Chapter 198 No, we have to get the money back: This is $1 billion!
As the saying goes: You wake up to find the sky has fallen.
But Wang Xiao felt that they were even worse off than the common saying goes.
Because they hadn't gone to sleep yet, and the sky had already fallen.
Ivanov clutched his hairy chest and groaned in pain: "A billion!"
Not rubles, but US dollars!
He had been so angry about the government's constantly changing policies that he felt the ruble was about to become worthless that he started boxing.
Now, he doesn't even want to punch anymore. Because no matter how painful his fists are, they can't compare to the pain in his heart.
Damn ruble, how come it suddenly appreciated again?
A billion dollars, my God! He's going to bomb the Kremlin.
Wang Xiao is already on oxygen; she can't breathe without it!
She grabbed Ivanov and said weakly, "Give me something practical. Blowing up the Kremlin is too difficult and unrealistic."
Ivanov blurted out, "Why don't we just kill the president?"
As soon as they finished speaking, the two looked at each other and surprisingly began to consider the feasibility of the matter.
Oh my god, Wang Xiao swears, she has always been a law-abiding citizen (in Russia, that's because tax laws are really impossible to follow!).
As a result, the prospect of a billion dollars spurred her to the point of wanting to kill someone.
This shows that humans should never overestimate their moral bottom line. Many things we think we would never do are simply because the temptation offered to us wasn't strong enough.
But after thinking it over, they shook their heads and gave up. The risk was too high, the success rate too low, and most importantly, even if they succeeded, they figured they'd both be killed.
Never underestimate the capabilities of KGB.
Ivanov hastily wiped the sweat from his brow with a towel and muttered to himself, "No, we have to buy rubles."
His way of thinking is perfectly fine. From a financial perspective, it is perfectly normal to buy a large amount of money when you know that something, including a currency, is about to appreciate.
But where can he buy rubles now?
The ticket dealers in Moscow had already deposited all their old rubles into the bank before noon today.
They don't have any of the new rubles left, because they've already exchanged them all. The only thing they probably have left is US dollars.
Go to areas outside Moscow, especially those CIS countries where people haven't received the new rubles yet, so banks can't exchange old rubles for new ones.
Good heavens, do you think these ticket scalpers are fools? They make a living by reselling currency.
Even a complete outsider like Wu Haoyu could have predicted that the ruble would revert to its pre-July 23rd exchange rate; why do you expect the ticket scalpers not to have thought of that? And why should they just sit there and watch you make that money?
Does your protagonist's brilliance overwhelm the land, bringing an aura of collective NPC stupidity?
Stop dreaming! If they had that kind of ability, they wouldn't have been scammed out of $1 billion.
Ivanov understood this too, and once again let out a painful groan: "There is no better way than robbing a bank."
Of course, he was just saying that.
It's not worth it until we get to that point.
Furthermore, the claim that the ruble will appreciate is merely their current speculation.
Who knows how the exchange rate will change next!
Since its liberalization, the ruble's exchange rate has been subject to constant manipulation. While it's said that prices in Moscow are rising rapidly, the rate of price increases hasn't kept pace with the ruble's depreciation. This suggests just how murky the situation truly is.
If they go to great lengths and spend a lot of money to acquire a large amount of rubles, only to find that the ruble does not rebound but continues to plummet, wouldn't that be adding insult to injury?
Ivanov took a sip of his electrolyte-replenishing sports drink and continued muttering to himself, "God, this is torture."
They became prisoners awaiting judgment, with no way of knowing whether the next dawn would bring a death sentence or a pardon.
Wang Xiao took a deep breath of oxygen and kicked his calf with her foot. He was covered in oily sweat, and she didn't want to push him.
"Then go rob a bank right now and get loans!"
Ivanov paused for a moment, then said something silly: "But the ruble will appreciate!"
It's highly likely that it will appreciate in value; otherwise, they wouldn't be unable to lie in bed and sleep soundly even after three days and two nights without getting a normal night's sleep.
“In the long run, it will still depreciate.” Wang Xiao took a breath of oxygen before he could speak. “Our previous analysis was correct. Abolishing the ruble dealt the final fatal blow to the economic cooperation within the ruble zone. At least in the next few years, no one will be able to build their own complete industrial system. Unfortunately, everyone lacks foreign exchange and is unable to purchase what they lack. Therefore, the economic situation will further deteriorate, and the ruble will depreciate accordingly.”
Her confidence stems not only from her analytical skills as a businesswoman, but more importantly from her cheating techniques.
As a time traveler, she knew that this leader would be re-elected, and she successfully transformed herself into the most hated leader by the people in his successor, without exception.
The reason is that he messed up the Russian economy.
You think things are bad enough now, but that's only because you don't know how much worse they can get.
Ivanov was also out of breath.
He took several breaths of oxygen and got up to make a phone call.
Good heavens, thank goodness he was using a push-button telephone. If it were one of those lottery-based systems, he would have swollen his fingers into carrot-like welts.
The person on the other end of the phone was extremely dissatisfied and cursed, "Damn Ivanov, do you think I'm one of you lawless playboys? I have to go to work, I have to go to my damn job and attend my damn meetings before dawn!"
Ivanov retorted righteously: "Your meetings are a waste of time! How many meetings have you held since the year before last? And look at the result! If you had just held a couple less meetings, things wouldn't be this bad!"
His friend was furious: "Hey! You guys are just making sarcastic remarks. If we hadn't been trying to find a solution, things would be even worse now."
"You're really good at patting yourselves on the back," Ivanov sneered. "I admit you're fighters; you fiercely attacked communism and turned the Soviet Union into ruins. But can you build? You only know how to destroy!"
My friend sneered, "Yeah, in your eyes, China is the best. We Russians are all trash."
Ivanov readily admitted, "That's right! At least the Chinese plan what to build in the new building before demolishing it, how to build it, where the materials will come from, how to arrange the workers, and what the building will be used for. What about us? We are only responsible for demolishing the socialist edifice, but we have never planned what to do next."
His friend was speechless.
Because the comprehensive reforms promised by the new government two years ago and promoted last year have not only failed to produce any results, but the overall social situation has actually worsened.
The government's promised deadlines have been pushed back again and again, and there seems to be no end in sight to this torment.
He was exhausted, tired, and frustrated, and impatiently urged, "What's wrong with you in the middle of the night? Just say what you want to say, I need to rest. God, I need sleep!"
"Loans," Ivanov finally revealed his true intentions. "I need a large loan."
Without a word, my friend said, "Then go to the bank, why are you coming to me? God, why do you need another loan? Don't you have enough money?"
Ivanov pressed on: "Don't you know where my money went?"
My friend retorted, not to be outdone: "Well, you're not short of money either!"
"Who says I don't need money?" Ivanov exclaimed, his voice trembling with anger. "When you people sit in the meeting room arguing, you never consider the lives of ordinary people! Abolishing the ruble in late July, God, what are you thinking? Without rubles for settlement, how will our machinery factories import raw materials, how will they manufacture agricultural machinery? The car factories have already stopped production, the truck factories are on their last legs, and now you intend to wipe out the agricultural machinery factories as well?"
"If you can't produce agricultural machinery, are you planning to have farmers go to the fields with shovels to dig potatoes and sickles to harvest wheat in September when it's time for the autumn harvest?"
"Ha, you didn't think of that, did you? You certainly don't want to think about these things. If you were willing to sit down and think about how the old ladies and gentlemen on the farm are going to survive, if you were willing to look at how many people on the street have to carefully calculate the rubles in their pockets to buy a loaf of bread; you wouldn't have made such a hasty decision."
“I need a loan, now, immediately! I can’t wait for the turnover, because there’s no time. I haven’t slept for three days and two nights, but I dare not sleep. I have to act immediately to keep the farm machinery factory’s production going, and if all else fails, I will buy up all their inventory.”
"Ah, if we don't buy them now, once the farm machinery factory stops production and can't provide jobs, these will definitely be sold as scrap metal, or they might even be stolen by some unknown person without us even knowing it."
"Only by buying enough agricultural machinery can I rent it out to farmers cheaply in the fall, ensuring that their hard-earned produce doesn't rot in the fields."
"That way, we poor Russians might have a chance to fill our stomachs."
Then he added sarcastically, "Don't even think about imports. I don't dare to count on it. Our fulfillment rate is too low. The Northeast region of China, which has suffered huge losses, is no longer willing to engage in barter trade and export grain to us."
"Don't even think about exporting oil and using the dollars to import food. Look at our officials, how do they export oil and natural gas? They're only willing to leave a tiny fraction for the country; they're practically still conscientious."
Unable to bear it any longer, his friend instinctively defended himself and his colleagues: "My dear Ivanov, please don't be so extreme."
“No!” Ivanov firmly refused. “I have the right to be so extreme! I have not opened any secret accounts in the United States, nor have I purchased any luxury villas in Europe or America. I stay in Russia throughout the year, unless I have to travel abroad for business. My family does the same. I have never thought of stealing the country’s wealth and then running away to live a life of debauchery.”
His friend tried to reassure him: “Hey, Ivanov, my dear friend. I know what you’re saying is true. You’re the most honest and patriotic lad I know, really. My colleagues and I have always admired you. Otherwise, we wouldn’t have recommended you to take over the oil and gas field.”
Ivanov was enraged: "You still dare to talk back! I've clearly taken on a hot potato with this oil and gas field! Everyone has run away, and all my money is tied up in it. Now I want to buy agricultural machinery, but I have to search the world for loans and get all sorts of excuses."
My friend chuckled dryly, "No, no, Ivanov, you misunderstood me. If you buy so much farm machinery, you won't be able to recoup the costs through rent. Not only will you be unable to repay the loan, but more importantly, you can't keep renting out so much machinery indefinitely. Wouldn't that be a waste of resources?"
“I want to rent more abandoned farms,” Ivanov said irritably. “I’ve figured it out. You only care about maintaining the superficial prosperity of big cities like Moscow and St. Petersburg, and you don’t care about the lives of people in remote areas. I need to rent land and plant more crops. China has a vegetable basket project that started in 1988. China used to have a planned economy like us, but now their people can easily buy all kinds of cheap vegetables at the market.”
He became more and more agitated as he spoke, “I dare not count on the government anymore. Heaven knows when the officials will think of this. I’m going to do it myself. There’s no reason for ordinary people to have to struggle to calculate prices when faced with blackened potatoes and shriveled tomatoes.”
His friend tried to calm him down: "Ivanov, you know, there are regulations now that banks can only issue short-term loans."
"Then give me a one-year loan first, I need to buy agricultural machinery and rent more land."
My friend said he had a headache; "Be rational, my friend. There's basically no way any bank will issue a loan for another year now. Six months, six months is basically the limit they can hold out for."
In fact, even six months can be very unprofitable.
For example, this year, the ruble has halved in value in just six months.
Ivanov pressed his advantage: "Then let's start with six months. I also want to build a food processing plant to produce pre-cooked meals. When it gets cold, people can't just rely on roasted potatoes and bread to get by; they'll need vegetables too."
His rapid-fire rambling forced his friends to bite the bullet and try to come up with a solution for him.
However, regarding the loan amount, my friend insisted that the maximum was 30 billion rubles, and he couldn't do anything more.
This has nothing to do with whether Ivanov can provide collateral for the loan; it's just that the bank is only this small in size right now.
Ivanov was dissatisfied: "Hey! They just brought in $30 billion in rubles! How could they be short of money now?"
But my friend wouldn't budge, insisting that this was all there was.
There was nothing more he could do to help.
Ivanov had no choice but to reluctantly agree: "Be quick, I'll contact the factory right away."
After hanging up the phone, as he gasped for breath, Wang Xiao looked intently at his face and exclaimed, "Ivanov, you really are a hero!"
Ivanov didn't react immediately: "Who?"
"The great hero Ke Zhen'e, Guo Jing's master."
Ivanov's eyes widened instantly, and he protested firmly, "Your Majesty, I am not that old blind man."
"But the greatest heroes are those who serve their country and its people. Among so many martial arts figures, Ke Zhen'e is a rare exception—he never did anything wrong in his life, hated evil as if it were his enemy, was an upright gentleman, and was a man of his word, always keeping his promises. Truly, he is a true hero, and so are you!"
Ivanov blushed at the compliment, subconsciously touched his nose, and chuckled.
He looked up again, puzzled, and asked, "Your Majesty, why are you still unhappy?"
He emphasized, "We took out a loan of $30 million."
Wang Xiao said with a long face, "We lost 1 billion US dollars."
Oh, happiness may not be contagious, but pain certainly is.
Ivanov clutched his chest, unable to laugh anymore.
Nonsense! Any normal businessman would be in serious trouble after suffering a loss of $1 billion.
Let alone 1 billion US dollars, even 5,000 or 10,000 US dollars would be too much for everyone to handle.
Almost on the day the ruble exchange rate returned to normal, a wholesaler approached Wang Xiao.
The implication was clear: they had backed out. They had elderly parents and young children to support, unlike Mr. Wang, who had a large and wealthy family. Could they get their tens of millions of old rubles back? They wouldn't invest in the oil and gas fields anymore.
Upon hearing this, the assistant was so shocked that he forgot to be angry.
No, do you guys even know what investing is?
And now you're returning the old rubles you handed over? Why don't you just turn back time to before July 26th?
This is utterly absurd!
But Wang Xiao was not surprised.
After all, during the Spring Festival this year, the steel mill workers even asked to buy her stock, promising her a 10% return.
Now that wholesalers are coming to our door, what's so strange about that?
She had no time to argue with them and went straight to the solution: "Okay, everyone who wants their old rubles back should register and leave their detailed identification information. If something like the abolition of the old ruble happens again in the future, don't come to us again. After all, I find it troublesome to keep going back and forth. I can save the money I would have spent on bribes."
The noisy crowd instantly fell silent.
They're scared too.
The saying goes, "Once, twice, and thrice."
Before the Soviet Union collapsed, the ruble had already been abolished once.
It's only been two years, and they've already started to scrap it a second time. Who knows when they'll scrap it a third time?
Don't say the Russians won't continue their crazy antics.
The impression they get from the Russian government now is that there's nothing they can't do, only things people haven't thought of.
When that time really comes, who will they turn to for help?
The wholesalers who had been clamoring for their old rubles to be returned fell silent. Except for a few stubborn ones, the rest left grumbling.
Ivanov watched the whole thing but didn't get a chance to perform.
When he followed Wang Xiao back upstairs, he couldn't hide his excitement: "Wang, it's not us who lost 1 billion US dollars! It's the shareholders, it's their loss!"
Ah! Once I understood this, the sky outside the window instantly turned blue, the flowers in the vase immediately smelled sweet, and even the shouts of the children running around in the square sounded so pleasant.
Look, that's what capitalists are like. As long as the losses are transferred and don't fall on them, they feel refreshed even in the worst world.
Wang Xiao didn't think there was anything wrong with Ivanov's idea at all.
Even without considering it from a capitalist's perspective, she doesn't think this idea is malicious.
After all, throughout history and across the world, the methods for resolving economic crises have remained largely the same.
Otherwise, how will Evergrande digest its 2 trillion yuan debt, and how will the massive debts owed by local governments be resolved? Who will provide the safety net?
Here's something that's not exactly trivia: no government has the ability to make money; all of the government's money comes from the people.
The officials who caused such huge losses, and those who decided who would cover the losses, have no guilty conscience; what guilty conscience do these legitimate businessmen who are raising funds have?
So what if you lose money? Who in the world can guarantee that their investment will always make a profit?
Ivanov was elated for a good half minute, then suddenly realized he seemed a little lonely.
Because his partner didn't respond to him at all.
"Wang, why are you unhappy? 1 billion US dollars, hey, our losses have disappeared."
Wang Xiao still had a long face: "But we could have attracted an extra $1 billion in investment. With $3 billion, we wouldn't have to worry about the oil and gas field development at all."
Are you kidding me!
Who told you that once the money goes to the company, it still belongs to the shareholders?
To be honest, once it's in my pocket, it's mine. Now, I've lost a billion US dollars for nothing. How can I be happy? I'd need a heart of steel!
Ivanov's smile vanished. He squatted pitifully beside Wang Xiao, looking like a beaten dog, his expression aggrieved: "But, Wang, it's already like this. Please smile, cheer up, okay?"
Wang Xiao frankly said, "I can't laugh."
Ivanov was frantic: "Then how can you cheer up? Shall we go on a shopping spree? Or go to the club and get a couple of young men for you?"
shallow!
Wang Xiao said fiercely, his eyes like a wolf's: "Let's make another 1 billion US dollars."
Ivanov was at his wit's end.
Making money isn't difficult, but it depends on how much money you make.
$1 billion is no small challenge.
But Wang Xiao's fighting spirit was already burning. The thought of losing 1 billion US dollars was unbearable; she couldn't bear the chest pain even with oxygen if she didn't earn that money back quickly.
“Ivanov, we need to find a piece of land and build a container market.”
Ivanov felt he hadn't slept well, otherwise why would he be a little out of sync with Wang Xiao's pace?
"A container market?" He belatedly added as the words left his mouth, "A container market like Bucharest?"
Wang Xiao nodded, flexing his fingers: "Yes, that's the kind of container market."
Ivanov was still out of touch: "But, Your Majesty, we already have commercial streets and wholesale buildings. Do we really need a container market?"
She initially decided to build a container market in Bucharest because there wasn't a suitable large market available, and there wasn't enough time to build the buildings in the short term.
“Yes, we need it.” Wang Xiao nodded seriously. “We need it now. Abolishing the ruble directly destroyed the industrial and commercial networks among the CIS countries. In the short term, none of them will be able to build their own complete industrial systems.”
"What we used to be able to produce ourselves, we now have to import."
"People still need to make a living, and demand will not decrease drastically. We must fill the gaps that have emerged as soon as possible."
“It’s very difficult for us to find empty buildings to build new wholesale warehouses now, because everyone is coming to Moscow and there aren’t many empty buildings left.”
She wasn't particularly insistent on establishing a container market in Moscow.
After all, one can't make all the money. They're already attracting enough attention; if they open another market, countless eyes will be watching, both in the legal and illegal worlds.
But now that damn government has cost her $1 billion (don't tell her about the shrewd move of abolishing the ruble, or how the oil companies wouldn't have been able to secure that extra $1 billion in investment, she won't listen).
She must find a way to make up for this loss.
Wang Xiao raised a finger and emphasized, "Moreover, establishing a container market will help improve our situation."
"Why is our market in Bucharest so calm, without any major troubles so far?"
"It's not because Romanians are more hospitable or more willing to accept outsiders than Russians."
"It is the establishment of the container market that has brought tangible benefits to Romania."
"On the one hand, it has enabled 20 million Romanians to meet their basic living needs at a relatively low price."
"on the other hand--"
Ivanov pricked up his ears; he knew this was the key.
Because of what happened before, they were also doing it in the commercial streets and wholesale markets of Moscow and St. Petersburg.
"On the other hand, Romanians also made money from the container market."
“Currently, about one-third of the vendors in Bucharest’s container market are Romanian. They not only make money from Romanian vendors, but also from vendors from neighboring countries.”
"The increase in wholesale merchants has stimulated the development of local industries. For some goods, they can import raw materials from China, assemble them in Romania, and then sell them. The processing fees also go into the pockets of Romanians."
"In addition, frequent trade has increased revenue for the local tourism and hotel industries, and boosted the employment market for catering services and other sectors."
"To put it simply, no country or region can tolerate outsiders making money on their territory while they themselves don't earn a single penny."
Ivanov frowned, seriously considering the feasibility of the matter.
Thinking back, he couldn't help but shake his head: "God, if you put Chinese people together with people from any other country in the retail industry, the Chinese are kings."
Look at the free market; the best-selling items are almost all from Chinese people.
Because they are so busy, they leave early and return late, and they have no idea what rest is!
Without hesitation, Wang Xiao said, "It's alright. Different countries have different advantageous products. Let's just divide them into regions, separate the countries, and give everyone a piece of land."
Ivanov burst out laughing: "That would truly be a world exposition!"
Wang Xiao nodded: "That's roughly the idea."
Before she traveled through time, she knew very little about Moscow and had never visited the famous Ant Market.
But even if she had visited, given her age, there wasn't much she could learn from it. The Ant Market had been closed, rectified, and demolished, long past its glory days of the 1990s and early 2000s.
Therefore, what they can do now is to take the successful experience of the Bucharest container market, use it, and further improve upon it.
For example, considering the living needs of the vendors, all supporting facilities, such as communal canteens, small restaurants, public toilets, and barbershops, must be provided.
For example, considering security issues, the entire container commercial area needs its own police force.
The two of them listed the reasons one by one, and finally decided: to do it.
And it has to be a big deal, something that will become a new landmark in Moscow.
Ha! From the moment Wang Xiao realized he had lost $1 billion, he never considered arguing with the bank.
She accepts the consequences of her bets and never wastes time on meaningless things.
What she needs to do is seize this opportunity to quickly plan and earn another billion dollars.
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