After continuing to discuss some matters with Janet, it was already 8:30 PM. Simon connected to a pre-scheduled video call with Chen Qing. Due to recent events, communication with China had become more frequent.
Chen Qing's figure soon appeared on the computer screen. Seeing Janet nestled in Simon's arms, she immediately flashed a warm smile and greeted in Chinese, "Good evening, Madam. Qing'er pays her respects to you."
Janet, however, wasn't having any of it. She rolled her eyes and replied in Chinese, "You must have done something bad. You look guilty."
Chen Qing instantly put on a pitiful expression. "Madam, Qing'er is wronged!"
Janet stretched her arms while still in Simon's embrace and stood up. "You two chat. I'm heading upstairs."
Simon kissed Janet and watched her leave, then turned back to Chen Qing with a slightly odd expression. "The character 'Qing'er' is quite interesting. Maybe we can add her to a TV drama."
Seeing that Janet had left, Chen Qing dropped her pitiful act and became enthusiastic. "A villain? The kind who kills without blinking?"
"That would be too harsh. How about a little princess or a young lady from a noble family?"
Chen Qing obediently followed her boss's suggestion. "Sure! We've been filming a lot of period dramas lately. The Second Series of Kangxi Incognito Travel would be perfect. We can add a character like Qing'er, someone as charming as me."
What Simon had in mind was the character Qing'er from My Fair Princess 2. However, since Chen Qing had already suggested Kangxi Incognito Travel, it didn't feel right to predictively shift the character to My Fair Princess 2. Chinese TV dramas rarely had long-running series, and My Fair Princess hadn't even aired yet. Whether it would be successful or have sequels was anyone's guess.
So, Simon shifted the conversation to other topics.
Chen Qing brought up something first: "Regarding the incident in South Korea on the 18th, all the follow-up issues have been resolved. Through some maneuvering and media pressure about the Blue House attempting to interfere with freedom of speech, we forced the South Korean government to drop the investigation into the incident. However, boss, that guy, Kwan Sa-won, performed well, but Kwon Jeong-jeong's work was really sloppy. He got caught the next day. Too clumsy."
This was about the sudden protest in South Korea on October 18th, sparked by rumors that the South Korean president planned to sell out national interests to seek aid from the IMF.
The South Korean government, unless completely clueless, would likely suspect someone was behind the scenes stirring things up.
Simon's dual-insurance strategy involved two teams. Kwan Sa-won, a second-generation Korean-American, did an excellent job, as he led a team skilled in orchestrating such events, having been poached from certain foundations. The other team, led by Kwon Jeong-jeong, a local, was indeed much rougher in their execution.
Kwon Jeong-jeong's team, including himself, was arrested the next day—all nine of them.
After all, inciting public riots bordered on treason.
Other forces of the Westeros family in South Korea had received advance notice and urgently reported it to Simon. Simon deliberately didn't intervene, using it as a test for Kwon Jeong-jeong.
In the end, after a bit of筛选 (sifting), Kwon Jeong-jeong, his wife, and another middle-aged man in the team, Choi Jae-hyun, who knew Simon was behind the scenes, all passed the test. They didn't betray Simon and insisted during interrogations that they were merely exercising their rights to free speech as citizens.
The other six, three of whom faced serious charges, cracked under pressure and confessed that everything was orchestrated by Kwon Jeong-jeong, with a mysterious "boss" behind it all. Unfortunately, they didn't know who the "boss" was. In an attempt to redeem themselves, they even revealed Kwon Jeong-jeong's team's commercial espionage activities over the past few months.
The remaining three held out until lawyers from the Westeros system intervened.
Subsequently, under media pressure, the South Korean government had no choice but to release them. As for the commercial espionage allegations, Kwon Jeong-jeong had been very careful, leaving little evidence. Combined with the media pressure and behind-the-scenes maneuvering by the Westeros system, the matter was dropped.
As a reward for their loyalty, Simon had arranged for the six who withstood the interrogations, along with their families, to temporarily relocate to Hong Kong for a vacation.
As for the three who didn't hold up, since they admitted to their "crimes," they would remain in custody.
Truth be told, Simon's confidence in letting Kwon Jeong-jeong and his team face the test stemmed from his belief that even if Kwon spilled everything, what could the South Korean government do? Arrest Simon Westeros?
They could only grit their teeth and bear it.
In the end, it all came down to a battle of strength.
If a few insignificant individuals without backing dared to pull off something so big, they might simply vanish. But if you had enough power, even organizing a rebellion to overthrow a government wouldn't be out of the question.
As for South Korea, if they figured out Simon's involvement, he would undoubtedly be added to their little black book.
But, leaving aside whether they had the strength to settle scores later, the current Kim Young-sam administration didn't even have the time to do so—they were about to be ousted.
And then, as Simon had just discussed with Janet, the world is forgetful.
Take the United States, for example. They've done so many blatant things, yet how many countries have actually held them accountable?
Not because they don't want to, but because they can't afford to.
They can only comfort themselves, forget about it, and put on a smile to continue cooperating.
Such is the way of the world.
In Asia, it was already Tuesday noon. Due to the press conference on Wednesday afternoon, Chen Qing would fly to Hong Kong on Wednesday morning.
Simon and Chen Qing discussed some details about Wednesday's events, then shifted the conversation back to South Korea.
It was foreseeable that after Simon stepped in as a savior to support Hong Kong, other Asian countries or regions would start to catch on.
At this point, the Westeros system needed to take the initiative.
Of course, Simon had no interest in countries like Thailand, Malaysia, or the Philippines. His focus was solely on South Korea: "The first goal, Xiao Qing, is to get South Korea to lift restrictions on foreign ownership of Korean companies before they are forced to seek help from the IMF again. And I don't want to see 50% or anything like that—it has to be 100%. That's your first-phase task."
Chen Qing on the other end replied, "Boss, I've already thought of the argument. Since South Korea will inevitably surrender to the IMF, lifting some restrictions in advance will allow them to sign fewer clauses in the agreement with the IMF. This way, there will be less public outcry. Isn't that better?"
Simon nodded with a smile. "Smart."
Chen Qing, however, added, "But boss, if we do this in advance, aren't you afraid that some of the industries we're eyeing will be snatched up by other capital?"
Simon countered, "Did you waste all that time reading up on Korean companies?"
Chen Qing paused, then stuck out her tongue sheepishly. "Boss, I understand."
The core issue in this crisis was South Korea's external debt, most of which was shouldered by the country's chaebols.
According to data collected by the Westeros team in South Korea, the debt-to-asset ratios of Korean companies were staggering. For example, Samsung's ratio of around 300% was considered low. Other chaebols had ratios exceeding 500%.
In such a situation, unless there were guarantees, or unless, like the Westeros system, one had a clear target and plan, capital would flee rather than dive in.
Of course, given how conspicuous the Westeros system's actions were, once Simon made his move, it would inevitably attract followers. But this was expected, and Simon could only take measures to minimize the chances of other capital swooping in. Therefore, whether South Korea lifted foreign ownership restrictions before or after reaching an agreement with the IMF didn't matter.
Once she understood this, Chen Qing asked, "Boss, about the entertainment industry, should I take some steps in advance?"
"That's a minor issue. No rush. Focus on the big picture first."
Chen Qing nodded and discussed some more details with her boss. Seeing that time was almost up, she finally said, "Boss, regarding Qin Buzui's matter, should we really let her handle it herself as per your email reply? Such a beautiful mother-daughter pair, and they can fight too. It's quite a show."
"It seems Janet wasn't wrong about you earlier."
Chen Qing immediately put on a pitiful expression again. "I only have the boss's best interests at heart!"
If she were in front of him, Simon would have tapped her on the forehead. "Do as I said. No mischief."
Chen Qing instinctively ducked her head on the other side of the screen and obediently promised, "Okay, boss." She then hesitated before hanging up and added, "Oh, by the way, boss, those little vixens have been settled in the community near Wenyu River. When are you coming to China next? It'll be convenient to play around here."
Simon hung up directly.
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