Chapter 146: Internal and external troubles at their peak

'Mr. Meta, it seems that this Chinese man from the far east is very stubborn and he does not accept your proposal.'

Villa 8, Davier put down the phone and said to Meta, who was sitting in a chair in the courtyard at this time, chatting with a guest. This guest was none other than Irbedov, who Zhou Ming and the others had been talking about.

Mata nodded, indicating that this was to be expected. Davier then asked Irbedov, 'You used to work with Zhou Ming of China the longest. Do you have anything to say about his current attitude?'

Facing Davier's question, Irbedov's face turned red for a moment. After all, he had betrayed his cooperation with Zhou Ming, and he always felt a little guilty in his heart. However, this sense of guilt was immediately suppressed. Irbedov thought for a moment and said, 'This Mr. Zhou Ming seems to me to be a very arrogant person. He believes in his own judgment so much that it is difficult for him to listen to other people's opinions, especially opinions from his opponents.'

'It is said that only geniuses are arrogant, because geniuses are confident in their own judgment, but if someone who is not a genius is still arrogant, the result will be tragic,' said Davier. 'If it weren't for the Chinese Zhou Ming being so arrogant, I believe Mr. Irbedov would not have come to us today, right?'

Irbedov just smiled awkwardly at this question, not knowing how to answer.

But Davier didn't need an answer from him, and then he said to Maita, 'I say, Mr. Maita, it seems to me that you made a very stupid decision to let me make this phone call to the Chinese Zhou Ming.'

Mata frowned immediately when he heard Davier say this, and William next to him immediately said, 'Mr. Davier, I ask you to use the previous honorific language. Mr. Mata has already made it very clear that he admires the mind of that Mr. Zhou Ming, and it is also for the sake of maximizing the benefits of this Dota project. If you, Mr. Davier, insult Mr. Mata because of this, then I would really feel sad for you.'

Davier laughed disdainfully, but then spread his hands and said, 'Okay, I admit that my words were a bit harsh, and I can apologize to Mr. Meta for this.'

'That's not necessary. I had some selfish motives in asking Mr. Davier to make this call in the first place, and it is only reasonable for Mr. Davier to feel that this approach is inappropriate.'

This time, without waiting for William to say anything, Meta spoke first, but he looked at Davier twice while he was talking.

'Mr. Mata is indeed a man of foresight,' said Davier, clapping his hands. 'But speaking of that Chinese Zhou Ming, I think he is currently facing internal and external troubles!'

...

'Are you calling this internal and external troubles? Indeed, but I think our internal and external troubles have only just begun.'

While Davie and Meta were talking about internal and external troubles in Villa 8, Zhou Ming and Su Han were also talking about this topic in the room of Hotel 1.

Su Han was nervous when Su Han said, 'What do you mean, Zhou Ming, that the internal and external troubles have only just begun? Is it because Irbeldov went to Villa 8 today?'

Zhou Ming nodded and said yes, and Su Han immediately became nervous: 'So what should we do? Should we go talk to them right away?'

Zhou Ming shook his head and said, 'That's not necessary. Besides, I think we'll have some time to relax next, so we can ask Katerina if there are any must-see attractions in Krisco. It seems that since you guys arrived, we've been busy with things and haven't been anywhere yet. After all, this is also an ancient country that has been around for hundreds of years, and it's still our big brother, so there are still a lot of places worth seeing.'

Hearing Zhou Ming's words, Su Han said blankly, 'Zhou Ming, why are you saying that? What's happening now is just the beginning, you can't give up, you have to keep going!'

Su Han's words left Zhou Ming at a loss. He understood that Su Han was saying this because she remembered the last time he talked about the situation of internal and external troubles, and how he had been so tired that he wanted to give up. So Zhou Ming said, 'Xiaohan, don't worry, if I really wanted to give up, I would have given up last time. Since I have now decided to persevere, I definitely won't give up again.'

Finally, Zhou Ming added, 'I'm saying this because we really won't have much to do next, including news.'

This remark surprised Du Peng and Su Han. At the moment, they had no idea what Zhou Ming meant, even with Du Peng's intelligence and the closeness between Su Han and Zhou Ming. It wasn't until two days later that they understood just how prescient Zhou Ming's words were.

A day later, when Zhou Ming took Su Han and Du Peng on a boat ride on the Krisco River, Kalelina, a native of Krisco, acted as the tour guide on the boat, introducing the sights to them: 'Over there is the Daumling Palace, divided into two parts: the tourist attraction and the residence of the national leader. The tourist attraction is full of artistic atmosphere, with the famous Ivan Clock Tower at its centre.'

'Oh yes, there is also a Tsar Cannon at the ferry terminal. It is the largest cannon in the world and was used to defend the city. But ironically, like the world's largest bell in the bell tower, it has never been rung since it was cast,' said Katerina.

After a tour on the Krutitsky River, they finally had lunch on the boat. This time, Katerina stepped forward and personally cooked grilled fish for them.

After eating the grilled fish, Du Peng leaned back in his chair and looked at his watch in surprise. 'Zhou Ming, this is not scientific. Usually the phone keeps ringing one after the other, but today it's afternoon and there hasn't been a single call. Is the stock exchange closed today?'

Su Han also suddenly remembered when Du Peng mentioned it, but when she looked over at Zhou Ming, he just gave a small smile: 'This is normal, there's nothing to be surprised about. Have you forgotten what I told you before, that we would have a few days off?'

'Indeed, since yesterday, the phone has been ringing very rarely. Could it be that these guys have really betrayed us and gone to the Dota Project?' Du Peng frowned and said.

'These guys are really too hateful. Zhou Ming, you helped them so much, and now they betray you without even saying goodbye. It's so infuriating!' Su Han also felt indignant for Zhou Ming. Although Zhou Ming was a little helpless about this, after all, they were also betraying him. Did they have to tell him before betraying him? Then their brains really were stuck in the big iron gate!

Zhou Ming was able to let go: 'There's nothing we can do about it. Even Irbedov went to Villa 8 on his own initiative without telling us, so of course the others followed suit.'

At this time, Katerina suddenly interrupted, saying, 'Mr. Zhou Ming, if this continues, will Mr. Tong Gang and Mr. Li Cheng...'

Karina didn't finish her sentence, but everyone understood what she meant. Su Han said first, 'That's impossible. After all, they came here with Zhou Ming. No matter if they're from the mainland or Hong Kong, they're still compatriots here, right? As the saying goes, blood is thicker than water, so they shouldn't be like the others.'

Du Peng didn't say anything and looked at Zhou Ming. Zhou Ming thought for a moment and said, 'It's true that they shouldn't be like that, but we need to find an opportunity to talk to them in the next few days, otherwise they're definitely going to lose their temper.'

Tong Gang and Li Chengguo really lived up to Zhou Ming's guesses. They really lost their temper. Just the day after Zhou Ming and the others went for a river cruise, they found Zhou Ming and questioned him, 'Mr. Zhou Ming, there has been no news for the past two days. But it's not because there is no news, it's because everyone is busy negotiating with the Dota Project because of the Yelbeldiev incident, right?'

Zhou Ming said with a wry smile, 'Chairman Tong, Chairman Li, I really didn't expect you to find out so quickly. I was planning to tell you in a couple of days.'

'Why didn't you tell us the first time? If we hadn't happened to call a Northern Russian partner today to discuss something, how long were you going to keep it from us?' Tong Gang did not soften his tone in response to Zhou Ming's explanation. He continued, 'Mr. Zhou Ming, we are not only partners, we are also compatriots, which is not easy here in Northern Russia. So I hope that when we encounter something, we can be honest and not hide it.'

Li Cheng also spoke up from the other side: 'I support Chairman Tong's words. Brother Zhou Ming, I know you are a very capable and self-confident person, but a capable person needs three helping hands. No one can succeed on their own. If there is trouble, you should tell us first.'

Zhou Ming made a gesture to stop Tong Gang and Li Cheng, saying, 'Chairman Tong, Director Li, I really have no intention of hiding anything from you. I'm not arrogant enough to say that I can defeat the world alone. It's just that the situation hasn't been confirmed yet, and I really can't tell you.'

'What else do you need to be sure of? Now they're not calling to tell us the news, isn't that the best proof?' Tong Gang said discontentedly, 'You may not know, just this morning, the stock market opened, and all the stocks skyrocketed by more than 150% within an hour. This was caused by the collaboration between those Northern Russian tycoons and the Dota Project. Isn't that proof?'

'This does prove it, but I'm still waiting for another piece of news. If I get that news, then it will be very easy for us to turn the tables. I've already asked Du Peng to contact the consulate...'

Zhou Ming's words were interrupted by Tong Gang, who was very angry: 'Mr. Zhou Ming, I hope you can recognise the reality of the situation and not daydream about unrealistic things. If you continue like this, I will consider withdrawing our investment immediately!'

After Tong Gang finished speaking, he got up and left angrily. Li Cheng saw what Tong Gang had done, and he also stood up. As Li Cheng has always valued human relationships, he was of course not as tough as Tong Gang, but he also said to Zhou Ming, 'Let him think about it and wake up.'

Facing the words of Tong Gang and Li Cheng, Zhou Ming let out a heavy sigh. He knew that his internal and external troubles had now reached their peak.

But as long as he got through the present, the future would be bright!