Becoming a Russian Oligarch After Rebirth
Chapter 640: Wholeheartedly Convinced_1

Chapter 640: Chapter 640: Wholeheartedly Convinced_1

A glimmer of hope appeared in Ajiv’s eyes. Was Mikhail going to let him off?

He quickly slapped his chest and stated, "Director, just give the command. I am indeed well-acquainted with Ukraine!"

Wang Ye nodded and casually said, "In Europe, apart from our country having the largest arable land area, Ukraine is second with a significant area of farmland.

Since we intend to prioritize food security in the future, increasing our grain production means reducing our reliance on Ukrainian imports.

This is likely to have a significant impact on their finances.

As you mentioned, our two countries are like brothers.

If a brother is struggling, even though we ourselves are not particularly affluent, we should still lend a hand.

Hence, I am thinking, why don’t we lease all their farmlands and manage them systematically?

The benefit of doing this would be that when selling grains internationally in the future, we would hold a larger market share, enabling us to have more pricing power and sell the grain at a higher price.

As for Ukraine, their surplus of farmland and grain can be exchanged for funds or consumer goods, which is a decent deal, isn’t it?"

Wang Ye calmly explained his idea, which, simply put, was for Ajiv to negotiate with the Ukrainians and rent their farmland.

Obviously, this leasing deal is no small matter, dealing with units of tens of thousands of hectares, possibly even spanning several states!

What Wang Ye wants is large scale farming; combined with our own, the total farmland area would be astounding.

A few years later, after the increase in grain production, Russia would undoubtedly become the largest seller in the international grain market!

Even though the international grain prices have been low for these past years due to oversupply, as Wang Ye commented in the Kremlin, these commodities are strategic resources!

In case of extreme weather condition or an unstable international situation, the seemingly unimportant grains could become the most lethal "weapon".

Whoever holds the majority of these grains would be at a great advantage and could exchange them for benefits they could not usually access!

These considerations, of course, Wang Ye did not share with Ajiv.

"No problem! I will handle it. Tomorrow I will fly to Ukraine and begin negotiations," Ajiv reassured, thumping his chest.

He had confidence in this matter.

After all, Ukraine currently lacks everything but land.

Moreover, this is just a lease, not a complete purchase. He could not imagine Ukraine having any reason for refusal.

........

By now, Wang Ye had smoothed things over with the prickly Ajiv.

And addressed the first significant challenge since taking up his director role.

The Agricultural Promotion Plan received unanimous support from everyone present. Later this month, it will be officially submitted for a vote at the Duma Conference.

It is anticipated that no issues will arise.

Next, several less important issues were discussed, such as the budget increase proposal submitted by the Police Department.

Given that this year’s annual budget has already been approved, and each department’s budget amount has been finalized - there should be no significant changes.

Unless a certain unit encounters some unpredicted situations requiring an increase in the budget.

In that case, they need to first obtain approval from the government, then propose it to the Duma. If the Economic Committee approves it, then the proposal is considered accepted.

But if the Economic Committee denies it, even if the government agrees, it is no use.

The government then has to find a way to divert funds from other areas.

But it’s easier said than done.

This is also why the Economic Committee is one of the three core institutions within the Duma!

After all, it holds the nation’s purse strings.

However, that analogy is not completely accurate; while the Ministry of Finance holds the purse strings, the Economic Committee has the power to dictate how the nation’s money is spent.

It can order any department, from a grass-roots public office-holder to the Kremlin!

There is virtually no issue or person that the Duma could not scrutinize or criticize...

Wang Ye was aware of the Police Department’s application for additional budget.

This matter does, in fact, have something to do with him. Didn’t he suggest during his last visit to the Kremlin that all public service cars nationwide be replaced with Land Rovers, Jaguars, and Volvos?

The Kremlin and the foreign affairs department have already acted and each placed a substantial order.

However, it wasn’t that simple for the major users of public service cars like the Police Department.

The reason is - as the Police Department has a large fleet, a significant number of old cars need to be disposed of, and the budget to procure new cars needs approval.

Now, the budget proposal for buying new cars had been presented to the Economic Committee, and laid in front of Wang Ye...

........

Perhaps learning their lesson from the previous incident, this time when Wang Ye brought forth the Police Department’s budget increase proposal, everyone was silent.

They just stared at Wang Ye, wanting to hear his speech first and then analyze whether they should oppose it.

Wang Ye didn’t beat around the bush, lightly tapped on the application and, smiling, started to address everyone:

"This initiative is my proposal and I have some relation to it.

So, for the sake of propriety, I will abstain from voting on this matter; you can decide on it.

I proposed that all our nation-wide public service cars be replaced with Land Rovers, Jaguars and Volvos. Of course, Lada and GAZ are also considered in the procurement plan.

Because these brands now belong to our own country.

We are duty-bound to support our own automobile industry!

You may have heard that before long, all the cars for Duma members will be replaced with Jaguars. This is part of the car replacement proposal.

In the future, public service places will not see Mercedes-Benz, BMW, and Audi, but our own brands - Land Rover, Jaguar, and Volvo!

........

In this matter, Wang Ye was without any ulterior motive and he did not plan to use this opportunity to ’fleece’ the country.

On the contrary, he gave instructions to the Russian Auto Group that for all public procurements, only the production cost should be charged!

He does not plan to make any profit from it. Of course, he also would not trade at a loss.

After Wang Ye explained, a voting decision was held immediately.

As mentioned earlier, he did not participate.

This time, there were no issues and no one opposed it. All members voted in favor and the proposal was smoothly approved.

As for where the money to buy the cars will come from, that was not of Wang Ye’s concern.

That was a problem for the Ministry of Finance to solve. Besides, not all police cars are to be replaced by these three brands.

Only a few police stations in the large cities would be the first to replace their vehicles. After all, these cities symbolize the nation’s image.

The remote areas, where there are only a few locals and foreigners hardly visit, there is no need to replace cars. They could continue using their Lada and GAZ...