It was cold outside, so Guo Yang also got into the business car and held Lin Keqing's hand: "I'm here to pick you and the child up."

Lin Keqing looked up at the sky: "The sun is not out today."

Guo Yang: "What are you saying? You are my wife and Pengye is my son. Isn't it my duty to come and pick you up?"

Lin Keqing: "There's something strange."

At this time, a group of students walked out of the gate under the guidance of the teacher. Guo Yang felt relieved: "School is over. Pengye is quite tall."

"That's all you care about."

The two got out of the car. The sharp-eyed Guo Pengye saw them at a glance, waved, and ran over after the teacher confirmed.

"Dad, you came to pick me up today too."

Guo Yang picked him up with one hand and said, "Are you happy or not? It would be great if you and your mother could come pick me up every day in the future."

"Okay." Guo Yang agreed: "I'll pick you up before the winter vacation."

"Okay, okay."

"There are only a few days left before the winter vacation." Lin Keqing felt something was wrong and stared at Guo Yang again and again.

Guo Yang: "Why, I'm handsome again?"

"How shameless." Lin Keqing carried her schoolbag and said, "Let's get in the car and go back. It's cold outside."

Guo Yang put his son in the seat, and Guo Pengye was still muttering: "Mom, I am the most handsome, right?"

Lin Keqing: "You two are the same, father and son, both of you have no shame."

Guo Yang and Guo Pengye were both sitting in the back row. They laughed when they heard this, and Guo Pengye even started singing.

"I am the most handsome guy on this street..."

After returning home, Guo Yang also took the initiative to help the children with their homework. Seeing him like this, Lin Keqing went to cook herself again.

Guo Yang also praised the food while eating.

This went on for several days until Guo Pengye went on winter vacation and the Spring Festival arrived.

Guo Yang noticed that signs of an epidemic had already appeared in society and realized that it was time for him to set off.

That day, he cooked again for a rare occasion and made two dishes according to the recipe.

However, except for Guo Pengye who was still excited at the dinner table, Lin Keqing was a little uninterested. It was only when he went to bed at night that he asked what was in his mind: "Are you going out again?"

"Yeah." Guo Yang: "We're going to Africa this time, and we might have to stay there for a long time."

The atmosphere was somewhat silent.

Guo Yang put his arm around Lin Keqing's waist and slowly moved closer, and Lin Keqing also moved forward.

...

After explaining everything, Guo Yang went to Lan City first to confirm that Quanwang Biology had found a way to deal with the virus before preparing to go to Africa.

Before he set off, a batch of weapons and supplies had already been shipped by sea from Beibu Gulf Port.

After the opening of the Pinglu Canal, the Beibu Gulf Port developed rapidly, and Jiahe's sea voyages in the southwest and northwest basically went through the Beibu Gulf Port.

In addition, a security team also set out ahead of them.

After confirming that everything was correct, Guo Yang had a phone call with Luo Xiu before leaving and then boarded the plane.

Apart from Chang Feng and the crew members brought by Xiong Zhuang, he didn't bring anyone else.

After the enhancement, the performance of the Bombardier has been greatly improved, and it is a bit boring to be on the plane.

Guo Yang could only spend his time reading and resting.

After a long flight, the Bombardier finally landed at Mbandaka Airport.

Mbandaka is located at 0°3′ south latitude, the capital of Equatoria Province, and a port city on the Congo River.

As soon as I got off the plane, the hot and humid air hit me in the face.

It is very painful to stay in such a place, but now it is one of Jiahe’s three major bases in the Democratic Republic of the Congo.

There was a convoy of pickup trucks and off-road vehicles parked outside the airport, and Guo Yang saw Luo Xiu at the front of the crowd.

Standing straight, wearing long pants and a short-sleeved shirt, the muscles on his arms are clearly visible.

Next to me were a group of yellow-skinned Chinese people, and a few black guys as well.

"boss."

"Boss~"

The other yellow-skinned guys also shouted, and even a few black guys cheered.

"What a big show! Let's go back first and talk while we walk."

Guo Yang walked towards the convoy, Luo Xiu opened the door for him, and after everyone got into the cars, the convoy started moving.

The city is not as dilapidated as imagined, and the plants on both sides of the streets are also lush.

Guo Yang: "Let's talk about the situation in the Democratic Republic of the Congo."

"it is good."

Luo Xiu pondered and said, "The situation in the Democratic Republic of the Congo is still not peaceful. Joseph Kabila has stepped down, and now Antoine is in office.

The focus of domestic interests is on the eastern Great Lakes region, the central and western regions are relatively stable, and Jiahe has been very prominent in economic development in recent years.

Especially in agriculture, towns near Mbandaka have successively solved the problem of food and clothing.

In fact, Matadi and Kinshasa should have solved the problem of food and clothing earlier, but the local people were too greedy and Jiahe obtained relatively low profits.

On the contrary, companies with Chinese characters in their names have made a lot of money.”

Agriculture is not profitable, Guo Yang has known this for a long time, "Where is the palm tree base?"

Luo Xiu: "This is the best business at the moment. The road we are taking now was built by Jiahe to facilitate the transportation of raw materials to the dock factory."

Oil palm is a variety bred in 2007.

Palm trees generally enter their peak productive period in the sixth year, and the earliest 10 hectares now are at least 10 years old.

The average oil palm fruit yield per hectare is 40 tons, far exceeding the world average of 15 tons per hectare.

The country with the highest oil palm fruit yield in the world is Guatemala, which is close to 35 tons per hectare. Honduras, Cameroon, Malaysia and other countries also have a level of 20 to 30 tons per hectare.

But compared with Jiahe’s plantations, they are clearly at a disadvantage.

The area of ​​oil palm plantations has now expanded by more than 50 hectares, of which nearly 20 hectares are in high yield and some are beginning to bear fruit.

The annual output of oil palm fruit reaches 1000 million tons, and the average production cost per ton is only RMB 350 per ton.

In terms of raw material cost, it is far lower than domestic leprosy fruit and Xanthoceras sorbifolia.

These 600 million tons of oil palm fruits can be processed into nearly 400 million tons of palm oil and about million tons of biodiesel each year.

Although the price of biodiesel has been falling, the landed price is still about US$700/ton, or about RMB 5000/ton.

There is huge profit margin here.

Luo Xiu: "Even though the transportation is not that convenient, a large amount of investment is still required in infrastructure, and there are cuts in the process, but the net profit is hundreds of millions of dollars every year."

Guo Yang smiled and said, "It seems that Yu Honghai did something."

"Mr. Yu has laid a good foundation." Luo Xiu pondered, "It's just a little too soft. Our transportation channels have always been controlled by French companies."

The convoy drove out of the city. Mbandaka's urban construction was a little beyond Guo Yang's expectations. He had been to the capital Kinshasa many years ago and felt that Mbandaka was not inferior in some aspects, and the black people here were also in a better mental state.

Once you leave the city, you'll see vast tracts of oil palm plantations.

Guo Yang looked at the scenes and asked, "Which company is this?"

Luo Xiu: "Total Energy and Vinci Group."

Guo Yang: "Wanxi?"

Luo Xiu: "It is a French-funded construction contractor, and was once the world's number one in the construction industry. The Jinmao Tower in Pudong was constructed by it. It has many investments in roads, bridges, ports, electricity, and communications in the Democratic Republic of the Congo.

If our biodiesel is to be exported, it must be transported by rail through Wanxi. Over time, we noticed Mbandaka.

Then, Total was brought in to try to get a foothold in Mbandaka.

In addition, part of our funds in the Democratic Republic of Congo also pass through French banks. BNP Paribas, Societe Generale and Credit Lyonnais account for 70% of the turnover in the CFA franc zone. "

After a pause, Luo Xiu said, "France's influence in the Democratic Republic of the Congo has penetrated into the economy, politics, culture and military. Through financial and exchange rate means, funds continue to flow to France. Total and Vinci are both very difficult opponents."

The convoy entered the oil palm plantation and the road turned into a gravel dirt road with tall, green oil palm trees on both sides.

"You did a good job. It seems that people are forced to do things."

He didn't expect that Luo Xiu, who was usually taciturn, could explain things so clearly.

"The top-level design determines the suffering of African franc countries," said Guo Yang. "But franc countries have also been trying to get rid of French influence, such as Chief Edi of Equator Province."

Luo Xiu: "Chief Eddie has passed away, and now his son Jacques has taken over. He has a military background and studied in Shijiazhuang. He has an army under his command.

It is also because Jacques stands on Jiahe's side that Wanxi Group does not dare to cut off Jiahe's transportation channel."

Guo Yang took a moment to digest it.

The changes in the Democratic Republic of the Congo were somewhat beyond his imagination.

"Here we are, boss."

The convoy drove into a large yard.

Guo Yang got out of the car.

This should be an office area. The one-story buildings form a courtyard. The roof is covered with red glazed tiles. There is a cement dam outside. There is a big river not far away, and vegetables are planted by the river.

The sound of the convoy returning startled the people in the house, and they all came out, both men and women, mostly Chinese.

Guo Yang greeted these people and entered one of the offices under the guidance of Luo Xiu.

"Boss, the conditions are poor, so I have to inconvenience you. Mainly, staying in a hotel in the city, safety is not guaranteed."

"Don't you know me yet? Since I'm here, I won't bother with these things." Guo Yang asked, "How many people are here?"

Luo Xiu: "There are 153 Chinese people in this base, and 38 black people, but the black people don't live here."

Guo Yang spent the rest of the day learning about the situation in the Democratic Republic of the Congo.

In addition to Luo Xiu, he also met several other key persons in charge.

Xia Bo, 30 years old, is currently Luo Xiu's deputy. Guo Yang had seen his name on the leadership plan list. He was in the same group as Lu Zechuan.

Xia Bo is a big and strong man, a restless guy. He took the initiative to apply to come to the Democratic Republic of the Congo a few years ago.

Even after arriving in Mbandaka, things were still uneasy. Although it was relatively stable here, there were still tribal conflicts.

Moreover, Chabot was in charge of transportation and did not stay in Mbandaka all the time. He often had to go to other areas, such as the powder keg Great Lakes region in the east.

The railway controlled by the French company Vinci Group is located in the east.

Due to the influence of waterfalls, the lower reaches of the Congo River cannot directly lead to the estuary, but the upper reaches have a flat terrain and are more suitable for navigation.

Therefore, Jiahe's biodiesel in Equateur Province is mainly transported upstream through the Congo River.

Via Kisangani, you reach the river port of Kabalo, then take a train to Lake Tanganyika, ship to Tanzania, and then take the railway to the port of Dar es Salaam.

The railway controlled by Wanxi was actually only a small section: Kabalo-Lake Tanganyika.

There are other routes, such as taking the railway through southern Africa and going out to the sea from South Africa. All the ore imported into the country takes this route.

But it is too far away for Jiahe, and the cost and time will be infinitely increased.

It is also possible to go downstream to Kinshasa and then take road transport to Matadi to go out to the sea, but the road is not paved and is difficult to pass most of the year.

From an operational perspective, the biggest problem is transportation.

Moreover, from the perspective of hegemony, the transportation problem in the Democratic Republic of the Congo must also be solved.

But before that, safety must be addressed first.

Guo Yang asked: "How is Jiahe's armed forces?"

Luo Xiu looked at Xia Bo before saying, "There are more than 500 Chinese employees with military skills, and the drone pilots of Donghe Agricultural Machinery have also received relevant training.

There is also a group of people available among the old blacks working on the plantations.

In addition, Funke invested in a medium-sized agricultural machinery factory in Mbandaka, which can be converted into an arsenal at any time.”

"A batch of weapons shipped from China has also arrived in Matadi and is ready to be airlifted here." Xia Bo added with a hint of excitement: "The food reserves are also sufficient."

Guo Yang: "With such a small number of people, Jacques' army can destroy us. Remember, we are here to operate and build."

"It is basically impossible to completely control the Democratic Republic of Congo at present. We can only continue to support Jacques." Luo Xiu pondered:

“The climate in Equatoria is hot, and there are no mineral resources, only timber and agricultural products. No one thought highly of this place before.

Therefore, it has always been under the control of Jacques' tribe, and Jacques is also inclined towards China.

It just has no industrial base, is isolated in a remote corner, and has little political influence in the Democratic Republic of the Congo. "

Guo Yang thought about it and decided that if he wanted to build up combat effectiveness in three years, supporting Jacques was indeed the best choice.

"Arrange a meeting between me and Jacques."

After chatting with the two for a while, Guo Yang had a basic understanding of the Democratic Republic of the Congo and sorted out his thoughts.

There are currently two main work directions.

First, continue to improve infrastructure and strengthen our own strength.

The second is to solve the problem of external transportation, which is Wanxi.

There may be another one. Since Vinci and Total have set their sights on the oil palm plantations in Mbandaka, other forces should have noticed it as well.

Mbandaka could also become a point of contention, with bioenergy generating returns not much less than mining.

However, the greater the external pressure, the more conducive it is to cooperation with the Yak tribe.

Guo Yang took a look and found that Jiahe gave Jacques a lot of money every year. In addition to giving it to private individuals, it also helped train the army.

But the most important thing is that the food problem was solved.

Banana, cassava and rice have been promoted in several cities near Mbandaka and are performing well.

The success of rice cultivation is particularly valuable.

Leaching and silty soil in rainforest areas are not suitable for the growth of grass crops.

But the rice variety developed by Guo Yang many years ago overcame this problem and is currently being promoted for cultivation in many areas of Congo, including Kinshasa and Mbandaka.

Basically, wherever Chinese companies go, there will be rice planting.

Two days later, Luo Xiu made an appointment, and Guo Yang also met Jacques, a somewhat burly middle-aged black man with a very calm temperament. (End of this chapter)