Chapter 586: The First Time!

Translator: Dragon Boat Translation Editor: Dragon Boat Translation

“Right, my third grandfather will be celebrating his 8oth birthday in a few days, so I plan to go back and visit. After all, they are my relatives.” Zhou Chao also felt a bit sentimental. He had been avoiding those relatives before. Except for his third aunt, he hadn’t been in touch with any of them. Speaking of which, he felt he was being too cold to them. After all, his surname was Zhou, and that was an unchangeable fact.

“When do you plan to return to China?”

“In a couple of days. It depends on how the negotiations progress. If everything can be satisfactorily concluded before I leave, that would be ideal.

By the way, Wang Lao, have Archie and Dmitry gone back?” Zhou Chao suddenly remembered Archie and the others.

“They have already left. They didn’t even say goodbye to you while you were sleeping. After our preliminary negotiations this morning, Archiz and Dmitry are willing to offer a newly developed large oil field and part of the mines, as well as five billion US dollars each. Dmitry also offered an oil field, and additionally, some industries located in California, mainly focused on mining!” Wang Lao briefly explained the content of the negotiations to Zhou Chao.

“Those old Russians are quite cunning.” Zhou Chao’s lips curled with a hint of ridicule when he heard what Dmitri offered.

“In fact… we initiated this request.” Wang Lao said somewhat sheepishly.

Hearing this, Zhou Chao was a bit puzzled. He knew that the situation in California wasn’t optimistic. There were various conflicts related to mining fields and the local indigenous people. Moreover, it was quite far, and bringing the resources back to the country might not be worth the trouble.

However, Zhou Chao quickly understood. He gave Wang Lao a meaningful look and said, “Wang Lao, you guys aren’t being fair!”

Wang Lao chuckled, feeling a bit sentimental. “Before coming here, I was told from above that you, Zhou Chao, are quite shrewd, and it’s best not to hide anything from you. I didn’t expect you to figure it out before I even said it!”

After a pause, Wang Lao’s smile faded, replaced by a more serious expression. “You know what’s going on, I won’t say much. You should also understand the general intention from above. If you are dissatisfied at the time, or have any requests, feel free to speak up.”

Zhou Chao couldn’t help but sit up straight. “I don’t have any major demands. You also know that I have a large steel mill under me. So, keep an eye out for a few mining fields for me. Also, I have three iron mines in California. I hope you can look after them for me.”

These three iron mines were purchased by Li Wei and Todd in California. They weren’t large-scale mines, but they could still meet the current needs of the steel mill. For this reason, Li Wei had specially called to request the purchase of several large ocean-going cargo ships. Zhou Chao had agreed to let him establish a shipping company, which had already begun operations.

Wang Lao initially thought that Zhou Chao would make some unreasonable demands. Who knew it would be so simple? “That’s it? Consider it promised on behalf of those above!”

“Agreed. But don’t go back on your word. And about my money, you guys better not have any crooked thoughts!”

Wang Lao gave him a disdainful glance as if Zhou Chao were someone who couldn’t make up his mind. Talking about crooked thoughts was totally underestimating him. After all, it was just over six hundred billion US dollars, which was just over six hundred billion Chinese yuan.

“Holy cow! You never realize it until you calculate it. Six trillion could do a lot of things. It’s equivalent to the GDP of many cities in a year. I don’t think there are many companies in the country that have so much cash flow, except for tobacco and oil, of course!” Wang Lao stared at Zhou Chao with wide eyes.

Seeing Wang Lao’s expression, Zhou Chao couldn’t help but shiver. “Wang Lao, don’t look at me like that. I feel like you’re going to eat me.” Saying this, he leaned back a bit.

“Ahem, it’s already noon. When are we going to eat?” Wang Lao quickly changed the subject.

Zhou Chao smiled and didn’t continue the previous topic. He turned his head in the direction of the kitchen, where the sound of cooking could still be heard.

“Lin Wu, who’s cooking in the kitchen?” Zhou Chao asked Lin Wu, who was standing nearby.

Lin Wu took a few steps and stood beside Zhou Chao. “Boss, it’s a chef Lev found in town this morning. He also knows how to cook Chinese dishes, and I heard he cooks pretty well.”

“Okay.” Zhou Chao nodded lightly and continued chatting with Wang Lao and the others.

“Wang Lao, you mentioned earlier that both sides are offering an oil field for trade. Is there any trickery involved? Could they be falsifying some data, like giving me a semi-disabled oil field and passing it off as good?”

“Don’t worry, that won’t happen. You see, we represent the face of our respective countries. If something like that were to happen, our international credibility would be ruined. Besides, there’s something else I almost forgot to tell you!”

“What is it?” Zhou Chao asked curiously.

“It’s not a big deal, just that Dmitry hopes our transaction can be conducted privately, without too much fanfare. Also, he hopes that this gold mine can be nominally assigned to the Russia’s side!”

“So, Wang Lao, you mean Dmitry wants to use this gold mine for some shady business?”