After more than an hour of bargaining and discussing the details of the trade, the contract was finally finalized.
Iron ore: 52.20 USD/ton, 100,000 tons imported per month, a total of 5.22 million USD. (Tax included)
Aluminum ore: 80 USD/ton, 200,000 tons imported per month, a total of 16 million USD.
The total value of the transaction was 21.22 million USD, shipped from the Darwin port to Ange Island port on the first of every month for five years.
Although Ange Island didn't have a deep water port, Jiang Chen had already invested in the construction. It was estimated that two berths could be completed by the first of next month. Ange Island had a relatively high population and was further away from the other eight islands. It was perfect for transforming into an industrial island with manufacturing as its main focus, so a deep water port with a moderate capacity was necessary.
In just one afternoon, Oliver signed a deal with a monthly revenue of over ten million for the company. Of course, he was ecstatic. After negotiating the contract, Jiang Chen didn't immediately leave. Instead, he chatted with him about the mining industry.
To Jiang Chen's questions, Oliver answered all of his questions. For example, he told Jiang Chen about the low volume of iron ore in 2016 and the declining price of rare earths. In fact, this information could be obtained with a little search on the Internet, so there was no secret to speak of.
"Can I be so bold as to ask? Based on what I know, your company's main business is in the internet field. Why do you need to acquire a large amount of iron ore? "Oliver asked.
"Does your company know the purpose of the buyer's ore?" Jiang Chen joked.
"I'm just curious. Of course, if it's not convenient, then it's fine. This question doesn't affect our cooperation. "Oliver saw that Jiang Chen didn't plan to answer, so he apologized for his abrupt question.
"I'm sorry, this is a trade secret. I can't answer you … To express my apology, please allow me to invite you to dinner," Jiang Chen said.
"Haha, I'd love to. I know a great restaurant in Melbourne. How about being my car …" Oliver gladly accepted Jiang Chen's invitation.
It was also time to get off work, so the two left the company. They went to a Brazilian barbecue restaurant near Melbourne.
From the outside, the barbecue restaurant looked no different from the street food in Han. In the semi-open storefront, the owner, who was obviously not a Brazilian, was roasting pieces of burnt yellow meat on the charcoal stove, using the greasy aroma to attract passersby.
They sat in front of the bar counter, and not long after, the plates were served in front of them.
Two bottles of cold beer and four plates of barbecued meat made Jiang Chen ecstatic.
"Is the outlook for the mining industry bad now?"
"It's not too bad, but I'm afraid it'll get worse." Oliver sighed.
"Because of the economy?" Jiang Chen asked nonchalantly.
"In a nutshell, it's the economy. The root cause is demand." Oliver took a gulp of beer and exhaled happily, as if he was letting go of all the pent-up worries in his chest.
"Can you be more specific?" With a skewer in his hand, Jiang Chen smiled.
He was quite interested in mining.
"For example, if you build a 5,000 square meter building, you will need about 30 tons of steel. But once the house was built, the potential demand for steel would be reduced by 30 tons. Not just the house, but everything from cars to screws. Then the steel factory would decrease production, the mining industry would also decrease production, and the economy would be ruined. "Oliver laughed.
Although Jiang Chen didn't understand what was so funny about it.
"Is it okay to tell me this?"
"No problem. It's time to get off work. " Oliver waved his hand and said arrogantly, "Also, even if the company wants to lay off people, it won't be me."
"So you're saying, the general trend of the iron ore price is going down?"
"That's right, in 2008, it could reach 2.1 USD per ton. Now, 0.95 USD is not bad. "
"Based on what you said, then the mining industry is hopeless." Jiang Chen laughed.
"Not necessarily, unless there's a technological breakthrough." Oliver swirled the glass of beer in his hand.
"Technological breakthrough?" Jiang Chen raised his eyebrows.
"That's right, unless there's a huge technological change, such as everyone throwing away the cars they're using. Just like how everyone threw away the hand spinning machine in 1765, or the steam engine in 1885 … That's a long story. Sigh, I'm still envious of you. "
"There are a lot of people who are envious of me."
"I'm not talking about the money, but your industry. Don't you think the IT industry is the easiest industry to have technological breakthroughs? "Oliver ate a skewer of barbecue and laughed.
"It's also the easiest industry to go bankrupt," Jiang Chen joked.
Oliver paused for a moment before he burst out laughing. Jiang Chen was infected by the laughter as he couldn't help but laugh as well.
Seeing the two go crazy, the pedestrians on the street all looked at them.
…
When Jiang Chen drunkenly returned to the hotel, it was already ten o 'clock at night. The foreigner was surprisingly talkative and humorous. Jiang Chen and he talked about the culture of Australia all the way to the barbecued fish in his hometown Hucheng. The two chatted happily as they ate barbecued meat and drank beer until late at night.
When Jiang Chen left, he exchanged business cards with Oliver before he left.
Seeing Jiang Chen appear at the door reeking of alcohol, Ayesha immediately helped him to the washroom. She took off his shirt and used a hot towel to wipe the sweat off his body.
"Why did you drink so much?" Ayesha whispered in Jiang Chen's ear.
"I met an interesting person." Jiang Chen burped, laughed, and then leaned against Ayesha's budding breasts.
Ayesha's white skin was instantly dyed red. Just as she was about to help Jiang Chen up, snoring sounds came from the bathroom …
…
The feeling of hangover was uncomfortable, but with Jiang Chen's metabolic rate, he only felt a little uncomfortable when he woke up the next day before he recovered.
Because the signing of the contract went unexpectedly smoothly, the originally busy second day became idle.
Since everything was done, according to the agreement with Ayesha before coming, Jiang Chen took her on a tour around Melbourne.
Taking photos in front of landmark buildings, shopping in major shopping malls …
Needless to say, shopping with a woman was indeed tiring. But when he saw Ayesha's blissful face, Jiang Chen felt all his fatigue was healed.
In short, it was worth it.
The last stop of the trip was St. Patrick's Cathedral. Although it was a bit strange to take a pagan to visit this religious building, Jiang Chen was also quite emotional from Ayesha's admiration when she looked at the magnificent cross relief.
Not all faiths were bigoted.
Not all bigotry was unforgivable.
In today's highly secular world, even a complete atheist could hold the hand of a believer and admire the glory of art in front of a pagan church.
Seven hundred years ago, the Crusaders and XXX fought for the ownership of the holy land. Seventy years ago, the United States and the Soviet Union laid down the Iron Curtain for ideology.
However, looking back now, it seemed that nothing was unforgivable or intolerable.
Just like the uncanny workmanship of the Suzhou Gardens and the gorgeous colors on the windows of Notre Dame, the world should have far more shapes and colors than people think.
If one day, human beings expanded to the edge of the solar system, would they be amused by today's "geopolitical conflicts" and "ideological contradictions" when they looked back on that day?
Just don't know what civilization would be worried about at that time …
… is it the direction of evolution? Or something else.
Just as Jiang Chen was feeling emotional, Ayesha gently pulled on his cuff.
Jiang Chen recovered from his emotional state and looked at her with a pleasant expression. He asked softly, "What's wrong?"
"I want to go in and see … is that okay?"
"Of course."
Jiang Chen threw all his emotions to the back of his head and held Ayesha's hand in a gentlemanly manner.
The two walked into the interior of St. Patrick's Cathedral.
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