Chapter 848 - Moon Landing Project
Having lived up to Jiang Chen’s expectations, the Graphene Research Institute of Future Heavy Industries came up with a solution that would turn the kind of floating plantation he conceived into reality.
One hundred acres of floating plantations were on the southwestern waters of Penglai. They were connected by graphene ropes. Under the force exerted and received, each floating plantation was as stable as flatland. While on the plantations, there was no feeling of bumpy waves at all.
The output of sap was collected by the staff on the floating plantation and poured into the designated area. Through the graphene pipes that connected plantations to each other, the sap was transported to storage tanks, awaiting tankers to transport them to the refinery on MLL Island to be refined into fuel and other petrochemical products.
Yes, although Jiang Chen didn’t intend to build a plantation abroad, he didn’t mind sharing the highly polluting industry of refining with his own allies. The industrial foundation of Moro was very shallow, and half the finances depended on the mines of Future Mining. Santos was more than happy for Jiang Chen to move these highly polluting factories to his lands.
On the one hand, it could solve the issue of unemployment. On the other hand, it could also increase tax revenue.
Regardless if it was dirty, stomachs had to be filled first!
Just like that, from Penglai to MLL Island, a relatively complete oil industry chain was formed. The petroleum products produced in MLL were transported through the port to Ange Island and New Malaysia Special District to support the oil demands of the local chemical, food, and clothing companies, while the surplus oil would be exported to Hua.
At present, both the MLL refinery and the 100-acre offshore plantation in Penglai were under construction.
According to the Ministry of Finance’s assessment, once this oil industry chain was completed, it would bring Future Group a direct profit of at least 20 billion XND per year, and it would completely reverse the status quo of Xin’s industry subject to the international crude market.
After learning that Future Group found a new solution to the energy crisis, countries sent their own researchers to Coro Island. Supposedly, it was in the name of experiential exchange. In fact, they were trying to figure out the DNA code of these oil palms from Future Group. It would be even better if they obtained the breeding technology.
In the open and in the dark, all countries tried to use all tactics possible.
However, these researchers sent to Xin didn’t even see Xin’s scientists, let alone exchange experience with them.
No matter what reasons they gave from being “academics without borders” or “performing a duty for all of mankind”, Celestial Trade’s soldiers guarding the entrance of Future Biology were completely unmoved.
As for those spies who came under disguise, they were invariably countered by Ghost Agents. Some were expelled from the country, and serious consequences were carried out in secret. Although the overseas activities of Ghost Agents were less skillful than that of CIB and the Mossad, the home court advantage combined with their technology ensured the national security of the country when it came to anti-espionage activities.
Although no countries could gain anything despite the tactics used, they were clearly unwilling to give up.
Switzerland offered 2 billion US Dollar for the DNA information, but Jiang Chen didn’t even look at the letter of intent before he immediately tossed it into the recycling. While the price was seriously understated, he wouldn’t sell to a NATO nation to start with.
Exxon Mobil offered a high price of 3.7 billion US Dollar. However, even this figure still grossly undervalued this technology in Jiang Chen’s mind.
Even the Liu family in Hua was interested in this technology and probed to see whether Jiang Chen had any plans for cooperation.
“If you need land, we happen to have some.” On the phone, Liu Xiangguo smiled.
“That’s enough. We can export crude to you at a price that is lower than OPEC’s. As for the oil palm DNA, you can forget about it. I can’t sell it.” Jiang Chen was direct.
[It’s exactly because you happen to have land that I can’t sell it to you.] The only advantage of Future Group was technology. If this technology was sold, any slightly larger landlocked country could use its own land area to plant these oil crops.
They were at sea, while the others were on land. Without a technological advantage, how could he compete?!
Jiang Chen didn’t need money that much to sell his technology.
“Doesn’t our relationship count for something?” Liu Xiangguo pretended to be confused.
Jiang Chen chuckled.
“What are relationships in business?”
Liu Xiangguo shook his head and thought it was a pity.
He dealt with Future Group for such a long time and got to know Jiang Chen as a person. He knew very well that Jiang Chen gave such an absolute statement so he didn’t give him hope. If they persisted on this issue, that would stifle the relationship between the two parties.
“Let’s not talk about this anymore. Are you doing anything new in outer space lately? That space colonization plan… Are you serious?”
Although it was a casual conversation, Jiang Chen could sense the probing in Old Liu’s tone.
However, he didn’t intend on disguising this.
“Yes, I already thought about the name of the first city already.”
“Oh? Oh, this isn’t a matter of confidentiality.” Liu Xiangguo used an elderly tone. “Tell me then.”
“Guanghan City.” Jiang Chen smiled.
Guanghan City, named after the myth of the Guanghan Palace.
As the name suggested, the first step of Celestial Trade’s space colonization plan began with the moon.
The construction of Guanghan City could start simultaneously with the space elevator. After the space elevator was completed, the cost of transportation would be reduced significantly and the scale of the moon city could be expanded. There was no need to wait until the space elevator was completed.
Colonizing the moon offered high practical significance.
In addition to the abundant resources of titanium, manganese, chromium, and rare earth materials, the most important thing was helium-3!
With control of the moon’s abundant reserves of helium-3, Future Group could use controllable nuclear fusion technology and lead the next energy revolution wave after the material revolution in materials science.
As early as the completion of the astronaut training center on Ange Island, Celestial Trade launched a lunar probe to find moon ice buried beneath the soil to determine the colony’s landing site.
Fortunately, in a crater with a diameter of more than one hundred kilometers, the lunar probe found the reservoir of moon ice. With proven reserves of more than 56 million tons, it was distributed in the soil between 500 meters and 1,000 meters.
When Kelvin reported the news to Jiang Chen, Jiang Chen immediately ordered the launch of a moon landing rocket and dispatched space volunteers to land on the moon, marking the first step in space colonization.
Note: Guanghan Palace – In ancient Chinese myths, Guanghan palace was where a beautiful goddess stayed on the moon