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Chapter 1128: Establishment of the Free Trade Zone
🕑 Added 2025-01-06 20:00:03 +0000 UTCChen Qing spent an hour at the Jinshu Media headquarters, listening to progress reports on various projects and taking away some paper documents. She left promptly at 2 PM.
Her destination was another major government office near the Imperial City.
Over the past few days, she had been shuttling between various government offices. In the morning, she had been negotiating with higher-ups on behalf of Jinshu Film City, accompanied by representatives from Jiangsu. In the afternoon, she was preparing for her boss’s upcoming visit to China. Although this trip would not be public, there would still be some high-level private receptions that required scheduling.
In the evening, she attended a gathering hosted by Jinshu Media to celebrate the wrap-up of Kangxi Incognito Travel, at the invitation of Wu Shanlin.
She had been on the move like this until past 10 PM.
Sitting in the car on her way back to her residence, Chen Qing, who actually enjoyed this kind of busy life, couldn’t help but feel a bit resentful. Lin Su had returned to North America after the New Year and was now living like a queen, enjoying her maternity leave, while Chen Qing was running around like a servant.
Such a hard life.
The black Mercedes-Benz weaved through the late-night streets of Beijing and turned into the brightly lit Mao’er Hutong in Nanluoguxiang, which had been renovated. Over the past two or three years, this ancient hutong had undergone several major and minor renovations, and now it was noticeably wider. Even the brick walls of the courtyards on both sides of the street had a fresh, new look.
The reason was self-evident.
Moreover, the changes in this area went far beyond the surface. Chen Qing knew that at least in the southwestern part of Nanluoguxiang, around her boss’s courtyard house, most of the courtyards had changed hands, and the new owners were not just wealthy but something more.
Taking advantage of the influx of people into the area, Chen Qing had also helped her boss acquire two more large properties. One was to the east of the original courtyard house, effectively expanding the original two-row compound into a three-row one. The other was diagonally across to the south of the three-row compound, primarily used to house the female attendants and guards, as well as for parking.
When Chen Qing’s car approached the vicinity of the large compound, the garage door on the south side, which blended seamlessly with the surrounding brick walls, quietly opened.
Chen Qing, of course, didn’t need to deal with the subsequent trivialities. After getting out of the car with her entourage, she walked a few steps east and entered the main gate, which had also been opened upon notification. Jiang Shanwu and Jiang Yuanchi, the two sisters, were already there to greet her.
Walking through the corridors and courtyards toward the inner compound, Chen Qing passed by Zhu Momo’s residence and noticed the lights were still on. She had no intention of stopping by to say hello but couldn’t help thinking about the recently active Ren Jingxi. She didn’t feel threatened but couldn’t help marveling at how her boss wasn’t bold enough to pair the aunt and niece together. What a great combination that would have been.
The Jiang sisters had already prepared hot water.
After a relaxing bath, Chen Qing’s day wasn’t over yet. She went to the study to plan the guest list for the first gathering of the “Human World Club.” From last year to now, she had submitted several batches of candidates to her boss, and only a few had been selected. However, since her boss was coming, he still wanted to arrange some gatherings, not just for the selected members but also for other political and business elites.
By midnight, she turned on her computer and typed out another email to her boss.
Work-related matters were mainly communicated through her boss’s inner circle, but in her private emails, she included semi-official, trivial details. For example, the recent frustrations with the Jinshu Film City being reported, or the fact that the film city had started planting ornamental peach trees on a large scale. She also mentioned Simon’s impulsive decision last year to build a yacht on Taihu Lake and finally brought up the fact that she had found a batch of distinctive large stones to carve the eight characters for the Peach Blossom Garden.
Blah blah blah.
She also attached some photos.
After writing the email, she instinctively checked and revised it twice before sending it off. Only then did she finally rest.
It was already 1 AM on April 22nd in China.
Kyiv was six hours behind Beijing.
Simon had arrived in Rivne on April 20th local time. After a busy day, he took some time late at night to check his work emails and saw Chen Qing’s message.
He was at the newly completed estate by Lake Basiv in the southern part of Rivne.
Covering nearly 1 square kilometer, Lake Basiv was the largest lake in the Rivne region. Initially, Rivne Media had considered naming its TV station “Basiv,” but Simon had changed it to the more straightforward “Basic.”
According to the city’s plan, the northeastern part of Rivne was the industrial and residential area, the western part was the mid-to-high-end residential area centered around the UFMS family community, and the southern part was the affluent district. The beautifully renovated lakeside area of Lake Basiv was the heart of the affluent district.
Compared to Chen Qing, who could spend an hour meticulously crafting an email, Simon had to go through dozens of emails in an hour. He skimmed over the trivial matters Chen Qing mentioned in her email, responded to the things he cared about, and quickly moved on to the next unread message.
Around midnight, Yvonne Bessonovskaya knocked on the door and, after receiving permission, entered with a cup of warm milk, gently placing it by Simon’s side. “Boss, time to rest?”
Simon glanced at his watch and nodded, then patted his knee.
Yvonne blushed but obediently sat down.
Then.
Well… at 188 cm tall, she was too large to be comfortably held.
Yvonne was well aware of her “disadvantage” and tried to shrink herself as much as possible, secretly envying a certain Eva—Eva Banshikova, Galina’s younger sister, who was only 150 cm tall and looked like a doll when held by Simon, perfectly proportioned.
Her thoughts then turned to Natalia Banshikova, who had been transferred to London.
How absurd.
But then again, she wasn’t much better. If her sister Lyudmila hadn’t gone to Tokyo for work, Simon probably wouldn’t have spared her either.
“What are you thinking about?”
Hearing Simon’s sudden question, Yvonne quickly snapped out of her thoughts but couldn’t help blurting out, “Mila.”
“Huh, is Mila still mad at me for not letting her walk in last year’s final Victoria’s Secret show?”
Yvonne quickly shook her head. “No, and there will be more opportunities in the future, right?”
Actually, her sister had been furious and even threatened to break up with a certain someone. Yvonne really wished she would, but after a while, things just went back to normal.
“She’s still young, no need to rush. She has a couple more years.”
As Simon spoke, he rested his chin on Yvonne’s shoulder, his arm reaching around her to the keyboard, typing out another email.
“I know.”
Leaning closer, Yvonne casually replied, ignoring her sister’s claim that models who didn’t make it by age 20 would quickly be phased out. Whatever, she couldn’t control her sister anyway. At this moment, she just subtly tilted her head, brushing against Simon’s hair.
It felt like a cat stealing a treat.
Then, at Simon’s instruction, she picked up the glass of milk beside her and brought it to his lips.
After a bit more work, Simon turned off the computer, effortlessly lifted Yvonne’s tall, slender frame, and carried her out of the room.
The next morning, he woke up early as usual.
Today was the core event of his Ukraine trip—the inauguration ceremony of the Rivne Free Trade Zone.
The venue was a conference hall in the city center. Current President Leonid Kuchma and other top officials from Kyiv, who had arrived the day before, all attended. Simon did not make an appearance but observed the entire event, which was attended by dozens of top international media outlets, all arranged by the Westeros system.
In addition to speeches by Kuchma and other government officials, the highlight was the on-site signing of agreements with sixteen countries.
Overall, this was a promotional event for Ukraine. However, the more astute observers understood that it was more accurately a promotion for the Rivne region. After all, since the dissolution of the Soviet Union, Eastern European countries had continuously opened up, even to the point of chaos, but none had seen their economies take off like the West. The reasons were varied.
The rapid rise of this northwestern Ukrainian region in recent years was an anomaly.
On the surface, it was due to the Westeros system’s relentless investment in the region, which had prompted neighboring countries like Belarus, Lithuania, Hungary, and Poland to reach out to the Westeros system, hoping to replicate the success. However, the deeper reasons were much more complex.
The key factor was the Westeros system’s strong control over the region.
This was also why Simon was hesitant to invest in other Eastern European countries. After all, it had taken nearly three years of maneuvering and negotiations to achieve the current situation in Rivne. Gaining similar control elsewhere was highly unlikely.
After the morning ceremony, there was a grand groundbreaking event in the afternoon.
Tingkebell planned to build its European manufacturing center in Rivne. In fact, it already had a factory there, but this project would expand it into a large industrial park similar to Nokia’s campus, with an investment of $500 million and covering 50 hectares.
Once completed, the project was expected to directly create 5,000 jobs.
The indirect boost to the industrial chain was immeasurable.
This was just the beginning.
With the establishment of the Rivne Free Trade Zone, import and export tariffs on electronic products, clothing, food, and other goods in the region would be eliminated. Combined with Rivne’s increasingly renowned business environment, this would trigger another wave of investment.
On the other hand, thanks to the Westeros system’s deep penetration into various sectors of the region, Simon’s control over Rivne and the entire Rivne Oblast would not weaken, as some might hope, but only grow stronger. Moreover, when a city or region becomes crucial to a country’s economy, the influence of its behind-the-scenes controller would only increase.
As for other capital, on one hand, no other entity in the world was stronger than the Westeros system at this point. On the other hand, the rules of the game had already been set by Simon. Other investors could come in, do their business honestly, and leave with a profit. But if they tried to meddle in politics, the military, or other areas, they would only meet with failure.
“Simon, let me introduce you to Valeriy, Valeriy Pavlovych, currently serving as Minister of Internal Affairs. However, I hope he can go further.”
After a lively day, at the evening reception, Leonid Kuchma personally introduced a middle-aged man to Simon.
Valeriy Pavlovych, a silver-haired man in his fifties, warmly shook Simon’s hand. “It’s a pleasure to meet you, Mr. West.”
“Ha, Valeriy, just call me Simon.”
Simon was equally warm.
Whether it was Kuchma’s almost explicit hint or the intelligence Simon had received privately, he knew that this middle-aged man was Kuchma’s chosen successor to replace Lazarenko as the new Prime Minister.
In Western countries, the Minister of Internal Affairs was primarily responsible for the police system, equivalent to the Minister of Public Security that Simon was familiar with in his previous life. By promoting such a person, Kuchma clearly intended to strengthen his control over the country.
However, although Kuchma had introduced Pavlovych to Simon, he didn’t seem keen on letting the two talk much. After a brief exchange of pleasantries, he gestured for Pavlovych to leave and continued speaking to Simon. “There’s one more thing, Simon. I plan to reorganize the domestic natural gas sales network in the second half of the year. Are you interested in participating?”
Yulia Tymoshenko’s rise to prominence was largely due to her near-monopoly of Ukraine’s lucrative natural gas sales network in recent years. Moreover, it was well known that Tymoshenko was Lazarenko’s “cash cow.”
By removing Lazarenko and cutting off his financial lifeline, the politician would completely lose his threat to Kuchma.
A direct and effective move.
Simon noticed that Kuchma was still staring at him after speaking and smiled, shaking his head. “No, thank you. Leon, to be honest, this business is too sensitive and too important for Ukraine. It’s best if you keep it under your direct control. Of course, if you need funds for the operation, I can help.”
The natural gas business in Ukraine, even if it generated billions in profits annually, was not something Simon was interested in.
Moreover, Simon understood that this was a test from Kuchma.
After all, this business was too lucrative, required little investment, and, given its role in Russia’s gas supply to Europe, had significant political implications.
If Simon showed too much interest, Kuchma would inevitably become wary of him.
Furthermore, in Simon’s view, Ukraine’s natural gas business was like a piece of cheese that attracted all sorts of rats to fight over it. If Simon were to get involved, given the Westeros system’s immense power, the other rats eyeing the cheese would have to back off. Even Kuchma himself, despite his reservations, would have to accept Simon as a player.
Such a scenario did not align with Simon’s desire to keep the Kyiv authorities in a state of chaos and infighting.
After the inauguration ceremony of the Rivne Free Trade Zone, Simon stayed in Ukraine until April 25th, systematically reviewing the various industries there before setting off for his next destination: China.
