Chapter 248 The Western Shore

All the preparations had been made for the previous connection. As soon as Lin Ruoyan and Hua Mengmeng got off the plane, Zhuo Yuan came to pick them up personally.

After all, Mr. Lin only brought his female assistant and bodyguards, so Zhuo Yuan was still a little worried.

In the book, slavery still existed in some parts of inland Africa. Furthermore, the poorer and more backward the place, the more likely women were to be treated as male accessories or goods, and these things actually happened. Regardless of gender, everyone must pay attention to their personal safety while overseas.

Even though the civil unrest here has just ended, the security here is far worse than in the country. It would be safer for women to go out with a man.

Zhuo Yuan also grew up on the construction site. He worked on engineering projects in Africa for many years and became tanned. He used to be a southerner with delicate features and fair skin, but now he has been through a lot and his temples are a little gray in his thirties.

Zhuoyuan brought two translators who looked Chinese, and the rest were local black brothers. Zhuoyuan specifically introduced the black brothers who came with him, saying that they were all studying engineering in China and spoke very good Mandarin.

Zhuo Yuan said, "Their parents worked on Chinese aid projects. They knew that to change the country and boost the economy, they needed to educate their children. Many of them are very bright and have been admitted to Chinese universities, studying a wide range of subjects, including traditional Chinese medicine, engineering, military science, and even train driving."

"Driving a train?" Lin Ruoyan was surprised. "Do I have to learn that in China? Aren't European and American ones better?"

A black man smiled and continued, "Europe and the United States have already surpassed them in technology. Your country is planning to roll out the electrified high-speed rail project nationwide, and its technology is world-leading. We will also build such high-speed rail in our country in the future."

Lin Ruoyan knew they were probably talking about high-speed rail. In the book's timeline, high-speed rail wasn't yet widespread, but was being built between several first-tier cities. Parallel to this was conventional rail, but due to technical issues, the top speed of conventional rail couldn't reach 300 kilometers per hour.

High-speed rail is different. The rails are no longer made of traditional, high-strength steel rails, but rather elastic rails laid in sections several kilometers long. This type of track minimizes wheel wear and ensures exceptionally stable operation at high speeds. In the real world, there's a video showing a coin placed upright on a small window sill in a high-speed train carriage. The coin remains intact for extended periods, demonstrating the train's exceptionally smooth operation.

Conventional trains, on the other hand, have very short tracks and gaps between each track for thermal expansion and contraction, which can cause the train to jolt and wear out due to collisions. The tracks and wheels need to be replaced regularly, which is very expensive.

However, promoting electrified high-speed railways in Africa requires ensuring electricity supply. Building large power plants, whether using nuclear or hydropower, requires prioritizing infrastructure.

Lin Ruoyan fantasized for a moment, and was invited by Zhuo Yuan to a seaside restaurant. They sat down to eat. After eating, they had to drive for six or seven hours to reach the inland mine.

Zhuo Yuan said their advance team had already built a temporary camp there. They could use the camp for work and accommodation, making it convenient for visiting the site. If they lived in a nearby major city, traveling back and forth would be more troublesome.

Lin Ruoyan didn't mind where she lived, but rather the camps run by large Chinese companies were safer and more reliable. Besides providing accommodation and reception, the camps Zhuoyuan and his team built were generally guarded by armed guards, so they didn't mix with the locals. This made management easier, and they had the ability to defend against the enemy in critical moments.

After entering the restaurant, Zhuo Yuan, Lin Ruoyan and Hua Mengmeng sat at one table, and the other accompanying personnel sat at another table and were served by Zhuo Yuan's assistant.

Lin Ruoyan guessed that Zhuo Yuan had something important to discuss about the project, but unexpectedly Zhuo Yuan looked out the window.

Hundreds of years ago, this city was just a small port on the west coast. It was originally a port for slave ships. With the arrival of colonists, the construction of the port also gradually developed.

"Look, there are a lot of containers over there, right?" Zhuo Yuan asked this question first. "Many African countries rely on imports to survive, and they can't be self-sufficient in food and industrial products. Those containers are all shipped in full, but there's nothing to take away, so the piles are getting bigger and bigger."

Lin Ruoyan was thoughtful when she heard this, and vaguely guessed what Zhuo Yuan was going to say next.

Hua Mengmeng asked, "Aren't there any companies that recycle these containers?"

Zhuo Yuan said: "If it were a domestic port, and there was a mismatch between incoming and outgoing cargo, there would definitely be organizations or companies that would recycle containers and transport the empty containers to places in need. However, in this country, recycling is more expensive than throwing them away. So there are a lot of empty containers piling up. We built the camp by buying empty containers here and, through design and renovation, turning them into temporary camp accommodation. It's very cost-effective."

"But that wouldn't require that many containers, would it? I see tens of thousands of containers in the warehouse. Are they all empty?" Lin Ruoyan asked. "These containers are very sturdy and would be great to use as houses. The locals don't have the money to build proper houses, so using containers as houses is fine."

"Well, you're right. But there are only a few empty containers that can be used. The local poor are really destitute. They even buy slippers on installments, let alone such a large container. Even if a few people pool their money to buy a container, there are no cars or roads to transport it to the inland areas they need. And in port cities, people with jobs have a place to live, and those without jobs can't stay." Zhuo Yuan sighed, "The economy here on the west coast, that is, the coastal port cities, is okay, but most of the inland areas are barren lands and primitive tribes that don't interact with the outside world. Road construction has not kept up, and in fact, the national officials even find it difficult to count the population there."

Lin Ruoyan suddenly asked, "I heard that our country's medical aid teams have penetrated deep into inland countries and cities? Don't they need container houses?"

Zhuo Yuan said, "We've come across medical teams from China before. Most of them have to go deep into remote villages and provide mobile medical services. Even when they're stationed in large hospitals, they generally have accommodations. Temporary housing built with containers still requires large vehicles to transport. While they're flexible and can be moved around, they're not very convenient in areas with few roads. It's more convenient to set up tents or build houses out of tin sheets."

Lin Ruoyan smiled. "Then we'll wait until our copper mine project is launched, and all the upstream and downstream construction companies follow suit. In the future, Africa will be able to produce a large number of products and sell and ship them abroad."

Zhuo Yuan and Hua Mengmeng also laughed and agreed, "That's right. We're not here to plunder resources, but to drive the local economy by introducing real industries. The people from Panshi arrived a few days ago, and you can get together at the camp tonight."

“Does the man from Rock also live in your camp?”

Zhuo Yuan nodded. "This time we've built a large, integrated camp using containers. We're determined to get this project. In the future, that camp can also serve as the earliest construction core dispatching area. In addition to related corporate offices, some building materials production and processing factories can also be stationed there."

Lin Ruoyan praised: "Then you have built an industrial park in advance."

Zhuo Yuan nodded: "I guess so. Several major local forces are also keeping an eye on us. They said that if we evacuate the camp in the future, they can spend money to buy the houses and equipment we leave behind."