I Have a Mansion in the Post-apocalyptic World - Chapter 26

Chapter 26: The Middleman
Translator: Min
“Welcome, you must be Mr. Jiang. My friend from the mysterious East.”
After Jiang Chen had entered the room, he saw a white male with blond curly hair approach him
with an amiable smile. He used a hand gesture that he learned from one of the kungfu movies
and greeted Jiang Chen.
Although he was white, Mr. Robert’s face was nowhere close to white. His skin looked as coarse
as sandpaper. However, his composure and clean appearance made Jiang Chen sense his
respect.
“Nice to meet you, you must be Mr. Robert. Mr. Bruce introduced you to me.” Jiang Chen felt a
little weird but returned the same hand gesture.
To be honest, it was awkward using the foreigner's way to greet others. The idea was simply a
bit confusing, but that was what happened.
“Bruce is a nice guy. He took a bullet for me in the Middle East. It was a pleasure to meet him
again, and as the famous Chinese proverb goes, a friend’s friend is my friend. Am I right?” Mr.
Robert extended his hand.
“Of course. Your Chinese is remarkable.” Jiang Chen held onto Mr. Robert’s hand and firmly
shook it as he expressed his shock.
Although, Jiang Chen didn’t know if what Mr. Robert said was truly a proverb.
“Haha, of course. I always had a keen interest in this mysterious eastern kingdom. There are
opportunities everywhere.” Mr. Robert’s eyes rested on Jiang Chen, and then he gestured
gracefully. “Please come in, my friend. I have a Lafitte from 1982. I wanted to try it for a long a
time.”
“I can’t say no to this invite.”
The wine tasted different than the wine provided by the hotel. The bloody red liquid expelled an
exquisite fragrance of time. Even for someone like Jiang Chen, who had no experience in wine
tasting, he still tasted the difference.
The man who stood by Mr. Robert’s side was as silent as a rock. However, Jiang Chen sensed the
monstrous nature from his stature. He had a pair of shades on, but his protruding nose bone
indicated that he was a Slav. His bear like vibe perhaps indicated that he came from a Soviet
country.
“My bodyguard, Nick Belarusian. We met in Ukraine. He’s also a good guy and responsible for
my safety.” Mr. Robert noticed Jiang Chen staring. “Bruce is a good guy, but Black Water
International sometimes does shady business. They are also a bit too close to the FBI, so I had
to find a different partner.”
Despite the conversation revolving around him, the statue like bodyguard did not show any
reactions.

“Is your business dangerous?” Jiang Chen sat on the chair and casually changed the topic. “I
heard from Bruce that you are a renowned middleman in the US. Crude oil and gold?”
“Absolutely. Apart from the relatively safe crude oil and gold, I have to sometimes obtain
firearms for my employer. If I get my hands on those, there will always be someone after my
life.”
Mr. Robert lit up a cigar. He offered Jiang Chen one as well. “Your country has strict gun control,
which makes it feel like heaven to me. However, good times are always short lasting. I have a
flight to South Africa at 3 o’clock.”
“You sure you have enough time?” Jiang Chen glanced at the clock, it was 11 already.
“Don’t worry,” Mr. Robert waved his hand and smiled. He then sat straight up. “I am very
interested in Mr. Jiang’s business. Is there anything I can do to help you?”
Jiang Chen paused for a brief moment. He dusted the cigar and sat up as well.
“I hope there is no confusion here, my friend. I accidently overheard your conversation with
Bruce last night. It was an accident, but business always sprouts from occasions. I have been
looking for opportunities here in the Far East, and I am still exploring. My instinct tells me that
we can be great partners.”
“Hmm?” Jiang Chen didn’t make a fuzz about eavesdropping. With a slight interest, he
continued the conversation, “For example?”
“Mr. Jiang, businesses are paid in gold right? However, to my knowledge, your country's law
prohibits the large sell-off of gold because it would attract the government's attention.
Especially, gold without the proof of ownership.”
“Looks like Mr. Robert is extremely knowledgeable about our country’s laws. However, is there
no issues with selling gold in the US?” Jiang Chen nodded without disagreeing with his
comment.
“Of course there are problems. Though in the US, we speak with the law and with evidence, not
with politics. I have a professional team to deal those kinds of issues. Even if I have a little
problem with the FBI right now, I am still here chatting with you, right?” With a mysterious
smile, he continued, “How I do this? Let me give you an example. I incorporated a shell
company in Saudi. I received a batch of crude oil from Iran. According to the sanction, my
action is against the law. However, if the crude oil is sold through my shell company in Saudi,
then the crude oil will be legal to sell within the international market.”
[If you already told me this, are you not afraid?] Jiang Chen immediately understood why. With
such a strong bodyguard, he must have a strong security team.
He now has a clear understanding of Mr. Robert’s business. This middleman has the ability to
access the black market.
“It looks like we do have a partnership opportunity.” Jiang Chen smiled.
“I am an honest businessman,” Mr. Robert saw that his deal was made and a delighted smile
appeared on his face. “I’ll accept the gold regardless of the amount. As long as your gold is sold
through my mining company in South Africa, it will be legal once it enters the international
market. You don’t have to worry about the specifics. You can just sell the gold to me. I’ll take a
9% processing fee.”

Jiang Chen considered it.
9% was not a lot to begin with. All of his gold had no costs associated with it. It would be okay to
sell a small amount to the gold shop but if he did offer ten tons of gold, not a lot of gold shops

would dare to accept it. Even if he sold it in smaller batches, there was a high chance he would
be suspected. The Liu Anshan guy also gave him a weary feeling. He probably wasn't that clean
either.
It’s always better to be careful. Although selling gold to foreigners is considered smuggling, Mr.
Robert probably has it figured out.
Mr. Robert saw that Jiang Chen was silent. He wasn’t sure either if the 9% is too high. However,
this business was not risk-free. The capital to purchase the gold would be a problematic
amount. If the amount was over 20 million USD, then he must take a private loan to fund the
deal. The interest would not be a small number.
However, if Jiang Chen possessed a large amount of gold, he could lower the fee by a
percentage.
Just as Mr. Robert was about to lower the price, Jiang Chen suddenly opened his mouth.
“No problem, but I have a condition.”
Jiang Chen words surprised Mr. Robert at first, but a joyful smile ensued.
“I can guarantee the quality of the gold. It’s the 24K gold you guys commonly refer to. I believe
you have the expertise to determine that as well.” Of course, the gold in the bank would be
authentic. “However, you have to be responsible for the transportation. I will only transport the
gold to a location within the country. Also, you must pay in USD, on the spot. I will take no
further responsibility once the transaction is complete.”
“No problem, my friend!” Mr. Robert agreed without hesitation. “Looks like we have a deal?”
“Of course, cheers.” Jiang Chen gladly extended his hand.
“Cheers.” Mr. Robert cheerfully held onto Jiang Chen’s hand as they both stood up.
“Here’s my card. If you are ready, why don’t we arrange a time in the future? Also, it would be
best to prepare a Swiss bank account, it is the most convenient.”
“Absolutely, I wish you the best of luck.”
“Can I learn a little more about your background? How much are you going to sell, Mr. Jiang? I’ll
have to prepare enough liquidity.” Mr. Robert asked this slightly intruding question to prepare
for the worst.
“Oh, there's no rush. I’ll give you a call on July 15th. The amount is probably a few tons." Jiang
Chen exited the room and left a stunned Mr. Robert.
His face was completely blank. He didn’t even realize he dropped his expensive cigar.
A few tons?
With the current market condition, an ounce of gold traded at 1,350 USD. One ton of gold would
be 43,402,500 USD. At a processing fee of 9%, he would make 10 million with just three tons of
gold.
This is ridiculous. 9%?!

Easiest money of his life.
A few tons of gold?! He would have done it with 7%. How wealthy was Jiang Chen to not even
negotiate. It also strengthened Mr. Robert’s assumption that the gold was definitely from
illegal sources.
[What kind of business is he doing? Did he rob the central bank?]
“Oh God.” It took Mr. Robert a while to recollect his thoughts. Then he gasped, “Oh my, I am
going to be rich.”
He only made half a million selling 10,000 barrels of crude oil with the risk that the US military
may detain the shipment. However, Jiang Chen decided the fate of a billion dollar deal in a few
minutes.
“Nick, do you think our friend from the Far East is reliable?” Mr. Robert murmured as if he was
still dreaming. He knew Nick has no understanding of business, but he needed someone to tell
him that this was not a dream.
“Sorry boss, I don’t know a whole lot.” Bruce expected Nick’s response. He was silent, before he
continued, “However, I know this man is dangerous.”
“Really? Does he know martial arts?” Mr. Robert laughed at the statement. He made a funny
pose as if he was Bruce Lee.
Nick stared at the pretentious boss and shook his head. He knew his boss quite well. Whenever
Bruce was excited, he would always make some funny poses to express his excitement.
“From a soldier’s instinct, this guy is stronger than Bruce.” It was his job to ensure his safety.
Therefore, he gave his honest opinion.
Mr. Robert was surprised by the comment. “He is not a merchant? No way, my instincts are
usually right.”
Nick hesitated for a moment before continuing, “Maybe he is a merchant, but his combat
technique is quite strong. My instincts tell me that even if he can’t beat me with firearms, we
are a 50/50 split in close combat.”
Mr. Robert took a while to process the comment. He has seen Nick’s ability before. In Ukraine,
when he sold firearms to the government forces under the permission of the US government,
the civil forces attacked him. Nick immediately pulled out the gun of the wounded government
official and used the remaining 9 bullets to bring him back to safety. He killed more 10 civil
militants during the exchange.
Now Nick is saying Jiang Chen’s close combat power is comparable to his?
Mr. Robert, all of the sudden, burst into laughter.
“No wonder the Far East is a mysterious kingdom. Why don’t we head to Egypt next time?
Hahaha.”
No wonder Jiang Chen didn’t hire any bodyguards. His prowess in fighting is enough in this
gun prohibited country. However, it had nothing to do with their agreement.
Mr. Robert is an honest merchant. He always believed that honoring agreements would bring
him long term returns. He never did things that killed the egg laying chicken.

Even if he saw diamonds in a refugee camp in Africa in the hand of a starving kid, he would only
exchange it with candy, not bullets. After all, a bullet is much more expensive than candy.
Mr. Robert never doubted Jiang Chen’s ability to provide the few ton of gold, nor did he have the
ability to investigate his background on this mysterious piece of land. What is business without
the proper risk?
Mr. Robert was willing to make a bet. Jiang Chen’s decisive attitude was definitely backed by
tons of gold.
Plus, there was nothing to gain for him in the end if it was a lie.