Becoming a Russian Oligarch After Rebirth
Chapter 224: Enjoying the Treatment of a State Guest_1

Chapter 224: Chapter 224: Enjoying the Treatment of a State Guest_1

Wang Ye’s understanding about the Crimea Peninsula came from the "popular science" knowledge Natalia had imparted to him a few days ago.

Otherwise, who would care about the politics of this so-called "Republic"...

But now, hearing what Yuri said, Wang Ye became a bit interested. After all, Meshkov was indeed a person with the title of "President"!

This was the head of a country!

Being able to talk face-to-face with such a person was, of course, a good experience.

"Alright, there’s an airport in Simferopol, right? I’ll take a plane there tomorrow," Wang Ye said readily.

The capital of the Crimea Republic was Simferopol, a much larger city than Yalta, with a population of more than three hundred thousand...

"Yes, yes, and there’s a lot of flights to Moscow. There are several a day. The main flights from here are to Moscow and Kyiv, other routes haven’t been opened yet," Yuri quickly responded.

Well, having an airport in a city with a total population of just over three hundred thousand was not easy. What more could be expected?

"Okay, I’ll be there tomorrow," Wang Ye said in response.

..........

After hanging up the phone, Wang Ye chuckled.

Had he also reached the level of a presidential guest...

And it was the other party who asked to see him!

In fact, it made sense. The Crimea had never been prosperous.

Now it was in a very awkward situation, relying on Ukraine for material support, but spiritually leaning towards Russia. It was difficult...

What’s more, both Russia and Ukraine were now poorer.

They didn’t have much surplus to take care of their little brother Crimea, so it wasn’t exaggerating to describe the people of the Crimea Peninsula as destitute.

Foreign investment?

Please, who would come here to invest? Even the basic infrastructure was not complete, and water had to be transported by water trucks from Ukraine!

Now someone wanted to develop tourism resources and build five-star hotels. It was no wonder even the president was stirred.

It’s not an exaggeration to say that if the tourism industry gets rolling, a few hundred thousand tourists a year could contribute half, if not more, of Crimea’s GDP!

As for creating jobs and driving the development of various industries, these indirect benefits need not be mentioned.

"Xie Liaosha, you guys get ready. We’re flying to Simferopol tomorrow to meet the president of Crimea. By the way, we can’t bring weapons there," Wang Ye said to Xie Liaosha, who was in the driving seat.

Xie Liaosha nodded, "No problem, boss! We certainly can’t bring weapons there, especially on a plane. But if we’re going to meet the president there, safety shouldn’t be a problem."

True, Wang Ye didn’t have any enemies now, and honestly, there wasn’t any great danger.

Especially since this time they were going to meet the president. If there were any safety issues, Crimea would lose all its face!

..............

Early on June 15, at Sheremetyevo Airport, Wang Ye, Kaja, Xie Liaosha, and three other bodyguards, a total of six people, boarded the flight to Simferopol.

Without a doubt, all in business class!

Why didn’t they buy first class?

Because the plane was really old and didn’t even have a first class to begin with...

This plane was the famous IL-86, a large passenger plane designed and produced by the former Soviet Union. Other than the loud noise, it didn’t really have any shortcomings.

After boarding the plane, Wang Ye put on an eye mask and closed his eyes to rest.

The roaring sound of the plane’s engine was a bit annoying, but still within a tolerable range.

However, Kaja next to him was clearly excited and anxiously asked, "Are we really going to meet the president this time? Wow, I didn’t know there was a president on the Crimea Peninsula!"

Wang Ye helplessly responded, "That president’s title doesn’t carry much weight. You could just see him as... oh, a governor like Uncle A Bu. In fact, the area he manages is smaller than Uncle A Bu’s, and the population is also less. If Crimea were to join Russia, he probably wouldn’t even match up to Uncle A Bu in terms of administrative level."

Indeed, how big was the Crimea Peninsula after all? The area of Chukotka, a single region, probably accounted for at least ten times the size of the Crimea Peninsula...

But Kaja didn’t care about this. She continued excitedly, "But he’s a president! Just like The Emperor!"

Wang Ye couldn’t be bothered to explain any further.

Joking aside, The Emperor was Russia’s top figure!

The leader of a major world power!

Although Russia was poor nowadays, their military power and international influence were not to be underestimated. They were the only country that could compete with the United States...

Comparing Meshkov to The Emperor...

"Alright, let’s take a break. I’m exhausted from staying up so late last night," Wang Ye mumbled with his eyes closed.

Kaja’s cheeks turned a subtle shade of red as she glanced at Wang Ye with a flirtatious expression.

Unfortunately, Wang Ye had an eye mask on and didn’t see it at all...

.........

After about two hours of flight, they had arrived at Simferopol Airport, which is the capital airport of the Crimea Republic!

As soon as the plane stopped, Wang Ye removed his eye mask, moved around a bit to stretch his body, and prepared to disembark.

A flight attendant walked directly over and bent down to ask, "May I confirm, are you Mr. Mikhail from Moscow?"

"Ah? Yes, that’s me. What’s up?" Wang Ye counter-questioned.

"We’ve been informed that you’re a distinguished guest of the Presidential Palace, and staff from the palace will be coming to pick you up. Would you please follow me out?" The flight attendant’s tone became even more respectful.

Wang Ye didn’t expect President Meshkov to be so courteous as to send someone specially to receive him.

He nodded, saying, "Alright, let’s go."

Following the flight attendant, he began to walk off the plane, and as for other passengers on the plane, sorry, they’d just have to wait a bit longer!

......

As soon as he stepped out of the cabin and before he got onto the escalator, Wang Ye was taken aback.

Because he saw a line of black Mercedes parked below, with glistening police lights mounted on the roofs of several of them!

More importantly, each of these Mercedes cars had two small flags sticking out of them...

Clearly, this was the motorcade dispatched by the Presidential Palace.

Was he being treated like a state guest?!

Although the Crimea Peninsula is poor, the Presidential Palace still puts up quite a show!

Wang Ye straightened his suit and adjusted his tie as he descended along the escalator.

Kaja and Xie Liaosha and the others were right behind him.

Just as he stepped off the escalator, a few middle-aged men who were standing in front of the fleet came forward to greet him, with a man in his thirties leading the group, a tall and thin man with golden hair.

He greeted Wang Ye with a beaming smile, "Hello, Mr. Mikhail, right? I’m the secretary of President Meshkov. I’m here to receive you on the president’s orders."

Wang Ye extended his right hand and shook his, responding with a smile, "President Meshkov is indeed very kind."

"Please get in the car. We’re heading straight to the Presidential Palace," the secretary indicated, stepping aside.

Wang Ye and Kaja got into the middle car of the fleet, and the secretary also got in and sat in the passenger seat.

As for Xie Liaosha and the others, they got into the other cars.

The motorcade started up, with the sound of sirens, and drove out of the airport in grand fashion...

.........

The city of Simferopol is rather small with a total population of just around three hundred thousand, so you can imagine the size of the city.

A straight road runs through the entire city, with important government departments and buildings located along this central axis.

Although Wang Ye was being treated like a national guest, it hadn’t escalated to the point where the roads were cleared for him...

Of course, as the motorcade drove, with police cars clearing the way, the cars on the road all dutifully moved aside.

Looking through the car window, Wang Ye surveyed both sides of the road.

It was clear that the economy in Simferopol wasn’t doing too well. This road was already the city’s main thoroughfare and it was getting closer to the city center, but it was a struggle to find a decent building along the roadside.

Small, low-rise buildings were everywhere. There were no skyscrapers in sight, and the old buildings were all in a state of disrepair.

Compared to Moscow or Petersburg, the difference was like night and day!

Noticing that Wang Ye was observing the outside situation, the secretary in the passenger seat started explaining:

"This city, along with the Crimea Peninsula, has experienced numerous wars before, plus the incident that occurred ten years ago, so development has been relatively slow. However, under the meticulous administration of our President Meshkov, the whole city is gradually improving. We are very welcoming of entrepreneurs like Mr. Mikhail to come and invest here. And, we will certainly provide Mr. Mikhail with the most favorable policy conditions..."

Wang Ye was somewhat moved.

This is the fear of poverty!

Upon seeing a halfway decent "foreign businessman", any investment that’s a bit bigger, they would desperately try to keep them.

Of course, it’s also possible that President Meshkov has other intentions...