Shadow Empire

Chapter 892 Making Big Money

Pedro lives in Yawa, which means "a small puddle" according to Esperanto and its translation into local languages.

It refers to the Yawa Lake in the city.

Before human civilization challenged nature, both humans and other animals lived around water sources.

Water is the source of life and can provide people with the moisture they need for daily survival. It is possible that humans have lived here a long, long time ago.

Because of this lake, irrigation becomes very convenient, so there are many farmlands surrounding Yawa Lake, and they will draw lake water to irrigate the farmlands.

Fortunately, there is no shortage of water in the entire Yalan area, so the lake level has never dropped.

Yawa has a population of about 300,000, which is considered a fairly large city in Yalan. The surrounding farmland needs a lot of people to take care of it.

Of course, Pedro is not one of them. Pedro is a high school teacher and a very respected person locally.

There are only two universities in Alan, and both are located in the Czech Republic.

One is the "Jedi-German National University", which is said to be jointly funded by the big families in Jiede to cultivate talents for themselves and the country.

The Czech National University can be said to be the highest institution that all students in Asia yearn for. It is free to study here. Instead, there is a subsidy of about seven to eight federal soles per month.

There are too many poor people in Yalan, and they know very well that even if someone can go to college and has the ability, it is difficult for them to pay for the tuition.

Therefore, the Czech National University simply recruited students from all over Asia and waived tuition fees.

All university graduates need to work for JED's companies or government for five years, which is an alternative way to pay tuition.

After five years, they can be free, or continue to sign contracts with companies or governments and continue to work.

Therefore, anyone who can be admitted to the Czech National University will be regarded as having completed a class transition.

But it is difficult to join them. The university entrance examination is difficult. They are different from those federal universities.

Federal universities mainly use written test and interview scores to determine whether a student is eligible for admission, and the interview score is obviously more important.

But here, what they test is "hard power".

As long as you can complete the questions they set, you can enter the Czech National University.

There is also a non-public university, the "Jed Jade School", which employs professors and lecturers who are basically famous teachers from all over the world.

In the eyes of the Yalan people, this school is an aristocratic school, because anyone who can study here has to pay high tuition fees and also needs to have some background connections.

Just having money is not enough.

Students who graduate from this school will eventually become corporate executives or high-ranking government officials, a class that ordinary people can never reach.

There is not much discussion about Jade University, but there is more discussion about Czech National University.

Pedro also often uses stories about Czech National University to encourage students in the class.

"As long as you can complete high school with A grades, I will help you apply for admission to Czech National University!"

In fact, you don’t need a recommendation to enter a national university. The application Pedro mentioned here is to apply for travel expenses for poor students.

After the application is approved, he will take the students who meet the requirements to the capital of Jed and let these students take the entrance examination.

If someone passes, he will receive an incentive bonus to motivate him to continue working hard to provide talents for Jide.

If no one passed, it didn't matter, he would take the students back to Lapa.

The fastest way to get from Lapa to the capital of Czech Republic is by boat, which takes only two days and doesn't cost much.

“…Write down these knowledge points and remember them firmly.”

"This is your last year. You can only change your fate in this last year."

"Last year, four students from our school were admitted to national universities. When they graduate from national universities, their lives will be completely different from yours."

"Many people see going to school as an opportunity to change their lives. Although I don't agree with this idea, it is indeed true!"

"So whether it's to live up to your hard work over the past decade or for your future, I hope you will work hard."

He raised his wrist and glanced at it, "Okay, get out of class is over."

There is only one high school in the entire city of Yawa, and there is a serious shortage of students.

In poor areas, even if some families know that going to school is an opportunity to change their destiny, it is difficult for them to afford the cost of sending their students to school.

Moreover, a person who studies full-time will increase the burden on the family. Many Lapa people will only complete primary education and then give up, or even fail to complete primary school, or simply do not go to school.

When they are seven or eight years old, or in their teens, although they cannot do any heavy physical labor, there are always things suitable for them to do.

Those who are able to come to high school and complete high school are basically middle class or those from families with good financial conditions.

Walking out of the classroom, Pedro took just a few steps when he frowned and looked at the dusty road in the distance.

In the past two days, many vehicles have been coming and going, causing the dirt roads on the outskirts of the city to continue to raise dust.

The windows in the office cannot be opened, and a layer of dust will fall in just an afternoon.

Because there are not many students in the school, the office seems very spacious. There are only more than 20 teachers in the school, all concentrated in one large office.

Pedro returned to his seat and sat down. He couldn't help but complain, "The dust outside is flying again. What happened these days?"

A teacher sitting next to him continued his words, "Someone is collecting food."

"Harvesting food?" Pedro glanced at the calendar on the table, a little dazed, "It's October already?"

“But even if it was to collect grain, there weren’t so many trucks coming here before!”

In the past, after the harvest, the grain was transported away by horse-drawn carriages. Trucks like this were rare, after all, trucks need to burn gasoline.

And the carriage only needs a handful of weeds from the roadside.

The male teacher who was talking to him smiled and continued to talk about some things he had found out. There are always people like this, who are curious about everything, have a desire to explore, and have the ability to act. Then they will spread the information they have discovered to others in order to satisfy their simple demand for happiness.

"I heard it was foreigners. They paid 28 federal soles for the grain. I heard that many producing areas are already harvesting."

There were some discussions in the room. They were using para. The current market price of a pound of wheat was one para, and a pound of wheat flour cost about one dollar and thirty cents.

When converted, the prices paid by these foreigners are much higher than the consumption in the country.

In terms of Pala, a pound of wheat might be sold for $1.1 to $1.2, which is already a lot.

They knew who the ruling groups in Lapa were, including their president Diego. This made Pedro a little worried. "I hope they won't sell too much food, otherwise what will we eat?"

The teacher who was specifically asking for information laughed and said, "No, I heard that they only sold part of it. There is news from the Presidential Palace that they plan to continue repairing the road this year."

"I heard that foreigners have started investing in Zhuolan. They have brought in more income and taxes, but they also require a more complete road system."

"The Asian Alliance has done a good thing this time. Many people were worried that opening up the market would have an impact, but now it seems to be quite good."

Others echoed this view, saying that if there were more investors, people would become richer and their living conditions would improve.

They really yearn for life in the Republic of Jede. It is said that the life of the Jede people is not much different from that in the Federation.

If they hadn't had many reasons to be unable to leave here, they would also consider leaving Lapa and heading to Jed.

But Pedro vaguely felt that this was not a good thing.

But he didn't know what was wrong, so he just chatted casually with others about some changes since the market opened.

For example, the prices of some daily necessities imported from the Federation have been reduced, the goods have become more abundant, and foreigners can be seen. As one of the few highly educated people in the city, he always feels that the current development trend may not necessarily lead to a good result in the end.

But he didn't know what it would be or why he had such an idea, so he could only give up.

A few days later, he heard from his colleagues that the federals were offering a higher price, close to thirty federal soles per ton, for wheat, and more people were selling.

"The Federation itself is a major grain-producing region. Don't they have enough food?"

When he didn't have his own classes, Pedro sat in his office chatting with his colleagues, smoking the cigarettes they rolled themselves.

His colleague had an "I know everything" expression on his face, "Now the war on the Tanfit continent has become more intense. It is said that Ander has also fully participated in the war. Many countries have begun to join the war passively or actively."

"The Slads launched an 'Autumn Harvest Plan'. Both sides suffered heavy losses, and a lot of food was burned in the fields."

First, the Slad people burned Dantra's farmland on a large scale. The Dantra people would certainly not sit idly by. They also had spies in Slad. By firing high-explosive shells and secretly setting fires, they caused the already small grain production to plummet.

“Now they are more dependent on food imports from the Federation, so I guess they are probably trying to make money?”

"They can offer a price of thirty yuan per ton, plus the shipping cost, which means they can sell it for at least thirty-five yuan per ton!"

"These federal people are really good at business. If I had a shipping company, I would also transport food to the southern continent."

Pedro's focus was different from that of his colleagues. He was focused on whether there was enough food in the country.

In fact, food in Lapa has always been in short supply, and it can be said that there is only barely enough food.

The climate here is great, and there are plenty of pristine jungles and edible animals, fruits and berries.

So even if some people don't have enough to eat, as long as they are willing to work, they can buy cheap food from hunters.

For example, there is a kind of food that they locally call "wheat tree". The trunk contains a lot of starch. Through crushing, washing and sedimentation, relatively clean edible starch can be precipitated.

These starches can be boiled with water to form lumps.

Adding a little seasoning may not make it delicious, but at least you won’t starve to death.

Compared to wheat which costs a dollar a pound, this wheat tree meal only costs fifteen cents a pound.

This does not include the various wild fruits and fruits that are available almost all year round, as well as wild game.

His colleagues didn't think there was anything wrong with it. "They're paying so much money, we can buy it from other countries."

"Besides, the new wheat crop will be harvested in the middle of next year. I believe that even our president... right, he will not really leave any food behind."

Pedro still felt uneasy, but he could only believe what his colleagues said.

October is quickly coming to the end and the harvest has basically been completed in all grain-producing areas. The huge trucks raising dust have disappeared, leaving only bare farmland.

In fact, one thing happened during this period, that is, the price of wheat crops in the market also increased a lot.

The price of a pound of wheat is already around one dollar and twenty cents, and the price of wheat flour has risen directly to around one dollar and fifty-five cents a pound.

Even though the increase is only 20%, some people can no longer afford it.

The price of wheat tree powder has also increased by a few cents, and there has been some increase.

As a senior intellectual, Pedro has a decent income. He and his family usually eat bread or wheat kernels. The price increase has a relatively large impact on his family.

Now he and the main labor force in the family eat steamed wheat kernels, and occasionally some bread.

Women and children basically eat wheat tree powder.

At first the children were very happy and thought that wheat seed powder was not very unpalatable, but after eating it for a few days they no longer wanted to eat it.

But there is no way to not eat.

As a direct victim of the wheat price increase, Pedro has more worries.

He was really afraid that President Diego would become jealous of the high price and sell all the wheat without leaving any.

It turned out that his worries were right.

Diego sat on the sofa, panting. His obesity made his breathing painful and tiring. However, his panting at this moment was not due to discomfort, but because of excitement.

"Mr. Diego, we are willing to continue purchasing wheat at a price of thirty-five dollars per ton."

Roger has recently begun to adapt to having equal conversations with the president of a country, which is a very novel experience for him.

He was a little nervous at first, but as he got more exposure, he began to become calm.

They have purchased a lot of grain. In fact, it is not just Rapa’s grain that is being purchased on a large scale. The grain from all eleven countries is being purchased at high prices!

For example, Lapa is already quite good. There is a small country next to it with a population of only four million, and they sell even more!
Diego's chest heaved violently, his eyes fell on Roger's face, but Roger still avoided his target, smiling and lowering his head slightly to show respect for him.

"We have already sold a lot of wheat. Our original plan was to sell only 15 percent, but now we have sold more than 20 percent. We can't sell any more."

In fact, what he said was not firm at all, and it was precisely this lack of firmness that made Roger feel that it was not that he did not want to sell, but that he was more greedy!
The price has gone up by almost fifty fucking percent now, and they don't even have to bear the shipping costs themselves. This price is probably too much for anyone to afford, let alone Diego!
Diego showed a somewhat embarrassed expression on his face. "If I sell more food stocks, my people may have nothing to eat."

Roger chuckled twice, "Mr. President, you have money, so are you still worried about not having food to eat?"

"Actually, let me say something I shouldn't have said. If it weren't for the surge in orders from Slade, we would have more than enough food on our own."

"We are now purchasing food from all over the world, and we will stop once we meet the demand for orders."

"Maybe it's a week later, maybe the day after tomorrow, maybe tomorrow, or maybe... today."

"This is the highest price wheat has ever been in a hundred years, and it won't ever be higher!"

"If you miss this opportunity, there won't be a next time."

In fact, Roger didn't need to say it himself, he also understood some of these things. He looked at the people around him and said, "We need to discuss this."

Roger and the people from the Chamber of Commerce stood up. "As you wish, Mr. President."

They quickly left the room. The people from the four major families who could make decisions were in this room.

"What do you think?"

A local man who looked to be around 50 years old said softly, "The money is not enough, we need more."

"If they can give thirty-five, they can give thirty-six, thirty-seven, thirty-eight, or even forty!"

"We still have about 1.5 million tons of grain. We can sell them another 500,000 tons, but the price will be high!"

"The loss of 500,000 tons of grain means that each of them will eat a few less meals of wheat products every month, but for us, it is indeed nearly double the profit!"

"It's worth one million tons of grain I sold in the past!"

His eyes turned slightly red when he said these words!
Five hundred thousand tons, forty yuan, that’s twenty million!

If they sold it according to the specifications in the past, it would take them seven or eight years to make that much money!
If everyone shared the money, it would be several million each, which made Diego unable to control his emotions.

“Will someone cause trouble because they can’t afford to eat?”

The other person snorted coldly, "Who dares to cause trouble?"

"It's not like we haven't left some food, and the people also have their own farmland and stored food. They may be a little hungrier than before, but it won't be a big problem."

"Besides, the troops and guns we have are not for fun."

Soon they reached a consensus. Just as Roger said, an opportunity with such an outrageous price is definitely a once-in-a-century opportunity, or even a once-in-a-millennium opportunity!
(End of this chapter)