Chapter 136 The Honest Duo
The freight train journey from the northern border crossing of China to the border crossing of Akmantan takes about fifteen days.
Half a month is neither a long nor a short time; a lot can happen during that period, especially when the partner is likely to have ulterior motives. The probability of a successful collaboration is even lower than the men's football team reaching the World Cup final.
He Changyi did not stay in China to wait for news, but instead split up with Xie Xun and went to six border crossings in Akmantan.
To avoid alerting the enemy, the two acted discreetly, having the foreign-looking bodyguard gather information from the border staff.
Like many former republics, Ackermanstein is deeply influenced by the Union culture, where small envelopes travel freely and without hindrance, and many of its staff are even Slavs who migrated from Oros.
When fellow countrymen meet, their eyes well up with tears. With just an envelope and a bottle of vodka, they can reveal not only the port's transportation plans for the past month, but also the deployment of border troops, if they really knew.
After conducting covert investigations at all six ports, when He Changyi and Xie Xun met, the pretty-faced fox looked as if his fur had been singed by smoke.
"No, none at all. I even inquired at the highway exits, but there's still nothing, unless Megerdinov is planning to transport these 10,000 tons of tungsten concentrate by plane."
He Changyi, on the other hand, seemed more calm and composed.
"I guessed it. This guy had planned to get something for nothing from the very beginning. He was just stalling us for time earlier."
Xie Xun said with a dark face, relieved: "Luckily you asked him to provide a deposit of thirty million US dollars, otherwise that old bastard would have really succeeded."
He Changyi shook his head and said, "Only ten million US dollars, or perhaps not even ten million."
Xie Xun was taken aback at first, then after a moment's thought, he said with a mixture of shock and anger, "He dares? He can?"
He Changyi said, "Ackermanstan Bank is out of the question. The margin of the Oros Bank has most likely been transferred, leaving only the Zhongguo Bank. But if Megerdinov is bold enough to have his own government negotiate... Diplomacy is no small matter, and this last ten million US dollars may not be obtained smoothly."
She sighed: "I originally planned to use the $30 million deposit to pressure Megerdinov into shipping the goods honestly and not trying to play any tricks, but now it seems he's made up his mind to keep the goods for himself."
Xie Xun seems to be planning to raise a team of mercenaries to attack Akmanstein.
He smiled through gritted teeth and said, "If Megerdinov dares to try this, I'll just let him have the life to rob the money but not the life to spend it."
"This is just the worst-case scenario; the actual situation may not be that bad yet."
He Changyi said calmly, "However, it seems we must now prepare for the worst-case scenario."
Xie Xun looked at her questioningly, and He Changyi winked at him easily.
"Would you be interested in hijacking a car with me?"
Xie Xun: ...Wait, what? Carjacking? Him?
Xie Xun said with difficulty, "Just you and me? Shouldn't we add some more people? If it's not urgent, I can contact some brothers in the underworld..."
He Changyi suddenly realized and added, "I meant stopping the train."
She affectionately scolded, "What are you thinking? I'm an honest, law-abiding citizen. How could I do something so illegal and criminal?"
Xie Xun: ...
After witnessing He Changyi's dashing figure on the train from the first time they met, he really couldn't associate her with the words "honest and simple." The distance between the two was farther than that between the South Pole and the North Pole.
Xie Xun asked cautiously, "Is there a third person in the room now?"
He Changyi raised an eyebrow at him. This little fox, having lost his usual composure, smiled and said:
"If it's just the two of us here, then who is the 'honest and simple' one referring to?"
Fifteen days passed in the blink of an eye, and amidst the eager anticipation of countless people, the freight train from China finally slowly pulled into the railway station in Akmantan.
Despite the difficulties, Megerdinov personally went to the train station to receive the shipment, which was worth 30 million US dollars.
However, he failed to receive it.
—Because the train cars were empty.
"Wait, where are our goods? The sugar, flour, cooking oil... all shipped from China have gone?!"
Megerdinov stood in front of the wagon in disbelief, preferring to doubt his own eyes rather than accept the fact.
"Who dares to steal our goods? Those are worth thirty million US dollars!"
"Ackermanstein Minerals Distribution Company, right?"
The staff at the Zhongguo train took out a notice and said in a flat tone, "At the request of the shipper, the transport of this batch of goods has been suspended. If you have any questions, please communicate with the shipper."
Megerdinov shoved the notification aside without even glancing at it, and roared angrily, "We've already paid! I have a contract, I have an international waybill! You should have shipped the goods to Akmenstan, instead of just stopping the shipment like that!"
The staff member gave him a complicated look and asked as calmly as possible, "Do you have the original bill of lading?"
Megerdinov was taken aback: "What bill of lading?"
The staff member said disdainfully, "A bill of lading is a bill of lading, what else could it be? Don't you even know that? You don't even have a bill of lading, what are you yelling about? Besides, you're not the shipper. They paid for it, so they can ship it if they want to, or not if they don't want to. Why are you making such a fuss?"
Megerdinov's momentum weakened somewhat, but he still insisted, "I paid for those goods, so why do you think you can just refuse to ship them!"
The staff member was already impatient with arguing with him: "Go find whoever sold you the goods. We are only responsible for transportation and can't interfere."
Megerdinov was furious, but he couldn't do anything to the Chinese staff, so he angrily dialed an international number.
"He Changyi! Where are my goods?!"
The voice of that despicable woman came from the other end of the microphone.
"What a coincidence, I have the same question—where is my tungsten concentrate?"
Megerdinov paused, and when he questioned him again, he was not so confident.
"We agreed to ship within thirty days, and only fifteen days have passed. It's not time yet..."
On the other end of the phone, He Changyi sounded very easy to talk to: "Okay, then let's wait another fifteen days. If I don't receive the ore, then you don't need to receive the goods."
Megerdinov, both anxious and angry, shouted, "I have already provided a deposit of thirty million US dollars as you requested!"
He Changyi retorted, "Do you really think I can receive thirty million US dollars?"
A bad feeling welled up in Megerdinov's heart, and he forced himself to ask, "What are you talking about? I don't understand what you mean."
He Changyi bluntly stated, "You've already transferred the $20 million in margin you deposited in Akmantan and Oros, haven't you? Although the money in Zhongguo Bank is temporarily untouchable, will you honestly let this money become compensation for default?"
Megerdinov was speechless, while He Changyi continued, "I don't want to waste time on post-event legal battles, so let's be honest with each other now—do you actually intend to pay the $30 million consideration?"
Megerdinov retorted, "Of course! Have you forgotten how warmly our country welcomed you? Even your country's leaders wouldn't have received such a welcome. Doesn't that demonstrate our sincerity?"
A welcoming ceremony worth thirty million dollars?
He Changyi pretended to hang up the phone: "Do you think I'm so easy to fool? Go explain to your prime minister why the deal failed!"
Seeing that she was serious, Megerdinov hurriedly said, "Wait, don't hang up! Okay, I'll tell the truth!"
He admitted dejectedly, "We really didn't prepare 10,000 tons of tungsten concentrate, and your price is too high..."
The answer was exactly what she expected. Instead of being angry, He Changyi politely said, "Okay, I understand. I will find a new buyer for this batch of goods. Thank you for your sincerity. Goodbye."
Megerdinov exclaimed urgently, "No! We desperately need this shipment!"
He Changyi said, "If you need donations, you can go to charitable organizations instead of scamming small businessmen like me."
Seeing that he couldn't persuade He Changyi, Megerdinov immediately turned hostile and said fiercely, "I'm going to have the embassy go to your government. You've damaged the friendly relations between our two countries, so you'll be going to jail! I know your country values face the most, but I'll make you lose face in front of the whole world! I'll make sure that no Central Asian country will dare to do business with the Chinese anymore! You're a sinner against your country! You're finished!"
There was silence on the other end of the phone. Mederdinov, thinking his threat had worked, said smugly, "If you ship the goods to our country immediately, I'll consider letting you go and even send a thank-you letter to Zhongguo. You'll be very proud..."
A sudden burst of snickering interrupted him.
"You must be dreaming."
He Changyi said bluntly, "Sue me if you want. Do you think my normal business dealings are related to national dignity? Do you think I have to be a diplomatic envoy? In my eyes, no one's face is worth 30 million US dollars; and your face isn't even worth three dollars."
He Changyi slammed the phone down, hanging up right after Megerdinov's angry roar.
When she met Xie Xun's worried gaze, she shrugged and said, "Luckily, it was Medertinov who called this time, otherwise I wouldn't have been willing to pay for the international long-distance call."
Xie Xun said carefully, "Megoldinov is not a good person, but what he said is not impossible to achieve."
In this era, China's reform and opening up began to show results. While production capacity increased dramatically, the demand for investment and markets also grew stronger. More money was needed to build factories, and a larger market was needed to sell goods.
But just then, the Red Giant collapsed, and without the alliance to shield them, Zhong Guo suddenly became a thorn in the side of the democratic and free world. They needed an enemy to maintain internal unity, and Zhong Guo was the perfect new target.
At this time, China adopted a policy of keeping a low profile and suppressing its external threats to the greatest extent possible. It focused on development without causing harm to anyone. It wouldn't be an exaggeration to say that China didn't fight back or retaliate. The Ministry of Foreign Affairs was ridiculed as spineless and even received calcium supplements from angry citizens.
But all they could do was suppress it, restrain themselves, and swallow their anger, waiting for the next new target to appear and draw away the firepower of the Western camp.
The saying goes, "There are no small matters in diplomacy," but in the end, it turned into a situation where our own people were wronged. Although it's an inevitable stage of development, the thought of it is still disheartening.
If we allow Megerdinov to file complaints and smear He Changyi through official channels, even if she is in the right, she will eventually be proven wrong.
If the Yan family were to be involved, affecting the future of her elderly father and her brothers and sisters-in-law, He Changyi would be furious.
He Changyi sighed in distress.
“These days, foreign investment is being brought in everywhere, and people are practically worshipping foreigners like ancestors. If Megerdinov comes to the capital to file a complaint, I might really be in deep trouble.”
Xie Xun pursed his lips and apologized again: "I shouldn't have dragged you into this in the first place..."
He Changyi was quite open-minded: "You can't say that. You just wanted to get me involved in making money, so this isn't your fault. You can't just rush in when it's time to make money and then push all the responsibility onto yourself when there are risks."
Xie Xun couldn't help but laugh; this was his moon.
He said, "Let me go to Akmenstan. I'll handle this matter. You don't need to worry about it anymore. I'll take responsibility for any problems that arise."
He Changyi asked, "You're going to handle it? How are you going to handle it? Buy peace with thirty million dollars worth of goods? Or take all the blame yourself? Don't tell me you're planning to kill that old bastard Megerdinov."
Xie Xun was about to laugh again, but he pursed his lips and said seriously, "I'm an honest, law-abiding citizen."
He Changyi nodded: "Yes, honestly go find the brothers in the underworld."
The little fox happily wagged its big tail.
"Now there are two honest and simple people in this room."
In the end, He Changyi did not agree to let Xie Xun go to Akmantan alone to negotiate with Mederdinov; she had a better idea.
"Akmanstein has more than just tungsten mines."
Xie Xun looked at He Changyi thoughtfully, and she gave him a confident smile.
"Who says this batch of goods can only be exchanged for tungsten ore?"
A group of uninvited guests with foreign faces arrived at a luxury mansion in the capital of Akmantan.
"Welcome, welcome."
The mansion's owner, seated on the sofa, made no move to rise and greet them, saying with a half-smile, "It's quite surprising that a distinguished guest from the Prime Minister's office would actually request to visit my property. What, did Megerdinov fail to offer you a satisfactory price?"
The guest leisurely removed his hood and sunglasses, revealing a face with black hair and black eyes.
“Miss Haldane, it’s an honor to meet you. I wonder if you are interested in a business deal worth thirty million dollars.”
The person speaking was He Changyi.
Haldan instinctively leaned forward, then deliberately leaned back on the sofa, his round face adorned with European-style makeup, his brown-green eyes scanning the person opposite him from head to toe.
"Thirty million US dollars? It seems that even after being deceived by Megerdinov, you still have the delusion of selling this batch of goods."
Haldane said arrogantly, "But why should I take it on? You didn't come to me at first, but then you came to me for help after you were deceived."
"This is not a plea for help."
He Changyi sat down on the sofa opposite him and said with a smile, "I think 'mutual benefit and win-win' is a more appropriate term."
Haldan said unhappily, "Mutual benefit? Win-win? Little girl from China, you don't seem to understand that you're here to seek my help, not as a guest I invited. Also, you've dirtied my sofa."
He Changyi showed no anger, tapping the sofa surface lightly with her fingers: "Tabarin limited edition, European imported calfskin sofa, royal furniture, it is indeed very nice, but not enough to match your status."
She smiled and said, "As the daughter of the current president, you deserve better."
As they spoke, He Changyi took out a huge velvet jewelry box from her handbag, placed it on the coffee table, opened it, and pushed it in front of Haldan. Inside was a complete set of white diamond jewelry, from necklaces and earrings to brooches and headdresses, inlaid with gold and colored gemstones, with a gorgeous and extravagant style, quite reminiscent of the Middle East.
Haldan didn't speak, staring at the jewelry box with his brown-green eyes for a while. When he looked at He Changyi again, his expression softened considerably.
"You're at least a polite guy. So, what do you want from me?"
He Changyi said, "As I just said, I want to have a mutually beneficial cooperation with you."
Haldane scoffed, "You want to sell me that $30 million shipment?"
He Changyi said with a smile, "No, I'm not selling it to you."
Under Haldan's suspicious scrutiny, she calmly said, "It was the president who was worried about the hardships of the people in the country and specifically instructed you to exchange goods worth 30 million US dollars from Zhongguo through barter."
"The only person the people of Akmen have to thank is the president."
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