Under the moonlight

This document briefly introduces some basic information about country S, which Huang Meng already knew. She flipped through it roughly, but starting from the fourth page, there was some information that she didn't know before.

The recent political turmoil in country S stemmed from a major disagreement over the ownership of mineral resource extraction rights. The current leaders advocate for a model where mineral extraction is led by the government, with public participation and shared benefits.

It's basically a self-sufficient production model. Under this model, leveraging its unique natural advantages and flexible handicrafts, it's entirely possible to achieve a prosperous life for its people. However, this country is mostly mountainous, limiting agriculture and resulting in low grain production. A large portion of its produce needs to be imported each year, not to mention other crops, especially fruit, which is considered a luxury here.

Besides abundant mineral resources, China also exports a small amount of oil, but most light industrial products need to be imported. In other words, even if the Chinese people can live a prosperous life with the support of the tourism and mining industries, most of their daily necessities and food have to be imported, so the actual per capita income is not that high.

Huang Meng looked up from a pile of data and thought about the strong sense of contradiction she had felt when she first arrived in this country. At the time, she didn't understand where this strange contrast came from, but now she probably did.

Before coming here, she did her research. It was a small country bordering Country C, with beautiful scenery, especially their handmade mineral jewelry, which immediately caught Huang Meng's attention.

After arriving in S country, she discovered that the unique mineral handicrafts, although all handmade and made from all-natural materials, were not expensive. In contrast, other goods were very expensive, especially in their domestic supermarkets, where almost all grains, vegetables, and fruits were ridiculously expensive. This explained why the people here were not as wealthy as she had imagined; they were barely able to make ends meet. This was what made her feel conflicted.

Huang Meng stared at the table for a while, then buried herself in the documents in her hands. The documents introduced that the political turmoil was launched by the country's new political faction. They believed that the government should lead the entire production chain, from mining to production and finally to artificial polishing and manufacturing. They would hire workers to work for the government, pay them wages, and export all the products produced, with the revenue going to the government.

Huang Meng looked up at the blank table and thought for a moment. From this perspective, the idea of ​​the new policy faction was also feasible. In this way, the government would take the lead in exporting all products, people could earn wages through their labor, and the government could also increase its revenue.

However, agricultural output is low and variety is limited, and most light industries still rely on imports, so there is no way to fundamentally change the living conditions of the people in the country!

Huang Meng frowned as she continued flipping through the documents. The documents described a series of policies promoted by the New Deal faction. They wanted to gain public support and had touted establishing friendly agreements with neighboring countries, relying on mineral exports and a small amount of oil resources to establish friendly trade relations. They even proposed exporting raw minerals to these friendly trading nations at below-market prices in exchange for necessary goods. This would indeed offset some of the import costs. From this perspective, the New Deal faction's starting point and strategic approach seemed sound. So why did it lead to political turmoil?

Huang Meng flipped through the documents in her hands with a rustling sound, completely unaware that Xu Ao had already sat down next to her. Seeing her frowning and seriously looking through the documents, Xu Ao couldn't help but smile. This girl always seemed indifferent, but that's not what she really thought.

Huang Meng continued looking at the documents. Although the New Deal's series of strategic measures seemed to be very beneficial to the development of the country and the people, they did not receive much support. Most people believed that relying on the country's mineral resources to exchange for imported goods would lower the price of the country's mineral resources. Even if all of them were exported, it would not bring in much more national income than it does now.

Moreover, resources are finite. If mineral resources are to be exported, the amount of minerals mined will far exceed the current level. No one can guarantee that the country will have enough mineral resources for export. If the agreements signed in the future exceed the carrying capacity of mineral production, that will be another problem. However, if the current self-production and self-sales model is maintained, although it will not increase the income of the government and the people by much, it can at least achieve self-sufficiency. At the very least, the initiative is in our own hands. In addition, most people in S country believe in gods and respect nature. They believe that everything they have is a gift from nature, so it is even less likely that they will excessively mine minerals in order to increase income.

It seems this is the crux of the problem: two countries with conflicting ideologies are trying to reach an agreement, and one side is resorting to force, attempting to coerce the other into agreeing with its ideas.

The New Dealers used a large number of mercenaries to bomb their own country, hoping to coerce their nation and people into agreeing to their crazy ideas that were not accepted by the majority of the population.

Huang Meng put down the documents in her hand and didn't know what to say for a moment. She sighed heavily, slowly put the documents in her hand neatly, and then noticed Xu Ao next to her. She looked at him with a wry smile and turned her head back to stare at the documents in her hand.

Xu Ao probably saw through her thoughts and said in a deep voice, "The only ones who are pitiful are the innocent people, and the most pitiful are the children who haven't even had a chance to experience this world properly."

Huang dreamed of the little baby she had taken back, and remembered her lying beside her mother's body with tears streaming down her face, her eyes filled with fear. Those big, round, clear eyes should have been full of curiosity about the world.

Huang Meng dared not think any further. She took a deep breath and looked out the window.

Xu Ao stopped bothering her, turned around and briefly explained a few things to his colleagues. Everyone took their seats and began the evening's meeting. Xu Ao sat next to Huang Meng. The meeting was chaired by Chen Che, the young man with the buzz cut from earlier. It was Huang Meng's first time sitting with these embassy staff. She looked around carefully; there were three boys, and besides her, there were two girls. One sat next to Chen Che to take meeting notes, and the other sat opposite Huang Meng and Xu Ao. Huang Meng listened attentively as Chen Che explained the detailed arrangements for their upcoming negotiations with the mercenaries. Chen Che looked at Huang Meng and said, "Huang Meng is our translator for this negotiation. She majored in S language, and we are currently short-staffed, so we will rely entirely on her for this negotiation. Senior Xu Ao will be in charge of this operation. Tomorrow morning, Huang Meng and Senior Xu Ao will go to the mercenaries to discuss the matter."

"Why are there only the two of them?" Chen Che had barely finished speaking when the girl sitting opposite Xu Ao asked.

Huang Meng looked at her. Her forehead was smooth and full, her hair pulled back in a high ponytail, and her business attire looked sharp and efficient. She looked like a highly motivated career woman. Huang Meng couldn't help but admire her. They were both girls, and seeing her so capable and efficient in the workplace, and then thinking about herself—unemployed right after graduation, without even a career plan—sigh…

Huang Meng felt frustrated and lowered her head to look through the documents in her hand. Xu Ao, who was beside her, said, "To be honest, the political turmoil in their country has had a significant impact on us. However, based on the principle of non-interference in other countries' internal affairs, all we can do is try our best to help our own people. There's not much else we can do. We were just asking them to let our supply ship pass. If we bring a team with us, it will cause unnecessary conflict."

Xu Ao spoke in a low, calm voice. Perhaps because they were sitting so close, Huang Meng found his deep, magnetic voice rather pleasant to listen to.

She unconsciously looked up at his profile, his well-defined jawline, and the glasses perched on his high nose. Huang Meng thought of that phrase again: a refined scoundrel.

Just as she was engrossed in watching, Xu Ao suddenly turned his face and looked at her. She didn't react for a moment and just stared blankly at Xu Ao. Not wanting him to notice that she was peeking, she had no choice but to stare into his eyes, then awkwardly smiled and said, "Hehe, your glasses are pretty nice. Where did you buy them?" As soon as she said that, Huang Meng regretted it. Before Xu Ao could speak, she turned her head away, cursing herself a thousand times in her heart for being so cowardly!

Xu Ao watched as her ears turned red with guilt, and she frantically flipped through the few sheets of paper in her hand. He found it amusing but didn't make things difficult for her. He pretended nothing had happened and turned to talk to the others.

At this moment, Huang Meng was like an ostrich burying its head in the sand. She cautiously glanced at Xu Ao out of the corner of her eye, and only breathed a sigh of relief when she saw him talking intently to someone else, seemingly unconcerned about the earlier incident. Unbeknownst to her, although Xu Ao was speaking to someone else, every nerve in his body was sensing her every move; he could even hear her barely audible breathing, and his smile deepened.