Eight hours later.
Passing over Oman.
The airplane entered Saudi territory.
At this mont.
The landscape below had transford from the Blue Sea into an expanse of wilderness—lifeless and desolate. Yet, the rich mineral deposits hidden beneath this barren land allowed Saudi Arabia, a less developed country, to live almost as if it were a developed one.
"Tangtang, are we almost there?"
Lin Jiaxue walked up from the back.
"Mhm, look."
Tang Qing pointed to a screen on the airplane, which displayed not only the distance and flight path but also the countdown to arrival. It also featured all the planes within a thousand-kiloter radius, represented as dots on the screen.
Radar?
No.
These were satellite feeds transmitted in real ti. In addition to yellow dots, there were quite a few red ones too, representing aircraft with certain offensive capabilities.
Nationality tags were also indicated.
USA.
It stood out conspicuously.
Faced with this.
Tang Qing didn’t show the slightest surprise.
The U.S. was currently engaged in a military operation in Iraq.
There were planes showing off their strength here every day—understandable, given the abundance of oil at ho. If they didn’t burn so of it off, they’d feel uneasy. Five years into the stalemate, only the U.S. could play it like this.
Other than sympathy.
Tang Qing couldn’t do much.
Such is the ga of the great powers.
For now, he was rely an observer. The most he could do was to contribute as much as possible to change so places. When he possessed the power to shift the tides and control the grand sche of things, then perhaps he’d consider ddling in such affairs.
...
An hour later.
Saudi Arabia.
Capital, Riyadh.
King Khaled International Airport.
Ayman was waiting beside a blue Rolls-Royce. Though he had many friends, only a select few were deserving of his personal welco before his wedding. Tang Qing, as both a business partner and a super tycoon, certainly qualified.
His fiancée wasn’t present.
They’d only et at the wedding.
As he scanned the surroundings.
Ayman spotted a familiar figure. He waved vigorously, worried Tang Qing might not see him.
"Tang, welco to Saudi Arabia."
Ayman gave Tang Qing a big bear hug.
"A new car?"
"Not at all. I borrowed it from my older brother. To gather enough money for the ’oasis’ project, I sold off so of my luxury cars. Now that I’m about to settle down, I plan to be a bit more reserved."
Ayman joked with a cheeky grin.
Tang Qing: "..."
Ayman was truly eccentric.
But that wasn’t necessarily a bad thing.
Compared to soone who only thought about cars and won, he was much better. If it weren’t for his lovable quirks, Tang Qing wouldn’t have befriended him. "That’s reasonable. Cars aren’t really that interesting."
"Haha, exactly." Ayman burst into laughter.
Once inside the vehicle.
Ayman took the front passenger seat.
Tang Qing and Lin Jiaxue sat in the back, while the driver—a fighter—handled the wheel. Departing the airport, the view was dominated by endless stretches of wilderness. The airport was about thirty kiloters away from the Saudi capital, a drive of less than half an hour.
"Isn’t it desolate?" Ayman remarked bluntly.
"As long as a place embodies civilization, its environnt is secondary. Each has its own beauty. The most radiant aspects of any place are its ideas, spirit, and its brilliant historical and cultural heritage," Tang Qing said with a smile.
On soone else’s territory.
In their holand.
How could he criticize it?
A little flattery costs nothing.
Sure enough.
Ayman was delighted to hear this. Tang Qing hadn’t focused on the environnt but rather emphasized history and culture, making Ayman feel respected.
"What you see now is a desert. Once the effects of the ’oasis’ are confird, the King plans to heavily invest in planting landscape trees in these areas. With our desalination capabilities and groundwater, it’s entirely feasible."
Twenty minutes later.
The car entered the capital, Riyadh.
Riyadh’s situation.
Made Tang Qing sigh. For such a massive city, there was only one skyscraper. The lack of surface rivers in Saudi Arabia ant the city’s environnt was mostly barren loess soil. Fortunately, Saudi wealth ensures the desalination of a million tons of seawater daily.
Of course.
Seawater desalination.
Doesn’t an Saudi Arabia has no groundwater.
It does.
And plenty of it.
But to protect this precious resource, Saudi Arabia adopts the mindset that if money can solve the problem, then it’s no problem at all. They’ve established the world’s largest seawater desalination capacity.
"I must say, Myanmar Environntal Technology Company’s innovations are incredible. Being able to grow crops within three years is impressive. Honestly, I doubted their technology before."
"But when I saw Huaxia place an order for 20,000 square kiloters, all my worries vanished. They’re a neighboring country, and Huaxia is also a great power. Myanmar Environntal Technology Company couldn’t possibly scam Huaxia for money."
"The only issue is the slow pace. The equipnt won’t arrive until the end of the month."
Ayman couldn’t hide his impatience. Huaxia had already started, while Saudi Arabia was still completing surveys, eagerly awaiting equipnt that was leisurely floating across the Indian Ocean.
Hearing this.
Tang Qing chuckled.
Given Saudi Arabia’s distance and the fact that it wouldn’t be the biggest custor in the future, there was little incentive to prioritize shipnts. For Myanmar Environntal Technology Company, Huaxia was the true major client—20,000 square kiloters, 300 billion.
No hesitation.
Perhaps with so pause.
But in the end, they decisively approved the order.
"Tang, what do you think I should grow on my land?" Ayman suddenly asked.
Tang Qing pondered.
Then spoke.
"As the ’oasis’ becos widespread, food shortages in many countries will improve, and dietary habits will change. If you’re looking for profitability, economic crops and livestock farming might be the better direction."
"How about cal farming?"
"You already have the answer, don’t you?" Tang Qing glanced at Ayman.
"Sort of. Raising cattle and sheep is already common, but cals are relatively scarce. I think your Huaxia has a large market and likes eating them. Cals might be a good dietary supplent."
When it cos to food.
Ayman truly admired Huaxia.
No.
It started with Tang Qing’s family’s Chinese dishes, which gradually led him to discover Huaxia’s enthusiasm for food. It’s the kind of culture where anything and everything is included in the diet—a biological disaster of sorts, but it also creates business opportunities.
To be honest.
Ayman had never imagined.
He’d transition from mining oilfields to digging soil. Well, oilfields seed profitable, but the extraction costs were high, and the fluctuations in international oil prices made the current situation quite uncertain—it wasn’t a particularly great project.
Farming.
At least guarantees survival.
Ayman felt his ntality had undergone a transformation.
Ten minutes later.
They arrived at an estate.
There aren’t many skyscrapers in Riyadh, partly due to the residential layout here. This gigantic city is orderly, with nurous royal family residences evenly spaced. Anyone with money owns large courtyards.
And many enjoy raising bizarre creatures.
Regulations haven’t beco strict here yet.
It was one of Ayman’s properties, handed over to local fighters before Tang Qing’s arrival.
Suddenly.
A lion’s roar echoed from a nearby courtyard.
"Don’t be afraid." Ayman quickly reassured him.
"Haha." Tang Qing laughed lightly.
Afraid?
Who needs to fear whom?
Forget one lion.
Even if a pack of lions appeared, Tang Qing could teach them what it ant to be cute and well-behaved like kittens in re minutes. To be fair, he hadn’t fought lions yet—perhaps he should find ti to train on the African Savannah.
"Tang, when will your chef arrive?"
"What chef?"
"Don’t you usually bring chefs when you travel?" Ayman smacked his lips, looking greedy.
"I didn’t bring one this ti. Wanted to try so local food."
"Really didn’t bring one?"
"Alright, I’m just teasing. He’ll be here tomorrow. I know you plan to host a banquet tonight." For a week-long trip, Tang Qing wouldn’t co without a chef. To avoid complications, they usually arrived through normal procedures.
"That’s great. Leave the next week to ."
Ayman said excitedly.
Before the wedding.
Ayman had traveled around the globe on a pre-honeymoon tour. After the guests left, he planned to take Tang Qing on a tour of the surrounding area, including a visit to his wife’s family in Algeria.
He’d already mapped it all out.
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