Among them was Alem, a young Ethiopian journalist whose notebook was already filled with questions.

Among them was Alem, a young Ethiopian journalist whose notebook was already filled with questions. Beside her stood Li Wei, a senior engineer from Shanghai, his eyes scanning the crowded hall with the same mixture of pride and caution that had brought him across three continents. And at the far end, a weathered Elder Dinku, the village elder whose life had spanned the era before any foreign investment touched their soil.