90: Chapter 90 The Threshold of the Universal Postal Union! First, build a post office!

Lin Zhou clicked on A Niu's urgent report; the contents were very troublesome.

The Universal Postal Union, an international organization that sounded harmless, had a set of old rules that had been enforced for over a century.

If you wanted to join and obtain the postal code that represented sovereignty, you could.

But you had to satisfy two conditions:

One, you must have a permanent, functional postal building on your own territory.

Two, you must prove that there are permanent residents on your territory—not tourists or temporary workers, but people who truly live there.

For the current Cyber Freedom Republic, it could not satisfy either of these two conditions.

Besides yellow sand, a newly built road, and the national flag that He Jun and his team had planted, Bir Tawil had nothing.

"Isn't this just bullying!" Wang Dong said angrily from the side. "Isn't it obvious they don't want to let us in? We've already established diplomatic relations with ten countries; on what grounds do they refuse to recognize us!"

"They are following the rules." Lin Zhou's voice was calm, devoid of his initial surprise. "This organization is quite special; it isn't entirely a political institution, but rather more like a global industry association. To them, diplomatic recognition isn't important; only entities capable of receiving and sending mail count."

Chen Yuan pushed up his glasses and said with a serious expression, "Leader, the Universal Postal Congress will be held in Bern, Switzerland in three months. That's less than ninety days. Even if the Huajian Corporation is impressive, it's impossible to build a city in the middle of the desert and have it fully occupied within such a short time."

The office suddenly fell silent.

The good mood from the one billion US dollars arriving in the account just moments ago was now completely gone.

Lin Zhou didn't speak; he closed his eyes and quickly thought of a countermeasure.

Giving up was not an option.

The seat in the Universal Postal Union was a key step he intended to use to gain the support of Egypt and subsequently join the ISO and the United Nations; it was a crucial link in his entire diplomatic plan.

If this step got stuck, the subsequent plans could not proceed.

Ninety days, a postal building, permanent residents...

Several keywords appeared repeatedly in his mind.

Suddenly, Lin Zhou opened his eyes.

"Wang Dong."

"Here!"

"Connect me immediately to General Manager Li Weiguo of the Huajian Corporation."

Wang Dong didn't understand what Lin Zhou wanted to do, but he dialed the number immediately.

The call connected quickly, and Lin Zhou spoke directly.

"Manager Li, this is Lin Zhou. I need you to do me a favor and adjust the priority of our collaboration."

Li Weiguo on the other end was very polite: "Please go ahead, Mr. Lin. As long as it is within our power, we will certainly give it our all."

"Very good." Lin Zhou's speaking pace was not fast, but it was firm. "I need you to pause the overall planning and design work for the Oasis One Settlement. Assemble the best team and, as quickly as possible, design and build me a... National Postal Headquarters building."

Li Weiguo was stunned on the other end: "Postal... Headquarters building?"

"Yes." Lin Zhou added, "The location will be at the end of the Bir Tawil highway. I don't care if you use shipping containers or 3D printing; I have only one requirement: it must be completed within sixty days! Furthermore, the internal water, electricity, internet, and air conditioning systems must all be in place, reaching a level where one can simply move in and start working."

Sixty days!

In the middle of the desert!

Li Weiguo gasped; this difficulty was too high!

"Mr. Lin, this... the engineering difficulty and cost..."

"Money is not an issue." Lin Zhou interrupted him. "I will add another fifty million US dollars as an advance payment specifically for this project. You only need to tell me: can you, or can you not."

There was silence on the other end of the phone for a full ten seconds or so. Li Weiguo was clearly conducting a rapid assessment.

Finally, one word came through the receiver: "We can!"

"Good." Lin Zhou hung up the phone and immediately turned to the Minister of Finance, Chen Yuan. "Old Chen, transfer the fifty million US dollars immediately."

Chen Yuan nodded and went to handle it immediately. This old finance expert had already started to get used to Lin Zhou's way of spending money; as long as the money was spent worthily, he didn't feel the pinch.

Having solved the first problem, Lin Zhou immediately handled the second.

Permanent residents.

He looked at Wang Dong: "Immediately issue a recruitment notice to the world in the name of the Ministry of Labor and Social Security of the Cyber Freedom Republic."

"Recruiting for what?"

"The first batch of pioneers for Oasis One, and also national infrastructure maintenance engineers." Lin Zhou dictated the requirements clearly. "Quota: one hundred people. Job content: responsible for maintaining the roads, solar power plants, communication base stations, and all public facilities to be built in the future within the territory of Bir Tawil. Simply put, they are the first batch of workers to go and live on our own land."

Wang Dong's eyes lit up: "This is good! But... what about the compensation? In a place where even birds don't lay eggs, no one will go if the pay is low."

"For the compensation, offer the highest possible amount!" Lin Zhou said. "Starting annual salary of two hundred thousand US dollars, after tax! Top-tier global medical and accident insurance! Three months of paid vacation per year, with reimbursement for first-class airfare to and from any location in the world!"

"Hiss!" Wang Dong gasped. This compensation was even better than working on Wall Street.

"In addition, add one more thing." The corners of Lin Zhou's mouth curled up. "All successful applicants will automatically receive permanent residency in the Cyber Freedom Republic. If they are willing, they can also apply for naturalization to become official citizens."

"What are the benefits of becoming a citizen?" Chen Yuan couldn't help but ask.

"The benefit is..." Lin Zhou paused, "In the future Oasis One Settlement, they will receive a permanent property residential unit of no less than 150 square meters for free."

Once these words were spoken, both Wang Dong and Chen Yuan were stunned.

Using a future large house to trade for a nationality that nobody wanted right now.

This method was truly brilliant!

"I'll go handle it immediately!" Wang Dong rushed out excitedly; he could already imagine how much of a sensation this recruitment notice would cause globally.

Only Lin Zhou and Chen Yuan remained in the office.

"Leader, for infrastructure and population, we can use money to force our way through, perhaps. But... what about the international voting?" Chen Yuan raised the most critical question. "There are over a hundred member states in the Universal Postal Union, many of which are European and American countries, and their attitude toward us has never been good."

"You are right." Lin Zhou nodded. "Having hardware alone is not enough; we also need friends."

He picked up the encrypted phone on the table and dialed directly to the Minister of Foreign Affairs, Qin Yue, who was far away in Rome.

"Qin Yue, I need you to do something for me."

"Please go ahead, Leader."

"Seek an audience with Cardinal Parolin immediately and tell him that I need the help of the Holy See. I hope that within one month, all countries that acknowledge God will become friends of our Cyber Freedom Republic."