With the old king gone, Jihuo Defense will face its real test.
The first batch of visas has been successfully issued, and based on the ticket sales of major airlines (all direct flights within France are sold out, and flights via other countries are available), there will be thousands of passengers on the official opening day.
For most non-profit museums, this number may not seem very high, but the Afica War Museum is a fee-charging museum.
A single adult ticket costs $20, a child under 16 costs $15, and a family ticket costs $35.
This price was set by Xia Yu after consulting with several European and American counterparts.
You can see a lot of tanks and tracked vehicles at the free military museum, but there are almost no performances. However, they do have tank parades every hour during their opening hours.
That alone makes the ticket price worthwhile. If you want to make the travel and accommodation costs even more worthwhile, then you have to get on the bus and have sex, since we're already here.
A thousand people is just the peak; usually, four or five hundred is enough. On average, the visitor flow is six or seven hundred. In a year, the basic ticket revenue alone can reach more than 3 million US dollars.
Of course, the cannon firing and accommodation are free of charge, and Xia Yu will also give away free tickets from time to time on various online platforms.
To spend hundreds of dollars on a visa and thousands of dollars on a round-trip ticket for a ticket costing tens of dollars, one can only say that it's like Jiang Taigong fishing—those who are willing will take the bait; he doesn't force anyone.
All the staff of Jihuo Defense have put aside their work and joined the boss in providing logistical support for the museum. The combat employee group 2, under Leonardo's command, is responsible for the firing range. Johnny, who had served as a fourth-class artilleryman (M777 gun crew, and was later selected for the Hibiscus Team), and group 1 were assigned to the artillery firing range.
The rest of the instructors were in the main building of the museum, while the remaining technical staff were reassigned to Kron and assigned to each tank.
Liv, Andre, Alvin, and Wang Kai were assigned to be in charge of medical and mobile support.
Without this experienced team, Xia Yu would likely have encountered some trouble on opening day. Fortunately, with these old friends, they could handle even twice as many people.
As the first group of tourists received their visas and headed to the airport, a privately owned Boeing 767-300er took off from Moscow.
Alexei was on the plane at the moment. In addition to Xia Yu's invitation, he was also accompanying two other big shots on this trip.
One is a gun enthusiast with a collection worth hundreds of millions, while the other is even more impressive, owning a private military history museum in Padikovo.
Besides the equipment from World War II, there are even active-duty T-80BV and T-90 aircraft, which can only be described as awesome.
Both of them are richer than Alexei, and they also came here hoping to make some gains.
We're not even thinking about Tiger I or Tiger II. We'll probably get a Panzer III, IV, or V that can run and fire.
They had collected these old cars long ago, but most of them couldn't be started, and even those that could be started couldn't launch anything.
In comparison, it's easier to find well-preserved Soviet tanks for restoration.
There is also the corresponding ammunition. Whether it is the 76mm tank gun of the T-34 or the 122mm cannon of the IS-2, the shells can be found in stock.
Not only were there few German cars, but the distribution of ammunition was also almost nonexistent.
In addition to buying tanks, they also want to stockpile a batch of artillery shells so they can fire them from home without having to make a special trip.
The daily life of an oligarch is just that mundane and boring.
From this perspective, Xia Yu's life appears even busier and more thrilling, but that's the kind of money he earns; monopolies always have barriers to entry.
After having dinner on the plane and chatting for a while, the owner, Boris, went to the master bedroom to wash up, and Igor went to the second bedroom. Only Alexei was left to recline the first-class seat in the lounge with the help of the flight attendant.
Unfortunately, this private jet only has two bedrooms, so his younger brother had to sleep in the lounge.
However, they are all better than Xia Yu's. He either rents or borrows planes, and they are all military transport planes, which offer no comfort whatsoever.
It's not time to enjoy it yet, but it's fine to sleep in a hammock.
On the day of the official opening, Xia Yu got up early and had breakfast with the staff who had changed into the museum's uniform. Two Mi-8 Hippo planes appeared in the sky.
People from Busa have arrived. Two Boeing 737-200s that originally flew to other cities have been reassigned to fly the Busa-Konluga route. However, these old planes only have 104 seats, so in order not to compete with tourists for seats, military helicopters have been called in.
There was no need to drive to pick them up; the Mi-8 could be parked directly at the museum. So, by the time the first 737-200 arrived at Konluga Airport, the leaders and guests had already arrived.
Old Anka was among them; following Xia Yu, he had really made a fortune this time.
Although it is a coastal port city, Khon Lugga only attracts some domestic tourists and does not become famous for tourism.
Unlike today, when thousands of foreign tourists visit every day, even if the number drops to a few hundred later, they can still generate a lot of consumption, like a gold mine that is continuous and stable.
In addition to the hotel business, Xia Yu and Lao Anka also co-founded a car rental company at the airport, renting out various vehicles to tourists in need, and also operating a shuttle bus service between the airport and Nekale town.
Xia Yu didn't spend a penny; he directly invested his cars. He bought new cars for his cheap ones, and his several luxury cars and relatively expensive buses were all refurbished accident vehicles and used cars. This gave him a 70% stake.
Operations management, maintenance and repairs were all handled by people from the old Anka, and recruitment prioritized retired soldiers from the Anka mechanized infantry battalion. This improved the quality of the personnel and attracted many capable people from Busa to come over.
This is a virtuous cycle. Many local black men who want to learn to drive have to be apprentices to old black car owners for three to five years before they can even touch the steering wheel, and then work for free for another three to five years before they can graduate.
The Lai'anka Mechanized Infantry Battalion is different. After completing the drill training, they immediately start hands-on practice, not to mention that they are assigned jobs after their discharge.
What is the core base? This is the core base.
"Mr. Sherlock, I wish our business a prosperous future and great success!"
Old Anka, who was learning Chinese with his son, spoke in somewhat broken Mandarin.
"Absolutely. I appreciate your kind words. We'll start by expanding, then grow stronger!"
Xia Yu also spoke his mother tongue again, which was a rare occasion. He also asked Old Anka to help take care of the guests and chatted with the embassy representative for a few minutes.
The people from the Philippines were military personnel, transported by a transport plane, which also brought along members of the Philippine Transitional Government.
They all congratulated Xia Yu and inquired about when he would go to Mali and when the mine would be developed.
"Soon, the museum business stabilized, and I led the team to set off. The mine had to wait for my personnel and machinery to arrive."
Xia Yu estimated that he would be able to lead the team to set off around the end of this month.
The mine will have to wait until the end of the year, since he hasn't assembled all the construction machinery yet, and the number of miners is also a problem.
However, the scope of Operation Barkhane is not limited to Mari; the entire Sahel region is a narrow strip of land spanning 3,800 kilometers.
If he's going to move to Zhado, he'll probably stop by the mine on the way to do some preliminary construction work.
For example, drilling wells, building small photovoltaic power stations, and assemblies and boxes for prefabricated houses, as well as some construction machinery, all require transporting the materials first.
Even excluding the savings the system helped, Xia Yu still has to pay several hundred thousand US dollars. Hopefully, everything will go smoothly.
They greeted the tourists who had come to Nekale town one by one, whether by renting a car or taking a bus. After checking into their hotels and putting down their luggage, they came to the museum in small groups.
"Why isn't the door open yet? And how were they allowed in?"
After running around the museum's side and main entrances, some people noticed that several cars drove in through the side entrance, while the main entrance remained locked.
"They must have booked rooms. The cheapest one is $800 a night. I hesitated for two seconds and then booked them all. These rich guys are really rich."
A tourist with an East Asian appearance chimed in, saying that the way he speaks English, complete with the retroflex ending, clearly indicates he's from northern China.
"Wait a minute, it'll open soon. Oh, and there are firecrackers too."
As they were talking, the gate opened, and several young men came out carrying two strings of 80,000-shot firecrackers.
There was no special ceremony. A ribbon was pulled up, and a circle of white, black, and Asian people came out. They said a few simple words of welcome in Chinese, English, and French, and then each person cut the ribbon with a pair of scissors.
"Crackling and popping"
Two strings of large red firecrackers exploded after being lit, announcing the official opening of the Afica War Museum.
Because they had been warned beforehand, the tourists crowding in front of the gate didn't mistake the firecrackers for gunshots. Or perhaps they were there specifically to watch gunfire and the pervasive smell of gunpowder made them even more excited.
After the firecrackers were set off, tourists flocked into the museum grounds because admission was free for the first three days of the year.
Fortunately, the area, spanning several hectares, was large enough to include the shooting range, the main museum building, and large grassy areas, which quickly thinned out the previously crowded area.
As time went on, tourists who missed the opening ceremony gradually arrived, and the sound of gunfire from the shooting range brought the place back to life.
As the clock struck 10 a.m., the tank parade began.
German, Soviet, American, British, French... each series pulled out its representative war machine. The roar of the engines, spanning more than half a century, gave not only the enthusiasts but everyone present goosebumps. War drives technological progress and weapon upgrades.
History may seem distant in books, but these war machines transport us back to that era of war and chaos, allowing us to experience the difference between iron and blood, civilization and barbarity.
So, shouldn't we just get in the car and fire a shot at him?
Grand opening special offer! 20% off the entire range! Only 3 days! Only 3 days!
"Boom!"
The first big spender made his move, securing the Tiger's first kill of the year. He got a 20% discount, making it only $6,400 per shell, and he could even take the spent shell casings home.
“Isabella, exempt soldier, here is your soldier’s certificate.”
Xia Yu handed the soldier's ID card, stamped with an official seal, to the girl in front of him.
Military enthusiasts are willing to spend money, and female military enthusiasts are even more willing to spend money. After experiencing armored soldiers, they plan to become artillerymen and fire a dozen or so anti-aircraft guns.
Even so, these are just ordinary players; true whales buy the whole car.
"Mr. Sherlock, let me introduce you. This is Boris, and this is Igor."
Because Xia Yu had reserved a room for them, the three of them put down their luggage and, led by the person in charge of the accommodation department, found his place.
“Boris is in the same profession as you, and Igor has a very rich collection. When you arrive in Oslo, be sure to have them entertain you.”
Alexei continued to introduce the two sides.
"Welcome, both of you. But Mr. Alexei, since you've done business with me, you should be the one to entertain me."
Shaking hands with two oligarchs who were clearly much older than him and Alexei, Xia Yu joked with them.
"Sure, when our friends come, there will be beautiful women and fine wine. We'll have a good drink then. But today, these two are your clients."
Alexei explained the purpose of their visit.
“Mr. Huang You, I’ve heard Alexei talk about the achievements of Ji Huo Defense. I didn’t expect you to be so successful in business. Even if I built ten museums, I wouldn’t make as much money as you do with just one.”
Boris first complimented Xia Yu, saying that his museum had a lot of impressive exhibits, but it wasn't very profitable because it couldn't attract tourists from all over the world like the Afica War Museum.
However, he didn't intend to make money from this; it was mainly to satisfy his collecting obsession.
"I want one Panzer IV and one Panzer V that can run and fire, so that I can simulate combat with my tanks. I wonder if Mr. Huang You would be willing to part with them."
Boris asked this question because he saw that Xia Yu had more than one No. 4 and No. 5 tank. There have been many transactions of these two tanks in recent years, but the Americans beat them to it.
Fortunately, this time they were faster.
"Don't worry about the price, any model will do. I'll offer $3.5 million for the 4th and $5 million for the 5th!"
Is this the extravagance of oligarchs?
High-quality No. 4 and No. 5 specimens might fetch such prices at public auctions, but taxes and fees must be paid on the proceeds, so the actual amount received would be much less.
But Boris's offer was net income without any deductions, and Xia Yu was instantly tempted.
Two cars, that's almost ten million!
"Oh right, I forgot about the shells. How about I buy them wholesale at your price today?"
Handmade shells are not cheap, and Boris believes that a 30% discount is Xia Yu's cost price, leaving him with at least a 10% profit.
This guy is really nice. Xia Yu's actual cost is less than half of this price, but he's already quoted a price. Lowering the price would be a slap in the face, so we'll just do what the customer says.
"Sure! Mr. Boris, how much do you need?"
Xia Yu took out his notebook and wrote it down.
"Whatever kind of grenade or armor-piercing shell you have here, give me 50 of each."
Boris Johnson blocked the way.
To facilitate logistical ammunition management, even though the museum could print all types of shells, it only provided three types of ammunition for each tank, resulting in 300 shells.
Goodness, that's over a million more!
Adding the cost of buying the tank, it will definitely exceed 10 million.
"And what about you, Mr. Igor?"
Xia Yu smiled and asked customer number 2.
"I don't like tanks, I prefer tank destroyers and assault guns."
Igor began to speak.
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