797 joint venture

Sergei returned to Jiuding Bank with Yevgeny's granddaughter, Sakina, with too much work and matters to handle.

Even though he had become a local tyrant of sorts, Sergei knew full well that his success was wholly dependent on the support of two major backers.

Now that Yevgeny had gone bankrupt speculating on foreign exchange and had lost his power, relying on him was out of the question; instead, he needed Sergei's help.

Lightning only needed cheap iron ore and the chance to collect a protection fee from the mines; Sergei wasn't his only option.

Sergei knew that if he wanted to secure his current position, he must draw more big players to his side, for with their support, he would be very safe.

He couldn't count on his own people; the best choice right now was the foreigners, on whom Sergei decided to stake all his hopes.

Foreign businessmen needed the shelter of local powers to operate here; without it, they would find it hard to make any progress.