Chapter I: Venezuela
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The Boeing 747 airliner sailed smoothly over the Caribbean Sea, and the aircraft capable of accommodating five hundred people was now designed with less than a hundred wide and comfortable seats. The passenger compartment on the lower floor is used as a cargo compartment by traveling around half of the space, and half of the space is decorated with ten rooms, which is enough for the whole family.
Paris pushed open the door to the conference room, smiled at the people sitting at the conference table, and whispered, "The plane is about to land, we should prepare." My dear, President Chavez's daughter, Maria, will personally greet you at the airport, and you should change into a proper outfit. ”
Zhou You, dressed in a T-shirt and big pants, nodded and looked at the GPS locator on the cabin wall, and the position of the plane had entered Venezuelan airspace.
Caracas, the capital of Venezuela, is not a seaside city, but Caracas Airport is located on the Caribbean coast. So, there is not much time left for him to prepare.
"Gracia, you will accompany me in a car when you get off the plane. Sanchez, when you get off the plane, contact the members of the negotiating team, and I need to know the biggest hidden difference in our negotiations before I go to the presidential palace. Rodriguez, you go and arrange our accompanying vehicle. Elizabeth, you and Paris take care of the children, and since there are already tour guides here in Venezuela, you will listen to them. At the welcome banquet in the evening, let them all be honest. Mr. Rhodes, thank you for your role as our liaison officer today. ”
Everyone made preparations in an orderly manner according to Zhou You's instructions. Zhou You returned to his bedroom and changed into a long-sleeved shirt and a light suit.
By this time, the plane had already fallen into the clouds, it was the rainy season in Venezuela, and the weather was not good today, and the plane landed smoothly at Caracas airport in the heavy rain.
The aircraft was parked at the westernmost gate of the terminal, where the entourage disembarked through a movable sealed boarding platform.
Rhodes, who knew more about the situation in Venezuela, was the first to get off the plane, and after communicating with the pick-up staff, he made a gesture and traveled around to get off the plane.
Maria is a girl in her early twenties, not pretty, but with a good temperament. Under the introduction of Rhodes, Zhou You shook hands with the people who came to pick up the airport one by one, and after a short greeting, he sat in the six-seat extended Rolls-Royce brought by Zhou You.
On the plane, Zhou Youyou has nine cars on standby, three of which are spare and six are his own fleet, and all the security personnel are selected from their own security companies.
Rolls-Royce sat Zhou You and Gràcia, and opposite them, sat Venezuela's Commerce Minister Gary Buel and Energy Minister Bolívar. As for Maria, although she came to pick up the airport on behalf of Chavez, she could not represent the government, so she sat in another car with Yan Fangqing.
The six-vehicle convoy, together with two police cars and a bus from Venezuela, took everyone on board and went straight to the highway outside the airport, into the mountains, and headed for Caracas.
Gary Buel is a politician with a lot of language, and he can talk to Zhou You very happily no matter what the topic. Bolívar was relatively reticent, but he was very polite about his travels.
There were police cars in front of and behind the convoy, especially the police cars in front, which kept giving way to all the cars, so the convoy was very fast, and it took less than 20 minutes to complete the 20-minute mountain road.
Caracas is a city located in the middle of the valley, the view is very beautiful and the construction of the city is good. Although it is located in the tropics and close to the Caribbean Sea, it is located in the mountains due to its high terrain, so there is no spring, summer, autumn and winter, and the four seasons are like spring.
The seasons here are divided into the rainy season and the dry season, with the rainy season from May to October and the dry season from November to April, with an average temperature of 21 degrees Celsius throughout the year.
Fifty percent of the country's industries are concentrated here, mainly in light industries such as food and textiles, as well as automobile assembly, chemical, construction, pharmaceutical and other industries, and the financial industry and commerce are prosperous. Foreign trade is thriving, and its outer port, La Guairah, concentrates half of the country's total foreign trade. The other half is mainly concentrated in Maracaibo, Venezuela's oil powerhouse.
The Venezuelan Presidential Palace, also known as the Palazzo de la Flora, is located in the heart of Caracas's old town. The three-storey building belongs to the European Renaissance architectural style, with a red roof, white walls, solemn and solemn, surrounded by flowers and plants, and green trees.
The motorcade parked in the parking lot of the Presidential Palace, but the car that Zhou You was riding drove directly under the courtyard of the Presidential Palace, and the subsequent motorcade followed.
As soon as I got out of the car, I saw Chavez, who was sturdy but not tall. He was also a well-known political figure in later generations, and has always been known for his staunch anti-Americanism.
In his previous life, Zhou You still didn't understand why he was so firmly anti-American, but after he was reborn, the level of contact was different, and he knew that this was not because of his ideology, but because the United States was behind the scenes in 02 and instigated right-wingers to launch a coup d'état.
In the middle of the night on 11 April 2002, the right-wing opposition staged a military coup d'état and imprisoned Chávez on the island of La Oquira. After the news broke, more than 200,000 people poured into the streets and gathered around the presidential palace to demand Chávez's immediate release. At 1:30 a.m. on 14 April, 12 commandos flew to the island of La Oquira in three helicopters to rescue Chavez.
As a result of this coup, Chávez, who was already at odds with the United States, immediately became a staunch anti-American fighter, and he became a Latin American national hero along with Castro.
Zhou You remembers that he lived until 2013, during which seven years saw Venezuela's economic growth boom. But as soon as he died, he was subjected to an unprecedented depreciation of oil, and as the country with the largest oil reserves in the world, as a country with a highly oil-dependent economy, the country's economy collapsed immediately.
At that time, the Venezuelan government's paper money was depreciated, and it was even declared invalid by the government, and there was a shortage of domestic materials, not to mention that there was no money, even if there was money, it could not buy food.
After 14 years of travel, he likes to visit Venezuela the most, where even a piece of bread can be exchanged for a beautiful girl to sleep with you, which is the favorite country for a pervert like him.
He was still planning to settle in Venezuela when he was old, although his wealth was not very large, but here he could be a living king.
But being born again changes all that. His three wives are already good, and the women he met are not only beautiful, but also famous. So now his taste is much higher, and ordinary women can't get into his eyes.
Chavez did not shake hands with Zhou You solemnly like ordinary national leaders, but gave him a big hug, patted him on the back and smiled: "Welcome, Mr. Zhou, your arrival is my long-awaited expectation, and finally, today's ideal has come into reality." ”
Zhou You said with some preference: "It's all to blame on the hateful Yankees, who used their conspiracy to hinder my development in South America." ”
He was very stocky, but he was very short, and he was hugged by Zhou You of 196, and he was not yet the height of Zhou You's chin. He also knew that the two hugs were not a good match, and quickly let go of Zhou You. Seeing that Zhou You felt his sincerity, he couldn't help but laugh and said, "Yes, but conspiracy can't be an obstacle forever, and today we have already smashed their conspiracy." Come, let me introduce you to ......."
Chavez introduced his entourage, and Zhou You did not use Rhodes to introduce them, but personally introduced his entourage, and everyone shook hands one by one, and then under his leadership, they came to Joaquin Crespo Hall.
Crespo Hall, formerly known as the Hall of Mirrors, is the place where the President officially receives cabinet ministers and members of the domestic business community, as well as where the President appoints new ministers and ambassadors.
In the middle of the hall is a long table, and two beautiful frescoes hang on the wall behind the presidential chair. In addition, the hall features four huge white crystal mirrors, hence the name Hall of Mirrors.
The Palazzo de la Flora was originally a private residence built by President Joaquín Crespo for his wife, Misiajacinta. In 1911, it was originally the Presidential Palace, and later the Hall of Mirrors was changed to his name in honor of President Crespo.
The crowd sat on either side of the long table, and Zhou You sat opposite Chavez. When everyone was seated, Sanchez handed Zhou You a piece of paper, and Zhou You read it at a glance, and he already had a rough idea of today's meeting.
However, after everyone sat down, Chavez did not start the discussion according to the topic of the meeting agreed at the beginning, but said: "In June, I also watched the third part of Pirates of the Caribbean in which Mr. Zhou participated, and I was also impressed that Mr. Zhou was able to abandon his identity and participate in a movie, and this movie also became the top box office in the world and broke the record of the Titanic." I wonder why Mr. Zhou is interested in playing a movie role? ”
Zhou You smiled: "At first, it was just an accident, you are also worth it, my wife Paris is also the heroine of this movie, plus we have a good relationship with the producer Bruckheimer, so under his persuasion, we participated in this role." I'm an adventurous person, and I started by relying on the ocean to make a fortune from the beginning, so I'm still very interested in playing a pirate king. ”
"You did a really good job, and in Venezuela, you also led a Chinese kung fu boom."
"This is because I am acting in my true colors, and this role is still very consistent with my personal image, and the screenwriter even wrote this role specifically according to my image."
He laughed and said, "But for a country, a pirate king is always a vulnerable group. ”
Zhou You felt his enthusiasm, but at the same time he was a little puzzled by his folding and handing over, he was a little too enthusiastic. Whether it is sending his daughter to greet him at the airport or hugging him without diplomatic etiquette, it shows that he not only wants to develop ordinary business relations with him, but also wants to develop a personal friendship with himself.
Zhou You said tentatively: "Yes, so, I came to Venezuela today and met His Excellency Chavez. ”
"Because of a common purpose, isn't it?"
Zhou You was now somewhat sure, and said affirmatively: "Yes, for a common purpose." ”
Next, the two sides got down to business and started today's meeting. There was still more than half an hour before lunch, and the two sides did not start talks in depth, but took the case of investing in Colombia and carefully analyzed it with Chavez from the perspective of travel.
During this process, Chávez rarely spoke, mainly traveling and narrating, and then the ministers each asked some questions within their own purview, and the conversation was very pleasant.
Next, it's lunchtime, and the cold dinner prepared by the presidential palace today is still very rich. Their tastes are not much different from those of Spain and Colombia, and there are also some Chinese buffets prepared according to the personal preferences of the travelers.
During the meal, Zhou You kept talking to Chavez in a low voice, but the topic revolved around Cuban President Castro.
Because of Castro's behavior, the news of Zhou You's contact with the Colombian Civil War peace talks was leaked, which also led to Zhou You's imprisonment. Therefore, from this matter alone, Zhou You does not hate the Yankees, after all, this is the difference in the positions of the two sides. But he hated Castro very much, because Castro's behavior was tantamount to betrayal, and he did not harm others and benefit himself, but harmed others and did not benefit himself, and he did not fall into the good.
He may have hoped to force Zhou You to choose a position through this incident, but Zhou You was not a politician, but a businessman. As a businessman, he could not have given up the world's largest market in favor of an unprofitable Cuba.
So, apart from creating a trip that hated him, Castro didn't gain anything from this incident.
Chavez admires Castro very much, and has always singled Castro to his role model, so he now wants to be a peacemaker, hoping to get rid of the knots in Zhou You's heart.
However, he underestimated the damage that this incident did to Zhou You, and it was impossible for him to accept Chavez's mediation when Zhou You was not angry. Therefore, no matter what Chavez said, Zhou You did not accept Castro's apology conveyed by Chavez.
Chavez was helpless about this, but he only conveyed Castro's apology, and Zhou You didn't accept it, and he had nothing to say.
After the meal, Zhou You was arranged to rest in the lounge for an hour, but Zhou You was not sleepy, and he went through all the content to be negotiated this afternoon in his mind, and called Yan Fangqing.
Ms. Yan and her children were accommodated in a hotel on the south side of the presidential palace, similar in nature to the Diaoyutai State Guesthouse, which mainly hosts foreign leaders. Around they were arranged a villa, this two-story villa covering an area of 2,000 square meters, in addition to seven suites, there are bodyguards and nannies, and a driver's room, which is enough to accommodate a hundred people.
There were less than fifty people in their group, which was enough for them. Since they wake up too early in the morning, the children take their lunch break and in the afternoon, if it doesn't rain, Maria takes them to visit the famous children's museum in Venezuela.