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Chapter 722: Chapter 625: Extreme Madness (Subscription Requested!)_1
October 15th.
10 a.m.
Myanmar.
Yangon.
In a large conference room.
All the top executives of Myanmar, including Ling, who was unable to attend last time due to bidding for the infrastructure project of the ’Myanmar Economic Zone’, have gathered. Lang Cai had mentioned that he would make a significant announcement today and asked Ling to be there without fail.
Of course, Ling came.
He arrived in Yangon yesterday afternoon and is currently staying in the villa assigned by Lang Cai. He also threw out a bunch of surveillance and eavesdropping devices at the gate, giving a metaphorical slap in the face to Myanmar’s intelligence department.
Fortunately, everyone acted as if nothing happened, and no one publicized or questioned the action. The intelligence department of Myanmar just silently collected their equipment, indicating that they would let it go this time but would not tolerate such actions in the future.
Ling is seated among various deputy leaders of Myanmar.
Also present are heads from various departments of Myanmar, as well as big shots from the military, people with their hands in all aspects of Myanmar. They’re here in full capacity, filling the whole conference room, silently watching Lang Cai who is seated at the head.
Lang Cai looks a little unwell today. His lips are pale, and he looks weary. Word is that he caught a cold, had a fever and coughed all night.
Another person that draws attention today is the other protagonist — Kundun.
Kundun.
The one Lang Cai is planning to promote.
Today, Kundun is dressed formally, with a shiny slicked-back hairstyle. Everyone notices a glint of joy in Kundun’s eyes.
They all understand Kundun’s feelings at this moment. Previously, Kundun was seen as just a candidate to succeed Lang Cai, nothing was finalized. But today, he’s being publicly announced, which is a completely different matter.
This means that with Lang Cai’s support, Kundun is practically set to become the next president of Myanmar, provided he doesn’t make any significant errors.
A skyrocketing journey.
It would be false to say that those present wouldn’t be envious. Everyone wants to stand at the top of the mountain, to view the most beautiful scenery, truly becoming the cream of the crop, enjoying power and honor while determining the fate of countless people at a flick of their fingers.
Unfortunately.
Birth is a natural chasm.
The birth lottery is indeed skillful.
The status of their forefathers determines their ranking, which they cannot change. The most they can aspire to be is a deputy leader in Myanmar.
Speaking of deputy leaders, many people turn their gaze towards two individuals.
One is Ling, and the other is Kan Qin. Ling’s position as deputy leader was a temporary arrangement, overseeing the ’Myanmar Economic Zone’ and a fringe department, and he isn’t entirely a part of their group. Thus, his position would become precarious once Kundun takes office.
It is unknown whether Kundun can quietly take control of that area without causing any bloodshed.
As for Kan Qin, his fate is basically sealed. Once Kundun takes office, it is likely that Kan Qin will be forced into early retirement, to enjoy his later years at home, just like how Kan Qin used to serve as Lang Cai’s right-hand man. Kundun will surely wish to promote his own right-hand man.
Lang Cai looks at the people below, their expressions varied.
His gaze settles on Ling and Kan Qin. Ling seems completely unaffected, calmly reading through the documents in his hand as if oblivious to today’s agenda. Kan Qin also looks composed and calm, as it seems that he has accepted his future fate.
"Sigh..." Lang Cai sighs inwardly.
Pity, Kan Qin’s birth limits him from climbing up the ranks, same goes for Ling. It’s even less likely for such an ’unconventional’ person like Ling to be promoted. Ling taking office is absolutely impossible.
Checking the time.
Lang Cai coughs twice.
"Cough cough..."
Everyone’s eyes focus on Lang Cai’s face.
Used to being the center of attention, Lang Cai begins to speak: "Alright, the meeting is starting. There are six items on the agenda today. The first is to discuss the topic of promoting Kundun to the position of special deputy leader of Myanmar. Any objections?"
Special Deputy Leader.
Another temporary position.
If two deputy leaders are appointed out of nowhere, future institutions would be quite bloated. Just like Ling, this is only temporary, but the Special Deputy Leader is being groomed to succeed Lang Cai. The nature of the two positions can’t be more different, and the real power holds much more sway.
The meeting is basically a formality. None of the people below voice any objections and express their agreement.
"Alright, since there are no objections, it’s decided. Starting from now, Kundun will become the Special Deputy of Myanmar, initially overseeing the Departments of Electricity and Communications, Industry, and Education. This will take effect after the meeting." Lang Cai announced.
"Applause..."
Congratulatory applause breaks out.
Kundun also stands up, beaming as he bows to Lang Cai and the people present.
While he does maintain decorum, it is visible that he can hardly contain his excitement. However, people do approve of his behavior. If someone like Ling, who appears unmoved by anything, were to ascend, they would surely be at a loss.
Because just by looking at his expression, you can’t tell what he is thinking.
These appointments are not fixed but part of a rotational system.
To allow Kundun to understand the status quo of each department, and to gain a structural understanding of Myanmar, he will be rotating through various departments for observation and learning over a certain period. 𝑛𝑜𝘷𝑝𝘶𝘣.𝑐𝘰𝘮
Lang Cai’s retirement age is also decided —it will be two years from now. By that time, Kundun would have accumulated plenty of experience and a deep understanding of Myanmar’s current situation, allowing Lang Cai to relinquish his position with peace of mind.
Kundun sits back down.
His emotions are indeed high.
He had waited for this moment for many years, and it had finally arrived.
If Lang Cai did not honour the agreement, his family clan would have to swallow their anger for now. Thankfully, it seemed that Lang Cai was trustworthy and was not going back on his word. Otherwise, they would have to come up with alternative strategies. This position - which his family clan had anticipated for this long - was not something they could give up easily.
Lang Cai, unaware of Kundun’s thoughts, continued: "Let’s move on to the second agenda item, which is about the upper limit of Asia Dollar to Myanmar Kyat exchange. I believe everyone understands this."
"Trade between the ’Myanmar Economic Zone’ and our domestic market is becoming more and more intense with increasing volume. Nevertheless, we can’t continuously print Asia Dollars to exchange for Myanmar Kyat goods, hence the previous limit."
"This time, due to the request of Deputy Leader Ling and the actual trade demand, I have decided to raise the limit of Asia Dollar to Myanmar Kyat exchange, from the previous 8 billion to 35 billion. Does anyone have anything to add, comments are welcome."
For a while, nobody said a word.
They all looked at the document in their hands.
Because it contained information about this issue, as well as the data provided by Ling.
The document displayed:
As of today:
The desire of local businessmen in the ’Myanmar Economic Zone’ to invest in Myanmar’s inland areas has already reached as high as 3.7 billion Asia Dollars. This implies that these local businessmen do not have Kyat, so if they want to invest inside Myanmar, they will certainly have to exchange Asia Dollars for Kyat.
At the same time, due to the richness of resources in Myanmar, the ’Myanmar Bank Group’ has issued annual purchase contracts worth up to 13 billion Asia Dollars to various major mining and raw material companies in Myanmar.
This money also needs to be exchanged from Asia Dollars to Myanmar Kyat by Ling to pay to these inland companies.
All of a sudden,
The previous limit of 8 billion seemed a bit petty and inadequate. Simply put, as long as Ling buys anything in Myanmar, he will have to use this quota. The more he buys, the more he uses.
And yet,
Less than a month has passed, and he has already reached the exchange limit.
"Deputy Leader Ling, when your Kyats are short, you can use other countries’ currencies for payment, such as dollars, euros, etc.," said Kan Qin. Although he was in a partnership with Ling, basic ’boundaries’ must be respected.
It can’t be revealed,
"Our foreign currencies are mainly used for foreign trade settlements. Coupled with the support for the members of the Myanmar Asia Chamber of Commerce, the current foreign exchange reserves have reached the warning line, and cannot be used in large quantities," explained Ling.
This was one of the reasons why the ’Myanmar Asia Chamber of Commerce’ members were given such high foreign currency loan benefits earlier, it was to massively consume the foreign currencies of the ’Myanmar Economic Zone’, thereby supporting the chamber’s businessmen.
Meanwhile,... those investing families in Myanmar were also being bought over.
As expected,
One of the deputy leaders immediately echoed: "I think Deputy Leader Ling is correct. The Myanmar Economic Zone is developing rapidly and finances are needed everywhere. I heard they also buys many technical parts, such as mobile phones and other high-end products.
Therefore, the demand for foreign currencies is very large, and foreigners refuse to accept Kyat and Asia Dollars. They can only consume precious foreign currency resources for settlement. I believe we should support Deputy Leader Ling’s proposal."
This is the difference between ’having connections’ and ’having no connections’.
They have benefited enormously from Ling, so naturally these families will speak up for Ling. They hadn’t yet received the one billion dollar low-interest foreign currency loan, so if Ling was forced to use the foreign currency resources of the Myanmar Economic Zone, wouldn’t that amount to them fighting over money?
How could that be acceptable?
They firmly disagreed.
"Yes, I also agree with Deputy Leader Ling. The Myanmar Bank Group is also lacking in various foreign currencies. We are all on the same side. If we still use foreign currencies for trade settlements, we will just make ourselves a laughingstock."
"Yes... "
"..."
Immediately,
Five people raised their hands to agree to this proposal.
Some even proposed to increase the quota again, raising it to 50 billion or even 60 billion.
Many people in the room found it difficult to get a Kyat loan in the domestic market, but if they waved the flag and shouted, and then asked Ling for help, they could get an Asia Dollar loan, which could then be converted into Kyat. Wouldn’t that be a good deal?
Why was Lang Cai so strict with this quota before?
It was because of the right to mint.
To Lang Cai, Ling could print Asia Dollars at no cost. In other words, if the quota was too high, then Ling could just punch some keys, or start the money printing machine, and create wealth crazily. This wouldn’t just be a few billion but several tens of billions.
Then he’d take the money he printed and buy resources.
Lang Cai opened his mouth,
Looking at the somewhat unfamiliar meeting atmosphere,
With a bitter smile on his face, he of course knew why these people were supporting Ling’s decision. It was because of the ’Myanmar Chamber of Commerce’s’ loan benefits-- a billion dollar low-interest foreign currency loan, who wouldn’t be envious?
Although there was usage restriction, they weren’t planning to embezzle the money, but to expand business.
Most importantly,
Lang Cai’s own family clan also took part in it.
In other words,
On this issue, if one includes the 500 million Asia Dollar loan and the 100 million-dollar loan that each Chamber of Commerce member received, originally there were eight Myanmar people with a total of 40 billion Asia Dollar loans, and 8 billion-dollar loans.
In other words,
To bribe these upper-class Myanmar people, Ling spent over 10 billion Asia Dollars this time.
You could say it was extremely crazy.
