The unparalleled talent of the country started from Harbin Institute of Technology

November 1996, Guangzhou Bay in southern China, a hybrid rice research institute.

There is a large rice paddy at the entrance of the research institute, where more than two acres of seawater rice are planted. Professor Fan Zecheng is looking down at his rice.

This is the seawater rice plant he cultivated. It is currently the newest type of seawater rice, and its performance in all aspects has reached its peak. However, the taste is still very poor.

"Sigh, I wonder how much longer it will take to improve the taste of seawater rice."

The yield of seawater rice is generally average, with a yield of only about 500 jin per mu, which is far less than that of hybrid rice.

This year, Professor Yuan's improved hybrid rice has achieved a breakthrough yield of 700 kilograms per mu, which is a historic breakthrough.

Seven hundred kilograms is equivalent to fourteen hundred jin.

Seawater rice, however, only yields 500 jin (250 kg).

Not to mention the taste of seawater rice; it's probably only palatable to poultry and livestock. Humans definitely wouldn't want to eat it.

If it weren't for the fact that the authorities believed seawater rice had a very positive strategic significance, Fan Zecheng's seawater rice research and development project would have been cancelled long ago.

"Professor Fan, dinner is ready."

"it is good!"

On the ridge of the field, a young man shouted loudly.

Just then, several cars appeared on the road in the distance.

It immediately attracted the attention of young people.

The car slowly pulled over to the side of the road, and a middle-aged man got out and shouted loudly at Fan Zecheng:

"Professor Fan, are you busy? We have a distinguished guest."

Fan Zecheng was extremely surprised, because the person who came to see him was actually the local official, accompanied by several higher-ups and the distinguished guests mentioned by the official.

A few minutes later, everyone sat down for tea in the institute's office.

Having just taken a sip of water, Fan Zecheng heard the distinguished guest suddenly get straight to the point:

"Professor Fan, it's like this, we are representing the Magic Research Institute to purchase a batch of seawater rice seeds from your institute."

The exact quantity of the so-called batch of seawater rice is still unknown, but the procurement technology has been brought up.

The additional offer from the other party was a staggering 200 million RMB, to be settled in foreign currency.

In other words, these 200 million RMB can be exchanged for an equivalent amount of foreign exchange, and their Magic Research Institute can even help purchase corresponding supplies.

In short, their magic research institute needs seawater rice seeds and technology, and that's the price they're charging.

Two hundred million RMB!

This is absolutely astronomical!
This is the largest sum of money Fan Zecheng has ever heard of since he entered the field of hybrid rice.

With the leaders present, the transaction proceeded smoothly without any major surprises.

After purchasing the seawater rice, the Magic Research Institute did not leave Guangzhou Bay, but stayed there and even sent two hundred researchers from outside.

These are two hundred researchers with master's degrees or above.

It's important to know that these researchers are paid quite well; each of them earns at least 10,000 RMB per month.

This demonstrates the truly terrifying strength of the Magic Research Institute.

After acquiring the seeds and technology, the land preparation work has begun on the Somali peninsula.

There are not many places suitable for growing rice on the Somali peninsula.

If it's the Lower Shabelle and Pai regions, then there's a lot of arable land because the Juba and Shabelle rivers flow through them, making them the most important agricultural areas on the Somali peninsula.

These two states also have the highest forest coverage in the Somali peninsula.

Unfortunately, the area occupied by Want Want Group is not this piece of land.

Instead, it is located in the heart of the desert and Gobi.

Therefore, it is quite difficult to grow rice.

No matter, Wang Duoyu has decided to artificially create saline-alkali land and prepare to carry out desert greening improvement work in conjunction with pig farms and other facilities.

At the same time, photovoltaic power plants will also be developed.

In short, since last month's meeting, economic development in the Somali peninsula has progressed rapidly.

Several mines have been established near the four satellite towns of Gabbil, Gardo, Hirapau, and Brao.

These mines are primarily used to extract mineral resources from the Somali peninsula.

The Somali peninsula is rich in mineral resources, including uranium, iron, tin, gypsum, bauxite, copper, lead, and coal.

The coal resources are mainly concentrated in the marine sedimentary layers along the Gulf of Aden, which happen to be under the control of warlords from the northern Islamic State.

It's a bit tricky, but it's not impossible to make a deal.

Let Lancelot handle it himself.

As the most important arms dealer for the warlords of the Somali peninsula, he was naturally willing to listen to Lanstark's advice.

Even the uranium mines located in the Blan region of Sanag and the Burhakaba region of Bay could be easily traded by Lanstark.

Uranium ore can simply be sold directly to organizations that need it.

It wouldn't be wrong to leave it directly for Want Want Group's own use.

Much of the Somali peninsula has already begun to mobilize.

At this time, Wang Duoyu did not leave and remained on the Somali Peninsula.

This was his first time abroad, and the first time he had stayed for such a long time.

According to the information he released to the public, he was conducting scientific research in the ALD region of the Qinghai-Tibet Plateau.

Although the Ali camp is currently closed due to heavy snow, the airport remains open to the public when the weather is clear.

The Ali campsite today is completely different from what it was ten years ago; with the airport now, everything has become much more convenient.

Moreover, the Ali camp was originally an experimental base of Harbin Institute of Technology on the Qinghai-Tibet Plateau, so it wouldn't be an exaggeration to call it a branch campus.

So it's perfectly normal for Wang Duoyu to be here conducting scientific research in seclusion.

But in reality, Wang Duoyu was in an underground laboratory on the Somali peninsula, busy with related research.

He didn't finish his research and return to China until mid-November.

Throughout the entire process, no one noticed anything unusual.

Harbin Institute of Technology, Weizigou Campus, Harbin, inside the Study Villa.

After Wang Duoyu returned, he spent two days coaxing Liu Xiaoli and Wang Yifei back.

Especially that child, Bai Doufu, who still clings to him to this day.

Perhaps it's because he's been away for too long, and he's always been at home with the children, that this time, little Bai Doufu is a bit unhappy.

In the study, Wang Duoyu received a report from Long Kui.

He immediately ordered Liu Meng to lead a team to Europe.

"Fifteen billion US dollars were burned?"

On the computer screen, Wang Duoyu saw the relevant information.

Nuwa's artificial intelligence has already gathered most of the information.

However, there are not many files left in the London police force, so Wang Duoyu is not very clear about this case.

However, he keenly sensed that this matter was not simple.

At the same time, Wang Duoyu wanted to get his hands on those very valuable boxes to see what secrets they contained.

Others might not be able to crack this code, but it's not a difficult task for him.

If anything unexpected happens in Europe, he can obtain general intelligence information through this underground transaction.

After World War II, Europe's economy recovered rapidly in the 1950s.

By 1996, the European economy had recovered quite well.

At least now there are several countries in Europe that can be called developed countries.

So once they have money, those research institutions will start doing all sorts of 'evil' research.

For example, gene sequence research has become very popular in recent years.

But Wang Duoyu guessed that the contents of those boxes were most likely not these things.

In short, whatever it is, everything will be clear once the Longkui special forces bring them back.

Southeast Asia, Bangkok area.

Hongtai Group is on the verge of collapse.

Whether it's the gray industry chain or other legitimate industry chains, they have all been torn apart by Want Want Group.

Bankruptcy is not far away.

A local powerhouse, a chaebol that had dominated Bangkok for years, was reduced to this in just a few months. It was something no one could have predicted.

However, many people no longer pay attention to this nowadays because things seem a bit unusual in Bangkok's financial sector recently.

The outside world is not quite clear about it yet, but people in the financial industry have already noticed it.

With the Thai baht's exchange rate fluctuating abnormally, many people who follow the news have finally noticed the anomaly.

However, all of this is just the calm before the storm.

The real storm is yet to come.

Several Wall Street giants have arrived; they've already appeared on the streets of Bangkok.

However, they haven't started taking action yet and still need the 'cooperation' of the Bangkok local government.

Early in the morning, after getting up, Wang Duoyu looked at the heavy snow falling outside the window and sighed.

Amidst the chattering of the clingy Bai Doufu, Wang Duoyu finished breakfast and went to the study villa.

When he turned on his computer, he saw a message pop up from the Nuwa AI.

This was a reminder he had set to pay attention to news related to Southeast Asia.

"Wow, those jackals on Wall Street, they can't hold back anymore?"

The financial crisis of 1997 in the original timeline started in Southeast Asia.

It is now the end of 1996, and Wall Street giants such as Quantum Fund are already hungry and eager to prey on the pigs and sheep.

Actually, there's one thing Wang Duoyu doesn't quite understand.

That means this spacetime is quite different from the original spacetime.

After all, the wealth controlled by Want Want Group has exceeded one trillion US dollars, and due to the super dollar factory, the dollar hegemony system has undergone tremendous changes.

Logically speaking, under such circumstances, the global financial landscape has already undergone tremendous changes.

So the Quantum Fund shouldn't just be focusing on Southeast Asia, right?

Wang Duoyu was very puzzled, but he had not collected any more data and was unable to conduct analysis or simulation.

Moreover, such simulation analysis requires a lot of computing power, and he is unwilling to do the calculations himself, because that would be too time-consuming.

"It seems we still need to upgrade the Nuwa AI system; otherwise, it will be difficult to handle a similar situation next time."

However, Wang Duoyu was very clear that with the current level of technology in Bingcheng, it was impossible to upgrade the hardware of the two supercomputers in the basement in a short period of time.

Ugh!
Technological development is indeed very rapid, especially in computers, which are in line with Moore's Law.

Even so, we still need to adhere to the basic principles; it's impossible to achieve a qualitative leap all at once.

Outside, snow was falling heavily and the north wind was howling.

Wang Duoyu rested for a while before continuing his work.

North America, Los Angeles.

Inside the MGM offices, executives gathered to finalize plans for the upcoming December film promotion, holding today's meeting.

Chairman Roland Winster sat in the center, looking at the executives, but did not speak immediately.

MGM will release two movies in December: "Saving Private Ryan" in early December and "Rush Hour" in late December.

Both of these films are A-list big-budget productions, so they are naturally not simple.

The promotional plans proposed by the executives are similar to those before, involving a massive amount of hard advertising on television, subways, taxis, buses, and the internet.

However, the proportion of internet users is not high.

This is because the promotional plan was tailored to the film's target audience.

Saving Private Ryan isn't a special effects blockbuster; it's just a very ordinary war movie.

If it weren't for the fact that this movie was directed by a famous director, it probably wouldn't have even attracted any investment.

During the Christmas season, movies like "Little Rascal" are the kind of family-friendly films that should be released.

Unfortunately, the movie "Little Rascal" has become so ubiquitous that the series has been explored to its fullest extent, leaving no room for further exploration.

After all, the storylines that need to be filmed have been almost fully developed.

There is a new script, but the investment is too large and the risks are too great, so it has been put on hold for the time being.

On the other hand, MGM is not short of movie scripts, so there is no rush to film.

A little over an hour later, the publicity plan was basically finalized.

Just then, Roland Winster suddenly asked:
"By the way, how much box office revenue does our movie about the big ship still generate every day?"

Mentioning this movie immediately brought smiles to the faces of the executives in the conference room.

Because the movie "Titanic" was truly extraordinary.

Since its release in July, the film has grossed over one billion US dollars worldwide by August.

By the end of November, the film had been released in most countries around the world, causing its box office to surpass two billion US dollars, a figure that was already achieved before October.

This is an unprecedented number; it's truly astonishing.

That's two billion US dollars!
Even with the 'inflow' of counterfeit money, the film's box office revenue was much higher than in the original timeline.

However, the film itself is also quite excellent.

"It's still growing at around six to eight million US dollars a day, and it will rise to ten million US dollars on weekends. At this rate, its upper limit could actually break through to 2.5 billion US dollars."

At this growth rate, it can grow by 100 million US dollars in about ten days. How could it be the limit of 2.5 billion US dollars?
However, that's how movie box office is; it involves many unpredictable risks.

The later the film goes, the weaker the box office growth becomes.

Especially now that December is approaching, those countries that recently released the film are almost past their peak box office period, so there won't be as much box office revenue going forward.

It is estimated that after entering December, the daily revenue may only be one or two million US dollars, or even fall below one million US dollars.

Therefore, when making box office predictions for this movie, people don't just make random guesses.

"Good, good, very good."

Roland Winston nodded repeatedly. It would be even better if the film's box office could continue to rise.

In the following days, the movie promotion officially began, and advertisements were replaced at many bus stops, movie theater entrances, ticket offices, and other locations across the United States.

Television sets also began advertising, and the same trend was simultaneously promoted on the internet.

Even many bloggers on Facebook are promoting "Saving Private Ryan" and "Rush Hour".

On the other hand, Paramount was also promoting their film, but only one, titled "The Sixth Sense".

This movie was originally intended to be a thriller, but it ended up being a horror film.

With the launch of the movie's promotion, many movie lovers have taken notice of "The Sixth Sense," as even the trailer alone has shown a very powerful horror effect.

Furthermore, the trailer also suggests that the plot of the movie might be unexpected.

With a large number of bloggers promoting the film, it has attracted considerable attention from movie fans.

Just a few days after December began, "Saving Private Ryan" was released.

Because this movie was directed by a renowned director, it is of a high standard in terms of plot, special effects, and other aspects.

Many moviegoers exclaimed that it was excellent and a great popcorn movie after watching it.

Unfortunately, this film is a B-movie, not a PG-13 family-friendly film, so its box office performance is inherently limited.

However, due to the existence of counterfeit money, the movie still broke records on its opening day.

It broke the record for B-movies, grossing over $100 million in a single day.

However, it only broke 100 million in one day, and the following days saw it remain at 80 to 90 million US dollars.

It wasn't until the Saturday of the second week that it broke 100 million again in a single day.

So far, the film has grossed $400 million in North America alone.

According to relevant organizations, the box office prediction for "Saving Private Ryan" has reached $650 million, and the global box office prediction is $1 billion.

Whether it can be achieved remains to be seen.

However, when the middle of the month arrived, "The Sixth Sense" was released and immediately broke records.

On its opening day, it grossed a staggering $162 million, which was absolutely incredible.

A film with a production cost of only 40 million US dollars broke even on its first day of release and even made a small profit.

Simply incredible.

When the entire nation saw the news, they were stunned.

Wall Street giants were immediately filled with rage, eager to return to Hollywood.

However, having been badly burned, the Wall Street giants have become extremely cautious. (End of Chapter)