The next morning, Li Dong woke up early, washed up, had breakfast, got dressed, and drove out in a Maybach worth millions. Today, he had arranged to meet two local businessmen and planned to visit a senior member of his clan.
In Guangnan Province, clan culture was deeply rooted, and local families with the same surname were tightly knit. Thus, Li Dong intended to leverage the power of the Li Clan.
In the apocalypse, relying on just a few people would never be enough to survive.
After all, humans were social creatures.
The branch of the Li Clan that Li Dong belonged to was a prominent one in the region, with a large population and a modest influence in Guangnan Province.
The Great Xia Nation on Blue Star was even more powerful than the homeland of Li Dong's previous life on Earth.
The territory of Great Xia alone spanned over 18 million square kilometers, not including its maritime area.
Of course, Blue Star itself was also slightly larger than Earth.
The current global landscape of Blue Star was a tripartite division: the Great Xia Republic, the Far Star Union, and the Polar Bear Federation—each of these three nations possessed territories exceeding 10 million square kilometers.
Well, one could also include the Europa Federation as a global power.
However, this federation was too loosely organized and frequently plagued by internal strife, so it wasn't recognized as a superpower by any of Blue Star's major nations.
The territories of the Far Star Union and the Polar Bear Federation even exceeded 20 million square kilometers, though most of these regions were covered in ice and snow, making them uninhabitable wastelands.
Similarly, Great Xia also had vast areas where humans couldn't survive.
On the other hand, the most fertile parts of these two superpowers—vast expanses of Black Soil or plains spanning millions of square kilometers—were the envy of countless nations. In addition, there were numerous smaller plains capable of sustaining massive populations.
By comparison, Great Xia's single Black Soil plain, spanning just over 1.8 million square kilometers, seemed rather small.
Beyond these three superpowers, there were other large nations with territories exceeding 3 million square kilometers, as well as numerous small and medium-sized countries with territories spanning hundreds of thousands of square kilometers.
For example, the self-proclaimed "Fourth Pole of Blue Star," the Europa Federation, covered over 10 million square kilometers. However, it was composed of hundreds of nations, averaging just over 100,000 square kilometers per country.
But in the face of natural disasters, all were equal—whether a nation was large or small.
Smaller countries suffered countless casualties under the onslaught of various calamities, with some even facing extinction.
Stronger medium and large nations might still have significant populations surviving into the Glacial Wasteland Era.
Yet, in the face of extreme cold disasters, all arable land, plains, and Black Soil on the surface would turn into wasteland, leaving humanity to barely survive in underground shelters.
...
That morning, Li Dong met with the two local businessmen. The negotiations went smoothly, and the deals were quickly settled.
Li Dong placed orders with the two businessmen for 10,000 tons of edible salt and several thousand tons of steel, signed contracts, and paid deposits.
Of course, he didn't pay the full amount upfront but opted for installment payments instead.
After all, no one's money grew on trees.
Moreover, Li Dong needed more concrete information from his younger brother Li Tiang before he could make the decision to purchase large quantities of supplies. Otherwise, if he breached the contract, the worst-case scenario would be losing the deposit.
Taking advantage of the fact that it wasn't yet 11 a.m., Li Dong picked up his phone to make a call, intending to arrange a meeting with an elderly gentleman.
This elderly gentleman was a cousin of Li Dong's grandfather, making him Li Dong's great-uncle by relation. Though they were four generations apart, due to his seniority, everyone referred to him as Third Great Uncle, so Li Dong followed suit.
He was a very conservative old man and not the easiest to deal with.
However, these traditional clan elders were still willing to help fellow clansmen in need—as long as the request was within their means and didn't come at too great a cost or harm their own interests.
"Hello, is this Third Great Uncle? It's Chenzhou here, Guangyao's eldest son. We spoke during the ancestral worship at the clan hall during Qingming Festival this year," Li Dong said warmly.
"Chenzhou, of course I remember you. Why didn't you participate in this year's dragon boat race?"
"Too busy, couldn't make time. Third Great Uncle, are you free?" Li Dong replied awkwardly.
"Well, I'm also very busy. No time. If there's nothing important, I'll hang up now," Third Great Uncle said stubbornly on the other end of the line.
It was clear at once that he was a headstrong old man with a temper.
This made Li Dong even more uncomfortable.
In front of these senior clansmen, wealth truly meant nothing. Did anyone really think they lacked money?
What they cared about more was face.
Men with one foot in the grave couldn't care less about money—face was everything to them, greater than the heavens.
"Third Great Uncle, don't hang up yet! Have you forgotten? My name contains the characters 'Chenzhou' (sinking boat). If I had participated, it wouldn't have been auspicious. I was afraid something might go wrong and cost everyone the championship," Li Dong quickly blurted out, steeling himself.
"That's true. What was your father Guangyao thinking, giving you such an unlucky name? Fine, if you couldn't make it, why didn't your brother come back either?"
"My brother couldn't spare the time either. He's—"
"Enough, enough. No need to explain. What do you want?"
"Third Great Uncle, are you free for tea today? My treat."
"Where?"
"The century-old Yaohua Teahouse. I've already reserved a table."
"Alright then. Come pick me up. I'm at XX South Street in the XX District..."
"Got it. I'll be there in ten minutes."
Third Great Uncle's family business was primarily involved in various energy sectors, and many of their channels were exactly what Li Dong needed—particularly concerning resources like oil and natural gas.
In the Great Xia Nation, while private enterprises could operate in the energy sector, state-owned enterprises still dominated.
Of course, without extensive connections, no business in the energy sector—or any sector, for that matter—could survive.
This world couldn't be viewed through the lens of his past life, because the Great Xia Nation of this world was not the same as the China he once knew.
Here in the Great Xia Nation, many private enterprises even held military production licenses, allowing them to openly trade arms on the international market.
Then again, these so-called private enterprises weren't entirely private either, as they also had state capital investments.
For ordinary firearms and ammunition, compared to his previous life, the regulations in the Great Xia Kingdom weren't overly strict. Although private gun ownership was generally prohibited, a small exception was made—civilian firearm permits could still be applied for, though the success rate was extremely low.
Only with a firearm permit could one purchase ammunition.
However, obtaining a civilian firearm permit required an extensive list of qualifications. For example: first, no history of mental illness; second, no history of depression; third, completion of military service; fourth, no antisocial personality disorder; fifth, no history of drug abuse; sixth, a good education, requiring at least a bachelor's degree; seventh, a stable and happy family background; eighth, a detailed explanation of the intended use; ninth, and so on…
Each year, all these qualifications had to be re-verified, and registered firearms had to be brought in for inspection. Any failure to meet even a single requirement would result in the revocation of the permit.
Ultimately, all these hurdles were designed to prevent ordinary citizens from owning firearms.
Widespread gun ownership was not beneficial for society.
Apart from the Great Xia Kingdom, most countries on Blue Star had lax firearm regulations, especially the Far Star United States, which prided itself as the beacon of human civilization. Their gun laws were extremely permissive, leading to rampant private gun ownership.
In a country with just 500 million people, there were over 1.5 billion privately owned firearms—an average of about three guns per person.
This figure was based on the Far Star United States' own statistics, meaning the actual number of guns in circulation could be even higher.
Unsurprisingly, the Far Star United States also led the world in gun-related incidents.
...
In the Great Xia Kingdom, privately owned antique firearms like Matchlock Guns, Arquebuses, and Flintlock Guns from centuries ago were generally ignored—as long as they weren't openly flaunted or used in crimes.
Of course, the prerequisite was having a valid firearm permit.
Centuries-old bronze cannons were preserved in many places and publicly displayed, which was entirely legal—though these artifacts remained under official management.
The Great Xia Kingdom had a population of over 1.7 billion, surpassing even his previous life's world and ranking among the most populous nations on Blue Star.
Except for the ancient land of Bharata.
Bharata held the title of the world's most populous country, supporting nearly two billion people on less than three million square kilometers of territory—and this was according to Bharata's official census.
The true number was anyone's guess.
Even more surreal was the fact that the country's population was still growing at an alarming rate.
To the citizens of other nations, this seemed utterly incomprehensible.
Of course, their ability to sustain such a massive population was tied to their unique national conditions.
Bharata's land consisted almost entirely of plains—no mountains, just fully developed farmland, with geographical conditions allowing for three harvests a year.
Thus, they never faced food shortages and even exported large quantities of grain.
Additionally, with coastlines on two sides, maritime trade was extremely convenient. Even if food supplies ever ran short, they could simply import more.
However, when natural disasters struck, Bharata would likely be among the hardest-hit nations.