I'm in the county town, and you say I'm a big shot?

Chapter 530, Page 529: "Want to Buy the Bitcoin You Have"

At 6:20 p.m., Qiao Yongfeng knocked on the door, and the two went downstairs together.

In a private room in the restaurant on the second floor, Fang Qingye met Director Luo, a middle-aged man in his forties, wearing a short-sleeved shirt and glasses, who appeared refined and cultured.

Upon seeing Fang Qingye enter, Director Luo immediately stood up and extended his right hand: "Hello, Director Fang, I've long admired your reputation. This is our first meeting. You are indeed young."

I've long heard of my great name
The head of a local bank would naturally not attract the attention of the central bank's directors; it seems that Bitcoin is to blame.

Fang Qingye muttered something to herself, but smiled broadly and exchanged a few polite words before everyone took their seats.

The dishes were served quickly, all of them local Beijing dishes: shredded pork with sweet bean sauce, stir-fried shredded pork with cold noodles, and stir-fried shredded duck with pickled vegetables. Although there weren't many dishes, they were all very exquisite.

Director Luo also opened a bottle of Red Star Erguotou and said to Fang Qingye with a smile, "Yongfeng and I like to drink this. Although it is not as famous as Moutai, it tastes authentic."

"You guys drink, don't worry about me," Fang Qingye said immediately. "Brother Qiao knows I have a low alcohol tolerance. I get dizzy after just a little bit of alcohol and can't even speak clearly."

"Hehe, Yongfeng told me a long time ago that Director Fang isn't good at drinking. So we won't make things difficult for you today. How about you have some drinks?" Director Luo said.

Yes, Not Bad
Do not force people to drink.

Fang Qingye's impression of Director Luo immediately improved.

Everyone ate and chatted, and soon got down to business.

"President Fang, let's get straight to the point. I'm here to see you not only on my own behalf, but also on behalf of President Zhou."

President Zhou!
That's the head of the central bank, the governor.

Fang Qingye felt a chill run down her spine, and her expression turned serious.

Director Luo continued, "It was a bit presumptuous of me to have Yongfeng invite you to Yanjing. Logically, I should go to Jiangsu Province to see you, but my status would alert some local officials, which would only cause unnecessary trouble for you regarding our conversation."

"Director Luo, you're too kind," Fang Qingye said.

"It's not just being polite. The reason we chose to meet here, just the three of us, instead of you inviting us to our central bank building, is because we didn't want more people to know about our meeting. Governor Fang, I hope you can understand."

"understand."

"That's good. You probably know some of what I wanted to talk to you about," Director Luo said.

"A friend of mine told me about it, about Bitcoin, right?" Fang Qingye answered frankly.

"Yes, Bitcoin is undoubtedly the hottest investment product this year," Director Luo remarked with a touch of emotion.

“We never imagined that the inventor of Bitcoin, the person who wrote the famous article ‘Bitcoin: A Peer-to-Peer Electronic Cash System’ and used the pseudonym DHDK, was none other than you, President Fang.”

"Did you know that Bitcoin enthusiasts, scholars in the field of monetary finance, investors, and some major governments around the world are looking for DHDK? Some think you are a British or Irish person living in the central or western United States."

"Some even thought it was an abbreviation of four well-known companies: Dell, HP, Deutsche Telekom, and KDDI, implying that Bitcoin was actually developed by these four companies and named after their initial letters. But no one expected it to be a young man from a small county in mainland China."

“Director Luo, if you don’t tell us, I’m afraid no one will ever know,” Fang Qingye said with a smile.

"Hehe, you can rest assured about that. We will absolutely not reveal it, including our conversation tonight, which is also classified information," Director Luo said with a smile.

Fang Qingye picked up her teacup, took a sip, and then said, "Alright, Director Luo, what else would you like to know?" "Can you tell me how many Bitcoins you currently have?" Director Luo asked.

"Approximately 92."

Upon hearing this number, Qiao Yongfeng, who had been listening to the conversation between the two, was stunned and stared blankly at Fang Qingye.

92 million pieces
The price of Bitcoin has now skyrocketed to $1000 per coin, meaning that Fang Qingye's Bitcoin holdings are worth as much as $9.2 million, nearly 70 billion RMB!

我的天啦
Director Luo didn't seem too surprised, as if he already knew the number. He picked up a piece of food and said, "President Fang, thank you for your trust in me and for telling me the truth."

"It seems Director Luo already knows everything about me," Fang Qingye said jokingly.

"You could say that, including your investment activities in the securities market. Of course, it's not just me personally, it's the organization," Director Luo said leisurely.

organization
This word is ubiquitous in China and can be quite powerful at times.

"But don't worry, we're not here to interrogate you. Although some of your trading activities in the securities market are suspected of being illegal, the domestic securities market, whether it's the stock market or futures market, is not very mature. If we were to handle it entirely according to policies and regulations, I doubt the exchange would be able to find many people to help."

Fang Qingye smiled awkwardly after hearing this.

Fortunately, I've decided not to participate in domestic hype and try to fleece foreigners.

"I'm here today to make a deal with you, not with me, but with the central bank," Director Luo finally got to the point.

"What deal?"

“I want to buy the Bitcoin you have, but not all of it. How about I buy half?” Director Luo said.

Fang Qingye did not answer directly, but instead asked, "Director Luo, why is the central bank buying Bitcoin? Does it also want to participate in international speculation?"

Director Luo shook his head after listening: "Speculating on Bitcoin is meaningless to our country. But as you know, Germany and the United States have begun to recognize the legality of Bitcoin, and more countries will recognize it in the future. This will make Bitcoin not only financially valuable, but also give it a certain financial hegemony! Because it is as scarce as gold in this era."

“But, Lao Luo,” Qiao Yongfeng interjected at this moment.

"Based on my understanding of Bitcoin, this encrypted electronic currency generated by open-source P2P software can certainly lead to the invention of other currencies besides Bitcoin. There are already Litecoin, Ripple, and others on the market."

"That's right, there may be other cryptocurrencies in the future, but you have to admit that Bitcoin is currently the most widely circulated cryptocurrency in the world. It is being recognized by many important financial institutions in the real world and can be exchanged for real currencies. And the most important way to attract attention is through its constant hype."

At this point, Director Luo paused and smiled, saying, "Actually, we don't need to think about all that. We just need to keep an eye on the United States across the ocean. We need to be prepared for the future, and the central bank must have a certain amount of Bitcoin."

It turned out to be the case.

Although Director Luo's words were rather vague, everyone present was astute enough to understand immediately.

"Director Fang, what do you say? Are you willing to sell it to the state? Name your price, and we can discuss it slowly," Director Luo said with a smile at the end.

“Sure, I’m willing to donate half of my Bitcoins to the country free of charge, without asking for a single penny,” Fang Qingye said with a smile.

When Fang Qingye said those words, it was Director Luo's turn to be shocked, as if he couldn't believe his ears.

"What?! You're donating for free?!"

(End of this chapter)