The sound of the iron pot bouncing up and down on the stove, the sound of hot oil heating in the iron pot, and the metal sound of the book being issued when the spatula collides with the iron pot form a simple and extremely energetic symphony.

Without waiting for the Englishman Burlesden to sigh for too long, a dry fried beef river, a stir-fried alfalfa with tomato juice, and a seaweed egg drop soup were served. Burlesden doesn't use chopsticks, but the restaurant provides a wooden spoon and a wooden fork, and he started with a spoonful of seaweed egg drop soup, which he thought was delicious. The sautéed alfalfa is crisp and raw with sweet and sour tomato juice, which is refreshing. As for the fragrant and delicious dry-fried beef river, Burreston is accustomed to British food, and he no longer knows what language to use to praise it.

After taking the last sip of seaweed egg drop soup, Buresden put down his knife and fork in satisfaction. This simple set meal gave him a level of enjoyment, and he looked at this ordinary small restaurant, and through the window of the restaurant, he saw the desolate red and yellow rock wall outside the window. Buresden had to remind himself that he was not in a mid-to-high-end restaurant in London or Paris, but in a small restaurant in a desolate port on the desolate western shore of the Red Sea.

But all the vegetables were fresh, so fresh that one wondered if the existence of this wilderness was not real. British merchant captain Buresden heard in Egypt that a new port had been opened in the Red Sea, or a port opened by the Chinese. The captain of the merchant ship was also automatically tasked with gathering intelligence for the British Empire, and he docked in Port Sudan and came up to take a look. This port is not very special now, and what can be called special is probably the hundreds of facilities that have been erected by the sea to boil salt and provide fresh water. After eating this meal, Burresden realized that he was wrong, that this port was too special.

In addition to Chinese cuisine, the newly developed Port Sudan also has its own specialty. China's salt production technology is very high, and the price of high-quality salt, which has no bitter taste, is very cheap. Burlesden has decided to do this salt deal for the time being.

Captain Burreden was also preparing to continue from the port into the interior of Sudan Province, he was very curious about the ingredients of this meal, could it be that Chinese are magicians? Can you grow fresh vegetables in the wilderness?

At the headquarters of the reclamation army, a Pasha of the Ottoman Empire wiped his sweat with a towel, drank a sip of alfalfa honey tea, and then said, "Can the price of canned meat in your country be lowered a little more?" ”

"I don't think your country's military supplies only need canned beef and mutton, don't you think this honey is also necessary?" Du Hui, the political commissar of the reclamation army, said while the iron was hot.

"Honey is good, but these cans can be stored for months, and it's what we need most in our fortress. So we hope that your country will be able to reduce the price of these cans even more. "Mistress Pasha is serious.

Du Hui didn't have any unusual expression on his face, but he was very contemptuous in his heart. At this time of national crisis, the Ottoman high-ranking officials should have eaten nothing back. According to the news from Istanbul, the price of the Ottoman purchase had actually been set, and the lower the price was cut by the high-ranking officials, the higher the difference they could get in the middle.

But the domestic instructions for this were to guarantee supplies to the Ottoman front as much as possible. Du Hui can also understand that China and the Ottoman Empire are not neighbors, but Russia is. The greater Russia's losses in the Russo-Turkish war, the more beneficial it will be for China. Being able to understand the great significance of canned food for the war shows that the Ottoman Empire was not really confused.

Du Hui couldn't help but say, "Your Excellency, if the price is lowered, then the purchase volume must be increased." Our total amount can't be changed, right? ”

Increasing the total amount of purchases increases the total amount of supply from the front. Of course, Du Hui couldn't point at the Pasha of the Ottoman Empire and scold "you corrupt criminal", nor could he give this Pasha of the Ottoman Empire an ideological and political lesson and correct his erroneous idea of making profits. The only thing Du Hui could do was to increase sales a little and give the Ottoman frontline troops a chance to get more supplies.

At the mention of maintaining the total amount of the transaction, Lord Pasha's face was not good-looking. He shook his head, "It's not just this business, why buy and sell so many cans at once." ”

"Your Excellency only bought a million pounds of canned beef and mutton, what do you think of that?" Political Commissar Du Hui asked. He was very unhappy with the Ottoman Empire, and the battlefield supply was determined according to the number of people and the time of the battle, at least the Liberation Army had always made battle plans in this way. Turkey has more than 400,000 troops, and if the war is fought for two years, it is always necessary to guarantee three taels of meat a day. In China, as long as the logistics can supply it during the war, the food of three taels of meat is nothing, and everyone has to try to have a bottle of canned fruit a day to ensure a relatively balanced nutrition.

In fact, the front-line troops of the Liberation Army during the war also knew that it was not the logistics troops who refused to give materials, and the supplies could not be supplied, but it was really because of transportation or the impact of the location of the battlefield. When scolding the logistics department, the term "logistics department" represents everyone's fear and helplessness on the battlefield. The logistics department just took a blame.

But Osman Pasha's attitude was different, buying a certain amount of canned food meant the upper limit of the supply. A million pounds of canned beef and mutton is enough for a few days at the front? At most, it's only half a month. Du Hui continued: "The price of our canned food is already much cheaper than the local fresh beef and mutton in the Ottoman Empire, and you have to find someone to process it yourself, and you will have to add more money. I think at this price, if it were lower, you would have to buy more. Let's increase the supply at the front. ”

Hearing this, Lord Pasha frowned, and he said in an insulted tone: "Are you accusing me of withholding the rations of the soldiers on the front? ”

Du Hui didn't expect this Pasha to make this clear, he actually wanted to say in his heart: "I'm just accusing you of withholding the rations of the front-line soldiers." "It's just that this can be said or not, the Chinese are more concerned about the rations of the Ottoman soldiers than the Pasha of the Ottoman Empire, and it is a great insult after this statement is made clear.

Seeing that Du Hui was silent, Lord Pasha said very unhappily: "We have to pay cash to buy canned food, the war should be fought for a long time, and how much money will be needed at that time." ”

"If the Ottomans are willing to lease us more land, we can do without money." Du Hui replied immediately.

After hearing Du Hui's proposal, the Chinese participating in the talks were a little nervous. Before coming here, the troops were mobilized to say that Sudan was a wild place with a bad climate. When they arrived in Sudan, they realized that this propaganda was exaggerated.

It is true that Sudan is relatively desolate, but there is no shortage of water here. The Blue Nile and several other rivers provide a great deal of moisture to the soil. What's more, there is no shortage of flat land on both sides of the Nile, and crops can be grown on large tracts of land as long as irrigation canals can be dug properly.

Alfalfa is only the main crop, and the reclamation troops also began to grow rice, wheat, corn, peanuts, and sugar cane here. A vegetable garden is even more indispensable. It won't be long before Port Sudan will be able to export not only alfalfa and salt, but also sugar, peanut oil and cereals. Conscientiously manage this vast land, and the future is really promising.

Lord Pasha did not show a look of surprise, the Chinese were trying to expand their sphere of influence in the Sultanate Province, which the Ottoman Empire had long imagined.

The Governor of Egypt was at odds with the Ottoman government, and the Governor of Egypt wanted to break away from the control of the Ottoman Empire and start an independent kingdom of his own. Similarly, the Ottoman Empire, knowing the intentions of the Egyptian governor, would try to block the Egyptian governor. The purpose of allowing China to grow alfalfa in Sudan is to introduce another force into Sudan, which has been largely separated from the Ottoman Empire, to balance the British influence in Egypt. Based on China's current relationship with Britain, if Egypt wants to throw itself into the arms of Britain, China will definitely find a way to obstruct it. And vice versa, Britain won't let China really grow big in Egypt and Sudan. In this state of balance, the Ottoman Empire became a key player in maintaining this delicate balance.

Of course, the Chinese's farming ability was beyond the expectations of the Ottoman Empire, and the amount of materials they could get from the Sultan was completely beyond the Ottoman Empire's original imagination.

Many things have to be done even if they are clear in their hearts. Lord Pasha of the Ottoman Empire said that he would discuss the matter when he returned home. As a gesture of goodwill, China lowered the price of supply by another 5%. After Pasha left, all the Chinese reclamation forces discussed was whether the Ottoman Empire would agree to the matter. It is very easy for China to really rely on pure force to expand its zone of control. Without the Ottoman Empire's endorsement, there are too many countries that can use "just" reasons to do anything to China. But with the approval of the Ottoman Empire, China was able to complete a lot of negotiations with this paper of recognition.

Maybe it's May, and it's not easy to store food after the weather gets hotter. The Ottoman response was swift, and the permitted chassis for alfalfa cultivation was expanded tenfold. The rent for the first five years was replaced by five million pounds of canned beef and mutton.

At this time, Chinese freighters also traveled between Sudan and China on a regular basis, carrying all kinds of supplies when they went, and bringing back hay and leather when they returned, which was of great benefit to both entry and exit. As for perishable meat, let the Ottomans make the most of it. If the meat could make the Ottoman warriors slaughter the Russians, China would make another profit on another line. It's a great feeling to be able to get money on every line!