At the VIP corridor entrance of the airport, the figure of Fu Wentao appeared, still accompanied only by the butler named Zheng Lin.

He was wearing a pair of sunglasses, walking with composure.

"Big brother," Qi Yun greeted him with a smile.

Fu Wentao took off his sunglasses and patted Qi Yun’s arm: "I heard from Li Yaohua that you’ve gone off to the United States again?"

"Yeah, had some business to handle over there."

The two talked while heading towards the parking lot.

Once in the car, Qi Yun recounted the events of recent times to Fu Wentao. 𝒇𝒓𝒆𝒆𝙬𝒆𝒃𝓷𝒐𝓿𝙚𝙡.𝒄𝓸𝒎

"Nuclear desalination?" The latter was also surprised after hearing it.

Qi Yun nodded: "Yes, the people have already been sent to Beijing and entrusted to Xiao Hanguang."

Fu Wentao smacked his lips, giving Qi Yun a deep look: "Do you know how much this technology is worth?"

"I estimate it must be at least a few billion USD?" Qi Yun replied uncertainly.

"A few billion USD?" Fu Wentao scoffed, shaking his head, "You’re underestimating the value of this thing."

"If this technology really can reduce the cost of desalination to that level, it can’t be measured by money alone; it’s a strategic technology that could change the water resource landscape of a nation, even a region."

"On the international market, those water-scarce princes of the Gulf, the price they’re willing to pay...starting at ten billion USD, and more."

"And that’s just the pure technology buyout price. If you factor in subsequent operational revenue sharing, its value is truly incalculable."

Qi Yun’s heart was shaken.

Though he knew the technology was valuable, the valuation that Fu Wentao provided exceeded his expectations.

Starting at ten billion USD...and that’s only the value of the technology itself.

"However..." Fu Wentao shifted his tone, casting a look of appreciation at Qi Yun, "handing over the personnel to Xiao Hanguang was a very smart choice."

"When you reach a certain height, you’ll understand a principle, money is just a string of numbers, and it needs to be bound to another word for those numbers to become true wealth that belongs to you."

"Consider those old European families, Rothschild, Rockefeller, which of them was piled up with money alone? Behind them are generations of political networks, social influence, even the ability to sway national policies."

"Money is merely a tool they use to maintain and expand this capability."

Fu Wentao leaned back slightly, his tone turning deep, "The gift you gave to the Xiao Family is substantial enough, and the day they can reciprocate, it will be far beyond what ten billion USD can compare to..."

Qi Yun nodded in agreement, this last sentence indeed coincided with his own thinking.

"Big brother is right, that’s exactly what I think too."

Ten billion USD is a lot, but now his several companies are gradually getting on the right track, and there will be plenty of opportunities to make money in the future.

Yet, opportunities to get on board like this are rare to come by.

It’s still the same phrase, how many times can one fight in life.

Fu Wentao softly murmured ’Mm’, and continued: "You mentioned that person named Greenfield, I’m very interested. Once things are settled here, let’s go to the United States together."

"Hmm? Go to the United States?" Qi Yun was slightly stunned, then hesitated a little, "Although I’ve reached a deal with the Democratic Party in Texas regarding the trouble, I estimate the matter of me intercepting Seth can’t be hidden; there might already be people in America eyeing me."

"I was originally planning to come back to lay low, wait for domestic news to be announced, then go over to handle business there..."

After hearing this, Fu Wentao’s mouth curled into a cold smile, brashly and crudely cursing: "Go with me, what are you afraid of? Anyone daring to mess with you, I’ll handle them."

This is the confidence of Fu Wentao, whether in the domestic or in Europe, he has immense power behind him to hold himself proudly among others.

Qi Yun shrugged: "Alright, you’re the big brother, I’ll listen to you."

"That’s more like it." Fu Wentao nodded in satisfaction, "The matter with Evergreen Shipping is just the beginning."

"There are bigger opportunities in the United States, once the connection with Greenfield is established, we’ll have a place to speak in Washington."

Qi Yun deeply agreed.

As the whip of the Democratic Party, Greenfield holds many MPs’ secrets, and the power in his hands is substantial.

If a solid cooperative relationship can be established, even forming some kind of interest alliance, many future tricky issues in the United States can be solved conveniently.

Suddenly, An Zai in the front seat reported to Qi Yun: "Boss, there’s a car trailing us."

Upon hearing this, Qi Yun furrowed his brows, glanced back, and saw a black off-road vehicle staying fifty to sixty meters behind them, close but not too far.

He looked at Fu Wentao and then instructed: "Let’s go first, let Brother Quan handle it."

"Alright." An Zai responded, took out the phone to contact Brother Quan.

The car in front immediately flashed its lights to make way, and once Qi Yun and the others passed, it slowed down directly, stopping that trailing off-road vehicle.

The car door opened, and as soon as Brother Quan and his team got off, the driver of the off-road vehicle reacted quickly, started reversing fast, then turned around and fled!

Considering the safety of Qi Yun and the others, worrying that the opponent might resort to diversion tactics, Brother Quan and his team did not pursue further.

Upon returning to the estate, Wei Zhe and the others came out of the hall to greet them.

Qi Yun introduced everyone in turn.

Not only Wei Zhe and Zhang Wei, but also President Bi, and Ye Hanwen had not seen Fu Wentao in person before.

"Mr. Wei, hello, I’ve heard so much about you."

"Haha, Mr. Fu, pleasure to meet you, pleasure to meet you."

Everyone shook hands and exchanged greetings in turn.

"Everyone, please come inside, the dinner is ready." Wei Zhe gestured to lead the way.

Fu Wentao nodded with a smile: "Alright, sorry to intrude."

The dinner was set at the main dining hall on the first floor of the estate, with a long table covered with a white tablecloth, mainly featuring Chinese dishes, including lamb hot pot. The lamb’s texture tasted similar to the lamb from J province, likely specially instructed by Wei Zhe.

Everyone took their seats, Wei Zhe, as the host, raised his glass to start. He didn’t say much cordial words, only welcomed everyone’s arrival.

After several rounds of toasting, the atmosphere gradually became lively.

The topic naturally revolved around tomorrow’s equity transfer.

There seemed to be a hint of melancholy in the brows of Zhang Wei, as he expressed a sigh: "All the paperwork is ready, once the process is completed tomorrow, I’ll finally be able to relieve this burden off my shoulders."

"I just hope everyone will cherish the ’Evergreen’ brand in the future."

Qi Yun and Fu Wentao exchanged a look, the latter put down his glass and earnestly said: "President Zhang, rest assured, I’m investing in Evergreen because I believe in its future, with absolutely no intention to undermine it. Since President Zhang chooses to trust us, we will not let your trust go to waste."

Zhang Wei looked at him, nodding silently.

After three rounds of drinks, the equity matter was almost settled, and Wei Zhe signaled the butler to bring out his collection of cigars, leading everyone to an adjacent small parlor.

Rich aromatic smoke curled upwards.

Mainly, Wei Zhe and Fu Wentao were conversing, while the others listened quietly.

Actually, Fu Wentao had long intended to be acquainted with this leader of T-based power, but had always lacked a person like Qi Yun to connect the two.

Wei Zhe trusted Qi Yun, and Fu Wentao more so, under this premise, the two could finally drop their guard and openly discuss practical matters.

Therefore, from a strength perspective, Qi Yun certainly cannot compare to Fu Wentao, but through chance, he has become a unique link between several forces, accomplishing many things even Fu Wentao couldn’t.

....

The next day, Zhang Wei’s lawyer arrived at the estate with the equity transfer agreement, and the team arranged by Fu Wentao’s investment company also arrived.

After both parties’ lawyers confirmed the contents of the agreement, Qi Yun signed his name on the document. From this moment, he became one of the major shareholders of Evergreen Shipping and would also gain a seat on the board.

Once the agreement was signed, the head of the investment company took the team to the headquarters of Evergreen Shipping in Taoyuan City to hold a board meeting.

This was also suggested by Fu Wentao, intending to observe the attitudes of those in the board.