Chapter 442 A Side Thing: Everything Can Be Used

For two days in a row, Wang Xiao followed Tang Yicheng around Bangkok, looking at properties and visiting the Grand Palace, keeping herself very busy.

Unfortunately, when she returned to the hotel on the evening of June 5th, Zhou Liang could only tell the boss with a worried look, "The Thai baht has gone up again."

The widespread panic selling and bank runs they had anticipated did not materialize.

The Thai government's assertiveness this time has exceeded everyone's expectations.

Wang Xiao dismissed it: "What's the rush? Reactions take time. The ban has cut off the liquidity of the offshore baht, and the short sellers are eager to close their positions, so they can only rely on buying baht in the onshore spot market to pay off their debts. The only way for the baht to truly strengthen is through economic development. This kind of technical rebound is not very meaningful."

Tang Yicheng chimed in from the side, "As long as Wall Street can hold on, it'll be fine. Oh, by the way, how much money should Soros have lost by now?"

Zhou Liang presented the data methodically: "Judging from the cost of borrowing, the book loss should be around 4 billion US dollars."

A loud gasp filled the room. After listening to the translation, Belikov exclaimed, "Indeed, they are richer than a country."

4 billion US dollars! Many governments can't come up with 4 billion US dollars!

Despite suffering such a loss, Soros was still able to hold on and showed no sign of backing down.

However, that makes sense. It is said that the scale of international speculative capital has now reached 9 trillion US dollars. Compared with this behemoth, a loss of 4 billion US dollars is not a problem.

Wang Xiao smiled and shook his head: "That's just the data on paper, and only the data on paper. I bet Soros's paper losses so far haven't exceeded $500 million."

She explained, "You see, if the Bank of Thailand wants to protect the exchange rate, doesn't it need to keep people's money in Thai banks? What can the banks do to keep the money in their accounts?"

Even someone who knows nothing about finance could answer this question: raise interest rates.

The older a tactic is, the more it has withstood the test of time. The history of global finance is as long as the history of interest rate hikes and reserve requirement ratio increases.

Thailand has done the same thing, raising interest rates several times since the beginning of this year.

“If even laymen like us can think of this, how could a financial tycoon like Soros not have predicted it? He definitely laid an ambush in the Thai interest rate market, going long on interest rate options and interest rate futures. He used the profits from these to hedge, so the Quantum Fund didn't lose much money.”

Hearing this, Xiao Gao and Xiao Zhao both felt they should give a thumbs up.

Look at him, he truly deserves his reputation as a self-made financial tycoon; he's incredibly capable. Whether the Thai government chooses to go left or right, it has to let him make money.

Zhou Liang glanced at his boss subconsciously, thinking to himself that his boss was actually quite impressive, having gone long on Thai interest rate options and futures while he was not shorting the market.

Wang Xiao slowly ate the Longgong fruit—this fruit looks like a small potato, and its taste is a combination of lychee, grape, and pomelo. It's sweet and sour and quite delicious.

Actually, she wanted to eat durian more, but unfortunately, all the men present turned pale at the smell of durian and couldn't stand the smell at all.

Strangely enough, it seems that men are generally afraid of durian. Ivanov, too, can't stand the smell of durian and resolutely refuses to touch it. But when durian shell stewed chicken is served to him, he can eat it with great relish, without the slightest bit of guilt.

Forget it, these guys are really unlucky. Let her and Lyuba eat the durian when they go back to their room, sit on the balcony and enjoy the Bangkok night view.

For now, she should enjoy the royal fruit, which is more suitable for being picked and eaten locally because it is not easy to store and transport.

While enjoying the sweet and sour taste of the newly harvested fruit, she also started her prophetic mode: "Just wait, the next round of Quantum Fund's offensive will only be more intense."

Because the Thai government has already revealed its true intentions, clearly telling the world that they have no way to solve the problem through normal economic means and can only resort to administrative orders.

Thailand is known for its open markets and does not follow a dictatorial path. This enormous contradiction will tear Thailand apart, plunging it into a rapid vortex.

Sure enough, almost the next morning, as Wang Xiao was riding an air bus overlooking the streets of Thailand, he noticed long queues outside almost every bank branch.

It's so hot in Bangkok in June! So many people are queuing outside the bank, surely not to bask in the Buddha-like sunshine.

The cool breezes from the Gulf of Thailand can't reach Bangkok at all; the solar energy these days is so hot it's practically melting you.

The people queuing up were nothing like the leisurely and calm people who, when they encountered a major traffic jam, sat in their cars reading newspapers, doing crafts, or doing homework; each of their faces was filled with anxiety.

Because they know that no matter how long the traffic jam lasts, the roads will eventually be cleared, and even if the cars crawl forward like beetles, they will eventually reach their destination.

But at this moment, they cannot believe that the money in their hands will not depreciate and will not become worthless overnight.

Therefore, they had to quickly withdraw their savings and convert them into gold and US dollars.

The men, their shirts soaked with sweat, kept checking their watches, stamping their feet impatiently, and the veins on their necks bulging.

The women clutched their passbooks tightly, fanning themselves constantly, their brows furrowed, and craning their necks to look ahead, afraid that the bank would run out of money when it was their turn to withdraw their funds.

The children they were carrying were clearly unable to bear the scorching sun and the discomfort of being unable to move for so long, and they cried loudly.

The people around them didn't have time to pay attention to them. The piercing horns of the motorcycles on the street were like an impatient lullaby, which neither soothed the children nor calmed the people.

It turns out that despair can be as overwhelming as a tide, and as pervasive as sunlight.

As the airbus ascended, passengers on board had to use binoculars to see the faces of people on the street.

Tang Yicheng could only look at the densely packed heads with his naked eye, like an ant colony rushing to move house before a storm.

He suddenly exclaimed, "The last time I saw a line in front of a bank was back in 1988 when prices were rising."

Good heavens, he hadn't been discharged from the army yet. He went shopping with his comrades and discovered that overnight, people had appeared in front of all the savings banks and stores.

Back then, there were no places to exchange US dollars in most parts of the country. People who were afraid of their money depreciating could only exchange it for goods as soon as possible. Everything, including broken electric fans and ill-fitting shoes, was in demand.

Wang Xiao laughed and said, "My mom still hasn't finished the salt she stockpiled back then."

Her most vivid memory of queuing at banks was in the summer of 1993 when the Russian Federation government suddenly announced the abolition of the old ruble.

Everyone went crazy at the time. She was so devastated by the losses that she even considered bombing the Kremlin.

If she doesn't want to live, and if she can't live well, then those who harmed her shouldn't live either.

Wang Xiao sighed: "They're all the same."

Throughout history and across the world, when faced with a major crisis, ordinary people, whether rich or poor, are essentially the same—powerless ants.

They chartered the entire airbus, and the pilots, following their instructions, kept circling the streets.

Therefore, Wang Xiao clearly saw the "!" and "..!" on the street signs through his binoculars.

What's the meaning?

She asked the local Thai tour guide she had temporarily found in English.

The latter could not hide his righteous indignation: "Vilawan is an idiot! Chavali should step down!"

Who are these two people? The former is known as the "Guardian of the Thai Baht," and he was the one who introduced the ban on June 2nd. The latter is the Prime Minister of Thailand.

See, the safest thing for a person is to do nothing; they will never make a mistake.

Those who do good deeds will eventually be hated.

Seeing that the tourists were quite interested, the tour guide worked even harder to explain in order to earn more tips.

The two figures being spray-painted on the street were Vilawan and Chavali. They were even drawn as caricatures, wearing high heels and transformed into coy, affected women.

Wang Xiao sneered. Sexism is truly everywhere. Any man who performs poorly in the eyes of others will inexplicably become a woman in their eyes.

It's as if they'll suddenly become as capable as women overnight.

They really know how to pat themselves on the back.

Tang Yicheng noticed his boss's displeasure and quickly changed the subject: "When are you going to stop this? How can Thailand's foreign trade continue like this? The economy will collapse. In my opinion, let's just devalue it. How can we stimulate exports if we don't devalue it? The yen can devalue, so why can't the baht?"

The tour guide seemed to have found a kindred spirit: "Yes, that's what we think too. They probably feel embarrassed, but I guess they'll get over it soon."

Whether the Thai government can come to terms with this is something Tang Yicheng doesn't know.

Judging from his demeanor on the street, he's definitely setting the stage for a situation that will force the government to reconsider.

People marching with banners and flags, spraying paint on the exterior walls of banks and government buildings, and standing on wooden crates in the street giving speeches with megaphones—all the hatred was directed at the Thai Prime Minister and Finance Minister.

It is precisely the foolish, arrogant, and unrealistic exchange rate policies of these idiots who have usurped high positions that have attracted international vultures and created Thailand's current predicament.

But instead of repenting, they continued to make the same mistakes for the sake of saving face.

What they sacrificed was the wealth of the Thai people and the future of Thailand!

As darkness fell, Wang Xiao got off the plane and walked towards the hotel, where he heard this impassioned speech.

She gave the tour guide a tip to thank them for their hard work, and then went back to the hotel for dinner.

At the dinner table, Zhou Liang could not hide his excitement.

He knew about online chat rooms and online forums—places where people chatted, boasted, and shared their lives. He never imagined that these places could become commanding heights for propaganda and public opinion.

A single viewpoint can be thrown out, a few people can agree with it, and it can gain a large following, eventually leading to a street disturbance.

Wang Xiao smiled and said, "In the future, the influence of the internet will far exceed that of traditional media. This is a general trend."

Zhou Liang nodded vigorously. At first, he thought of bribing the reporter—in Thailand, corruption in the media industry is not uncommon, and it is quite common for reporters to accept money to include advertisements in their reports.

But the boss told him that there was no need for such trouble. He could just post on local Thai forums, find several people to post with different accounts, and post in different places around the world to create a buzz.

And just as the boss said, the online craze quickly spread into real life.

Everyone who actively participated believed they were saving their country and were incredibly enthusiastic.

Some people even took photos and posted them back on the forum to prove that Thai youth are not a lost generation, but that they care about politics and the future of the country.

But Zhou Liang couldn't hide his regret: "Those who can use computers and access the internet are at least middle class. Most ordinary Thais still can't access the internet and can only read newspapers and watch TV. If we can also create public pressure in newspapers and on TV, and take a three-pronged approach, the Thai government definitely won't be able to withstand it."

Wang Xiao ate the shrimp tails leisurely and smiled: "We can't do everything. We're just there to get the scraps, not the main force."

Zhou Liang couldn't help but feel anxious: "But we can't contact the main force, so the two sides can't coordinate."

"Who says they can't work together?" Wang Xiao reminded him. "Keep an eye on the newspapers these next couple of days; there'll definitely be news."

Hey! Everyone says that temples in Thailand are efficacious, but Zhou Liang thinks his own boss's incense is even more effective than the incense burned in the temples.

The next day, when he was reading the morning paper, the Thai translator he had hired told him that the newspaper was full of criticisms of the government's financial policies.

Some people are heartbroken, because in order to promote economic development, Thailand has been attracting foreign investment and vigorously promoting the opening and liberalization of its financial market for decades, which has led to the establishment of a free and open Thai financial market, which is the foundation of Thailand's economic development.

Now, without any warning, the derivatives market has been shut down. Why should businesses have to foot the bill when the financial sector is fighting? People who are honestly doing business are being unfairly stabbed by the government.

This severely damaged the interests of foreign investors, harmed the credibility of the Thai government, and destroyed the open and free image that Thailand has been striving to promote for so many years.

The arrogant Finance Minister Vilawan should atone with his death.

As Zhou Liang listened, he sensed something was amiss and pressed the translator for an answer: "Is it only the Finance Minister who's being criticized? Is no one criticizing the Premier?"

The translator read several newspapers in a row. Even when they went into the cafeteria, he picked up all the newspapers from the bulletin board. He was very certain that only a handful of articles were criticizing the Prime Minister, while the rest were attacking the Finance Minister, as if they wanted to tear him to pieces.

Zhou Liang was completely baffled. He subconsciously craned his neck to look out the hotel restaurant window, where the bright paint sprayed on the walls of the buildings along the street was still glaringly obvious.

Why have the newspapers suddenly forgotten about this prime minister?

Tang Yicheng laughed out loud: "What's so strange about that? Look at Russia. When the people are dissatisfied with economic reforms, who's the first to suffer? It's always the deputy prime minister. Just count for yourself, doesn't Russia have a constant turnover of deputy prime ministers?"

Only after he said it did he realize that Mr. Ivanov's position was quite precarious.

It's really not easy.

Zhou Liang suddenly realized: "Are they looking for a scapegoat?"

That's outrageous! No wonder they say politicians have no conscience. If they do this, who will dare to actually work for the government in the future? Everyone'll just have to play it safe.

"Wait a minute!" The finance whiz suddenly realized, "Aren't they just digging their own grave by attacking the finance minister now? The battle isn't over yet."

Wang Xiao shook his head, soaking the short, plump Thai-style fried dough sticks in soy milk: "You're wrong. These reports aren't due to infighting within the Thai government. It's Soros who's making his move."

Several people at the table were surprised. How did Soros manage to exert his power?

I think he's not in Thailand anymore.

It's one thing if he affects the Thai economy, but he's an international speculator.

How did he manage to influence the Thai newspapers? In such a short time, did he manage to buy off all the media outlets by throwing money at them?

"Yes and no." Wang Xiao tasted the fried dough sticks soaked in soy milk. Thank goodness, the fried dough sticks tasted normal, not sweet and spicy.

She finished a bite of fried dough stick and a sip of soy milk before continuing, "Do you remember that besides being a financial tycoon, Soros also has another famous identity? He's a philanthropist. His foundations have funded many organizations, such as orphanages, welfare homes, and women and children's rights protection committees, and these organizations, in turn, fund the media. To put it simply, he has long since extended an invisible hand within the media. As long as there is even a little bit of public opinion, he can control the media to create momentum and steer public opinion in the direction he desires."

Zhou Liang stared wide-eyed, unable to believe his ears.

His reaction was perfectly normal; after the collapse of the Soviet Union, the United States has been recognized as the world's beacon of democracy.

It's fair to say that for Chinese university students in the 1980s and 90s, the United States was a paradise, a synonym for democracy and freedom.

Isn't manipulating public opinion something that only happens in countries where the government controls the news?

Wang Xiao laughed and said softly, "If that were really the case, then many heads of state wouldn't be the people sitting in their positions right now."

Berlikov nodded in deep agreement, noting that Russia was a prime example. The Kremlin's rulers had only managed to turn the tide through media campaigning.

Tools will serve whoever controls them.

Zhou Liang struggled to process all of this, drinking several mouthfuls of coconut milk before finally managing to calm his turbulent emotions.

If it weren't for internal power struggles within the Thai government, then the one who actively pushed Vilawan out as a scapegoat would be the Wall Street speculators represented by George Soros.

They seem to have given the Thai government an opportunity to step down—look, the culprit has already been chosen for you, as long as you kick him out, the public's anger will be quelled.

Can the Thai government resist this temptation? No, most likely they cannot.

"Better to die than to die" applies everywhere.

A pang of sadness welled up in Zhou Liang's heart, but he forced it back down: "Then let's focus on the internet and leave the newspapers to Soros and his group?"

That's fine. Everyone has their own expertise, so let's all do what we're good at.

Wang Xiao shook his head: "No, a good wind can lift me to the clouds. They've already set the stage, so we still have to put on our show."

Suddenly, a familiar voice came from the side: "Hey, what kind of opera is our boss Wang planning to perform? Come to Xiaozhou to perform, we'll definitely set up a stage for you."

Wang Xiao turned his head and saw a familiar face.

Uh, actually I'm not very familiar with it, I got too tanned.

Vice Mayor Huang—no, he's Mayor Huang now—was looking at her with a broad smile: "I thought it looked like someone from the restaurant entrance. When did you come to Thailand?"

"I've only been here a few days," Wang Xiao said with a smile. "It's snowing in South Africa now, it's so cold. I heard that it's the rainy season in Thailand right now, so there are fewer tourists, so I came to take a look. What, Mayor, are you personally leading a team to attract investment?"

Mayor Zhao of Xiaozhou has been promoted to the position of First Vice Governor of Jiangbei Province. Mayor Huang, who was promoted less than two months ago, waved his hand repeatedly and said, "Oh, don't say anymore. The investment attraction efforts are not ideal at all."

They moved to this grand hotel today hoping to change the feng shui and attract more business owners to the new industrial park in Xiaozhou.

Now that he saw Wang Xiao, Mayor Huang, with the mindset of "let's try our luck even if it's not a sure thing," seized the opportunity and said, "Mr. Wang, could you please help me introduce more friends to Xiaozhou?"

Wang Xiao smiled and shook his head: "I'm unfamiliar with Thailand, who could I introduce you to?"

Her eyes darted around. "But it's not like we can't give it a try. If it works well, Mayor Huang, you'll have to be grateful and give our company some more preferential treatment."

Huang's eyes widened: "Goodness, aren't the discounts we've given you enough? Looking across the whole country, there are very few places that can match us. We've been wholeheartedly supporting you all along."

Wang Xiao shrugged: "The electronics market is sluggish right now. Look at Project 909, it's been so long since they could find any interested foreign companies to cooperate with, it's because the global electronics market is sluggish. I'm still working at full capacity to build a second-generation factory, and the money is just going down the drain every day."

"Alright, alright." Mayor Huang was eager to attract investment and immediately made a promise, "If you can bring more than ten companies to the industrial park, I will extend your preferential period for another three years."

This statement is a typical example of political incorrectness. What gives a sales official the right to represent the government and easily promise to extend the discount period?

You should know that the preferential treatment comes from government tax revenue, from the country's money!

But in 1997, there weren't so many rules; many things were simply a matter of a leader's word.

This is true globally. This is why many businesspeople feel like the sky is falling when a new leader takes over.

Wang Xiao nodded with a smile: "I'll remember that, Mayor Huang. Just wait for the news."

Zhou Liang was truly impressed with his boss. At this crucial time when they were busy deflating the Thai baht, she still had the mind to learn from Lei Feng and help the Xiaozhou municipal government attract investment.

She has so much energy!

The financial executives became curious and wanted to see how their boss would grow three heads and six arms.

He discovered that the boss was probably just being polite, since she hadn't actually done anything.

Oh, no, the boss did do some work besides wandering around all day.

She personally wrote an editorial that compared the foreign trade development of Thailand and China in recent years.

Without a doubt, from 1985 to 1994, Thailand's appearance completely overshadowed China's, which was also a period of rapid economic development for Thailand.

However, in 1994, the situation underwent a subtle change. That year, the Chinese government announced the unification of the exchange rate, with 1 US dollar depreciating from 5.8 yuan to 8.7 yuan.

The depreciation of the RMB has propelled China's foreign trade into a period of rapid growth.

As one side rises and the other falls, China, with its larger market and cheaper labor, quickly seized the international processing market for labor-intensive industries, squeezing out the space that countries originally relied on to drive their economies.

This effect is astonishing.

Thailand's economy has been showing signs of decline since 1995, and the situation was worse last year and is getting even worse this year.

In fact, insightful people had long ago reminded the Thai government that it should keep up with the trend and proactively devalue the Thai baht to ensure its export competitiveness.

Unfortunately, the Thai government refused to listen and stubbornly insisted on its own way, prioritizing appearances over substance, resulting in the situation getting worse and worse, and now it is on the verge of collapse.

If the government cannot make up its mind to proactively devalue the Thai baht, then Thailand's economy will only become weaker and weaker, eventually dying.

The international economy will not be disrupted by the death of Thailand.

China's manufacturing industry has risen, and its export structure highly overlaps with that of Southeast Asian countries. Except for some agricultural products that cannot be grown due to climate conditions, China has everything else, and in better form.

It has a larger population, a more educated workforce, and its land area and population size determine that it has a broader internal market and abundant natural resources.

The fact that it was able to uphold socialism and continue its reform and opening up without closing itself off from the world after the collapse of the Soviet Union and the dramatic changes in Eastern Europe demonstrates that its government has a strong ability to coordinate the economy.

This is a hotbed for any investor.

If Thailand remains complacent and refuses to take action, clinging to outdated ideas and stubbornly clinging to its old ways, it will only face elimination.

To be honest, Zhou Liang thought his boss's editorial wasn't very good; it wasn't exactly groundbreaking or amazing.

Surprisingly, the anonymous editorial was quickly accepted and published by the newspaper.

Even more surprisingly, this editorial, which was hardly earth-shattering or tear-jerking, was reprinted by several newspapers and even appeared on television news.

Zhou Liang was completely baffled. Had something gone wrong with his judgment? He genuinely couldn't understand why this editorial had become so popular.

Wang Xiao laughed and explained on behalf of his financial executives: "It's nothing, because I'm not one of their people. They thought what I wrote was the voice of the Thai people, so they wanted to promote it widely."

To put it bluntly, this is just a publicity stunt by an online marketing company; they themselves are quite unsure about what they're saying.

Wow, suddenly there's a wave of positive feedback! Real people, not robots! Of course, we have to upvote these comments from real people to prove that all the positive reviews are from the audience, not from bots or paid commenters.

Zhou Liang had never heard of the concept of online trolls before, so he only vaguely understood it.

He reluctantly interpreted it as Soros setting up the stage and building momentum, allowing the boss to take the stage, put on a show, and ultimately become the star.

Oh well, as long as the boss is happy, this is just adding fuel to the fire of the Thai baht's decline.

He had completely forgotten about the investment promotion in Xiaozhou, but just two days later, Mayor Huang called him specifically to invite Wang Xiao to dinner.

Good heavens! As expected of President Wang, in just a few days, the Xiaozhou investment promotion delegation went from being deserted to being extremely popular, with businessmen flocking to the office to inquire about policies and information.

Both local Thai businessmen and foreign investors in Thailand have shown great interest in the Xiaozhou Industrial Park.

Mayor Huang chuckled, "As expected of our General Manager Wang, you're truly remarkable. You alone are worth a thousand troops. We must do you the honor of having this meal. On behalf of the people of Xiaozhou, I express my gratitude to you!"

Wang Xiao smiled and agreed, "You're too kind, I didn't do anything. Okay, okay, let's eat, since the boss is treating, I'll definitely eat."

After she hung up the phone, Zhou Liang still couldn't figure out when his boss had gone to attract investment for Xiao Zhou. She couldn't be in two places at once.

Tang Yicheng couldn't take it anymore and poked his forehead: "Why can't you use your smart brain a little more? Look at what the boss wrote in the editorial. Didn't it mention the Chinese delegation coming to attract investment? It even mentioned which hotel they met at! Isn't this the best advertisement right here?"

In an effort to undermine the Thai baht, Soros and his associates have been pushing this editorial through their media outlets.

Little did they know that Wang Xiao had also taken the opportunity to sneak in his own agenda, giving free advertising to the investment and inspection teams from Jiangdong and Jiangbei!

Zhou Liang's eyes widened in surprise. My God! The boss was treating someone else's platform like his own little territory.

Wang Xiao smiled and said, "Taking advantage of the situation is just a side effect."

Everything can be used by me.

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Good morning! [Let me see]