Becoming a Russian Oligarch After Rebirth
Chapter 1133 - 966: Reacquaintance_2

Chapter 1133: Chapter 966: Reacquaintance_2

In that era, to attract foreign investment coupled with the nation’s inherently hospitable traditions, the service given to foreign guests, especially the more important ones, was truly meticulous.

Someone like Mikhail definitely counted as a VIP!

Nevermind his official position, just the large groups under his name were enough to ensure he’d receive a warm welcome in any country he visited!

......

Seeing how anxious Mayor Zhang was, Wang Ye laughed heartily and said in a relaxed manner, "Sit down, let’s talk. In this little restaurant right now, there are no Duma Speakers or Mayors, let’s just chat as friends, without all that formality."

If he weren’t the Duma Speaker and was instead an ordinary person, it would be quite improper for him to speak in such a manner because those were words typically reserved for those "above"...

Sure enough, hearing Wang Ye say this, Mayor Zhang’s face lit up with delight.

To be considered a friend by someone like Chairman Mikhail is an honor, even for the Mayor of Peng City!

Those outside the political arena cannot understand and feel the strict hierarchy that exists within it!

Peng City, albeit occupying a special status as a special economic zone.

But in terms of administrative level, it is actually just a vice-provincial-level city, and as its Mayor, he is but a vice-provincial-level official!

Yet Mikhail’s position as Deputy Speaker Duma was definitely at the deputy national level...

Between the two, there existed a huge chasm!

......

In the subsequent conversation, Mayor Zhang seemed a bit restrained.

He carefully smiled and said, "Chairman Mikhail’s Chinese is really good! Honestly, if Manager Zhang hadn’t revealed your identity, I would have never thought you were a foreign friend."

Mayor Zhang didn’t know much about Mikhail as an individual, having only glanced at the news and generally understanding that such a figure had emerged on Russia’s political stage.

Rumors had it he was extremely young, still in university when he started holding an important position.

As for why he could take on such an important role at his age, perhaps it was due to an illustrious family background. Any other details, he of course didn’t know, and he hadn’t bothered to find out either.

After all, he wasn’t in the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, and he was already too busy dealing with matters within his own jurisdiction to spend energy on getting to know a foreign official in detail...

So, he also had no idea why Mikhail spoke Chinese so well and appeared just like a Chinese person!

But naturally, this topic was even more inappropriate to ask about directly, for that would be a real breach of manners.

At best, he could inquire curiously about the language issue.

Wang Ye smiled and said, "It is because my father is of Chinese descent but a Russian citizen. I have been learning Chinese from him since I was young, so my Chinese is quite good."

Wang Ye had told this "story" so many times that he now delivered it without batting an eyelid.

Zhang Xiaoxi, sitting by his side with a serious face, was secretly chuckling inside.

She was Wang Ye’s old classmate and neighbor, familiar with Wang Ye’s parents.

Lao Wang probably couldn’t imagine that he had somehow acquired an extra nationality and become so-called "Russian of Chinese descent"!

Of course, Wang Ye’s mother was even more "outrageous," directly becoming "Russian"!

Mayor Zhang nodded, now understanding why Mikhail spoke such good Chinese and why he looked like a Chinese person...

Although still slightly puzzled, as Mikhail didn’t seem to be one of those so-called "mixed race" people, but rather had a very "authentic" East Asian face.

But to question someone’s appearance is always impolite, let alone questioning a high-ranking, influential person. Mayor Zhang wasn’t that foolish, of course.

Actually, he wasn’t particularly interested in Mikhail’s appearance or language, as there were more important matters to discuss!

Even if Mikhail had come to China on business, he likely wouldn’t talk about collaborations at the national level; moreover, it wasn’t Mayor Zhang’s place to discuss such matters with him.

Surely higher-level officials would be the ones receiving Chairman Mikhail.

What Mayor Zhang was more interested in were the large groups under Mikhail’s name!

Rumors said this man was Russia’s richest, the current biggest oligarch, a super rich billionaire with a fortune of several tens of billions of US dollars!

If he casually invested in a couple of projects in Peng City, wouldn’t that greatly boost the city’s foreign investment figures for the year? That would be a real achievement...

Oh, achievements are secondary, what Mayor Zhang values more is the help that the large investment brings to Peng City’s economic development, as well as the creation of more job opportunities, and future increases in tax revenue!

To tell the truth, he has met plenty of big bosses, but it’s the first time Mayor Zhang has met someone as influential as Mikhail...

Therefore, he must seize this opportunity!

......

"Mr. Mikhail, since you are here for a business inspection and have come to Peng City, then I must properly introduce to you the advantages of Peng City and our future development plans.

I firmly believe that Peng City is absolutely the city with the most development potential in the country, without a doubt!

So, if you have any plans for investment, then Peng City is definitely the best choice..."

Mayor Zhang spoke with sincere tones.

Wang Ye smiled slightly and said, "I have quite a few investments in Peng City, not to mention the Joy City project this time. Actually, I’ve been investing here for a few years now."

Mayor Zhang asked in surprise, "Oh? Mr. Mikhail has other investments here? I’m rather uninformed then."

"It’s an indirect investment. There’s an Internet company here, called Tencent; I quite believe in its development, so I have already funded it in two rounds. Speaking of which, I’m one of Tencent Company’s major shareholders, haha," Wang Ye laughed.

Tencent Company?

Mayor Zhang, of course, knew about it.

These past few years, the Internet has also been quite a hot new industry.

Domestic Internet companies are mainly concentrated around the capital, after all, it is the capital, and whether in terms of talent reserves or sources of funds, it is much better than Peng City.

Thus, there are not many Internet enterprises in Peng City, and they can’t even compare to the neighboring Yangcheng.

But even so, an Internet company like Tencent still emerged, uncontestedly number one in the domestic instant communication field!

Mayor Zhang had even visited Tencent Company for inspection, but he wasn’t very clear on the shareholding structure behind Tencent.

Internet companies, well, they are like this, with very complex equity structures.

After round and round of financing, sources of funds are varied, and they will not go public in the country later on.

Moreover, these Internet companies also have a characteristic, which is that they seem to have a high market valuation, but in reality, they don’t contribute much to the local economy.

That’s because, firstly, in the early stages of development, Internet companies are all about investing money in, far from being able to make a profit, and therefore cannot pay taxes to the city.

Secondly, Internet companies generally do not employ many employees; a thousand employees would be considered a large company.

Compared to those large factories that could have tens of thousands or even hundreds of thousands of employees, it’s really not much to look at.

Even if Internet companies develop well, in the end, they all go to the United States to go public...

Therefore, Mayor Zhang is not very interested in Internet companies.

But hearing that Mikhail is a major shareholder of Tencent, he was also a bit surprised, perhaps he needs to reassess the importance of Tencent Company!

Or rather, he needs to deepen his understanding of the Internet industry to see if it could be made one of the industries Peng City supports!

"This company... has great development prospects?" Mayor Zhang cautiously asked.

Wang Ye chuckled and confidently said, "In ten years, Tencent Company should be the highest-valued private enterprise in Peng City, reaching a valuation of over a trillion should be no problem."

Mayor Zhang’s jaw nearly dropped in shock!

The highest-valued private enterprise in Peng City?

Over a trillion?!

What kind of concept is that...

If someone else said this, Mayor Zhang would probably scoff.

But the problem is, the person saying this now is Mikhail!

With his status, he’s probably not joking with me...