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Chapter 688: Chapter 592: Myanmar Economic Zone (Please subscribe!) _1
Hearing Ling agreeing so readily.
Everyone present felt something was off, but couldn’t pinpoint the exact source of their discomfort. After all, Ling wasn’t the one who pursued this position, instead it was hoisted upon him by them.
Well, alright then.
Maybe it’s just their imagination.
The big shots of Myanmar started to cheer up again, throwing their doubts behind, with only Kan Qin harboring secrets. His bitter smile was deeply hidden and went unnoticed.
Kan Qin himself was not sure if inviting Ling, a ’wolf’, in was the right decision. Only time would tell. No matter how bad the situation gets in the future, it could not be worse than it already was. Looking around at the excited colleagues, Kan Qin couldn’t help but feel out of place.
He, of course, knew what excited them.
The other big shots in Myanmar were doing mental arithmetic.
If Ling visited twice a month, they would be able to meet frequently, understand Ling’s thought process and control him. Right now, this newly added position was merely ceremonial. They were pleased to offer it, it did not matter to them.
As long as it doesn’t divide the power they hold.
"Great, let’s welcome Ling with a round of applause. Let’s work together in the future and jointly shoulder the heavy task of Myanmar’s rise," Lang Cai happily began to clap first.
Once Lang Cai started clapping, applause erupted below. Everyone wore happy expressions on their faces. As for what they were really thinking, only they knew.
Next.
They started discussing fine details of the agreement; like clearing the minefields, budgeting, interfacing with different departments, supporting the industries, and more. All of these needed to be discussed.
It was not until the sky got dark.
They were still in the conference room discussing. While progress was fast, it all depended on the total length of their progress bar. At this point, they only agreed on the detailed framework, there were still many things that needed to be confirmed at the lowermost level.
Ling’s demonstrated economic and statistical skills throughout the afternoon left them with brainaches. His command on data, negotiation, and timing stunned them.
They were losing in a negotiation based on facts and reasons.
All of them.
"Alright, let’s call it a day. We will continue tomorrow. Let’s go for dinner now."
Seeing it was already late, Lang Cai ended the meeting for the day.
They packed their things.
The group then went to the usual place where Myanmar invites foreign guests.
Same again, it was state banquet quality.
The food was extravagantly exquisite.
Lang Cai brought out the fruit wine harvested from his Thailand property - everyone got a glass.
They enjoyed it.
They were still not so confident about drinking the fruit wine Ling had brought.
After the third round of drinks, Lang Cai was looking at his glass of wine and chuckled, "Deputy Leader Ling, did you take the sales rights of this wine back? Those foreign distributors are making loads of money off it, it’s quite a loss for us."
Even if the distributors included the large family from Thailand, where Wangsa resided, this is Myanmar, and he doesn’t care their relationship. It’s normal to feel dissatisfied when seeing an opponent making money.
If it were the Thai Imperial Family, Lang Cai would have been more reserved.
However, he doesn’t see a small Thai family as a threat.
Ling’s face, which was smiling before, suddenly turned serious and he answered in a solemn tone, "A man without faith cannot stand. I keep my word, and I promised them the sales rights - there’s no reason to suddenly retract that. If I broke my promise this time, I may not stop next time."
The tone of Ling’s speech changed abruptly.
It had even a hint of a warning in it.
If he is forced to break his promise, then don’t blame him if he does the same to them in the future – after all, they were the ones who opened this Pandora’s box, by denying him the chance to be a ’Good Man’.
Upon hearing this.
Everyone present froze. Then reality hit them. If Ling broke his promise on this matter, then what trust would be left? If he did the same with them next time, wouldn’t that be ’Self-Invited Trouble’?
"Ah... Haha, Deputy Leader Ling is right. A man must have integrity, and we must not break our promises," Lang Cai hurriedly changed the subject to avoid making Ling feel that they were too greedy, who also pushed him to break a promise, while not even benefiting themselves.
With that awkward topic out of the way.
Everyone began to bring up economic development. They were shocked when they learned that Ling planned to invest a significant amount of money in infrastructure development, including transportation and city building projects. How much money would that entail?
But when Ling mentioned " Asia Dollar settlements", they suddenly understood.
The Asia Dollar.
It was essentially printed by Ling himself.
He could make as much as he wanted.
"Deputy Leader Ling, doing this, aren’t you afraid of severe inflation?" Lang Cai asked, suspecting that if a huge amount of Asia dollars were thrown into the market, the currency would inevitably depreciate.
Ling shook his head, explaining:
"Firstly, some of the money will be settled through foreign currency, which will help offset the amount of Asia dollars introduced into the market.
Secondly, we possess sufficient export goods, which can offset a part of the payment for goods, hence this portion of Asia dollars will also not flow into the market.
Thirdly, when the growth rate of goods outstrips that of currency issuance, inflation will be kept minimal and can be adjusted at any time."
The exchange rate between Asia Dollar and RMB is equivalent, which is a promise that Tang Qing had made to the people who exchanged foreign currencies, so he would not let it depreciate. Short-term inflation was virtually impossible.
Lang Cai and the others all nodded in agreement - if all went as Ling said, the tremendous money printing wouldn’t cause too much impact.
After dinner.
Ling was lodged in a place where foreign guests normally stay.
At the same time, Lang Cai quickly ordered someone to find a good residence for Ling in Yangon. Those houses were not located together in the same place but were scattered in different locations. Deciding where to live was up to one’s preference.
.......
In the following two days.
Ling spent the time negotiating the specifics of the partnership in Yangon.
Because the details were immense, it was not something that could be settled in a few sentences. It involved all aspects, from profit distribution to division of labor for future cooperation. Fortunately, there weren’t many domestic issues in Myanmar.
Otherwise, the meeting would need to go on for a week without finishing.
Within these two days.
All of them could perceive Ling’s power.
As well his decisive and proactive approach.
After taking over the ’Myanmar Economic Development Committee’, Ling, in one go, passed a large stack of files and demanded a detailed planning report. If not completed, they were to leave.
A few slackers were immediately kicked out. Considering that Ling had just started, Lang Cai agreed, and assigned them elsewhere, even though Ling had offended another deputy leader, as some of those dismissed were their relatives.
But this was what Lang Cai wanted to see. If everything below was harmonious, then he, as the helmsman, should worry.
Thinking about the work ability demonstrated by Ling for the past two days, his intolerance for incompetence, and his get-to-work character, Lang Cai wanted to see what Ling could achieve. He was very expectant.
With the span of two days.
Ling also got to familiarize himself with Myanmar’s upper echelons, especially Kan Qin, who was very supportive of Ling’s work because he was also a practitioner. However, others who flattered him just wanted to get projects from Ling.
Ling didn’t refuse. As long as they gave him money, he sold. To build a good relationship, Ling was just starting to stabilize, and it was not suitable to put on airs with these people. Moreover, there was no need to switch their attitude. As long as they could cooperate, it was just a matter of money. If they gave it, he took it.
Knowing Ling’s business cooperation with all subordinates.
Lang Cai just turned a blind eye. They were just making money, not such a big deal. As long as they supported him, he wasn’t afraid of Ling winning them, because he had already given these people a position of power.
Ling simply gave money.
...
September 23.
Myanmar.
Yangon.
The Myanmar government officially announced the establishment of the ’Myanmar Economic Zone’, incorporating all of Ling’s territories under the jurisdiction of the Myanmar Economic Zone. Ling was the first governor and also held the post of Deputy Leader of Myanmar.
As soon as the news was out.
It created ripples.
The sudden release of this news did not cause much outrage among the locals in Myanmar. They were just happy. As they did not understand well about Ling’s situation, they continued to farm their fields as usual.
However, it caused a great uproar within the ruling region, everyone was dumbfounded by this news.
What the hell!
What’s going on?
Did Ling really join Yangon?
Is Ling originally from Yangon?
...
They had too many theories.
Myanmar.
Within the jurisdiction.
After listening to the broadcast.
Two young workers on the construction site were having an enthusiastic discussion.
"Is it true what they said? Has Leader Ling really succumbed to Yangon?"
"Yes.. yes, that’s what they said on the radio."
"Then what should we do?"
"Are you foolish? Didn’t you hear the radio saying that Ling’s primary responsibility is over here, everything continues as usual, we are simply not at odds with them anymore. All the rights are still with Ling." Another old co-worker scorned.
"What does it mean? Isn’t it submission?"
"Stupid! Read more books when you have time. Ling hasn’t fully submitted, he has only gone to Yangon to get a status. He continues external economic and trade activities, and everything else remains the same; treatment, welfare, and the system."
"So, Yangon doesn’t care about us, and Ling continues to manage us?"
"Yes."
"Great! I don’t trust Yangon. Support..."
"..."
That morning, people in the entire jurisdiction were distracted from work. They ran around, telling each other the news. Actually, there was no need for it, because everyone knew about it. It was just sharing the surprise one felt.
The reaction of the local citizens was immense, and most of them were supportive. As for those ’fence sitters’ citizens, they had just changed the boss, and the boss turned to Myanmar. It wasn’t unacceptable.
The greatest reaction came from Su Yu’s side.
Because apart from Su Yu and his wife, others had no idea what Ling was up to or when he went to Yangon.
He had joined Myanmar in the blink of an eye. Those previous subordinates were so angry, not at Ling, but because they were afraid that Myanmar would find fault and divide their shares in the autumn. After all, they had been at odds for so many years, some were dead, some had conflicts, and some had accidents.
If Lang Cai and others point their fingers, they would be in danger.
So they hurriedly went to find Su Yu in groups.
Su Yu was planting flowers at home. He knew about this news two days earlier. As a future prominent figure of the ’Myanmar Economic Special Zone’, he was privileged with such information.
However, Su Yu guessed the beginning but not the ending.
He guessed about the establishment of the ’Myanmar Economic Special Zone’, but didn’t expect Ling to be given the title of Deputy Leader of Myanmar by Yangon. Although it was a bit idle, it was also a high-status appointment.
