Chapter 66: Tackle the problem at its source

In the villa at No. 8, Glei Street, the young Wilhelm hurriedly pushed open the door to a room and shouted inside, 'Davyier, it's bad news! Just now, news came from Jim's side that Zhou Ming and Ielbiedorf took a plane to Petrograd together!'

This is Davier's study. The head of the Dota project was watering the plants when William shouted, causing his hand to shake. Water from the pot spilled all over the table. Davier put down the watering can in dissatisfaction and said, 'William, I really should have left you in Colombia and not brought you here. Can't you remember anything? How many times have I told you to knock before entering? Why can't you remember?'

The chastised William wanted to say something in protest, but Davyer then remembered something else and continued, 'And what did you just call me? I said to call me Mr Davyer, you ill-mannered bastard!'

Facing Davyer's accusations, William raised his hands: 'Okay, Mr Davyer, I was wrong. It was just that this time it was so urgent that I forgot for a moment.'

Davie had no choice but to shake his head and ask him, 'So what did you say just now? Zhou Ming and that Russian businessman went to Petrograd. What were they doing there? Did Jim tell you?'

When it came to specifics, William calmed down. After thinking for a moment, he replied to Davier, 'Jim doesn't know exactly what they're doing, but it is said that a 10,000-ton cargo ship from the Harbor City Shipping Group docked at the port of Petrograd last night. Judging from the time, it is very likely that their trip to Petrograd is related to the arrival of this cargo ship.'

Davier let out a sound, obviously a little surprised by this answer: 'So it turns out that the Zhou Ming behind this is the Harbor City Consortium? The Harbor City Consortium does have a few very powerful guys, and it makes sense that they would want a share of the pie when they heard about the movement in Northern Russia.'

As he listened to Davier's analysis, William suddenly asked him, 'Davier, do you think this could really be a coincidence? Or maybe it's just a smokescreen he's released, because I really can't think of what a 10,000-ton cargo ship can change in the current financial situation of Northern Russia, unless this 10,000-ton cargo ship is carrying nothing but gold, in which case it simply cannot change anything!'

'That's true, but 10,000 tons of gold is simply impossible,' Davie said disdainfully. "Not to mention whether the Port City could possibly come up with 10,000 tons of gold, even if it were conjured up by magic, how could they transport it to Northern Russia in such a short time? Furthermore, why would those Port City families waste so much wealth here? This is simply illogical!'

'But if it's not gold, what else could it be? I really can't think of anything else, so it seems that it can only be a coincidence," William said.

'In fact, I don't think it matters whether it's a coincidence or not. William, you just need to remember that once our plan for the tower is up and running, nothing can stop it. That's all that matters. Our goal is 20 trillion dollars!'

David said arrogantly. Then he remembered something and said to William, 'More than that, I think William, your problem with manners is what deserves my most attention! You just forgot to add the suffix "Mr." after my name again. You must remember that this is the most important thing!'

Facing David's criticism, William wilted like a battered eggplant.

...

On this side, David and William are both conceited, but they never imagined that the freighter would transport more than 10,000 tons of daily necessities. But it is normal for them not to think of it. Not to mention the proud Americans, even the wealthy Russian Irbedov, who had been following Zhou Ming, could not figure it out.

At this moment, in the ancient Hoplov castle in Petrograd, both Il'yev and Hoplov were staring at Zhou Ming with wide eyes, their expressions full of surprise, confusion and bewilderment.

'Mr. Zhou Ming, these 10,000 tons of daily necessities... are just the most ordinary clothes, shoes and socks, knives, forks and tableware?'

Irbeldov asked Zhou Ming blankly. If it weren't for Zhou Ming's previous stories, and if Zhou Ming wasn't sitting in front of him right now, he would really think that he and Zhou Ming didn't live in the same world, because if they did, why would he completely fail to understand Zhou Ming's thoughts?

Zhou Ming shrugged and said, 'It's simple. Don't you Northern Russians lack these things right now? I can see that on Gleb Street, everyone is scrambling to sell their belongings or barter for goods. Isn't that the case?'

Zhou Ming's answer made Irbedov feel like vomiting blood. It wasn't that Zhou Ming's answer was bizarre; in fact, if Zhou Ming's answer was profound, Irbedov would feel better, because it would be a very profound answer. But the point is that Zhou Ming's answer was so simple that even a three-year-old child in Krisko could understand it, which drove Irbedov crazy.

It is true that Krisko is short of daily necessities, which is a legacy of the Soviet Union's emphasis on the military industry. This is common knowledge, and now the entire North Russia is short of daily necessities.

Anyone with eyes can see this, but the key is what is the relationship between daily necessities and finance?

Ilbedov thought so, subconsciously casting his eyes at Li Cheng and Tong Gang next to him.

Tong Gang, who was currently in a more dominant position, answered him with his hands spread out, 'Mr. Irbedov, please don't look at me like that. I don't understand it either, which is why I came here with Mr. Li Cheng.'

Li Cheng said, 'Zhou Ming told us that there was a big business opportunity here, that if we transported more than 10,000 tons of daily necessities, we would make a lot of money. Not only would there be 10,000 tons, but there would be several cargo ships coming one after the other, all carrying daily necessities, as well as some grain.'

Irbeldov was dumbfounded and looked at Zhou Ming in disbelief, asking, 'Mr. Zhou Ming, shouldn't this big business refer to the Dota Project?'

In fact, Irbeldov still had a question in his mind, "Are you trying to sell clothes, shoes, socks, and daily necessities here?" However, after thinking about it for a long time, Irbeldov still couldn't bring himself to ask.

But just because Irbedov couldn't ask the question didn't mean that Zhou Ming couldn't see it. Zhou Ming said to him, 'Irbedov, you're thinking too much. The big business I'm talking about is actually the Dota Project, and the daily necessities and finance are one and the same.'

Irbedov shook his head and said, 'Mr. Zhou Ming, please forgive my lack of knowledge, I really don't understand how these two sides are one and the same.'

After Irbedov asked this question, Li Cheng and Tong Gang also curiously followed and watched Zhou Ming, waiting for his answer.

Zhou Ming thought for a moment and didn't give a direct answer, but instead asked a question in return: 'What do you think is the fundamental reason for the current plummeting of the ruble exchange rate?'

This question left Irbedov and the others confused, also because the question was so simple that they didn't think Zhou Ming's question would be so lacking in depth.

Zhou Ming then continued to ask, 'Do you all think that the current plummeting of the ruble exchange rate is due to the unlimited selling of rubles by the Dota Project at the securities company?'

Faced with this question, Irbedov and the others couldn't help but want to nod, but they all resisted in the end, waiting for Zhou Ming to reveal the final answer for them. Zhou Ming continued, 'Chairman Tong, Chairman Li, and Mr. Irbedov, you are all very capable businessmen, and I believe you all understand some of the most basic financial logic. Then I would like to ask: if the ruble is to depreciate so drastically, just how much selling is enough?'

Zhou Ming continued: 'Finance and doing business are sometimes the same. You need to invest capital first, and then wait until the entire business model is up and running to achieve the results you want, before you can recover your costs and generate a profit.'

'Indeed, many things have the same effect, but Mr. Zhou Ming, now the Dota project only needs to invest a very small part to create panic and make the people of Northern Russia sell their rubles themselves, and the same effect can be achieved,' said Irbedov.

Zhou Ming nodded and said, 'This is hedging, which is to use one's own capital advantage to create a trend within a certain range that one wants, so that people blindly follow the trend created by the banker and one can then profit from it. But here is a question: what has made the people lose confidence in the economy of Northern Russia, so that they will blindly follow the panic about the ruble created by the Dota Project, spontaneously selling the ruble and helping them short the ruble?'

This time, Li Chengtong and Irbedov stopped talking because they had already thought of something through Zhou Ming's guidance.

Of course, at this time, Zhou Ming didn't need them to answer anything. Zhou Ming answered for himself, 'It's because of the extreme shortage of daily necessities in Northern Russia!'

'Everyday necessities such as clothes, shoes, socks, knives, forks and tableware don't usually seem to be anything special or worth much, but once they are in short supply, they can be very deadly. As far as I know, Northern Russia is even running low on salt.'

Zhou Ming said, 'I come from mainland China, and I haven't systematically studied financial knowledge, but I can understand that if something is going to rise in price, it must be because it is rare. Otherwise, if something is sold everywhere on the streets and in the alleys, do you still think it will rise in price? As the saying goes, scarcity makes something precious. This is the truth.'

'Let's get back to the ruble,' Zhou Ming said. 'It was the scarcity of the most basic necessities in northern Russia that caused prices to skyrocket, and ultimately led to the collapse of the ruble exchange rate.'

'The reason is simple. Imagine that even a bag of salt costs thousands of rubles. What value is there in the ruble? Who in Northern Russia will trust the ruble?' Zhou Ming said, 'Because of this, as long as the Dota Project creates a little panic, it will immediately spread like wildfire, causing the people of Northern Russia to spontaneously help them sell their rubles.'

'So Zhou Ming, you want to solve the problem at the root. As long as you solve the crisis of daily necessities, the exchange rate of the ruble will naturally rise,' Li Cheng analysed.

Zhou Ming nodded and said, 'That's it. As long as we insist on paying in rubles to be able to trade, when there is an oversupply of these cheap daily necessities, I won't be able to find a reason for the ruble to continue to fall. What do you think?'

In the face of Zhou Ming's rhetorical question, Li Chengtong and Irbedov exchanged glances, and finally all gave Zhou Ming a thumbs-up: 'Zhou Ming, your idea is really brilliant!'