Rebirth: My 80s

Chapter 1209 Confrontation
Next to the open-air swimming pool in the Kiev Hotel, the temperature has warmed up today. Li Jiankun, wearing only a single shirt and pants, is lying on a lounge chair surrounding the pool, admiring the beautiful scenery around the pool with his eyes behind his sunglasses.

It’s so white.

Suck!

Holding the black mobile phone around his neck with some difficulty, Li Jiankun stirred a fruity cocktail in his hand and paused before asking, "So what does the Ukrainian side say now?"

Mou Qizhong's voice came from the other end of the phone, "They set the rules. We participated in the auction and won the bid in full accordance with the rules. What else can they say? Now the balance has been paid, and the next step is to go through the process and arrange the handover of the Varyag. However, I feel that the Indian people will not give up. You didn't see their expressions and eyes just now. They really wanted to eat me alive, haha, but it was so satisfying!"

Taking over an aircraft carrier is not like picking up a car from a dealership. It is not something that can be done in a short period of time, which means that if someone wants to do something weird, they have plenty of time.

What kind of weird thing could happen?
The Varyag is still moored at Ukraine's Black Sea Shipyard. Ukraine holds absolute power to dispose of it. However, under the current circumstances, even if Ukraine prefers to sell the Varyag to India at the same price, it is not easy to openly break the contract and slap itself in the face.

Moreover, judging from the various information obtained, the Ukrainian side really does not care to whom they sell the large ship, which is of no use to them and is a nuisance to them. Their only purpose is to make more money.

Therefore, the Ukrainian side has no intention of breaking the contract.

However, there is someone, or a force, that can have an important influence on Ukraine at this critical juncture. After all, it is still the poor economy that is to blame. Like Russia, Ukraine now hopes that the West can help them revive their economy and move towards comprehensive Westernization reforms.

India does not have as much face as they think in the international arena, nor does it have the ability to make Ukraine slap itself in the face.

The joints are still with the Americans.

Ever since the United States turned its attention to the East, India has become a target that they must win over.

Besides, the Americans certainly don't want the Varyag to be obtained by the newly established enemy.

India and the US will hit it off and then put pressure on Ukraine. If something unexpected happens, it will generally be like this.

Li Jiankun pondered and said, "Just prepare to receive the Varyag. Arrange the personnel, equipment, and tugboats as soon as possible, and then urge the Ukrainian side to make the handover. Leave the rest to me."

Mou Qizhong asked on the other end of the phone: "Are you ready to show up?"

Li Jiankun said dimly, "If something unexpected happens, and if the buyer of the Varyag is just a businessman with no background, we will be unable to cope with it. I didn't show up before because I was worried that something unexpected would happen during the bidding process. Now that we have successfully won the bid, we are justified and the situation is different. Besides... I think I will be exposed soon. I was not discovered before because they didn't take you seriously and didn't investigate you in detail. Now the situation is different. If someone in our country can come up with 17 million US dollars, it will be easy for them to associate me with him."

Even though some of his businesses and investments may amount to tens of billions of US dollars, the money may not seem like much, that's because he has already stood at the top of the world's wealth pyramid.

You have to know that this was 1990, an era when anyone with a fortune of $100,000 was considered wealthy even in the world. Seventeen million dollars was enough to build a most luxurious five-star hotel in our country.

If it weren't for him, Mou Qizhong would be the richest man in our country in this era. Mou Qizhong now has assets worth tens of millions of RMB, but still cannot come up with 17 million US dollars in foreign exchange.

As long as this matter was considered, and many people knew that he was currently in Eastern Europe, to use a witty phrase on the Internet in later generations, the only thing missing was his name being typed in the barrage.

Therefore, whenever something unexpected happens, he has no need to hide behind the scenes, nor can he.

He was determined to get the Varyag back to the motherland and could not afford to make any mistakes.

At the same time, in a suite in a Kiev hotel, several key figures of the Indian bidding team who had just returned were so angry that they were shouting curses without stopping, not caring about their so-called upper-caste manners.

"That damn Chinese bastard!"

"Where did he get 17 million dollars? Did all the women in his family sell themselves out?"

"Damn it, he actually stole my chicken..."

Di Rang sat on the sofa, his elbows resting on his thighs, his fingers crossed, his whole body like a volcano about to erupt, no, already erupted, "Investigate! Investigate that Mou guy for me, use all resources, and find out everything about his ancestors and all his interpersonal relationships!"

He now suspects that there is someone behind this Mou, who, through a businessman, is purchasing the Varyag under the guise of building a sea park. In fact, it is their officials who are behind the scenes, and the purpose of purchasing the Varyag is self-evident.

Because they officially knew very well that if they sent someone to buy the Varyag, the hope would be extremely slim and there would definitely be forces that would obstruct it.

And this was the turnaround strategy that Di Rang came up with on the way back to the hotel.

The results of this auction can be invalidated!

Yes, of course he was unwilling to accept this. He thought they were the most powerful among all the forces participating in the auction, but they unexpectedly lost the bid and were robbed of their property by a mere one dollar difference.

God knows he is so angry that he wants to vomit blood.

Rather than being angry, Di Rang was in a state of anxiety and trepidation. He ordered everyone in the team not to report the news back to China for the time being, because he was sure he could turn the tables, and he had to do so, otherwise he would not be able to report back.

People who know their country's situation know that they have a dream of dominating the Indian Ocean, and aircraft carriers are necessary weapons to realize this dream. They will not miss any opportunity to get an aircraft carrier. In this auction, he was given funding authority of 20 million US dollars, and was told that if it was not enough, they could negotiate further. He failed before he even called out this price.

The responsibility is too great.

If this matter is not reversed, successfully acquiring the Varyag will be a huge stain. He will be thankful if his career does not regress, let alone rise smoothly.

This was something that neither he nor his family could accept.

Although Dirang spoke in a tough tone, their intelligence system was not very good. In a short period of time, they could only find out that Mou Qizhong was indeed a businessman, including the fact that he exchanged canned food for airplanes and that Mou Qizhong had been in jail. In theory, they should not get along well with the officials, not get along well...

After hearing the news, Di Rang was a little dumbfounded.

Could it be that China started planning this many years ago?
It doesn't make sense. Who knew at that time that Ukraine would auction the Varyag? How many people even predicted the collapse of the Soviet Union?
There was no clue that Mou Qizhong had any official connection with them, which made Di Rang extremely anxious.

evening.

Dijang held a grand banquet in the traditional restaurant of the Kiev Hotel, because there were private rooms here, which were not available in the Western restaurant.

The banquet was quite grand, but there were actually only three guests, including a secretary and an attendant. The host was named Wright, the highest-ranking American in Ukraine, with a military background. Wright and his team were in Ukraine at the time, dealing with the destruction of weapons of mass destruction. However, they not only knew about the auction of the Varyag, but also participated in it.

Before the auction, some of the facilities that had been loaded on the Varyag were dismantled, which was completed under the advice and supervision of the Wright team.

Di Rang did not deliberately lower his posture this time, nor could he raise it. He did not get straight to the point. He accompanied Wright for a drink and praised him one after another. Just by looking at the expression on his face, one could tell that Wright enjoyed it very much. Then he talked about the situation in East Asia as if he was chatting, and transitioned from there to the fact that the two sides must strengthen cooperation, which made Wright say, "Of course, we are allies."

Di Rang was overjoyed, and then he got to the point.

"Colonel Wright, don't you think this is very strange? How could a Chinese businessman have so much money..."

"No?" Wright interrupted him, put down the red wine glass, and asked, "Don't you know Jack Lee?"

"He... he is a special case. I mean, it is impossible for a normal Chinese businessman to come up with 17 million US dollars. It has only been a few years since that country opened up its individual economy? There must be other hidden stories behind this!" Di Rang vowed.

Wright groaned: "I think so too..."

"Really?" Di Rang's eyes brightened and his mouth grinned unconsciously.

Before Wright could finish his words, "Jack Lee happens to be in Eastern Europe right now."

Ok?
Di Rang was stunned, and then asked in surprise: "Are you saying that this matter is related to Jack Lee?"

Wright stared at Dirang and said, "You don't really think that we haven't investigated the individuals and forces that can participate in the auction. That Mou guy is indeed just a businessman. But we have estimated how much wealth he has. It's not that easy to come up with 17 million US dollars..."

Di Rang opened his eyes wide. If Jack Lee was involved in this matter, then all the unreasonable things about the funds would make sense.

What is a mere 10 or 20 million US dollars to Jack Lee?
He was actually the one controlling everything behind the scenes?
Di Rang swallowed his saliva. Fortunately, he had previously thought that they had strong financial strength. Although he didn't want to admit it, he had to admit that Jack Lee was rich enough to rival a country. His pockets were even fuller than the treasuries of many countries.

Dirang hurriedly asked, "Colonel Wright, do you have any evidence for this?"

Wright said: "Our intelligence department is investigating. One thing is as you think. No matter what means, we don't want an aircraft carrier to fall into the hands of that country. We didn't prevent the businessman surnamed Mou from participating in the auction before. We had the same idea as you. We didn't expect him to succeed in the auction. In this case, after all, it is Ukraine's business. There are not many customers in the first place, so why should we get involved? Now, it's different..."

Di Rang was overjoyed. It turned out that even if he didn't come to the door, the Americans would still take action and would not let the deal go through.

This time, Wright took the initiative to raise his glass and said, "I told you, we are allies."

It is beneficial for India to get this empty shell aircraft carrier. What can they research? In this regard, they are simply incomparable with the Chinese who are good at learning, can endure hardships, and are willing to sacrifice themselves.

"Cheers to our allies!" Di Rang was so happy that he drank the wine in his glass in one gulp. After finishing his meal, he hesitated and asked, "If Jack Lee is involved in this matter, I'm afraid..."

"There's nothing to be afraid of." Wright sneered, "In front of the interests of the great powers, he is nothing."

Di Rang grinned and said, "That's right! Just a businessman."

Li Jiankun also dined at the traditional restaurant of the Kiev Hotel tonight, which was certainly not a coincidence. As the best hotel in Kiev, most of the delegations participating in the Varyag auction stayed here. He had stayed in this hotel for half a month, and he was accompanied by a team of retired special forces. If he couldn't even know what was happening in the public area, was he really here for vacation?

After Dirang and Wright had eaten and drunk their fill, they walked out of the box. Li Jiankun was being approached in the corridor by a Ukrainian beauty who was dressed luxuriously and had a charming figure. She recognized Li Jiankun, but was not sure. On the one hand, foreigners look at Orientals in the same way as Orientals look at foreigners, and they feel that many people look alike; on the other hand, she was a little bit unbelievable.

"Oh my God, are you really Mr. Jack Lee?" The beautiful woman with fair and translucent skin and a very beautiful face exclaimed, covering her plump chest.

Fortunately, there were private rooms on both sides of the corridor, and there were not many people in the corridor at this time.

Next to Li Jiankun, Fugui looked up at the sky. He was sure that if Li Jiankun just beckoned, the girl would immediately come into the room and strip naked. Sometimes even he had to admire Li Jiankun. He looked at her but didn't mess around. His self-control was really strong. The girl was wearing a large U-neck evening dress, so white that it was dazzling. He didn't dare to look at her for too long, otherwise his face would get hot.

Ok?
This exclamation startled both parties who were shaking hands and saying goodbye at the door of the box, and then they all came over in unison in the direction of the voice.

blind!
When Dirang saw the young Chinese man being flirted with by the beautiful woman, his face changed drastically. Wright narrowed his eyes slightly, and then his expression returned to normal in an instant.

Then there is no need to investigate.

"Dear Miss Orina, can we talk later? It's not appropriate for me to appear in public places. You see, it seems that I have been recognized again. This is very troublesome for me." Li Jiankun sniffed the faint fragrance that came from his nose, and the white rabbit was almost sticking to him.

Olena turned her head following his line of sight, only to find Dirang, Wright and the others. After turning her head, she couldn't help but stick out her tongue and made a playful face. After apologizing, she lowered her voice and said, "Okay, are you staying here? Which room? I'll come find you later."

Seeing that Li Jiankun didn't reply, Orina said again: "Why don't you come find me? I'm in room 3033. I'll be waiting for you."

Seeing the group of people coming from behind, Orina looked at Li Jiankun reluctantly, then she lifted her skirt, swayed her waist and walked away, looking back every three steps.

Damn this buddy’s charm… The smile on Li Jiankun’s face remained unchanged when his eyes fell on Wright who came first, but it had a different meaning.

"I believe this is not a coincidence."

Wright looked him up and down. It was the first time he saw a living person. He said with a wry smile, "Then let's talk it out. Don't even think about it."

Li Jiankun laughed and asked, "Who are you?"

Wright's eyes turned cold, and then he smiled again, with an exceptionally bright smile, "Here's someone who can ruin your plans."

Li Jiankun looked away from him and looked at the man following behind Wright. He suddenly changed his usual behavior and did not mock the Dirang of our country. He took out a cigarette slowly and lit it by himself. Then he turned his head and sprayed a mouthful of white mist on Wright's face, "You are a poop."

Dejan's eyes widened.

Wright was furious and his face was gloomy.

(End of this chapter)