In the early morning, the quiet Sahara Desert welcomed a group of strange guests.
Three Hummers galloped across this vast sea of sand, raising three straight dust trails.
"How much longer?" Jiang Chen, who was sitting in the back row, crossed his arms and said boredly.
Ayesha sitting next to him was still expressionless, but judging from the deep bags under her eyes, it was obvious that she was sleep deprived.
"Right ahead! But before that, we have to visit the chief of the nearby tribe." Roberts shouted excitedly while driving the car.
"How do I feel? You became excited as soon as you arrived in the desert." Jiang Chen glanced at him and said.
“You won’t understand this feeling of freedom!”
This guy is crazy.
Jiang Chen complained in his heart, and then looked out the window.
The other two Humvees were occupied by the ten veterans who were hired as instructors. Compared to the commotion here, it was much quieter there.
Soon, the car drove onto a small sand dune with relatively hard soil.
As if suddenly enlightened, Jiang Chen saw the small, low mud houses.
Primitive, ignorant, poor.
These three words were probably Jiang Chen's first feelings.
The yellow-gray huts and courtyards made of sand and gravel, with retractable wooden fences made of dead branches as the gates of the courtyard walls, and dyed cloth supported by branches on the windows, look like an Arab town in the 12th century. Every household keeps camels. It is said that here, a person's social status is measured by how many camels he has.
"I'm a little confused. Maybe you can explain to me what's the point of us coming here?" Jiang Chen said helplessly.
"Of course there is. Ahem, from the perspective of modern people like us, it may be a little difficult to understand. After all, we paid money to buy land from the Niger government, and also used part of the money as compensation for occupying their pastures. . Judging from the content of the contract, the 20 hectares of land not far from here already belong to us, but according to the customs of the locals, our status is still 'guests'. According to their traditions. We 'settled' here and must get them. recognition," Roberts explained.
"Is there such a troublesome thing to say?" Jiang Chen's mouth twitched.
"It's just a formality, they've become more or less secular lately," Roberts shrugged. Slowing down, "It's still good to respect the traditions of the locals. At least we can get along with them and don't have to worry about them coming to cause trouble. When necessary, they will even stand by our side."
"You put it like that. I don't understand. Who is the master of this land? Niger? Tuareg tribe?" Jiang Chen said with a smile.
"Well, you can understand that Niger was the king in the Middle Ages, and the Tuareg tribe was the lord of the city." Roberts rolled his eyes and gave a not-so-appropriate metaphor.
"If there is a conflict with them, which side will the Niger government be on?" After hearing Roberts' explanation, Jiang Chen asked a very dangerous question.
I don’t know when his perspective on the problem became extreme.
After hearing Jiang Chen's question, Roberts had a wry smile on his face.
"The Niger government will be happy that we destroyed them, but this is impossible. The Tuareg people's footprints are all over the desert. And there are rumors that they have an unusual relationship with extremist forces such as Al Qaeda. During the riots in Mali, the Tuareg The Georgian guerrillas once fought side by side with Al Qaeda."
After a pause, Jiang Chen didn't speak. Roberts was really afraid that he would do something dangerous, so he added immediately.
"Well, I recommend that we don't conflict with them. The folk customs here are tough. Although they are so poor that they have nothing to say, every household basically has an AK lying down."
"Don't be nervous, I'm just asking." Jiang Chen said with a smile.
As the car drove into the tribe, the aborigines cast curious glances at the vehicles. For road reasons. Roberts rolled down his window and gestured to the two cars behind him to wait outside the tribe.
Originally it was not a big deal, just a formality to comply with local customs. It won't take long to be over.
"That's a food market over there, but I don't recommend you try the stuff sold there."
"It's a coincidence that I don't have that interest either." Jiang Chen looked out the window. A child riding a camel was looking at him curiously. His father, covered with a veil, led the camel away from the tribe.
Ayesha glanced subtly out of the window. He muttered "heresy" and then said nothing.
After stopping the car, Jiang Chen and Roberts walked towards the building in the center of the tribe, led by a black-faced woman.
... ...
The Tuareg are a nomadic people mainly distributed in the areas around the Sahara Desert in Africa. They are a branch of the Berber tribe scattered in the vast area of northern Africa. It is famous for its characters, language and unique nomadic life that are very different from those of surrounding ethnic groups. A nation in a matriarchal society, not a matriarchal society. Although they believe in Islam, there is no tradition that women need to cover their faces. In contrast, in Tuarek society, only men over 25 years old need to wear a veil.
What is even more jaw-dropping to the outside world is its bold marriage values. Women can have multiple partners outside of marriage, and all property will belong to them in the event of divorce.
Despite these weird customs, they are all born warriors. There is a famous local motto - "For the Tuareg, the desert has no secrets." In this desert, they know how to fight better than anyone else. In the Malian civil war, the Tuareg guerrillas almost defeated the government forces.
It is precisely because of their strong fighting power that many dictators and warlords in the Mediterranean favor the fighting power of the Areg people. The most famous among them is Gaddafi, who has always liked to recruit Tuareg mercenaries. After the Libyan civil war broke out, Gaddafi even offered the Tuareg an attractive reward of $1,000 a day to help him suppress the rebel forces.
Of course, no one knows whether the money was realized.
To be honest, Roberts suggested Guo Jiangchen at the beginning. Since Niger is the location for a mercenary base, directly recruiting Tuareg people might be a good choice. However, after some thought, Jiang Chen still rejected his proposal.
The main reason for this is the decision made out of distrust in its culture and beliefs and in order to avoid trouble in the future. At least those who fled their homeland won't suddenly be clamoring to go home. No matter how you think about it, it is the refugees who have fled their homes who are more reliable.
In this fairly spacious earthen house, Jiang Chen met the legendary chief.
"Visitor from afar, may your wealth be as endless as the fine sand of the Sahara." The dark-skinned female chief nodded slightly and clasped her hands together.
Perhaps because she often interacts with French people, she speaks French fairly fluently. However, no matter how fluent he was, Jiang Chen, who had only learned English, couldn't understand it, so he simply stood there without saying a word, watching what Roberts did and learning it again.
"Thank you for your generosity to the land, may your tribe prosper, and may your camels grow in droves." Roberts replied in standard French. Jiang Chen still hasn't figured out how many languages this guy knows.
Hearing this, the slightly older female chief grinned, her wrinkles squeezed together.
The next ceremony was very simple. A man wearing a frighteningly thick turban placed two bowls of camel milk in front of the two of them. According to local customs, the thicker the scarf and veil a man wears on his face, the more respect he can show to his guests.
It is said that when male guests visited here in the past, they were also required to wear a headscarf, at least to cover their mouths. But now it seems that they have made some concessions to foreign culture in the process of secularization.
The female chief didn't know whether she was reciting a spell or a prayer, but she chattered for a long time, then smiled and made a gesture of invitation to the two of them.
Looking at the bowl of turbid camel milk in front of him, Jiang Chen couldn't help but wonder if it had just been squeezed out. Looking at Roberts again, the guy's eyebrows also twitched.
"Is this really drinkable?" Jiang Chen complained softly in English.
"You can drink it, but trust me, after you drink it for the first time, you won't want to drink it a second time." Although his expression was a bit bitter, Luo Buci still performed a feat like a warrior and hugged the bowl of camel. Milk, I closed my eyes and raised my head to drink it down.
Well, it can be seen that this must be the second time he drinks this thing.
Jiang Chen was secretly speechless.
Looking at Roberts, the smile on the female chief's face became even brighter. The more generous the guest drinks, the more respect the guest has for the host.
However, when she saw Jiang Chen, her eyes became brighter.
Before Roberts' bowl was put down, Jiang Chen had already put the empty bowl on the table with a smile.
After a while, Roberts finally finished his drink and shook the bowl and slapped it on the table. But when he saw Jiang Chen's side, his eyes almost popped out.
Coming out of the chief's house, the two received a warm farewell.
Back in the car, Roberts hummed and wiped his mouth.
"Damn it, I feel like my stomach is coated with oil." As he said that, Roberts glanced at Jiang Chen strangely again, "Speaking of which, you can actually stand that weird smell?"
"Strange smell? It's okay." Jiang Chen laughed and leaned on the backrest with his arms in a pretentious manner.
Except for the greasy smell on his mouth, he really didn't drink a drop of it into his stomach, and it was all sent to the storage space.
Speaking of which, he has become more and more proficient in this skill.
After a friendly interaction with neighbors, three Hummers are back on the road.
Finally, Jiang Chen saw the "castle" in the desert - the headquarters of the Future Security Company. (.)