The Grandmother in the Siheyuan

Chapter 424 Favor
The chapter was posted backwards today; I'll have the editor adjust it tomorrow.

Liu Hua received a call from Pu Wei, who is now a well-known study abroad guru in the domestic study abroad circle and an immigration mentor. His business is booming.

As Liu Hua's company's legal department gradually matured, this guy gradually lost contact with Liu Hua.

Liu Hua was quite surprised to receive his call, considering that he was currently a very popular figure in the business community.

He has helped many domestic entrepreneurs draft foreign trade contracts, so he has quite a network of connections and there shouldn't be any problem he can't solve.

"Mr. Liu, can we find somewhere to talk?"

Liu Hua asked, puzzled, "What kind of trouble have you encountered? You can't talk on the phone, you need to find a place to talk."

"It's really quite tricky," Park Wei said with a troubled expression. "After thinking about it, I realized that only you can help me."

They found a teahouse and met in a private room, where they drank Biluochun tea prepared before the rain.

Park Wei hesitated for a while before saying, "Mr. Liu, is it possible for your company to import nuclear materials?"

Liu Hua's eyes widened in disbelief, and he blurted out, "What do you take me for? Do you think I'm someone you can touch? This stuff is strictly regulated internationally. How did you get involved with this kind of raw material? Even though we're old friends, I advise you to be careful."

Park Wei waved his hand: "What are you thinking? I just owe someone a favor."

"Whom do you owe a favor to? A terrorist?"

Park Wei shook his head: "How could that be? I'm a legitimate businessman and a lawyer. How could I do something that knowingly breaks the law?"

"Then tell me in detail, maybe I can put in a good word for you."

Park Wei nodded, took a sip of tea, and then lowered his voice and said, "When I was studying in John's country, I had a classmate from my third brother's family. This guy was a Brahmin, and his family owned a mine."

"Could it be that radioactive mine?"

“That’s the thing.” Park Wei nodded and said, “Since the Chernobyl accident, nuclear power has been declining worldwide. Their family has been mining a batch of thorium ore in the last two years and it’s now stuck with them. I owed them a favor back then, and they asked me to inquire if there were any buyers. After thinking about it, I realized that you are the only potential buyer.”

"Thorium ore?" Liu Hua frowned and said, "Although this stuff is relatively stable and has low radioactivity, are you sure their country will allow him to export this batch of ore to us?"

“He is a Brahmin.” Park Wei emphasized again, “His family is quite influential in that third brother’s family. He can get this batch of ore out of their country without any trouble. He’s selling it cheaply. It’s just a matter of who is willing to take it on.”

Liu Hua frowned and thought for a moment. The technology for thorium ore is not yet mature, while uranium ore occupies a dominant position in the entire nuclear power technology. In addition, there are restrictions imposed by the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty, so thorium ore cannot be sold at a good price.

Moreover, thorium ore is a natural radioactive mineral and cannot be used as a fission material at all. Even if the fission material is obtained after conversion, it is not the first choice for making giant mushrooms because it is difficult to process and too expensive.

Liu Hua sighed and said, "I need to ask my superiors about this. Actually, I really want it, but he has the ability to get the thorium ore across his third brother's border, while I don't have the ability to so easily get the ore across our country's border." Park Wei was already very happy to hear that Liu Hua was willing to consider it. At least he hadn't failed his Brahman classmate's request; he had tried his best, and he could repay the favor.

Although Liu Hua had not studied it in detail, he knew a little about it. Thorium-based molten salt reactors can basically be considered the safest fission reactors.

However, due to insufficient hardware and software conditions, our country is temporarily unable to successfully develop a thorium-based molten salt reactor.

After returning home, Liu Hua thought it over carefully and finally contacted the leaders of the nuclear industry sector.

“Engineer Liu, this thing is safe, but it’s still nuclear material.” The leader said bluntly, “What do you need this material for? You’re just a private company.”

Liu Hua smiled and said, "I want to research thorium-based molten salt reactors. Don't I have a new energy company? Wind and solar energy are new energy sources, and isn't thorium-based lava also a new energy source?"

"Currently, our country's research on thorium is still in its initial stage." The leader shook his head: "Moreover, the nuclear power plants we are building all use uranium ore, and there is not much market for thorium ore in the entire world."

“I know, that’s why the country isn’t doing the research, I’m doing it, and I’m paying for it.” Liu Hua said firmly, “Our country’s uranium mines are of low quality. Although we have a lot of reserves, the utilization rate is low. If we use uranium mines, we will have to spend a lot of money importing ore. It’s better to treat the limited uranium mines as strategic reserves. If we really go to war one day, no one will sell us raw materials to make giant mushrooms.”

The leader thought for a moment and said, "I can't make the decision on this. I have to report it to my superiors and even hold a meeting to decide. I welcome you to contribute money to the research, since you're a big spender."

Now that things have come to this point, Liu Hua should tactfully take his leave.

Liu Hua stood up to leave, but didn't forget to add, "Boss, please think about my matter. If you're going to hold a meeting to discuss it, do it sooner rather than later. I'm afraid that third brother Brahmin won't be able to wait."

The leader said, half-laughing and half-crying, "You're the only one who dares to push us, the central government agencies, so hard."

Liu Hua was somewhat uneasy after returning home, but preparations had already been made, and this matter was most likely to fall through.

This is no ordinary matter; this is the nuclear industry. The government cannot easily allow a private enterprise to get involved in the nuclear industry.

However, to Liu Hua's utter surprise, two weeks later, the nuclear industry department notified him that he could import this batch of thorium ore.

The state specially assigned two engineers from the nuclear industry group to monitor the entire process of importing this batch of ore.

After Liu Hua notified Pu Wei, the two engineers flew directly to his third brother's house, for which Liu Hua personally took out real money to take care of the entire logistics.

You should know that we didn't go to other countries, but to India. The environment at India's home is well-known. People say that we have eaten the entire periodic table of elements, while India uses the periodic table as a supplement and part of its daily diet.

If the logistics aren't in place, Liu Hua is really afraid that these two engineers will lose half their lives at his third brother's house.

Liu Hua personally escorted the two engineers to the airport. They didn't understand the seriousness of the matter, and he repeatedly warned them: "Don't be stingy with money. When you stay at Third Brother's house, don't drink a drop of their water. Be careful even in a five-star hotel."

(End of this chapter)