Scholars in the courtyard.

Chapter 2927 Can't you guys stand up for yourselves?

"This matter still needs to be left to you!"

After Mr. Chen finished speaking, the conference room fell silent.

Yang Xiaotao remained silent because he genuinely didn't know what to say.

Since Old Chen has already said so much, how could I refuse?
This is my dear superior!
It's really a close relationship!

The three elders, Qin, Wang, and Qin, remained silent, purely out of shock.

If we're talking about who knows the Nine Departments best, it has to be Old Chen, the head steward!
Even Yang Xiaotao doesn't know as much as Old Chen as Chen does how much money the Ninth Division has now.

Therefore, when Elder Chen said that the Ninth Division could do it and that it should be entrusted to the Ninth Division, it meant that the Ninth Division had the capability.

The Ninth Division has that capability!
Horrible, too scary!

Consider that the Ninth Division had already been carrying a ship.

Now we have to take on another pipeline.

What a physique!

None of the three families could shoulder these two burdens alone.

Even with three families working together, it's still exhausting.

But the nine departments suddenly took on two responsibilities at once, this...

Doesn't that mean they were fighting three of them by themselves?

Still wealthy?

Then all three of them showed curious expressions. Where did these nine departments get such a large fortune?
At first, Mr. Peng was just watching the show, but at this moment he also realized the meaning behind Mr. Chen's words.

He had heard people talk about the West-East Gas Pipeline project.

I also know the difficulties involved; the technology, the resources, the personnel, etc., are all significant.

Some people have even opposed doing it now, believing it to be a waste of resources and manpower, and that there is a risk involved.

But Old Chen has been pushing this forward, and now it seems he's serious!
No one spoke inside; you could hear even their quiet breathing.

After a moment, Yang Xiaotao said with a wry smile, "Boss, you think too highly of us!"

"We wouldn't dare take on such a huge project ourselves. What if we don't do it well? Wouldn't that be a waste of manpower and resources, resulting in half the effort for twice the result?"

"Sir, you should really reconsider this matter!"

"Our Ninth Division is really facing difficulties!"

Seeing Yang Xiaotao's pitiful appearance, Old Chen almost burst out laughing. "Keep pretending, kid!"

Yang Xiaotao quickly shook his head, "Boss, who am I pretending for?"

"It's really quite difficult!"

"We serve rice in huge bowls. You're a long-time leader, don't you know that?"

Yang Xiaotao said with a slightly aggrieved expression, but Old Chen shook his head, "That's why I came to you, precisely because I know about it."

"That's not right. We're already in such a difficult situation. This is so unfair to us."

"You should ask Old Wang; they're definitely better than us."

Old Wang subconsciously leaned back, avoiding the battle between the two.

Old Chen glanced at Old Wang, "They're no good."

Old Wang felt slighted, but at this critical juncture, it was best to remain a quiet listener.

As the two of them talked, the heads of everyone else in the room turned like windshield wipers, glancing at whoever was speaking, as if watching a show.

Finally, Old Chen put the cup down on the table, and the thud made Yang Xiaotao immediately put on a serious face.

It turns out that you can be all smiles and jokes when your boss is speaking to you politely.

But when a leader suddenly becomes serious, even if you have a very good reason, you have to be serious.

Now, not only Yang Xiaotao, but also the three old men, Qin Lao and his companions, are sitting obediently in their chairs with their backs ramrod straight.

Old Chen looked at Yang Xiaotao and tapped on the table with his finger, "You say it's difficult, right? Okay, let's discuss it!"

"The first one, a pharmaceutical company!"

"Not to mention anything else, just this cooperation with the United States has doubled our profits in just half a month!"

"Wow, so many? How come I didn't know?"

Now it was Yang Xiaotao's turn to be shocked, and then he saw Old Chen slapping his forehead.

In a moment of anger, I blurted out the truth!
He also wanted to retain a larger portion as start-up capital for the West-East Gas Pipeline project.

However, if we think that the matter still needs to be handled by the Ninth Department, then there's no need for that.

No, give them even more!
Just as Old Chen was pondering this, Yang Xiaotao asked directly, "Sir, really double?"

"Oh my god, I'll go ask about it later!"

Yang Xiaotao genuinely didn't know.

These financial reports are basically submitted monthly, and headquarters compiles them before giving them to him for signature.

He doesn't usually interfere.

Yang Xiaotao was shocked, and so were the others.

Especially Old Qin, who was both shocked and envious!

Their logistics department was seeing things getting worse day by day. They had planned a new type of aircraft project, and thought that cooperating with the Ninth Department would at least give them a breather.

But who knew that the Ninth Division would be pulled out to operate independently, developing carrier-based aircraft.

Now things are really messed up. Not only has the pressure on their shoulders increased dramatically, but they also have to buy alloy materials and aircraft engines from the Ninth Department.

What a huge loss!
However, President Peng was overjoyed to hear this. If these nine units made money, wouldn't that provide the funds for shipbuilding?

We were originally thinking of taking some money from our budget to help our comrades out of their own pockets, but now it seems they've solved it themselves.

The recovery speed of these nine parts is really fast.

Peng's eyes narrowed with laughter, and Old Chen sighed inwardly. He had thought that the Ninth Department was really going to have a tough time, but who would have thought that before the year was even over, it was already showing signs of getting back on its feet.

He even suspected that if Yang Xiaotao hadn't rushed to borrow 2 billion, he probably would have been able to catch his breath after the New Year.

This is also why he ultimately chose nine parts after much deliberation.

Even the crippled Ninth Division is more reliable than these three right now, let alone the Ninth Division after its economic exchanges with the United States.

This matter can only be handled by the Nine Departments, according to him.

"Then, boss, what about the rest of us?"

Yang Xiaotao realized that many of the products from the Ninth Department had strengthened trade with the United States.

The profit margin for this drug has doubled, so there's no reason why the others shouldn't be.

Sure enough, Old Chen said, "There are quite a few others as well."

"Among the several items counted in the foreign trade statistics, the pharmaceutical sector is the most profitable."

"In addition, the alliance also joined the procurement efforts, especially for anti-inflammatory drugs, which were purchased in large quantities and were quite profitable."

"Secondly, there are photocopiers, with a profit margin of about 1.5 times. The market in the United States has already opened up, but it's hard to say whether they will be copied later."

Yang Xiaotao nodded. The photocopier is a special case; it can be developed as long as the technology is available.

Thinking this way, Yang Xiaotao felt it was necessary to urge Xu Pengcheng and his team to speed up their research and develop a copier that could connect to a computer as soon as possible.

It would be best to make a printer.

"anything else?"

Yang Xiaotao felt there was still too little good news, so he wanted to ask Old Chen to continue, but Old Chen was too lazy to say anything.

Upon seeing this, Yang Xiaotao's face lit up with praise, "I'm not a leader, but although things are starting to look up, we still have a lot of tasks to complete."

"This ship needs to be built, and the airplanes on board also need to be built."

"This is a money-devouring beast! Just think how much money was spent on the J-8 fighter jet."

Like Old Wang, Old Qin leaned back in his chair.

The J-8 fighter jet was something he least wanted to talk about.

"I haven't finished speaking yet, why are you in such a hurry?"

Old Chen said irritably, then held up two fingers, "Second!"

"second?"

Yang Xiaotao was confused, and then he heard Old Chen say, "Secondly, you bought so much oil this time, don't tell me you don't understand it."

As soon as he finished speaking, Yang Xiaotao's facial muscles twitched twice; this loan was precisely for that purpose.

Now that Old Chen had seen through it, he immediately smiled and said, "Well, well, there's still no result yet!"

"is it?"

Old Chen countered, "Then do you want me to calculate it for you?" Although he didn't know how much profit this scheme would ultimately generate, since Yang Xiaotao dared to borrow two billion, he was sure he would make it back.

And we have to earn it back twice as much.

After Mr. Chen asked a question, Yang Xiaotao immediately shook his head, "Then it's not necessary, it's not necessary."

"I think it's still worth calculating."

"Yes, how about we do it?"

Old Wang and Old Qin asked questions one after another, and Old Zhang also showed a curious expression, as he didn't quite understand.

Upon hearing this, Old Chen looked at Yang Xiaotao and saw Yang Xiaotao waving his hand on the table. He then picked up his water glass, drank some water, and did not say anything further.

Seeing this, the three elders were somewhat disappointed.

However, they also realized that it seemed the Ninth Department was up to something again.

Old Wang stared at Yang Xiaotao, thinking to himself that he would have a good chat with the kid later. If he found a way to make money, he would definitely want to join the team.

All eyes in the conference room darted back and forth between Old Chen and Yang Xiaotao, trying to uncover the secret between the two.

After a moment, Yang Xiaotao gritted his teeth and said, "Boss, how about this?"

"If no one really cares about revolutionary construction!"

He glanced at the three men and said again, "Our Ninth Division can undertake this task, but in terms of time, it will have to wait until we finish the ship's business!"

The three of them glared at Yang Xiaotao; this guy was really wicked!

Just agree to it yourself, why kick them while they're down?
When Old Chen heard Yang Xiaotao say this, a smile appeared on his face. "Okay, let's set up the framework first, and then we can take our time to push things forward."

Upon hearing Yang Xiaotao's agreement, Old Chen's anxious heart finally settled down beneath his calm expression.

"Okay, we'll have a meeting of the nine departments later to discuss it and then we'll give you a proposal."

Yang Xiaotao responded, and then thought about leaving as soon as possible.

He felt that if things continued like this, who knew what might happen?

"Okay, you guys think about it first!"

Old Chen agreed and then looked at Boss Peng, who had been watching the show from the side.

Mr. Peng quickly said, "It's nothing else, let's all go."

As soon as he finished speaking, Yang Xiaotao immediately stood up, nodded to President Peng, and then walked quickly outside.

Before Qin Lao and the other two could react, they had already run out of the conference room.

Seeing this, Old Wang was about to get up and leave, but Old Chen stood up at this moment, "You three!"

As soon as he finished speaking, Old Wang stopped himself, Old Qin opened his mouth, and Old Zhang's buttocks had just left the stool.

"Wait a minute!"

After Mr. Chen finished speaking, the three of them exchanged glances and then sat back down in their chairs with a sense of helplessness.

Then Old Chen said, "You guys are not young anymore, can't you take the initiative to share the burden?"

"What about revolutionary consciousness?"

"Can't you stand up for yourself?"

Before Old Wang could explain, Old Chen said directly, "Alright, let's go!"

"You need to be more proactive in these kinds of situations in the future."

After saying that, he walked out with President Peng.

The three of them stood there, stunned.

Just to say these few words?

"Damn it, that kid got away."

When Wang realized what was happening, he immediately understood that Chen was intentionally buying time for Yang Xiaotao.

"Hmph, you can run away, but you can't hide!"

"Let's go to the Ninth Division; we can find something to eat there."

Old Wang offered his suggestion, but Old Zhang shook his head directly, "I have some things to do at the Third Ministry of Machine Building, so I won't go for now."

Old Qin sighed and then shook his head as well, "I'm not going either."

Finally, Old Wang stood in the conference room watching the two leave. After thinking for a while, he gritted his teeth and said, "Go!"

On the other side, Mr. Peng asked curiously, "What kind of riddles were you and Yang Xiaotao talking about just now?"

Old Chen stood with his hands behind his back and sighed.

"This matter is related to our meeting today."

"What do you mean?"

"This matter started a month ago."

Then Old Chen explained the matter of borrowing money from the nine departments, then he mentioned Yang Xiaotao's judgment on the financial trend, and finally he even shared his own speculation.

Mr. Peng found it somewhat unbelievable.

"You mean, he predicted that oil prices would rise?"

"So you borrow money to buy oil, to buy oil companies?"

Old Chen nodded, "Yes, they have already sold 600 million worth of crude oil, and the contracts have all been signed."

"In addition, there are acquisitions of shares in some national oil companies!"

"If oil prices rise, we can sell the oil and make a profit."

"Oil company shares will also be more valuable."

After Mr. Chen finished speaking, President Peng immediately looked at Chen Lai and asked, "And what about you? You didn't get involved in this kind of thing?"

Upon hearing this, Old Chen said smugly, "I had someone buy 1 billion from the alliance."

Upon hearing this, Boss Peng gave a thumbs up, saying, "I knew it! Old ginger is spicier."

Faced with Mr. Peng's praise, Old Chen shook his head and sighed, leaving Mr. Peng puzzled.

Why do you think he needed to borrow money?

Mr. Chen asked in return, but Mr. Peng was puzzled.

"Two billion US dollars, we can also come up with the foreign exchange reserves we have now."

"If that's the case, why do you think he needed a loan?"

Mr. Peng still didn't understand, so he just waited for Mr. Chen to get better.

Then Old Chen said, "The biggest impact of this war will undoubtedly be on the oil industry."

"So who do you think was most affected?"

Peng seemed to understand what Old Chen meant, and then tentatively said, "Of course, it's the one that consumes the most oil."

"United States!"

Old Chen smiled. "Yes, it's them."

"Furthermore, I suspect that with rising oil prices, the US dollar may depreciate!"

"Devaluation?"

Mr. Peng took a deep breath, then realized something, "Doesn't that mean that they've borrowed two billion now, and in the future, they might..."

Mr. Peng couldn't say it, but Old Chen said immediately, "Even if it's 3 billion, it still won't have the purchasing power of 2 billion."

"Yes, that's what it means."

"If we sell the oil, we might be able to pay off the loan early."

Mr. Peng laughed heartily, and Mr. Chen laughed along with him.

"That's why I had the Ninth Division do this."

Old Chen sighed as he spoke, sounding as helpless as someone with a thousand troops at his disposal but only one general available.

"Alright, stop acting innocent after getting the benefits. If I remember correctly, the West-East Gas Pipeline project is still under observation."

"You've made this decision without authorization, acting first and informing later."

Upon hearing this, Old Chen revealed a smug smile, "This isn't acting first and informing later; this is called preparing in advance."

Mr. Peng shook his head. "You're just taking advantage of honest people."

"Nonsense, if this kid is honest, then there are no honest people."

"However, Old Qin and the others are getting old!"

"They're not as good as Lao Huang and his team in this respect!"

Old Chen said with some dissatisfaction, but General Peng didn't say anything and just quickened his pace toward the command post.

He needed to make contact with Persia as soon as possible.