At around two o'clock in the afternoon, Zhang Hao came to Mayor He's office as scheduled.
"Mr. Zhang, please sit down quickly."
Mayor He seemed very enthusiastic.
"Mayor He, you are very busy, so let's not delay. Why don't we sign the contract as soon as possible?"
Zhang Hao wants to reserve more time for conversation.
Mayor He smiled and nodded: "Okay, the contract has been printed. I will ask someone to bring it over. Do you want to hire a lawyer to take a look at it?"
"No need. In fact, I originally planned to donate this batch of grain to the city. In the end, my dad reminded me that 'Zigong redeems people' is not advisable, as it will not be good if it affects other people." p>
Zhang Hao waved his hands repeatedly.
In fact, he never thought about donating the whole amount. This was just a way of putting money on his face. Anyway, he would not have to pay taxes for bragging.
"My dear, sir, there has been a grain grab in various places recently. If word of this gets out, it will indeed have a negative impact on us in Huizhou. It is estimated that other businessmen will not dare to transport grain here again."
Mayor He immediately echoed.
But to be honest, even if other small traders and hawkers are put together, they don’t have as much food as Boss Zhang.
The influence is actually very limited.
After a while, the contract was sent over.
Zhang Hao picked up the contract and glanced through it, and soon he discovered a big problem:
"Mayor He, does the city only need wheat, corn and soybeans? Other things..."
"For other things, Mr. Zhang, you can do it yourself."
Mayor He took the call.
There are no breeding farms in the city, so there is no need for things like cattle feed and soybean meal, and it will also take up precious purchasing funds.
Zhang Hao quickly reminded: "Mayor He, with all due respect, if the end of the world really comes, these things can actually be used as life-saving food."
"Mr. Zhang, you are overthinking. Putting aside the grain reserves in each major region, the grain held by the federation alone is enough to feed everyone for three years."
In recent years, due to the poor environment and sluggish overall consumption, the federal government has personally purchased a lot of grain in order to protect agriculture.
Currently, all major reserve warehouses are basically full, which can be considered a blessing in disguise!
"What about three years from now?"
Zhang Hao asked further.
According to the memory in the dream, what the other party said is indeed true. In the first three years after the outbreak of the apocalypse, life was pretty good, at least there was no large-scale famine.
However, three years later, as the food reserves gradually depleted and the climate became colder, the situation suddenly took a turn for the worse, and then the nightmare began.
"Three years from now?" Mayor He smiled and shook his head, "Mr. Zhang, I think you have watched too many disaster movies. The destructive power of the Sulfur Rock Volcano is not as exaggerated as you think. There are completely false rumors on the Internet." p>
"Oh? What should the normal situation be like?"
Zhang Hao asked subconsciously.
"Have you ever heard of the 'Year Without a Summer'?"
Without waiting for the other party to answer, Mayor He took a sip of tea and then introduced himself:
"In the year 121 BC of the Federation, Mount Tambora erupted. In the summer of the next year, rare low temperatures occurred throughout the northern hemisphere, resulting in a severe reduction in agricultural production and varying degrees of famine around the world."
"So what about the Sulfonite Volcano this time?"
"According to experts' speculation, the scale this time is estimated to be several times larger, but the impact will only last for five to six years, not to the extent you said."
Zhang Hao secretly shook his head. Experts sometimes make mistakes, or the people above deliberately conceal some facts in order to appease people.
"Mayor He, there is an old saying: When you are in times of peace, be prepared for danger. If you are thinking, you will be prepared. If you are prepared, you will be safe.
I personally strongly recommend that the city buy all the supplies. If the city is short of money, it can pay for the goods a few years later, or use other things to pay off the debt."
This is nearly four million tons.
Zhang Hao knew he couldn't eat it, so keeping it in his hands would only cause trouble, and he didn't want to give it to others, so he might as well hand it over to the city, which would at least benefit the public.
Mayor He instantly felt the sincerity of the other party, and the other party's words gave him a lot of inspiration. In any case, there is no harm in being cautious.
What if it really comes in handy?
At that time, political capital will be delivered to your door.
Thinking of this, he no longer hesitated:
"Mr. Zhang, you are right, we will change the contract immediately, but the city's finances are indeed a bit tight, so the payment can only wait for a while."
"No problem, I'm not in a hurry."
Zhang Hao finally breathed a sigh of relief.
Soon, the two parties reached the signing stage.
However, before signing the contract, Mayor He made a verbal report to Governor Li over the phone. Governor Li paid great attention to it and actually rushed over from outside.
After the signing was completed, while Governor Li was also there, Zhang Hao took the initiative to talk about the second sister.
Mayor He solemnly assured him in front of Governor Li and everyone present:
"Mr. Zhang, please rest assured that the city will be responsible for the personal safety of your second sister and Mr. Steven. If there are any mistakes, I am willing to take the blame and resign."
"Then please."
Zhang Hao saw that the other party was talking about this, so he didn't want to be too entangled. Since he was betting on his political future, it meant that he was absolutely sure.
Therefore, he gave up the idea of flying there.
Dad is right, he can't afford to gamble.
……
Time flies, and finally we arrive at the 28th, the day before the eruption of Sulfonstone Volcano.
Early in the morning, just after six o'clock.
Zhang Hao got up and couldn't wait to call his second sister. After waiting for a while, the call was connected.
"Hey, second sister, have you set off yet?"
"I said, Xiaohao, are you sick? It's only two o'clock in the morning, what the hell are you calling? Besides, today is the 27th, and we have booked a flight for 12 o'clock tomorrow night, which is still early!"
Zhang Jiayi was so painful that she wanted to curse.
"No. 27?"
Zhang Hao heard this and slapped his thigh hard.
He finally knew something was wrong. The time difference between the two sides was more than ten hours. The 28th in the East was also the 27th on the other side of the ocean. In other words, the second sister and the others had booked flights on the day of the volcanic eruption.
Such a mistake almost made his eyes split open.
He quickly urged: "Second sister, don't sleep. Get up quickly and go to Huicheng Chamber of Commerce. Leave now. If you don't leave, it will be too late."
"Your brother-in-law is still in San Francisco? How can I leave alone?" Zhang Jiayi said reluctantly.
"You go to the Huicheng Chamber of Commerce first. I will notify Mayor He immediately and ask him to send someone to pick up the second brother-in-law."
Zhang Hao immediately thought of a solution.
"What's wrong with you? It's very dangerous to drive at night. Can't we talk about it tomorrow if we have something to do?"
"No, I just saw the news. The Shanshi Volcano shook again. You must listen to me." Zhang Hao shouted with all his strength: "Let's go now... now..."
Perhaps she was frightened by her younger brother’s reaction, but Zhang Jiayi finally gave in:
"Okay, stop shouting, I'm going to pack my luggage now and set off later."
"I'm not kidding you..."
Zhang Hao emphasized again.
Zhang Jiayi smiled bitterly: "Forget it, I'm afraid of you. The cattle feed matter has been almost taken care of. It won't be until this day. It won't have much impact if I leave now."
"Okay, let's trust you for now. I'll call you in an hour."
After Zhang Hao finished speaking, he hung up the phone.