Zoe didn't stop his investigation because The New York Times didn't continue to serialize her column, because he knew that his article would be unconvincing if he couldn't really figure it out.

Fortunately, the New York Times also paid more attention to Zoe's news clues, and they specially arranged for people to track down the export of grain in the United States. Several new intern journalists were assigned to the investigation. Zoe wants to see how the grain disappeared.

By now, the New York Times reporters in the United States know that the main donor behind Friendly Africa is the American Farmers Association, and that most of the food is from the United States' reserves. The whole business process is that there is an agreement between the American Farmers Association and the USDA to protect the purchase price of grain, and when the price of grain is lower than the protection price, the USDA will purchase and store the grain.

Due to the continuous decline in grain prices, the US Department of Agriculture has been collecting and storing grain in recent years, and the reserve grain has exhausted all the reserve capacity of the US Department of Agriculture. These stale grains are the main source of food exported by the Friendship Africa Charity Foundation.

Naturally, the price of stale grain cannot be compared with the new grain of the year, and the price of grain stored for three years is only about 12 times the price of grain in the market. And the price of food for more than three years is even lower and pitiful. However, this kind of food is still misappropriated by some people in the name of charity.

It is gratifying that the investigation in the United States has involved influential organizations and institutions such as the United States Department of Agriculture and the American Farmers Association. The more you investigate this, the more intriguing it becomes.

Since Friendly Africa does not accept volunteers who apply unsolicited, the New York Times investigation can only begin with the shipping company. The intern reporter of the New York Times is now a college student, and it is not uncommon for American college students to choose to sail on an ocean freighter for their graduation trip.

The ocean-going freighter from New York Harbor in the United States began its journey east with intern reporters from the New York Times, and the cabin was loaded with food full of love for the American people. The cargo ship left the American continent in the face of the storms of the Atlantic, and the modern ocean-going freighter did not need too many sailors, so there were only about 30 seafarers on board, except for the journalists.

The food on the freighter is good, the chef on board cooks a good steak, and of course, as an ocean-going freighter, there are also seafarers' private collection of fine wines from all over the world. The two reporters had separate cabins on the ship, which was not as luxurious as the cabins of a cruise ship, but in general it was not far from a motel in the United States.

The biggest difference between the experience of traveling on a freighter and a cruise ship is that life on a freighter is relatively simple, without the rich entertainment activities on a cruise ship. However, this provided favorable conditions for the investigative activities of the two journalists, who had already discovered many valuable clues as the cargo ship had just sailed to the middle of the Atlantic.

After getting acquainted with the seafarers on the ship, the two reporters began to inquire about the voyage on the side.

"Brother sailor, what are you pulling on this ship?" A good-looking female reporter deliberately sat down on the boat at dinner in front of a young sailor you gave and asked delicately.

"There are grains, agricultural products, building materials. Auto parts or something! And the clothes you women like and stuff like that? The sailors on board gave a warm introduction.

"Where will we all dock? I've heard that the biggest benefit of traveling on a cargo ship is that we can go to more countries? The female reporter said expectantly.

"It depends on the situation, we will mainly call at ports in France, Italy, and Greece, and of course, if MSC has a new route arrangement, we may also call at some ports temporarily!" The sailor replied knowingly, his gaze not wandering over the breasts and thighs of the female reporter, knowing that it was rare to meet girls at sea. Of course, he should cherish this rare opportunity, if the development of the ship can go smoothly, maybe after the ship docks, he can find a hotel to vent.

"Will we go to Africa? I heard that the people there are starving, how pathetic are they? "The female reporter pretended to be innocent, trying to extract information from the sailors, and if you want to stay as a reporter in the New York Times, you can't just rely on a diploma from a prestigious school, you have to prove that you can really get things that no one else can get.

"You mean East Africa? I'm afraid the ship won't go anywhere? Our ship is too big to pass through the Suez Canal, so where are you going? The sailor asked with some regret.

"We're medical school students and want to volunteer over there! And, of course, I want to come out and relax by the way! "The female reporter actually knew for a long time that the ship was not going to Somalia, he just wanted to follow the grain on board and see where it would be unloaded.

"You guys are so kind, I think we might be in Italy or Greece somewhere, can you tell me your contact information, and I'll write to you!" The sailor still said with some reluctance.

"Of course!" After the female reporter finished speaking, she casually made up an address and told the other party that he didn't want to date a sailor, who knows how many countries this kind of person has slept with women from many countries!

Day by day, the freighter Athena was moving in the direction of the Strait of Gibraltar, and several reporters took turns to extract clues from the sailors on board. After these days of investigation, they have obtained some information from shipping companies, knowing that the cargo ships departing from the United States will unload most of the cargo on board after docking in the Mediterranean, and divert them to some small tonnage ships for the next step of transportation, so the two people estimate that the problem of food disappearance should appear in this link of logistics re-export.

However, there are not a few large ports in the Mediterranean with the ability to provide entrepot services, according to the information provided by the seafarers on board, this freighter will at least call at Spain, France, Italy, Greece and other countries to unload its cargo, and in which port will the grain disappear?

Just after the freighter crossed the British-controlled Strait of Gibronto, and the mystery was about to be revealed, two intern reporters from The New York Times on board were ready to go, waiting for the final answer. ...