Feng Yu immediately dress up. He looked at himself in the mirror. He was dressed up maturely to prevent those Russian Officials taking him lightly.
Hmmm…… Not bad. Handsome until no more friends!
When Feng Yu rushed to the City Government, Zhang Ruiqiang was getting impatient.
Zhang Ruiqiang had thought that the negotiations will proceed as he planned. Feng Yu had told him that Russia has the land, but they are short of farmers. This would be a win-win situation for both parties.
But those Russians were too much. They insisted on only 5 years lease, and the rental fees were outrageously high. They claimed that the prices include the usage of their land and taxes. China does not have such high rentals. If the farmers paid the rental costs, they would have nothing left. They would be working for free!
But Bing City government’s negotiation team were no match for the Russians. The Russians were insistent on their terms and do not relent.
Zhang Ruiqiang had no choice but to ask Feng Yu for help. Feng Yu was a businessman, and he should be better at negotiations than them.
“You are finally here. Why are you so late?”
Feng Yu thought for a while and could not come up with any excuses. In this era, there was no such thing as traffic jams. No excuses? So be it. I am here to help you!
“I am already here. What’s wrong? The negotiations did not proceed as planned? Didn’t I tell you about the situation in Russia?” Feng Yu sat down on the sofa and crossed his legs. Ha, you can’t do without me.
Zhang Ruiqiang looked at Feng Yu who was shaking his leg. He got more irritated: “Can you stop shaking your leg first? You told me that Russia has a shortage of farmers, but they claim otherwise. Their conditions are harsh. Not only they want high rentals, they still insist us to buy their farming equipment, seeds, fertilizers, pesticides, etc. Our farmers will not earn anything. Which farmer will be willing to work in another country just to barely survive? You still want those farmers to return their land? Impossible!”
Must buy their farming equipment? Damn, they want to grab the meat from my bowl? This cannot be tolerated!
“Mayor Zhang, don’t be anxious. The negotiations will continue in the afternoon? I will be the translator. Maybe your translators are not good enough.”
“What do you mean by our translators are not good enough? The translator is a professor from a university. He had studied in Russia for some years. But it would be good if you are present. You can see for yourself. No matter what, our farmers must be able to make money. The farmers must be willing to go to Russia and return their illegally cultivated fields to the City.”
“No problem. Who are the ones that will be taking part in this negotiation? Call them here. I want to hear their thoughts before I can make any decisions.” Feng Yu waved his hand and gave out instructions!
Zhang Ruiqiang’s face turns black. You make decisions? You think you have the authority to make any decisions? Never mind. I should get everybody here and discuss our next course of actions.
Those officials had just returned to their offices, and before they could sit down, they were summoned back to the City Government. When they entered the office, they saw Feng Yu wiping his oily mouth.
He was called to the City Government by Zhang Ruiqiang before he could have any breakfast. Zhang Ruiqiang asked for some meat buns to be delivered to Feng Yu. Zhang Ruiqiang was too stingy. Feng Yu had only asked for a few fried eggs, and Zhang Ruiqiang takes away the soy milk. Feng Yu could just drink congee.
Zhang Ruiqiang said with a killing aura: “Feng Yu, now you are full, tell us about your thoughts.”
What Zhang Ruiqiang meant was, if you are still not going to tell us what you are going to do, I will make you vomit out the food you had just eaten!
Feng Yu rolled his eyes. Stingy. I had only eaten a few meat buns. You don’t even let me order what I want to eat for lunch. I am a billionaire. You think I do not have the money to pay? Hmmm…. The meat buns from the City Government’s canteen taste better than elsewhere.
“I had checked out the situation in Russia personally. From last year, their crops production had been on a decline. Their farming equipment production, fertilizer production, pesticide production had been declining too. They even do not have enough seeds left. More and more fields are being abandoned, as there is no one taking care of the fields.”
“Russia, especially the far eastern regions, have a lot of uncultivated lands. Their main agriculture produce is beetroots, sunflower seeds, potatoes, linseeds, wheat, and oat. Among these produces, our farmers specialize in growing wheat, oat, potatoes, and beetroot. Actually, their fields are suitable to grow soybeans, corn, vegetables, etc. too. From what I know, very few Russian farmers are growing corn and soybeans in that region. Corn is a high-yielding crop. It can solve the food shortage issue in Russia.”
“During the Soviet Union era, 10 years ago, the Soviet Union, including Russia, was one of the world’s top producer of crops. But now, they need to depend on importation. One could see the decline of their agriculture industry from this. This situation will surely carry on for a period of time.”
“Their agriculture-related industries’ businesses are dull. This is another indication that their agriculture industry is on a decline. They are more anxious than us. So, we must have a “we are not in a hurry” attitude. Mayor Zhang should not attend the negotiation in the afternoon. I will attend the negotiations with Agriculture Chief Lee. Oh, prepare dinner to host these guests too.”
Zhang Ruiqiang and the rest were listening tentatively to Feng Yu and felt that what he said made sense at the start. But what was he talking about at the end? The head of the negotiation team should not attend the talks in the afternoon? You will attend? What can you do there? You do not even have a position in the City Government.
Also, you want us to prepare dinner for those irritating Russians? Everybody thought that Zhang Ruiqiang would not agree to Feng Yu, and even scold him. But Zhang Ruiqiang nodded. He agreed!
They had heard that Zhang Ruiqiang was close to Feng Yu. But to let a young brat to negotiate with those Russia’s officials?
Many people in the office do not know about Feng Yu’s actual net worth. They thought that the Machinery Company, Tai Hua Trading, etc. were all owned by Feng Xingtai. Feng Yu was only a cunning 2nd generation!
Maybe Feng Yu had some capabilities which Mayor Zhang admires. But Mayor Zhang should not let this kid do whatever he wants.
When the rest of the negotiation team wanted to persuade Zhang Ruiqiang, he waved his hand: “That’s settled! Feng Yu, I do not care what you are going to do, but you must settle this problem!”
Feng Yu smiled and asked: “Then can I earn some spare change from this deal?”
“Yes. The city can don’t make any profits from this deal, but you cannot earn more than the farmers!”
The rest were shocked. Mayor Zhang was allowing Feng Yu to profit from this deal? He was making a deal with this private company’s boss in front of them?
“Fine. Then I will set up a new company later. The City should have a stake in this company. This way, the city will have some profits, and the city can use these profits as subsidies for those farmers. Oh, I had forgotten to tell all of you that our farmers can surely make money from farming overseas. Even if they are unable to go to Russia, it’s fine. I have contacted Australia’s Agriculture department!”
