Mining And Construction Tycoon [EN]: Chapter 45

45. Meeting the Bedouins (4)

The Bedouins tilted their heads, confused.

The chieftain was equally dumbfounded.

Chieftain Corrino shouted:

[We yield. Go ahead as guests of the Hakonen tribe. We concede.]

Chieftain Hakonen also shouted:

[We also concede. It would be better for them to go as guests of Chieftain Corrino.]

Tae-soo smiled and shouted loudly:

[Wouldn’t it be a shame to visit as guests without gifts? I’ll bring gifts that will secure the future of your tribes. Namely, water!]

Everyone snapped to attention.

This conflict began because of a long drought.

Precisely to obtain water.

However, the proud chieftains and elders scoffed.

[We have water too. Do you think that just because there’s a severe drought, we don’t have water to offer our guests?]

[That’s right. Do you take our tribe so lightly?]

[Did you think we would sell our pride for gifts? Our tribe does not accept guests out of greed.]

[That’s right. We don’t expect anything in return for hosting a guest in the desert for a day. Don’t think of us as so cheap.]

The chieftains stood tall and shouted.

However, Tae-soo didn’t care.

After all, those stiff necks would soon soften.

[From a distant land, South Korea, a tanker full of water has come this way. It has already arrived at a nearby port.]

The Bedouins’ expressions changed.

A tanker full of water.

How much would that be?

They couldn’t even fathom it.

[It’s enough for both tribes to eat and drink to their heart’s content for several months. It will be enough to last until the rainy season.]

Moreover, it wasn’t just any water.

[I will give you clear and pure water, free of lime [calcium oxide], as a reward for welcoming us.]

Not many countries have water as clear and pure as Korea.

Most water sources are mixed with lime.

That’s why the Bedouins were even more surprised.

[You’re giving us that much water for a single night’s hospitality?]

[And clear water without lime?]

This was an offer hard to refuse.

The Corrino tribe of the rocky mountain, barely surviving on a spring because they couldn’t secure a well, were even more anxious.

They coveted the water greatly.

The tribe members made fervent requests to the chieftain.

[Let’s accept him as a guest of our tribe.]

[Chieftain, it’s water! A precious gift that won’t come again.]

Important figures from the Corrino tribe also approached the chieftain.

However, unlike the other desert warriors, they approached strategically.

[Chieftain, with that amount of water, we can last until the rainy season.]

[That means we don’t have to push ourselves to secure a well.]

[The spring in the rocky mountain has dried up. We can’t hold out any longer.]

The chieftain’s worries deepened.

Tae-soo simply waited, allowing them to discuss it fully.

‘There’s no way they wouldn’t covet the water. I’m really glad I borrowed Geumsan’s ship.’

To be honest, he hadn’t expected to be able to borrow Geumsan’s ship from the start.

It was an impromptu idea he came up with when Jang Jun-yong of Geumsan was present when he met the President.

‘The water I brought, worried that it would be difficult to find drinking water when constructing in the desert, is being used like this.’

At first, he was going to develop a well.

However, developing a well in the desert is not easy.

Moreover, the desert tribes’ deep need for water is well-known.

For that reason, he couldn’t expect them to readily give up water for several months.

Tae-soo had no choice but to prepare in various ways.

‘So, I asked a tanker heading to Bahrain to load water in preparation for an emergency. Anyway, the workers need drinking water to do construction.’

If necessary, he was thinking of building a lot of water storage tanks near the port and enduring with that.

After hearing the local situation, a much more useful method came to mind, so he made this proposal.

‘Moreover, I have a lot of heavy equipment.’

From the beginning, Tae-soo had several things in mind when he negotiated with the President.

He used Han Cheong-ho’s manpower shortage and construction deadline to extract a lot of heavy equipment.

At that time, he deliberately requested equipment that was slightly different from road construction.

Namely, various drills.

‘While doing road construction this time, we can lay waterways all at once. We dig deep into the Bedouin’s wells, connect the waterways, and share the water with us.’

There’s no need to waste time and effort searching for underground water veins in the desert.

It worked out well.

Since we’re doing construction anyway, connecting waterways is no big deal.

‘By providing water this time, our position will change. Not in a position to ask for construction, but as grateful people who solve their difficulties.’

If the situation changes, Tae-soo’s position will also change.

It would be very different from Samwon Construction, which was having difficulties with construction.

Tae-soo casually asked Song Chang-joon.

“Is there a limestone quarry nearby? I mean, a place that hasn’t been developed yet.”

“A limestone quarry? The quarry occupied by the Corrino tribe is a limestone quarry.”

Song Chang-joon pointed to the limestone quarry in front of him and said.

“It’s that mountain right there. It’s the Moadeep quarry occupied by the Corrino tribe.”

“Indeed, I was looking for just such a limestone quarry, and I found it like this.”

“······?”

On one side, there is a limestone quarry, and right nearby, there is a large well.

It is the best environment for road construction.

Nothing could be better.

‘Oh my, I’m reducing my effort like this.’

He was already looking for a place to build a lime mine and a cement factory.

That’s why he brought a lot of experts and miners.

It was to supply the necessary manpower and materials locally as much as possible.

‘I should develop that lime mine and build a cement factory. There are no cement factories nearby, so that’s good.’

There are no cement factories near this desert village.

Tae-soo has to import cement from afar to pave the road.

‘When the construction is finished and I completely liquidate my business in the Middle East, it would be good to hand over the lime mine and cement factory to them. So that it can become the basis for economic independence.’

At that time, Chieftain Corrino raised one hand high.

[Everyone be quiet.]

Chieftain Corrino looked at each of his tribe members and sighed.

[Our tribe, which always united to face the enemy, is being divided by a few words from an outsider. I’m really ashamed.]

The Corrino tribe all closed their mouths.

Chieftain Corrino said.

[We haven’t even confirmed the tanker full of water yet. It’s not something to be swayed by his words and make hasty judgments.]

Chieftain Corrino pointed to Tae-soo.

[Is it possible to give that much water as a gift for hosting a guest for one night? If it were you, would you borrow a tanker from a distant country and fill it with water just because people you’ve never met are suffering from a drought?]

Everyone closed their mouths.

[It’s one of two things. He is either a man of great stature that we cannot dare to judge, or he is a con man trying to take advantage of us.]

It’s an unbelievably good offer, so it’s unsettling.

No one has ever done such a good thing for them.

That’s why they’ve been fighting this lonely battle, isn’t it?

[We must first grasp the facts. Is there really a tanker full of water?]

Chieftain Hakonen also had the same idea.

[Everyone, refrain from rash actions.]

However, even the chieftain himself is excited.

He just hopes Tae-soo’s words are true.

Then he would listen to anything this guy said.

He would give anything.

If only he could get the water to overcome this drought.

[I want to ask two things.]

[Ask away.]

[First, where is that tanker now? We will check it with our own eyes.]

Tae-soo said to Song Chang-joon.

“For quick movement, can your side provide vehicles and directions?”

“Of course. That’s why I was dispatched.”

“It could be a problem if the interpreter disappears…”

“Don’t worry.”

Song Chang-joon calls a Ministry of Foreign Affairs employee and gives instructions.

It was the same person who was dispatched to bring the heavy equipment from the airport.

“Then I’ll go to the port.”

“Does it take long to get to the port?”

“It’s close. It’s really quick if you come by car.”

“Thank you.”

The preparations are complete.

[Let’s select representatives to check the water. Our people will guide you to the port.]

Several members of the Bedouin leadership raised their hands and volunteered.

[I will check it myself and come back.]

[I will go with you too.]

They are trustworthy.

[Good.]

The leadership left for the port.

[Putting the water aside, why are you saying you’ll build wells and waterways for us?]

[No matter how much I say I came with good intentions, it will be hard to believe. We are strangers, and construction costs a lot of money.]

I understand.

Because it is a construction project that requires a lot of money and manpower.

For them, they must be curious about why an outsider would readily do the construction.

[Water is a gift. Wells are a favor. Besides, I have heavy equipment. Do you need any other words?]

Everyone looked unconvinced.

But this was Tae-soo’s sincerity.

‘Give water, get workers. Do construction for the village, get a lime mine and a cement factory. I plan to help the Bedouins.’

At first, he came to finish the unfinished construction of Samwon Construction.

He was going to use the oil shock to create apartment construction funds.

But seeing the Bedouins, his mind changed.

Isn’t there a way to get rich together?

‘Anyway, it’s the water that Jang Jun-yong of Geumsan brought. It was water brought to feed the workers. Then, give it to the Bedouins and hire them as workers.’

Why would they become semi-nomadic people?

Why do they have to fight for the life and death of their tribe because of a well in a drought?

[There’s a drought, why don’t you buy water from other countries?]

Because they don’t have the money to buy water.

[There’s a drought, why don’t you repair the waterways and wells?]

Because large-scale waterway construction costs a lot of money.

[When a drought hits and the wells run dry, that’s when you have to do construction. Isn’t that right?]

The Bedouins all know this.

You can’t do construction during the rainy season when there’s a lot of water.

Because it is such a severe drought, well construction is actually much easier than usual.

[The construction timing is perfect, and it’s also the most necessary thing for you. Moreover, I have this heavy equipment.]

Tae-soo pointed to the lined-up heavy equipment.

[With heavy equipment alone, you can do the work of a hundred or a thousand people. You can repair the wells and lay the waterways before the rainy season comes. If you complete only that, you won’t have to worry about water in the future.]

Deep wells are not affected by drought.

[Is there any reason not to do construction?]

The Bedouins also know.

This is an opportunity.

If there is that much large-scale heavy equipment, well construction will be completed easily and quickly.

The children have hope that they can live without worrying about water.

But like stray cats who have never been helped, they were very wary of the helping hand.

[So what do you get?]

[I came to do road construction.]

[Road construction?]

[Yes, I’m going to finish the work that other Koreans stopped doing before.]

It is the reason why Tae-soo came to the Middle East, and it is also a mission that Tae-soo must complete.

Then the chieftain couldn’t understand even more.

[I don’t understand. What does he have to do with those people that he would continue the construction even with such excessive favors?]

[If water is a gift, and wells are a favor, then road construction is for honor.]

[Honor?]

[I don’t want Koreans to be pointed at by the Saudi people as irresponsible runaways. I am doing construction for the honor of my country. Do you need any other words?]

The Bedouins were shaken by the word honor.

They were desert warriors who valued honor.

[Look at this.]

Tae-soo took out a document from his pocket.