Half a month later, the eleven families had all accepted the olive branch offered by Chen Chen and joined the one big family that was God’s Forbidden Zone.
The Disciple Council of Twelve was thus formally established.
Following this, the two sides would test each other further.
These families would send a few direct relatives who were unimportant or collateral relatives to Chen Chen’s research center for the treatment project. As long as Chen Chen could hold up his end of the bargain, the relationship would naturally, gradually stabilize.
Of course, Chen Chen was not a scammer in this respect.
After obtaining sufficient funds, what Chen Chen did the next day was to submit a land lease agreement to the National Assembly of Namibia.
Blacklight Biotechnology Company was willing to lease about fifty thousand hectares of land in the Namib-Naukluft National Park in the coastal zone south of Walvis Bay, Erongo Province, for 300 million USD for 40 years.
This offer was equivalent to Chen Chen leasing land in Namibia at 10 USD per fifteenth of a hectare each year and this was non-agricultural land.
When converted to Namibian dollars, this was about 149 Namibian dollars per fifteenth of a hectare each year.
This piece of land included the Blacklight Biological Research Institute and the Blacklight Biotechnology Namibian Nuclear Power Plant which was more than ten kilometers away. Once the land was leased, both of Chen Chen’s projects would be fully integrated.
Chen Chen had also thought about buying land ownership directly. However, Namibia’s land had complications left over from the past and was thus particularly sensitive to the issue of foreign ownership. Therefore, if one wished to buy the land, one might need to spend more than ten times the current amount.
At ten times the price, Chen Chen would have enough to lease the land for 400 years. By then, who could say if this country was still here?
“Mr. Chen, what do you want me to say?”
In a luxurious mansion in Windhoek, the capital of Namibia, an old black man with white hair said impassively, “Someone as knowledgeable as you should already understand Namibia’s history. Our country was forged in a trial of blood and fire. Because of this, our country still has many unresolved difficulties including the issue of land.”
As he said this, this old man who looked just like Morgan Freeman wore a mournful expression. “Our country is an agricultural country with approximately 69 million hectares of arable land, but nearly half of the land is controlled by that group of white people. At the moment, 240,000 of our citizens have no land. They have to rely on government relief to survive below the poverty line.”
“I can only tell you how sorry I am to hear that, Minister Mazura.”
Chen Chen’s eyes narrowed slightly. If he had not known the truth, he might just have been deceived by this old man’s superb acting skills.
The old man said that 240,000 people were living below the poverty line. Chen Chen felt that the real number was three times that. Furthermore, even if these people were given enough land, they must be willing to sow the crops...
Chen Chen did not wish to harp on this issue, so he said, “Still, Minister, please be rest assured. What I want to lease is non-agricultural land. And my goal isn’t to develop pastures or farms but to build an Eco Science City.”
“Eco Science City?” The old man was stunned.
“That’s right. You should already know that I have a research center on that piece of land.”
Chen Chen explained, “However, I later discovered that a research center alone isn’t enough. I want to build a complete industrial system from research to experimentation, to application and service.”
“This...” The old man was dumbstruck.
“Minister Mazura, can you imagine?”
Chen Chen spread out his hands and described, “I’ll build dozens of sanatoriums on this land. These sanatoriums would be located on the shores of the beautiful Atlantic. The endless sea stretched out in front while thousands of miles of golden sand dunes lay behind. This magnificent sight of sand meeting the sea is unique in this world.
“At night, there’s the vast starry sky, which shall make customers realize the true meaning of tranquility and health.”
“But...” the old man said helplessly, “but we’re not Switzerland. There’s no medical environment here.”
“That was before.”
Chen Chen said matter-of-factly, “But after I build this Eco Science City, everything will change. The cutting-edge medical technology developed from the research center will be put into clinical trials, then into application and service areas, as quickly as possible.
“I’ll equip the sanatoriums here with the most authoritative expert physicians from internal medicine in gastroenterology to cardiology and neurology. They’ll also be equipped with the most advanced testing equipment. Everything one would need, covered from head to toe.
“Moreover, in terms of diet and daily lifestyle, I’ll also have experienced nutritionists and nurses, and even fitness consultants and coaches. I can customize any high-end services to meet the customer’s every need...
“This will become the most complete and developed medical system in the world.”
Upon hearing all this, the old man fell silent.
“Minister Mazura, I hear that you’re going to run for vice president of the SWAPO Party?”
Chen Chen took out a card, placed it on the table, and pushed it to the old man. “This is my personal donation to Minister Mazura’s campaign funds. I hope that with the help of this political donation, you’ll be successful.”
“... I understand.”
The old man was silent for a long time before he seemed to have made up his mind and nodded. “But I hope you’ll be mentally prepared, Mr. Chen. I can’t guarantee that I can pull it off for you.”
“It’s alright. I definitely won’t let you fight the battle alone in Parliament,” Chen Chen said pointedly.
The old man’s pupils shrank, following which he stared at Chen Chen and began laughing softly.
Immediately, Chen Chen started to laugh as well. Their laughter grew louder and louder until they both burst out guffawing at the same time.
...
“Minister Mazura, there’s no need to send me off.”
A few minutes later, Chen Chen walked out the gates of the luxurious mansion while constantly turning around to wave behind him. “The time I spend with you is always pleasant and brief. There’s so much I can learn from you.”
“Likewise. You’re an outstanding young man.”
The old man stood at the door and said ruefully, “In the future, your achievements are sure to surpass mine. I look forward to that day.”
Chen Chen nodded in gratitude, then got into the car whose door Chen Chen had opened.
The car started out slowly and drove toward the main road.
When the window had closed, blocking the view from outside the car, Chen Chen’s smile died on his lips.
“Boss, you seem to be in a good mood.” Cheng Cao glanced at the rearview mirror and observed softly.
“When you can achieve your goal at the lowest possible cost, of course, you’ll feel good.”
Chen Chen sighed, then suddenly asked, “By the way, I’ve already visited three houses. How’s Wenhuan doing?”
“He’s just reported that he has also persuaded three members of parliament. They’ve agreed to be on our side at the next session,” Cheng Cao replied.
“Good. As long as we’ve convinced four or five of them, our application is basically foolproof.”
Chen Chen nodded and looked out the window.
What Chen Chen wanted to replicate was Switzerland’s famous sanatorium industry —
Using its own high-end medical service environment, combined with the local natural ecology, Switzerland had opened hundreds of sanatoriums in the Alps.
These sanatoriums were all known for their cutting-edge medical technology along with a large number of therapists and advanced medical treatment as well as a beautiful treatment environment. The combination of these three factors resulted in a steady stream of wealthy people from Europe and all over the world.
It was like a money making pit.
What Chen Chen wanted to do was imitate this Swiss method.
After all, he had the world’s most advanced anti-aging technology here. If he built an Eco Science City here, why would he not surpass Switzerland with his technical advantage?
Besides, through word-of-mouth marketing, he could always attract celebrities and politicians from various countries. Then, he could select more candidates to be absorbed into God’s Forbidden Zone.
This was what Chen Chen had planned.