The car quickly sped out of the Imperial City. Of course, the urban area of the Imperial City is vast, unlike Ice City.
Although it is known as the largest city in the inland (only smaller than Fog City, which is adjacent to the Yangtze River), its urban area is quite small.
Outside the city center, it essentially becomes a transition zone between urban and rural areas. Heading further north, even some rural areas are considered part of Ice City.
While the area of the Imperial City isn't as large as Ice City's, its urban area is much bigger. After all, Ice City hasn't even filled the space between its second and third ring roads, whereas the Imperial City has fully occupied its fifth ring road.
However, this time, Jiang Hai and his team were headed outside the fifth ring road.
In fact, based on Jiang Hai's estimation, it's more accurate to say that they are in Hebei Province than the Imperial City, though the people here still carry Imperial City ID cards.
Fortunately, they didn't drive all the way to Hebei Province. Ahead of them, a massive building complex came into view. As the car passed by, Jiang Hai noticed a banner hanging at the main entrance, warmly celebrating the grand opening of the 17th National Agricultural Products Production and Marketing Fair. Upon seeing this, Jiang Hai's eyes lit up.
"Agricultural Products Production and Marketing Fair!" Jiang Hai thought to himself. He was eager to buy local specialties, in addition to the expensive items.
Initially, he had assumed he would need to visit various places individually to purchase them, but he hadn't expected to find such an event in the Imperial Capital.
"I don't know much about the things inside. I've arranged for someone to accompany you. If you find something you like, just let me know how much you want, and I'll give you the price based on the purchase cost," Minister Qin said with a smile, clearly not planning to accompany Jiang Hai inside.
"Then I'll trouble you, Minister Qin." Upon hearing his words, Jiang Hai didn't insist on having him accompany him. Smiling, he led the team out of the car. Sure enough, as soon as they got out, a middle-aged man was already waiting for Jiang Hai.
"Hello, Mr. Jiang! My name is Sun Yuan, but you can call me Old Sun. I'll introduce you to what's inside," the middle-aged man said enthusiastically, greeting Jiang Hai with a friendly face.
"Alright, Old Sun, let's head in," Jiang Hai replied with a smile. After glancing at the car behind them, he followed Sun Yuan into the hall. Meanwhile, Minister Qin, still in the car, made a call.
As Jiang Hai suspected, Minister Qin had something to discuss with him.
Although China and the United States are not fully hostile, they regard each other as major threats. Since Jiang Hai helped solve the oil issue for the government, it seemed he had significant influence in the U.S. He even knew Du Famen. Could Jiang Hai be developed as an informant for the government?
At the very least, his manor could serve as a hiding place for their other eyes and agents.
Of course, the government knew that Jiang Hai wasn't the type to be swayed by appeals to patriotism, politics, or self-sacrifice. Why would he risk his family's safety to help the government upset the American government in the U.S.?
If the authorities were discovered, his manor would be finished in an instant. That's why Minister Qin came along—to figure out Jiang Hai's limits. The government believed that no one was impenetrable.
Jiang Hai must have weaknesses, and the first thing they suspected was money. They had looked into his finances and concluded that he wasn't making much money. After all, Jiang Hai raised cattle. If it weren't for the high quality of the cattle, they wouldn't have sold for high prices. In the U.S., an adult cow averages about $10,000. With 20,000 cows, that adds up to $200 million, but after accounting for taxes, labor, and expenses, each cow might only bring in $1,000. So for 20,000 cows, that's $20 million.
Converted into RMB, that's over 120 million. The government figured if they offered Jiang Hai 800 million to 1 billion RMB, he might be willing to cooperate. But of course, the government couldn't offer more.
After all, this was just a place. It would be unnecessary to spend tens of billions. However, Minister Qin had witnessed Jiang Hai's extravagant purchase of Hetian jade earlier and realized that his initial assumptions were incorrect. Jiang Hai spent 400 million just on decorations for his room.
This meant Jiang Hai's net worth must be at least ten times that. The 800 million or 1 billion offered wouldn't even come close to settling Jiang Hai.
Money wasn't enough, and Jiang Hai didn't need any privileges within the country. He had no interest in politics. Surrounded by beautiful women, Jiang Hai lacked for neither money, power, nor companions. The government had nothing to offer him.
As Minister Qin contemplated these factors, his attitude began to shift. He no longer felt compelled to accompany Jiang Hai. After all, Jiang Hai didn't care; if the matter was sensitive, Jiang Hai could refuse with ease.
No matter what Minister Qin and his superiors discussed, Jiang Hai had already entered the hall. However, as soon as he stepped inside, he couldn't help but gasp. The hall was enormous—about 20,000 square meters, perhaps even larger.
There were 34 provincial administrative regions in China, each represented here. Many businessmen were moving about, seeking cooperation opportunities.
This place wasn't open to the public; it was meant exclusively for business professionals. Naturally, there were not just plant-based specialties but also animal products from across the country.
Sun Yuan, accompanying Jiang Hai, was warmly greeted by many people as they entered.
It seemed that Sun Yuan held a respectable position here, which was understandable.
Though Minister Qin wasn't accompanying Jiang Hai, Sun Yuan's level of status was still beneficial.
"Our Agricultural Products Production and Marketing Fair was specially approved by higher authorities in 1997. It was suspended in 2008, but now it's back, aimed at sharing specialty resources from across the country. Here, you can find nearly everything from local markets. Let's take a look." Sun Yuan said, greeting others as he led Jiang Hai and his group deeper into the hall.
The first exhibits Jiang Hai saw were from several municipalities. Although these municipalities were designated as provinces, they were, in essence, still just large cities, not comparable to the vastness of an entire province, regardless of their administrative level.
Jiang Hai first noticed the Imperial Capital section. It didn't feature many interesting items. Roast duck, various cakes, Liubiju pickles, persimmons, small dates—nothing that really caught his attention.
The only item that intrigued him was mutton hotpot, but it wasn't from the Imperial Capital; it was from Mongolia.
Next, he walked past the Magic City booths. While most of them sold pastries, two items caught his interest: saffron and Jiujinhuang. Saffron is mostly associated with Tibet, but over 90% of the country's saffron is actually produced in the Magic City. Jiujinhuang, also known as Pudong chicken, is famous for its large roosters, some growing to more than nine hands tall. This breed of chicken is one of China's three major broiler chickens. Jiang Hai was interested in both items and made a note to buy them.
As he continued, he passed through the Tianjin section, which featured local specialties like steamed buns, duck pears, twisted dough twists, and radishes. Jiang Hai was particularly interested in the Shawo radishes, known for their crispy sweetness, and planned to take some back to grow.
Following Tianjin, Jiang Hai walked through the Fog City section. Honestly, many of the offerings, like tea and hot pots, overlapped with what he had already seen in Shu, so he didn't linger.
After the municipalities, he came to the three northeastern provinces. As a native of Bingcheng, Jiang Hai was well acquainted with the specialties of these provinces. While there were many similar products across Liao, Ji, and Heilongjiang provinces, seafood was the one thing they lacked.
However, Jiang Hai didn't have a shortage of seafood. The unique items from Xing'an Territory, such as locust fish and flying dragons, weren't of particular interest either, since he already had access to them.
As he walked through the exhibition halls, he found many things that piqued his interest but realized he couldn't raise most of them. For example, the Northeast fungus was considered the best in the world, but Jiang Hai had no idea how to cultivate it.
Likewise, the ginseng from Changbai Mountain was unbeatable, but he couldn't grow it either. Though there were many things he wanted, very few were practical for him to acquire.
That is, until he saw it—rice!
Seeing rice made Jiang Hai's mouth water, and his eyes suddenly brightened. That's right, rice! He had always felt something was missing since moving to the United States, and cultivating rice seemed like a good idea.