1982 Started from Hong Kong

Chapter 547 Ye's Allies

January 12, 1991 (Gregorian calendar).

Luo Zhaohui finalized the property title deed, and Zhai Yuan readily paid a deposit of forty million.
Immediately afterwards, the Soviet foreigners, led by the second princess Tatiana, moved into the new Hong Kong residence that Zhai Yuan had prepared for them.

Eleven townhouses at 2 Barker Road, each with an average area of ​​450 square meters.

In terms of luxury, it cannot compare to the gilded and jade-adorned gardens and pavilions of the surrounding royal families or warlords of Thailand and Myanmar.

But the difference lies in geographical advantages.

No matter how well-built the mansions of royalty and warlords are, they are at best self-built houses in the countryside.

For us old-timers in Hong Kong, waking up early in the morning, you can see the world's busiest port when you open your window, with the world's top financial center at your feet, Victoria Peak behind you, and Victoria Harbour in front of you. Add a pineapple bun and iced milk tea, and that's what you call authentic and wonderful.

All the properties are registered under an offshore company called Far East Club to protect privacy and avoid revealing too many of their luxury home holdings.

This maneuver is extremely basic.

The properties currently owned by the Hong Kong Freemasons certainly far exceed those of the Far East Club, but only one, Yung Yan Clubhouse, located at 1 Kennedy Road, can be found publicly.

You ask who the members are? You'd have to be qualified to enter the Freemasons to find out.

"So please rest assured that you are only here in Hong Kong for inspection and travel, and your names will not even appear in the Land Registry's files."

Far East Club, the king of villas in the No. 2 Barker Road villa area.

Zhai Yuan and a group of Soviet foreigners sat in the living room, celebrating the establishment of the club's first location.

"But if one day you feel tired in Moscow, you can always come here for a short break and vacation. Just consider this your second home."

Zhai Yuan tapped his wine glass lightly with a silver spoon, producing a crisp sound. He smiled and said, "Of course, perhaps in the future there will be a third or fourth home, located in New York, London, Paris, or Tokyo, provided that everyone works together. In short, as long as the Far East Club exists, no matter what difficulties our members encounter, I, Zhai Yuan, will do my best to help them solve them. I also hope that if I ever encounter any trouble, such as bankruptcy or being deported from Hong Kong, everyone will lend me a hand."

Secretary Li, whose Russian was already quite fluent, nestled close to Zhai Yuan and translated his words word by word to the Soviet foreigners present.

Laughter echoed from the living room.

After the laughter subsided, every Soviet soldier understood the meaning behind Zhai Yuan's words.

Will Zhai Yuan go bankrupt? It's highly unlikely. He can easily mobilize hundreds of millions of US dollars in cash flow, leveraging billions of dollars.

Will Zhai Yuan be expelled from Hong Kong by the government? It's even less likely. A law-abiding businessman and legislator would be a guest of honor in any city in the world.

Therefore, the implied meaning is very clear.
As long as you get a ticket to the Far East Club, are willing to contribute, help each other, and build a network of relationships, even if one of you here today retires from Soviet politics and no longer holds power, or falls into poverty and hardship, there will always be a place for you in the Far East Club.

Springtime blossoms may be brilliant, but autumn frost is inevitable.

In other words, you may be the boss today, but you can't be the boss forever.

In the increasingly complex political situation in the Soviet Union, these so-called high-ranking officials present might fall from their horses at any time, and the Far East Club would be the organization that would bail them out.

The premise is that you must demonstrate your own value.

If Zhai Yuan had said these words a month ago, they wouldn't have had such a significant impact on the Soviet foreigners present.

However, after spending more than a month in Hong Kong, everyone was bombarded with the sugar-coated bullets of capitalism. This kind of real-world impact was more intense than any ideological propaganda. As the foreigners' horizons broadened, their desires also swelled.

"The Hong Kong, with its blue sea, sky, and dazzling lights, is truly incredible. I heard that just a few decades ago, it was just a small fishing village. The speed of its development is unbelievable."

Tatiana gazed at the sea view outside the floor-to-ceiling windows, shifted into a more comfortable position on the sofa, and smiled as she looked at Viktor Kharansky, the governor of the Central Bank, and Alexandrovich Dulasov, the vice chairman of the Planning Committee, and asked with a smile, "Governor Viktor, what do you think?"

"It must be admitted that this may be the advantage of attracting foreign investment and opening up the market economy."

Viktor narrowed his eyes and said meaningfully, "After seeing the situation in Hong Kong and returning to Moscow, we should reconsider the future of the Soviet Union."

Before coming to Hong Kong, Viktor and Dulasov were not allies of the Ye Group.

But now their stance has changed, and even if they only remain neutral, it will be a major benefit to the Ye Group.

The Far East Club's invitation to Tatiana, Victor, and others to Hong Kong is primarily aimed at promoting relations between the two sides.

In retrospect, the results have been quite good.

"You may not know this yet, but a friend from the Nationalities Committee just sent me a message yesterday."

Dulasov of the Planning Committee glanced at the crowd and slowly said, "Two days ago, many Soviet citizens demonstrated outside the Lithuanian government building, demanding that the Lithuanian government resign and return to federal rule. With the support of Comrade Gorbachev, Soviet special forces have arrived in Vilnius and are demanding that Lithuania restore the laws of the federal constituent republics."

Upon hearing this, the Soviet devils displayed a variety of expressions.

As the vice chairman of the State Planning Committee, it is not surprising that Dulasov received advance notice, but this also means that even though he was in Hong Kong, the other side still had an intelligence line directly connecting to Moscow, allowing them to obtain firsthand information.

Tatiana frowned slightly, leaned forward a little, and asked, "What are the specifics?"

Dulasov hesitated for a moment and said, "According to the latest information I received, the special forces sent by Gorbachev have now occupied the Lithuanian TV tower and some government buildings, joined forces with the demonstrators, and cut off the propaganda channels of the local separatists."

The atmosphere in the living room suddenly became a bit strange. Regardless of whether they were allies of the Ye Group or not, everyone looked at Tatiana, the second princess who represented Ye Liqing.

Tatiana looked thoughtful. After a moment, she looked around at everyone and said, "If this escalates into the use of force against Lithuania, it will be a very bad sign for the Soviet Union at present."

Viktor nodded, then added, "But for Comrade Ye Liqing, it's definitely not a bad thing." As the group exchanged their thoughts, each with their own distinct expression...

Lizhi quietly translated the conversation to Zhai Yuan.

Gorbachev's special forces have arrived in Vilnius, preparing to use force against Lithuania.

After listening for a couple of sentences, Zhai Yuan immediately realized what the Soviet devils were talking about.

The Vilnius incident was not only a landmark event that led to the Lithuanian referendum in support of independence, but also one of the triggers that led to Gorbachev's removal from the pinnacle of power.

“I think I won’t have the chance to spend a Chinese New Year in Hong Kong, Mr. Zhai.”

After a brief exchange with several Soviet officials, Tatiana turned to Zhai Yuan and said seriously, "The Soviet Union is imposing alarming military sanctions on Lithuania. I must rush back with President Viktor and Chairman Dulasov to assist my father and do everything possible to prevent this tragedy from happening."

Upon hearing this, Zhai Yuan raised an eyebrow, glanced at Tatyana, Viktor, and Durasov who had suddenly joined forces with him, and nodded slightly to the Second Princess, everything understood without words.

The establishment of the Far East Club clearly had an effect.
Driven by the Vilnius incident, the Yee Group gained the assistance of the Central Bank and the Planning Commission.

……

Ten minutes later, everyone in the living room dispersed with their own thoughts, leaving only Zhai Yuan, Li Zhi, and Tatiana.

"It is certain that if Mr. Zhai had not been so generous in giving away these villas and had not considered the future retirement life of the members of the Far East Club."

Tatiana put on a smile and said to Zhai Yuan, "There's a high chance that Dulasov won't reveal that he has another line of communication with the Soviet Union, let alone share the information with us immediately."

Zhai Yuan laughed and said, "I'm just providing a platform for communication. The important thing is that Gorbachev is using force against Lithuania."

Tatiana smiled and shook her head, saying, "Of course, Mr. Zhai can say that, but we all know that no one really cares about what situation Lithuania will face."

Neither Viktor nor Dulasov cared whether the people of Lithuania lived or died, nor did they care whether the other side became independent.

But after a month of sweet talk from Zhai Yuan, they all became compassionate peacemakers, and it was foreseeable that they would return to Moscow this time and join forces with Ye Liqing to bombard Gorbachev.

Zhai Yuan shrugged noncommittally and said, "I still stand by my opinion."

“Alright, Mr. Zhai.” Tatiana covered her mouth and chuckled, no longer discussing the cause-and-effect relationship, and said seriously, “But believe me, if the Russian Federation can gain more autonomy this time, the Ye Group can guarantee that the Far East Bank’s business will be even smoother. I think my father would also be happy to make it a calling card for attracting foreign investment.”

"Can Miss Tatiana represent Comrade Ye Liqing?"

"Who made you win the heart of his most beloved youngest daughter? Miss Secretary, please make sure you translate my words clearly."

Lizhi forced a polite smile and translated Tatiana's outspoken words to Zhai Yuan: "She said that if you're willing, you can divorce your second husband when you get back... Don't pay any attention to this woman!"

Zhai Yuan's smile remained unchanged upon hearing this. Of the three people present, only Li Zhi would take it seriously. Tatiana could become the occupant of occupants in the future, so it was best to just listen to what the other party said.

He smiled and winked at Tatiana, saying, "Of course I don't mind, but I'm worried that your child won't accept an East Asian stepfather."

Upon hearing Lizhi's translation, Tatiana's expression froze for a moment, then she laughed even more unrestrainedly.

"There's one last thing. What are you going to do with that girl outside?"

Finally, Tatiana asked again, "Is it that girl who claims to be the head of the Ministry of Culture?"

It's not a problem for Tatiana, who's in her thirties, to call Natasha, who's in her early twenties, a girl. However, the implication isn't about their age difference, but rather a playful tone.

Zhai Yuan smiled and asked, "Even Miss Tatiana thinks there's something wrong with her?"

"Isn't it obvious at a glance? I really don't know what you're investigating, and you even brought people from St. Petersburg."

Tatiana said with a smile, "To date, I have never seen any active Soviet official who, knowing that someone else is paying the bill, behaved as timidly as she did when faced with the chips on the gambling table."

After arriving in Hong Kong, under the watchful eyes of a group of cunning individuals, Natasha unsurprisingly revealed more and more flaws, without even realizing it herself.

The Natural Selection casino ship gives each person 100 million chips for free every night. If you lose, Zhai Yuan will compensate you; if you win, you can take all the chips with you.

Therefore, neither Tatiana nor Victor felt any psychological burden when they went all in, and some even lost all their chips in the first half of the night and then went to the counter to withdraw their money.

The only exception was this young director of the Ministry of Culture. Although he tried hard to integrate into the club's atmosphere, he had to think carefully every time he placed a bet. After a whole night, he had 100 left out of his 99 million chips.

Vladimir was right. If she really became a section chief in the Ministry of Culture in her early twenties, it meant she must be the daughter of a high-ranking official. And children of high-ranking officials, influenced by their family upbringing, would never be so honest and reserved...

“In most cases, if the Ye Group suspects that there is a KGB mole in their ranks, they will transfer that person away immediately.”

Tatiana's smile faded, and she said to Zhai Yuan seriously, "But this girl has been following us around recently and has heard and seen a lot of things. It's not as simple as just being transferred. In the Soviet Union, it's very troublesome to cleanly deal with a KGB agent, but this is Hong Kong, Mr. Zhai. I don't think anyone in the club wants her to go back to Moscow with us."

After listening to Secretary Li's translation, Zhai Yuan narrowed his eyes slightly.

He smiled as usual and said, "After all, we don't have any evidence to prove that she is the mole planted by the Security Committee in the Ye Group. Don't be too nervous. Maybe she's just here to investigate me, a foreign entrepreneur?"

Tatiana gave him a deep look, shook her head and said, "These things often don't require evidence. In other words, even if she's on the return flight with us, her destination isn't Moscow... I admit that the girl named Natasha is indeed very beautiful, but I also believe that Mr. Zhai won't be tempted by her looks."

"This shows that Miss Tatiana still doesn't know me well enough."

Zhai Yuan smiled and said, before the other party could speak, he rubbed his face and continued, "Don't worry, I will handle this matter. No matter how much evidence Natasha has collected or how much intelligence she has about the Far East Club, I guarantee she won't be able to send a single message out of Hong Kong!"

(End of this chapter)