Early in the morning, Chen Chen was awakened by a strange cry. It was a noisy and comical bird cry, as if there were hundreds and thousands of birds chirping at the same time. It was extremely annoying.
Chen Chen unplugged the charging cable of his phone in a daze and looked at the time. It was only around seven in the morning.
As he was woken up by the noise, Chen Chen's expression was a little ugly. He got out of bed and pulled open the curtains of the floor-to-ceiling window, wanting to see who was disturbing his sleep.
Suddenly, a fog filled the air between heaven and earth. Even the morning sun appeared hazy. On the beach dozens of meters away, there was a large flock of crimson seabirds. The strange chirping Chen Chen heard was coming from them.
Those must be the famous flamingos.
Walvis Bay was located on the Atlantic coast. Affected by the Benguela Current unique to the Atlantic, it was often shrouded in cold and damp fog in the early morning. The Atlantic Current also brought abundant food, so thousands of flamingos lived in the lagoon all year round, which was the beach in front of Chen Chen.
The hotel Chen Chen was staying in was called the Flamingo Villa Boutique Hotel.
In English, Flamingo also meant Fiery Bird.
There were several luxurious hotels and countless European-style mansions built around the lagoon. In this barren land of Africa, it could be said to be a paradise where every inch of land was worth its weight in gold.
It was said that international movie stars Angelina Jolie and Brad Pitt gave birth to their first child here.
Chen Chen retracted his gaze and looked at the road under his feet.
Under the morning mist, a white girl wearing headphones was jogging along the lakeside path. Several white children were riding bicycles in the distance, laughing and playing.
In addition, some white people who had also built their houses by the lake sat on their green lawns, quietly enjoying the fresh morning air.
Although all of this seemed very ordinary, with the scenery of small towns like this everywhere in Europe, only Chen Chen understood that to be able to carve out such a paradise in Africa, where water and electricity were extremely scarce, the resources consumed were not comparable to those small towns in Europe.
It was no wonder that this was called the rich area.
Chen Chen shook his head and closed the curtains again. At the same time, he sent a message to Qian Wenhuan.
Not long after, someone knocked on the door of the suite.
Chen Chen walked over and opened the door, only to see Qian Wenhuan pushing a dining cart in, followed by a few people. "Boss, I saw the waiter preparing to deliver the food, so I brought it in."
"Thanks, everyone, take a seat." Chen Chen pointed to the sofa behind him and said to everyone.
After these people were seated, Chen Chen looked at them one by one.
Apart from Qian Wenhuan, there was also Anthony, who was in charge of business negotiations, Jennifer, and Zhou Jing and Wang Liang, who were in charge of the location of the nuclear power plant.
Anthony and Jennifer were Swiss while Zhou Jing and Wang Liang were geologists that Chen Chen had Xia Yin look for in China.
Last night, they had planned to pick him up at the airport, but Chen Chen refused.
"Has everyone eaten?" Chen Chen pushed the dining cart to a nearby table and asked everyone.
"We've already eaten." Qian Wenhuan quickly answered. Everyone nodded.
"Alright." Chen Chen placed the food in the dining cart on the table one by one and said with a smile, "It looks like you're doing well here. Wenhuan seems to have gained weight again."
"Bo, Boss, it's not my fault!"
Qian Wenhuan was shocked and quickly explained, "You saw it last night, the Namibian officials are too enthusiastic. They follow us every day. Even when we go out for exploration, they're always in campers and ambulances. I can't slim down even if I wanted to."
"Yeah, for the past month or so, almost two months, we haven't spent a dime. It's all the support from the Namibian officials, but we've never slacked off."
Wang Liang chimed in at the right time, immediately drawing a grateful look from Qian Wenhuan.
"I'm just joking, just make sure you don't overdo it."
Chen Chen waved his hand, forked a piece of salad with his knife and fork, and stuffed it into his mouth. "So, how's the progress during this period?"
"Boss, we've temporarily chosen two locations for the nuclear power plant."
Qian Wenhuan quickly took out a map and spread it on the coffee table. "The uranium mines in Namibia are mainly related to the Damara orogenic belt. They're concentrated in the Namib Desert on the Atlantic coast of Erongo Province. The Hushan uranium mine and the Rössing uranium mine are also in this area —"
Qian Wenhuan pointed to a small point in the westernmost part of Namibia. "We're now on the Atlantic coast of Erongo Province. If we want to build a nuclear power plant, it's best to choose a coastal location. After all, a nuclear power plant requires a lot of cooling water. Don't even think about building one inland in Namibia. They can't even afford to supply their own fresh water system."
"Actually, it's possible to build inland as well. Just build a cooling tower," Zhou Jing, who was in charge of site selection, added.
"That won't do." Qian Wenhuan quickly shook his head. "It's not necessary. Besides, in case of an accident like the Fukushima nuclear power plant, we'll need a lot of cooling water."
Qian Wenhuan continued to explain to Chen Chen, "Therefore, we agreed that building it along the coast ten kilometers north of Swakopmund is a pretty good choice."
Seeing the puzzled look on Chen Chen's face, Qian Wenhuan continued to explain, "Swakopmund is a city less than thirty kilometers north of Walvis Bay. It's the fourth largest city in Namibia, even more prosperous than Walvis Bay.
"Because of the existence of the Hushan Uranium Mine, after the Hushan Uranium Mine Project of China General Nuclear Corporation was launched eight years ago, they invested in the construction of roads, the laying of water pipelines, and the upgrading of power facilities. This has greatly improved the infrastructure of the city of Swakopmund. If we build it there, both the cost of material transportation and the cost of nuclear fuel transportation can be greatly reduced."
"Will Namibia agree to this location?"
Chen Chen took a look and saw that the location Qian Wenhuan was pointing to was marked with the words "West Coast National Tourism and Entertainment Zone".
"It's mainly because there aren't many good options."
Qian Wenhuan scratched his head. "To be honest, according to the standards for the establishment of a nuclear power plant, it's best to be surrounded by mountains on three sides and water on one side. In the event of an accident, the mountains can block some of the radioactive dust. However, Namibia doesn't have such a geographical location. Still, it can be done far away from residential areas. After all, the population density here is too low."
"What about the other location?" Chen Chen thought for a moment and asked again.
"There's another location. It's not on the north side of Walvis Bay, but on the south side."
Qian Wenhuan pointed downward. "Similarly, the railway is the cheapest method of transportation. We can't be too far away from the railway, otherwise, the cost will skyrocket. Therefore, the southern coastal area of Walvis Bay is also acceptable."
Chen Chen looked at the map and saw a long string of words labeled "Namib-Naukluft Hunting Park".
"This is a good place, but..."
The legal consultant, Jennifer, hesitated. "The construction of a nuclear power plant requires the approval of the Namibian Ministry of Tourism and Environmental Protection, but Namibia has written environmental protection into the constitution. It'll be difficult to apply for these two locations."
"That's not something we need to consider."
Chen Chen drank a large bottle of milk, wiped his mouth, and made a decision. "Let's go with the second one. Ten kilometers south of Walvis Bay, it'll be built here."
"Uh, then the government..." Qian Wenhuan was stunned.
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