My Realistic Simulation Game

Chapter 62 Money and Power (Long Chapter)

"The direct supervisory authority of the Baroev Bakery?"

Liu Changhe was taken aback, tilted his head and thought for a moment before saying, "It should be the Municipal Government's Industrial Materials Management and Asset Disposal Bureau."

"The final decision-making power... should rest with Director Petrov."

Liu Changhe clapped his hands and affirmed, "Yes, it was him, Director Petrov. Last year, he was the one who decided to sell the steel plant to a Jewish businessman."

He remembered it clearly; it made the local news.

"Let's go!" Qin Yuan's gaze was cold. "Go to the Municipal Industrial Bureau. We're looking for Mr. Petrov."

Liu Changhe was completely stunned by Qin Yuan's decisive and audacious manner, which involved flipping the table!

But what immediately welled up in my heart was an immense sense of relief and exhilaration!

He held his head high, as if he had found his backbone, and immediately waved to flag down a Lada taxi parked on the side of the road.

"To the city government building!" Liu Changhe shouted to the driver in Russian.

The driver was a burly, middle-aged man with a stubble beard. He glanced at the two passengers in the back seat who were clearly foreigners, asked no questions, stepped on the gas, and the car sputtered toward the center of Khabarovsk.

Soon, the two of them arrived at the entrance of the Khabarovsk City Hall building.

Surprisingly, entering the building went very smoothly.

The guards at the gate noticed Qin Yuan and Liu Changhe's distinctly East Asian features, and especially after Liu Changhe clearly stated in Russian, "We are from China and would like to discuss investment matters with Director Petrov of the Industrial Bureau." Their eyes immediately became much more polite.

In 1990, China's reform and opening up had been going on for over a decade, its economic vitality was beginning to emerge, and its international image was quietly changing.

Meanwhile, the Soviet Union's own reforms were in disarray and it desperately needed external funding.

A "Chinese investor" who took the initiative to approach the guards undoubtedly attracted their attention.

"Please wait a moment." The guard picked up the internal phone and whispered a few words.

Soon, a young man dressed in a gray uniform, looking like a secretary, strode out of the building with a perfunctory, enthusiastic smile: "Two friends from China? Please come with me. Director Petrov happens to be free right now."

Qin Yuan nodded, looked at Liu Changhe who looked nervous, and whispered, "I'll handle things later, you don't need to say anything."

Liu Changhe nodded in agreement.

Led by the secretary, the two were soon taken to an office with the sign "Director of the Industry Bureau".

The secretary knocked on the door, and a steady voice came from inside: "Come in."

Pushing open the door, a small office comes into view.

Without needing an introduction, Qin Yuan knew that the person sitting opposite him was Petrov, the director of the Industrial Materials Management and Asset Disposal Bureau.

“Comrade Director Petrov,” the secretary said, entering first and introducing respectfully, “these two businessmen are from China, Mr. Qin and Mr. Liu. They would like to discuss with you the investment in the Baroev Bakery.”

Petrov raised his head, pushed up his reading glasses, and his gaze swept over Qin Yuan and Liu Changhe like a searchlight.

His gaze lingered for a moment on Qin Yuan's excessively youthful face, a barely perceptible hint of surprise flashing in his eyes.

Komirov had indeed reported that there were buyers interested in the bread factory, but this was the first time someone so young had come directly to him, bypassing the factory manager.

"Please sit down." Petrov's voice was calm and composed as he said, "The Baroev Bakery is state property, and its disposal follows strict procedures and assessments."

"Any investment intentions must comply with our rules and regulations."

He adopted a very businesslike attitude.

"Comrade Director Petrov, I fully understand and respect your country's system and procedures."

"That's why I want to complete this transaction in the most efficient way possible, avoiding unnecessary delays and...losses in the process."

Qin Yuan calmly sat down in the chair opposite the desk, while Liu Changhe stood behind him, looking somewhat reserved.

Qin Yuan placed his briefcase on the table and looked intently at the old man in front of him:

"Furthermore, I have the ability and the willingness to pay cash immediately to complete this transaction."

He enunciated the word "cash" with exceptional clarity and force!
"Cash?" Petrov's hand holding the pen paused slightly, and his gaze towards Qin Yuan finally showed a hint of something different, but he still said in a formulaic manner, "Mr. Qin, the valuation of state-owned assets needs to be conducted by a professional institution, and the payment method also needs to be..."

His words came to an abrupt halt.

Because Qin Yuan's hand had already unfastened the briefcase's clasp.

He then took out several stacks of brand-new green banknotes tightly bound with bank-issued white paper strips.

US dollars!

And it's twenty thousand US dollars!
The room became so quiet you could hear a pin drop!
Even though Petrov had seen it all, the shock of the dollar still made his eyes narrow sharply.

Twenty thousand dollars!

In the Soviet Union in 1990, especially against the backdrop of the rapid devaluation of the ruble, this was an absolutely staggering sum of money!

Its value far exceeds that of a ruble of equal face value, and may even be several times higher than the black market exchange rate!
However, before he could think further, Qin Yuan's voice rang out again:
"Comrade Director Petrov, this twenty thousand US dollars is a small token of my personal gratitude for your wisdom and hard work in facilitating the efficient and smooth progress of this transaction."

"As for the final transaction price for the factory," Qin Yuan paused and said, "we can conduct a fair assessment based entirely on your professional procedures."

"I believe that under your leadership, the final price will be very 'reasonable'."

He did not make any specific demands.

He simply put the money there, implying that the other party had significant pricing and operational flexibility.

Petrov certainly knew what the other party meant.

His gaze swept over the green banknotes and then landed on Qin Yuan's face!

This Asian man in front of me is too shrewd!
He skipped Komirov's exploitation, went straight to the key point, and brought out the hardest currency at a time when the ruble was depreciating rapidly—the US dollar!
There was no lengthy wrangling, no haggling; they simply revealed their most powerful weapon.

This method... is fast, accurate, and ruthless!

Petrov picked up the teacup on the table, his Adam's apple bobbing involuntarily.

He knew it would be easy to refuse the $20,000. But what would happen if he refused? The bread factory would still be stuck with unsold goods.

By accepting this money, one can quickly resolve a troublesome asset disposal task without taking much risk, and bring a "reasonable" extra-budgetary income to the bureau and oneself.

US dollars...

Petrov took a sip of tea, his mind churning as he weighed the pros and cons.

However, Qin Yuan's voice rang out again: "Comrade Director Petrov, I am not one to beat around the bush."

As he spoke, he reached into his briefcase again!

Another ten thousand dollars.

"puff--!"

Petrov could no longer control himself!

The mouthful of hot tea I had just taken a sip of suddenly sprayed out, soaking several documents on the table!

He coughed violently, hurriedly put down his teacup, but his eyes never left his desk!
Thirty thousand dollars!

A full thirty thousand dollars in cash! It was just laid out naked on his desk!

This is no longer a matter of "thank you"!

This is simply...an irresistible temptation!

The deathly silence that lasted for more than ten seconds seemed exceptionally long and suffocating in the office filled with the smell of tea and cigarettes.

Petrov's violently heaving chest finally calmed down a bit.

He wiped the water stains from the corners of his mouth and the table with a handkerchief, looking at the three stacks of green banknotes with a complicated expression, and then at Qin Yuan's frighteningly calm face.

Finally, he suddenly stood up!
The movements were so fast they were almost out of control!
He walked a few steps to the office door and locked it with a click!

Make sure everything goes perfectly!
Then, he walked back to his desk, picked up a blank hardcover document folder from the desk with an extremely natural movement, opened it, neatly placed the thirty thousand dollars on the desk inside, and then snapped the folder shut!
The whole process was smooth and seamless, as if it had been rehearsed countless times.

He held the $30,000, cleared his throat, and his voice became amiable:
"Mr. Qin, your sincerity and understanding of the procedure have left a very deep impression on me!"

"Supporting foreign investment, promoting local economic development, and optimizing the allocation of state-owned assets are among the most important responsibilities of our department at present!"

"Rest assured! We will handle the assessment and disposal of the Baroev Bakery in accordance with laws and regulations, and expedite all necessary procedures as quickly as possible!"

After saying that, he picked up a pen and wrote a number on a blank letter paper with a "swish, swish, swish" sound, then solemnly pushed it in front of Qin Yuan.

"This is a 'reasonable' transaction price that we have initially determined internally, based on the strictest principles of fairness and the most professional evaluation standards, and which includes all necessary disposal taxes and fees."

Petrov smiled and said, "Mr. Qin, do you think this price is acceptable?"

Qin Yuan's gaze swept over the note.

Above is a flamboyant Russian numeral: 1,100,000 rubles.

That's almost half of what Komirov asked for!
Qin Yuan smiled faintly, but that's not enough!

He did not answer immediately.

Instead, he reached for his seemingly bottomless briefcase once again!

Then he took out another $10,000.

"Comrade Director Petrov, this is to express my respect for your efficient work and my confidence in future investments in Khabarovsk."

“I will personally add a small amount of ‘support funds’.”

"We hope that this small amount of funding will help your bureau operate better and make a greater contribution to local economic development."

As he spoke, Qin Yuan gently placed the stack of US dollars on the table and pushed it toward Petrov.

Also pushed over was the slip of paper with the price written on it.

Petrov's heart pounded; he certainly understood what Qin Yuan meant!
This $40,000 is not used to lower the final price!

It's actually used to... "optimize" the transaction price!
Do you want to take this $10,000?

Of course I'll take it!

Whether the money used to acquire the bread factory was large or small, it had little to do with him; only a limited amount would end up in his pocket.

But the $40,000 in front of him was real money, right there in front of him!

Petrov took a deep breath, picked up his pen without hesitation, and forcefully crossed out "1,100,000" on the note he had just read!
Then, he quickly wrote down another number next to it: 750,000 rubles!

He then pushed the repriced note in front of Qin Yuan: "Mr. Qin, you reminded me!"

"I just reviewed the assessment report carefully, and it seems that the estimates for some depreciable assets were too conservative."

"After recalculation, based on the fairest principle, we believe that 750,000 rubles is a more 'reasonable' transaction price that better reflects the current actual value of the bread factory!"

He looked up at Qin Yuan with a broad smile: "Mr. Qin, do you think this adjusted price is more 'reasonable'?"

Qin Yuan looked at the numbers that had been crossed out and rewritten, and finally smiled.

He shook hands with Petrov and said, "Very reasonable! Comrade Director Petrov, thank you for your professionalism and impartiality!"

"However, I still have one small concern."

Having already received a $40,000 bribe from Qin Yuan, Petrov now regarded Qin Yuan as a family member, and said kindly, "Oh? Mr. Qin, if you have any concerns, please feel free to speak. As long as it is within my ability, I will do my best to help you solve it."

Qin Yuan said calmly, "My purpose in acquiring Baroev was to invest and develop in Khabarovsk, but this factory director Komirov has repeatedly obstructed me, offering prices that are far from commensurate with the actual value of the bread factory. I think this person is hindering the city's development."

"I'm worried about him retaliating after I take over!"

Petrov smiled knowingly, patted Qin Yuan's hand, and said, "Don't worry, this person will never appear in front of you again, Mr. Qin!"

(End of this chapter)