Rich, Rhine Metal; poor, Rhine Steel. 84

Chapter 84: Handover! (First Update!)
June 4, 2024

Chapter 84: Handover! (First Update!)

Chirping chirping.

Outside the window, on the tung tree, early birds chirped incessantly. Instead of finding these annoying sounds bothersome, Jalim felt a hint of happiness.

He climbed out of bed, casually tearing off the calendar from his bedside table, before slowly walking into the bathroom to wash up.

After shaving his stubble and trimming his sideburns, confirming he was back to his peak handsomeness, he left the bathroom and put on his best suit.

June 15th, today was a good day, a day worth remembering.

Because today, the last batch of shells would roll off the production line, meaning all the materials he had purchased were finally complete.

He only needed to load these shells onto trucks, transport them to the port, then load them onto a ship, send them to Iran, and finally return home.

Then it was just a matter of quietly waiting, waiting for the moment America suddenly erupted.

Once that annoying president disappeared, his family would rise up, lead the Iraqi people in rebellion against American tyranny, drive those damned fellows out of Iraqi soil, and then, everything would fall into place!

Ten years later, or decades later, when he looked back on his life, today would absolutely be a good day worth remembering.

The sun was shining brightly outside, and those chirping birds—very nice, very good.

On the way to the shell workshop, the workers he passed all looked curiously at this foreigner.

The factory director had given his word: this gentleman was a valued guest of the factory. If anyone slighted him, they would forfeit their bonuses and wages.

In the past, when they saw this man, he was always scruffy, sporting a full beard, looking like a bandit.

But today, he looked surprisingly presentable, almost as if he had some good news?

Under the curious gazes of everyone, Jalim entered the shell workshop, received his stamp from Jiang Song, turned, held his head high, and walked to the very end of the shell production line.

He sat quietly there, waiting for the final moment.

The shell production line started up again, one smooth shell after another sliding down the line to Jalim, where they were loaded into wooden crates under his watchful eye, stamped, and moved aside.

At 11:32 AM, as the last shell slid from the end of the assembly line, Jiang Song, dressed in a suit, solemnly picked up the shell, wrapped it in a cloth he had bought for 50 yuan, and carefully placed it in a box.

He solemnly presented the box to Jalim, his face serious as he said, “Mr. Jalim, this is the last shell. As per the contract, our production work is now complete.”

“Next, our security department will escort you to the port. Their security detail will continue until you board the ship.”

“Please accept this.”

Holding the box with both hands, Jiang Song’s face was flushed red, because one shell weighed 15 kilograms, three shells weighed 45 kilograms, and adding the box, the total weight exceeded 50 kilograms.

That’s equivalent to a grown man.

Putting his stamp into his pocket, Jalim rubbed his hands together, wiping off the ink, before extending his hands to receive the box of shells.

He then misjudged the weight and almost stumbled.

Clutching the box tightly, a smile spread across his face as he happily stroked the box.

These would all be used to hit Americans on the head later.

So satisfying!

After enough fondling of the box, he slowly raised his head and looked at Lin Yu beside him: “Lin, from here on out, it all depends on you. Get me through customs.”

This statement made Lin Yu roll her eyes, saying with a look of disdain, “Don’t make it sound like we’re doing something illegal. I need to tell you officially, we have equipment import and export licenses.”

“We’re doing this completely above board.” As she spoke, she pulled out something from behind her back.

In her hand was a folder. Opening it, the documents inside were displayed before Jalim.

[Equipment Export Customs Declaration Form—Appendix]

At the very bottom of this form, there was a large red stamp.

[Permitted for Export]

The large characters were boldly printed at the bottom of the form.

They were so dazzling.

Taking out the appendix and handing it to Jalim, Lin Yu continued, “In the future, if you get your hands on American equipment on the battlefield, you can bring it here to exchange for supplies, or you can exchange it for money.”

“Let’s go, I’ll personally take you to the port.”

With production complete, the transportation work was now the security department’s responsibility.

Those who had been training for days were all present, dressed in neat black uniforms, three people per team—two in the driver’s cab and one in the cargo hold to guard the shipment.

The next morning, a neat convoy, majestic and imposing, headed towards Liancheng.

Lin Yu sat in the lead car. Amidst the vehicle’s swaying, she occasionally took out her pen and wrote a few words in her notebook.

“Factory Director, what are you writing?” After checking the road ahead to ensure safety, Luo Ping found an opening to ask.

Scribble scribble scribble.

The only response was the sound of Lin Yu writing in her notebook, along with the roar of the car engine.

After finishing her writing, Lin Yu raised her head, looking at the road ahead and saying, “From our factory to the port of Liancheng, the straight-line distance is more than 100 kilometers, but last time we came back, it took us nearly ten hours.”

“This time, the weather is better. At our current speed, I estimate that we’ll reach Liancheng port in another two or three hours.”

“It’s because the roads are too bad. National highways, provincial highways, rural roads—one after another. They’re digging here, repairing there; one section is flooded, another is broken.”

“This seriously affects our shipping speed. Write this down; when I get back, I’ll talk to the city. They need to repair the roads anyway, so why not cooperate with Xucheng and Liancheng to fix the road to the port?”

“At least it will make the export of goods easier. If there was a direct expressway for the over 100 kilometers, it would only take two hours for a round trip.”

“This would greatly improve efficiency.”

In the driver’s seat, Luo Ping nodded in agreement, then shook his head with a pained expression, “This road is beneficial to Lanling, but the benefits to Liancheng might not be that great, and the same goes for Lincheng next door.”

“It’s not easy.”

Upon hearing this, Lin Yu lost her interest in recording the data along the way, closed her notebook, and stuffed it into her pocket.

At the beginning of the 21st century, this kind of cross-regional cooperation was the most troublesome; even decades later, such cooperation remained difficult.

They arrived at Liancheng port a little later than she expected, because they encountered two long-haired male drivers who kept blocking each other for half an hour.

Fortunately, this was a special product, and the person in charge of handling the paperwork had been waiting. After the procedures were completed, it was already 9 PM.

(End of Chapter)

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