58: Chapter 58 The First Pot of Gold! Six Million Four Hundred Thousand US Dollars!

Wang Tao's efficiency was astonishingly high.

Less than two hours after the phone call ended, he appeared downstairs at Lin Zhou's temporary office building in a whirlwind.

He didn't drive that flashy Rolls-Royce, opting instead for a low-key black Mercedes, but with his face beaming and a spring in his step, one could sense his inner ecstasy from quite a distance.

"Brother Lin!"

As soon as he entered, Wang Tao's loud voice echoed throughout the hall, drawing curious glances from many staff members.

He carried a heavy briefcase in his hand, walked straight to Lin Zhou, and slammed it onto the desk with a dull thud.

"Look, what's this?" Wang Tao's face bore a smug "praise me" look.

Lin Zhou signaled his assistant, Su Qing, to close the door before opening the briefcase.

Inside was no cash, but rather a beautifully bound bank transfer voucher and a detailed financial report.

On the voucher, the recipient account name was clearly written as "Central Bank of the Cyber Free Republic," and in the transfer amount column, a string of clear numbers made Lin Zhou's heart race.

$6,400,000.00.

Six million four hundred thousand US dollars!

"Brother Wang, this..." Lin Zhou looked up at Wang Tao.

"This is what your country deserves." Wang Tao plopped down on the sofa and pulled a cigar from his pocket, but didn't light it, just fiddling with it in his hand. "The first batch of ten units sold for one hundred million dollars. To be honest, even I didn't expect it to go so smoothly. The Egyptian side has gone crazy; our production line isn't even fully tuned yet, and their second order has already come in—fifty units! They asked for fifty right off the bat! It's just a pity that for each unit, we have to pay back 5.76 million dollars to them in patent licensing fees."

Wang Tao's eyes sparkled. "This thing is a money-printing machine! A real money-printing machine!"

Lin Zhou could understand his excitement. For a businessman like Wang Tao, nothing was more thrilling than finding a project with such a terrifying rate of return.

But his focus was not here.

He picked up the financial report and looked through it carefully. It clearly listed the cost, selling price, and profit for each device, and most importantly—the distribution of patent licensing fees.

Everything was clear; the accounts were impeccably prepared.

"Brother Wang, thank you for your hard work," Lin Zhou said sincerely, putting down the report.

"Hey, don't be so formal between us brothers." Wang Tao waved his hand. "If anyone worked hard, it's you. Without your technology, all of this would be a castle in the air. To be honest, I'm just following you to get a taste of the soup."

"This version is an early model, and its water-making capacity is still limited. Once our subsequent models come out, I'd be doing myself a disservice if the price didn't increase dozens of times over. The wealth is rolling in!"

Lin Zhou smiled and didn't respond. He knew that Wang Tao's business operations and network of contacts had played a equally crucial role in this matter. It was a perfect win-win.

"Oh, right," Wang Tao seemed to remember something and pulled a design drawing from another pocket. "Look at this."

Lin Zhou took it and found it was a design blueprint for a large industrial device, labeled "Second Generation Solar Water Collector Production Line."

"This is an optimization plan made by our technical team based on the experience from the first batch of production." Wang Tao pointed to several parts of the drawing. "Production efficiency has increased by 30%, energy consumption has decreased by 15%, and most importantly, the degree of automation is higher, greatly reducing the dependence on skilled workers. Next, we plan to move this production line directly to Egypt and build a factory locally."

"Build a factory in Egypt?" Lin Zhou raised an eyebrow.

"That's right." Wang Tao's expression turned serious. "This is a condition proposed by the Egyptian side. They don't want the core technology to be entirely in our hands. Moreover, building a factory locally can solve some employment issues and reduce transportation costs. Most importantly, they are willing to provide significant incentives in terms of taxes and land policies for this."

Lin Zhou instantly understood Wang Tao's intent.

He wasn't just here to deliver money, but also to discuss the next step of the strategic layout.

"You mean our joint venture with Egypt is going to transfer its production base overseas?"

"Not transfer, but expansion," Wang Tao corrected. "The domestic production base will be retained as the R&D and core component manufacturing center. The factory in Egypt will serve as the assembly and sales center for the Middle East and African markets. This way, our industrial chain will be complete."

Lin Zhou couldn't help but admire Wang Tao's business acumen. This guy was a natural-born businessman.

"I have no objection." Lin Zhou nodded in agreement. "You are fully responsible for the specific business negotiations. I only have one requirement."

"Go ahead."

"The distribution ratio of patent licensing fees cannot change. Furthermore, the formula for core materials must be kept firmly in our own hands and must never be leaked." This was Lin Zhou's bottom line. Technology was the only chip he could use to play the game with the world.

"Don't worry, I understand that." Wang Tao patted his chest in assurance. "You don't need to worry about business matters. You are the 'Head of State' now; you need to do the big things a 'Head of State' should do."

After saying that, Wang Tao stood up and patted Lin Zhou on the shoulder.

"The money has been delivered, and we've aligned on the strategy; my mission is complete. Next, it's up to you, the Head of State, to see how you lead your country to soar."

After seeing Wang Tao off, Lin Zhou sat alone in his office, looking at the bank transfer voucher worth 6.4 million dollars, his heart filled with a mix of emotions.

From selling titles in a rented room in an urban village to raise travel expenses, to today, having the first truly meaningful national fiscal revenue.

This road hadn't been long, but it had been thrilling.

He opened the Government System and formally entered the funds into the National Treasury.

[Ding!]

[Detected that national fiscal revenue has exceeded 5 million USD for the first time, triggering the "First Pot of Gold" achievement.]

[Reward: $50 million National Development Fund.]

[Current National Development Fund balance: $1.7434 billion.]

The system's notification sound rang in his mind.

Another unexpected pleasant surprise.

Lin Zhou looked at the long string of numbers in the account but didn't feel much excitement. To him, money was just a tool to achieve his goals.

What he cared more about now was the upcoming Joint Diplomatic Relations Signing Ceremony.

This would be the first time the Cyber Freedom Republic formally stepped onto the stage of international politics as an independent sovereign entity.

He must ensure that this debut was flawless.