Seeing that Lu Yuan clearly didn't want to talk about it, Cheng Yanqiu didn't press him further.
The group began to discuss the ship.
They wanted to leave by ship, but they could only take cargo ships; there were three routes, and all three required transfers.
There are three routes: one from Long Beach to Haikou, two from R country to Haikou, and three from Sing Tao to Haikou.
They first ruled out transiting through Long Beach, which is still within the territory of the United States, making it the most dangerous place to transit.
Lu Yuan stroked his chin thoughtfully. In fact, as long as they stopped at a port along the way, no matter where they were, they would be in danger.
The best solution would be for them to have their own ships.
He asked Cheng Yanqiu, "Do you know the owner of the ship sales company?"
Cheng Yanqiu's eyes widened. "You want us to buy our own ship? But do we have that much money?"
Lu Yuan asked, "Approximately how much will it cost?"
"With so many people and so much stuff, we need at least a medium-sized cargo ship. Even if we buy a second-hand one, it would probably cost over $4 million."
A collective gasp rippled through the crowd.
More than 4 million, still in US dollars.
Based on the exchange rate at that time, that would be around 7 million Chinese Yuan.
With an average monthly wage of only 30 to 40 yuan in China, 7 million yuan is an astronomical figure for them.
Lu Yuan continued, "What about the new ship?"
"The new ones will cost double, generally between $15 million and $25 million."
gurgle—
Even Su Tingxiao and his companions swallowed hard.
Such a niche number, they had never even heard of it.
Lu Yuan slapped his thigh and said, "Buy it! We'll buy the boat ourselves."
He asked Cheng Yanqiu, "You know so much about ship prices, do you have connections?"
Cheng Yanqiu was a little taken aback, and nodded subconsciously, "I do know people in the shipping company."
"Then it's decided, you help me buy a ship."
"Huh? Buy, buy a boat? Really buy one?"
How come it sounds to Lu Yuan as as simple as buying a hamburger?
Everyone was stunned.
The identical expressions of surprise on everyone's faces pleased Lu Yuan.
He replied with a smile, "Of course I really want to buy it!"
"But where will we get the money?" Qian Bing swallowed again and asked.
That's hundreds of millions, not just a few hundred or a few thousand dollars.
He looked at Su Tingxiao and asked tentatively, "Captain Su, do we have several million or tens of millions in funding?"
Su Tingxiao answered honestly, "No."
"That……"
Everyone looked at Cheng Yanqiu in unison, sharing the same thought: Lu Yuan was after him.
Although they felt that Director Lu's actions were not good, they firmly supported the decision he made.
Cheng Yanqiu retreated repeatedly as she saw their menacing gazes.
"Oh no, dear gentlemen, please don't look at me like that. Although I have some assets, I absolutely cannot afford a steamship."
Lu Yuan smiled, "Don't worry, I won't make you pay."
Everyone turned their attention to him again, and Chen Beilin asked, "Director Lu, where did this money come from?"
Lu Yuan smiled slyly, "The money, of course, is borrowed!"
"borrow?"
Lu Yuan waved his hand casually, "Leave the money to me, Brother Yanqiu, just help me contact the shipping company."
He didn't say how to borrow it, so I can't tell them that my idea of borrowing is different from their understanding of borrowing.
Cheng Yanqiu thought Lu Yuan had gone mad. "We have no money at all. How am I supposed to buy a boat?"
Lu Yuan patted his shoulder and mimicked his tone, "Don't get excited, buddy. I told you I'll take care of the money. You just need to contact the buyer. Once I've found a boat, I'll definitely be able to afford it."
Cheng Yanqiu looked at Su Tingxiao and the others with some doubt. They met his gaze and nodded reluctantly.
"I trust Director Lu. If he says he can do it, he definitely can."
Lu Yuan grinned. As expected of the trainees he had trained, they were all quite savvy.
Cheng Yanqiu gritted his teeth and agreed, "Okay, I'll go buy a boat."
If they can really buy a ship, their chances of returning home safely will increase significantly. Hopefully, Lu Yuan can really get that much money.
But then I thought it was unlikely. How could someone get so much money in such a short time, unless they robbed a bank?
Cheng Yanqiu was a little frustrated and didn't dare to have too much hope that Lu Yuan could get the money.
Lu Yuan didn't care whether others had confidence in him or not; he just needed to have confidence in himself.
He asked Cheng Yanqiu, "Can you sail a ship?"
Having a boat alone is not enough; you also need someone who knows how to sail it.
Cheng Yanqiu shook her head, "I don't know how."
"Can I learn that on the spot?"
"Yes, you can hire a coach, but it takes a long time, usually several months."
A few months is definitely not enough; just learning the basics will suffice. They'll hire a few boat operators beforehand.
Lu Yuan said, "Alright, Captain Su, you guys will all start learning how to operate a steamship with Brother Yanqiu tomorrow."
He even joked, "Whether we can get back or not depends entirely on you guys."
So for the next few days, Su Tingxiao and his friends took Sanbao and followed Cheng Yanqiu to learn how to drive a steamboat.
Lu Yuan, on the other hand, took Si Bao under the guise of searching for someone and went around scouting locations.
Bah! Going around asking about things.
Cheng Yanqiu is so busy every day that he barely has time to rest.
After sending Su Tingxiao and the others to learn how to operate a ship, he himself didn't have much time to learn.
He needs to find someone to buy the ship and is also responsible for contacting that group of researchers. There are still 5 people he hasn't been able to reach yet. Although Lu Yuan and his team have secretly sent people to search for them, he has a certain network of connections here and is also trying to find them.
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