Chapter 228: Xu Maohe's Big Project

After landing in Ice City, Li Xian had planned to head straight back to Bangye. But before he could even leave the airport, he received a call from Xu Maohe.

Xu Maohe had handled the batch of machine tools for Li Xian after the New Year. At that time, Li Xian was in a rush to recover the funds to invest in the Red Flower Factory, so he chose to act quickly, as he believed time was money.

However, Xu Maohe had a different perspective.

After being swindled in Russia earlier, the batch of machine tools that Xu Maohe acquired when he and Li Xian took advantage of Gaidar's downfall to acquire the Chita Alyosha Factory had turned out to be his biggest business deal in recent years. He aimed for maximum profit.

When he bought that batch of machine tools, he had been smart enough to artificially wear out most of the 40 machine tools' guide rails. He also procured a batch of spare parts through Cheng Liu in Russia, making an extra two million from this "after-sales" service.

After completing this deal and accounting for the share he had with Li Xian, Xu Maohe had made about fifteen million. Although this asset wasn't the top in Ice City, it placed him among the top one percent.

With money in hand, he began contemplating what to do next.

He first visited Russia and took a tour around Cheng Liu's big market. However, the market was still under construction and hadn't begun official operations. Moreover, Russia's political climate was unstable, and the recent legalization of air gun sales since the end of last year had led to unrest. The smuggling gangs had become a prime target for small-time Russian thugs, creating a tense atmosphere.

After the Chita deal, Xu Maohe felt that small transactions were no longer appealing.

He didn't want to make small money; he wanted something bigger.

Fortunately, after returning to China, he was introduced to a project through friends.

However, after reflecting, he realized that the domestic situation was changing too rapidly. Money was depreciating quickly, and he needed to do something with it.

He couldn't just rely on project dividends and remain idle.

After much thought, he decided that working with Li Xian again would be more comfortable. So, he reached out to Li Xian to team up for another venture.

As soon as he landed, Li Xian called Xu Maohe and learned that he was already waiting at the airport exit.

Sure enough, at the exit, Li Xian spotted Xu Maohe dressed in flashy white rainforest attire, sporting a large pair of frog-eye sunglasses and his hair styled into a "Fuceng Fen" look, resembling Aaron Kwok from the Four Heavenly Kings.

Aaron Kwok had become a sensation in mainland China, a dream lover for many girls and women, especially at his peak. His hairstyle had become popular in China since 1992, though Xu Maohe's attempt to replicate it wasn't quite successful. His face didn't suit the style, making him look like a poor imitation.

Despite this, Li Xian hadn't seen Xu Maohe in a while and was looking forward to catching up.

"Ah, Xianzi, I've missed you so much!" Xu Maohe exclaimed, seemingly even more eager. Ignoring the heat, he greeted Li Xian with a big bear hug.

"Ugh," Li Xian was overwhelmed by the strong scent of cologne. "Did you bathe in perfume or something?"

Xu Maohe was more than a little put off, "You don't understand. This cologne helps ward off mosquitoes. There are so many mosquitoes these days."

The mosquitoes in this season were indeed quite troublesome. Unlike the small, agile mosquitoes of twenty years later, these were large, dark, and aggressive, attacking at the scent of sweat. Swat them, and they either get squashed or drain your blood.

However, it was clear that Xu Maohe's use of cologne was not just for mosquito repellent.

"Repelling mosquitoes, my foot. I bet you're trying to attract butterflies." Li Xian said, unimpressed.

Xu Maohe laughed sheepishly and didn't deny it. He took Li Xian's bag and draped an arm around his shoulder as they left the airport.

Seeing Xu Maohe's white BMW 320, a model rarely seen in Harbin, Li Xian couldn't help but smile.

Why does everyone around me seem so wealthy now?

Noticing Li Xian's reaction, Xu Maohe proudly showed off, "Just got it, sixty thousand dollars! The only one in Harbin. What do you think?"

"Rear-wheel drive in winter? Are you not afraid of getting stuck in a ditch?" Li Xian responded.

While luxury brands like BMW and Mercedes were rare in Northeast China, it wasn't due to a lack of wealth but because they were impractical. With temperatures often dropping below minus thirty degrees Celsius and roads covered in ice and snow, only flagship models with all-wheel drive could handle the conditions. This was why SUVs and Audis had become more popular.

Li Xian felt that Xu Maohe's BMW 320, which cost sixty thousand dollars, was a poor investment—a car that could only be used for six months a year and would just gather dust in the garage for the other six.

It was a display of extravagance.

Xu Maohe seemed to realize this and was taken aback by Li Xian's comment. After a moment, he shrugged it off, "We'll deal with winter when it comes."

As Xu Maohe continued to boast, they arrived at the Russian restaurant Li Xian had visited before on Central Street. Xu Maohe went out to make a call and, upon returning, ordered the most expensive food and drinks. His lavish spending made the restaurant staff smile warmly.

With money comes respect.

Li Xian clicked his tongue, trying to curb Xu Maohe's excessive spending, "Xu Ge, money isn't meant to be spent like this. Be careful."

"It's fine! When I'm out, I always spend like this. Why should I save up when you're here?" Xu Maohe waved at the waiter. "Red wine, get me some Georgian stuff. Bring a case over, and we'll drink as much as we want!"

"Sure thing!" The waiter responded promptly.

Li Xian shook his head and didn't stop him.

Russia didn't have notable wine regions, so the Russian restaurants in Harbin rarely had good wines. The best ones available were from Georgia or Moldova, and even those were expensive. Georgian wine, in particular, cost twice as much as Moldovan wine due to Stalin's preference for it.

"Old Xu, how much of your money is left?" Li Xian asked with a smile as the waiter piled up bottles of red wine. "You sold over a thousand machine tools."

Xu Maohe took a drag from a cigarette and grinned, "Over three million."

"Really?!" Li Xian was shocked. "That batch of machine tools sold for over a thousand!"

Xu Maohe waved dismissively, "Even if I spend, I can't blow through that much. I've invested it!"

Xu Maohe lowered his voice, looking mysterious.

Seeing his secretive demeanor, Li Xian felt relieved—at least he hadn't wasted the money.

"What did you invest in? Over a million?" Li Xian was curious. Xu Maohe's connections were in the smuggling circle, where money flowed easily and people took risks, so he was intrigued.

"Did you partner with Miao Qizhong to develop the northwest Himalayas?" Li Xian speculated, as it was plausible given their connections.

Xu Maohe shrugged, "Miao Qizhong isn't the same as when he was trading cans for airplanes. His current projects are unreliable. Exploding the Himalayas to create rainwater? Even if he can get it started, the scale and duration of the project are enormous. I think it's doubtful. I'm not getting involved with him."

Li Xian was reassured that despite Xu Maohe's occasional extravagance, he was still clear-headed about major investments.

"So what project are you involved in?" Li Xian asked quietly. "Is there an opportunity in China? Tell me."

On the flight back, Li Xian had been contemplating his financial situation. He remembered that during the first CCTV bidding in 1994, Qin Pool won the top spot with over thirty million. Though this year's bidding was a year earlier, the market dynamics hadn't changed significantly. Li Xian believed he needed at least thirty-five million to be safe.

Currently, he had just over one million in movable funds. The agent rights for sanitary napkins might bring in about five hundred thousand. He planned to sell some antiques from his high school days, but some were too valuable to sell now and needed to be kept for future value.

If done well, he might have over ten million. But there was still a twenty million gap for competing for the top spot.

This money couldn't be expected from Bangye—apart from the yen loans invested in equipment, the entire county might not have more funds than Xu Maohe's bank account.

Li Xian had little hope.

Hearing that Xu Maohe had an investment project, which seemed to be a quick-money scheme, he was very curious.

Xu Maohe looked around cautiously, then grinned with excitement, "This time, I'm on solid ground. A buddy from the tax bureau helped me out. It's a high-tech project, about to enter the production stage. I estimate that in a month, my ten million will turn into fifteen million, and in six months, fifteen million will become twenty-five million!"

"What is it?" Xu Maohe's mysterious behavior piqued Li Xian's curiosity even more.

"Foamable fuel and water-based fuel!"

Xu Maohe

's excitement was palpable. "The factory is being built and will be operational soon."

Li Xian was stunned. The concept of foamable and water-based fuel sounded too good to be true. His mind raced as he struggled to comprehend it. He wanted to speak but was overwhelmed by anger and frustration, unable to find the words.

His hands shook, and a bottle of red wine fell, spilling its deep red contents on the wooden floor.

Watching Xu Maohe continue to boast about this national-level project, Li Xian was speechless.

Heaven has its way, and hell has its doors. 

"Damn it, water turning into oil!" 

A few minutes later, Li Xian was chasing Xu Maohe around the room with a fork, seething with rage.