Mining And Construction Tycoon [EN]: Chapter 47

47. The Hot Night in the Desert (2)

Song Chang-joon marveled quietly.

‘To have foreseen all of this in advance… truly remarkable. No wonder influential figures were eager to endorse him. He not only prepares meticulously but also doesn’t rush impatiently. He’s seasoned.’

This young man solved the problem so easily.

‘The Ministry of Foreign Affairs and the Saudi royal family couldn’t resolve this in months, yet he solves it so effortlessly. He eliminated the fulcrum of the seesaw. To end the conflict by solving the water issue.’

It’s astonishing.

The Ministry of Foreign Affairs had been struggling for months under the pressure from the Saudi royal family.

That’s why Tae-soo’s skill seemed even more impressive to Song Chang-joon.

‘Whose idea was it to load water onto an oil tanker? It must have been his.’

Water is more precious than gold right now.

Everyone is desperate for water.

‘Thanks to him, the ambassador will be able to clear his throat with confidence in front of the Saudi royals. He’ll be able to puff out his chest.’

He’s eager.

‘I want to deliver this good news to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs immediately. Our stress has ended in one fell swoop.’

* * *

Hakonen Village was chosen as the venue for the banquet.

It was because Tae-soo wanted to see the site where the well would be constructed.

Hakonen Village was bustling with festivities.

Women and elders carried food with joyful hearts.

[I don’t know how long it’s been since we had such a large-scale banquet.]

[It’s all thanks to that guest. He brought all the food, too.]

[Not only that, but he also brought a huge ship filled with enough water for us to drink for months!]

The children, full for the first time in a long time, ran around excitedly in the joyful atmosphere.

Each of them held something to eat.

[I wish every day could be like today.]

[The cookies with lots of jam were the best.]

[You didn’t get any candy, did you? My mom gave me some.]

It was a delightful banquet.

People gathered around the bonfire, eating and enjoying themselves.

[Anyone need more meat?]

[Here! And there’s no bread. Can I get some eggs and jam?]

[More soup, please. And some fruit and fish.]

In particular, the tribe’s poets recited poems and sang songs while playing the oud (a stringed, lute-like instrument) and the rababa (a stringed instrument similar to a violin).

The most popular themes in the tribe were stories about war and love.

Thump, thump, thump.

The beautiful dancers were also indispensable.

Especially the dancer performing the sword dance was so beautiful that all the men watching were captivated.

It was impossible not to be drawn to her voluptuous figure and seductive expression.

For some reason, Tae-soo felt like he kept making eye contact with her.

‘It must be my imagination.’

The dancer, wearing her unique costume, approached Tae-soo with alluring movements.

It was a dance of courtship.

[Please, accept this.]

A subtle, pleasant fragrance wafted through the air.

Tae-soo accepted the string she offered without thinking.

Then, whistles erupted from all around.

Tae-soo was bewildered.

[Why is everyone whistling like that?]

The chief chuckled.

[The dancer must like you. You’ve accepted her heart.]

Tae-soo was at a loss, unsure what to do with the string.

[Oh, I didn’t realize.]

[If you discard it now, the dancer will be very embarrassed. Just keep it for now. I’ll talk to the dancer.]

[That would be best. Thank you.]

Tae-soo was enjoying the banquet with the leaders of the two tribes.

The chief asked Tae-soo slyly.

[It’s a traditional dance of the desert tribe. What do you think?]

[It’s beautiful.]

[Isn’t it? Very beautiful. And you even received a string from such a woman, hahaha.]

[Are you going to keep teasing me?]

The Bedouin leaders laughed heartily and enjoyed themselves.

The leaders were also full and content after enjoying a plentiful meal for the first time in a long time.

Everyone’s body and mind were relaxed.

The conversations were warm and friendly.

As the atmosphere ripened, Tae-soo cautiously brought up the topic.

[We have quite a bit of work to do in the future. Let’s discuss it.]

Naturally, the leaders welcomed the idea with open arms.

Wasn’t it about the village well construction?

[Benefactor, you said we’d start the well construction tomorrow?]

[Yes. We need to start construction as soon as possible. We’ll mobilize all the heavy equipment.]

[We’re grateful for that. Thanks to you, benefactor, we won’t have to worry about drought anymore, hahaha.]

They were happy.

They laughed, completely unaware of what was to come.

They thought the construction would be nothing special.

[We’ll need to lay a separate waterway to bring the water from the oil tanker. Of course, I’ll help with that.]

They were going to help with the waterway in addition to the well?

Naturally, all the leaders were delighted.

[I see. Since there’s so much water, we wouldn’t be able to bring it all even if we mobilized dump trucks.]

[So much water that it’s a problem in this drought. Hahaha, thank you so much.]

[If we bring all that water, we can get through the rainy season without any problems. Hehehe.]

The atmosphere was great.

[However, we have heavy equipment, but we lack laborers to help with the work.]

It was an obvious statement.

The leaders chuckled again.

[We’ll help with that. It’s our drinking water, so of course, we have to help.]

[Thanks to you, benefactor, we’ve stopped fighting. We’ll mobilize our desert warriors as laborers.]

[They say they’re going to build a well and a waterway to bring water to our village.]

Tae-soo also felt relieved.

[Good. If you’re willing to help, I’m very grateful. Then I’ll take care of all the heavy equipment and fuel costs.]

He had wrangled all the heavy equipment from Han Cheong-ho.

Moreover, this was the largest oil-producing country in the Middle East.

The price of oil was practically free.

It was fortunate.

[We’re grateful for your help, benefactor. We’ll also lend a hand in your work.]

[It’s our village’s well construction and the things used for the waterway construction, so we’re the ones who are grateful.]

[Who doesn’t know that we were originally supposed to rent the heavy equipment and pay for the fuel? We’ll help with your road construction too. We’ll take responsibility until it’s completed.]

It was a very kind offer.

‘Bedouin warriors are strong and have good stamina.’

As desert warriors, known as the combat tribe of the desert, their strength must be exceptional.

They wouldn’t get tired even if they worked all day.

He thought they would do well even with unfamiliar labor.

‘It’s still a time when there aren’t enough Korean laborers willing to come to work in the Middle East. We need to secure everything we can locally as a temporary measure.’

He was having difficulty recruiting Korean laborers because the Middle East construction boom hadn’t started yet.

But fortunately, he could find much stronger people locally instead.

‘Since they’re locals, they won’t get endemic diseases [diseases specific to a region or population], and they won’t have water sickness [illness from drinking contaminated water]. Perfect.’

What are endemic diseases? The desert warriors laughed, saying that only weaklings get those.

What is water sickness? The desert warriors, who would drink even rotten water because there was no water, didn’t know.

Tae-soo didn’t stop there.

[But if we expose the waterway, won’t other tribes intercept the water in the middle? Everyone will be desperate because of the extreme drought.]

Tae-soo’s words brought everyone to their senses.

‘That’s right. Everyone is short on water.’

The Bedouins weren’t the only ones fighting over water.

[Who dares to steal our water?]

[It’s the lifeblood that will save our tribe. We must protect it with our lives.]

[The desert warriors will stand guard, even if they have to stay up all night.]

There was no need to go that far.

[It’s foolish to put valuable people on the streets to guard the waterway. They’ll have to be tied to that task for months until the rainy season comes.]

Everyone sighed.

[Then what should we do?]

[We can’t just stand by and let them steal our water.]

[It’s a drought. Everyone will try to steal water with their lives on the line. The only ones who can stop them are our desert warriors.]

Once you present a problem and shock them, you have to subtly offer a solution.

[There’s another way to protect the waterway.]

[What way is that?]

[Cover the waterway. With something so strong that it can’t be easily dug up to steal water.]

He was almost there.

[For example, a road. If we lay a cement road over the waterway, no one will be able to steal it. There’s no need for desert warriors to guard the waterway in shifts.]

Everyone slapped their knees.

[That’s a good idea.]

[We won’t have to guard the waterway all day for months until the rainy season comes. We’re willing to endure the inconvenience of building a road for that.]

[We needed a road to easily buy things from the market in the port anyway. It’s a great idea.]

Everyone nodded in agreement.

Again, he asked.

[If that’s what you want, I’ll help with the road construction too.]

Everyone was surprised.

[If you do that for us, we’ll consider you the tribe’s eternal benefactor.]

[We’re not people who don’t know gratitude. We can offer anything that can help our benefactor. Just say the word.]

What goes into building a road? Not as much as you’d think.

There was plenty of good-quality sand and gravel rolling around on the nearby beach.

Moreover, he had solved the water problem.

So there was only one problem.

Cement.

[Actually, there’s no big problem for me to help you with the road construction. I have heavy equipment. But we need cement to lay a cement road.]

That was the problem….

The Bedouin leaders wracked their brains.

[Where can we buy that much cement right now?]

[The amount of cement we need to buy to build a road won’t be cheap….]

Tae-soo raised his hand and pointed to the Moadeep limestone mountain.

It was the very place where the Corrino tribe had settled.

[I’m going to develop the limestone mine and build a cement factory.]

The Bedouins were startled.

It was a proposal they had never considered.

[Develop the Moadeep limestone mountain into a limestone mine?]

[Build a cement factory?]

Tae-soo nodded.

[I run a limestone mine and a cement factory in Korea. So I brought a lot of experts with me.]

Tae-soo pointed to the group eating and watching the dancer’s dance on one side.

[These are the people who came with me. There are experts in ore exploration, and there are people who used to maintain equipment at the limestone mine. Of course, there are also people who specialize in making cement.]

Tae-soo said cautiously.

[I want to build a limestone mine and a cement factory to complete the road. So I hope you’ll understand.]

He now understood what Tae-soo was worried about.

The chief smiled kindly.

[You’re wondering if we’ll resent you for taking away our tribe’s foundation. But we also know. You need cement to build a road. If we can supply the necessary materials right nearby, we should give it to you.]

Everyone nodded.

[The benefactor is providing all the money, equipment, and experts, so it’s naturally the benefactor’s right.]

[We can acknowledge it as much as you want.]

The chief said.

[I’ll go to the government office and create an official document. I’ll give it in the benefactor’s name.]

[You can do it in the name of the Bedouin tribe. I just want to be able to use the rock mountain and the cement factory enough until I build the road.]

[No. Benefactor, please don’t refuse. This is the benefactor’s right and our tribe’s intention.]

The chief continued with a determined expression.

[We will definitely get permission from the Saudi royal family. If the royal family opposes it, we will do whatever it takes to ensure the rights for at least 10 or 20 years.]

Tae-soo bowed.

[Thank you so much.]

The more they did, the more sorry he felt.

Tae-soo said awkwardly.

[But there’s one more thing I need to tell you.]

[What is it?]

This time, Tae-soo pointed to the port.

[The oil tanker filled with water can only dock at the port for fifteen days. It’s to receive oil supplies from neighboring Bahrain. The departure date is approaching.]

The Bedouins’ faces turned white.

A sense of crisis struck.

[Does that mean….]

Tae-soo nodded.

[Yes, it means we have to rush the construction.]

Tae-soo said with regret.

[If we don’t hurry, the oil tanker filled with water will leave for Bahrain. That’s why I’m rushing the construction.]

This was a big problem.

The Bedouin leaders’ mouths were dry, and they began to sweat.

‘In the end, we have to lay the waterway, build the road, dig the well, and make cement in fifteen days?’

‘Can we do it? If we’re not careful, that precious water will go to the neighboring country.’

‘No way. How can we let that water go?’