A good life starts with blind date

Chapter 320 Don't Cut Corners

He toured the territory and inspected several farms.

Jiang Ning signed several acquisition agreements before flying to Africa.

We landed in Goma but didn't go into the city.

I boarded the helicopter that came to pick me up and flew directly to the mining area.

With the general election in the Democratic Republic of Congo over, the new leader is unable to control the situation, and there are many who are dissatisfied, making the situation increasingly chaotic. North Kivu province is relatively stable, but the old black man, Kakul, has been suppressing dissent.

Jiang Ning eliminated some of the troublemakers.

The rest were all dealt with and forced to behave themselves.

Although disputes still occur, it is at least much safer than before.

No more worrying about the plane being shot down at any time.

The helicopter is brand new, an Airbus ACH160. It's very luxuriously decorated, with top-notch comfort and quietness. It's a commercial aircraft with a four-seat layout and very spacious interior, which is incomparable to smaller, beat-up planes.

Jiang Wei touched the soft bag and asked, "When was this plane bought?"

Jiang Ning said, "I bought it a while ago, and it's been under renovation ever since. It was only recently handed over."

"how much is it?"

"More than 1000 million dollars."

"His!"

The two gasped for breath, realizing that poverty had limited their imagination.

One airplane is enough for them to work hard for their whole lives.

Upon arriving at the mining area, the workers were bustling about.

During the dry season, with no weather affecting operations, the mine is operating at full capacity.

Zhou Tong and Sun Yang looked worried. The climate in Africa is very unfriendly to agriculture. During droughts, not a drop of rain falls, and the land is so dry that it turns gray. During the rainy season, it rains almost every day, and landslides are frequent.

The water storage project is still under construction and its role is limited.

The crops in the field are almost scorched to death.

Jiang Ning turned around, and Casoto had changed drastically.

Previously, the place was littered with garbage. The refugees didn't know what hygiene meant, and they would urinate and defecate anywhere and litter indiscriminately. Now, it has all been cleaned up, and there are construction sites everywhere. Several villagers have organized a group of old and young black people to build new houses.

Children were running around and playing in the mud.

However, the ones who were naked were gone; they were all wearing clothes.

The black men were dressed in brightly colored clothes with all sorts of random logos printed on them.

Jiang Ning was also surprised to see a black man wearing a T-shirt with the Peking University logo on it. She asked Zhou Tong, "Where did you get this shirt? How come it has the Peking University logo on it?"

Zhou Tong laughed and said, "These refugees are too poor. Many of them don't even have clothes. We organized a donation drive and asked the mine owners to donate clothes to the refugees. Some people collected a batch of second-hand clothes from their hometowns and distributed them to the refugees."

Jiang Ning felt relieved.

Sun Yang reported something: "Boss, someone wants to build a brick factory here."

"Ok?"

Jiang Ning was surprised: "A brick factory?"

Sun Yang replied, "Yes, the boss uses those small mines to attract investment and get those mine owners to do construction. Anyone who isn't stupid can see that there's a huge demand for building materials. And no one dares to cause trouble on our territory, so business is definitely guaranteed. Not only brick factories, but also cement factories. If the boss agrees, we won't have to go through the trouble of buying bricks from outside anymore."

Who wants to build a cement plant?

Jiang Ning asked, "A brick factory requires little investment; you can just use some old equipment to build a kiln and start firing. It doesn't cost much. But a cement factory requires a lot of investment. Aren't you worried that your investment will go down the drain?"

Jiang Ze, who knew a little about it, said, "Building a cement plant doesn't cost much. There are plenty of obsolete equipment back home, many of which are sold as scrap metal. Just pick up some obsolete equipment and bring it over; a few million or eight million can get you a cement plant."

Jiang Ning asked, "Do you and Wei Ge do it?" "No!"

Jiang Wei shook his head repeatedly: "If we can mine gold, why bother with a cement factory!"

Jiang Ning nodded and said to Sun Yang, "A cement plant can be built, but not here. That stuff is very polluting. It's best to go far away. Also, ask if anyone wants to build a steel plant. It would be best if a steel plant could be built."

"That thing is troublesome."

Sun Yang shook his head repeatedly: "Steel plants are not like cement plants. The steel industry is a huge industrial chain, from mining and smelting to processing and production. It requires a lot of professional talents and the investment is also considerable. These African bosses do not have that kind of strength."

Jiang Ning said with regret: "That's a pity. North Kivu Province has no shortage of iron ore, but no steel plant. If a steel plant could be built to solve the problem of insufficient steel, infrastructure construction could be accelerated. Buying steel is too troublesome and too expensive."

Jiang Ze continued, "Steel plants are heavy assets. Who would be crazy enough to build a steel plant in Africa? If there's even a slight riot, the losses would be enormous. We can just dig for some gold. Why bother with all that trouble?"

Jiang Ning nodded; what she said made sense.

After walking around, I saw that the crops in the field were wilted.

It rained that night.

The rain wasn't heavy and stopped after an hour.

Jiang Ning was also worried about causing a landslide, as the mountains here were not like those in her hometown.

It rained for another half hour this morning.

The air felt exceptionally fresh.

The flowers and plants around the mining area have also come back to life, full of vitality.

I took a trip to Jiang Ze and Jiang Wei's small gold mine.

Five or six fellow villagers from my hometown were busy with dozens of young men.

The equipment has been debugged and is ready to be put into production.

Jiang Ning asked, "When will you turn it on?"

Jiang Wei, beaming with pride, said, "It'll be done soon. We just need to clear the overburden layer to prevent a landslide that could delay production. It should be ready in about half a month. We'll have to hold a launch ceremony and have a pig's head offered as a sacrifice."

Jiang Ning was speechless: "It's not like we're back in our hometown, why are you engaging in feudal superstitions?"

Jiang Wei chuckled and said, "Anyway, it's not much trouble, so let's just put our minds at ease!"

Jiang Ning asked, "What's the grade?"

Jiang Ze said, "The highest weight can reach more than 30 grams, but the total weight is around 13 grams."

"not bad!"

Jiang Ning nodded: "This mine can be mined for three years, so the two of you should be able to earn a small fortune."

The two were in high spirits and full of energy.

Jiang Wei said, "The roads are just too bad. The dozen or so kilometers of bad road from Goma are difficult enough to travel, and there is no road at all from the town to the mining area. It is too difficult to transport materials, and the logistics trucks often break down on the way."

Jiang Ning said, "Once we make money, we'll fix the road."

The two exchanged a glance.

Jiang Ze asked, "Is the road repair your responsibility or ours?"

Jiang Ning glanced at it: "Just flatten it up and lay it down with a few truckloads of pebbles. It won't cost much."

Jiang Ze smiled and said, "The sound of construction machinery is like a thousand pieces of gold. We work hard to dig up some gold from the land, and what we earn in a year is not even worth one of your legs. Why don't you exchange the mines for those bosses to do infrastructure projects? You can't let your brother suffer losses!"

"Then it's mine."

Jiang Ning slapped his forehead, no longer caring about the small amount, and said, "Build a concrete road from Goma to the town. That part is mine. The part from the town to the mining area is yours. Don't try to cut corners."

Jiang Ze readily agreed: "Absolutely! We can't cut anyone's portion, not yours!"

(End of this chapter)