Chapter 116 Providing Timely Help (Revised)

When Andrei reappeared in Vladimir, the bank run vanished like a gust of wind.

Only a few ordinary depositors, sluggishly informed, remained at the entrance of the Far Eastern Development Bank, hesitating and lingering with their passbooks in hand.

Meanwhile, the local state-owned banks seemed to have just learned of the bank run on their peers and rushed to He Changyi's office. Everyone claimed that their bank had ample funds available for lending, and importantly, there was no interest, no handling fees, and it was all free.

It's as if they've always been so warm-hearted and kind.

He Changyi, with a beaming smile, ushered the group of men in suits out of the office.

"Gentlemen, if you had knocked on my office door three days ago, I would have been extremely grateful for even a daily interest rate of three per thousand, but now it is too late."

One of the men in a suit clung tightly to the doorframe, struggling and shouting, "But you still need cash, don't you? When you're starving, you should accept even bread offered by the enemy!"

He Changyi raised her hand to stop the bodyguard from forcibly dragging the man in the suit out, took a few steps forward, bowed slightly, and looked down into his eyes.

“You’re wrong,” she said with a half-smile. “Hunger doesn’t necessarily lead to death, but poisoned bait from the enemy can kill instantly.”

He Changyi straightened up and ordered expressionlessly, "Throw him out."

If nothing unexpected happens, Andrei has already made contact with Taras.

One is a rising political star with a strong family background, and the other is a radical reformer with no foundation who relies entirely on the president. Although their ideals are completely different, they now have a common enemy—the deeply entrenched vested interest groups within the government that have continued from the alliance to the present day.

They were directly or indirectly responsible for the disintegration of the alliance in the past, and now they are trying to get a share of the profits from the privatization of state-owned enterprises, openly stuffing those enterprises they secretly controlled into their own pockets.

When Taras implemented the privatization auction of state-owned enterprises in Vladimir, he was repeatedly tricked by the local Tsars, who used barbershops, taverns, and near-bankrupt dairy factories to fool him about his new policy.

Taras was furious at the time, and it wasn't until he brought a presidential order before the second auction that he forced local officials to put some genuine, normally operating businesses on the auction floor.

As for the third auction, Taras did not attend in person, but that does not mean he was indifferent.

In fact, when he learned that the large state-owned enterprises in Vladimir were finally being put up for auction, he was so happy that he drank an extra glass of wine that night.

However, it's clear that he was celebrating a little too soon.

"Those greedy thieves!"

Taras angrily threw the report on the privatization of state-owned enterprises in Florida on the ground, shouting, "This is political spoils! They are stealing state property! Parasites! Robbers! Criminals!"

Andrei picked up the report from the ground, glanced at its contents, and casually placed it on the table.

"As you stated in your previous article, the only fair and corruption-avoiding method is to auction off businesses to the highest bidder. And these people—"

He shook his head and said, "As far as I know, the first thing they did after acquiring the company was to fire 90 percent of the employees from the factory. They laid off workers without spending a penny, leaving only the core production line, and then sold it to foreigners. They created thousands of bankrupt families overnight, even though the factory was still profitable before it was auctioned off."

Andrei was silent for a moment before saying, "They distorted your policies and drove away the people who were truly capable of taking over the factory."

Taras's expression softened: "Yes, yes, you understand what I mean. Only through auctions, and only through auctions, with their openness and competitiveness, can the most suitable owners be selected, and can the people truly become the masters of the country."

Andrei nodded and said, "As the president said, what we need are millions of homeowners, not hundreds of millionaires."

Taras became excited and started rummaging through the piles of documents on his desk.

"You really have a lot to say about privatization, which is remarkable for a young person like you... By the way, this is my new article, which will be published next month."

He proudly handed a stack of papers to Andrei, saying, "You can read this before anyone else."

Andrei politely accepted the article: "I am honored to have this opportunity."

Taras smiled with satisfaction and said, "I will report the matter of Vladimir to the president. Those guys are disloyal to neither the president nor the people, and they're trying to sabotage my policies..."

His expression gradually darkened, and Andrei added, "The election is approaching."

Taras nodded: "You're right, Vladimir should undergo a thorough cleanup before the election."

When Andrei left, he had already reached an understanding with Taras, a behind-the-scenes alliance.

When Andrei's father learned of this, he said with relief, "I am glad that you have finally come to your senses and are willing to put it into practice."

Andrei said calmly, "I'm just following my heart."

Even as the temple fell and faith crumbled, the scarred and disfigured knight still struggled to raise his greatsword against the omnipresent darkness.

Perhaps it was just a futile attempt to stop a chariot, perhaps he was just Don Quixote, but at least he was still trying to salvage the crumbling order.

He still has a heart that wants to protect.

Overnight, the political situation in Vladimir became like a wave pool, with the surface turbulent, waves crashing against the pool walls, and water splashing everywhere.

Those people were in dire straits, busy dealing with wave after wave of investigators, as well as the KGB under a different name—the Federal Security Service was watching them. Who knew if that unfamiliar face on the street corner was a Cheka spy!

They were too busy taking care of themselves to bother He Changyi anymore. They wished they could sprout wings and escape to the United States overnight.

But the damn KGB is watching them!

Forget escaping to the United States, even leaving Vladimir City was a pipe dream. There were eyes watching everywhere, and they didn't even dare to gather together to discuss countermeasures, for fear that there were listening devices hidden in the table legs that would transmit every word.

Some clever individuals thought of He Changyi and her special relationship with Andrei.

They came to our door in tears, swearing that the car bomb had nothing to do with them and that it must have been done by someone else!

However, they can reveal the real culprit's name now, and if she so desires, a car loaded with a bomb could immediately become the killer's grave!

He Changyi exclaimed in surprise, "What are you talking about? This is simply unbelievable! I am a law-abiding foreign citizen, and everything should be based on the police investigation results. As you know, I have always believed that the Russian judicial system will give me fair treatment."

The visitor cried out in despair, "What are you saying! The just justice of Oros? You're like looking for a whale in the desert, an elephant in the ocean, or a Bolshevik in America!"

He slammed his fist on the table excitedly, shouting, "Let's be more direct! If you can get Mr. Andrei to stop, we'll give you the internal combustion engine factory and the motorcycle factory! If that's not enough, we'll add another million dollars. Tell me, what else do you want? Tell me!!!"

He Changyi clutched her chest in shock and said weakly, "You are too rude and impolite!"

The frail Boss He directed her bodyguards to throw the rude guy out the door with a few swift movements.

Ms. Tagyana asked, puzzled, "Why did you refuse their help? We only have enough cash for three days..."

For any company, a broken cash flow is a matter of life and death. As long as enough cash can be obtained, it doesn't matter if the straight male boss has to accompany the bank president to have sex. He might even bring his own lubricant.

In order to resolve the run on Far Eastern Development Bank, He Changyi has drained the funds of all his companies, robbing Peter to pay Paul. Now that the bank is out of money, how will he patch the hole left in the wall?

Ms. Tajiyana was so worried about this that several strands of her hair turned white.

The once elegant old lady, who used to apply ivory white foundation and brownish-red lipstick and wear a small silk scarf or long necklace every day before going to work, is now overwhelmed with worries. She comes to work wrapped in an old cotton coat and sits down to ponder the accounts.

Faced with ever-growing deficits, even the most skilled cook can't cook without rice; Ms. Tajiyana was practically trying to extract oil from stones.

But He Changyi said, "I cannot agree to that."

Ms. Tajiyana exclaimed urgently, "In your country's terms, even if it's a sugar-coated bullet, you can eat the sugar first and then throw the bullet back!"

"This is not a matter of sugar-coated bullets."

He Changyi calmly said, "If I just nod my head, even if it's just to accept ten thousand US dollars, then I will go from being a victim to an accomplice, and they will drag me down to hell with them."

Unless she can stop Andrei's actions, she'll have to die along with the people of Vladimir.

Ms. Tajiyana frowned, and He Changyi patted her arm reassuringly.

"Don't worry, Zhong Guo also has a saying, 'There's always a way out,' there will definitely be a solution."

“I’ve already found a buyer for the dairy factory, although…” He Changyi shrugged, “their offer didn’t meet my budget, but at least it can solve our biggest problem right now.”

Ms. Tagyana shook her head and said, "I'm just worried..."

Just then, the office landline rang. He Changyi picked up the receiver, and on the other end of the line was Roman's excited, stuttering voice.

"Miss He... no, boss... someone's come to the bank!"

He Changyi calmly said, "How strange! When has a bank ever been without customers?"

Roman said, "No, he's not here to withdraw money! He's here to deposit money!"

He Changyi raised an eyebrow and said, "That sounds pretty good. After the bank run, we've finally welcomed back depositors. But I bet you've been seeing depositors like this every day since the bank launched the 'deposit-for-milk' promotion."

On the other end of the phone, you could tell from Roman's voice that he was scratching his head in frustration.

"No, no, it's not just saving money! He's saving US dollars! A million dollars!"

Ms. Tajiyana didn't hear anything from the microphone, but then she saw her boss suddenly stand up from behind his desk.

The next moment, she hung up the phone, grabbed her coat from the back of the chair, and rushed out.

Just before leaving, the boss seemed to remember something, turned to Ms. Tagyana and cheerfully said:

"We're rich!"

When He Changyi arrived at the Far Eastern Development Bank, he immediately spotted a familiar figure in the crowd.

Among a group of middle-aged women dressed in old cotton-padded clothes and headscarves who came to collect milk, a man wearing an expensive coat and accompanied by bodyguards and entourage stood out.

He Changyi walked through the crowd, strode over, and patted the other person's shoulder forcefully.

"Xie Xun, what are you doing here?"

The man turned around, revealing a smiling, fox-like face.

"I've come to bring you money."

Xie Xun, that little fox, was extremely well-informed. He somehow found out that He Changyi's bank was facing a run on deposits and further deduced that she was currently short of funds. So, this guy mobilized all available funds and rushed all the way from Eastern Europe with a money box.

He distrusted the Russian banking system and preferred to risk bringing cash, hiring two bodyguards for this purpose. He didn't dare close his eyes the whole way, carrying a newly purchased black market pistol in his pocket, until he safely entered Vladimir.

Before He Changyi arrived, Xie Xun had already completed the deposit procedures for one million US dollars.

He waved the passbook in his hand and said to He Changyi in Emei with a smile, "From now on, I hope you will take good care of me. My money is now in your hands."

After saying that, Xie Xun actually handed the passbook to He Changyi.

Manager Roman stood behind, seemingly wanting to say something but then stopping himself. Wait a minute, this procedure doesn't seem to be following regulations...

He Changyi tossed the passbook into her bag without even glancing at it, raising an eyebrow and saying, "Don't worry, your money is perfectly safe with me. I assure you, you can withdraw all your savings anytime, anywhere."

Xie Xun replied, "Then I'd rather never withdraw this money."

He Changyi pondered for a moment and said, "Shouldn't we take it? That would be a very high interest rate."

Xie Xun suddenly switched to Chinese, leaned down and whispered in He Changyi's ear, "I don't want money. I hope you owe me a favor."

He Changyi asked, "And then?"

The little fox didn't answer, but simply smiled and crinkled its eyes.

To thank this important client who had helped him in his time of need, He Changyi treated him to dinner at a Georgian restaurant. In addition to the reserved Manager Roman, who buried his face in his plate, there was Ms. Tajiyana, who had reapplied ivory white foundation and brown-red lipstick, and Geng Zhi, who had been dragged out of the Friendship Store to accompany the guest.

Geng Zhi glanced at the two bosses who were having a pleasant conversation with the Prime Minister, then at the two Russian colleagues he wasn't very familiar with, and finally reluctantly turned his face to the only old acquaintance present.

"Why are you here again? Didn't you say you were going to make big money with Boss Xie? What are you doing here?"

The person being questioned was currently holding a leg of lamb, tearing off strips of meat with a ferocious expression. Upon hearing this, he mumbled:

"What else could I be here for? Of course, I'm here to eat!"

After finally managing to stuff a large piece of meat down his throat, he glanced nimbly at the person above him, quietly pulled up his chair, leaned close to Geng Zhi's ear, and whispered, "To tell you the truth, I regret it..."

Geng Zhi turned his body to the other side with disgust, rubbed his ears vigorously, and said irritably, "It's too late to regret it now! What were you doing before? Now you regret it, but it's too late! Zheng Xiaowei, I'm not trying to criticize you, but the Zheng family's offspring are no good. They have something wrong with their brains. They're always thinking of some bad ideas."

Zheng Xiaowei, with a bitter face, said pitifully in a low voice, "I didn't know! Who would have thought that Boss Xie, who seems like a good person, is actually ruthless and greedy? He's nothing like Boss He. Working for him is like being a donkey pulling a millstone; I never get a moment's rest... Brother, you see, I've finally realized it. Could you put in a good word for me with the boss? I still want to come back..."

He said with disdain, "Someone as two-faced as you is just like Lu Bu in those comic books, claiming everyone he meets as his father. Who would want you? If you ask me, you either continue working for Boss Xie, or you should go back to China. Doesn't that guy surnamed Zheng own a factory? Go work for him as a laborer. Maybe one day he'll be in a good mood and make you the workshop foreman."

Zheng Xiaowei's face grew even more bitter.

"Hey, don't even mention Factory Director Zheng. He'd probably want to kill me right now. His factory's been shut down for ages!"

Upon hearing this, Geng Zhi's eyes lit up with joy. He immediately sat back down and eagerly urged, "Come on, tell me everything, let me be happy. What happened to that old man?"

While harboring resentment, Zheng Xiaowei also wanted to take the opportunity to flatter Geng Zhi, so he embellished the story and recounted the factory director's miserable plight in a rambling, unfiltered manner.

Previously, Zheng Xiaowei had informed Factory Director Zheng of He Changyi's business activities in Oros via international phone calls. From copper bracelets to religious figurines, Factory Director Zheng made a fortune and was overjoyed. He not only gave Zheng Xiaowei a bonus but also reimbursed his expensive international phone call expenses, instructing him to report any further information he found to him immediately.

As expected, Zheng Xiaowei immediately told Director Zheng after learning about the reconstruction of the cathedral from He Changyi, and even added on his own initiative: "She must be making a model of the cathedral. That stuff makes money, and the Russians believe in that."

Factory Director Zheng, unsuspecting, immediately organized a team to begin mass production of cathedral models.

But there's a problem here.

Compared to the simple bronze bracelets and small statues, the cathedral model is obviously much more complex and not so easy to make. From the initial prototyping and mold making to the later mass production, the cost is high, the process is complicated, and the investment is much higher than before.

Having tasted the benefits of the bronze bracelet and the small statue twice, Director Zheng trusted He Changyi implicitly. Ignoring the practical difficulties, he insisted on launching the cathedral model project. For this, he even spent a lot of money to hire an art academy teacher, determined to crush his competitors in terms of model accuracy.

He was so eager to get the first bite of the fattest meat that he didn't even have time to do market research or wait for foreign trade orders. He directly invested most of the factory's funds, and even stopped other long-term cooperation with large volume but low profit margins.

Just when Director Zheng was full of confidence and ready to launch the cathedral model into the Eurasian market as a stepping stone for his first cross-border trade, he encountered a head-on blow—the cathedral model was not selling well in Eurasian countries.

To be honest, this result is not surprising at all.

The cathedral model is indeed more exquisite and has greater historical and religious significance than the bronze bracelets and figurines, but the problem is that the model is too expensive.

A copper bracelet costs only five rubles, and the cheapest figurines are even given away for free by churches, while a model of a cathedral is priced at a full thousand rubles.

Although Director Zheng believed that 1,000 rubles was the lowest price, the profit from the first batch of models couldn't even cover the costs of cross-border transportation and customs clearance.

But for the people of Emei, they don't need high quality or cost-effectiveness; all they need is low price.

The cathedral model is quite nice, but it's too expensive for ordinary people; and for those who can afford it, the model is too ordinary and has no collectible value.

When winter arrived in Russia, Director Zheng encountered an unprecedented cold wave.

The warehouse was piled high with unsold cathedral models. The cash flow had dried up, and he personally cut off the cash cow project that was originally profitable but low-margin. Overnight, the once thriving factory was on the verge of bankruptcy. Workers demanding their wages blocked the factory manager's office and home. His second wife was so frightened that she packed her belongings and fled to her parents' home overnight.

Fortunately, she escaped quickly. The next day, someone broke down the door, and the workers who swarmed in looted all of Director Zheng's valuables, even the most fashionable ceramic toilet was taken away.

When Director Zheng secretly returned home and saw this scene, his legs went weak and he collapsed to the ground, unable to shed a tear.

How could this be...? Wasn't it said that cathedral models sold very well in Emei?

He had neither the means nor the ability to go to Russia to confront He Changyi and question her about why she claimed that cathedral models were easy to buy, so he could only resent Zheng Xiaowei for telling him this news.

Georgian restaurant.

Zheng Xiaowei said with a mournful face, "How dare I go back to China? Your father would kill me!"

He was utterly wronged. It was clearly He Changyi who said it. He was just relaying the words to Director Zheng. Even if they really lost money, should he, the one who relayed the message, be blamed?

Geng Zhi said with satisfaction, "Serves you right! You both deserve it!"

If it weren't for the fact that they were having a dinner party, Geng Zhi would have burst into laughter three times, jumped onto the table, and sighed to the heavens, "Thank God!!!"

Zheng Xiaowei said aggrievedly, "Anyway...anyway, I can't go back to China now...otherwise your father will come to my house with a sickle and kill me..."

Geng Zhi offered a rather insincere suggestion: "Are you afraid of an old man like him? You're young, why don't you pick up a carrying pole and fight him? I don't believe that an old geezer who eats and drinks meat every day can beat a young man like you."

Zheng Xiaowei rolled his eyes at him, annoyed, and said dejectedly, "It's pointless to talk to you... Anyway, look how miserable I am now, why don't you talk to the boss for me and ask him to let me come back? I really don't want to work under Boss Xie anymore."

This piqued Geng Zhi's curiosity.

"Hey, tell me." He leaned closer to Zheng Xiaowei and nudged him with his elbow. "How did Boss Xie treat you badly?"

Zheng Xiaowei could tell that this guy was clearly gloating, but he had been holding back for too long and couldn't find anyone to talk to in Eastern Europe. Now that he finally had a chance, he decided to let it all out.

"Let me tell you, don't be fooled by Boss Xie's seemingly respectable appearance. In reality, he only acts like a normal person in front of Boss He."

By the end, Zheng Xiaowei was practically speaking in a whisper.

"I think Xie Xun used up all his humanity on Miss He."