There was a saying that made a lot of sense.
To control the oil price meant to control the Middle East.
To control the global economy meant to control the oil prices.
To control the entire Middle East meant to control access to freshwater.
As the only developed country in the Middle East, as early as ten years ago, Israel operated the world’s largest desalination facilities, with more than 30 desalination plants and hundreds of companies in the country active in the field of water management.
And IDE was among the leading Israeli desalination companies.
“IDE? You managed to acquire IDE? If I remember correctly, Sorek should be Israel’s largest desalination plant and tap water supplier, right? The Israeli government just allowed you to do that?” Jiang Chen was slightly surprised when he asked the question.
“Of course they didn’t just allow us. Our acquisition can be described as full of twists and turns. Fortunately, the B City Consortium helped us tremendously. After all, they also owned some Hightech Freshwater shares. In addition, Yerif did also play a role.” One corner of Xia Shiyu’s mouth was upturned with a proud smile on her face. “Once the acquisition is completed, Hightech Freshwater will become the largest freshwater supplier in the Middle East. Eighty percent of the people in the Middle East will be directly affected by us.”
Jiang Chen finally showed a satisfied smile on his face.
If it was only a 3.5 billion Xin New dollar acquisition, it would not be able to attract his attention. After all, relative to his current assets, even the entire market capitalization of Hightech Freshwater was not significant. But he combined the influence of Hightech Freshwater on Future Group, its significance would completely change.
To give the most direct example, Celestial Trade had continuously worked to expand the Global Grid to Europe. As the gateway for the Global Grid to enter the Mediterranean from the Indian Ocean, Celestial Trade’s business in the Middle East had not been progressing smoothly.
It was not only due to the influence of the UA in the region but also the result of Middle East countries’ vigilance towards Celestial Trade. Although Saudi Arabia had continued to seek means to reduce the huge number of high-polluting thermal power plants in the country, the current King of Saudi Arabia had kept reservation about fully opening the grid. Coupled with the UA lobbying, even if Yerif stood on Jiang Chen’s side, his influence was only limited in this case.
And now, with the water pipes of Future Group paving the road, everything else was about to get easier. With the increasing influence of Xin industries in the Middle East, it would only be a matter of time before the Global Grid crossed the Gulf of Aden into the Mediterranean.
“One more thing, the 2020 financial report is going to be released soon. I just saw the first draft from the Finance Department today, do you want to have a sneak peek?” Xia Shiyu said.
“First draft? Then I’ll leave my expectations for the final version.” Jiang Chen laughed.
“Are you not curious at all?” Xia Shiyu grinned, then she teased, “Anyway, I was surprised when I saw it.”
“Curious?” Jiang Chen chuckled, and exaggeratedly let out a sigh. Then he said, “No matter how long it is, it’s just a string of numbers.”
“Puff—”
Xia Shiyu couldn’t hold it in as she leaned back into the sofa and burst out laughing. Her slender shoulders trembled, and the strand of hair that had fallen onto her cheek vibrated along with her pumping chest. Before she could catch her breath, she suddenly saw a dark figure leap to her.
“ACH!”
With a short exclamation, Xia Shiyu was turned over by Jiang Chen and placed on his lap.
“What are you doing…” Xia Shiyu looked nervously to the stairs and pushed Jiang Chen on his chest as she began to blush. Then she struggled restlessly, “Put me down. What time is it now—OUUU!”
She was only halfway through her sentence before the rest of the words were replaced by a squeal.
It was not painful at all; it was just that the loud slap made the thin-skinned Xia Shiyu so embarrassed that she wanted to hide in a crack in the ground.
“How dare you to make fun of your husband,” With a smirk, Jiang Chen raised his right hand that was aimed at that butt, “Do you still dare to make fun of me now?”
As the sensation on her butt began to spread, Xia Shiyu felt her face burn.
She bit into her lower lip that was as red as blood. Even if she thought about resisting at the moment, the worrying thought of Ayesha or Natasha could see her at this moment made her suppress her embarrassment and bow her head.
“…No, I dare not—ACH!”
There was another loud slap that interrupted her weak attempt to surrender.
“What, what are you doing!”
Xia Shiyu tried hard to turn her head around and stare at Jiang Chen in shame.
Her response was Jiang Chen’s innocent gaze.
“Uh, I just suddenly felt that, it feels nice to slap…”
When she heard Jiang Chen’s response, she only felt her face become redder. She buried her face into the sofa pillow, felt the heat on her butt, and then muttered under her breath.
“This pervert…”
…
In the early morning of the next day, as soon as Jiang Chen came back from a jog, he received a call on his watch.
The call was from Saudi Arabia. Recently, he always occasionally received long-distance calls.
“Haha, my friend, thank you so much! I like this plane a lot. I believe my father has the same taste as mine. He will fall in love with it the first time he sees it.” On the phone, Yerif laughed and thanked Jiang Chen.
Just now, the two aerospace G100s customized for him by Future Heavy Industries were delivered to his private airport. In addition to the supporting equipment, Future Heavy Industries also included four “Matador” electronic pilots.
After Yerif received the aerospace plane, he immediately got on the plane, set his destination to Celestial Trade, and experienced the speed from Mecca to Celestial Trade. Despite his collection of many private jets, it was his first aerospace plane.
“It’s not really a gift, but I’m glad you’re pleased. To put it bluntly, you paid for it after all,” Jiang Chen laughed, “I should be thanking you. I heard from my CEO that you helped in the acquisition of IDE.”
“As the old Chinese saying goes, no trouble at all.” Yerif waved his hand and said, “Moreover, I believe you will honor the promise you made and turn our desert into an oasis.”
“By the way, can I ask something?” Yerif asked after a pause.
“Of course.” Jiang Chen smiled.
“When will the war in Syria end? The old king’s health is getting worse by the day. The domestic situation is in a delicate state. My brother has recently gotten closer to the UA…” At this point, Yerif hesitated for a moment.
He didn’t know whether he should continue.
“It will end in February next year at the latest.” Jiang Chen looked at the calendar on the wall. “The battle is progressing smoothly. Based on the report from our front line from yesterday, our people have won a decisive victory in the Raqqa region.”
After Yerif heard this, he was finally relieved, and his tone no longer sounded tense. With a smile, he said, “Then I will be waiting for your good news.”
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