Scholars in the courtyard.

Chapter 2938 It's true, a fight broke out.
After Chen Gong left, the meeting room calmed down slightly.

"Minister Yang, there's something else I need to confirm!"

Xie Jiarong spoke again, and Yang Xiaotao immediately replied, "Please speak, sir!"

Xie Jiarong nodded. "I heard that Turkmenistan can sell natural gas to us? Is that true?"

Yang Xiaotao nodded. He had mentioned it briefly during dinner last night, so there was no need to hide it. "Yes, it is. However, the higher-ups are still considering it. Whether or not to purchase it still needs to be discussed."

After Yang Xiaotao finished speaking, he asked curiously, "Teacher Xie, what do you think about this matter?"

Xie Jiarong nodded, "I have some ideas!"

He then solemnly stated, "I have conducted research in the Northwest and understand the geological conditions there. However, if we really cannot afford to buy more, that would be the best outcome!"

Upon hearing Xie Jiarong's agreement to the purchase, many people present shifted their positions, clearly indicating some objections. However, seeing that Yang Xiaotao remained silent, none of them dared to speak up.

"Teacher Xie, please explain your reasoning!"

Yang Xiaotao knew that Xie Jiarong was not one to speak carelessly, and that he must have had his reasons for saying such things.

Upon hearing this, Elder Xie nodded and then said, "The Northwest does indeed have abundant natural gas, but the helium content in the natural gas is too low!"

"Helium?"

Xie Jiarong's words caused everyone in the room to exchange bewildered glances. Yang Xiaotao, in particular, asked curiously, "Old Xie, isn't helium an inert gas? Wouldn't it be better to use less of it?"

"Isn't it better if the natural gas is purer?"

But Xie Jiarong shook his head directly, "No!"

"Helium is an inert gas, but it's not a useless gas!"

Xie Jiarong sat up straight and said directly, "Helium, as an inert gas, has special uses in many areas, and it plays an irreplaceable role in medical equipment and high-performance machines!"

"And the main source of this gas is purified from natural gas."

At this point, Xie Jiarong solemnly stated, "Helium is very important!"

Upon hearing Xie Jiarong's words, Yang Xiaotao subconsciously looked at Elder Ye.

After pondering for a moment, Old Ye nodded.

"Old Xie is right. This inert gas is indispensable in certain aspects, and because it has a low density, it will only rise in the air, making it very difficult to collect!"

"Helium, which is present in natural gas, is indeed an important source!"

Old Xie nodded, but continued, "I don't know about other countries, but the helium content in our domestic natural gas is very low."

"Therefore, if we want to have more helium, it is best to buy some from abroad."

"If, if the helium content in this natural gas is high, I suggest storing the newly purchased natural gas underground!"

"This helps maintain the underground natural gas content and also reduces formation pressure during extraction, preventing formation collapse due to excessively low pressure, thus protecting the stability of the underground structure..."

Xie Jiarong expressed his opinion, and Yang Xiaotao remained silent with a serious expression.

He had heard Old Chen mention this before; when Turkmenistan wanted to cooperate economically with China, natural gas was a crucial component.

However, some people within the organization felt that spending money to appease others was too wasteful and that the money should be used for domestic revolutionary construction, so the final decision was delayed.

Moreover, the natural gas hauled from Turkmenistan into the country also needs to be laid domestically, which requires a large amount of manpower and resources.

Therefore, Mr. Chen was also hesitant about whether to bring it in.

Now, what Mr. Xie said seems to make a lot of sense!
Using other people's resources to protect your own resources—there's nothing wrong with that!
"In that case, Mr. Xie, I need to determine the helium content of the Turkmen natural gas field."

“I can help with that; I have a student who does research in this area.”

Teacher Xie immediately agreed, and Yang Xiaotao couldn't help but sigh inwardly, "This is what it means to have students all over the world; you have students wherever you go."

"Okay, please confirm as soon as possible so I can report to my superiors!"

Mr. Xie nodded, and the meeting adjourned.

After leaving the meeting room, Yang Xiaotao arranged for Wang Hao to take Old Xie to the hospital for a physical examination. "Having an elder in this family is like having a treasure; we must take good care of him."

Then Yang Xiaotao left the Ninth Department to report the situation to Elder Chen.

……

Mr. Chen's office.

Secretary Guo carefully put the document down, then said from the side, "Sir, Director Yang called and said he'll be here in a bit."

Old Chen looked up and asked, "What did you say?"

Secretary Guo shook his head, while Old Chen looked down at the document, which was a report on the rise in international oil prices provided by the foreign trade department.

"Ten yuan already!"

Old Chen sighed, "It's only been two days, and it's already gone up by two yuan."

"This trend suggests it could rise to at least the 14th or 15th percentile."

As she spoke softly, Secretary Guo, standing to the side, grinned, unsure how to respond.

If I say too much, the leader will probably feel bad about spending those 1 billion Alliance Coins again. Moreover, if we buy it at the market price, the oil we end up with will probably be even less than before.

That's an understatement; the leader is very concerned about the six hundred million US dollars from the Ninth Department.

Didn't you see that there's only one number on the scratch paper next to you?

6.5!
This is the multiplier.

This number needs to be multiplied by six, and then subtracted by six...

Secretary Guo did some mental calculations, and her heart started racing!
No wonder Dawson from the United States has been calling Old Chen so often lately; he's just thinking about paying back the money as soon as possible.

With these 300 million US dollars, even if you buy now, you'll eventually make a fortune.

Now that we lack working capital, even if we want to get a loan domestically, the interest rate has increased several times over.

In short, those guys who thought they were making a profit when they borrowed money are now kicking themselves.

But they weren't stupid; anyone with eyes could see that oil prices would continue to rise, so who would buy or sell at this time?

Besides, it was agreed that it would be a five-year loan, so there has to be a sense of contractual obligation. How can you go back on your word?

Sigh, I shouldn't have bought the Alliance's oil in the first place!
What a shameless bunch!
Secretary Guo cursed inwardly, then suddenly thought of something and wondered whether he should tell Old Chen.

But Old Chen noticed it out of the corner of his eye and casually asked, "Is there anything else?"

Secretary Guo took a deep breath and quickly said, "Sir, I have another piece of news."

"I heard that the stock prices of oil companies have risen quite a bit recently."

"Also, the cost of transporting oil has increased quite a bit!"

After Secretary Guo finished speaking in a low voice, Old Chen suddenly looked up as if he had thought of something, and asked Secretary Guo, "I remember that Yang Xiaotao bought a lot of shares in oil companies, right?"

Secretary Guo nodded, "We've purchased shares in ten oil companies in Europe!"

"How much did you earn?"

Old Chen quickly asked, and Secretary Guo shook his head, "I don't know the specifics, but according to information from Hong Kong, it has at least doubled!"

Old Chen took a deep breath, then calmly asked, "How much did they buy the shares for?"

"This, a few hundred million, I guess!"

Secretary Guo didn't dare to reveal the specific figures, but Old Chen had already guessed the final result.

What about the shipping fee?

"I heard that Director Yang arranged for this to be leased, and the lease fee was paid in advance. Now that oil prices are rising, transportation costs are also increasing, so..."

"So the transportation costs also went up, and we made a fortune again!"

After finishing speaking, Old Chen threw the pencil in his hand onto the scratch paper, leaned back in his chair, and snorted, "This kid is wasting his talent not going into business!" Secretary Guo smiled and then quickly said, "I heard that Minister Yang has increased the cost of the ship delivering oil to the Japanese islands tenfold!"

patter
Old Chen's chair hit the ground. "Outrageous! Absolutely outrageous!"

Even as she said this, she couldn't stop smiling.

Secretary Guo took the opportunity to explain, "I heard that when the Ninth Department bought shares in the oil company, some shady characters interfered and caused them to spend more than ten million more."

"I reckon that Director Yang is trying to make up for it here!"

Old Chen nodded, "This kid won't suffer a loss!"

"Oh right, hurry up and tidy up, that kid's coming over soon, don't let it get too messy!"

Old Chen got up to tidy the table, and Secretary Guo immediately stepped forward to help, saying, "Don't worry, Director Yang's car won't go that fast."

"That's true, that kid was probably sightseeing again on the way!"

As they spoke, both of them laughed.

Secretary Guo thought to himself, "As expected, talking about Director Yang makes the leader happy!"

When Yang Xiaotao arrived at Old Chen's office, the room was clean and tidy, and it didn't look like an office at all.

Old Chen sat at the table, with a pencil, a piece of paper, and a steaming cup in front of him.

"Minister Yang, the commander knew you were coming and specially prepared some fine tea."

Secretary Guo said with a smile, and Yang Xiaotao also smiled and sat down on the sofa opposite.

"They called to say they needed something. What is it?"

Old Chen sat calmly in his chair.

Yang Xiaotao hurriedly said, "The West-East Gas Pipeline project team is about to be established. I'm here to report to you and hear your opinions."

Old Chen's eyes immediately lit up.

Ever since I heard the words "West-East Gas Pipeline," they've haunted my mind like a curse.

He even felt that if he could accomplish this during his term, then a hundred years later, future generations would remember him.

"Has the project team been established?"

Old Chen leaned forward and asked earnestly.

Yang Xiaotao nodded, and then told Old Chen about Xie Jiarong.

Old Chen frowned, but did not speak.

Yang Xiaotao continued, "Based on Comrade Xie Jiarong's suggestion, we also need some professional geologists!"

"No problem, I'll coordinate whatever you need!"

Yang Xiaotao nodded immediately after hearing what Old Chen said, "Okay, then there's no problem with personnel!"

"As for the equipment, our Ninth Division can handle that too."

"but…"

"But what?"

Old Chen raised his voice and asked.

The people and the things are all fine, the only thing left is the money!
money?
This guy actually has the nerve to talk about money!
Old Chen glared at Yang Xiaotao, but Yang Xiaotao chuckled and said, "However, there's something I need to tell you."

"Say!"

"Well, Comrade Xie Jiarong has made a suggestion..."

After Yang Xiaotao finished explaining the situation, Old Chen fell silent!

Helium is one aspect.

Resources are one aspect.

Most importantly, attitude.

The idea that China is a vast country with abundant resources is unacceptable!

In addition, he had a little personal motive, which was that the West-East Gas Pipeline project, with the addition of this overseas route, was even more significant!
This can be done!

"I'll report this to you. Please wait for further instructions!"

Yang Xiaotao laughed upon hearing this!
When Old Chen says "wait for notification," it basically means he's waiting for notification!
Just as Yang Xiaotao finished speaking about the important matters and was about to report the recent situation of the Ninth Department to Elder Chen, the phone on the table suddenly rang.

Yang Xiaotao remained silent, sitting comfortably in his chair, while Old Chen picked up the phone and listened carefully for a while.

In an instant, his expression changed.

After Chen Lao hung up the phone, his expression returned to normal, but he looked at Yang Xiaotao and said, "The Pharaoh's Kingdom has made its move."

Before Yang Xiaotao could react, Old Chen continued, "I just received news from the foreign trade department that these oil-producing countries have joined forces to launch an oil production cut and embargo."

"Announce that the oil production output will be reduced by 5% per month from now on, and impose an embargo on countries such as the United States."

"Furthermore, these countries also want to reclaim the right to set oil prices!"

At this point, Old Chen said solemnly, "The oil crisis has really arrived."

Yang Xiaotao, however, breathed a sigh of relief. What he feared most was that it would be all bark and no bite; if the fighting didn't happen, the oil price would surely drop.

Although it happened more than a year earlier than in history, it still happened eventually.

As for the final result...
Yang Xiaotao felt that it was appropriate to intervene and change the outcome.

Just then, the phone on the table rang again. Old Chen quickly answered it, and it was President Peng calling.

The two exchanged a few words and then hung up the phone.

Old Chen looked at Yang Xiaotao again, which made Yang Xiaotao's heart sink.

It feels like everyone's coming for him.

"Persia needs an additional hundred aircraft, hurry!"

Yang Xiaotao stood up from his seat. "What happened?"

Old Chen took a deep breath and said, "This was purely an accident."

An hour ago.

Two MiG-21s from the Pharaoh's Kingdom were on patrol as usual when they encountered two Mirage III fighter jets also patrolling the border.

Neither side knew what was going on. In the past, they would show off their skills in the air and then go home to their respective mothers.

For some unknown reason, one of the Mirage IIIs suddenly launched a Sidewinder, instantly destroying a stunned MiG-21. The remaining MiG-21, seeing the situation was bad, immediately ran back, while relaying the information about the attack to its rear.

Although the MiG-21 was eventually destroyed by the Sidewinder, it did manage to transmit intelligence back.

Then two MiG-21s patrolling nearby flew over and collided with two M4 fighter jets that were also coming over. It was two against four, and they were completely overwhelmed.

Upon receiving the intelligence, the Pharaoh's rear base immediately reported it, and nearby patrol aircraft headed to the airspace where the incident occurred to prepare to intercept any possible attack.

After the patrol planes arrived one after another, they found that twelve Mirage fighters and twelve Kindergarten fighters were already waiting.

The result was naturally one-sided.

However, there were also two patrolling Persian Scimitars among them. These two aircraft, by using their high-speed maneuvering, not only survived until reinforcements arrived, but also shot down three Kyushu and two Mirages.

In subsequent battles, Pharaoh's commanders discovered that the Persian scimitars had a kill ratio of one to three, while the MiG-21s of the same period had a ratio of four to one.

That's a ratio of one to twelve.

In such a situation, the choice is obvious.

That's how this phone call came about.