"Sophia!" Zyuganov was obviously dissatisfied with Sophia's attitude at the moment. He called out in a deep voice, then turned to Zhao Xiaohai and said, "Mr. Zhao, your cooperation idea is very good and we can accept it. As you said, we have a certain amount of activity in North Korea, and I believe the agent you proposed should be found. However, if we follow your method, it will take us at least two or three months to fully open up this trade channel. I'm afraid we can't wait that long. As I said just now, the first batch of 600,000 funds must be received within a month and a half. We need it urgently."
"One and a half months, six hundred thousand..." Zhao Xiaohai sat in a chair, stroking his chin. After thinking for a while, he said, "Can't you wait for just two or three months? Six hundred thousand is not a lot of money. You are a major general and you actually control the steel mill and shipyard. Don't you think you can't even come up with six hundred thousand?"
"Are you really confused or are you deliberately making fun of us?!" Sophia interrupted again.
"Do you think I'm such a boring person?" Zhao Xiaohai retorted without showing any weakness.
"I feel like you're much more boring than I thought." Sophia didn't give in and she replied immediately.
"Alright, alright!" Zyuganov glared at Sofia, stopping the two young men from arguing with each other, and then explained to Zhao Xiaohai, "Mr. Zhao, to be honest, the steel mill and Komsomolsk-on-Amur Shipyard you mentioned are indeed in our hands, but the funds we can control in these factories alone are pitifully small.
Specifically, the wages of the workers in our three factories are paid to us on time and in full each month by the bank. The specific amount is just enough to pay the workers' wages. As for the working capital needed for production and trade, that is based on a separate virtual credit currency system.
According to the system, our factory doesn't have to pay cash when buying or selling. Instead, we pay directly via bank transfer. We can see the money in our factory account and know the exact amount. Unfortunately, this money cannot be converted into cash."
Zhao Xiaohai nodded in understanding. He knew that in countries with planned economies, there were two monetary systems: one was a virtual currency completely controlled by the state, and the other was real cash with real market purchasing power. In the early 21st century, during the Russian government's crackdown on oligarchs, Khodorkovsky, the so-called richest man in Russia, was ousted in one fell swoop. He had made his fortune by exploiting the loopholes between these two monetary systems, exchanging virtual currency for actual cash and becoming extremely wealthy in a short period of time.
"As far as I know, your steel mill has also been engaged in export trade with our country. I imagine that in this trade, the transactions between you and our domestic distributors should be cash, right? After all, your virtual currency has no value in China." Zhao Xiaohai thought for a moment and said, "I have an idea. Although it is not easy to start a company in China at present, if I can find an agent with connections, then all the formalities can be completed in a week or two at most. And I also have a certain sales channel in the steel market. Think about it, if we hurry up and set up the company now, and then you provide the supply, and we do a few deals, wouldn't we make money?"
"Unless we resort to smuggling, this approach isn't feasible," Zyuganov said, shaking his head. "You have to understand that large-scale steel exports must go through a foreign trade company. They audit our accounts for every transaction and oversee the flow of funds. For example, if your trading company wants to purchase 50,000 tons of steel from our factory, you'll first have to apply to the foreign trade company, who will then contact us. After that, the foreign trade company will lead the negotiations between us, and after a successful negotiation, the signed documents will need their approval. Once all these preparations are complete, it's time for you to pay. At this stage, your money can't be handed over directly to us. Instead, it must be transferred to the foreign trade company's account, which will then transfer it to the bank as virtual currency before it reaches us. This shows you clearly that if we use your method, we won't actually get a penny in the end."
"Oh, I see." Zhao Xiaohai frowned. He stood up from his chair and paced back and forth in the hall, his mind racing with thoughts of ways to find a loophole.
The hall was silent, and both of them looked at him eagerly, hoping that this shrewd "speculator" could come up with a plan to provide them with a way to make money.
The current situation is very clear. If the goods are steel, smuggling is definitely not possible because this kind of stuff is too heavy and smuggling large quantities is too dangerous. Even if it enters the country, it cannot be sold in the short term.
"Smuggling" is a foolish and infeasible method for smuggling steel. Customs have weighbridges, so it's possible to sneak in some light goods, but anyone who smuggles one or two tons of steel into a truck is courting death.
Smuggling doesn't work, smuggling doesn't work either, so what should I do? What should I do? What should I do...
"Oh, I got it!" After wandering around the hall for nearly fifteen minutes, Zhao Xiaohai, who was a classic liar in his previous life, finally had an idea. He clapped his hands and said with a smile.
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