Siheyuan: I am a trader in both worlds!

"A single shell for this Type 1130 close-in weapon system costs one or two thousand yuan! Even converted to local standards, it would be ten or twenty yuan per shell! And that's a conservative estimate! Even a single shell is this expensive. We can afford to pay for it, but can you afford to maintain it?"

Upon hearing this, not only were Lao Luo and Bai Ling stunned, but even Ximen Lang himself was taken aback.

Isn't it?
One shell from this Type 1130 close-in weapon system can wipe out a family of three's living expenses for a month, and that's a conservative estimate!
The Type 1130 close-in weapon system can fire 11000 rounds per minute, which translates to [amount missing] per second.
"Reset to zero, 11,000 divided by 60 equals 183.333."

After doing the math with a calculator, Ximen Lang was no longer calm.

"It can wipe out a month's worth of food for 183 families of three in a single second! One 1130 close-in weapon system can take out that many in a second, and we have five of them! Plus another five 730 close-in weapon systems with equally fast rates of fire. If they all opened fire at the same time, I don't even want to think about how much it would cost! And the logistics, they're definitely going to suffer a lot!"

That would be a real ordeal!
Even the most advanced Type 1130 close-in weapon system does not have fully automated shells.

Especially when replenishing ammunition, not only is manual handling and coordination by multiple people required, but logistics personnel also need to manually crank the magazine drum to replenish the ammunition.

That's right, just like cranking an old-fashioned hand tractor, you have to keep cranking the lever in your hand to load it.

This loading method and the rate of fire of the 1130 close-in weapon system.

In this situation, even if they break their arms, they can forget about supplying these close-in weapon systems!

what?
Can the shells be pre-loaded? Or are they loaded while firing?

Okay, even so, you still have to load the shells in!
With so many shells, you'll have to reload every time you fire one!
In addition to the essential daily reloading training
"Just you wait and see, the logistics staff will definitely have to develop superhuman arms! Because without superhuman arms, they simply can't do this job!"

However, this is clearly not something that the authorities in Beijing need to consider right now.

In Beijing, there's not much else to offer, but there are many people who are willing to endure hardship.

Therefore, compared to this, Bai Ling and Lao Luo were more concerned about whether they could afford to support so many big spenders who suddenly appeared.

Standing on the deck of the Type 051 destroyer, I leaned on the railing and gazed into the distance, shading my eyes with my hand as I counted the ships.

Sure enough, including the Type 051 destroyer at my feet, there were a total of 7 Type 051 destroyers and 3 Type 052 destroyers, a total of 10 money-guzzling behemoths, quietly sitting there on the sea.

Under the morning sun, the entire fleet shone with the gleam of money!
They're just waiting for the city authorities to sell everything they own and tighten their belts to support their consumption.

Suddenly, a wave of dizziness washed over her, and her vision went black. Bai Ling collapsed into Ximen Lang's arms.

Before Ximen Lang could even anxiously ask Bai Ling how she was feeling or where she felt unwell, he was already worried.

Grabbing Ximen Lang's arm, Bai Ling spoke first and asked the question.

"Oil, where's the oil? With so many warships, how much does it cost to fill a tank with oil?"

Seeing that Bai Ling was extremely anxious, he checked her body again and confirmed that there was nothing seriously wrong with her body. She was just shocked by the money-devouring tycoon in front of her.

After thinking for a moment, he picked Bai Ling up in a princess carry amidst her gasp and let her lie directly in his arms.

Amidst the expectant yet helpless gazes of the crowd, Ximen Lang then revealed an extremely cruel reality.

"Take the Type 051 destroyer as an example. The Type 051 destroyer has a fuel tank capacity of about 1000 tons, and the fuel price is 6500 yuan per ton. Multiply these two figures together..."

"So, just filling up with gas costs 650 million?!"

Seeing that Bai Ling's voice had risen eight octaves, he nodded, then Ximen Lang shook his head and said...

"This is just the cost of upgrading one Type 051 destroyer. We have seven of these ships, and three Type 052 modified destroyers, which are even more expensive than the Type 051! So, even at the lowest estimate, upgrading this entire fleet would cost at least 65 million!"

Bai Ling's body trembled slightly upon hearing this.

Feeling that a short, sharp pain was better than a long, drawn-out one, Ximen Lang pressed on and continued, without any emotion, "I think it's better to have a short, sharp pain than a long, drawn-out one."

"And this is just the most basic cost. Because besides this, you also need to buy various types of missiles. And a single missile can easily cost several million. And this is the cheapest, and also the lowest quality, kind."

"A slightly better one costs tens of millions! And for the top-of-the-line ones, at the very least, a single missile will cost over a hundred million. That's how much a single missile costs!"

"And what about destroyers? The Type 051B destroyer we're standing on right here has 32 vertical launch cells. That means you need at least 32 missiles of various types to fully unleash its potential."

"One ship requires 32 missiles! Ten ships, even if we take the minimum estimate, would need at least 320 missiles of various types! Also, with so many warships and so many vertical launch units, you'd have to carry some spare ammunition, right? So, this is a conservative estimate."

Seeing Ximen Lang's little mouth chattering on and on, it just wouldn't stop!

The money is printed just like it's from the Heaven and Earth Bank; once you start spending it, you lose track of how much you have.

Bai Ling was so frightened that her lips started trembling.

They quickly covered Ximen Lang's mouth.
"Stop talking, stop talking, don't go on. Let me have some peace and quiet, I need to be alone."

And so, in the deathly silence, Bai Ling and Lao Luo remained silent, frowning and thinking for several minutes.

Several minutes later, Bai Ling and Lao Luo finally recovered.

He was about to pat Ximen Lang on the shoulder to make him put him down, so as not to be laughed at by others.

Instead of letting go, Ximen Lang hugged her even tighter.

Then, under Bai Ling's suspicious gaze, he gave her an apologetic look.

Ximen Lang continued speaking to Bai Ling without any emotion.

"This is actually just a small amount of money, because in addition to these destroyers, I also brought you back 10 Type 022 missile boats this time, a whole fleet of them. That's impressive; the cost of building just one Type 022 missile boat is at least 1 million!"

"Let me put it this way, the paint for this thing is incredibly expensive! Because the Type 022 missile boat uses stealth paint, the real high-end stuff! Even a small scratch will cost a fortune to repair. To maintain overall harmony and not compromise its stealth performance, the entire ship might have to be repainted."

"And stealth coatings are notoriously expensive. For example, the coating used on the B-2 stealth bomber costs three times as much as the same weight of gold! Even if we have made significant breakthroughs in stealth coatings in recent years and brought down the price, it is still definitely not something that ordinary countries and regions can afford!"

"So, when you use them, you should be careful, as careful as possible. If you bump or knock them, you'll have to spend real money to bring them back to us for repairs. Not only these ships, but also the destroyers. Because you don't know how to repair them, you'll have to bring them back to us for repairs."

When it comes to the topic of maintenance...
"That's right, I'm going to have to stab you in the heart again. See those two big guys parked down there? That's right, those two are the submarines you've been longing for. This is the surprise I begged and pleaded with Xia Yiyi to give you."

Good heavens! This was clearly a surprise Xia Yiyi prepared specifically for the people of Beijing. But when it came to Ximen Lang, it turned into a surprise he begged for from the people of Beijing.

He said it without batting an eye.

This gives a glimpse into Ximen Lang's shamelessness.

However, this also made Bai Ling and Lao Luo realize that this must be the surprise that Xia Yiyi had mentioned to them last time, the one she had specially prepared for them.

While silently sighing in my heart
"Xia Yiyi and Hou Shi are really generous. They promised to give us a surprise and they delivered such a big one. They didn't hold back at all! No wonder they are brothers from a wealthy and noble family. They are truly respectable!"

Meanwhile, Ximen Lang continued to deliver his terrifying and deadly attacks.

"I'm not exaggerating, nor am I deliberately inflating the numbers. It's simply true that submarines are incredibly valuable!"

"Of course, that's normal. After all, their working environment is different. Unlike warships, which can just float on the surface of the sea, warships actually have to sink to the seabed hundreds of meters deep for long periods of time to carry out various classified missions!"

"Ling'er, you're a top student, you should know just how high the pressure is in the ocean! According to scientific calculations, the water pressure increases by one atmosphere for every ten meters you dive! At a depth of several hundred meters, that's several hundred atmospheres!"

"This could literally crush someone to death! If it weren't for the fact that over 60% of human tissue is water, and water is almost impossible to compress, it would flatten a person without any problem!"

"Such immense pressure! Every moment, every second, after the submarine submerges it faces this much pressure! If we don't keep a close eye on it, it could really cause a major problem!"

"Even a seemingly insignificant problem could be magnified in an instant to the point of destroying the entire submarine, resulting in the death of everyone on board, with absolutely no chance of survival!"

"Therefore, routine maintenance and periodic inspections are essential! But you don't have the resources or the technology to inspect submarines. So... well, anyway, it will cost a lot of money!"

After Ximen Lang explained it this way...

Bai Ling finally understood.

"This isn't just bringing back two submarines, it's like inviting two ancestors back to Beijing! And those warships and speedboats, every single one of them is a living ancestor of Beijing, and we have to pay a fortune to worship each one! With so much money, they're going to squeeze us dry!"

He was also deeply moved by Bai Ling's words, recalling the touching scene where the Director talked about the grievances the Navy suffered back then and couldn't help but shed tears on the spot.

Ximen Lang also had many thoughts.

"That's right. It's because the navy is just too expensive, and countries with weak economic foundations simply can't afford to maintain it. Our navy was really wronged back then."

"For many, many years, at least several decades, we could only use the Type 052 destroyer to maintain appearances. When enemy warships were right in our faces, we could only swallow our anger and suffer in silence. It was incredibly frustrating!"

"It's only been in the last one or two decades that our economy has developed and our technological reserves have increased. It is thanks to the efforts of several generations and the continuous hard work of researchers that we have achieved the current speed of launching warships, which is like dropping dumplings into a pot, and that we have the great situation we have today."

"We are all in the same boat, and you are even more so. But no matter how difficult it is, there is one thing we must carry out to the end, and that is to acquire these warships! Because without them, there is no way to talk about national defense and security!"

This is true.

In any case, it's meat that's already in my mouth, and it's such a big, fatty piece of meat, so there's definitely no way I'm going to let it go!

At worst, we can just give in to the wishes of Xia Yiyi and the rest of the descendants and outsource all the subsequent maintenance, repairs, and weapons procurement to them!
If all else fails, just buy some more on credit!

With such a large, lucrative piece of meat hanging here, I'm sure future generations won't say anything.

In fact, the reason why later generations were so generous in giving away all these warships and submarines to the 49 City World for free was not only to arm the 49 City World as soon as possible and create a stable investment environment for them, but also for this very purpose!
They're planning to make money from Beijing's "World of the Four Norths" in a steady, long-term way!
sigh
"Indeed, what's free is the most expensive; there's no such thing as a free lunch."

With this in mind, Bai Ling and Lao Luo no longer intended to question Ximen Lang or future generations.

Because it's obvious, they're using a calculated, overt strategy!

What they were certain of was that the people of Beijing wouldn't give up this readily available fleet just because of temporary difficulties.

As for the people of Beijing, they could not possibly abandon this fleet.

Since they clearly knew it was bait, why did the people in Beijing still insist on taking the bait?

Who can we blame for this?

Of course, I can only blame myself for being too poor!

Of course, that's one thing. Bai Ling and Lao Luo also knew that this was a tactic they were using to gain more favorable terms in the upcoming negotiations.

However, if it's necessary to ask Ximen Lang to help me, then I should still try.

Although the specific repair and maintenance procurement price will still depend on the subsequent negotiations between the two parties.

But since Ximen Lang has already spoken, how could the later generations possibly keep insisting on the price for his sake?
Even if we can only lower the price a little further from what we've already agreed upon?

That's better than nothing!

So even though they knew it was unlikely, Bai Ling and Lao Luo, those two old foxes, still managed to put Ximen Lang on a pedestal.

When Ximen Lang was being praised to the point of almost floating on air, the entire mess was handed over to him.

Sure enough, as soon as he said that, Ximen Lang, who was flattered by the two of them, immediately agreed.

He patted his chest and assured the two of them.

"Don't worry, with me in charge, how could there be any problems? Even if it's just for my sake, she'll have to give me a good price! You can rest assured, Brother Lang has a lot of influence!"

Gao Cheng, who knew the inside story, twitched at the corner of his eye upon hearing it.

Then came the problem.

"Who knows how to operate these warships? And who knows how to use the small and medium-sized fishing boats I brought back? We can't just leave them sitting there, can we?"

Just as he was frowning in distress, Gao Cheng, feeling it was time to step forward, pointed to his nose and affirmed.

"Brother Lang, you've forgotten about me. Don't worry about it, and don't fret about it, because I can sail these boats!" (End of Chapter)