Chapter 288 Returning to China
Guo Yang and his team have been staying in the capital Kinshasa and near Matadi for a long time.

Stay away from mining areas.

Although it is also dirty and messy, and demonstrations occur from time to time, Jiahe has a small staff and is equipped with several strong security guards with guns.

With the lesson of Yu Honghai being robbed and stripped naked, no one dared to go out alone.

Therefore, no security incidents have occurred.

However, this situation was soon broken. When Guo Yang was about to return home, two technicians who were away were robbed and kidnapped in the Malanga area of ​​Lower Congo Province.

"Because of the rain, there was a pothole on the road. The car got stuck and couldn't get out. Then it was surrounded by a group of rioters."

Yu Honghai's face turned pale as he explained the situation to Guo Yang.

"They locked the windows but the gang poured petrol on the car and they were forced to get out."

In the temporary base of the Dry Farming Center, Guo Yang also looked heavy-hearted. "Is he okay?"

"He said on the phone that he was fine. He must be after money."

"What does the police department say?" Guo Yang asked.

Malanga is a town kilometres away from Matadi. It is a place where roads converge and the public security situation should be under the control of the government.

"We have arranged for people to go and rescue them." Yu Honghai said, "It cost some money."

"Yes." Guo Yang nodded, "Let's try it first, and then spend money to redeem it if necessary."

Perhaps they just wanted money, and the two kidnapped staff members soon returned safely, both of them were still frightened.

At the same time, it also reminded others again.

When you go out, you should carry weapons with you, and it is best to go with more people.

It was just that Eddie sent someone to deliver the message: the kidnapping was instigated by someone, and the person behind it was the deputy leader Mumba.

This made Guo Yang feel nervous.

Not only is it imperative that security companies do this, they also have to do it quickly!
Guo Yang's gaze lingered on the illegal workers for a while, and he asked questions to Hare and Cannon.

“Is it feasible to train a group of black security guards?”

Several veterans who came to Africa from China discussed for a while.

"There are also some strong workers among them."

“Loyalty is questionable.”

"These people are short of money. If they can have a stable, high-paying job, it should be OK."

"Just combine Chinese and foreign elements."

Guo Yang also thought about it for a moment and thought that although the illegal worker group had various defects, it could still be used given the temptation of stable food and money.

The only thing is to control the ratio, and the number of domestic security personnel must also be expanded, trained and put into use as soon as possible.

There is also the purchase of weapons and ammunition.

Because of this incident, Guo Yang was delayed again for two days, and he and Yu Honghai and others worked out a preliminary plan on security issues.

At the same time, the Institute of Thermal Science has also compiled a list of materials urgently needed by plantations in the Democratic Republic of the Congo.

Guo Yang took a copy and asked Ning Xiaojing to start preparations in China.

"Lao Yu, this is for you."

"I'll try my best. Now I'm worried that the business environment in Congo (DRC) may not be good enough." After this incident, Yu Honghai's face was filled with worry.

"It is now certain that the opposition in the Democratic Republic of Congo stands against Jiahe."

"If the Kabila government is also greedy, today the industrial and commercial sector will come, tomorrow the taxation department will come, and the day after tomorrow the environmental department will come. If there are several fines, even the largest companies will not be able to afford it."

Is it going to die in the womb before it even starts?

Corruption is the main theme in the Democratic Republic of the Congo, where the political system is only concerned with making a quick buck and never considers the long term.

This is what everyone thinks.

Guo Yang pondered for a while and said, "Now that we are here, we should make the best of it. If it really doesn't work, we can only shift our focus to other countries."

"Won't the initial investment be wasted?"

"Let's start with the nursery and food. Next to Congo Province are the Gabonese enclave and Angola. We can try to transfer to these two countries later." Guo Yang thought for a while and said:

"Besides, Jiahe made a lot of money from this timber trade."

In any case, this sudden incident has reminded Jiahe that investments cannot be put into one basket all at once.

Perhaps Eddie from Equator Province will be a breakthrough point, or maybe Jiahe will have to find other ways out.

The next day.

Guo Yang embarked on his journey back home, also first going to Ethiopia and then returning to China.

The trip to Europe was once again cancelled.

We can only let Yu Xiaochuan in the Middle East take care of the European market first. Anyway, there are not many products of Jiahe that can enter the European market at present.

This trip to the Democratic Republic of the Congo can only be regarded as planting a seed for Jiahe in Africa.

Whether it can grow into a big tree depends on the hard work of the tree planter to water it.

Although land in the Democratic Republic of the Congo is cheap, labor costs are also low.

But to fully develop these hundreds of thousands of hectares of land, it would cost at least tens of billions of US dollars.

Security, seeds, fertilizers, pesticides, agricultural machinery, engineering machinery, oil mills, refineries, transportation, personnel...

There are also business environment risks.

This is bound to prolong the battle. As Mr. Deng said, if we can complete the planting work within 10 years, it will be considered a great feat!

Long-haul flights are boring.

Guo Yang could only pass the time by understanding and sorting out the progress of various domestic work.

It will be March when the plane lands.

Some areas in the south have begun preparations for spring plowing, and both agricultural machinery and seeds have entered the peak sales season.

After improvements, Fengkai’s agricultural drone also entered the market for testing.

The price has also dropped from around 25 yuan to 15 yuan.

However, without agricultural machinery subsidies, ordinary growers and agricultural machinery cooperatives still cannot afford this price.

As a result, no one cared.

There are only orders from Jiahe, the soybean base in Binhai, ranches in various places, and seed production bases in the north and south...

It can get Fengkai’s drone production base up and running first.

...

The flight landed in Yangcheng.

The lights are bright, the flow of people is busy and orderly, the electronic screens are flashing, and there are many shops in the waiting hall.

Guo Yang had a feeling of time and space confusion.

It took me a while to come back to my senses.

"The air in China is still better!"

During the twenty days or so in Africa, I felt as if I was isolated from the civilized world most of the time.

Although Luo Xiu didn't say anything, his eyes expressed everything. He stared at a shop with a flashing sign not far away.

Take a look.

Lanzhou noodles.

Guo Yang waved his hand: "Let's go and fill our stomachs first."

The shop is not big, the long table is polished to a shine, and the kitchen is open.

"Boss, is your ramen authentic?" Guo Yang asked a slightly plump young woman.

When the proprietress heard the familiar Lanyin official language, she looked up and saw two straight-limbed men with slightly dark skin, and she started laughing.

"Authentic." The lady boss asked again: "Which area in Hexi?"

"Yes, my hometown is Minqin." Guo Yang knew the proprietress was from Lanzhou by the tone of her voice. "What kind of flour do you use?"

"Jiahe Snowflake Flour." The proprietress was afraid that the few people didn't understand, so she explained it again.

"There are fewer people using 'monk's head' flour now. Jiahe snowflake flour also has a very high gluten content, and the noodles are thicker and taste better."

"I know, I know Jiahe Snowflake Flour." Guo Yang laughed repeatedly. One of the parents of Tianmai No. 1 is Monk Head Wheat.

"I heard this flour is a little expensive."

The proprietress smiled brightly and beautifully, but did not respond.

Guo Yang didn't want to be boring, so he ordered two bowls of mutton ramen, and sat down at a table with Luo Xiu. When he paid the bill, he finally understood why the proprietress was smiling so happily.

A bowl of ramen costs 126 yuan.

The two of them spent 252 yuan.

Guo Yang suddenly wondered if Jiahe’s flour was still being sold at a low price?
The key point is that the noodles are not enough, and the mutton slices are as thin as a cicada's wing, which makes people sigh at the chef's superb knife skills.

Fortunately, the noodles taste good, with the unique chewy texture of Jiahe snowflake flour.

Finish the noodles in a few strokes.

When leaving, Guo Yang said to the lady boss standing in front of the cashier: "The flour is very authentic."

Boss lady:?

“Shouldn’t it be noodles?”

Guo Yang smiled, but accidentally saw the computer screen behind the proprietress, which was the interface of Happy Farm.

"Stealing vegetables?"

The proprietress's attention was diverted and she switched the page awkwardly.

"It's okay, I'll play too."

The slight depression in Guo Yang's heart disappeared. This proprietress is also a loyal customer of Jiahe!
He looked at the proprietress with a little more friendliness.

...

Stayed one night in a nearby hotel.

Only then did Guo Yang realize how popular Happy Farm is now.

He even saw part-time workers on the Internet who specialized in collecting and stealing vegetables for other people.

Guo Yang was completely stunned.

Good guy!
Is this how you fight?

Some people set the alarm at 3 a.m. to get up and harvest vegetables, and steal some of their friends' vegetables at the same time, just to be at the top of the friend list.

Some people even created an Excel spreadsheet to record their friends' planting times and crop maturity times based on their observations, just to steal their vegetables on time.

Some people are obsessed with planting trees and have specifically summarized how to accumulate energy as quickly as possible, which in simple terms is self-reliance.

Complete daily tasks, add more friends, collect energy from your friends one by one every morning, and water your friends at the same time.

Some can even plant three trees a day.

According to the plan, we are supposed to plant one tree per month!

Originally, it was a casual game. You could just water the plants, apply fertilizers, and harvest vegetables while you were slacking off at work. It was just for fun.

Now it has been turned into a game that requires a lot of effort.

In the past month, many urban white-collar workers have become diligent vegetable farmers.

In just one month, the number of virtual trees grown has exceeded one million!

Social evaluations are also mostly positive.

The most common comment on the Internet is, "It's not the alarm clock that wakes me up every day, but Happy Farm."

Getting up early and staying up late just to plant a real tree on earth.

In the desert, Haloxylon ammodendron trees are planted and stand stubbornly.

Entertainment and earning money for charity.

Many people enjoy it.

But it has also encountered some doubts and criticisms.

"Stealing vegetables in the middle of the night disturbs people's rest and affects their health."

"Many people get up in the middle of the night to steal vegetables online, which makes it difficult for them to rest. But if they don't get up, they are afraid that others will steal their vegetables."

The website team led by Qiu Ming had to modify the rules for this.

"There are already one million trees, why haven't we seen any movement to plant more trees?"

"Where's the tree? Where's my tree?"

In this regard, Shahai Agriculture and Animal Husbandry also quickly gave a progress response, stating that it had already identified the location of the public welfare forest with Alxa, Minqin and other places.

Just wait for the right time to start planting Haloxylon ammodendron trees.

At the same time, tree planting representatives will be recruited from various places to serve as full-time maintenance personnel and also play a supervisory role.

Netizens who are familiar with Shahai’s agriculture and animal husbandry have also spoken out for Shahai on the Internet.

"When it comes to tree planting, Shahai Agriculture and Animal Husbandry is a professional. In the past four years, it has planted tens of millions of trees in the desert."

“The key is to maintain it well.”

Some netizens questioned, "Could it be that Shahai planted too many trees in the past few years and was too tight on funds, so they wanted to make money through games?"

"No, that won't happen. The Cistanche deserticola parasitic on the Haloxylon ammodendron trees in the Sand Sea has already been put on the market for sale. The funds should have recovered, not to mention that it has received capital injection from its parent company."

"Where can I buy Cistanche deserticola in Shahai?"

"For this kind of tree planting to prevent and control sand, I am even worried that it will not make enough money."

In addition to Xiaonei.com, Huinong.com is the second online platform that operates Happy Farm, and it has also brought about a considerable wave of user traffic growth.

Moreover, with the arrival of the spring ploughing season, technical service personnel have carried out new publicity and training on usage.

Among all the e-commerce platform websites, its reputation is gradually rising.

On the way from Guangzhou to Shenzhen, Guo Yang was playing on the computer in the car to learn about the latest developments of Happy Farm and Huinong.com.

I also logged into the game after a long time.

Unexpectedly, there were still quite a few fruits left to be harvested on the farm. After looking at the records, it turned out that Xu Xiaoxue had been watering them every day during this period.

"Boss Guo, I watered you."

"Boss Guo, the articles we published these days have been quite effective, right? They have attracted a lot of attention. Do you think we can fool people?"

"Food prices abroad have risen again."

"Wow, I have accumulated enough energy for the first tree. When can I plant it?"

...

More than a dozen messages in a row.

It seems that Xu Xiaoxue has been playing games a lot during this period. Guo Yang replied briefly and then clicked on her homepage to take a look.

I was a little dazed for a moment.

He has planted 4 trees and won various titles such as Ecological Guardian.

Friends rank first.

However, Guo Yang doesn’t have many friends, but he receives quite a few friend requests.

But in just one month, 4 trees were planted. It seems that Xu Xiaoxue has played games a lot, and the game users have good stickiness.

However, watching the discussions among netizens from all over the country, Guo Yang was reminded of the various rankings that Ant Forest had created.

City list, celebrity list, enterprise list... once this thing comes out, users will be even more eager to try it.

But on second thought, a web-based farm game like this would be too bloated and not quite appropriate.

Computers are not as convenient as mobile phones.

It’s better to wait another year. Apple phones will be officially on sale in July.

The wave of mobile Internet has arrived, and Huinong.com would be a more suitable carrier than Happy Farm.

Thinking of this, Guo Yang called Qiu Ming and Qu Sheng respectively.

Communicated some forward-looking adjustments for the future.

Happy Farm has also started charging for props, and Qiu Ming estimates that the turnover will reach more than 300 million yuan next month.

This money has basically recovered the Happy Farm’s initial investment, and subsequent profits will also be invested in the planting and management of public welfare forests.

Qu Sheng complained, "Boss, Happy Farm is going to cooperate with Manyou, 51.com, Tencent, Baidu and other platforms, which will definitely affect the traffic of Huinong.com."

With the explosion of Happy Farm, especially the creation of the props charging model, it caused a huge response in the industry.

This has led to the emergence of various imitation or copycat vegetable-growing games on the market.

However, in addition to the first-mover advantage, Happy Farm also has the moat of "accumulating energy and planting big trees", which other companies cannot imitate.

Guo Yang thought for a moment and said, "I'll go talk to Qiu Ming."

(End of this chapter)