Empire of the Ring

There were more advantages for Russian businessmen to invest in Eastern Europe rather than in Western Europe.

They were free from language barriers to start with. They did not have to be intimidated by not speaking English because Russian was commonly spoken in Eastern Europe.

Youngho’s fluent Russian was helping him in many places too as he was speaking in Russian with Nikolay now too.

It was none other than Azerbaijan that Youngho said that there was a suitable place. That was because Russian was a common language in Azerbaijan. The fact that it was a pro-Russian country in a geographical location not far from Siberia seemed that it could be a strong selling point for Nikolay.

There were many great sites to develop around Zeynep Farm, so he thought that he would recommend one for Nikolay. Because of the increasing sales of wine, Youngho planned to increase vineyard. It would be great if Nikolay would start a vineyard too. If he had dreamed of a villa in Europe, the idyllic villa with a vineyard would not sound so bad. Also, Azerbaijan was an attractive investment destination, so it was a place where European rich people had several buildings in Baku.

The reason why the real estate prices in Baku were approaching the levels of New York and Paris was because European investors were buying out buildings. Even now, the construction of new buildings was taking place everywhere in the new town of the city.

“What do you think of Baku in Azerbaijan? It’s also home to Zeynep Wine.”

“Isn’t Baku famous for its high prices? I heard that there are quite a lot of Russians.”

“I’d like to recommend it to you. Western Europe’s rich people think of Baku as an attractive investment destination. Of course, we can also find a farm with a villa. It’s not that difficult because we have close ties to the powerful people of Baku.”

“You mean the president.”

“I won’t deny it. He’s given me many favors.”

“I heard that locals hate Russia very much. Is this a safe place?”

“President Aliyev is a graduate of the Moscow State University of Political Science. People in Azerbaijan hate the Communists, not Russians.”

“I’ve been thinking of Western Europe, but it’s an unexpected suggestion.”

“It would be inconvenient if you don’t speak English in Western Europe.”

“I see.”

“Baku is adjacent to the Caspian Sea. You can also go to the Baltic Sea in the north or the Black Sea on a ship. In reverse, you can also take a ship from Krasnoyarsk to Baku. In my case, there is an airfield on my farm, so I can easily go anywhere in the world.”

“Oh…!”

Nikolay’s face was telling Youngho that he was fully intrigued. He seemed to grope in his head the destinations that he could go from Baku with his ship.

“And the most attractive thing is that the people of Caucasus are compassionate. They don’t judge people by their cover.”

“I’ve been told that they’re honest and kind.”

“It will be fun to spend the winter in Baku and the summer on the island at the Yenisei River. Now that we’re in the shipping business, wouldn’t it be okay to have a villa near the beach?”

It seemed that Youngho’s sweet talk had successfully lured Nikolay.

“I’d like to take the time to visit Baku.”

“Just tell me at any time. I’ll take you on my personal jet.”

“You just said about a villa with a farm. What kind of farm do you mean?”

“I’d like to recommend a vineyard. It’s also fun to make your own wine.”

“Then, if I make a wine company, wouldn’t you have a competitor?”

“I would like to encourage that even more from my point of view. I’ve never heard of vineyard owners in Italy or France hating against other vineyard owners around them. The more quality wine is produced in Baku, the more it becomes a local specialty. Why don’t we do a wine business together? It’s been hard for me to get through the European market anyway.”

“Hahaha… Okay. I will actively consider investing in Baku. It sounds like a perfect place for my family to stay.”

“If you want another place, tell me. There are many better places in Europe.”

“My head is already full of Baku because you talked me into it.”

Being a legendary businessman in Krasnoyarsk who once had commanded the whole region under his feet, Nikolay would have other friends to ask for a new place to live in. He probably was asking Youngho to show a sign of friendliness and hoping to build connections with those in power. He suffered from those who were in power in Moscow, so he was anxious to have peace in a place where he would be starting anew.

Nikolay’s visit to the hotel was to give a coronation gift. Though briefly excited by the idea of building a villa in Baku, he did not forget his purpose. He gave a small leather pocket in Youngho’s hand before he left.

“It is customary in Russia to give gifts for a celebratory occasion. I’ve put in some diamond stones. Please give them to the Archduchess.”

“This is such a precious gift. Thank you, Chairman Nikolay.”

Maybe diamonds were common in Siberia since Nikolay presented them as gifts. The autonomous state had thousands of diamond stones already and was still being supplied through Lieutenant Colonel Klimov, but Youngho pretended that he was surprised as if it was his first time seeing such a huge number of diamonds at once.

“It’s common here. They’re mostly low-quality, so they’re usually used for industrial purposes.”

“I’m interested in diamonds for industrial use. I’d like to use it for rock drills. Do you know where I can get them? Our state is a semi-deserted area, so we’re developing underground water all year round. The essential ingredient for the drill head is the industrial diamond.”

“Mr. Lee, don’t try to find it yourself. It’s an item that the authorities are watching.”

“I was going to look for them in the black market, but I guess I’ll have to give up that idea.”

“If you want to survive in Siberia for a long time, you have to stay away from gold and jewels. If you are rumored to be saving diamonds, you’ll be exposed. A lot of the black market stuff belongs to those who are in power.”

Youngho just learned something remarkable here. Small mafia groups and those in power had symbiotic relationships. However, as Sergeenko, who belonged to a huge southern mafia organization, was stirring the black market, they must be eager. They were making profits as the Chinese company had been buying out all diamonds from them, but as the company suddenly pulled out from the market, they must be anxious now. They might have misunderstood that Sergeenko and the southern mafia organization was behind this, and sold diamonds to the Chinese company instead of them.

Sooner or later, those in power in Siberia would have to choose to fight against Southern mafia organization where Sergeenko belonged or to make compromise with it. Since President Putin was the only one in Russia who declared war against mafias in the past, no one really dared to fight against mafias. There was no other choice but to compromise with Sergeenko.

This was a good chance for Sergeenko. He could possibly make other deals under the condition of pulling out of the black market.

***

People were supposed to resemble the land where they lived.

The vast plains of Siberia were very rough, and perhaps because of that, Siberians were quite rough. Likewise, the mafia here was rougher and simpler than the mafia of western Russia, while there was also loyalty between each other. Sergeenko was someone who resembled Siberia the most. Having gained such confidence after meeting with Nikolay, Youngho made a plan to tap into the Siberian market with Sergeenko at the forefront. He was trying to make Sergeenko a supplier of daily necessity goods in Siberia.

The city of Krasnoyarsk was developed as an industrial city, but most of the commodities had to be brought in from the outside. Naturally, the costs of those supplies were higher than Western Russia. The distribution system only profited wholesalers since they were the ones who priced their goods so highly. So, it seemed to be like a piece of cake if the mafia would be a supplier of goods.

Now in the autonomous state’s branch office, Sergeenko was listening to Youngho with an excited face.

“It’s not going to be hard for us to distribute the goods in the market if you support us, Mr. Lee. We’ll take care of the rest of the work if you bring us the goods just to the pier. Since this is a legal trade, no one will argue with us for supplying goods at a cheaper price.”

“Please don’t threaten or scare the port administration officials. If you scare them or make them turn against you, they’ll be an obstacle one day.”

“Mr. Lee, Mafia has to do things in a mafia-style. When you’re being gentle, people will stab me in the back. Trust me, it’s better to handle Russian officials in a Russian way.”

“Okay, Mr. Sergeenko, It`s only my opinion, so I`ll leave it up to you to judge. But I don’t want any more intervention in the black market. Turns out there were Moscow officials involved. As for the jewels, we’ll just collect what the Evenk people supply us. It’s better for us to let them have the black market if we want our business to be successful.”

“I see. I’ll slowly pull out from the black market.”

It was fortunate that Sergeenko understood what Youngho were saying at once.

His learning was short, but his experience in the field was leading to a quick decision. People who had done rough work could catch the warning signs quicker than anyone else.

This was the secret to a long life of mafias. Sergeenko was also a man of insight who did not obsess over short-term benefits. Youngho was also lucky to have met a partner who was bold enough to target Siberia. He had a real potential as a big businessman. Since Youngho was now in Siberia, he did not want to be satisfied with doing a logging business only. The question was since this was a place where cheap Chinese products were commonly sold. The question was whether expensive European products would be competitive, but if they targeted the middle class, they would have a shot.

“First of all, I’m going to supply European daily necessities and ramen noodles from the autonomous state, so please prepare the warehouse for them. Let’s transport as much as we can before the winter comes and consider the market later.”

The decision was made as the freighter sailed through the Baltic Sea, it could purchase as much daily necessities from Scandinavian countries and restock the supplies from there.

“It’s going to cost a lot of money…”

“Just worry about the sale. Our state has that much of capability.”

“I’m sorry. It’s not because I doubt your ability, it’s because it’s so sudden.”

“Let’s work together. By the way, I hope you don’t have contact with Commander Klimov as much as possible.”

“We mafias have a principle that we don’t run into the military, so that’s no problem.”

“Alright. A 3,000-ton freighter can sail twice in the future. We should prepare a warehouse in consideration of that.”

“Don’t worry. Empty warehouses are all over near the dock.”

The idea of supplying European daily necessities to Siberia came to Youngho because he made a huge profit by supplying Korean daily necessities to Yaniv before. Russia had a high demand in those supplies, so Youngho was sure that the business would be a success.

Since it was the first year, there would be trial and error. Youngho would have to see whether or not to expand the business in the future after seeing this year’s sales.

It was also an opportunity for him to evaluate Sergeenko’s abilities. He was excited about how Sergeenko would be dealing with this business.