: Visit From A Minister
The theories and processes used by Blacklight Biotechnology in developing the genetic recombination vaccine were published first-hand by the weekly scientific journal, Nature. This had allowed many countries to acquire the vaccine’s manufacturing technology in time.
Although the vaccine had only undergone a month’s duration of clinical trials, it was tested on more than five thousand participants. This sample size was sufficient to demonstrate the safety of the vaccine.
However, the African Continent was a tricky situation. The Earth Federation could not depend on it to produce enough vaccines on their own even if they had spoon fed them the technology. The Earth Federation needed to hold a few rounds of conferences to distribute the tasks of producing the vaccines.
The reason was that the African Continent was home to twelve thousand million people. The rest of the continents had to share the tasks of producing the vaccines. As a result, the Northern American Continent was tasked to produce two hundred million vaccines, Mainland China was tasked with one hundred and fifty million vaccines, the European Continent with one hundred and fifty million vaccines, one hundred million vaccines for the North Sea Continent and Oceania Continent respectively, and the remaining four hundred million vaccines were shared equally among the rest of other continents.
While it was originally planned that the Indian Continent would be responsible for producing one hundred million vaccines, the continent could no longer sustain itself. The continent that had the world’s highest poverty rate had long become a breeding ground for the virus. It suffered a fate that was only marginally better than that of Africa.
In short, the next few months would be a period where all other continents would distribute their vaccines to the African Continent. The process could only be considered finished when everyone had acquired their immunities and those without the immunities had died off.
Reading the news report, Chen Chen sighed and shook his head. When this pandemic would blow over, it would still be difficult for Africa to recover.
Then came a knock on the door of his office.
“Please come in.”
Chen Chen lifted his head and saw an old African man with white hair entering his office.
The elder person was no stranger to Chen Chen. He was the Minister of Investment and Energy, Zurama.
“Minister Zurama. How rare it is to see you here.”
Chen Chen stood up politely and smiled. “You should’ve informed me earlier about your visit. I would’ve welcomed you properly downstairs.”
“You’re being too polite, Mr. Chen.”
The minister, who was beyond his sixties, no longer had the enthusiasm he once possessed. He was visibly exhausted and had barely managed to squeeze out a smile when he saw Chen Chen.
For the past two months, many high-ranking officials of Namibia had resigned to flee this country with their families while some had chosen to stay. Zurama belonged to the latter.
“Mr. Chen Chen, thank you for all you’ve done for Namibia.”
Looking at the humble youngster before him, Zurama could not help but express his gratitude. “Without you, I’m afraid Namibia would be far worse than it is.”
“I didn’t do much…”
Chen Chen said after being surprised at the minister’s statement. He continued. “I believe you must’ve also witnessed the hundreds of thousands of victims outside this city. There’s nothing I can do to help them.”
“You’ve done enough. To produce a vaccine a month in advance of the Earth Federation’s estimate is to save millions of lives.”
Zurama closed his eyes and lamented, “As for those people, we can only blame that our country is too weak to take care of them…”
Then, Zurama became silent.
Chen Chen did not speak any further either. He merely focused on his monitor screen as the occasional clicking of the mouse broke the silence.
After more than ten minutes had passed, Zurama could not sit still any longer. He took a deep breath, stood up as if determinedly, and said, “I came on behalf of Namibia’s Parliament to first thank you for all your contributions to our nation and secondly, to…”
Namibia paused and wanted to observe Chen Chen’s reaction only to find that Chen Chen was utterly indifferent. Then, he reluctantly continued. “And secondly, we hope that we can be given priority access to two million vaccines from Blacklight Biotechnology…”
Zurama’s face was flushed in redness. At this stage, there was already no one else in the government that could do his bidding.
“Sure, consider it done.”
Surprisingly, Chen Chen had agreed with Zurama’s request without the slightest of hesitation.
Zurama was momentarily stunned by Chen Chen’s swift cooperation as his eyes began swelling with gratitude. “Thank you.”
Chen Chen merely waved his hand as a gesture. The reason why Zurama had to emphasize a “priority access” was that there were sixty countries in the entire African Continent whereas it would take months for twelve thousand million vaccines to be produced. The longer it took, the more lives the virus would take.
Hence, earlier access to the vaccine would mean fewer citizens would die. The damage would then be minimized.
Since he had already made his first request, Zurama thought he might as well finish saying everything he came to ask for. “Furthermore, we… We would also like to raise some relief funds from your company.”
“Not a problem. Blacklight Biotechnology will contribute a humanitarian aid fund worth five hundred million US dollars to this country.”
Chen Chen nodded. Once again, he had not the slightest hint of hesitation.
“Really?!”
Zurama was excited. The Parliament had initially thought they needed to incur huge losses and even sacrifice their dignities before Chen Chen would agree, which was why they had sent Zurama to test the waters.
However, no one would have thought that Chen Chen would agree so swiftly. He had yet to list any of the conditions the Parliament thought he would…
“Of course.”
Chen Chen left his office table and sat on the couch as he gestured to Zurama to join him. “Although I’m not a citizen of Namibia, I’ve collaborated with this nation for a while now. Logically and sentimentally speaking, it’s my duty to help.”
Chen Chen smiled. “There’s an old saying in Mainland China that I’m fond of – As I treat others with sincerity, others shall do the same too. Today, I’ve provided a helping hand to this country. I wonder if this country could agree to a few of my requests as well?”
The inevitable had arrived…
Zurama smiled wryly and said, “Do list it out. As long as it’s not too unreasonable, the Parliament will consider it.”
“Of course. it won’t be anything unreasonable.”
Chen Chen nodded. “I hope you still remember about the forty-years leasing period of this fifty thousand hectare worth of land. Now that I think of it, a forty-year period is too short. If it’s possible, I wish to extend the leasing period by another fifty-nine years.”
“Well…”
Zurama held his breath for a moment before he nodded reluctantly. “Understood. I’ll bring this up in the next Parliament sitting.”
“And one more thing.”
Chen Chen continued saying, “Throughout the trial operations of the nuclear power plant, I’ve noticed a severe problem. The electricity generated is just too little for my projects. I hope that from today onward, I will have full control over the distribution of the electricity supply without any regulations from the government.”
“You!”
Zurama could feel his entire face freezing up.
The only reason Namibia would allow a foreigner to establish a nuclear power plant on their land was to accelerate the development of their country. Now that the government had no say when the plant was built, what use was there for that nuclear power plant in the first place?
It was something that no government could compromise on.
“My apologies, I’m afraid the Parliament wouldn’t agree to this.”
Zurama was stern as he said coldly, “I’m afraid you’ll have to revise this condition.”
“Let’s not rush to a conclusion too soon, Minister Zurama.”
Chen Chen responded as if he had anticipated that response. He smiled nonchalantly and said, “If the Parliament is concerned, we can meet in the middle. I’ll allocate another five hundred million US dollars to invest in a one million kilowatt thermal power station in Windhoek’s industrial area. This will contribute to the development of Windhoek, what do you think?”
“…”
It was then when Zurama finally quieted down.
Chen Chen knew that he had hit a spot and swiftly seized the opportunity. “I recall that the thermal power station near Windhoek was built thirty years ago. The machinery is aged and worn out, which causes limited electricity supply in Windhoek. With another power station built, the old power station can be upgraded. By then, perhaps there’ll be sufficient electricity supply to even power nearby cities. This is a win-win solution…”
“What about the electricity bills?”
Zurama asked abruptly.
“I can cede full control of the power station’s operation to the Parliament.”
Chen Chen pondered a while longer and continued. “As for myself, all I need is to collect a lease fee rate at… One million US dollars per month!”
Zurama was shocked and asked, “Are you sure about this?”
From Zurama’s perspective, a million US dollars lease fee was the equivalent of giving the entire power station for free!
“Yes, no hidden conditions attached.”
It was then that Zurama began settling down. He took another close look at Chen Chen and sat back on the couch.
It was undeniable to Zurama that the influence this young man possessed had been growing at a rate where the Namibia Parliament could no longer control.
Zurama could still recall reading the semi-annual statement that was submitted by Blacklight Biotechnology to the tax department. It was written that the net earnings generated by the hundreds of sanatorium under Eco Science City in the first half of 2023 were an astounding 1.8 billion US dollars!
What kind of figure was that?
In 2022, the annual GDP of Namibia was only 1.5036 billion US dollars, which indicated that just the net earnings of an institution under Blacklight Biotechnology were enough to surpass the total production value of Namibia!
In addition, Zurama had also recalled that Eco Science City was one of the various subsidiary units of Blacklight Biotechnology. It was said that Blacklight Biotechnology also owned a branch in Switzerland and a headquarter in Mainland China, with the headquarter specializing in the production of technological products that garnered hundreds of millions worth of profits…..
Furthermore, they both agreed to a condition that Blacklight Biotechnology would enjoy a full tax exemption in the first three years and a half tax exemptions in the subsequent five years. This meant that no matter how profitable Blacklight Biotechnology was in the first three years, the Namibian government could not benefit at all…..
Zurama had even thought if he could just claim the city and turn it into an industry that belonged to Namibia. For sure, his country’s power would increase by another level, right?
Unfortunately, the Parliament did not dare commit such an act. No other countries would dare do such a thing or they risk losing all of their public legitimacy.
Looking at the productive youngster before him, Zurama sighed and said, “Understood. I’ll bring these conditions up for discussion in the Parliament. I just hope that you’ll do your best in finishing the vaccine as soon as possible, Sir Chen.”
For the first time, Zurama had addressed Chen Chen as “Sir”.
“The vaccines will arrive in Namibia Airport within three days.”
Chen Chen nodded and continued. “Not only that but we’ll also be providing disposable medical equipment. I hope that you’ll consider my requests heavily as a return favor.”
“That’ll be for sure.”
Zurama answered solemnly and thus, the initial stage of the negotiation was concluded.
Now that the duo had reached a consensus, the tension was way less oppressive and smiles had returned to both their faces. Meanwhile, the sound of water boiling in a teapot was heard from Chen Chen’s desk.
“What sound is that?” Zurama was amused.
“Perhaps you’re new to the tea culture in Mainland China.”
Chen Chen stood up and went to retrieve a Chinese tea saucer before proceeding to place a couple of tiny teacups on it as he began brewing the tea.
“Tea culture?”
Zurama said curiously, “I’m familiar with tea leaves that originated from Mainland China, but what’s a tea culture?”
Chen Chen smiled and did not utter a word. He followed the instructions that he had read from the Internet to brew his tea. The fragrant aroma of tea leaves began to spread across the room.
At last, Chen Chen poured the light green liquid into a teacup and passed it to Zurama and asked, “Would you like to try?”
Zurama raised his brows as he received the teacup over and swallowed in a single gulp.
He was immediately greeted by a refreshing hint of flavor…
“I’ve never drunk tea that tasted like this!” Zurama exclaimed.
“You’re over complimenting.”
Chen Chen said humbly, “By the way, Minister Zurama, is the death statistic of this country out yet?”
“Not yet, the Parliament is still lacking the resources to conduct the analysis.”
Zurama’s face turned solemn and said, “Mr. Chen, in your opinion, how severe is the death toll in Africa?”
“Very severe.”
Chen Chen lowered his eyes and said, “Although official news had placed the death toll to be within 30 million people, these statistics are merely from the neighboring countries of the pandemic’s epic center. The countries that were first hit by the pandemic such as Rainbow Nation, Angola, and Namibia have all lost the resources to compute their statistics. Worse still, some smaller nations have even perished.
“In other words, the real death toll has far exceeded 30 million people.”
Chen Chen reiterated, “Although 30 million seemed shocking, it’s still a relatively comforting number compared to the realistic figure. The true death toll is probably ten times more than this…”
“Sigh…”
Although Zurama had prepared himself mentally, he was still appalled when he heard those words coming right out of Chen Chen. As Zurama stood up, he could feel a numbing sensation pressing onto his scalp. “Mr. Chen, thank you for hosting me. I should leave now…”
“Okay, I imagine there are still many matters that demand your attention in Namibia. I shall not insist on making you stay.”
Chen Chen personally accompanied his guest to the entrance and watched as the frailing minister gradually left his sight. He could not help but shook his head.
Sometimes, humans could be complex and unpredictable creatures…
Just like this minister who was in charge of overseeing two departments. If Chen Chen had not socialized and interacted much with Zurama, he may have thought Zurama to be the righteous official he seemed to be…
