Hearing that figure.
"Ten billion US Dollars?? Not expensive. Not expensive at all—it's actually a little too cheap!"
The corners of Zhang Yuli's mouth rose, and he could not conceal his overwhelming delight.
Converted into RMB, it was nearly seven billion in compensation. In an era when housing in Yanjing cost just over ten thousand per square meter, that was an absolutely terrifying sum.
"Still, isn't ten billion US Dollars in compensation a little low?"
Zheng Lixing stroked his graying beard, his eyes narrowing slightly. "I'm worried that perhaps we should ask him to name a higher price?"
"There's no need. Since that is the condition he proposed, we only need to satisfy it unconditionally. There's no need to create further complications."
Zhang Yuli waved his hand, declining to support the suggestion.
He understood Zheng Lixing's concerns perfectly. Why ask the mysterious person to raise the compensation?
Wasn't it because the F-22 fighter jet technology and Boeing 777 technology were simply far too valuable? Compared to those two, ten billion US Dollars was practically insignificant. Raising the compensation would at least make them seem more generous.
But Zhang Yuli felt that since the mysterious person had asked for ten billion US Dollars, then they should give exactly that much.
This was not a transaction, nor was it a sale of technology.
If the mysterious person truly wanted to sell at a high price, countless countries around the world would be willing to buy even one of those technologies for tens of billions of US Dollars. Those oil-rich countries in the Middle East would be willing to pay even more—and they could provide cash immediately.
Great Xia had always upheld one principle: give them whatever they wanted. As long as it was something they could accomplish, they would spare no effort.
"Then let's do it this way. This is also the safest approach for now."
Zheng Lixing seemed to think of something, and he nodded with a smile. "Fortunately, our development is currently gaining momentum. If this had been decades ago, we probably couldn't even have come up with ten billion US Dollars."
Fortunately, this enormous sum was being requested now. Had it been decades earlier, Great Xia truly might not have been able to produce that much money. Back then, the entire country's foreign exchange reserves had only amounted to a few hundred million, at most ten or twenty billion US Dollars.
"Forget decades ago. Even just over twenty years ago, our foreign exchange reserves were only two or three billion US Dollars."
"Fortunately, we're much better off now, and life has improved considerably. Ten billion US Dollars is no longer much." Zhang Yuli's eyes seemed to reflect the backdrop of that era.
They had truly been poor back then. Many military factories had either shut down or converted to civilian production to make profits and support themselves. Even Institute 611, forced by financial hardship, had stopped making fighter jets and taken up manufacturing Institute 611-brand washing machines on the side.
But things were different now. Although Great Xia could not yet be called wealthy, it was no longer so poor that it could not afford ten billion US Dollars.
Zhang Yuli stared intently at the screen and murmured, "I just wonder what method of payment this mysterious person will choose?"
"Physical currency? Gold or precious metals? Or should we transfer it directly to him? None of those seem very feasible."
At that moment, Zheng Lixing reminded him, "We must be cautious about this. Extra cautious. We need to stay fully alert and prepare contingency plans for every possible scenario in advance."
"I know." Zhang Yuli nodded.
No matter what method they used, safely delivering this compensation to the mysterious person in Eagle Sauce would not be easy.
It was not that they feared the money might be lost along the way. Rather, once the money was discovered, there would be a risk of information leaking, which would be extremely detrimental to the mysterious person's situation. They had to make preparations again and again.
However.
As the two of them continuously considered how to hand this enormous compensation to the mysterious person in Eagle Sauce without exposing anything at all.
Suddenly, the notification sound for a new email rang through the room. The mysterious person had replied.
Zhang Yuli hurriedly opened the email inbox in the backend to check.
[There is no need for transfers or anything of that sort. I hope you will replace these ten billion US Dollars with another method.]
'What method? We will arrange it immediately at the fastest possible speed.' Zhang Yuli rapidly typed out a line and clicked send.
Even if the mysterious person had asked Great Xia to launch the money into space on a rocket, then deliver those ten billion US Dollars by free fall to a designated location, they would have done it without hesitation.
However.
When they saw the contents of the next email sent by the mysterious person, both their minds went blank.
[I hope you will use this compensation to build schools. Spend all ten billion US Dollars on this.]
Zheng Lixing's face was filled with enormous question marks. "Build schools? Use building schools as compensation?"
"What is he trying to do? Is there really such a strange way of doing this?"
Having lived for sixty or seventy years, it was the first time he had heard of someone asking to be compensated this way.
Zhang Yuli nearly choked and coughed several times. "Cough, cough. Where does he want the schools built? And if all ten billion US Dollars are spent on this, how large would the project have to be?"
Ten billion US Dollars—this amount could build several universities outright.
With that question in mind, he immediately replied.
'How would you like the schools built? What scale? Where would they be located? Do you truly wish to use this method for the compensation?'
The mysterious person replied just as quickly.
[This is our decision. Please spend all ten billion US Dollars on school construction.]
[Please calculate how many schools can be built in total, distributed evenly among elementary schools, middle schools, and high schools.]
'Seven billion RMB can currently build approximately 700 elementary schools, 200 middle schools, and 100 high schools, for a total of one thousand schools.'
'Where would you like them built?'
As the president of the Great Xia Academy of Sciences, Zhang Yuli quickly calculated an accurate result based on Great Xia's current construction costs.
Elementary schools were the cheapest to build, ranging from several hundred thousand RMB, but they were also in the greatest demand.
Middle schools and high schools were more expensive, requiring several million RMB at the very least for each one. Particularly for higher-level high schools, construction costs of tens of millions per school were perfectly normal.
[We have decided that the entire ten billion US Dollars in compensation will be used to build these one thousand schools. The locations will be rural villages and towns throughout Northwest Province of Great Xia. We hope you can begin construction as soon as possible.]
Eagle Sauce, LLNL Laboratory staff dormitory.
After sending that message, Lu Ze directly shut off the light-screen projection over his eye.
"Ten billion US Dollars in compensation—if I actually got my hands on it, something would go wrong within minutes." He shook his head.
If he rashly had Great Xia transfer ten billion US Dollars overseas, the Wall Street capital in Eagle Sauce would probably notice him immediately. By then, they would devour him until not even scraps remained.
Neither precious metals nor other items of equivalent value could guarantee that the information would not leak. Even so-called "bearer checks" were merely a drafty window to Eagle Sauce—if they wanted to investigate, they could investigate. Lu Ze had no desire to take such a risk.
There would be plenty of ways to make money in the future. Why care about temporary gains?
"A thousand schools should make it much easier for the children back home to study, right?"
"Even if a few more university students come out of those villages, it will be worth it." Lu Ze murmured.
That was right. Northwest Province was where his hometown was located.
He still remembered that when he had been accepted into university, his family had been too poor to afford his education, and he had even considered giving up on college.
After all, even tuition of just a few thousand RMB a year was an unbearable fortune for a farming family like theirs. Even the travel expenses to Yanjing had been a major problem.
Lu Ze's father had been prepared to sell the old yellow ox that had accompanied Lu Ze throughout his childhood, gritting his teeth to scrape together enough money for him to attend school.
At that critical moment, the entire village had pooled together a few RMB at a time to cover his tuition and travel expenses. Even the eggs he ate on the journey had been stuffed into his hands by neighboring families.
No matter what, Lu Ze had to repay that kindness.
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