ryethenovel 66. A fine of 2.5 million yuan
66. A fine of 2.5 million yuan
Li Xiang arranged for Peter to eat in the cafeteria, and took the opportunity to call Elena, demanding, "Can you please not drag me into your internal strife?"
Elena forced a smile and said, "What's the point of fighting now? I'm four years younger than Peter. If I don't let him make some mistakes, do you think I can control him, given my status as his stepmother?"
"I'm sorry to have troubled you."
Li Xiang deliberately said, "The asset recovery team is staking out my park. He's made such a commotion, they've definitely noticed him. How am I supposed to clean up this mess?"
Elena quoted a 10% discount.
Li Xiang: "This isn't about money."
Elena revealed, "The fine for Andrei has been almost settled. It will cost about 250 million. Once we pay this amount and get him out of prison, things will be simple."
"I won't haggle with you. It's 30% off, and I'll let you take 30%."
Li Xiang asked, "Are you capable of making that decision?"
"Originally, he had no say in the matter, but Peter messed things up himself, so he has no voice anymore." Elena's tone carried a hint of schadenfreude.
"You still say it's not internal strife?" Li Xiang pondered for a moment and said, "Let's stick to the old price of 95%. I'll cover the extra 25% as well, but the payment period will be extended to six months."
Elena smiled wryly, "I'm just hoping Andrei will come out soon so I can hand over the reins to him. You've even extended the payment period."
Li Xiang: "The more critical the moment, the more we need to stay calm. A few days won't make a difference."
This year is considered the first year of smartphones, and Apple will be launching the iPhone in a few months. Now is a good time to buy Apple stock.
Using the extra three months of payment terms to speculate on stocks would be far more profitable than taking those small fees, and no one would even know about it.
"Six months is fine, but I have an additional condition." Before Li Xiang could even speak, Elena interjected, "I'm entrusting Peter to you. Before Andrei is released on parole, you have to find a way to keep an eye on him and make sure he doesn't cause any more trouble."
Li Xiang joked, "Why don't we just break his legs and leave him paralyzed in bed?"
Elena said, "As long as you don't end up with a disability, it's up to you."
-
Uyun Gerile arranged an employee dormitory for Peter at the Red Star Distillery. Li Xiang came to visit him and brought two cases of whiskey with him.
"Elena told me to stay here and not cause her any trouble," Peter muttered as he looked around the room. "There are no cups."
"Stop looking." Li Xiang had already started drinking and was chugging straight from the bottle.
"You can hold your liquor pretty well," Peter said with a smile as he walked over, sat down, opened a bottle of whiskey, and took a big gulp after raising his glass with Li Xiang.
Li Xiang spoke up for Elena, explaining, "We have an undercover agent in our factory's asset recovery team. After what you did, they've definitely got their eyes on you. Elena's decision to keep you out of the money-raising process is for your own good."
"You know there are undercover agents, why don't you hurry up and deal with them? You haven't found out who they are yet? You can use me as bait to lure them in." Peter is quite accomplished in the field of social engineering.
Li Xiang: "If you want to help, I actually have something I can give you."
"What is it?" Peter asked expectantly, putting down the bottle.
Li Xiang said, "Stay here and be my driver."
"They just want to keep an eye on me, huh?" Peter instantly lost interest.
Li Xiang, going along with Peter's temper, said, "Being afraid you'll cause trouble and asking you for help are not mutually exclusive."
"Since the asset recovery team has already set their sights on you, let's play along and make good use of their plan. They want to arrest you for smuggling money, so just put on a show for them. The more attention you attract, the safer Elena and I will be."
Peter stated, "If you really need my help, of course I have no problem."
"Are you trying to gather your family's old subordinates together?" Li Xiang asked.
"That's the idea," Peter said, taking a big gulp of whiskey and sighing. "I knew Elena wouldn't agree to it."
"I agree."
"Ah!" Peter's expression froze.
Li Xiang clinked bottles with Peter and said with a grin, "Call everyone you can to come here. Those who can drive, drive; those who can't, unload. Once the doors are closed, who knows if what's inside is cargo or money?"
"The asset recovery team likes to keep watch, so let them find someone to do it."
"But let me make this clear from the start: you have to be able to control the people you bring. Otherwise, things might turn out for real and they might actually catch you doing something wrong."
Peter finally smiled. "Don't worry about that. I'm confident in the people I've called."
"You seem happy. Natasha is going to the US. It's a bit far, but we'll definitely have a chance to meet again in the future." Li Xiang finished the rest of the whiskey in one gulp, stood up, and said, "Get some rest. I'm leaving."
Peter saw Li Xiang off and remarked, "This is the first time I've ever seen a Chinese person who can drink so much."
In Russia, drinking is the most important form of social interaction among men.
Just like the worship of the "biao people," even if you can't hold your liquor and get drunk after two or three drinks, as long as you dare to drink, you're still a brother, and no one will laugh at you.
This social habit inevitably leads to excessive drinking.
This is also one of the important reasons why the average life expectancy of Russian men is much lower than that of women.
-
Deutsche Bank.
Li Xiang came to Pierce to apply for a loan.
"This is the valuation report for DST's investment in VKontakte, which is $6500 million. This is my shareholding document, which shows an 18.09% stake after dilution."
"Could you help me estimate the maximum amount I can borrow from Deutsche Bank?"
Pierce pulled out a calculator and did a rough calculation. "For startups like VKontakte that have just passed Series A funding, it's difficult to value the equity. Just because you've secured funding doesn't mean the banks will accept it."
"It also depends on your loan purpose, whether it's for investment or consumption, and how much risk there is."
Li Xiang replied, "Investment immigration."
"Have you decided which country to go to?" Pierce asked.
Singapore.
"I thought you'd go to Hong Kong. Singapore is fine too," Pierce continued his calculations, seemingly casually asking, "Is this another overseas loan?"
"Yes." Li Xiang nodded in affirmation.
Pierce looked up at Li Xiang and said with a smile, "If we strictly follow the risk control requirements, we can probably lend you six million."
"However, we've known each other for over a year now, and I know your situation quite well. If you want to borrow more, I can try my best to increase the loan amount to eight million."
"Aren't you satisfied with this number yet?"
"Satisfied," Li Xiang said with a smile. "I was actually thinking of transferring my stock holdings out, but you've made me feel embarrassed."
Pierce said very understandingly, "Just switch if you want to, there's nothing to be embarrassed about."
"You just need to change your nationality and do some tax planning. You and your business can stay in Russia. There will be plenty of opportunities for cooperation."
"Now that VKontakte has money, is it planning to build its own data center?"
Li Xiang replied, "I spoke with Durov, and he said he doesn't have that plan for the time being."
"Still renting from you?" Pierce proactively sought business for himself. "How about we take out another loan through the data center company to expand our servers?"
Li Xiang thought for a moment and nodded, "That's fine. Since you're already here, you might as well help me with it."