Prodigal System in the Flourishing City-Chapter 1359 - 1361: Economic Leverage
Lu Xiaobu returned to South Africa.
The first thing he did—sleep!
He hadn’t slept for twenty-four hours and really felt exhausted.
He wasn’t anxious, but someone else was!
The South African officials camped out at the hotel entrance, waiting to meet Lu Xiaobu at any moment!
They had no choice but to see him!
Because Lu Xiaobu’s squandering of fifty billion has severely impacted South Africa’s economy!
Even worse, one wrong move could trigger an economic collapse!
Some say, is it really necessary? Just fifty billion, how could a large country like South Africa be affected by that?!
There’s no exaggeration at all.
Let’s not get into the complicated details; I’ll explain it simply, and you’ll understand right away!
Minerals, no matter how rich in content, you should know, it’s not as simple as just a hammer strike separating gold from rock.
It requires refinement!
And refining takes time, manpower, and resources!
If Lu Xiaobu had just bought these minerals and shipped them back to the Heavenly Dynasty, the timing would still work out!
However, Lu Xiaobu was all in, pouring it into the sea.
This high-intensity operating mode directly consumed more than half of South Africa’s existing mineral resources!
And they were all of good quality!
Then, with rarity comes value, and the price of minerals started to rise!
If it were merely a matter of raising prices, it would be no big deal!
However, there was also a rise in labor costs!
After all, mining requires people, a simple fact everyone understands!
If it were just these two issues, it wouldn’t be a big problem; adjustments could be made!
But, damn, the real problem has arisen!
No matter how much you pay, you simply can’t find workers!
You’re asking where everyone has gone?!
Of course, they’ve all gone to the sea to dredge for gold!
Fifty billion, who wouldn’t be tempted?!
If they scoop up just two or three pieces, it would be equivalent to a year’s salary!
In such a scenario, who would obediently go back to work for you, mining?!
This series of issues has resulted in a severe distortion of South Africa’s pillar industry—mining!
In the short term, it’s fine, but over time, it will inevitably lead to an economic collapse!
So, they are anxious!
"Mr. Zhang, is Mr. Lu still not awake?!" The official in charge wiped his sweat and asked Zhang Meng.
"No," Zhang Meng shook his head.
"Can’t you wake him? We’re really quite anxious!" the official asked urgently.
"No way!" Zhang Meng shook his head.
"Lu..." The official couldn’t hold back any longer and wanted to shout loudly!
But the next second, his mouth was covered by Zhang Meng.
"I warn you, if you wake the Young Master, you can’t afford the consequences!"
Zhang Meng squinted and said: "Don’t think I’m talking nonsense. Even though I don’t understand economics, I know one thing for sure: if our Young Master decides to make a move against you now, it won’t be difficult to collapse your economy!"
This is what Liang Lan had just conveyed to him over the phone!
Moreover, Liang Lan seemed to be preparing something, perhaps to make a profit from this situation.
He didn’t understand, but he certainly wasn’t going to let this person wake the Young Master!
Hearing this, the official’s face turned sour.
He knew Zhang Meng was right!
Lu Xiaobu could indeed accomplish it!
But he was genuinely anxious!
Because now someone had already started maliciously acquiring South African shares!
Once short-selling begins, it would be a fatal blow!
The only one who can save them is standing right in front of them—the instigator, Lu Xiaobu!
...
Time slowly passed.
After twenty hours, a fully-rested, even overly-rested Lu Xiaobu finally woke up.
"Mr. Lu, you’re finally awake!" The official was almost in tears!
"What’s the matter?" Lu Xiaobu stretched and asked.
"We really need your help!" The official was almost ready to kneel and call him dad: "You must help us!"
"What kind of help?" Lu Xiaobu rubbed his eyes: "Business or something else?"
"Business! Business!" the official hurriedly said.
"Then talk to Liang Lan, she can make decisions directly," Lu Xiaobu stretched and said.
"Alright, alright, alright!" The official finally breathed a sigh of relief, knowing they had something to discuss!
The official left.
Watching his back, Lu Xiaobu shrugged and then turned to Zhang Meng: "Let’s go, prepare to return home."
"Young Master, I..." Li Qiang asked quietly.
If the Young Master returned to his country, he didn’t know what he should do.
"You? Just keep being your local tyrant," Lu Xiaobu waved and said: "Take care when you’re out on your own."
"Young Master, I!" Li Qiang suddenly felt his nose turning sour!
He didn’t expect Lu Xiaobu would not punish him at all!
Not even indicating someone would take over his task!
"Alright, work hard. You’re my lackey after all, don’t lose face and get bullied, just call me back!" Lu Xiaobu patted Li Qiang’s shoulder and walked out.
"Mr. Lu is indeed a true leader!" Shen Yu came out from the sidelines, deeply moved as he watched Lu Xiaobu’s back.
This indirect collaboration with Young Master Lu made him experience this man’s broad-mindedness!
Such a person, if born in ancient times, would definitely be an outstanding hero, if not the founding emperor!
"Yes, let’s work well together from now on, maybe the Young Master will make use of us one day," Li Qiang said to Shen Yu.
"It would be an honor!" Shen Yu smiled.
...
Over the following days, South Africa and Lu Group engaged in a series of collaborations.
These collaborations spanned multiple areas.
For South Africa, this collaboration led them safely through the economic crisis, avoiding a collapse!
Meanwhile, they also introduced some technologies they had always wanted, for example, 4G!
As for Lu Group, the direct and indirect income amounted to twelve hundred billion!
Which means, even if we deduct the fifty billion Lu Xiaobu spent on buying minerals, Lu Group still made a net profit of seven hundred billion!
This doesn’t include the continuous benefits to come!
This involved many economic levers, which I won’t delve into explaining here.
When this news came out, countries worldwide were shocked!
They immediately organized multiple economists to study the phenomenon, hoping to understand how this was achieved!
However, the business community in the Heavenly Dynasty was silent!
Seeing these gathered economists, they sneered: "Hmph! Another bunch of people overestimating themselves! Ever heard of the Lu Xiaobu Economic Research Syndrome?! Those wanting to go naked in mental hospitals are all these folks! Newborn calves are not afraid of tigers!"
