Chapter 61: Only by taking on challenges can you make progress

There was silence in the conference room. No one could say a word in the face of Zhou Ming's rhetorical question. Perhaps Zhou Ming's words were vulgar, but at this time no one would care about that at all, because only Zhou Ming's words could reflect his magnanimity.

At the same time, Zhou Ming's words also made these people feel ashamed, because they had always claimed to be businessmen of a superpower, and they would still control the economic lifeblood of this country in the future. But now their horizons and perspectives were so small, and even the financial tycoon Boltarsky, second only to Il'yichov, could only blurt out a figure of two hundred million. On the contrary, Zhou Ming, a person from a poor country, casually blurted out a figure ten or a hundred times that, so how could they not feel inferior?

In fact, the figure of 200 million was not just something Boltsky said randomly. During the previous devaluation of the ruble, he had made 100 million. Now that Zhou Ming said there was a better opportunity to make money, he naturally wanted to double it. To put it another way, this northern Russian businessman was quite ambitious. After all, such a doubling and redoubling of asset growth was not something the average person would dare to think about.

It's just that he happened to meet Zhou Ming, this lunatic who had returned from the dead and dared to use the Dota Project as a ploy. In comparison, his ambitions were destined to be very small.

However, Boltarsky was not convinced. He said to Zhou Ming, 'Mr. Zhou Ming, I am very impressed by your domineering attitude of being able to make money and dare to make money. I am also very surprised by your plan to make 200 billion. However, there is one thing that you seem to have forgotten, Mr. Zhou Ming. Our opponent is the Dota Project, a consortium of families from the entire Western world. Just look at what they have done to our country's economy with one move.'

'The Winter of Krysko, that was the headline in the newspaper, and you, Mr. Zhou Ming, also said that the headline described it very accurately,' said Boltarsky. "It is already very difficult for us to get a few hundred million out of the Tower Project, so how can we go against them again?'

Zhou Ming laughed and looked at him meaningfully and asked, "What? Are you afraid, Mr. Boltarsky?'

'Why would I be afraid?' Boltsky was provoked at the time, but he calmed down immediately. "I just think that what we are doing is too risky.'

'Where is there money without risk?" Zhou Ming shook his head and said, 'Since ancient times, profit and loss have been one and the same. There is no such thing as a sure profit without loss. Isn't there a saying in the West? The more profitable a business is, the greater the risk that goes with it. This is the truth.'

'But I also know that it is too easy for everyone here to make money for some reason, which is why you have lost the courage and ability to dare to fight. You always want to sit at home and reap the rewards without working for them. This is simply impossible.'

Zhou Ming's words obviously stimulated the self-esteem of these newly rich people from northern Russia. As soon as Zhou Ming finished speaking, someone immediately retorted, 'We don't want to get something for nothing, it's just that we rarely escaped the Krisko Winter this time, and we don't want to jump in on our own initiative.'

Zhou Ming nodded lightly, 'I see, so it seems that I was right, you are really afraid.'

Zhou Ming did not give his subordinates the opportunity to refute him. He immediately continued, 'In fact, it seems to me that what winter or not is just our state of mind. The same thing, how we look at it, will have a different possibility.'

'Take the current Dota project as an example,' Zhou Ming said. 'The reason why everyone here is afraid of confrontation is simply because they have more funds than we do and better methods than we do. So can we not look at it from a different perspective, which shows that we have a lot of room for improvement? If we improve this room, can we then compete with the Tower Project?

'Mr Zhou Ming, the theory is sound, but talking and doing are two completely different things,' someone said, 'If talking was enough, our economy in Northern Russia would not be in the state it is in now.'

'You are absolutely right, it is precisely because talking and doing are two completely different things that we are meeting here today. If we could just do it after talking about it, then we could get started right away.'

Zhou Ming paused for a moment before continuing, 'It is said that fighting for an ideal is a challenge in life, and what we are doing now is a challenge. I think that in the current situation, no matter what we do, it is a challenge, because we will only work hard and make progress if there are challenges.'

'The Winter of Khrushchev describes the current economic situation in all of Northern Russia. All Northern Russians, including everyone here, are saying that the economy is not doing well and that nothing can be done.'

Zhou Ming said, 'Everyone is right, and the situation is indeed as everyone says, but what I want to say is that these words are more like a complaining woman venting her dissatisfaction, the resentment of the common people towards society as a whole. But you are different, you have the ability to change all this, but you are afraid to do it. Are you still considered a man?'

'I have always believed in one thing: there is no problem that cannot be solved in this world, only minds that refuse to move. Now you say you have no money, so find a way to get it, just like when you first bought your own business! If you don't understand the Western financial techniques, then learn them, and once you have, you can wrestle with them. You have to know that under your feet is Kriesko!' Zhou Ming said, 'Here, your ancestors once defeated the French and Germans who swept across Europe. Are you telling me you want to choose to be ostriches now?'

Zhou Ming gave a disdainful smile and said, 'Of course, you can choose not to do it, and no one is forcing you to do it with a gun pointed at you. It's just that you have been stagnant, and when the next time the Dota Project turns its gun on you, you will be helpless!'

At the end, Zhou Ming added, 'And do you really think that the Dota Project will let you keep making money with them?'

Zhou Ming's last sentence immediately broke through everyone's psychological defences, so that they could no longer be ostriches. Because at this time, what they most wanted was to follow the Dota Project to make money without pressure, so as long as they shattered this fantasy of theirs, they would be able to wake up from their dreams. After all, no matter who it was, they would not allow someone else to share their cake. It didn't matter if they missed the soup, but if there were other groups, that would not do.

It was still Boltarsky who asked Zhou Ming, 'Mr. Zhou Ming, I admit that what you said makes a lot of sense. Then the question is, how do we fight against the Dota Project? They used the method of creating panic to sell the ruble. Do we have to go and take all their rubles back? This method is a very stupid method and we will not use it.'

'Mr. Boltski, you have asked a very good question!' Zhou Ming praised, 'In Western countries there is something called a hedge fund. Analyzed literally, since it is hedging, it is necessary to collide with the mainstream situation and induce contrarian trends in order to reap huge profits. What we are doing now is indeed very similar to a hedge fund, but I am trying to ensure that everyone can make money.'

'But Mr. Zhou Ming, you just said that there is no such thing as a sure-fire business in this world, so how can you guarantee that we will definitely make money?' Media tycoon Kolkho asked Zhou Ming.

Zhou Ming nodded and said, 'I did say those words, and I still don't regret them, because this is Northern Russia. As long as we are the saviors of Northern Russia and can mobilize the masses to control the masses, it will not be difficult to deal with the Dota Project.'

Zhou Ming's words made everyone in the meeting room look at each other in confusion, including Irbedov, who had heard Zhou Ming's words beforehand. They all looked confused, not understanding what Zhou Ming meant. That was now. None of them knew. Later, after Zhou Ming's plan succeeded, they would all applaud for Zhou Ming, because Zhou Ming's plan was really amazing!

...

While Zhou Ming and the other Northern Russian businessmen were having a meeting in the Red Square building, on the other side of the street, in Villa 8, which belonged to the Tower Project, David, who was in charge of the project, was also planning something.

At this time, David was sitting in the meeting room of the villa, with several phones in front of him. This was the way the Tower Project held meetings. Due to some special reasons, many people participating in the Tower Project were unwilling to show their faces, so they could only communicate in this way of conference calls.

'Mr Davier, the Dagger Tower Project is currently progressing as planned. According to our estimates of the value of the ruble, it is still far from reaching its bottom. I don't understand why you want to stop.'

A question came from one of the telephones in front of Davier. Davier glanced at the telephone and said, 'Mr Taylor, I think you have the order of things wrong. It's not that I want to stop, it's that we should stop now.'

'Why? Because of that Zhou Ming?' the man named Taylor asked.

Upon hearing the name Zhou Ming, the muscles on David's face twitched unnaturally before he said, "Mr. Taylor, I think you must know that some wealthy people in Northern Russia are also shorting the ruble along with us in the Dota Project, right?'

Taylor said disdainfully, "If they want to follow us and have a little soup, let them go ahead and do it, there's no need to pay any attention to them.'

'Mr Taylor is really magnanimous!' Davier first praised the other party, and then changed the subject and continued, "But that's not what happened. I want to temporarily call off the Dota Project. In addition to dealing a blow to these Northern Russian businessmen who have followed us in speculating, we also need to further increase the short selling of the ruble, because only after defeating these Northern Russian elites can we truly be considered to have swept the entire Northern Russia away!'

There was silence for a while, and then another person asked, "So what are you going to do?'

Upon hearing this voice, Davier immediately became respectful: 'Sir, what I plan to do is to first increase the intensity of selling the ruble, make them continue to follow, and then suddenly withdraw it all at an opportune moment, so as to catch them off guard and make them lose all their money.'

'Very good, just do as you say,' the man said.

Having received the answer he wanted, Davie sneered to himself: 'Zhou Ming, I know you are currently leading businessmen from northern Russia to pick up the scraps in our Dota Project, but I wonder how long you can keep it up!'

!!!