June 25, Argentina:
"Yeah yeah yeah yeah."
In the Monument Arena in Buenos Aires, the capital of Argentina, a burst of crazy cheers came one after another, drowning out all other sounds. Countless people waved Argentine flags and cheered in the stadium seats. Above the stadium, more than a dozen players also They also held the national flag, cheered everywhere, and occasionally gathered together for a hug.
After about ten minutes, the voice became quieter.
"Eric, congratulations, you won $500,000." In the VIP seat, Henry Morgan threw his lost ticket to the roadside and said to Chen Zhiwen with a smile.
"Haha, let's go, I'll treat you to dinner tonight." Chen Zhiwen said with a smile.
"You are really blessed by God. You just came here and won the first time. It's a pity that we should play something bigger." Henry Morgan shook his head and said.
"It's just for entertainment, it's only 500,000 US dollars, which is actually not much for us." Chen Zhiwen smiled and shook his head.
In 1978, Argentina held the 11th FIFA World Cup, which became the most lively event in the world that year. Henry Morgan was a football fan, so he naturally came to Argentina and invited Chen Zhiwen over the phone.
The entire World Cup started on June 1st and lasted for 25 days. Although Chen Zhiwen also liked football, he couldn't really spend a month in Argentina like Henry Morgan, so he specifically chose the World Cup championship final. Before that, I came to Argentina.
Although he didn't know the situation of Argentina's World Cup, Chen Zhiwen was considered a football fan in his previous life. He knew that Argentina had won the World Cup at his home stadium. So, when he learned that Henry Morgan wanted to buy football lottery tickets, he placed a bet on Argentina's victory.
Although Chen Zhiwen caused a big butterfly reaction in Hong Kong and even the United States, it obviously failed to affect the World Cup. In the end, Argentina won the game and Chen Zhiwen made a small profit of 5 million US dollars.
"Yes, there are too many, and I'm afraid it will disturb a lot of people's cakes." Henry Morgan said softly.
"I know." Chen Zhiwen said. Anyone with any brain would know this kind of thing. With a market worth billions or even tens of billions of dollars, would capitalists really let it go? No fool would believe it.
"Let's go, we have to go to St. Louis Province tomorrow. The road there is not easy." Henry Morgan said with a smile.
"Okay, let's go." Chen Zhiwen nodded and followed the crowd out of the stadium. They were all VIP customers and paid ten times the normal ticket price. Therefore, there is a special passage here. Otherwise, with the people below The group of people were so crowded together that they probably wouldn't be able to get out for an hour.
In the evening, the two of them took their men and did not eat any formal meals, but went to find some small delicacies, but they were not street stalls, but in regular shopping malls.
Early the next morning, under Henry Morgan's arrangement, a Boeing 737 flew the group to St. Louis. Then there were several local helicopters that took everyone north and refueled in the middle of the road. , arrived at the destination at 2 o'clock in the afternoon that day.
"It's really far away," Chen Zhiwen said after getting off the plane.
"Actually, it's not very far. It's just that the traffic in Argentina is so bad. If we were in the United States, it would only take three hours to drive." Henry Morgan said with a smile: "I specially flew these planes from a nearby American store. The oil company leased it, otherwise it would have been very late for us to get here.”
At this moment, they were on a grassy field. Fortunately, they had already prepared bodyguards, especially Henry Morgan's, who held various guns in their hands. Any wild beast that came over would have to run away if it encountered this group of two-legged beasts.
"How big is your farm?" Chen Zhiwen asked.
"About 4,000 acres," Henry Morgan replied.
"It's big enough." Chen Zhiwen nodded and said, 4,000 acres, almost 16 square kilometers, which is a square area as large as 4*4 kilometers.
"It's quite big. How much do you think I spent to buy this farm?" Henry Morgan asked with a smile.
"The location here doesn't look very good, and there is no infrastructure. $500,000?" Chen Zhiwen predicted a figure.
"Wrong, it's almost the same divided by 10. I spent $65,000." Henry Morgan said with a smile.
"So cheap?" Chen Zhiwen was a little surprised. Although this place has all kinds of bad qualities, why is it so cheap with such a large area?
"If this kind of area is in the United States, as long as it's not the Gobi desert, no matter how bad the location is, it won't be worth *100, but this is Argentina." Henry Morgan said while preparing the weapon for hunting wild boars: "We used to lay out weapons in the capital. After staying in Enos Aires for a few days, how do you feel about the economy?”
Chen Zhiwen thought for a while and asked: "You mean, Argentina's economy is in trouble?"
Although South America does not seem to be well-known in the world, like the United States, large-scale peace has lasted for many years. World War I and World War II did not reach here, although there are conflicts in some places, or occasional quarrels with the Empire on which the Sun Never Sets overseas. , but it does not affect the overall economic development, especially if it is close to the United States, it will naturally take advantage of the development of the United States and catch a ride.
It's just that success or failure has its consequences. South America has always been absolutely dependent on U.S. capital. When the U.S. economy is good, it is not a problem. But once the U.S. economy has problems, interest rates will be raised. Once interest rates are raised, the U.S. dollars of various countries will be affected. All will flow back to the United States, which is a fatal blow to many developing countries that rely on debt to develop.
Since the first oil crisis, inflation in the United States has been uncontrollable, and the Federal Reserve has been forced to raise interest rates, causing countless developing countries to suffer.
"Yes, in the past two years, a large amount of U.S. dollars and U.S. capital have withdrawn from Argentina, which has caused the Argentine government to be unable to pay the interest on its debt. At this critical moment, in order to attract U.S. dollars, the Argentine government used this useless land to In the name of the farm. Half sold and half given away at a low price." Henry Morgan said with a smile.
"There should be a lot of such American capital, right?" Chen Zhiwen asked with a smile. In fact, this is also one of the strategies of the United States. Once many developing countries are seriously short of foreign exchange, they must sell their assets at a low price. When the country goes bankrupt or is about to go bankrupt, it will turn around and buy high-quality and cheap assets.
It’s an old routine that has been played for decades. It was the same way in Asia in 1997. In South America, which is close to the United States, it happens almost once every ten years. It’s just appropriate under normal circumstances. But this time, it’s The United States has its own problems and urgently needs to get blood from other places.
"As long as you understand, the Morgan family is involved in this matter, and many financial groups in the United States are also involved, but I am not included. I can only be regarded as an ordinary businessman in the United States. I come here to buy a piece of land and come here for vacation occasionally. ” laughed Henry Morgan.
"Aren't you going to build a farm here?" Chen Zhiwen said looking at a piece of grassland. The land here is not fertile, but it is still okay.
"I'm not interested. I'm just going to turn this place into my hunting ground." Henry Morgan shook his head and said: "Actually, the Argentine government has this idea. It's very cheap to buy this land, but if you want to transform it into a farm, the price is too high. , it is conservatively estimated that it is impossible to make less than one or two million US dollars. Moreover, the transportation here is not good, and the cost of transporting the grown food is relatively high. Forget it, it is too much trouble. Even if you can make money, you won't make much."
"Yes." Chen Zhiwen nodded and said.
In fact, the price of a farm is only one factor, and the lack of infrastructure is the most important. These two points can make the price of farms in the same location ten times different. A good farm can be used directly, but a bad one is the one in front of you. To cultivate wasteland, you have to invest in internal roads, water pipes and waterways, power facilities, regional planning, etc.
This prerequisite still requires water rights and external roads, otherwise, it will definitely be a wasteland.
In fact, many countries have relatively small and concentrated populations, such as South America, Australia, Canada, etc., where there are a lot of wastelands where weeds are always growing. Since weeds can grow, in theory, crops can be grown, and at worst, crops can be grown. Planting corn or potatoes?
But just because turning these lands into farmland requires a lot of investment, it may not be cost-effective from an economic perspective, so let it go. In many cases, some governments will even offer to give away land for free, provided there is a certain amount of investment, but very few are willing.
"What? You want to buy a farm? A real farm?" Henry Morgan asked in surprise when he saw Chen Zhiwen's expression.
"I have this idea, but it depends on the situation." Chen Zhiwen smiled and said, "I'm just a little worried about the attitude towards non-American investors here."
"This is not a problem. We can jointly invest, for example, you invest 90% and I invest 10%. If we invest together, it counts as American capital. If the farm you want to buy is big enough and I can't afford it, then I will reduce it to 1 %." Henry Morgan said: "Furthermore, Argentina is also a member with some status in international trade. They will not destroy their own brand just for a farm. Besides, Chinese capital is now relatively active in the world. Once Argentina really does something like this, it will have to cut itself off from Chinese capital."
"The main thing is that the cake is too small and not worth it." Chen Zhiwen said with a smile. In fact, many countries in South America also have a lot of cunning operations. For example, a certain country forcibly nationalized the oil industry, causing heavy losses to American oil companies. However, in the follow-up, It was also hit by the US blockade.
"That's the truth. This is the reality." Henry Morgan said with a smile: "What kind of farm do you want to buy? I have a friend who specializes in this kind of business intermediary in various parts of South America. If you are interested, I can let him Let me check it out for you.”
"Originally, I didn't plan to invest in a large farm, but Henry, your plan is very good. Buy a large open space first, and use it as a hunting ground for vacation if you don't want to invest. If you want to invest, you can renovate it. In this case, the investment will not be very big." Chen Zhiwen said.
"Something similar to me? If you are interested, you can come over to my place." Henry Morgan said.
"What's yours is yours. If I want to buy it, I'll buy a bigger one. For example, it's ten times as big as here or bigger. But in terms of transportation, it doesn't matter how good it is, at least it can't be bad. Then the water source must be available, at least it must be improved. Basics." Chen Zhiwen said.
"It turns out you think this place is small." Henry Morgan said with a smile, "It's easy, I'll call my friend later."
"Two gentlemen, the prey is ready, we can get on the plane." A local said in very fluent English.
"Okay, let's go, get on the plane." Henry Morgan said loudly, and everyone got on the helicopter again, but now a Gatling was installed on the side of the helicopter.
After getting on the plane, Chen Zhiwen couldn't help but become interested in touching the Gatling gun barrel when he saw it. On the way here, this thing couldn't be installed casually. Even if Argentina banned guns, it would be impossible for this thing to appear. , you can’t install it until you reach your personal territory.
"This is completely legal. I have an official license here, but you can't leave my farm, otherwise you will be in trouble." Henry Morgan said: "The procedures for this thing are more expensive than buying this farm for me."
"You really like hunting." Chen Zhiwen nodded. I have to say that rich people really do anything for fun.
In his previous life, he knew many ordinary office workers who earned a salary of several thousand a month, but spent tens of thousands on fishing rods. This was completely beyond his comprehension. Ordinary people were like this, let alone rich people. Henry Morgan probably bought the surrounding land. This is probably because the procedure cost is lower.
"That is, in this season, the Ministry of Agriculture of Argentina is also encouraging the elimination of wild boars, because these wild boars not only destroy food, but also often hurt people. The place we are going to is a grassland that I arranged for people to fence in advance. There are many Wild boars and lions imported from Africa, when you play with them, be sure not to hurt the lions." Henry Morgan said with a smile.
"Lion, if you say so, I want to buy a bigger farm like this." Chen Zhiwen said with a smile. If the area was larger, it would really be a wildlife park. However, if it needs to be fenced, it is estimated that the investment of barbed wire will also be required. That's a lot of money.
"Haha, that's better, let's buy a bigger one, and then bring in all the tigers, lions, and elephants and see what happens." Henry Morgan laughed, seeming to like this kind of god-like thing Feel.
"You can give it a try." Chen Zhiwen nodded and said. This kind of right can only be operated in countries that are very short of money. If it is in the United States, it will be very troublesome to introduce these animals. Even if it can be done, the cost will be very low. Not as good as here in South America.
If there is a sovereign debt default in South America in a few years, then all kinds of capital will become even more rampant. Their entertainment activities, which are just hunting, are nothing at all.
After a while, the plane arrived at the destination. Looking from the helicopter, many wild boars ran away in panic due to the appearance of the helicopter, but they could not outrun the helicopter.
"I'll go first." Henry Morgan held the Gatling tail and pointed it downwards. There seemed to be fluorescent material on the bullet. You could see the trajectory when it was emitted. Countless light spots were seen hitting the wild boar group, which caused a burst of excitement. confusion.
After a while, Henry Morgan stopped. There were already many wild boar carcasses on the ground, but some of them were still gone.
"Eric, do you want to come and give it a try?" Henry Morgan gave up his position.
"Okay, I'll give it a try." Chen Zhiwen nodded and said. Although he doesn't like killing animals for no reason, wild boars are indeed harmful animals, and many countries encourage killing them.
Holding a weapon in his hand, Chen Zhiwen also felt like a master. Since returning from time travel, he has never even touched an ordinary pistol, let alone this kind of weapon.
"Over there, there are wild boars." Henry Morgan pointed in a direction and said, and the pilot immediately flew the helicopter in that direction.
Chen Zhiwen first fired a bunch of bullets in the direction of an open space, feeling that he had controlled the rhythm, and then aimed in the direction, and there was a sudden burst.
The wild boar below ran more diligently, but facing the two-legged beast in the sky, it had no choice but to wait and see its fate.
However, Chen Zhiwen's aiming skills were not very strong. Even though the bullets were fluorescent, they were not very accurate. In the end, a group of wild boars ran into a group of woods, leaving only a few lying on the ground.
After remaining in the air for a while, Chen Zhiwen began to get used to the small Gatling. By the way, he also saw the lions here. The lions were so scared when they saw the plane that they ran around.
Henry Morgan later played with the sniper rifle for a while, but Chen Zhiwen did not participate. He did not have the ability to play. In fact, Henry Morgan prepared Gatling just for novices like Chen Zhiwen.
After playing for a few days, the group took a helicopter again, but instead of returning to St. Louis, they went to another place.
Compared with the roads in non-urban areas of Argentina, helicopters are naturally much more convenient. Chen Zhiwen also knows how powerful the American oil company is here. Planes can fly at will, as long as you inform the local area in advance.
The helicopter was very fast and we arrived at another province, Santa Fe, in two hours.
This is a larger open space, which was introduced by Henry Morgan's friend. Two days ago, when Henry Morgan informed his agency friend of Chen Zhiwen's request, he immediately received a reply.
Maybe it’s because Argentina now has a lot of land but a shortage of dollars.
"Mr. Chen, this is a piece of grassland that Santa Fe Province is planning to sell. It covers an area of almost 50,000 acres. You only need to spend 1.2 million US dollars to buy it, and it has permanent property rights." Lilith, the agent, introduced enthusiastically.
"I took a look on the plane before. It seems there is no water source, right?" Chen Zhiwen asked.
"There is no direct large-scale water source. There are some small rivers, but you can see that the grass here grows very well. Because it rains here often, there is no shortage of water. If you want to develop this place into a farm or pasture, you can choose to develop it here. You can easily store water by digging an artificial lake," Lilith explained.
"What about transportation?" Chen Zhiwen asked again.
"As for transportation, it's a bit poor. It's about 30 kilometers away from the nearest highway. The road in the middle is not very good, but as long as you get on the highway, it will be no problem. And as long as you really develop this place, With that economic benefit, we can definitely easily build another 30 kilometers of ordinary roads." Lilith said with a smile: "Mr. Chen, to be honest, such a large area only costs 1.2 million US dollars, and there will definitely be many shortcomings. Otherwise, it would have been developed by locals or other American capital, right? And if it weren’t for Argentina’s recent economic situation, if you want to win here, you would have to at least double the price.”
"Okay, you can sort out the information and give it to me. I will discuss it with relevant experts. If there is no problem, I can buy it." Chen Zhiwen nodded and said, $1.2 million is not much, so it doesn't matter if it is just a hunting ground. However, you can’t just buy it casually. At least make sure you are not being cheated and that there are no legal issues.
"Okay, I'll prepare the information right away." Lilith said with great joy. She didn't expect that such a big deal would come to fruition so soon.
"Lilith, this Mr. Chen is a very generous person, and he is very interested in farms in South America. This small place of yours is just for fun. If there are no problems, I can buy larger ones from you in the future." ." Henry Morgan said with a smile.
"Don't worry, I, Lilith, never cheat rich people." Lilith said very sincerely.
PS: Please give me a monthly ticket
(End of chapter)
