Abandoned the Immortal Cultivator, returned to his hometown to farm and sing

Chapter 1329, Section 1316: The Big Deal

"Young Master Luo, you're the one who made the connection and built the bridge today. You have to tell us all, what exactly is the reason for this prince in the white robe?"

After Zhang Xuesong, the deputy general manager of Shouguang Agricultural Holding Group who led the team, came out, he pulled Luo Yihang aside and asked him directly.

Luo Yihang laughed and said, "What else could it be for? To get promoted, make money, and get married."

"Oh dear!" Zhang Xuesong said helplessly, "Young Master Luo, please stop joking with us. He's already a prince, how can he get promoted and make a fortune? He's not like us farmers."

He's a vice president now, why does he still call himself a farmer?
Sigh, these days, nobody believes you when you tell the truth.

Luo Yihang invited Zhang Xuesong and the others to his suite.

Take out your laptop and find the background information.

He didn't have an assistant, so Zhang Xuesong and the others did the serving of tea and water themselves.

But I wasn't in the mood for tea at that moment.

Luo Yihang found the materials and put his laptop on the coffee table so they could squeeze together to look at them.

He introduced himself from the side.

“My good friend Mansour is here on behalf of the Dubai royal family. Let me tell you about Dubai first.”

“They rely on imports for 85% of their food, and 92% of their vegetables and fruits are imported. That’s more than three million tons every year.”

"We all work in agriculture, so we know that vegetables and fruits are not good for transportation or storage."

"Even though their imports mainly consist of relatively durable vegetables like onions, tomatoes, cucumbers, and lettuce, nearly half of them are lost during transport. So, only 1.3 million tons are released to the market each year."

“I’ve been to Dubai. Do you know how expensive vegetables are there? The most common Shanghai bok choy here costs 54 yuan per kilogram in the supermarket there.”

"And this isn't even fresh; the leaves are all wilted."

As soon as he heard this, Zhang Xuesong and the others understood. Shanghai bok choy, that stuff in Shouguang, the farm price is three or five mao, and it sells for only one or two yuan in the supermarket, at most three or four yuan.

Fifty-four yuan per kilogram, what does that even mean! It's outrageous.

“Just think of that place as the North before the 1990s, before the ‘vegetable basket project’…” ​​Luo Yihang made another analogy, but then realized it wasn’t right. “It was even worse than back then. They had almost nothing locally, and everything had to be transported overseas, from Iran, India, and Africa.”

“They may have money, but they can’t just squander it. So they want to make up for this shortfall.”

This time, Zhang Xuesong and his colleagues felt a pang of sympathy again; before the "vegetable basket project" was implemented, life was truly pitiful.

In winter, all you see in the north is cabbage. People pickle cabbage in the morning, stew cabbage at noon, and boil cabbage in the evening. By the end of winter, everyone turns cabbage-colored, their faces turning a deep green.

Everyone says Dubai is rich, with gold everywhere, but I never imagined that getting a meal would be so difficult.

But they really are rich.

"It says here that Dubai has a population of 3.8 million, and it directly produces 3 million tons of intelligent greenhouses per year. Based on the amount of 1,600 kilograms per person per year, it is almost as high as the per capita amount in China."

China produces 860 million tons of vegetables and 330 million tons of fruit annually. Dividing this by 14 billion people, the average annual consumption is 1700 jin (850 catties) per person.

“Even if it’s imported, it’s still a lot, 1.3 million tons, which is almost 700 kilograms,” another person said, pointing to the computer screen.

They exclaimed in amazement, "They're really rich!"

Luo Yihang chuckled inwardly. Seven hundred jin? Even three hundred jin would be a struggle. Don't try to apply Chinese concepts to this.

In Mansour's eyes, Dubai has only 400,000 people, and the entire UAE has only 1.2 million people, so only this part can reach the level of 700 jin.

Other foreign workers aren't considered people, and they still want vegetables. Giving them some scallions is already a good idea.

Of the 130 million tons that arrive at the port, at least half will be re-exported to Saudi Arabia and Oman to make another profit.

Saudi Arabia is not to be outdone either; they will continue to resell goods to Jordan, Egypt, Sudan, and Eritrea.

Luo Yihang took the computer, found a map of the Middle East, and drew a circle on it.

"This area is all desert, and there is a lack of vegetables and fruits. Dubai Port is located at the entrance to the Persian Gulf, so it is actually relatively cheap."

“They’re not stupid. Once the greenhouses are built, they’ll not only consume them themselves, but also sell them abroad. The vast market in the Middle East and North Africa holds great potential.”

"Middlemen are the most popular niche in Middle Eastern countries."

"So everyone can rest assured, they definitely won't lose money, and we should also make a profit. Quickly draft a price list, taking all aspects into consideration, so we can negotiate the price with them."

Having learned the background information, Zhang Xuesong and his team felt reassured.

Another meeting room was opened, and we began to compile various data to prepare a quotation.

Shouguang Agricultural Holding Group is a wholly state-owned enterprise under the jurisdiction of Shouguang City. Its core business is agricultural services, and it covers forestry, animal husbandry, fishery and urban and rural infrastructure construction. It has a wide range of related businesses.

Even if not, there are related companies among the people who came this time.

If not, you can call in reinforcements.

Shandong and Shouguang have everything related to agriculture.

The annual production of vegetables and fruits is 300 million tons, but the specific varieties are still unknown.

Let's assume we're wealthy.

Considering the scarcity of everything in Dubai, high-tech smart greenhouses are indeed a good choice. Although they are more expensive to build, they have a high output per unit area, a high recycling rate, and save water, fertilizer, and soil, making them more cost-effective than traditional greenhouses.

The greenhouse for growing peas, provided by Luo Yihang as a gift to Mansour, is a smart greenhouse, 5000 square meters in size, powered and watered by the Dubai municipality.

The annual yield is 7.5 kg per square meter, which is higher than the 5.4 kg per square meter produced by domestic field cultivation.

Aside from its high power consumption, it's perfect.

For electricity, we have solar power.

I was busy all night.

The final plan was to create 1500 smart greenhouses, each with an area of ​​10,000 square meters. According to calculations, such large greenhouses are most suitable for Dubai, where the technology is mature.

It covers an area of ​​20 square kilometers.

The greenhouse itself cost a total of 234 billion RMB.

Supporting facilities include: energy (photovoltaic panels, energy storage batteries, backup diesel generators); irrigation (reverse osmosis seawater desalination equipment, intelligent water and fertilizer integrated system); water treatment (rainwater collection equipment, sewage treatment, greywater recycling); disaster prevention (fire protection, monitoring, early warning, wind resistance); and roads, power supply, monitoring, and communications.

And so on and so forth, it's roughly 180 billion RMB.

Including freight, labor costs, and construction equipment, plus an additional 15%, the total comes to 476 billion.

The project is expected to take five years.

Of course, it wouldn't take that long in China, but in Dubai, there's nothing there; even the cement has to be transported from China, especially since it's in the desert.

The construction period was suddenly extended.

The only advantage is that you don't have to worry about those environmental and animal protection organizations; the construction period is just delayed, not indefinitely delayed.

Looking at the statistics.

Zhang Xuesong and the others gasped in shock.

That's ridiculously expensive. It's an overseas project, so we should make more money, right? Even if we only make 30%, it's still 62 billion.

You'll scare the prince away again.

This isn't just a nominal investment; to make this happen, we need to actually put up this much money.

Luo Yihang was not surprised by this, as he had naturally taken the time to consider it.

We know pretty much everything about the other side's hand.

It's only a few hundred billion, nothing to worry about.

Besides, tens of billions? Luo Yihang hadn't even opened his mouth yet.

"No matter how much we negotiate in the end, I want 20%." Luo Yihang bared his fangs.

Zhang Xuesong and the others felt a sudden unease.

"We haven't even finalized the deal yet, and you're already asking for a commission? Mr. Luo, you're really going too far." Zhang Xuesong was indeed an honest man, saying whatever came to mind.

Luo Yihang waved his hand, "This isn't a brokerage fee, it's what I deserve. We calculated the total area to be 20 square kilometers, right? I'll provide 300 square kilometers of grassland, which will reduce construction costs by at least one-tenth and shorten the construction period by one-third. I'm not getting this money for nothing, am I?"

Only then did everyone suddenly realize.

Yes, Mr. Luo has some super purslane, which was originally used for building projects in the desert.

The benefits are numerous.

The sample project in Ningxia saved a quarter of the cost.

One-tenth is an understatement.

The construction period was shortened by one-third, which saved more than 10% of the money.

There are also early repayments.

Give Mr. Luo 20%, he can do it, he really can do it.

Zhang Xuesong's eyes darted around, and he seized the opportunity, "Then you, Mr. Luo, have to help negotiate the price. You get a percentage of the sales revenue; the more you negotiate, the more you earn." Luo Yihang gave him a thumbs up, "You're really something."

He then stood up, "Let's go then..."
-
The second round of negotiations has begun.

Luo Yihang moved from the middle to sit opposite Mansur, next to Zhang Xuesong and the others.

First, send over a document and delete the item list with the price.

The document outlines the required area, materials, height, dimensions, ancillary facilities, and smart devices.

Mansur kept dozing off as he listened to the rambling.

Only his assistants occasionally asked questions about things they didn't understand.

Zhang Xuesong and his team were responsible for providing the answers.

After finishing his story, Mansour had already taken a nap.

After being woken up by his assistant, he took the project list and glanced at it again. "The area doesn't matter. I'll give you forty square kilometers."

There's nothing else there, just a vast expanse of land.

Outside the city, it's all wasteland.

Then, he tossed down the project list and went straight to the point, "Give me a quote."

Everyone turned to look at Luo Yihang.

Luo Yihang cleared his throat and softly uttered, "Six hundred and twenty billion."

Zhang Xuesong and the others immediately panicked, their eyes bulging out as they stared in disbelief.

Why did you reveal your bottom line in your very first quote?

Not even a sliver of room for negotiation?
Luo Yihang gently waved his hand at them under the table, meaning to ignore it.

Mansour did indeed bargain, cutting the price by more than half in one go, to "two hundred and seventy billion."

Luo Yihang shook his head, "Five hundred and fifty billion."

Mansour shook his head as well, "Three hundred billion."

Five hundred and twenty.

Three hundred and ten.

"five hundred."

"Three hundred and thirty."

"Four hundred and sixty."

"Three hundred and sixty."

Back and forth, the numbers for the two became closer and closer, and the pace of price increases and decreases slowed down.

When the price reached 460, Zhang Xuesong and his team became anxious again, their necks were covered in sweat, their brows were furrowed, and they stared intently at Luo Yihang.

I thought to myself, "My dear Mr. Luo, stop cutting the price! We're already losing money!"
But Luo Yihang remained unmoved, slammed his hand on the table and shouted, "Stop talking nonsense, a flat price of 40 billion, and I'll give you 300 square kilometers of grassland for the shortfall of 4 billion."

Zhang Xuesong and his team were shocked. "Holy crap, it can be sold twice?!"

They eat from the previous supplier and then eat from the next.

Upon hearing this, Mansour slammed his fist on the table as well, "Great! Deal!"

The deal is done.

Zhang Xuesong and the others pushed Luo Yihang out.

They didn't even bother to go anywhere else; they just stayed at the door, closed it, and started complaining all at once.

"Mr. Luo, this won't do, it's too low."

"Four hundred billion would mean a loss; we really can't take it on."

"You'd better find someone else; we're withdrawing."

These are the carefully selected companies; we can't let them leave.

Luo Yihang smiled and said, "Four hundred billion US dollars is not a small amount. We can't earn all the money in the world, so let's not be too greedy."

Everyone was stunned upon hearing this, their mouths agape.

"Wait, US dollars???"

“Yeah, it’s always been priced in US dollars.” Luo Yihang shrugged. “If we don’t use US dollars, are we supposed to use RMB? Their exchange quota isn’t much, it’s simply not enough.”

Zhang Xuesong and his companions instantly beamed with joy, their smiles practically splitting their faces.

"Hahahaha, that's enough, that's more than enough, hahahaha."

Four hundred billion US dollars, more than 280 billion, that's too much, simply too much.

No wonder people say foreign trade is profitable; it turns out it's so lucrative!

Actually, it's rare to find such a large order with such high profits; it's a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity.

But Luo Yihang, the middleman, knew the cards on both sides and knew that Mansur was really not short of money. He could spend other people's money however he wanted; what he wanted was political achievements.

As for "others," they don't care about money that comes for free.
-
Everyone snored away as they returned to the conference room.

Discuss the details of the contract.

The construction period was still quoted as five years, but it was agreed that if the project was completed ahead of schedule, the final payment would be made in advance.

Mansour did not object, but added a clause requiring the schedule of each stage of the project to be specified, and if there was a delay, the final payment would also be delayed.

If no extension is mentioned, a proportional deduction and penalty will be imposed.

The terms were very good, and I agreed on the spot.

Dubai is rich; a mere eight billion a year is nothing to them.

Moreover, the royal family said before the trip that the Dubai government would subsidize 20% of the cost, which would make things even easier.

The remaining funds will be contributed by the Dubai royal family, the royal families of the other six emirates of the UAE, various tribes and families, and Mansour's family.

Anyway, it's very complicated behind the scenes.

They will also jointly establish an agricultural development company to manage it, with each party allocating shares according to their investment amount.

This investment quota is highly sought after.

Besides Mansour's family's fixed 5%.

How to divide the remaining shares is already a hotly debated issue in the UAE.

Vegetables and fruits can be a lucrative business in the Middle East.

Putting aside other things, Dubai alone imports $2.5 billion worth of vegetables and $1.6 billion worth of fruit every year.

The two items together amount to more than four billion.

each year.

If all production is switched to self-production, the investment can be recouped in five to seven years. If it is built in batches, it is even possible to build later and produce earlier, so that you can start making money before the project is even finished.

The project generates its own construction costs.

Therefore, Mansour made another demand.

They released a bunch of historical data on the import, export, and sales of vegetables and fruits from Dubai, the UAE, and other Middle Eastern countries.

"Could you all help me calculate how to ensure that people in Dubai can have access to cheap vegetables, that the UAE can have access to low-priced vegetables, and that we can have an export advantage with other countries? This will help us determine the construction timeline for the facilities and maximize the recovery of costs as quickly as possible."

He knew his side wasn't good at math, didn't have a supercomputer to build a data model, and wasn't clear on the production details, so he simply made it a requirement as part of the contract.

Look at these requirements: cheap, low price, export advantage—they're clearly divided into layers.

It also needs to be done "to the maximum extent" and "as quickly as possible".

There are so many requirements.

What kind of client wants everything and also wants to help you make money?

Sigh, for the sake of the money, let's do it, let's do it.

Zhang Xuesong happily agreed.

I'd like to borrow Luo Yihang's supercomputer.

Next, it's time for the payment.

Mansour's side has stirred up trouble again...

(End of this chapter)