10 kilometers away from N'Djili International Airport, there is a heavily guarded luxury manor.

After a series of examinations, Guo Yang saw Eddie, whose skin was as dark as dried soil and his hair was slightly gray.

"Welcome, my friend."

This old black man actually spoke fluent English, which made it much easier for Guo Yang to communicate.

"Hello, Chief Eddie, thank you for taking the trouble to make this trip."

After the pleasantries, we quickly got down to business.

As Yu Honghai said, Eddie was extremely interested in introducing a large enterprise like Jiahe and tried his best to invite them. The conditions in all aspects were very favorable. The only condition was that both parties had to cooperate and hire a large number of local people.

Guo Yang said: "Chief Edi, Jiahe is very interested in investing in Equatoria Province. Our biggest concern now is safety and how to carry out cooperation?"

"You should rest assured that it's safe." Eddie smiled and said, "I have an army in the local area, which is enough to ensure our cooperation."

“Then how can we cooperate? 10 hectares of oil palm plantation, such an investment is not a small amount.” Guo Yang pondered.

Eddie also fell into deep thought.

This is obvious.

The question is how to provide the funds. Since we want to cooperate, the Equator Province must also contribute money.

"Guo, if you are interested, we can also do timber business with you."

"Wood?" Guo Yang asked puzzledly.

Eddie moved closer and whispered, "In fact, the main resource of Equator Province is the abundant timber, but we lack logging equipment, and the smuggling of timber exports is very serious."

What do you mean by getting so close?
Guo Yang realized that the person in front of him was most likely the main leader of the timber smuggling trade.

The military's financial resources should also be timber.

But Equateur Province is also located inland, so if smuggling is needed, it can only go to Congo (Brazzaville) and the Central African Republic, and perhaps Gabon will also be involved.

Guo Yang looked at Yu Honghai and asked in Chinese: "Do you know about the log export of Equator Province?"

"It mainly relies on manual labor, and the amount of logging is not large." Yu Honghai said: "In addition, his army's weapons are backward, and the local area is also short of food. They mainly feed on various plant fruits and roots."

Guo Yang nodded. From this perspective, although the Equator Province was poor and had no mineral resources, it was rich in flora and fauna and had many food sources, so the situation was relatively stable.

There is a basis for cooperation between the two sides.

Moreover, this place receives less international attention, which is just right for Jiahe to develop in a low-key manner, support local forces, and then seek more places.

Next, Guo Yang discussed with Eddie for a while and quickly settled the matter.

The two sides will cooperate to set up a company to develop 10 hectares of oil palm plantations. Eddie's side will not invest, but will solve problems such as land resources.

At the same time, the two parties cooperated to establish a timber trading company, with Jiahe holding 51% and Eddie holding 49%, and jointly developed logs and timber processing.

Eddie, the highest leader of the Equatoria Province and tribal chief, stood up and shook hands with Guo Yang and Yu Honghai in a friendly manner.

"Guo, I hope you can get in as soon as possible. Mbandaka needs your help."

Guo Yang said: "We also want to start early, but the land is legally state-owned, and we need to obtain legal procedures."

"Leave the formalities to me."

Eddie accepted it immediately. "I heard that Jiahe is exchanging grain for land. Can you give us the grain directly?"

Jiahe Grain and Oil shipped nearly 5 tons of corn this time, which was obviously a surplus, but Guo Yang still shook his head.

Eddie immediately said, "Let's trade for wood."

"Sure." Guo Yang said, "Do you have any stock? Our ship will arrive in a dozen days."

"Have."

“Traded in Matadi.”

"no problem."

"For the first transaction, I'll give you a favorable price of $400 per ton for corn." Guo Yang thought for a moment and said, "Food is not cheap internationally. Taking into account the purchase cost and transportation, Jiahe has not made any money from you."

"That's very generous of you."

"We are partners."

Looking at the smiling black chief, Guo Yang was already thinking about how to control and influence this black armed force in the future.

After leaving the fully armed manor, Guo Yang immediately called Gao De to ask if he made any money by exchanging wood for food.

The result is naturally affirmative.

The profit of grain transported from China to Matadi is already very high. Even if it is priced at US$400 per ton, after deducting various costs, the profit per ton is still 500 to 1000 yuan.

With the added value of wood, the profit will only be higher. However, the type of wood is also very important. Mahogany, teak, chestnut and malachite are all good quality woods.

No one here understands these things, so naturally Gaode has to send professionals over.

Back to base.

The people from the Dry Farming Center and Jiahe have already prepared lunch for New Year's Eve, including all kinds of pork, duck, chicken, and fish. However, no matter what, it is definitely not as good as the ones in China.

After some toasts, Guo Yang, who was hiding under a big tree to enjoy the cool, suddenly received a call from the Forest Department.

"Happy New Year, Mr. Lin!" "Happy New Year."

After a few words, the forest department got down to business. "I'm in Kenya. I met their leader today. They are vigorously developing the flower industry here."

Where is Kenya?

East Africa, separated from the Democratic Republic of the Congo by Rwanda, Uganda and other countries, the equator runs through the middle of the country, bordering Somalia, and close to the Indian Ocean...

A series of information quickly appeared in Guo Yang's mind.

Whether it is climate, soil, transportation or consumer market, it is perfectly suitable for the development of the flower industry.

Guo Yang smiled and said, "This is a big New Year gift from the Forest Department. Tianhe's flower seeds have found a new market."

The forest department said: "It's not an emerging market. Kenya is already the largest flower exporter in Africa. I just remembered that the newspaper reported that Jiahe had this business."

"In addition to Kenya, Uganda, Ethiopia and Tanzania are also promoting the development of the flower industry."

Guo Yang said: "The four countries in East Africa!"

"Yes." Lin Bu continued: "The abolition of the Lomé Convention and the fact that Kenya will be subject to the WTO's 'fair competition' starting this year have brought new opportunities to these regions."

Guo Yang was not very familiar with the flower industry in East Africa, but he knew a rumor from the Netherlands - the only way out for Dutch rose growers was to move to Africa.

The Africa here refers to the line from Egypt to Cape Town.

Now that I think about it, Kenya is the best of the bunch.

Guo Yang said: "I will let Tianhe develop the market here later."

“Don’t take it lightly, Kenya is known as a fertile ground for rose breeders and has gathered flower companies from all over the world…” the forest minister said.

This made Guo Yang a little stunned.

Strictly speaking, Minister Lin could have ignored this matter, but he called anyway.

After the forest department finished speaking, Guo Yang said solemnly: "Tianhe will also go to Kenya or East Africa to carry out flower and other seed breeding work."

"Um……"

Listening to the busy tone on the phone, Guo Yang wondered if there was any other meaning behind Lin Bu's action.

Earn money from all over the world and spend it back home? Before he had time to think about it, Qu Yang called him from home.

After some New Year greetings, he also reported on the situation of Tianhe Seed Industry.

Since Seed Weekly took the lead in emphasizing variety diversity, not only did various companies follow suit, but other local media also followed suit in promotion.

The actions of some local seed companies are even more direct, directly tilting the subsidies for good varieties, so that farmers are buying Tianyu No. 1 seeds at almost the original price.

As a result, many people have been pessimistic about Tianyu No. 1, and at least this illusion has been created on the surface.

But in fact, the impact on Tianyu No. 1 is very limited, and farmers will still buy it. On the contrary, the scope of promotion is tending to expand.

Tianhe's performance growth rate is still very rapid.

From the first popularized Tianjiao No. 1 and Chihong No. 1, to Tianyu, Tianmai, Tiandou, Tianshu, Sea Rice, Wheat Quanyousheng, vegetables and other series of varieties, they have all enjoyed a reputation in the market and their sales have increased significantly.

Overall, it's fierce and strong!

Guo Yang said: "The Ministry of Agriculture gave me some advice on Kenyan flower breeding..."

There was suddenly a lot of noise on the other end of the phone, with the sound of firecrackers popping.

Guo Yang pondered for a moment. Breeding a new variety may take thousands of man-hours, relying on diligence, intuition, knowledge and experience to make it a successful commercial variety.

So far, Tianhe Academy of Sciences has achieved some results, but no high-value commercial varieties yet.

Africa is also a good place to practice.

"Hello, hello, boss."

Guo Yang said: "In addition to America, the breeding capacity in Africa also needs to be strengthened. The leader mentioned flowers from Kenya and other East African regions today."

"Row."

"That's it, Happy New Year."

After ending the call with Qu Yang, before Guo Yang could even catch his breath, Xie Shijie, Lu Hanbin, Ning Xiaojing, Ji Zhuowen and others called to wish him a happy new year.

We also briefly talked about work.

From the improvement of coastal saline-alkali land, fruit tree nurseries, southern breeding bases, Jiahe grain and oil, to the hot sales of all categories of Hexi milk, there is basically no rest during the lunch hour.

People in China should have just finished their New Year’s Eve dinner and the Spring Festival Gala hasn’t started yet. It is the peak period for New Year’s greetings.

Guo Yang was also happy to understand the domestic situation in this way.

Happy Farm has also been launched on Huinong.com, and this game is likely to sweep the country.

The number of daily active users on the campus network has exceeded one million. Even though Huinong.com has just been launched, it has attracted many new users and the stickiness of old users has also been greatly improved.

Stealing vegetables has become a social trend, and cultivating virtual trees has become the goal of some people.

Quanwang obtained some of its biological pesticide licenses ahead of the New Year, and several cities including Lanzhou, Jiuquan, and Hangzhou have already placed orders for plant regulators.

I plan to give the willow tree an intravenous contraceptive infusion after the new year.

Jiahe had a smooth year, with both revenue and profits doubling.

The employees also received their on-the-job bonuses as they wished, and received various benefits such as rice, noodles, oil, and milk from the company during the holidays.

The network in the base is very unstable, but I can still log into QQ occasionally, and the messages in each group are filled with joy.

Guo Yang browsed for a while from time to time.

By the evening, I gave each employee in the Democratic Republic of the Congo a red envelope, and this overseas Spring Festival was over.

the next day.

Guo Yang still plans to stay in the base to screen seed breeding plans. Now he basically has the corresponding variety combinations, but he still needs to find a suitable method to bring them out.

"Let's go, boss."

Yu Honghai went to the negotiations as if he was punching a clock in.

"Come back soon."

"Well, I guess there won't be any results today."

In the Democratic Republic of the Congo, a complete top-down corruption system has been formed since the Mobutu era. It is common for the head of state to transfer funds from the national treasury, and for the national mining company to be the head of state's private treasury.

The situation was better in the past few years under Kabila Jr. because his regime was unstable, but this trend has begun to emerge recently.

That is why, even though Yu Honghai has already given a lot of money to officials at all levels, he is still not optimistic about the negotiations.

But today, when he arrived at the meeting room, he felt a different atmosphere.

First of all, there are two new faces.

Eddie, a senior official of the Equator Province, and a slightly fat black man were introduced to each other and it was discovered that they were Kabila's secretary Atu Guira.

At first, Robert Bila of the Land Affairs Department still insisted on various conditions.

But he was severely reprimanded by Atu.

"Robert, this is the chief's order. Do you want to taste the bullet?"

"Don't think I don't know what you're thinking. Put away your crooked thoughts."

"Sign. Sign the agreement in person today."

Yu Honghai and Eddie exchanged glances, then looked at Artu who was furious, and Robert who was silent, and couldn't figure out who was exerting the force.

But this is undoubtedly a good thing.

Today's meeting was particularly long because Atuzhen worked with a group of affairs departments to revise the agreement, and then it took another two days to sign, go through the process, and stamp it.

When Yu Honghai put a legal agreement document in front of Guo Yang, it meant that Jiahe could obtain the land and start construction.

Guo Yang glanced at the contents of the agreement.

Jiahe signed a cooperation agreement with the Ministry of Agriculture of the Democratic Republic of the Congo for the planting and development of 2.5 hectares of fruit trees, 1 hectares of grain, and 10 hectares of palm trees.

At the same time, target plots for plantations of 2.5 hectares, 1 hectares and 10 hectares were demarcated with the governments of Bas-Congo, Kinshasa and Equateur provinces.

And it has obtained land use certificates for 50 hectares of fruit tree nurseries and 200 hectares of palm nurseries.

A total of about 203 million acres of land, worth about 1600 million US dollars, equivalent to 4 tons of corn, while the domestic corn price has risen to 1500 yuan per ton.

Once the grain is delivered, all land use certificates will be obtained.

In other words, the actual cost that Jiahe paid to purchase the 200-year use rights of 25 million mu of land in the Democratic Republic of the Congo was less than 1 million yuan.

This is absolutely great value for money.

The fact that the contract was signed so quickly is closely related to the increasingly tense international food situation.

Ukraine and Russia have successively restricted wheat exports, India has directly closed its grain export channels, and Thailand and the Philippines in Southeast Asia have followed closely...

For countries that rely on food imports, such as the Democratic Republic of the Congo, food procurement channels are becoming increasingly single and are firmly controlled by the four major grain traders.

At this time, Jiahe, which can provide food, is undoubtedly a life-saving straw. Anything that prevents the cooperation between the two will be temporarily crushed.

Guo Yang smiled and said, "Maybe we can control Eddie through seeds and food in the future."

Yu Honghai said worriedly: "Boss, Eddie said Robert Bila is the man of Deputy Chief Mumba. Mumba's hometown is in Eastern Province. We must have offended Vice President Mumba this time."

"Is this really offensive?" Guo Yang said in surprise, "Didn't we promise to go to Kisangani if ​​we get results?"

Yu Honghai said: "No one is optimistic about Jiahe's project. Compared with agriculture, they still believe in mining more."

Guo Yang was silent for a moment, then asked, "Who does Eddie belong to?"

"They are dependent on Kabila, but also have strong independence, which is equivalent to the local warlords in the Republic of China."

"Let's sign it." Guo Yang thought for a moment and said, "Kinshasa and Matadi in Lower Congo Province are both under Kabila's sphere of influence. Equator Province also has Eddie. At least there will be no problems in the early stages of the project."

"Is that so? Then I'll organize some people and start working on it as soon as possible?"

Guo Yang asked back: "Do you understand agricultural planting management?"

"don't know."

"Then why are you in such a hurry?"

Yu Honghai said seriously: "I want to complete the goal as soon as possible and wait for the dividends."

"You need to understand your position." Guo Yang was speechless, sorted out his thoughts, and said, "You are responsible for the whole of Africa. In theory, the seeds, agricultural machinery, pesticides and other businesses are also under your responsibility."

"The Democratic Republic of the Congo is the first project and the most important one, but the specific planting management business can be managed by professional managers."

"So, the most important things now are, first, planning and implementing the park construction plan, second, recruiting people, and third, waiting for the food to arrive."

Yu Honghai seemed to be thinking about something, and said, "The planning can be handed over to the Tropical Agricultural Sciences. They are recruiting people because they are on holiday in China..."

Guo Yang smiled and said, "Recruiting can also be entrusted to the Academy of Sciences and Dadi Company."

"Then what else can I do?"

"Play?"

"What's so fun about this? Are we going to hunt lions?" Yu Honghai pondered for a while, "How about I sell farm machinery?"

(End of this chapter)