Rebirth: My 80s

Chapter 1201 A breath of fresh air

While Li Jiankun was busy counting money, big news came from the north one after another.

On March 7, Moldova declared independence.

On March 10, Azerbaijan declared independence.

On March 12, Uzbekistan declared independence.

...

On March 30, with Russia, one of the Soviet Axis powers, declaring independence, the union was in name only. A day later, Gorbachev announced his resignation and the Soviet Union collapsed.

Although many people had seen the situation and had anticipated it, when the news of the collapse of the Soviet Union really came, they were still shocked and the world was in an uproar.

After the collapse of the Soviet Union, Russia inherited most of the family assets, including three-quarters of the territory, 70% of the military heritage, and 60% of the economy and population.

Having completely freed himself from the constraints, Ye was full of energy and immediately began drastic reforms. Perhaps he had been waiting for this day for too long. His reform strategy came from the West and was called "shock therapy," one of the core elements of which was: comprehensive privatization.

To put it simply, it means distributing the original state-owned enterprise assets to the entire people.

Russia introduced a kind of security in which every citizen had a share.

In theory, the Russian people would become rich overnight.

With the help of Western experts he invited, Ye made a detailed calculation of the country's gross domestic product and then distributed it to every Russian citizen, with each person receiving an average of about 100,000 rubles.

What is the concept of 100,000 rubles?
You should know that at that time the average wage in Russia was about 200 rubles per month.

Five hundred months’ salary distributed at once!
It's like a windfall, it's exciting just thinking about it.

However, the ruble's financial exchange rate has fallen terribly. You know, for many years, the ruble-to-dollar ratio has remained stable at 0.6:1. The ruble is more valuable than the dollar. What about now?
It has fallen to more than one hundred to one.

However, the country's light industry has insufficient productivity and is simply unable to meet people's material needs. If one wants to buy domestic daily necessities, one has to rely on snatching and rely on luck.

The price of imported materials is really not cheap.

With the ruble's sharp fall, anyone who wants to buy a commodity now has to carry a bag with money.

In this case, one hundred thousand rubles is not forbidden to spend at all.

What’s even more frightening is that the ruble is still continuing to depreciate, with a new trend and a new drop every day.

Under such circumstances, the Russian people inevitably thought: they had to quickly exchange the securities they had in their hands for cash, and then spend it as soon as possible to buy daily necessities.

People believe that only commodities with strong demand can be ignored in terms of depreciation.

I can't wait even a moment, for I'm worried that if I delay for a day, the money I cash out will be worth much less.

The Western capitalists laughed, and Liu Jingyan also laughed, very happily. What made her even happier was that her master also took advantage of this great opportunity and came unexpectedly.

Moscow, Bank Street, Eastern European headquarters of Huaqiang Taikoo Bank.

Li Jiankun had just come from the "Red House" in the small town of Sureslavl. After getting off the plane, he just took a shower and did not stop working. At this moment, he was sitting on the beige soft leather sofa in the president's office, drinking black tea while listening to Suva's report on the sofa next to him, about the things that happened during his absence and that he had instructed his subordinates to pay attention to.

Boom boom boom!
The door opened in response.

Liu Jingyan, exuding excitement, walked quickly into the room in high heels.

Li Jiankun raised his hand to signal Suwa to stop, and Li Jiankun asked her to go out first.

After Su Wa left the office and closed the door gently, Liu Jingyan sat back in her previous position. Her two long legs under her white dress skillfully flipped and crossed over. She leaned towards Li Jiankun and said happily, "We were just in a meeting. The acquisition plan has been almost finished. I asked someone to sort it out and show it to you later..."

Li Jiankun waved his hand to interrupt her and said, "You mean the state-owned enterprise securities that the Russian people were allocated, right? We will not purchase these."

Liu Jingyan opened her eyes wide, her jaw dropped, and she said in astonishment: "What?!"

She even put down her long legs that she had just raised, stood up, walked to his side, and put the back of her hand against his forehead.

Li Jiankun said unhappily: "I'm not sick."

Indeed, he was not feverish. Liu Jingyan said with a puzzled look on her face: "Isn't the ultimate purpose of our doing this business to take advantage of the opportunity to acquire some of the former Soviet Union's assets? Now most of the former Soviet Union's assets have been converted into securities and distributed to Russian citizens. If we don't acquire securities, how can we take over those companies and assets? Also, if we don't acquire them, what are we absorbing and hoarding so many rubles for?"

The ruble was not recognized in the international market before.

No one cares about it now.

Its only use is in countries that still use the ruble as currency.

How can they spend the money if they don’t buy back the state-owned assets of the former Soviet Union? God knows, the bank’s vaults have long been full of ruble cash, so they have had to build new vaults again and again. Now there are five vaults in the bank.

This does not include various cash notes.

They have more rubles than even the Russian treasury.

I just want to collect it but not use it. Do you want to take a look at it? !

Li Jiankun stood up, held her shoulders, and pressed her to sit down. He smiled and said, "Don't get excited. I am definitely thinking about the former Soviet Union's assets, but I don't necessarily have to obtain them by acquiring the current securities..."

"But this is the only way." Liu Jingyan interrupted him and said, "The new person in office is promoting full privatization. The state-owned enterprises left by the former Soviet Union to this country can be seen as being subdivided into many shares. Every Russian citizen is a shareholder. If you want to own those corporate assets, the only way is to buy them from the shareholders."

Li Jiankun nodded and said, "That's true, but why is it so complicated to acquire from so many small shareholders? Why don't we wait for others to complete this step and then acquire from the major shareholders?"

What happened in the past few months? Liu Jingyan looked at him with a caring expression and asked, "Will the Western capital consortium give up the fruits of their careful cultivation to us? Oh, that's possible. How much will it cost you?"

Li Jiankun smiled and shook his head, "No, it will only be cheaper."

Liu Jingyan: “???”

Li Jiankun reached out and patted the back of her hand, comforting her: "Be patient and wait and see. I'm not hiding this from you on purpose, but there is no set score for this game of chess. The situation is ever-changing. Even if I have a plan in mind now, it may not be useful when the time comes. There is no point in telling you."

Liu Jingyan frowned and asked, "What is your ultimate goal?"

"Didn't you just say that I'm interested in the former Soviet Union's assets?" Li Jiankun said with a cold look in his eyes, "You also know the other purpose, Judy."

Liu Jingyan smiled bitterly and said, "So we're just going to watch helplessly? Other foreign banks are taking action. The plan to purchase securities will be implemented soon and put on the counter. By then, customers will flock to them. These securities are limited. If we miss the opportunity, it will be useless for us to regret it later."

"Don't worry, this won't happen." Li Jiankun said firmly.

Drawing on the history of his previous life, he knew that after Ye came to power, he would implement comprehensive Westernization reforms, carry out privatization, and issue securities. He never thought of acquiring these securities from the beginning.

Will the Western capital consortium share with him the fruits of his hard work?

He will not give Western capital groups any choice.

In addition, he did this for Ye to see. After this incident, coupled with the vaccination he had received before, Ye would definitely have some different thoughts about the Western world he longed for.

----

"No way, your bank's securities can't be exchanged for money?" "Yes, sir."

"This... other foreign banks can redeem it."

"I'm sorry sir, our bank doesn't offer this service yet."

“Then can you still exchange it for US dollars?”

“This is always possible.”

"Okay, I was originally planning to exchange securities into US dollars directly at your bank, but now I have to go to another bank first. To be honest, other foreign banks exchange securities easily and they are eager for us to do so. If you don't believe me, go and ask them."

"Thank you for your concern and trust in our bank..."

...

As soon as the bank opened in the morning, the lobby of the head office of China Huaqiang Taikoo Bank, currently the largest foreign bank in Russia, was crowded, and similar conversations appeared at almost every business window.

Many Russians were thinking of exchanging their securities for US dollars directly at the Sinobank.

However, the customers did not expect that this bank, which has always provided excellent service and easily exchanged US dollars, would suddenly change its usual practices and, unlike other foreign banks, would not provide securities exchange services.

Customers have no choice but to make an extra effort.

After the news spread, the biggest reaction came from the neighbors in the West.

In an inner office of Chase Bank, Judy Rockefeller knocked on the door and walked in, looking inquiringly at the middle-aged man sitting behind a mahogany desk and talking on the phone.

The man was not surprised that she came over, because she was always particularly concerned about matters concerning Huaqiang Taikoo Bank and Jack Lee.

The man motioned for her to sit down for a moment, and responded to the other end of the phone: "Well, that's true... I don't know... It's really very strange... I can't think of the reason at the moment... Okay, I'll contact you if there's any situation."

After the man hung up the phone, Judy, who was sitting on the sofa against the wall opposite, asked casually, "Are you from the family?"

The man nodded and said, "You don't have to ask me. I'm completely confused right now. I received more than a dozen calls in half an hour."

Judy pondered, "Does he have any plans?"

The man pondered and said, "This is what I can't understand. The only thing that people care about on this land is the assets of the former Soviet Union. So no matter what he plans, the assets of the former Soviet Union have been distributed to the people. If he doesn't absorb them from the people, he is doomed to have no gains. So why did he spend so much time here and absorb so many rubles? "

Judy said something she didn't even believe, "Is he really that stupid to think this country has great potential and wants to do long-term business here?"

The man shook his head and said, "This plan is not in conflict with his purchase of securities. We have done so much work in the early stage. Even if we borrowed a lot of money from the official bank, it is not enough for the rubles he absorbed. He has plenty of funds to purchase securities. It is very abnormal that he does not do something that is easy to do. Does he think that the assets of the former Soviet Union are worthless? That is impossible. The Soviet Union's heavy industry is well known to the world, and the energy industry is even more popular."

The two of them analyzed it over and over again, but still couldn't come up with a reasonable guess.

Jack Lee's bold move really confused them.

Not only them, but also a group of Western capital representatives did not think too much about it. They thought it was better for them if Jack Lee did not acquire the company, as they would have one less powerful competitor. So they put all their attention on the crazy acquisition of securities.

Every day, batches of securities fall into the hands of Western capital.

Securities, to put it simply, are shares, which are equivalent to large quantities of corporate assets left to Russia by the former Soviet Union, with the names of the former Soviet Union changed to Western.

The business of Huaqiang Taikoo Bank also became more and more prosperous. Every day, countless customers came with rubles to exchange for dollars. The bank accepted everyone and absorbed rubles like a gold-eating beast.

More like a fool, at least that's what Judy sometimes thinks.

If Jack Lee had not acquired the assets of the former Soviet Union by purchasing securities, he would actually have suffered huge losses by now.

Because the ruble is falling every day.

He opened up the ruble-to-dollar exchange service without any restrictions. You should know that in the beginning, one dollar could not even be exchanged for one ruble, but now, the financial ratio of the dollar to the ruble listed today is 1:190.

Judy actually hoped that Jack Lee would have a brain cramp and make a major strategic mistake.

In a capitalist society, without money, you are nothing.

One day, she would make Jack Lee crawl on the ground and kiss the tip of her shoe.

----

half a month later.

Li Jiankun, who received a phone call last night, took a car into the Kremlin as scheduled at around 9 a.m. and met Ye, who was completely different from before.

In the solemn office, the two of them exchanged greetings. There was no one else around, and Ye expressed his gratitude to Li Jiankun.

In Ye's opinion, if Jack Lee had not reminded him to prepare in advance, and if he had not turned the tide and quickly quelled the Soviet coup, winning huge reputation and support, he would not have been able to sit in this position so quickly.

This incident also shows that the young foreigner next to him has a sharp eye and a smart mind.

Ye thought of something else a few days ago. He remembered that Jack Lee had reminded him to be careful of the evil ambitions of Western capital.

And now, this reminder has come true again.

He really has no way of expressing his pain.

He carried out privatization reforms in order to create a democratic society and a free market. However, no one in his position wanted to see enterprises that originally belonged to the country and the people fall into the hands of foreign capital in large numbers.

It's not as simple as just "not wanting".

There are even deeper concerns.

If foreign capital controls the economic lifeline of this country... the consequences will be disastrous.

He felt that it was difficult for him. If he wanted a democratic society and a free market, he had to do this. However, doing so triggered disturbing consequences. He had actually thought that foreign capital would acquire some companies, but he did not expect it to be so serious.

Those guys have such a big appetite.

Neither covering nor concealing.

It was as if the jackal had finally bared its fangs.

However, among this group of foreign capital, there is a clear stream. It has not purchased a single security and is still continuing to provide ruble-to-dollar exchange services, making the ruble seem to... still have some international status.

This person is not someone else, he is right next to me.

If it were a few years ago, Ye would really like to call him comrade.

Now, Ye doesn't dare to trust anyone and is only willing to trust himself.

That's why I specially invited him here today. There are many things I want to hear his opinions on, and I hope he can bring me inspiration and hope.

(End of this chapter)