Chapter 121 Crisis Management: No Pain, No Gain

Wu Haoyu wanted to chat with Wang Xiao a bit more.

Unfortunately, Wang Xiao, that scumbag woman, only cares about money, and her motto is always: "No time."

She was too busy to even go into detail about the importance of the matter.

It wasn't that she was reluctant to pay for international long-distance calls, but rather that having to repeat herself every time she made a call was simply too time-consuming.

Besides, you can't expect the person answering the phone to take notes on the other end, can you?

Instead of wasting time, she could simply print and fax it over, making endless copies—easy and efficient.

Wang Xiao sat in front of the keyboard, typing away. In addition to what she had said at the Chinese Embassy, ​​she added another point to the materials she gave to Wu Haoyu: consider the issue from the perspective of international relations.

Currently, both the CIS countries and Eastern Europe have abandoned socialism and moved towards capitalism.

This action alone is enough to prove one thing: the regimes of these countries are currently actively moving closer to Western countries and capitalist countries.

As a socialist country, China's current international relations are actually quite delicate. It needs more international partners.

However, taking official action at this moment may not be very effective.

There's a phenomenon in psychology—she forgot the exact name, and in 1992 there wasn't a search engine for her to use at any time—that is, when a person joins a new group, they easily become overly eager to fawn over the new group while simultaneously criticizing their original group.

For example, some people go completely mad after immigrating, behaving inexplicably in all sorts of ways.

Let me give you another example. In Meteor Garden, Qinghe became even more ruthless when bullying ordinary classmates because she temporarily joined F4.

They are all eager to sever ties with their past selves, as if it were a disgrace to their lives.

In this context, informal exchanges, primarily represented by private trade, become crucial.

People in former socialist countries generally have a favorable impression of China, their former ally.

Because what they truly oppose, upon closer examination, is not socialism, but revisionism.

They would rather embrace capitalism again than revisionism.

If this socialist spirit is used properly, the results will be quite amazing.

The term "public goodwill" is very mysterious; it surpasses the effectiveness of spending millions on advertising.

However, this positive feeling is time-limited. This is because humans are very easily influenced by the information they encounter in their daily lives.

To paraphrase "The Crowd," people's intelligence drops drastically when they are in a group. In order to gain acceptance, individuals are willing to abandon right and wrong, trading their intelligence for that sense of belonging that makes them feel safe.

If China does not find ways to strengthen this bond in the coming years, then once these countries are completely surrounded by the voice of capitalism, the lingering warmth of socialism will gradually disappear.

By then, it will be very difficult to rekindle the relationship. Even with double the effort, the result may be less than half the desired.

Moreover, there is a rather interesting aspect to people-to-people exchanges: the prioritization of individual interests.

Currently, both Eastern European countries and CIS countries are pushing forward with privatization. Private owners are willing to transfer their technology when it is profitable.

This is much easier than trying to get through all sorts of national-level reviews.

Sometimes, why start from scratch when there's a shortcut? Don't forget, Newton also said he stood on the shoulders of giants.

Wang Xiao wrote a lengthy two-page document, then sent it by fax, and then called the provincial leaders in Jiangdong and Jiangbei.

Leaders, use your networks! If this isn't handled properly, we'll be kicked off the dinner table.

There are far too many countries vying for the CIS and Eastern European markets, with their advanced technology and cultural influence; our core competitiveness now lies in our high-quality products at low prices.

Without this label, you still want to be seated at the table? What a pipe dream!

Deputy Secretary Cao was furious.

They can't get involved in good things, and when others have bad things happen, they can't even watch the excitement; they have to find ways to clean up the mess.

So annoying!

But no matter how troublesome it is, they can't just abandon the situation. Because when things go wrong, everyone gets collectively tied down.

Wang Xiao continued the process of hanging up the phone and sending the fax, then mentally reviewed the matter.

She suspects that the major setbacks of Chinese goods in the CIS countries and Eastern Europe in the 1990s were due to two main reasons.

First, nobody cares about the business of reselling goods.

Despite the lively atmosphere depicted in the song, where Beijing's scalpers shake up Eastern Europe, in reality, these scalpers operate in a vacuum of official oversight.

Rigid planned economy thinking has led official managers to habitually limit foreign trade activities to state-owned enterprises with import and export rights.

Those who engage in illegal reselling are just small-time vendors who are not worth mentioning and are insignificant. The authorities don't have the energy or the inclination to manage them.

Moreover, since these middlemen source goods domestically and sell them abroad without going through export approval processes, it's very difficult for the authorities to regulate their activities.

After all, if there are problems with goods sold abroad, the embassy doesn't seem to have law enforcement power.

As for investigating where his/her goods came from, it involves both domestic and foreign aspects, which is too troublesome.

Who would willingly go out of their way to do something so thankless and exhausting? We're already too busy with our regular jobs.

Therefore, even if the local embassy is fully aware that the group of speculators is not to be underestimated, it will turn a blind eye to their activities.

Some officials even look down on small vendors from the bottom of their hearts. When interviewed by foreign media, they make outrageous remarks, describing resellers as labor camp criminals and petty thugs; as if this would allow them to sever ties with them and maintain their own noble and aloof attitude.

Little do you know, to outsiders, you are all one. Your self-righteous sense of superiority within the system is nothing but a joke.

Secondly, individual traders lack public relations skills.

Counterfeit and substandard products exist in every country in the world. However, the scandals involving well-known international corporations are perhaps even more shocking.

But why can other companies weather the storm smoothly, even covering up scandals for decades and simply pretending they never happened, while Chinese goods suffer serious damage as soon as their reputation collapses, and are directly kicked out of the market?

This involves crisis public relations issues.

Because middlemen and traders are inherently self-reliant and often face language barriers, honest businesspeople are often at a loss as to how to defend themselves in the event of a credibility crisis.

The fact that Chinese people, who were originally living far worse lives (many defected to the Soviet Union in the 1960s and 70s, and many students stayed behind and never returned), have now become wealthy is a huge stimulus to Russians and people in all CIS countries.

In this situation, if there are quality problems with Chinese-made goods, people will not have the luxury filter they once had for them; instead, they will be extremely angry and feel like, "How dare you bully me like this!"

With such a delicate mindset, as long as other competitors step in and make a concerted effort to promote their products, Chinese goods will suffer a crushing defeat.

Of course, all of this is based on the premise that some people truly believe dog meat is not fit for a banquet. Like some tourist attractions, they are focused on ripping off whoever they can, without considering long-term development or even the future. They just want to make a quick buck and move on to another place.

Honestly, Wang Xiao didn't want to get involved in this matter.

But no one is taking the lead.

I won't talk about the middlemen and women; it's good enough that everyone can cooperate.

As for Chinese state-owned enterprises in Russia—

That's even less likely.

Indeed, China is very optimistic about the Russian market. Currently, there are more than 2,000 companies registered in Russia, of which more than 800 are nationally renowned.

Some representative companies, such as China Petrochemical Import and Export Corporation, used rubles to speculate in real estate.

Surprisingly, mainland Chinese had the idea of ​​speculating in real estate quite early.

Land prices in Hainan have skyrocketed, and now everyone is starting to expand overseas.

There's also the Peace Children's Project Contracting Corporation, run by the Soong Ching Ling Foundation. Their main business is investing in and setting up factories, such as instant noodle and canned food factories.

These two companies don't even sell down jackets and have no business relationship, so why would they step in?

Wang Xiao stepped forward simply because she wanted to make money steadily and long-term.

Forget it, if you want to make more money, you should do more work.

After mentally reviewing the entire process, Wang Xiao, while still wearing a face mask, began planning the next steps.

If domestic regulatory authorities act swiftly, then no matter how detailed or specific the procedures set by higher authorities are, in the end, unsurprisingly, it will most likely be a one-size-fits-all approach.

For example, isn't it said that down jackets produced by private factories or small family workshops are prone to accidents? Then we should just shut them all down.

Were any factories accidentally damaged? Absolutely.

They've really hit a snag!

How should this part of the factory be handled?

It's simple; if they are confident in the quality of the factory's products, they can choose to send samples to the trade city.

If the inspection is passed, the trade city will place an order with them to receive the goods at the market price.

With so many down jackets piling up all at once, can the trade city absorb them all?

Wang Xiao wasn't worried at all.

This is because Chinese businessmen began flocking to Moscow in large numbers this year.

By the time they realized down jackets were in high demand, it was too late to inform the domestic market about duck and goose farming.

In other words, there aren't actually that many down jackets available on the market.

Wang Xiao even suspected that the reason why feather coats started appearing was not only to save costs, but also because there was a shortage of duck and goose down.

She shouldn't be worried about not being able to sell her clothes now.

Even if she misjudges and buys too many down jackets, she can still consider expanding into the European market.

Not Eastern Europe, but Northern Europe.

The Nordic countries are incredibly wealthy and incredibly cold, with exceptionally long winters, making down jackets a must-have.

However, since only Denmark and Finland have two down jacket factories in the five Nordic countries, and labor costs are particularly high in the Nordic countries, the market demand is filled by importing low- to mid-range products.

As early as the 1980s, Chinese down jackets were already being exported to the Nordic market, and the quantity continued to increase.

In 1989, Finland ordered 150,000 down jackets, Sweden took 100,000, and the Norwegian market took a whopping 200,000.

Considering that the total population of these countries has not exceeded ten million, this import figure fully demonstrates that their markets have a fairly high level of acceptance of Chinese down jackets.

As for how to sell down jackets to Northern Europe without being subject to export quotas?

Don't worry, these amazing middlemen can sell their goods to any corner of the world.

By the way, since we're talking about exporting to Northern Europe, this point must be added to the advertising for Huaxia Commercial Street down jackets.

The Russians are truly superstitious about Europe and America.

Even if two products are similar in style, color, and material, if one of them has been recognized in the European and American markets, then even if its price is higher than the other, its sales will far surpass the other.

It's practically the key to generating traffic.

Wang Xiao glanced at his watch and realized that he should be kind. Even if the boss disturbed his subordinates in the middle of the night, people would still want to throw bricks at him.

Never mind, she'll check with the shopping street manager again when the Moscow sun rises.

Those who need to supplement data should do so as soon as possible.

Don't think that good wine needs no bush. Good heavens, if you don't boast about your own achievements, who will do it for you?

Oh no, it's advertising.

As the promotion continues, people will form a fixed concept, which will increase your opportunities and lead to greater achievements in the future.

It was already dawn in Suifenhe. Wang Xiao felt no pressure at all and immediately called Tang Yicheng to remind him to check the fax.

Tang Yicheng murmured "oh, oh, oh," and then raised another possibility: "What if the local government protects these small processing plants?"

This isn't him being petty and judging others by his own standards; it's something that could very well happen.

If the down processing industry is a pillar industry of the local area, or if it has powerful backing, then the local government will try its best to protect the factory, both for the public good and for private reasons.

If the authorities intervene, the results will be absolutely phenomenal.

Wang Xiao felt like she had endless worries.

She's practically racked her brains to make money.

In the end, she decided that contradictions among the people should be resolved among the people themselves; in simple terms, it meant mobilizing the masses to fight against each other.

Well, currently, enterprises can be divided into three types: state-owned, collective, and private.

The contradictions among these three groups are actually quite significant, and state-owned enterprises currently have a voice in the eyes of the government.

Even large-scale factories may not necessarily listen to local government leaders.

"Take the tourist shoes incident in Leshui County as an example. If one factory has a problem, it will ruin the reputation of the entire county. Because outsiders have no idea which factory's clothes are defective. They will just say that your city and your county are no good. The customers who bought the clothes have turned the place upside down. In the future, if you want to sell your goods, no one will be willing to buy them."

Tang Yicheng chuckled. Was this what Wang Xiao often talked about—the information gap?

in the country, the quality of goods varies drastically from region to region.

But when they're sold abroad, everyone just uses one name: Chinese goods.

Of those, only a pitifully small number are brand names that can be easily recognized.

He readily agreed: "Understood."

Then he remembered something else, "We need to get more of those motorcycles, otherwise it will be difficult to settle payments here."

Wang Xiao asked in surprise, "Why can't it get married?"

"Sigh, they want way too much stuff, clothes, shoes, food, and other necessities. We can't even get enough seafood to offset the cost, so now they're paying half the bill in ship form."

At this point, he couldn't help but curse, "I think Suifenhe will be finished very soon."

Why do I say that? Because he's such a bastard.

They took advantage of the fact that the Russian department stores in the Far East only offered products from the 1970s, while imported goods from Taiwan, Japan, and South Korea were expensive and required foreign exchange to purchase; so they transported substandard, inferior, and waste products produced all over mainland China here to sell.

They don't even bother to be perfunctory.

The sportswear had been sitting in the warehouse for who knows how long; the seams came undone as soon as I put it on.

The leather jacket was of extremely poor quality; it would fade if it got even a little water on it.

"Throughout Suifenhe, you can't find a single pair of sneakers priced over fifty yuan in any store; they're all counterfeit, costing only fifteen yuan. The sales clerks are quite frank, saying they're just trying to fool the Russians."

But the Russians aren't stupid. Why would they spend a month's salary on a pair of sneakers that only have their toes sticking out after two days? Are they really crazy?

Therefore, once the fleet from Vladivostok received the goods from the trading city, business quickly boomed.

Yes, their goods are indeed more expensive.

For example, shoes that sell for two thousand rubles at a street stall, they'll sell for three thousand.

But it lasts a long time; as long as your feet don't grow, you can wear it for several years without any problems.

Once word got out, more than half of the business in Fujin Street, a bustling area for Chinese businessmen in Vladivostok, was taken away.

Moreover, as word of mouth continues to spread, the number of people on Fujin Street is decreasing.

The customers didn't disappear; they simply moved on. They all flocked to the fleet's shops.

Business was booming, and the competition was fierce. Ivanov's friend, Ofedor, naturally had to stock up on goods.

Later on, not only Vladivostok, but the entire Far East region, and even residents of Grodekovo across the Suifen River and the neighboring town of Pogranichny, would travel long distances to the Pacific Fleet's stores to buy goods.

Business in Suifenhe has been quite sluggish.

Tang Yicheng is stealing other people's jobs, so how come he hasn't been criticized yet?

Sigh, in the end, he benefited from the military.

First, the goods sent to Vladivostok are transported directly from Beijing, and then transferred at the airport in Suifenhe to fly to the other side.

The merchants in Suifenhe came from all over the country, and their information was mainly spread by word of mouth.

Very few people know where the Vladivostok goods actually come from.

Secondly, Tang Yicheng always had soldiers with him.

People all thought he was a military officer who specialized in smuggling, and no one dared to mess with him.

With such a large demand from the Russians, plus the increased demand for fresh produce such as vegetables and fruits starting in August, even seafood couldn't keep up with the demand.

O'Fedor was unwilling to give up this enormous wealth, so with the tacit approval of his superiors, he transported the ships over time.

The problem is that China's navy is also poor. It's unclear how they negotiated with the air force. Anyway, after the air force helped Wuzhou Company secure a route at Shenyang Airport, they verbally said they could try to get more routes for them, but that was all.

Wang Xiao couldn't help but curse, "From the military to the government, they're all the same."

Their main focus is on debtors who refuse to pay their debts!

But they can't afford to offend the Air Force right now, so they have no choice but to swallow their pride and bear it.

no--

After hanging up the phone, Wang Xiao wandered around the house.

She needs to find a way to gain more benefits.

The law of conservation of energy tells us that you must receive exactly what you give; otherwise, the relationship cannot possibly last.

There was a knock on the door, and Ivanov reminded her anxiously, "Your Majesty, you should go to sleep."

Indeed, ever since he realized the arduous task he was entrusted with, he has started to take care of his health.

He would never throw a party overnight unless it was necessary to maintain relationships.

He not only hoped to live to be a hundred years old, but also prayed that Wang Xiao would not die suddenly.

After all, you can fall in love anytime, but a good business partner is hard to find.

Thousands of businessmen are competing with you, and if you're not careful, you'll be kicked out of the game.

Ivanov still hopes for a bright future, so he wants to live well, and his partner can't rely on coffee to survive.

All right.

Wang Xiao glanced at the time and quickly went to bed.

This battle has only just begun; many more challenges await her.

For several days, Wang Xiao waited anxiously for the follow-up actions in China.

Gradually, some places started to move.

Some investigations simply focused on local down jacket factories, shutting down a number of small processing plants and family workshops.

Some even investigated the wholesale markets as well, and problems were also found with sneakers and leather jackets.

In some places, counterfeit and shoddy products were confiscated; in others, they were simply set on fire, just like the burning of opium at Humen in the illustration (in reality, the latter was soaked in seawater), and the confiscated counterfeit and shoddy goods were burned directly.

Wang Xiao secretly breathed a sigh of relief.

Thank goodness, it's not just the Russian police who are dirt poor right now; domestic regulatory agencies are also scrambling to find a way to make ends meet.

If the higher-ups give the go-ahead, plenty of people will be happy to get involved.

As long as it is controlled, even if the correction goes too far, the benefits outweigh the drawbacks under the current trend.

However, as the saying goes, man proposes, God disposes, and Wang Xiao breathed a sigh of relief too soon.

She gripped the newspaper, the veins on her hands bulging, and couldn't help but curse, "Fuck your ancestors for eighteen generations!"

Damn it!

She had mobilized all her connections, spent a lot of money, and incurred a lot of favors. In November 1992, when regulations were extremely lax and even a provincial procuratorate could openly admit to taking kickbacks without being held legally responsible, she finally managed to push through a rectification campaign for down jacket manufacturers.

Don't think this is a simple matter.

In the context of comprehensive economic development, strengthening regulation is very difficult.

Because the current local management is taking a simple and crude approach, even to the point of being an either-or situation.

The same applies to his private economy: either loosen or tighten restrictions; there is no middle ground.

It wasn't until the beginning of the year that national leaders publicly stated they would relax the economic environment, and the whole country enthusiastically embraced the idea of ​​making money above all else.

If you suddenly tighten and strengthen regulation of private enterprises, it could easily be over-interpreted as a move to tighten economic policies.

The decision-makers who are willing to take action at this time are actually taking on considerable risks.

As a result, things took a turn for the better domestically, but remained completely still abroad.

It's all good now—

Wang Xiao looked at the newspaper, his anger turning into a bitter laugh.

There was a cartoon in the newspaper showing a chicken bursting through clothes and flying away.

The news in the newspapers was not complicated; it simply said that a Chinese businessman selling down jackets in Moscow hadn't left his room for two days.

His landlord, fearing something might have happened, opened the door to check, and nearly fainted when he did.

It stinks, it stinks horribly, even a septic tank can't compare to the stench of this room.

Was this Chinese businessman incontinent?

No, no, although he was lying in bed unconscious, he only had a high fever.

The real stench came from the clothes; bags of down jackets were unbearably smelly, emitting a strong odor of chicken droppings.

When you cut the clothes open, you find that it's not filled with duck down or goose down, but with chicken feathers and scraps of paper.

The landlord saw that the Chinese businessman had lost consciousness, so he had no choice but to hold his nose and take him to the hospital.

After asking about the situation, the doctor said he had fowl plague.

Despite the hospital's best efforts to save him, he has now passed away, probably because his fever lasted too long.

In an instant, Wang Xiao's malice swelled to its peak, and only two words echoed in her mind: Serves him right!

She had already told them to get rid of these trashy clothes as soon as possible, because if they were difficult to dispose of in the city, they could burn them on a farm in the suburbs of Moscow.

Well, look what happened! We're just playing mind games with her here.

Why are you keeping the clothes hidden in the room? Are you planning to sell them again after this storm has passed?

Anyway, spring comes late to Moscow, so they have several months to cause trouble.

When a person dies, it's like a lamp going out. Is that pitiful?

What a load of rubbish!

For her, the dead have no filter.

Especially now that she has to clean up the mess caused by this dead man, all she wants to do is hit him.

She desperately wanted the newspapers to be fabricating stories, so she could engage in a war of words with them, or even take them to court and watch them fight it out, thus clearing her name of the many scandals that had happened to Chinese businessmen.

Unfortunately, the reality is cruel.

This was indeed a foolish thing done by one of his own compatriots. When Wang Xiao called to verify the information, someone sighed, "This guy is really stupid. It's already November, how could he leave his down jacket in the room? The heating in Moscow is so strong. If he had left it on the balcony and sprayed some mosquito repellent, it wouldn't have turned out like this. He was so young, and he just threw his life away."

Wang Xiao almost retorted, "The sooner the better."

Are your lives more valuable than the lives of your customers? You're the ones who deserve to die!

Undoubtedly, this sensational news spread extremely quickly.

She was one of the first to see the newspaper, but by the time she finished reading it and came downstairs, a customer in the store was already clutching his down jacket and asking suspiciously, "Is it filled with chicken feathers?"

The salesperson tried desperately to explain, "How could that be? These are all brand-name products manufactured by reputable factories. You see, this brand has been exported to Switzerland for several years in a row, and it's very popular in the local market."

However, the customer still looked suspicious, clutching the down jacket and squeezing it repeatedly.

This is a perfect example of how one bad apple spoils the whole bunch.

Even Ivanov couldn't help but sigh: "Your Majesty, these people are truly fearless."

Now that he's kicked the bucket, it's all over, and the survivors will have to clean up his mess.

It's so annoying.

Wang Xiao directly demanded of him: "Use all your connections; we have to do public relations now."

All public relations guides tell us that the best public relations approach is sincerity.

However, the truth is that if the world were so bright and righteous, the public relations industry would never have been able to flourish.

The real world of public relations is similar to the British TV series "PR". It requires extinguishing the flames before they get out of control, creating various personas for the public relations personnel, enhancing the public's or more specifically, their audience's goodwill, and diverting public attention.

In short, the task of public relations is not to eliminate the scandal itself, but to make people ignore the scandal, or even if they see it, to generate completely different thoughts.

Now, because even the best opponents can't match the destructive power of her incompetent teammates, her first solution has failed.

Therefore, she must take effective countermeasures within the crucial four hours.

Wang Xiao took out his phone book, dialed a number, took a deep breath, composed himself, and earnestly pleaded, "Babushka, I'm sorry to bother you, but there's something we really need your help with."

One phone call after another was made, and two hours later, Wang Xiao appeared at the restaurant.

It's not mealtime now, it's a prime time for business, but the shop is already packed with people.

Some Chinese businessmen were cursing: "You're going to die! Have you never seen money in your eight lifetimes? You're killing people!"

Someone nearby criticized, "Alright, the person's life is over, don't say such hurtful things."

The Chinese businessman who started the conversation got even angrier: "What does it matter to me whether he lives or dies? Did I kill him? I told him to burn his feather coat a long time ago. He treated it like a treasure. Now he's died a worthy death, he should be happy to die!"

Those who criticized him were furious, their faces turning red with anger: "How can you talk like that? He's already dead, what more do you want?"

"Oh dear, his life is so precious! If he dies, will you go and wear mourning clothes?"

"How the hell can you talk like that?"

"That's just how I talk, damn it! He'd be lucky to die!"

"Alright, alright—"

The third sister, who also answered the phone and rushed over, had a frosty expression on her face. "Is this the time to argue? Whoever wants to argue, go outside and argue, argue until the end of time."

The first Chinese businesswoman to speak out became agitated: "Third sister, I'm being framed! I don't even know what happened today, but the landlord just kicked me out. He said if I didn't leave, he would call the police to arrest me. He said his family doesn't want to die. I went to the free market to set up a stall, and as soon as I hung up my down jacket, someone said it was filled with chicken feathers and would kill people."

The third sister reached out and pressed down: "I know, I know."

The reason she abandoned her shop business to come here was because the down jackets that had just arrived in her shop were also being questioned.

It's clearly a high-quality brand-name product, but the Russians are suspicious. They keep touching it and muttering, "Is there chicken feathers in here?"

It's really infuriating!

She paid an extra ten dollars for each piece of clothing to get these genuine, high-quality items.

However, before she even started earning money, the reputation of Huaxia Down Jackets suffered a severe blow.

Did she want to tear Old Wei, who had caused all this trouble, to pieces? Of course she did. If he were still alive, she would have gone straight for the knife.

Now, she's heard that chicken plague can be transmitted from person to person, so she can only curse from afar.

This plague has killed someone!

That's right, at this moment, relying on speculators and the dead Old Wei is basically an impossible thing.

Because business is very good in Moscow now, with little competition, almost no Chinese businessmen lose money, and more than 90% of them are making a fortune.

When people have money, they can no longer empathize with others who cause them trouble because of their stinginess; instead, they will feel deep resentment.

After all, most of the middlemen and middlemen are young people who have experienced limited hardship and suffering, and their dedication to saving money is far less than that of their parents.

"Alright, alright," the third sister waved her hand impatiently. "Things have already come to this point; now we need to figure out a way to smooth things over. Mr. Wang—"

She asked Wang Xiao, "What do we do now?"

Wang Xiao said expressionlessly, "Let's just leave it at that. Anyway, whatever I say, you all say I'm exaggerating, that I'm deliberately digging a pit for you to fall into, that I'm intentionally trying to harm you."

"No, no, no—"

Immediately, someone jumped out to deny it, "Mr. Wang, we believe you. Look, we've already disposed of the chicken feather jacket. That old Wei is a miser reincarnated Scrooge; all he cares about is money."

Wang Xiao frowned and reluctantly asked, "Then tell me, what exactly is the situation with the Wei family?"

"Hey, he only has one wife and one child. It cost five thousand US dollars to get married. He's a real cheapskate. He always eats other people's food, and no one gets any of his. For example, grilled fish. It doesn't cost much to order a serving, right? No way, he always mooches off other people. He never buys anything for himself."

Frugality and stinginess are two completely different concepts. The former is a personal lifestyle habit, prioritizing not bothering others. The latter, on the other hand, is disliked because it often involves taking advantage of others.

However, Wang Xiao directly made a definitive judgment about Lao Wei, whom he had never met: "In other words, he has to support his family and is usually very frugal, right?"

Inside the room, the middlemen and women who knew Lao Wei looked at each other, feeling that something was not quite right, but it seemed that what the other person said was not wrong.

Finally, one after another, everyone hesitantly nodded.

"How old is Lao Wei's child? Is he in elementary or middle school now?"

"Middle school, it seems like I'm in junior high."

Wang Xiao nodded and sighed, "Parents always worry about their children. When a child goes to middle school, it's a time when money is really needed. It's normal for parents to try to stretch every penny."

The group looked at each other, seemingly oblivious.

Old Wei also said that his daughter was a money-loser and should finish junior high school early and start working.

He did indeed plan to bring his wife and children to Moscow, but only because if they had a second child here, no one would fine him for having too many children.

It's a bit of a pity, really. His daughter's grades seemed pretty good. If she were from a well-off family, she might have been able to go to university with some guidance.

Wang Xiao, the boss, has an excellent imagination and has already become a virtual mother, planning the future for her daughter who has never met her before: "If you have good grades, you should study hard. Old Wei himself has gone abroad, so he must want to send his child abroad to study as well. Oh dear, that's no small expense, studying abroad at your own expense is very expensive."

The third sister reacted the fastest: "That's right, that's right. Parents will do anything for their children."

OK! Lao Wei's persona has begun to take shape.

The subject of reference is the protagonist of a Japanese television documentary called "Living with Tears"—a Shanghai educated youth who worked illegally in Japan for 15 years and never dared to return to China to reunite with his family.

His daughter eventually got into medical school in the United States, became a doctor there, and the whole family was reunited in America.

This image of a father whose love is selfless and unspoken, as firm as a mountain, is more likely to resonate with the public.

Moreover, there are quite a few Russians working or trading abroad now, such as in Poland, where they are already extremely annoyed by the large influx of traders from CIS countries.

These Russian traders who made a living in countries like Poland weren't all rolling in money; many struggled to survive.

In summer, people sleep on the ground in parks, and in winter, they are equally reluctant to stay in hotels, so they look for friends and acquaintances to stay with, and it is common to see several people squeezing into a small room.

Why describe Lao Wei in this way?

This leads to the following topic: why other resellers who accidentally bought counterfeit goods simply accepted their bad luck and burned them in the suburbs.

But Lao Wei stubbornly kept the feather coat by his side and refused to get rid of it.

He wants to bring these feather coats back to China.

It's not about reselling counterfeit goods to Chinese people to cheat one's own compatriots; it's about using these as evidence to report to the police back in China and have them deal with the person who gave him the counterfeit goods.

This brings us to the topic of the ongoing crackdown on counterfeiting and selling of fake goods across China.

It was after hearing the news that Lao Wei decided to return to China to report the incident to the police.

To save money, he couldn't bear to fly and chose to buy a train ticket instead.

The reason he's been delayed for a few days is that train tickets to China are currently very expensive, and he's trying to bargain with scalpers to save some money so he can bring some gifts for his family.

OK! The logic is clear now, the press conference can be held.

Facing the specially invited media reporters, the third sister, who was temporarily chosen to act as the spokesperson, said righteously: "The reason we are in such a hurry to invite reporters is because we really can't bear to see our friend, our silent and honest friend Wei, being misunderstood and misinterpreted."

With tears in her eyes and deep emotion, the third sister said, "Old Wei was an exceptionally honest man who never caused trouble for anyone. Now that he has unfortunately passed away, he has no way to explain himself. But outsiders shouldn't just assume he's innocent and throw mud at him."

And so, the reporters heard the story of a deeply moving old father.

He never intended to harm anyone; he simply wanted the police to help him seek justice and punish the bad guys.

Tragically, because processing the documents took time, his family didn't even have time to come and see him one last time.

The reporters followed them to a suburban farm and saw the legendary incineration pond.

The Moscow farmers living on this farm testified that the Chinese businessman did indeed burn a lot of things here.

There are sneakers with soles that easily fall off, and sportswear that rips at the slightest movement of the arms. Recently, the most popular items are all kinds of feather-trimmed clothing.

Actually, the farmers in Moscow were quite reluctant to part with them, because these clothes and shoes were quite nice.

They had spoken with the Chinese businessmen, trying to persuade them not to burn the clothes and shoes, but to leave them behind, even if the quality wasn't great, so that the farmers could still enjoy them.

However, the Chinese businessmen refused, fearing that someone would sell the product and cheat innocent people.

The third sister held a particularly high-handed attitude: "The Russians are our good friends, and our friendship will last forever. As we Chinese say, we welcome friends with fine wine. How could we knowingly sell inferior goods to our friends? We simply wouldn't do such a thing. Even if we suffer a loss, it's our own responsibility—we were just blind and accidentally bought some bad stuff."

A companion next to her retorted: "It's those people who are too black-hearted, malicious, and cheat people by fabricating fakes."

One of the women, a former university teacher, sighed and earnestly emphasized to the reporter, "This is one of the various economic crimes that arise during the development of a market economy. If people only care about money, they will stop at nothing."

The journalists in Moscow also saw reports in Chinese newspapers about the vigorous anti-counterfeiting campaigns being carried out across the country.

Chinese leaders emphasized that developing the economy does not mean reckless behavior; China must simultaneously focus on economic development and combat various criminal activities to ensure both are done effectively.

The Russian farmers at the Moscow farm praised the Chinese people for their diligence, responsibility, and exceptional reliability.

They are also very generous, helping out wherever they can.

An elderly woman led the reporter to see the bean sprouts she had grown herself, which was taught to her by Chinese farmers.

She now works in the greenhouse, only three or four hours a day, and earns 100 rubles. Each month, she can earn two or three thousand rubles, which, combined with her retirement pension, is enough to support herself.

This is such a rare thing.

The elderly woman sighed, "People of our age are most afraid of being seen as a burden by their children. Fortunately, I've found work, so I'm not a burden."

Other farmers then led the reporters to see the light bulbs that the Chinese had installed in the farm's activity room, as well as a color TV, a ping-pong table, and a billiards room.

“We get along very well, we are friends. They helped bring me the seeds for the vegetables I grow. They can grow vegetables anywhere, with any tools. Now we have learned how, and our output is much higher than before. We can't even eat it all ourselves, so we can help our relatives and children living in the city.”

That evening, Moscow residents watched the press conference on television.

In front of all the audience, the Chinese businessman representative stated that each of them would contribute $50, part of which would be used for Lao Wei's funeral and part of which would be used to comfort Lao Wei's family.

The remaining bulk of the proceeds is used to recycle feather-trimmed clothing from the market.

If these feather jackets were sold unintentionally by the Chinese business owners, please come and return or exchange them.

There are two return/exchange options: one is a full refund, and the other is to choose the same down jacket at Huaxia Commercial Street.

Once the feather coats have been collected, they will hold a burning ceremony at the farm, inviting their Russian friends to watch and supervise, so that they can see their determination to fight against counterfeit goods.

The following day, Pravda published a lengthy editorial, using the feather coat as a starting point, and pointed out that regardless of the ideology, all countries encounter similar problems in the process of developing from a planned economy to a market economy.

How to solve the problems of economic crime and rampant counterfeit goods that follow is a question that government officials should study in depth, and that every Russian should think about.

The article lists a number of counterfeit cases from around the world, from data fabrication in the Soviet era, such as the infamous Uzbek cotton case (similar to the phenomenon of exaggeration), to various counterfeit goods problems today.

In short, counterfeiting is not unique to any one nation; it happens all over the world.

What they need to do is not to specifically blame a particular ethnic group, but to consider how to strengthen supervision and prevent the people from suffering more losses.

Another day later, the newspapers began reporting on the scandal of a certain famous movie actor.

Okay, both remedial measures have been introduced. The next step is to see how public opinion reacts.

————————

The description of rampant counterfeit goods in Vladivostok and Suifenhe at the time is referenced in the article "Revisiting Vladivostok" published in the January 1993 issue of the *Soviet Literary Journal*. Akin tends to believe the description is fairly accurate. An article in the January 1993 issue of *Today's Science and Technology* also mentioned that Chinese goods couldn't be sold in the Far East market, one reason being the prevalence of counterfeit goods. A few years later, Chinese goods were practically nonexistent in Vladivostok.

In addition, regarding the situation of Chinese enterprises in Moscow in 1992 mentioned in the article, the reference is the article "Observations and Business Survey in Moscow" published in the June 1993 issue of Volume 8, Issue 2 of "Ceramic Research". The article describes the author's observations during his visit to Moscow in mid-to-late September 1992.

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