Chapter 466 Those who buy goods are all complainers: Lifting a rock only to drop it on their own foot

Just before getting off the bus, the first vice minister of the South Korean Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Trade was still expressing his apologies: "I'm really sorry, his English expression skills are not good enough, so he didn't express himself accurately."

Ivanov smiled broadly: "Mr. Lee, if you think he is not capable enough, then, according to your Korean custom, would you transfer him, dismiss him, or deduct his salary?"

Li was lifted up, and his facial muscles immediately stiffened.

But Ivanov's eyes were wide open, his face full of curiosity, as if he really just wanted to understand the management model of South Korean civil servants.

Vice Minister Li could only awkwardly smirk, offering no direct answer to the question.

Seoul in January was cold and damp; the wind felt like knives cutting into your face. The howling wind made the air incredibly quiet.

Ivanov suddenly burst into laughter, breaking the awkward silence, and took a step forward.

He didn't take the South Korean official's offense too seriously—there have never been truly reckless little people throughout history, and if they were truly reckless, they wouldn't have gotten to the point where they were in front of important figures.

They were merely pawns, scramblers, speaking for the pretentious big shots who couldn't say what they wanted to say directly, nor could they do what they wanted to do themselves.

If he messes up, he doesn't even need to say a word; the big shot will get angry and impatient to punish the small fry who failed to please him.

Even if there's no punishment, so what? These are all trivial matters.

His purpose in flying from Moscow to Seoul was to resolve the debt crisis.

The negotiations between the two sides were half psychological warfare.

Just like buying things, when people can stand together and chat, both the buyer and seller actually hope to close the deal; otherwise, there's no need to even stop and talk.

But whether it's the buyer or the seller, both sides will try their best to show that "I don't care that much".

The seller will emphasize: My goods are good, I don't have to worry about selling them, there are plenty of buyers.

Buyers, on the other hand, are picky: "They're everywhere, if I don't buy from your store, I can go to another one. If they really don't sell them, then I don't necessarily need them."

South Korea is now mired in a severe financial crisis. This small country has foreign debts of hundreds of billions of US dollars and has even had to set aside its strong national pride and accept aid from the International Monetary Fund.

It can be said that its once-proud economy has been devastated.

So what can it still use to emphasize "I am different from you" right now? It is naturally the strength of the South Korean people - the high level of trust the people have in the government and the spirit of national unity in overcoming difficulties.

The will of the people has coalesced into a powerful torrent of steel in another sense, which is truly awe-inspiring.

Ivanov had to admit that this move was actually quite clever, especially for the Russian government, which had long failed to win the trust of its people—the people were not to blame; it was all the Kremlin and the White House's own doing.

Such a high level of public trust and such unity of purpose are enough to make Russians breathe a sigh of relief.

They should have had that too; the Soviet people once trusted the Soviet government so much.

Ivanov, upon seeing this, couldn't help but let out a long sigh as well.

But he wouldn't sigh for eternity, because along with admiration, he would also feel pity—the pity of the strong for the weak.

When a group faces strong external pressure or a survival crisis, internal unity is its most effective, and sometimes even its only, weapon. In such situations, emphasizing unity becomes a necessary means of social mobilization.

Conversely, when a group possesses absolute superiority, its sense of security does not depend on constant calls for internal unity. Its strength is reflected in hard indicators such as technology, economy, and military, and it does not need to maintain stability through repeated emphasis on ideological unity.

Yes, yes, Russia may not have that high level of national unity, but it does have an ironclad force, a physical ironclad force.

It is a large country in terms of geography, and even more so a superpower in terms of military strength.

It possesses completely independent diplomatic rights and defense capabilities.

Currently, looking at the world, no country is willing to actually fight it. Not even the world's leading superpower, the United States.

This is the source of Russia's confidence.

Therefore, Russia's efforts to resolve its debt problem in an orderly manner should be recognized and respected, because Russia is not only solving its own debt problem, but also doing its best to reduce the tail risk of the crisis spreading globally.

We are now willing to sit down and talk about replacing the high-risk GKOs held by investors (as is well known, the higher the interest rate, the greater the risk, which is an internationally accepted principle) with lower-risk Russian energy asset-backed securities; this is a responsible and farsighted move on our part.

If the talks can continue, everyone will be happy.

If we can't reach an agreement, we can't let you hold a knife to our throats and force us to pay our debts.

After all, Yang Bailao was forced to commit suicide by drinking brine.

If Huang Shiren was in debt, his creditors only asked that he pay off the debt.

Military force is always the ultimate measure of strength.

After Britain defeated the Spanish Armada, it became the world's leader.

The United States was already the world's industrial superpower during World War I, but what good did it do? Europe still didn't take it seriously and ignored the new world order it proposed.

It wasn't until the end of World War II that the United States, which "saved" Europe, truly had the final say.

Force is the most reliable thing in the world.

Fortunately, Russia has military power.

Vice Minister Li watched Ivanov's retreating figure and quickly followed.

His intuition told him that this negotiation would not be easy.

When the Soviet Union existed, it borrowed $1.47 billion from South Korea. Later, Russia pledged to assume the Soviet debt and continue repaying it.

By the summer of 1994, it still owed South Korea $400 million but refused to pay, demanding the sale of weapons and military equipment to settle the debt.

Take it or leave it.

The matter remained deadlocked until August 1994, when South Korea was forced to purchase weapons and equipment worth $200 million. Russia used raw materials to settle the other $200 million debt.

This time, Vice Minister Li was highly suspicious that the Russians still wouldn't pay.

However, in 1994, the South Korean economy was booming, and the loss of that $400 million in cash did not have much impact on the country.

Things are different now. South Korea is heavily in debt and is desperately looking for money to pay it off.

Right now, what South Korea needs is cash.

Wang Xiao was taking out cash.

After meeting with Tang Yicheng, she enthusiastically began her tour of Seoul.

Tang Yicheng joked, "Boss, you really know how to pick your time. You didn't even get traffic jams when you arrived in Seoul."

As a world-renowned automobile powerhouse, South Korea has an extremely high car ownership rate. While traffic congestion may not be as severe as in Bangkok, Seoul's morning and evening rush hours are still deadly for any driver.

Now, due to the financial crisis, the Korean won has depreciated significantly, and the price of imported gasoline has soared, making it unaffordable for many car owners.

Wang Xiao nodded: "Yeah, I heard that there are no traffic jams in Bangkok now."

Tang Yicheng said with great interest, "Then we should go to Bangkok now. There's no traffic, the weather is warm, and it would probably be quite comfortable there."

As for why Bangkok doesn't have traffic jams—the financial crisis caused oil prices to skyrocket, making it unaffordable for car owners; and a large number of people lost their jobs, so there was no real need for driving.

It's certainly cruel to say, but there's no need to bring it up in particular.

Because his boss was one of the culprits; he played a significant role in shorting the Thai baht.

Wang Xiao, equally unperturbed, laughed and said, "You know what, there are quite a few foreign tourists going to Bangkok these days. The Thai baht has depreciated, so it's cheaper to buy things in Bangkok, especially luxury goods. A lot of people are going on shopping sprees."

Tang Yicheng slapped his thigh: "That's right! Now a lot of Hong Kong people have gone to Thailand. The country spent so much money to save the Hong Kong dollar, and it just benefited them."

They chatted and laughed as the car drove across the long bridge over the Han River. Below, the water rippled, and golden scales shimmered.

Wang Xiao sighed: "It seems that the South Korean economy has been hit hard; there are hardly any ships left on the river."

Water transport is recognized as the lowest-cost mode of transportation. As a typical export-oriented country, the fact that there are no ships on the rivers in South Korea can only indicate that the economy is severely sluggish.

Tang Yicheng chuckled, "Oh, boss, there's something you don't know. This is the Han River. North and South Korea are divided in two, and each side has half of the Han River. South Korea can't use it properly. I heard they're designing a canal to bypass the Han River on the other side, so they can make full use of this side of the Han River."

He sighed, "I just don't know if this canal project will be delayed."

The international community is now wondering if South Korea will go bankrupt completely, given that its debt has exceeded everyone's initial expectations.

Speaking of which, South Korea is a really amazing country.

It's like a student who appears to be a top student but is actually a poor student.

His financial situation is like that of a spoiled young master in a family. When he goes out and has fun, outsiders think that his family is rich and powerful, but they don't know the extent of his extravagance, so they dare to lend him a lot of money.

The parents and other family members were equally unaware of his extravagant lifestyle outside, and still considered him their pride.

So everyone was happy, and everyone thought he was okay and there was no problem.

Even as late as October of last year, the mainstream view at the International Monetary Fund still held that South Korea's situation was not serious. South Koreans themselves also thought so.

So when South Korea finally couldn't hold on any longer in late November and sought help from the International Monetary Fund, everyone checked the accounts again and suddenly realized how serious the situation was.

Tang Yicheng still finds it unbelievable: "How could they have kept it a secret so well? Everyone from top to bottom was kept in the dark. I even doubt whether Koreans are really that good at acting. Did they really not know anything at all?"

When it comes to glorifying the nation, what hasn't the Chinese nation seen in its thousands of years of history?

Back then, Emperor Yang of Sui used brocade to decorate trees to show foreign merchants how rich his great Sui Dynasty was, with more money than it could spend.

As a result, they were slapped in the face. Since you have so much silk and satin that you can't even use it all, why are there so many beggars on the streets who are barely clothed? Is it because you Sui Dynasty people admire nature and don't like wearing clothes?

Even without this slap in the face, at least the common people of the Sui Dynasty knew exactly what was going on and wouldn't be fooled.

But Koreans are truly different.

Tang Yicheng pointed to the billboard outside the window, gesturing for his boss to look: "Korean advertisements are basically all like this, comparing their products with foreign goods, and then emphasizing that Korean goods are the highest grade and best, and they actually believe it!"

The reason he reacted so strongly is that, as someone born in the 1960s, he had seen urea pants when he was a child. Urea bags imported from Japan were washed clean and used to make pants.

Back then, only county and commune leaders could enjoy this privilege; ordinary people couldn't even get their hands on urea bags.

Even when the country was almost completely closed off and people were highly unified in their thinking, the vast majority of ordinary people at the bottom of society still knew very well that foreign goods were better.

Even if they can't get it themselves, they won't resort to sour grapes or blatant lies to spread rumors that foreign goods are bad.

Tang Yicheng found South Korea utterly absurd. He had spent several months there and interacted with many South Koreans, yet he still couldn't understand: "How can they be so convinced that Korean products are the best? Even Korean rice is better than that of other countries. Americans probably aren't as confident as they are."

Wang Xiao burst into laughter.

Speaking of rice, before she traveled through time, the price of rice in South Korea skyrocketed. Many South Koreans used budget flights to buy rice from China and bring it back to South Korea to sell, making a profit by trading in the rice.

In addition, the cabbage used in kimchi, South Korea's national dish, was mostly supplied by cabbages exported from Shandong before she traveled through time.

So, some things might just be a matter of stubbornness.

However, Wang Xiao still emphasizes: "It shows that they have done a good job in patriotic education."

Tang Yicheng nodded: "To put it bluntly, it still depends on economic development. Thirty years of highly developed economy is the foundation of their patriotic education."

Normal people use their brains to think about problems. When the economy is doing well, people will naturally feel a sense of national pride. With proper guidance, this sense of pride will explode.

Conversely, if the economy is consistently bad, the government will only make empty promises and nothing more, and the people will naturally vote with their feet.

It is always matter that determines consciousness, not the other way around.

Tang Yicheng sighed, "I wonder how long their confidence can last."

The fate of a nation is too difficult to predict. Some countries are thriving, but once they suffer a blow, they never recover and never truly recover.

The situation in South Korea was unexpected, leaving him no choice but to think carefully.

Wang Xiao said meaningfully, "It will get up."

The car had already left the bridge and entered the main street, and outside the car window were long queues—South Korean citizens were lining up on the street to donate gold jewelry from their homes.

The wind was biting cold on the street, and many people's faces were red from the cold, but they did not leave and continued to move forward slowly with the group.

Tang Yicheng also saw it; he had seen it countless times. From last December until now, the team donating gold jewelry has never disappeared.

Even now, he couldn't help but exclaim, "The patriotism of the South Koreans is truly rare."

This is real gold! It's the hard-earned wealth accumulated by generations of ancestors, and it's all been donated away like this.

It should be noted that the Korean won has already depreciated by more than 50%, and everyone knows that money is worthless and that gold and the US dollar are the only hard currencies. Yet they still dare to empty their own coffers.

Tang Yicheng asked curiously, "Do you think the gold they donated can really pay off their debts?"

Wang Xiao shook his head: "In a country like South Korea, over 90% of the wealth is concentrated in the hands of 10% of the population. Now, it's the foreign debt incurred by these 10% that's being asked to fill the gap left by over 90% of the wealth. How can that possibly be possible?"

Tang Yicheng nodded: "That's what I think too. The South Korean government probably realized it too, right? The Blue House is just putting on a show, isn't it?"

"Look, it's already a financial crisis."

"Even in the face of such a severe financial storm, our country has not only remained stable, but our people have also maintained full confidence in the government. We are united as one, a powerful and indomitable force."

"Therefore, you should also have confidence in me."

Listening to his vivid description, Wang Xiao couldn't help but shake his head and sigh: "What the Blue House did was a double-edged sword. It did indeed unite the people and bring everyone together. But at the same time, it also sent a signal that the country had reached a dead end and was even using unconventional, last-resort social resources to deal with the crisis."

"For international financial investors, South Korea has completely run out of resources and has no ability to resist. It has no more bargaining chips."

Wang Xiao sighed again, "This is fatal for its negotiations with the International Monetary Fund. It no longer has any room for negotiation; it can only do whatever they are told. I bet the IMF's demand is that it get the loan and repay its debts as soon as possible, not bail out the company."

This is probably one of the main reasons why, despite the financial crisis sweeping across so many countries, only South Korea saw all its large corporations become part of Wall Street after the crisis.

You cannot expose any weakness in yourself. In front of international financial investors, if you dare to show your vulnerable side, you will be torn to shreds in no time.

Tang Yicheng blinked and hissed, "Wouldn't the Blue House be considered to have shot itself in the foot?"

Prior to this, South Korea had been quite adamant in rejecting foreign investment.

Wang Xiao shook his head, feeling a bit sympathetic towards the Blue House: "How much can you expect from a country built on a US military base? It has no choice; it has very little room for maneuver."

In a sense, it's already done quite well. There are plenty of inferior products in the pipeline.

If someone else had heard this in January 1998, nine times out of ten they would have thought the person was crazy.

Are you kidding me? Open your eyes and look at South Korea's skyscrapers, bustling shopping malls, extensive subway systems, and the glamorous South Koreans.

You're just a country bumpkin from mainland China, who gave you the audacity to make such a comment about South Korea?

However, Tang Yicheng had been with his boss for a long time and thought that what his boss said made a lot of sense and that the boss had already given South Korea a lot of face.

North Korea doesn't allow the Soviet Union and China to station troops there, so why shouldn't South Korea? If you don't dare, you'll have to bear the consequences.

Tang Yicheng asked with great interest, "Boss, when are you planning to talk to them?"

With the onset of the financial crisis, South Korean companies, burdened with massive debts, have lost their former confidence.

The semiconductor sector, in particular, is a notorious money pit, and it is currently in a downturn in the international semiconductor industry, where it is not making money but burning through cash.

His months in South Korea have paid off; he has uncovered many companies that are planning to cut their semiconductor divisions, as well as small and medium-sized semiconductor companies that are about to close down.

After all, even the renowned Samsung couldn't withstand the pressure and started laying off employees—it's worth noting that South Korean companies, which adhere to Japanese corporate culture and technology, originally practiced lifetime employment.

Layoffs are a last resort for South Korean companies right now; they simply can't hold on any longer.

At this point, whether it's acquisition, equity investment, or poaching talent, there are significant potential gains.

"No rush," Wang Xiao said with a smile. "They're all losing money right now. Let's go see how to make money first."

Buyers are always looking for something they don't like. How can you drive the price down to the lowest possible level if you don't stretch the product out a bit?

Isn't the purpose of waiting for such a huge financial crisis to accomplish the most with the least amount of money?

In South Korea, what's the most profitable business right now? It has to be reselling.

When the Korean won fell, Korean goods instantly became more than half the price.

In the high-end fashion boutiques and trendy shops in Myeongdong, the clothes on display are so creative and stylish that even someone like Wang Xiao, who is used to seeing all kinds of clothes, has to admit that they are in no way inferior to high fashion from France and Italy, and there is not a trace of imitation.

The prices are much cheaper than those in Western Europe, making it a great place to shop.

These are all still relatively small-scale operations.

When we arrived at the famous Dongdaemun and Namdaemun wholesale markets, wow, this is truly a shopping paradise!

The Dongdaemun shopping market has small shops, but the market itself covers ten blocks and has everything from shoes, silk, furniture, bedding, cookware, groceries, to electronic components.

Namdaemun Market is close to the city center and upscale hotels. It's a chain of shops selling everything from sunglasses to flowers, as well as a fish market and a farmers' market.

I got off the bus and went inside to ask about the price. After calculating it according to the latest exchange rate, wow! It wasn't expensive at all.

What stunned them even more was that there were already Russians dragging large suitcases carefully selecting goods.

Resellers are indeed the most perceptive group in the world; they will always be looking for cheaper and better sources of goods.

Wang Xiao looked at the person in charge of the container market that she had specially brought from Moscow. The latter could no longer keep a straight face; even in the dead of winter, his forehead was sweating.

The boss sighed, "I told you long ago, when the Asian financial crisis hit, we had an opportunity, but so did others. Compared to Korean goods, what do you think our advantage is? Is it our lower price? They're lowering their prices too. Yes, yes, we've been cultivating the Moscow market, and our clothes are made according to Slavic body types. But besides clothes, what about our other products? How much of an advantage do we have?"

She circled her fingers around the screen. "Think about it carefully, everyone! Russia's light industry may not pose much of a threat to us, but what's wrong with South Korea's light industry? Figure out for yourselves how you can compete with them to make a living. Don't end up losing your jobs before you even understand why!"

The person in charge of the container market immediately lowered his head, not daring to utter a sound.

Those damn Koreans, they're really messing things up! The won is depreciating, but they don't know how to raise prices. If they keep prices this low, will they even have enough to pay their workers?

Wang Xiao didn't care what his senior executives were cursing in their hearts.

She's offering high salaries, bonuses, and profit sharing. Does she think she can make money so easily while people are just lying in rocking chairs?

What kind of pipe dream is she having? If such a good thing existed, the boss would have done it herself long ago.

She doesn't offer lifetime employment, so anyone who can't earn a decent living for her should be prepared to be fired at any time.

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[Let me see] Good morning! I need to adjust the outline again. Also, just a side note: in real history, Chinese goods largely disappeared from the Russian market after the winter of 1993, due to the "feathered jacket" scandal—they were disliked by Russians because of their poor quality. I've read many articles from 1995 to 1997, both in Moscow and the Far East, saying it was difficult to find Chinese goods in the market. This situation continued until after the Russian debt default in 1998, when the economy was in recession, and Chinese goods stubbornly re-entered the Russian market thanks to their extremely low prices. This is different from the situation depicted in the novel.