Chapter 139: Do things with peace of mind

With Tong Gang's words, Li Cheng and Ildevaldov next to him also turned their heads and looked at Zhou Ming. Their eyes were full of eagerness. As for the other one, Sergeyevsky's focus was on the petrochemical industry, but it was not only the oil industry. Due to his cooperation with Ildevaldov, he was also involved in finance. Therefore, when he heard this, he was naturally also very concerned.

Compared to their anxiety, Zhou Ming just gave a faint smile and said, 'Chairman Tong, Chairman Li, and Mr. Irbedov, I have a habit of seeing things through to the end. I can't do things halfway.'

After saying this, Zhou Ming paused for a moment and then continued, 'And I don't think there's any need to rush things over there...'

Zhou Ming's words were interrupted by Irbedov: 'Why is there no need to hurry? I admit that on this side of Siberia, Mr. Zhou Ming has not only gained a lot of benefits for yourself and us, but also for your motherland. But Krisko is the most important, isn't it?'

Irbeldov saw that Zhou Ming was just looking at him without immediately answering, and he immediately responded: 'Mr. Zhou Ming, I'm sorry, I'm not questioning your decision. I'm just expressing the thoughts I want to express the most, that's all.'

Zhou Ming shrugged: 'Mr. Irbeldov, you don't need to apologize, because I don't blame you in any way.'

'I also believe that Mr. Zhou Ming must be a magnanimous person.' Irbedov first threw out such a compliment, and then changed the subject and continued, 'But what happened in Krisco was really too much. At the beginning, you and Mr. Meta had clearly agreed to help him share the benefits of the Dota project together, but now he has betrayed you and wants to take the money for himself while you are gone!

At the end, Irbedov even said with a critical heart, 'I even suspect that he deliberately threw out the benefits of the oil field in order to distract you from Krisco!'

Zhou Ming still didn't say anything in a hurry, but first turned his head to look at Li Cheng and Tong Gang. They also had very concerned expressions on their faces. Li Cheng smiled and asked Zhou Ming, 'As long as you, little brother Zhou Ming, don't really believe that it's just a coincidence, otherwise we'll have to consider leaving you behind.'

Zhou Ming smiled. He knew exactly what coincidence Li Cheng was talking about, because they still had it in their hands: today's newspaper. President Nikolayevich of Northern Russia had signed an order to use three billion US dollars of foreign exchange reserves to ensure that the exchange rate of the new ruble remained stable.

This piece of news is actually very ordinary. After the collapse of the Soviet Union, Northern Russia split off and abolished the old rubles issued by the former Soviet Union and replaced them with the new rubles. It is not surprising that a large amount of foreign exchange reserves were used to save the exchange rate of the ruble. However, the fundamental problem now is that the government of Northern Russia simply does not have any money.

From Nikolaievich's speech as he climbed onto the tank in front of the White House to the last Soviet president, Baghchov, signing the order to dissolve the Soviet Union, the dissolution of the Soviet Union seemed to have been a smooth transition, and everything, including the nuclear arsenal of the defence forces, was transferred peacefully. However, this does not mean that Northern Russia has truly inherited everything from the Soviet Union. For example, much of the wealth from the Soviet era was not left to Northern Russia.

Most of this wealth is in the hands of former senior Soviet officials, and much of it is also in foreign banks. Due to the turbulent situation in the Soviet Union, the Western countries, for peace's sake, took the opportunity to freeze almost all the deposits, which made the finances of the new North Russian Republic extremely difficult.

Zhou Ming had heard a very ridiculous thing before. This year, a civil war broke out in a country in North Africa. The original President of North Russia, Nikolayevich, was invited to attend the North African Peace Conference, but he had to cancel the trip because Nikolayevich could not afford the hotel accommodation.

How can the president of a country not be able to afford accommodation when travelling abroad? This is an unbelievable story to the average person, but it really happened.

However, this also proves how dire North Russia's financial situation is. So how could such a financially desperate country suddenly come up with 3 billion dollars? There is only one possibility: he got the money from the West through the deal with the Tower Project.

This was not just their conjecture. When Irbedov saw the news, he immediately contacted Krisco and got the result that Nikolajevich had secretly made a deal with Meta.

The news was confirmed, and both Li Chengdong and Irbedov were shocked. Although neither of them believed that Mr. Mata would keep his promise, they never imagined that he would make a move so soon after they left Krisco, and that it was even reported in the newspaper for them to know. In a place unknown to them, only God knows what happened, so how could they not be nervous and anxious?

'Li Dong, Li Brother, please believe me. Of course I don't think it's a coincidence. On the contrary, I think the same thing as everyone else: this is what Mr. Meta has done behind our backs that we don't know about, and he has definitely done more than that, there must be more,' Zhou Ming said.

'Mr. Zhou Ming, since you understand, why are you still here? Even if you want to go skiing, Mr. Zhou Ming, the first snow in Siberia is simply not enough,' Irbedov said in a tone of voice that showed his incomprehension.

'But Mr. Irbedov, the news from Krisko has already come out, and what was supposed to happen or not happen has already happened, hasn't it? Can we just hurry back and change everything right away, so that what happened will just disappear like Cinderella's glass slipper at midnight? Gentlemen, I feel I should remind you that we are not in a fairy tale.'

Zhou Ming added at the end, 'And Mr. Irbedov, I want to tell you that I can't ski at all.'

Zhou Ming said this deliberately to imitate the way Westerners speak, and it had a very good effect at this time. Sure enough, after listening to Zhou Ming's words, both Ilbedov and Li Chengtong laughed. Zhou Ming then continued, 'The last thing I want to say is that since everyone has chosen to believe in me, please believe in the end. Believe that no matter what happens in Krisco, and no matter what deal Mr. Meta and the President make, I can turn this situation around!'

If Zhou Ming's previous words just made people feel relaxed, then his last sentence gave them sufficient confidence.

This time, Li Cheng looked around and said, 'In China, there is a saying: "Trust people without doubting them, and don't use people without trust". It means that once you choose to trust someone, you must trust them completely, no matter what they do. I worked with Brother Zhou Ming the earliest, which was still a year and a half ago, but in fact, I started paying attention to him from that Black Monday. So no matter what he does, I will trust him.'

Tong Gang glanced at Li Cheng, and he also made his position clear: 'Little Brother Zhou Ming was originally in charge of this side of Northern Russia. I am only a shareholder, and I only have the power to dismiss him, but not the power to interfere with what he does.'

Li Cheng and Tong Gang both expressed their opinions, and Irbedov finally folded his arms: 'Well gentlemen, since you have all made your decisions, I can only follow your arrangements. In fact, I want to say that it is also a very rare thing to be able to see snow in September. Even in Siberia, you don't see it every year. There is nothing bad about staying and seeing it.'

In Irbedov's humour, everyone laughed heartily, and the matter was thus settled. Only Li Cheng looked deeply at Zhou Ming a few times.

When the time came in the evening, Li Cheng knocked on Zhou Ming's door. Su Han went to open the door and said, 'Hello, Mr Li, Zhou Ming is already waiting for you.'

Li Cheng was surprised for a moment. He walked in, sat down in front of Zhou Ming, and asked with a puzzled expression, 'Little brother Zhou Ming, did you guess that I was coming?'

'Thank you very much for your cooperation this afternoon, Mr Li. If you hadn't spoken first, I would have had to spend a lot more time talking.' Ming nodded, but then said something that didn't seem to fit in.

Li didn't care, and he shook his head, saying, "That's nothing. What's on your mind?'

Ming didn't answer right away, but looked up at Li. Li said, "I know you're not as confident as you've shown today.'

'It seems that nothing can hide from Chairman Li,' Zhou Ming said with emotion in his voice. 'After all, the interests in Krisco are at least tens of billions. Not to mention the interests in the oil fields here, just this amount alone is not of the same order of magnitude. Now that Mr. Mata obviously no longer cares about his reputation, how could I not be worried?'

Li Cheng looked at Zhou Ming and suddenly frowned, 'Are you trying to reassure them...or reassure us?'

'I'm saying, Brother Li, can you not be so clever and leave some suspense for me to reveal!' Zhou Ming said.

Li Cheng ignored Zhou Ming's teasing and just took a deep breath and said, 'The Art of War says that the person who is calm in the face of danger can be a general. What it means is that the person who is the best at commanding soldiers must be able to remain calm no matter what kind of danger they encounter. Because the general is the courage of the army, only the general can remain calm to ensure the stability of the army's morale, and not to panic. It seems that little brother Zhou Ming is treating us like a team.'

Zhou Ming scratched his head apologetically: 'Li Dong, I actually didn't dare to think like that. I just feel at ease beforehand. If we all panic, even if we return to Krisco, it will be useless.'

Li Cheng smiled and said, 'I don't mean to blame you in any way. As Chairman Tong said today, you are the one in charge here, and I will fully support any decision you make. Sometimes, even being a small soldier under you doesn't feel like a big deal.'

Zhou Ming politely said that he was flattered, and Li Cheng asked again, 'So, how confident are you about Krisco?'

Before Zhou Ming could reply, Li Cheng added, 'This time I want the truth.' Zhou Ming was taken aback by this and said, 'Chairman Li is being paranoid. Of course I will tell the truth. It's just that I don't have any confidence at all, not even one percent. I can only judge after I return to Krisco and learn more.'

Li Cheng nodded silently and finally patted Zhou Ming on the shoulder, saying, "Do a good job. I still have the same thing to say: no matter what you do, I will trust you.'

'Thank you very much," Zhou Ming said.