What the hell is a private enterprise?

Chapter 604 The Golden Toilet
Development can cover up all shortcomings.

This statement may sound a bit too absolute, but Tang Wen, who has truly experienced that era of rapid development in the future, firmly believes it.

During the 10s when GDP was soaring, although there were still various shortcomings in the country, in an era where ordinary people could become billionaires in the blink of an eye and every time they opened their eyes, they found that tomorrow would be better, all kinds of shortcomings could be tolerated, and people could believe that they would be properly resolved in the future.

Conversely, if people believe that tomorrow will only get worse, then even a trivial problem could become the fuse that ignites a bomb.

This is the situation in Southeast Asia today. The trend of the British withdrawing funds and cashing out is inevitable. The withdrawal of foreign exchange means a shrinking market, job cuts, an imbalance between imports and exports, and rising prices. Every imaginable bad thing is happening in an orderly manner.

In general, the authorities will try every means to alleviate the situation and find solutions, such as issuing national debt to inject liquidity for infrastructure construction (as in the Luo Shifu policy), or simply seeking external loans to overcome the difficulties.

But if there's really nothing you can do, you can only watch helplessly as the internal pressure grows and eventually explodes—that's one way to go.

Originally, there were too many people and too many cakes. After the cakes exploded, they became smaller, but there were fewer people, which eased the conflict!
Although this path causes enormous damage to all parties, it is undoubtedly a successful and safe way to take a fast and violent evil path. All that is needed is to wait for the explosion to subside and then smoothly get through the crisis.

Tang Wen had no problem with their own messing around, but it couldn't affect their compatriots.

After arriving on Varee Island, Wang Hu immediately summarized the recent situation in detail:

"It's not just Zawa, Luzon has been feeling uneasy lately too. The whole atmosphere... feels like it's stuffy and hot, you can't see anything but you feel like something bad is about to happen at any moment."

Half of Santa Maria's economy depends on fishing, but now nobody goes out to sea. People say that seafood prices are so low that they can't even cover fuel costs—oh, fuel prices have gone up too, so anyone who goes out to sea loses money. Everyone is just playing cards all day long.

That Suha guy used the dividends I gave him to buy a generalship... which only means he's in charge of a few hundred people. Lately, he's been practically invisible, but I can't find any trace of him above that level.

Wang Hu recounted almost entirely the minutiae he had observed, but Tang Wen, having been exposed to big data, had already rapidly compiled the key information:
Weak exports have brought export-oriented industries such as fisheries and agriculture to a near standstill, leaving a large number of unemployed people wandering the streets and a lack of strong internal order and constraints.

Tang Wen thought for a moment before asking:

How many people do you have now?

Upon hearing this, Wang Hu immediately perked up, as he had already established himself firmly in the local area.

There was no other way; he had the backing of the Lost Empire to cover the money, but as for weapons and firepower... there was nothing Tang Wen couldn't provide, only things he dared not accept.

He currently has 500 elite men under his command, and if you really consider his sphere of influence, 5,000 men wouldn't be out of the question.

"Don't worry, boss, no matter what happens outside, this area will remain safe!"

Seeing Wang Hu's proud and boastful expression, Tang Wen knew exactly what the other party wanted. After thinking for a moment, he stretched out his finger, and a piece of black coal appeared out of thin air.

Wang Hu looked bewildered but carefully took the coal, and then heard the boss say:

"This coal has been piled up in the alchemy room for years, and over the years it has accumulated a bit of medicinal power. Every day at sunrise, rinse it with the cleanest water, drink it, and then practice the external martial arts. It will be absorbed completely in about three months."

"Don't say I'm stingy. With your mortal body, taking pills would only kill you. The medicinal power in this charcoal is enough to make you strong and healthy. After you've made up for your past deficiencies, you can start practicing internal martial arts."

Wang Hu hurriedly bowed in gratitude. He used to quite like kneeling down, but every time Tang Wen would conjure up a bunch of silver coins out of thin air to cushion his knees, making them ache.

He didn't believe what others said, but with a living Qigong master right in front of him, he would eat anything, not just charcoal, but even human urine!

Moreover, ever since he learned Tang Wen's secret, the latter had taught him external martial arts, and he had indeed felt much better in the past year.

However, if Tang Wen knew, he would definitely say something pointless:
The so-called "external skills" he learned online when he had nothing else to do. In addition, Wang Hu has been busy developing his career in the past year and has not had much time to indulge in bad habits. His daily exercise has naturally made him much healthier.

Next, in order to "absorb the medicinal power", I drank water every morning to expel accumulated waste and practiced external kung fu. Wasn't my body in great shape?
But it's strange that the store only has warships; if there were real elixirs, he would definitely buy a dozen right away.

After understanding the situation, Tang Wen immediately returned to Goose City and then, in the name of Gaijin Petroleum, notified the authorities of Zhuawa:

Gekin is willing to negotiate the resumption of oil production on Mionas Island, and Tang Wen will personally visit the site after confirming some details.

……

Zhao Hande's flight landed at Pingtan Airport.

"Go to Southeast Asia? Things aren't very stable there lately."

"The bigger the waves, the more expensive the fish, and now there are finally some decent discounts."

On the way to the shipyard, he chatted with Tang Wen, who came to greet him, but it was just because he was too excited and deliberately changed the subject.

The latter reason was that the gold had arrived, totaling 730 tons, with 5 tons to be kept as a reserve.

But this was already a pleasant surprise. As soon as they learned that the gold was in the shipyard, a guard force of over a thousand people immediately gathered nearby, and the entire area around Goose City was secretly monitored.

The convoy stopped in front of the shipyard gate. Zhao Hande only brought his secretary, along with the head office president and his secretary, and followed Tang Wen inside.

Standing before a huge warehouse, as the frail Cheshire and Jean Bart opened the heavy doors, the scene inside immediately took one's breath away.

The four people stared in astonishment, rubbing their eyes in unison, wondering if they had seen things.

The first to be affected is a golden battleship!

This battleship was clearly the Hanover before its refit. After casting, it was about 7 meters long and over 2 meters high, but the impact of standing close to it almost made all four of them dizzy and lean back.

The view from above was even more exaggerated. On both sides of the golden battleship on the ground were large iron frames ten meters high, each layer of which was densely packed with glittering gold, so bright that it was hard to open one's eyes under the blazing sun.

"Uh, ah..."

The head office manager, who prided himself on having seen the world, was also somewhat dazed by the intense impact. He shakily stepped forward and cautiously touched the golden battleship, asking:

"Gold plating?"

"Of course not, it was cast from 20 tons of pure gold!"

Tang Wen proudly showed off his masterpiece, an unprecedented masterpiece created by having the shipyard specially manufacture the mold and by the efforts of the non-human captains.

If it weren't for the fear that the mold wouldn't be able to support it and that gold is too soft and easily deformed, he actually wanted to cast a 100-ton behemoth directly, but in the end he had to succumb to reality and only used 20 tons of gold.

Even so, they had to use a clever trick: the hull was actually divided into more than 100 small pieces by a steel frame to prevent collapse caused by excessive weight, and finally a layer of gold skin was applied to the outside of the frame so that it could not be seen.

But this is still a solid gold sculpture, and possibly the largest one in history!
The value of 20 tons of gold alone may not be enough to impress visitors, but the magnificent backdrop and the unimaginable gold sculptures are truly dazzling.

After Secretary Chen took out his heart medication and gave Zhao Hande one pill, he himself felt a dull pain in his left chest and quickly swallowed one before daring to look directly at the golden empire before him.

That's equivalent to two countries' gold reserves! The four of them finally calmed down, only to discover that Tang Wen's artistic creations went far beyond that:
Behind the golden warship were a bunch of random sculptures, the most bizarre of which was... a throne that looked quite exquisite, but upon closer inspection, the cushion turned out to be a toilet!

Tang Wen chuckled and pointed to the golden toilet throne, saying:

“I’ll keep a few tons for myself, including that toilet. Old Zhao, you go up and try it out.”

"Ah, no, no, no... What are you doing? I said I won't do it... Hiss..."

Zhao Hande believed that he had devoted his life to the cause and had no regrets. However, when Tang Wen pressed him onto the golden toilet and he placed his hands on the armrests, he suddenly felt a sense of emptiness that transcended the world and saw through everything.

The moment he sat down, he felt an immense sense of peace, as if he were contemplating the mysteries of the origin of the universe.

But after a moment, he resolutely stood up, then smiled and pressed the bank manager down as well. The latter, upon sitting down, suddenly jolted, closed his eyes, let out a long breath, and a detached expression appeared on his face as he said:

"So this is what a golden toilet feels like?"

"Do you want this?"

Tang Wen blinked, and Cheshire next to him picked up a golden toilet seat in each hand and acted cute.

"Look, a 24K pure gold toilet seat cover. Traditional Chinese medicine says that gold can calm the mind. I tried this once and it worked. I'm sending you some health products in my personal capacity."

"No, no, no, there's absolutely no need for that!"

All four of them shook their heads vigorously, but then they realized—Tang Wenzhen was using this thing as a toilet seat!

Gold can calm your nerves? How can you not calm your nerves when you're sitting on this thing? That piece of gold toilet seat weighs at least two kilograms and is worth nearly 20 yuan!

Of course, Tang Wen was just joking and couldn't accept the toilet seat.

In fact, the ship girls also made a lot of things when they had nothing to do, including four golden figurines of the characters—this is probably the most extravagant self-portrait.

After viewing the bizarre and extravagant gold trinkets, Tang Wen opened more than a dozen large iron boxes, which contained various jewelry or ornaments inlaid with gemstones. They were so exquisite that he couldn't bear to melt them down.

He casually picked up a gold crown studded with jewels, shook it, and said nonchalantly:

"I think it's a waste to melt these things down. Why don't you help me get an estimate and use them as collateral?"

The bank manager had a keen eye and knew his stuff. He could tell at a glance that the crown was probably a treasure from the 16th or 17th century, and its value today would far exceed that of the jewelry itself. When he saw Tang Wen carelessly throwing it away like trash, he felt a sharp pain in his teeth.

Taking out any one of the dozens of boxes of rare treasures could lead to death, let alone the room full of gold. Yet Tang Wen didn't seem to value them much, simply regarding them as equivalents and works of art, without a trace of greed.

This is certainly not because Tang Wen has transcended vulgar tastes, but because he now understands that precious metals do not necessarily represent wealth.

The fleet he already possesses, and potentially possesses, is now an unparalleled super-wealth on this planet.

A mere sliver of gold... I imagine the long-lost high seas fleet would be eager to borrow some gold from its neighbors back home, and the lovely old money-lover would surely be happy to rush over and deliver it.

In a tense atmosphere where their hearts were on the verge of stopping, the group walked through the entire warehouse. They inhaled too much cold air, causing their gums to ache, and all they could hear were sniffling sounds.

After leading the four to sit on small golden stools in the creative area, Tang Wen twirled the golden bamboo dragonfly in his hand and directly made a small, bold demand:
"The number will be around 730 tons and won't fluctuate much. I don't need much. Just mortgage 100 billion yuan, no problem."

"No problem, no problem!"

The bank manager readily agreed at first, and then cautiously began to speak:
"However, injecting 100 billion yuan all at once is too troublesome. Could it be paid in installments over five years?"

"That won't work. At most, it will take three years, and it should be done in increments of 400 billion, 300 billion, and 300 billion. That should be barely enough."

"make a deal!"

The bank manager now looks at Tang Wen with more tenderness than he does at his wife, and he's practically willing to agree to anything.

He shouted directly at the other three:

"Now none of us are allowed to leave here. We must all take out our cell phones and keep only one switched on for communication. We must be under mutual supervision at all times... Mr. Tang, could you please prepare some food for us? Steamed buns and water will be fine so we don't have to go to the toilet easily. Compressed biscuits would be best."

Old Zhao, the people we originally hired have been replaced. Now, we'll probably have to send the most elite troops from the capital to personally transport and escort them. Not a single mistake can be tolerated!

Tang Wen originally wanted to say he could help, but seeing the situation, he decided against it. Now, he would probably only feel at ease if they kept a close watch on the money until it was locked in the vault.

However, considering the current state of public security and the allure of gold, he still offered a suggestion:

"Why don't we bring the Qi Jiguang ship here? We can say it's for routine maintenance, and then send it directly to the port by water. It's both safe and fast."

The Hildebrand aircraft carrier cruiser also has a displacement of over 30,000 tons, making it fully capable of transporting gold, and Tang Wen is more at ease knowing that control of the ship is still in his hands.

The bank manager and Zhao Hande exchanged a glance and nodded, clearly agreeing. The Qi Jiguang ship belonged to the navy, which was much safer than being transported by train or truck.

If it were a land-based transport fleet, it would be impossible not to make a show of it; it would be far less convenient than water transport.

"Then I'll have to trouble you, Mr. Tang."

"It's nothing. With so much gold, are you planning to buy some warships or airplanes?"

"..."

"The sea trials and electronic equipment compatibility tests of the first Type 055 destroyer, hull number 101, should be almost complete and ready for service. The second ship, hull number 102, is also about to undergo sea trials. Are you wondering if we could get four more to make a dozen?"

"I don't know much about military matters..."

Zhao Hande changed the subject, and Tang Wen didn't press the matter, instead asking:
"Old Zhao, Gai Jin wants to get involved in Southeast Asia."

"Will there really be riots?"

Zhao Hande immediately perked up.

Tang Wen:

"It may not just be a riot, but in any case, Geijin will not allow any kind of tragedy to happen, and we will do everything we can to make it happen."

Tell me in detail how far things have progressed over there.

(End of this chapter)