Becoming a Russian Oligarch After Rebirth
Chapter 851 - 826 Bargaining_2

Chapter 851: Chapter 826 Bargaining_2

Wang Ye lifted his head and looked over, Kuderin hastened to take a few quick steps to arrive at Wang Ye’s desk, and slightly bowed as he greeted, "Chairman Mikhail, hello."

Whether it was sincere respect for Wang Ye or just for show, at least the etiquette was in place.

Kuderin wasn’t foolish, he was the person responsible for drafting the Finance budget from the Government side, and this was also the highlight of his work every year.

And this excessively young guy before him, not to say that he had the power to make or break this Finance budget, but he did have a great deal of influence!

Were he to be blocked at this Mikhail hurdle, that would be enough to cause him strife.

Of course, under normal circumstances, even if the Duma had any dissatisfaction with the Finance budget, it wouldn’t excessively block its progress.

After all, the Government needed to continue operating next year. If the budget was blocked and couldn’t pass, that would be tantamount to a Government shutdown, with very serious consequences.

Normally, no one wanted to bear that responsibility, even someone like the Duma Speaker or Vice Speaker with real power...

But Kuderin didn’t dare take it lightly, it was his first time dealing with Mikhail, and he had heard that this young Vice Speaker didn’t like to play by the usual rules.

The Ministry of Energy had suffered a severe blow at his hands!

From the Minister to the Deputy Minister, almost everyone had been "cleaned out"!

With that lesson in mind, he would rather lower his stance a bit than risk any conflict with this young Vice Speaker...

......

It is not polite to hit a smiling face, and Kuderin’s status and power were not much lower than his own. Plus, he was so respectful toward him, so Wang Ye returned the respect and stood up with a smile.

He extended his right hand and said, "Minister of Finance Kuderin, welcome. Please, have a seat. Regarding this Finance budget, there are some things I don’t quite understand and I would like to consult you about. After all, we are soon going to bring it up for discussion at the Economic Committee meeting. It’s better to clarify any doubts beforehand, to avoid the trouble of having to make amendments later."

Kuderin quickly grasped Wang Ye’s hand and said with a smile, "Chairman Mikhail is right. If you have any questions, just ask. My recent work has been devoted to this Finance budget report, so I’m at your disposal!"

They both took their seats, and Wang Ye opened the "Government Financial Expenditure Budget Report of 2004."

He pointed at a line of numbers and asked in a light tone, "Isn’t next year’s Finance expenditure set a bit too conservatively?"

At first, Kuderin didn’t understand.

Because according to his past experience, every year at the Duma, the usual haggling was mostly about the budgeted expenditures being set too high!

Or dissatisfaction with the specific allocation of the budget expenditure—too much to one department, too little to another, and so on.

But no one had ever said that the expenditure budget they’d drawn up was too small...

So he reflexively said, "This figure is the result of repeated discussions and verification by the expert group at the Ministry of Finance. To ensure the smooth operation of various institutions next year, we must have this budget. It’s already not high..."

Wang Ye interrupted him, laughing, "I mean, it’s too little!"

Kuderin was dumbstruck on the spot, staring at Wang Ye with wide eyes and at a loss for words for a moment.

He looked at Wang Ye with questioning eyes, as if doubting whether he had misheard.

Wang Ye smiled and nodded, indicating that he had not misunderstood.

Kuderin was quick to react. He pursed his lips, quickly organized his thoughts, then sincerely began to speak, "I am grateful that Chairman Mikhail can appreciate the difficulties we face in our Government departments. I... am very moved!"

This was not false praise, as Wang Ye was willing to allocate more funds to him, he could only feel grateful.

After pausing, Kuderin continued:

"Indeed!

This expenditure budget is very tight. When we first drafted this budget, we exhausted all ideas, shaving a bit from this department, a bit from that one.

Where we should cut, we cut, and even where we shouldn’t, we still gritted our teeth and did it.

Honestly, even if this budget passes smoothly through the Duma, I still face questioning from various institutions and departments when I go back.

If we could increase the budget, that would be best!

Then we could have more room to maneuver, and the financial strain on many departments could be relieved.

However...

"Next year’s fiscal revenue will be just that much. If we increase the budget expenditure, won’t we be in debt again?"

"Not going into debt, not expanding the debt, this was already agreed upon long ago..."

As he spoke, he paused, wanting to see what reaction Wang Ye would have.

If expenditure exceeds income, that means debt!

This is a big problem, one he dared not take responsibility for, so there had to be a clear statement on this issue first.

Otherwise, even if Chairman Mikhail supported his work, it would all be in vain, amounting to nothing.

Wang Ye waved his hand dismissively, "Don’t worry, you don’t need to consider the issues of income and debt; I will handle it. You just need to tell me, what is the total budget needed next year for all departments to operate without financial woes?"

Upon hearing this, Kuderin immediately showed his elation, because the biggest issue—the question of who would take responsibility—Chairman Mikhail was willing to take on.

What else did he have to worry about!

He quickly responded, "This is simple. In fact, if it reaches three trillion rubles, it would be quite comfortable!"

This number was just about what Wang Ye had in mind.

Because Kuderin was a professional, even with the opportunity to increase the budget, he did not dare to "bite off more than he could chew."

The amount he mentioned had to be reliable and feasible; otherwise, it would not only show that he was too amateurish, but it might also displease Chairman Mikhail, potentially causing the plan to fall through...

Three trillion rubles!

If next year’s fiscal revenue smoothly reached 2.8 trillion rubles, that would mean incurring a debt of two hundred billion rubles, which was still within an acceptable range.

What if the economy takes off next year? Then there might not even be a need to go into debt!

Though a major power like Russia’s fiscal revenue for the year is generally not far off the mark, provided there are no exceptional circumstances.

But after all, Russia’s fiscal revenue relies heavily on energy exports, which are quite volatile and have many uncontrollable factors.

Indeed, there still lies the possibility of an unexpected downturn...

Wang Ye nodded, a budget expenditure of three trillion rubles was five hundred billion more than the initial 2.5 trillion.

Now, the key question was how to spend this extra amount of money!

Looking down at the budget expenditures, Wang Ye seemed to speak nonchalantly:

"A couple of days ago, I met with Korokolli from the Ministry of Internal Affairs and Shao Yigu from the Safety Bureau. Both of them have been complaining to me, saying that their department budgets are so tight they can hardly pay the salaries.

"But as both their departments are crucial to social security and national safety, we have to give them priority."

"Next year’s finance budget, my suggestion is to allocate additional funds to these two departments."

Kuderin immediately understood and said, "You’re right, Chairman! These two departments indeed work hard, have many personnel, and heavy responsibilities. The extra five hundred billion in the budget—why don’t we increase each of their budgets by a hundred billion rubles?"

This was bargaining.

Wang Ye supported the increase of a five hundred billion financial budget on his side, but part of it had to go to the Ministry of Internal Affairs and the Safety Bureau.

The exact amount was negotiable.

It certainly couldn’t all go to them; Kuderin would not be happy with that because it would mean using his hand and name to help Wang Ye’s "good brothers" get benefits!

But it also couldn’t be too little, as Wang Ye wouldn’t agree to that either...

So he tentatively put forward the figure of two hundred billion, not too much, but definitely not too little!

Wang Ye frowned slightly and thought for a moment, then shook his head, "That’s not enough! Give an extra one hundred and fifty billion to each of the two departments. The domestic security situation is quite tense now."

Kuderin couldn’t refute this. Indeed, there had been some incidents in the country over the past two or three years, and from top to bottom, security issues were of great concern; Wang Ye’s reason was very well-founded...