Chapter 809

The four seasons along the Mediterranean are not distinct, but they are different.

In the manor in the south of Rome, it's sunny in spring. After a nap, Simon is doing pregnant yoga with Sophia on the open lawn covered with blankets.

This is Friday, April 28th.

Simon came to Rome this morning after staying in Livni last night.

Sophia is five months pregnant. As an older pregnant woman, she is no longer working. She cares more about her two little kids than Simon. During the last Oscar ceremony, she went to Los Angeles and returned. She stayed in this villa in the south of Rome, eating, sleeping, reading, prenatal education, doing yoga and getting pregnant regularly every day Check, raised a beautiful cow cat, recently also like flower arrangement, warm and full day.

In fact, this is the most carefree time for women.

"Yes, that's it, Mr. westlow. Slow down. Pregnant women can easily get cramps. Oh, you are so gentle."

On the lawn.

Wearing a light pink tight sports suit, the hot yoga coach instructs Simon to help Sophia carry out a group of leg raising movements. The delicate body kneeling beside Simon intentionally or unintentionally comes to him, with light fragrance and cool fingertips pressing on Simon's hand and arm holding Sophia's calf from time to time, which is full of provocative meaning.

After completing this group of movements, he noticed that Sophia's forehead had exuded sweat, and Simon stopped. He told the yoga instructor around him, "that's all for today. You can go back first. Sophie and I will have a little sun."

Simon drove directly, but the girl named Evelyn was impeccable. She got up respectfully and said, "I'll get you a glass of water for your husband and wife."

When the girl walked away, Sophia sat up and said with a funny smile: "I thought you couldn't stand it. I'm going to take a nap after yoga."

Simon helped Sophia move around and sit down beside him, feeling the warm sunshine in spring together. He also said with a smile, "I'm not interested in women recently."

"Ah..." Sophia was puzzled, then suddenly, with a stronger smile: "that's enough play. Do you want to return to the family? It seems that I will be dumped by you soon, right?"

"Of course not. It's the life I've been dreaming of in my two lives. It's just, you know, people's minds are fickle. "

Sophia thought and nodded quickly: "mm-hmm, I understand."

"Understand what?"

"It's like us women," Sophia said with a smile. "There are days in every month."

Simon feigned anger and raised his right hand around the woman's shoulder. He bent his finger and flicked it on her earlobe. He made the woman lie down and listen to the movements of the two little guys. It seemed that he was tired of practicing yoga with his mother. The little guys didn't respond to her face. They probably fell asleep.

Evelyn brought water, but it was impossible to bask in the sun for a long time. After staying in the warm sun for more than ten minutes, they got up and went back to the villa.

When she came to a living room on the first floor, Sophia told a waitress that soon a three-month-old cow cat was carried over. Sophia pursed meow and put the little guy who obviously didn't like to be held on his leg, explaining: "this is Luna. Gemma sent it to me when she came to Rome last week. She said that she could accompany me for her."

So said, the tone obviously with some resentment.

Simon picked up a file that girl a put on the coffee table, opened it and said, "it's very good, but why is it called Luna? It's too big."

Luna, this is the ancient Roman god of the moon.

Sophia didn't like it. She gently pressed the little guy who was about to run away: "Gemma got it. I think it's a good name. Or, if you give me a cat, what's its name? "

Simon thought about it and said, "cats should meow."

Sophia white Simon one eye: "children will be so named, the dog's words, is not about to bark?"

Simon nodded and said, "of course."

Feeling that the little guy really didn't want to stay by his side, Sophia finally let him go and watched the little thing run out of the room. Then she curiously looked at the document Simon was reading and knew that it was not important information that could be put by girl a in the living room for Simon to read at his leisure, so she asked, "what is this?"

Simon handed it directly.

Sophia took it, flipped it over, and suddenly laughed again: "you bought a big piece of land in Africa, um, 150000 acres?"

"What's the problem?"

Sophia took a look at Simon like a fool and looked back at the information in front of him: "coffee plantation, tut, are you sure Africa can grow coffee now? Or Angola, which seems to have been in civil war for decades. "

"In the 1970s, Angola was one of the most important coffee producers in the world, with an annual export volume of more than 200000 tons of coffee beans," Simon said

"In the early 1970s, it should have been a colonial era," Sophia said, and then asked, "what about now?"Simon did not hide, said: "in the past year, the data is about 500 tons."

“……”

From the world's major coffee producing countries exporting 200000 tons of coffee beans annually to 500 tons in 1994, the gap is really a little big.

The reason is very simple.

Angola declared independence in 1975. Before that, the country had been a Portuguese colony, and its domestic agricultural production was controlled by white people. After independence, a large number of white people withdrew, a large area of coffee plantations in Angola was taken over by inefficient black people, followed by a 20-year civil war, the national economy collapsed completely, and the once prosperous coffee planting system declined all the way.

But that's why Simon was able to get 150000 acres through a $10 million contract.

You know, this is actually more than 600 square kilometers of land. It used to be the best coffee growing area. It's not the virgin forest in Tasmania that can't be developed and Simon doesn't plan to develop. What's more, with the $10 million weapon order and consulting team contract, the real cost of the westero system is less than half, just the $10 million on the book.

Although the current coffee planting area is almost abandoned, according to the recorded production of coffee plantations in Angola in the 1970s, the land can produce about 30000 tons of coffee beans every year.

After the next few years of operation, even if the output of this coffee growing area is only one third of its peak, it can harvest 10000 tons of coffee beans every year.

The recent global price of coffee beans is about $1100 per ton.

It produces 10000 tons of coffee beans every year, which is 11 million US dollars according to the market price. Obviously, in an ideal state, Simon would be able to recover his investment in acquiring the land in just one year.

Of course, it's just an ideal state.

Simon knew exactly what Africa was like because he had a lot of memories.

To be frank, the mud won't stick on the wall.

Coffee planting relies heavily on labor force, because coffee beans are mature in batches and difficult to pick by machine. In coffee production all over the world, labor cost basically accounts for more than half of the input.

Simon didn't expect the coffee plantation to resume production in the first place with the support of the local black labor force in Angola. Even picking coffee beans is not too difficult for monkeys. Simon's plan is to employ more Ukrainian or Chinese overseas workers, as well as a small number of local residents with labor enthusiasm.

What's more, Simon's fundamental purpose of taking this land is not to make money.

So it's enough as long as you don't waste all the time.

After listening to Simon's general explanation, Sophia realized that the doubts she had just had were totally superfluous. The man obviously had his own perfect idea, and maybe there were some deep-seated layouts she didn't know. However, Sofia quickly said: "in Africa's long-term turmoil, Angola exports only 500 tons of coffee a year. You can build a coffee plantation with an annual output of 10000 tons. It costs tens of millions of dollars a year, which is more than the income of many diamond mines. Are you sure that those warlords will not turn over and take it away?"

Simon said: "there is already a team supporting the children of high-level Angolan government to study in the United States."

Sophia didn't understand, "huh?"

Simon explained: "it's just a comparison. Taoist priest Lin's ghost catching routine in" Mr. zombie "is full of appreciation.

Bronze coin sword, black donkey hoof, glutinous rice, yellow amulet It even influenced the ghost culture in the Chinese language circle in the following decades, making many ordinary people feel that Taoist should do this, and catching ghosts should do this.

Therefore, Simon also hopes that the two protagonists will have more sense of ceremony in the process of ghost hunting, as in Mr. zombie, and form a set of process rules that can convince the audience, instead of yelling like a headless fly in the ghost house and bumping around with a cross.

In fact, Simon had this idea before the opening of last year's two films.

However, since it is not a wise choice to create a soul stirring movie universe at one time, the opening chapter basically follows the script in memory.

In this way, we can maintain a gradual growth.

Starting from the second part, add relevant elements.

Later, gradually mature.

Simon is to let the Warren couple from the rookie psychic investigator step by step promoted to the master of ghost, and form a set of their own unique anti ghost techniques.

Those who are able to get ahead of Hollywood are basically not stupid.

After watching Mr. zombie, the main creative team quickly understood Simon's intention and started to implement it in the process of project preparation.

First of all, combined with the Western legends, we made a more clear plan for the attributes of ghosts.

In the aspect of ghost hunting, traditional props such as cross, Bible, holy water, garlic and amulet are more standardized, and are no longer used arbitrarily. The project team also discussed the idea that different chapters of the Bible could restrain different ghosts, which was applied in call of Souls 2.