Chapter 113: Give me all your money

On the ring road out of Krisco, luxury cars were heading north, including Cadillacs, Bentleys, Lincolns, and Rolls Royces. There were all kinds of vehicles, and the number of these luxury cars was enough to support any luxury car show in the world. Now these cars were being led by an armoured car out of the city, leaving everyone along the way dumbfounded.

More than half an hour later, this special convoy arrived at the airport in the northern suburb of Krisko. This was Krisko's second airport, which was much smaller than the main airport. The number of daily departures was pitifully low, but it was still very important, and many aircraft could take off and land here.

The airport barrier opened, and these luxury cars drove in line, much to the surprise of the guard at the gate.

'Hey, Andre, is the president's plane landing today? Why are there so many cars here all of a sudden? They all seem to be very high-end cars, and there's an armoured car leading the way.' The younger security guard asked the older one next to him in a tone of voice that showed his surprise.

While the younger guard was talking, the older guard was still saluting the incoming motorcade. He only lowered his hand after hearing the question from the side and said, 'This is not the president's plane, and even if it were, only the Kremlin's cars would come, not a motorcade like this. I heard that the plane of another big shot is landing here today. He controls the wealth of our entire North Russia.'

The younger guard was very surprised: 'Is there really such a person? Shouldn't the president control the wealth of our country?'

The older guard added, 'You don't believe it, do you? Have you forgotten about the privatisation reforms? And now there's this securities company. It's all a mess. A Jew has seized the opportunity and has the entire country's wealth in his hands. All the businesses are counting on him to stay alive, because if he coughs, we won't be able to eat kebabs or drink vodka tomorrow.'

'That's terrifying,' said the younger guard, still shaken. 'Is that why there's such a motorcade waiting to greet him at the airport today?'

'That's right,' said the old guard, pointing far away at the cars. "Look at those cars, all of them super luxury cars worth at least a few million new rubles. Everyone who can afford to drive such luxury cars is a rich person in various industries. Look at the license plates. Some people even came from Petrograd and other cities. You can imagine what kind of people they are to be able to gather together and come to the airport to meet him together.'

The young guard gasped, stood there in a daze and muttered, "My goodness, this is really an amazing big shot!'

'I think a person like this is even more powerful than the President, because the President is subject to all kinds of restrictions in the Kremlin, but he can be free outside, just having to think about how he should spend the money we could never spend in ten lifetimes.' The old guard added, his tone full of awe and longing.

What the two guards didn't know was that the important person they were talking about was very anxious. He was sitting in his seat, shaking his legs non-stop, occasionally looking at his watch, his face full of impatience.

This important person was none other than the richest man in the Northern Russian Republic, Irbedov. He didn't know how many times he had looked at his watch. He had only one thought in his mind at the moment, and that was to hope that the plane would fly faster. He needed to get to Krisko as soon as possible.

Finally, twenty minutes later, Irbedov's private jet landed at the airport. As his plane landed, the fleet of luxury cars that had been waiting there drove up behind the passenger elevator. Lining up at the airport, a dozen people dressed in suits or tuxedos, who looked very wealthy, got out of the cars and waited at the cabin door.

Il'yichov did not make them wait long. As soon as the cabin door opened, he appeared and walked down the steps. He saw the crowd waiting for him below, and unlike the guards at the door, these people he knew. At the front of the group was Boltarsky, the owner of the largest private bank in Northern Russia and his biggest competitor; behind him was Kolkhod, the media mogul who had helped Zhou Ming in the past.

These two walked at the front, followed by others, including the industrial magnate Hoplov, who had come from Petrograd and once hosted Zhou Ming. These people were all the top wealthy people since the collapse of the Soviet Union, but now these people were also waiting anxiously, looking up at Irbeldov, like subordinates waiting for their leader.

Irbeldov stepped off the passenger elevator, and Bortaskey was the first to come up to him and greet him: 'Mr. Irbeldov, you've finally arrived. We've all been waiting here for far too long.'

Irbeldov glanced at Bortaskey. Despite their previous conflicts, this was not the time to talk about them. And Bortaskey's initiative to come up and greet him clearly meant that he had put aside those conflicts for the time being, because they currently had a more important goal.

As Bortaszki finished speaking, media mogul Kolhodo said, 'Mr. Irbeldov, it's great that you're back. If you weren't back, we wouldn't be able to sleep well.'

Behind these two men, the others also gathered around, each with their eyes on Irbeldov, speaking to him one after the other, all basically saying the same thing, waiting for him to help them make a decision.

In response, Irbedov said, 'First of all, I am very grateful to everyone for coming to the airport to meet me today. Of course, I understand everyone's purpose and thoughts today. Everyone wants to know the news, so let's not waste time here. Please come with me immediately to my villa to meet someone, because only this person can confirm the news and only this person can help us make a decision.'

Everyone was prepared for Irbeldov to say this, but now that they heard him say it, they still found it hard to accept.

'Is it that Chinese guy Zhou Ming? But I heard that this deal was a secret agreement between Mr. Meta and the Muling Palace?' Someone spoke up right away.

Irbeldov glanced at him: 'You're right, the two parties to this deal are indeed Mr. Meta and the Muling Palace, but you also have connections in the Muling Palace. Have you heard of this deal before?'

Faced with Irbedov's counter-question, the man was speechless, but another person asked, 'But Mr. Irbedov, don't you find it strange? Obviously, this transaction is so secretive, as the Muling Palace is seeking foreign exchange reserves to support the new ruble, so how did the Chinese know about this transaction?'

'Before answering your question, I advise you not to use those disrespectful terms for the Chinese in front of me again, or I will definitely smash your head!'

Irbeldov first warned angrily, and then said, 'Your doubts are not wrong, but have you ever thought that if it weren't for Mr. Zhou Ming, could we participate in this deal? 5 billion US dollars to buy 140 billion new rubles, this is such a crazy deal. It was Mr. Zhou Ming who gave us the opportunity. How could we doubt it?'

Irbeldov saw that someone below still wanted to say something, so he immediately added, 'I think it's a waste of time for us to discuss this here. We should go to my villa first. Mr. Zhou Ming is already waiting there. I believe that once we get there, all your problems will be solved.'

After saying this, Irbeldov pushed his way through the crowd and walked towards his car, followed by Kolkho.

Everyone watched them leave in a daze, a little forgetful of their own thoughts. But then Hoplov, an industrial magnate from Petrograd, spoke up first, saying, 'Didn't everyone come here waiting for this deal?' and then he followed Irbeldov and left as well.

Hoplov's actions suddenly woke everyone up. They then realised that their real purpose for coming here was not to doubt the Chinese, but for this deal.

In fact, these people did not come here deliberately to be serious, but the gap in this deal itself was too large. To put it more seriously, it was completely selling out the country. If a businessman who only cares about money did it, it would still be acceptable, but the Mlin Palace, as the current centre of state power in Northern Russia, is unbelievable.

But now that this hurdle has been overcome, they don't want to think about it for now, so they followed him back to their car. This convoy started up again and left the airport, heading towards Irbeldov's villa.

Since the villa Irbeldov lent to Zhou Ming was in the eastern suburbs of Krisko, it took a full two hours before they arrived at their destination. There was no difference between this place and when Meta came here. When so many luxury cars arrived here led by an armoured car, Zhou Ming was still sitting under the huge oak tree drinking tea. He was joined by a few Chinese people, namely Su Han, Du Peng and Li Chengtong.

Seeing Irbedov get out of the car, Zhou Ming waved at him and said, 'You're back pretty quickly. It's good to have a private jet. My friends here brought some very good West Lake Longjing from China. Do you want to try some?'

As he said this, Zhou Ming poured him a cup of tea himself. Irbekov hurried two steps forward and said, 'Mr. Zhou Ming, do you think I could come as soon as possible? The news you brought me is really one bombshell after another, and it's impossible for me to calm down in Siberia. What I'm worried about is what's going on here. I know Chinese tea is very tasty, but right now I'm more concerned about your dealings with Mr. Maita and the Kremlin.'

Zhou Ming glanced behind him and put down his teacup, saying, 'So that's it. It seems that you are all very concerned. I made a mistake.'

'I believe you all already know about this deal and are also very concerned about how to participate in this extremely profitable deal,'

Zhou Ming said loudly. Irbedov and the others nodded desperately. Zhou Ming continued, 'If that's the case, and you want to participate, then come on, let's all hand over your money to me first.'