The vaccine developed by Blacklight Biotechnology was temporarily only used in Africa and areas where the epidemic had occurred.
Although the vaccine had gone through a month of clinical trials, only minor side effects such as temporary swelling and allergies were found, no one knew if there would be more far-reaching side effects on the human body in the long run.
Therefore, except for areas like Africa that urgently needed vaccines, the Central Continent and Northern America would not use this vaccine that had not been tested for safety.
Even if the vaccine was placed in front of them, the Earth Federation did not expect them to produce the vaccine themselves. Therefore, the Earth Federation held several meetings and divided the task of vaccine production.
As there were a total of 1.2 billion people in Africa, each continent had to share some of the task. Thus, the Northern American Continent was given the task of producing 200 million vaccines, the Central Continent was given 150 million, the European Continent was also given 150 million, the North Sea Continent 100 million, the Oceania Continent 100 million, the East Sea Continent 100 million, and the other continents shared the remaining 400 million.
Originally, the Indian Continent was assigned at least 100 million tasks, but it was already too busy to take care of itself. This continent with the world's largest slum population had long become a petri dish for the virus. It was only slightly better than Africa.
In short, the next few months would be the period for the various continents to vaccinate the African people. Until everyone had antibodies or the virus killed all those who did not have antibodies, it was finally over.
Looking at the news report, Chen Chen sighed and shook his head. After this plague, it could be said that Africa had suffered a serious blow.
At this moment, there was a knock on the door of Chen Chen's office.
"Come in."
Chen Chen raised his head and saw a white-haired black old man pushing the door open and walking in.
This old man was Chen Chen's old acquaintance. It was none other than the Minister of Energy, Zurama.
"Minister Zurama, what a rare guest."
Chen Chen stood up politely and smiled. "You should've informed me earlier, I could've gone downstairs to welcome you."
"Mr. Chen, you're too kind."
This old man in his sixties had long lost his former glory. At this time, he looked miserable. After seeing Chen Chen, he forced a smile and walked in.
Over the past two months, many senior officials in Namibia chose to resign and leave the country with their families, but there were still many officials who chose to stay, including Zurama.
"Mr. Chen Chen, thank you for everything you've done for Namibia."
Looking at the young man in front of him who was neither arrogant nor impetuous, Zurama could not help but feel emotional. "If it weren't for you, Namibia would probably be even worse than it is now."
"I didn't do anything."
Chen Chen was taken aback when he heard this and then said solemnly, "I believe you've seen it too. I can't help any of the hundreds of thousands of refugees outside the city."
"You've done well enough. You've saved millions of people by a month before the Earth Federation's expected time to develop a vaccine."
Zurama closed his eyes and sighed. "As for those people, we can only blame our country for being too weak …"
After that, Zurama went silent.
Chen Chen did not speak either. He just stared at the computer calmly, occasionally making a "click" sound when the mouse clicked.
After about ten minutes, Zurama finally could not sit still anymore. He suddenly took a deep breath and stood up as if he had made up his mind. "I'm here on behalf of the Namibian Congress this time to thank you for your contribution to our country, and also..."
Minister Zurama glanced at Chen Chen again when he mentioned the word "Second", only to find that Chen Chen was still unfazed. He had no choice but to bite the bullet and continue. "Second, we hope to have priority access to two million vaccines from Blackwatch..."
Towards the end, Minister Zurama's face even reddened. There was really no one else in the government who could do this.
"Alright, I'll agree."
However, he did not expect Chen Chen to agree without the slightest hesitation.
Minister Zurama was taken aback as if he did not expect Chen Chen to agree so readily. After that, a flash of gratitude appeared in his eyes. "Thank you."
Chen Chen waved his hand. The reason why Zurama specifically emphasized this "priority" was that there were sixty countries in the entire African region and the production of 1.2 billion vaccines would take several months. The longer it was delayed, the more people would die from the virus.
Therefore, the earlier they obtained the vaccines, the fewer deaths of their own citizens and the less damage they would suffer.
Since he had already said this, Zurama simply made up his mind and said the rest of the words, "Also, we want... We want to obtain a sum of money from you."
"No problem, Blacklight Biotechnology is willing to provide your country with 500 million US dollars of humanitarian aid funds in the name of our company."
Chen Chen nodded, still without the slightest hesitation.
"Re, really?!"
Minister Zurama's expression flashed with a hint of excitement. Originally, the Congress was planning to bleed and even sell their dignity in exchange for Chen Chen's aid, which was why they sent Zurama to be the vanguard.
However, who would have thought that Chen Chen would agree so readily, not even mentioning the series of conditions that the Congress had set out...
"Of course."
Chen Chen left the office table and sat on the sofa while gesturing for Zurama to sit down as well. "Although I'm not a citizen of Namibia, I've been working with your country for so long. Now that your country is in trouble, it's only right for me to lend a hand."
Chen Chen smiled. "There's an old saying in Mainland China — I treat others with sincerity and they treat me with sincerity. Now that I'm helping your country, shouldn't your country also agree to a few conditions of mine?"
What was to come had come...
When Zurama heard this, he suddenly smiled bitterly. "Go ahead, as long as it's not too excessive, the Congress will consider it."
"Of course, it's not too excessive."
Chen Chen nodded. "Do you still remember that I rented this fifty thousand hectares of land for forty years? Now that I think about it, forty years is too short a time. If possible, I hope to extend it for another fifty-nine years."
"This..."
Zurama's breath caught in his throat, then he nodded bitterly. "I understand, I'll bring the request to the Congress."
"There's one more thing."
Chen Chen continued. "Since the trial operation of the nuclear power plant during this period, I've discovered a serious problem. In my plan, there's a shortage of electricity resources. Therefore, I hope that from today onwards, the electricity produced by the nuclear power plant can be freely distributed by me without the supervision of your country."
"You!"
Zurama's face turned green when he heard this.
Why did Namibia want others to build a nuclear power plant on their land? It was because it could promote the development of their country. However, now that the nuclear power plant was built, their country could not even use its power. What was the point of building this nuclear power plant?
This was something that no government could tolerate.
"I'm sorry, I'm afraid the Congress can't agree to this."
Zurama's face was pale and he said coldly, "Mr. Chen, I think you should change your condition."
"Don't be so quick to make a decision, Minister Zurama."
Chen Chen was not surprised by Zurama's reaction at all. He only smiled nonchalantly. "If the Congress doesn't think it's appropriate, we can compromise. I'll invest another five hundred million U.S. dollars in a thermal power plant with a capacity of one million kilowatts in the suburbs of Windhoek to aid in the development of Windhoek. What do you think?"
"..."
Only then did Zurama fall silent.
Chen Chen knew that the other party was tempted, so he continued to strike while the iron was hot. "I remember that the thermal power plant near Windhoek has a history of thirty years. The units have long been old, causing Windhoek to often be in a state of power shortage. If there's another power station that provides power to the capital, this old power plant can be upgraded and even freed up to support the nearby cities. This is a win-win situation..."
"What about the electricity bill?"
Zurama suddenly asked.
"I can let the Congress operate the entire power plant."
Chen Chen thought for a moment and said nonchalantly, "I'll only charge a rental fee. Let's just charge... One million U.S. dollars per month!"
Zurama was shocked. "Are you serious?"
From his point of view, a rental fee of one million U.S. dollars per month was no different from giving it away for free!
"I'll be honest with you."
Zurama's expression slowly softened. He gave Chen Chen a meaningful look and sat back on the sofa.
He had to admit that the influence of this young man in front of him had grown to the point that the Namibian Congress could no longer contain it.
Zurama remembered that he had seen the semi-annual financial report submitted by Blackwatch to the tax department. It showed that in the first half of 2023, the net income of hundreds of sanatoriums in Eco Science City reached 18 billion U.S. dollars!
What kind of figure was this?
Last year, which was 2022, Namibia's annual GDP was only 15.036 billion U.S. dollars. In other words, the net income of just one of Blackwatch's institutions had exceeded the GNP of Namibia!
Zurama also remembered that the Eco Science City was only a branch of Blackwatch Corporation. He heard that the company also had a Swiss branch and a headquarters in Mainland China. In particular, the main focus of the headquarters was technological products, and the annual profit was more than hundreds of millions of dollars...
Moreover, the condition that he had set out back then was a tax exemption period of three years and a tax exemption period of five years. This meant that no matter how much money Blackwatch earned in the three years, the Namibian government would have nothing to do with it...
Sometimes, Zurama even thought of taking this Eco Science City for himself at all costs. If this private city could become an industry of Namibia, then the national strength of his country would surely rise to the next level, right?
Unfortunately, the Congress did not dare to do so. No country in the world dared to do so. If any country did so, their credibility would be gone.
Looking at the calm young man beside him, Zurama sighed inwardly. "Understood, I'll bring these conditions to the Congress for discussion. I only hope that Mr. Chen can get us the vaccine as soon as possible."
In the end, Zurama even used the word "Mr." for the first time.
"The vaccine can arrive at the Namibian airport in three days."
Chen Chen nodded and said pointedly, "Not only the vaccine, I can also provide all disposable medical equipment. Seeing that I'm so sincere, I hope that Minister Zurama will keep my request in mind."
"Of course."
Zurama also answered solemnly. The transaction between the two sides was considered preliminary and both the guest and the host were happy.
Since the preliminary agreement had been reached, the previous tension immediately dissipated. Smiles were plastered on both of their faces. On Chen Chen's desk, there was the "gurgle gurgle" sound of water boiling.
"What's that sound?" Zurama was taken aback.
"Minister Zurama may not be familiar with our tea culture in Mainland China."
Chen Chen stood up and placed a tea bowl on the desk in front of the two of them. At the same time, he skillfully took out small teacups, placed them on the tea bowl, and began to boil the tea.
"Tea culture?"
Zurama was slightly surprised. "I know about the tea leaves in Mainland China, but what's tea culture?"
Chen Chen smiled and did not speak. Instead, he brewed the tea step by step according to the process he saw online. Gradually, the fragrance of tea leaves wafted into the air.
In the end, Chen Chen placed a teacup filled with a light green liquid in front of Zurama. "Have a taste?"
Zurama raised an eyebrow, then picked up the teacup and drank it in one gulp.
Instantly, a fragrant aroma spread in his mouth...
"I've never tasted tea with this flavor!" Zurama exclaimed.
"My apologies."
Chen Chen modestly said, "By the way, Minister Zurama, has the death toll of your country been tabulated?"
"Not yet, the Congress is still unable to compile the statistics."
Zurama's expression was somewhat solemn. "Mr. Chen Chen, how many people do you think have died in Africa this time?"
"A lot."
Chen Chen lowered his gaze. "Although the news has been reporting that the death toll of this plague is between 30 million, this data only comes from countries at the periphery of the epidemic. The dozen or so countries at the epicenter of the outbreak, such as the Rainbow Nation, Angola, and your country, have long lost the ability to compile statistics. Some small countries have even been wiped out."
"Therefore, the true death toll must be far higher than the figure of 30 million."
Chen Chen added. "Although this number sounds sensational, it's actually a lie to comfort the public. The true death toll should be more than ten times that of 30 million..."
"Sigh..."
Although Zurama was prepared for this, when Chen Chen said it himself, he still felt a little shocked. He stood up, turned around, and walked toward the door. "Alright, thank you for your hospitality. I should go back now..."
Chen Chen sent Zurama to the door. As he watched the Minister of Energy, who had aged significantly, step by step, he could not help but shake his head.
This dual minister of the Ministry of Investment and Energy had formed cliques in the Congress for personal gain, accepted bribes, and used all sorts of methods.
However, in the face of this national crisis, he resolutely chose to stay in the country and stand on the front lines of the epidemic...
It had to be said that humans were sometimes complicated creatures.
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