Chapter 71: Mastering the Ruble

'Mr. Zhou Ming really has lofty ambitions!'

The middle-aged man with the longest tenure at the Chelf Market gave Zhou Ming a thumbs-up, but although he said this, anyone here could hear the politeness in his words.

But it's no wonder. Just now, Zhou Ming said that he would sell the most ordinary and cheapest daily necessities, and that just by insisting on trading in roubles, he would become the master of Northern Russia. If that were really the case, then anyone who shipped a shipload of daily necessities here could become the master of this superpower, and this superpower would be useless.

Li Cheng and Tong Gang, who were standing next to them, also said at this time, 'Director Qian, this is because you don't understand Zhou Ming. He is a very smart person who always has unexpected ideas. Otherwise, we businessmen from Gangcheng wouldn't have travelled thousands of miles to invest so much money here.'

Tong Hua, who would later become the first person to become the chief executive of Gangcheng, suddenly blurted out, 'Gangcheng has suddenly lost so much money, but it has kept the Gangcheng stock market depressed.'

'Tong Hua has his own financial company, and recently because we have been dismantling capital from Gangcheng on a large scale, it has made his company very difficult to do business,'

Tong Gang explained this to his son, which made everyone laugh. Zhou Ming said, 'The current difficulties are for a better take-off in the future!'

These people chatted for a while, and then Director Qian said, 'There are too many people here and it's too chaotic. Let's not talk here. My house is inside the market. Why don't you gentlemen come to my place, we can drink tea and chat. I have some excellent Dahongpao tea, and now is the perfect opportunity to enjoy it.'

He then gestured to invite Zhou Ming and the others to go inside the market, but Zhou Ming shook his head at this time and said, 'Thank you very much, Director Qian, but I think we should go and taste it next time. For now, let's go to the management office at the entrance of the market and wait. If there are no unexpected circumstances, our Western friends should be here soon. After all, they don't want to let us take the initiative in ruling this country.'

Director Qian was stunned by Zhou Ming's words, and then nodded and said yes, and led Zhou Ming and the others to the management office in front.

When they arrived at the management office, the group had coffee in the reception room and chatted idly, but Zhou Ming could tell that no matter what they were talking about, their minds were not on it. In their opinion, it didn't matter what they were talking about now, what was important was what was going to happen next.

Western friends will be coming soon, and they all know who these so-called Western friends are – they are none other than the people from the Tower Project. But even if they understand, will those people really come? Do they also think that Zhou Ming can really dominate this country by transporting ten thousand tons of daily necessities here to sell? This is too much of a myth, so they have to wait here for the moment when a miracle happens.

Compared to these people's waiting and doubt, Zhou Ming appeared full of confidence, which made them even more suspicious. They had no idea where Zhou Ming's confidence came from, and Zhou Ming didn't explain it either.

In this way, in doubt and waiting, an hour quickly passed. Suddenly, the door to the reception room was knocked on urgently, and then a secretary ran in and reported to Director Qian, 'There is an American named William outside who is looking for Mr. Zhou Ming.'

Li Cheng and Director Qian both subconsciously turned their heads to look at Zhou Ming, and then Director Qian asked the secretary, 'Did he say anything else?'

The secretary nodded and said, 'Yes, he said a Mr. Davier told him to come here, saying it was related to the Dota Project.'

The female secretary's voice was soft and mellow and very pleasant to hear, but her words at this time sounded like a heavy bomb dropped in the office. First of all, it was David, and even the most peripheral and ignorant person would understand that he was the person in charge of the Dota Project in Krisko, the commander who planned to plunder 20 trillion wealth on the side of Northern Russia.

Why would such a person send someone to find Zhou Ming? Could it really be that they were going to compromise with Zhou Ming?

Director Qian was shocked and at that moment, he couldn't find the words to say. He couldn't understand with his thinking how selling daily necessities could really dominate a country.

At this time, Zhou Ming was still calm in his thoughts. He asked the secretary, 'Did this Mr. William say anything else? Is he going to come in and find me?'

The secretary shook his head and replied, 'No, Mr. William just said that he wants to invite you to Villa 8 tomorrow. A very important gentleman is coming from the United States and wants to talk to you in person.'

From the United States? More important than David's identity!

When these two pieces of information were combined, one name came to mind: Mr. Meta. To be honest, this name is not as well-known internationally as those of the world's richest men, and it is even less well-known than some minor celebrities. However, it made Li Cheng and Tong Gang gasp in shock, because they both knew that this person was the US President's financial warfare expert and the highest-ranking person in charge of the entire Dota Project.

Zhou Ming also fell silent for a moment, then nodded and said, 'I understand, but please tell those Mr Williams that I am not interested in going to Villa 8 again. If Mr Maita is sincere, he should come find me at Hotel 1.'

The secretary seemed to have sensed the wrong atmosphere in the room. She subconsciously glanced at her leader, Director Qian, and only after getting his approval did she exit the room to convey Zhou Ming's words.

After the female secretary had exited the room, Li Chengcai said with emotion to Zhou Ming, 'Zhou Ming, you are truly impressive. You said that the Americans would come looking for you, and they really did.'

Tong Gang next to him asked him, 'But Zhou Ming, I'm curious as to why. Logically speaking, this shouldn't be the case.'

Zhou Ming nodded and said, 'Chairman Tong is right, this really shouldn't be the case, because those Americans, they have Project Tower, which is to plunder the entire Soviet Union's 20 trillion national wealth. With so much money, no matter where they are, they should be big shots in high places, and we are just selling daily necessities here, the class difference is too great.'

Li Chengtong and Director Qian were listening to Zhou Ming's words and kept nodding. Although they could all understand what Zhou Ming was saying, it still sounded a bit strange no matter how they listened to it. They always felt that Zhou Ming was mocking something.

Zhou Ming could tell from their expressions what they were thinking. Zhou Ming said, 'You don't need to understand, because I have already said before that whether it is selling daily necessities or insisting on trading in rubles, that is not my ultimate goal.'

'Then I wonder what your ultimate goal is, Mr. Zhou Ming?' Tong Hua asked Zhou Ming.

As the eldest son of a shipping magnate, Tong Hua is already in his forties this year, not much younger than Li Cheng, but it is still very natural for him to ask Zhou Ming with such respect, and it doesn't feel strange at all.

'My goal is to master the ruble,' Zhou Ming said.

Upon hearing this answer, Li Cheng and Tong Gang both fell silent, while Tong Hua and the Director Qian looked a little confused, and the interpreter Katerina looked at Zhou Ming with great admiration.

'What is a rouble? It is the currency here in Northern Russia. Although for many reasons, the rouble has now depreciated very greatly, and even the people of Northern Russia themselves don't believe in the rouble anymore, and want to sell it at the securities company, he is still the only legal currency recognised in Northern Russia, isn't he?' Zhou Ming said.

Li Cheng realised something at this time, and he looked up and asked Zhou Ming, 'Are you saying that you want to use the trade in these daily necessities to absorb as many Khrushchev roubles as possible into our hands?'

A very calm question, but it shocked everyone in the room, especially the Director Qian. He stared at Zhou Ming with his mouth wide open, incredulously, 'Mr. Zhou Ming, are you saying that you want to use the trade in daily necessities to absorb all the rubles in Krisko into our hands? My God, what kind of move is this? How is this possible?'

'Why not?' asked Zhou Ming, 'I think you, Director Qian, have also seen the situation outside. Many northern Russians are buying like crazy. Because of problems with the industrial configuration here in the Soviet Union, these most basic necessities of life are the things they lack the most.'

Zhou Ming paused for a moment after saying this, and then continued, 'Of course you may doubt the value of these daily necessities. It is true that the value of these goods themselves is not high, but that is not important. In the current economic environment of Northern Russia, we have artificially driven up the prices. Otherwise, how could a bottle of Coke sell for 400 rubles? You have to know that just two months ago, it was only worth a maximum of five rubles, and it has suddenly gone up nearly a hundred times. This is profiteering!'

'But Mr Zhou Ming, that's not how you do the math, is it? Two months ago, the ruble had not depreciated that much, so how can you compare it to now?' Director Qian said with a strange look on his face.

Zhou Ming shook his head and said with a smile, 'I don't think Director Qian understands what I mean. I'm saying that we should get as many rubles as possible and keep them all in our hands, nothing more.'

'But in that case, Mr Zhou Ming, won't you lose money?' Director Qian asked curiously.

'In fact, you won't,' said Li Cheng, who was speaking this time, in reply to Director Qian. 'Because as business on the Cherv market picks up, all the people from Northern Russia will come here to exchange their money for roubles so that they can buy things here. Then naturally the exchange rate for the rouble will rise again. Since the exchange rate for the rouble can rise, and our prices are relatively high, we won't lose money.'

Tong Gang also reacted over there. He took up Li Cheng's words and continued: 'And another very important point is what Brother Zhou Ming said about mastering the ruble.'

Zhou Ming nodded and said: 'Yes, perhaps many people have not noticed that this depreciation of the ruble is not a depreciation of the ruble in general. Because neither the previous Soviet Union nor the current government of Northern Russia has issued excessive amounts of rubles. In other words, the issuance of rubles has always been very stable. In other words, there are only so many rubles in circulation in the market.'

Zhou Ming stopped there and asked Director Qian, 'Do you understand what I mean?'

'Is this...is this what you mean by mastering the ruble?' Director Qian stuttered.

'That's right,' Zhou Ming said, 'no matter where you are, only the person who controls the money can be the master of the country!'

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