webnovelvip Chapter 137 Account Unblocking
Chapter 137 Account Unblocking
The next morning, Lingyun spent the entire morning in his hotel room handling other matters.
Looking at the Thai SET index, it opened at 773 points today, down 7 points.
In the NDF market, the Thai baht forward exchange rate has fallen to 1:27.5. Market expectations for further depreciation of the baht are strengthening.
But these are just minor fluctuations; the real storm is yet to come.
At noon, Li Taijian called again.
"There's been progress!" he said excitedly. "I contacted General Somchai, who called the Director-General of the Security Service directly. I also spoke with Minister Prayut, who contacted the Minister of Finance. The Security Service is under a lot of pressure now."
"Where's the account?"
"It's still frozen. But the review team has softened their stance, saying that as long as we provide additional materials, it will be fine."
"Are the materials ready?"
"Preparations are underway. But some deals... will take time to complete."
"Let them thaw first, and we'll replenish the materials later."
"this……"
"Go and tell them that the payment for the digital city project has been affected, and the workers are going to cause trouble. This is a project that affects people's livelihoods and cannot be delayed."
"Okay, I'll go tell them."
After hanging up the phone, Ling Yun called Sun Peng again and asked him to arrange for some local Thai workers to go on a march, display banners, and demand jobs and wages.
At 2 PM, Lingyun received an email from the CFO.
"The Bank of Thailand sent a supplementary list of questions, requesting clarification on the purpose of the $45 million remittance to the Cayman Islands on March 15."
Lingyun replied: "Reply: Pay the fees for the international design team and the advance payment for equipment purchase, and attach the design contract and purchase agreement."
Three minutes later, the CFO replied: "The contract has been uploaded, but the amount doesn't match. The total price of the design contract is only five million US dollars."
Ling Yun thought for a moment.
"The project will be split up, with a design fee of five million and equipment procurement of forty million. The equipment list will be provided later."
"clear."
At 3 p.m., Li Taijian called for the third time.
"It's unfrozen!" he almost shouted. "It just got unfrozen! The National Security Bureau withdrew, and the Ministry of Finance stamped the document!"
"What's the reason?"
"They said that after a preliminary review, the flow of funds was basically compliant and no money laundering suspicions were found. But they require us to report every large transfer in advance."
"Okay." Ling Yun breathed a sigh of relief. "Well done."
"Mr. Ling, you have no idea how impressive I was today!" Li Taijian began to ramble on. "I stormed straight into the Security Bureau and slammed my fist on the table at that section chief. I said, 'We've worked so hard to attract investment, and you're just sabotaging us! The Digital City project is personally overseen by the mayor. How can foreign investors dare to invest in Thailand if you do this?'"
Ling Yun listened without saying a word.
"That department head tried to argue that they were acting in accordance with the law. I said, 'Which law? Which law stipulates that legitimate investments must have their accounts frozen? You're damaging Thailand's international image!'"
Lee Tae-geon became more and more excited as he spoke.
"Later, their bureau chief came, but I still didn't give him any face. I said if the freeze wasn't lifted today, I'd go to the mayor, the prime minister, and the royal family! We've contributed to Thailand's economy, and we're being treated like criminals?"
"And then?" Ling Yun asked.
"Then the director received a phone call and his attitude changed. He said it was a misunderstanding, that his subordinates had overreacted, and he signed the unfreezing order on the spot." Li Taijian laughed smugly. "The finance department was even more cowardly. When I went there, their section chief personally poured me tea. I said, 'You guys are pretty bold, daring to freeze our accounts.' They kept saying, 'No, no, we're just cooperating with the security bureau.'"
"Thank you for your hard work," Ling Yun said.
"Of course!" Li Taijian said. "Mr. Ling, if you need anything in Thailand in the future, just come to me. There's nothing I can't handle!"
"it is good."
After hanging up the phone, Ling Yun sat in the chair without moving.
Zhao Hu walked over.
"Mr. Ling, is it resolved?"
"Resolved."
"So fast?"
"The power of money," Ling Yun said. "Those accounts hold the interests of too many people. They are more anxious than we are."
Zhao Hu remained silent for a while.
"What Lee Tae-geon just said... is it true?"
"Half true, half false." Ling Yun stood up and walked to the window. "He may have indeed lost his temper, but what really mattered was the phone call from the people behind him. The call that the director of the Security Bureau answered was the key."
"Who hit him?"
"I don't know. Maybe it's a general, maybe it's someone from the royal office, maybe it's someone from the Prime Minister's office." Ling Yun looked out the window. "In any case, it's someone even bigger than the Director of the Security Bureau."
"So... this whole thing is actually a power struggle?"
"Yes. We are just pawns." Ling Yun turned around, "But pawns also have value. Our value lies in bringing money, projects, and opportunities for profit sharing."
Zhao Hu seemed to understand, but not quite.
"So...shall we continue now?"
"Continue." Ling Yun walked back to the table. "The account is unfrozen, the money is usable. Digital City will continue, pre-sales will continue, and exchanges will continue. But we need to proceed slowly and discreetly."
He instructed his CFO: "The account has been unfrozen. Begin transferring funds in batches. Each transaction should not exceed $20 million, and the funds should be distributed to different offshore accounts."
"Yes."
Then he called Sun Peng again.
"In Bangkok, work can resume. But the progress has slowed down, and the daily working hours have been shortened. The official explanation is that the construction plan has been optimized."
"Okay. As for the government..."
"It's all been settled. No one will come to investigate anymore."
"Understood."
After arranging everything, Lingyun sat down.
Lee Tae-geon's animated tone was still ringing in my ears.
That smugness, that arrogance, that boasting of "I have connections above me".
Ling Yun found it both funny and unsettling.
The funny thing is that these people are undermining their own country's interests, yet they think they are bringing glory to their country.
The painful thing is, this is reality. Rent-seeking, collusion between officials and businessmen, and the transfer of benefits. This is true in Thailand, and it's true elsewhere.
He's just a businessman; he can't change the rules.
All he can do is survive and thrive within the rules, and then...
And maybe one day, something will change a little.
The phone rang again. It was An Shiyu.
"What are you doing?"
"Work."
"Did it go smoothly?"
"smoothly."
"When are you coming back?"
"In a few days."
"I miss you."
"Me too."
A few simple words calmed him down a bit.
After hanging up the phone, he said to Zhao Hu, "Let's go for a walk."
"Where to?"
"Victoria Harbour. Let's enjoy the breeze."
Evening, on the shore of Victoria Harbour.
A sea breeze was blowing, and it was a bit chilly.
Ling Yun looked at the lights on the opposite bank and remained silent.
Zhao Hu stood one step behind him.
"Tiger," Ling Yun suddenly asked, "if you had a lot of money, what would you do?"
Zhao Hu thought for a moment.
"I'll build a house for my family so my parents can live a better life. And then... maybe I'll start a small business."
"Don't you want more money?"
"Enough is enough."
Ling Yun smiled.
"You're an honest person."
"Does Mr. Ling want more money?"
"I want it," Ling Yun said, "but not for the money itself. It's to... do something."
"What is it?"
"It's too early to say." Ling Yun turned around. "Let's go back."
On the way back to the hotel, Ling Yun wondered what he should do in this new life.
Perhaps, when I have enough money and enough power, I can do some different things.
It can make life better for workers like Wang Ping.
It allows veterans like Zhao Hu to work with dignity.
This would allow China to have its own operating system and its own chips, so that it wouldn't be held back by technological bottlenecks.
The road ahead is still long.
Let's win this battle first.
He took a deep breath and quickened his pace.