Chapter 125 You guys form your own oil company: Water Duration

Our first meeting fell apart before we even got to the heart of the story.

Wang Xiao and Ivanov didn't take it seriously. Even before leaving, they didn't forget to go back to the conference room to greet the wealthy Sakhalin Island businessman Mikhelson and his Chinese partner, Factory Director Hu and his entourage.

"Let's go, we need to take a look at your factory and villa, and see how much we can mortgage them for."

Mikhelson hesitated slightly.

To be honest, he still hasn't figured out how to resolve the debt owed to Chinese businessmen.

To be more realistic, cross-border debt collection is a very difficult task.

Flying over time, the travel expenses, plus food, lodging, and other basic costs, add up to a considerable sum.

He just needs to hide and pretend he's not there, and the matter will eventually fade away.

He hadn't planned to meet with his creditors if the deputy governor hadn't issued an executive order forcing him to come.

Honestly, even six months ago, he would never have had such a thought. But now, to be precise, since the ruble plummeted at the end of August, this thought has been lingering in his mind and has never disappeared.

It's too difficult, really too difficult.

Let alone foreigners, even a native Russian like him wouldn't know how to do business normally.

Seeing that he remained unmoved, the female reporter immediately and astutely questioned, "You're not planning to default on your debt, are you?"

By mortgaging the factory and villa to this obviously powerful Moscow businessman, it won't be so easy for Mikhelson, even if he's a local strongman, to renege on his debts.

It's obvious that the Moscow tycoon is a frequent guest in the Sakhalin Oblast, and he also has military connections. He's the kind of person who can easily take advantage of others, and who makes others think twice before trying to take advantage of him.

Mikhelson rubbed his face and said weakly, "I... I'm a little dizzy. I haven't eaten. I need to rest."

Without saying a word, Ivanov pulled a piece of candy from his pocket and gave it to him: "Eating a piece of candy will make you feel better."

Wang Xiao smiled and agreed, "Yes, eating something and drinking some hot water will make you feel much better."

Whether he likes it or not, they've decided to buy the processing plant and the villa today.

Otherwise, how could they have stayed on Sakhalin Island so naturally?

If they don't stay on Sakhalin Island, how can they give the representatives of the Ministry of Energy and the state leaders another opportunity to ask them to relax the conditions?

That's right, they never really intended to give up on this oil and gas development project from the beginning, especially after learning that American and Japanese companies were involved.

To put it bluntly, given the Russian Federation government's notorious reputation for being a liability since the 1990s, finding a strong partner to unite against it is of paramount importance.

In that case, the federal government would at least have to consider the impact; instead of turning its back on you without hesitation.

As for whether the authorities will contact them again? Of course!

Are there any better options than them?

As a government whose industrial chain was directly severed by the collapse of the Soviet Union and whose heavy industrial advantages have gradually declined, it can only rely on energy exports at present.

By exporting energy, they accumulate wealth and then develop other industries.

Regardless of whether it will have the opportunity to develop further, at least the idea itself is not fundamentally flawed.

Therefore, it urgently needs to attract foreign investment. This foreign investment can be understood as foreign capital, or it can be seen as capital other than state-owned capital.

For the current Russian federal government, the latter is actually more to its liking than the former.

Because the latter is more controllable.

Furthermore, Russia's privatization process has not been smooth so far.

Radicals and conservatives are constantly arguing and blaming each other for holding the other back.

The former argues that the latter hindered Russia's privatization process and is the main culprit behind Russia's current deteriorating economic situation.

The latter said the former was selling off state assets at bargain prices and infringing on the rights of the Russian people.

The soaring prices have drained the private savings of most Russian residents, effectively eliminating the most tangible resource for privatization.

Currently, there are very few investors in Russia with substantial idle funds, and even fewer who are willing to continue investing in Russia.

Within this small group, most people are also choosing to have their capital flow out and immigrate abroad.

Therefore, if the radicals wanted to choose a model of privatization, Ivanov would be one of the few best choices.

First of all, it is common knowledge, or openly known, that he made his first fortune through the privatization of stores.

His success helps the authorities to proclaim to the public: Look, a legitimate supporter and practitioner of privatization can become a wealthy man with dignity.

This successful example of small-scale privatization, adhering to the principle of trusting the government, has taken another step towards the goal of large-scale privatization—investing in the energy industry—which aligns with the federal government's policy of transitioning from small-scale to large-scale privatization.

Secondly, and this is something everyone knows, Ivanov was a famous patriot.

He loved his country so much that he left the big city and went to the desolate Siberia to farm, cultivating over a million hectares, becoming a legend in his circle.

Do you think it's easy to find a businessman who makes money but doesn't run away, who honestly engages in domestic development and is dedicated to saving the country through industry?

Should we look for other foreign investors instead of him?

As you may know, Russia is currently not very attractive to foreign investors.

Due to factors such as inadequate legal protection for joint ventures, political and economic instability, numerous ethnic and regional disputes, limited ruble exchange, deteriorating social order, and rampant bureaucratic corruption, only 1/20th of the number of joint ventures registered in Russia this year compared to last year, and the total foreign investment actually flowing in is less than $1 billion.

Against this backdrop, the Russian federal government needs a stimulus to encourage Western investors to enter the market as soon as possible.

Look carefully, don't think that just because you ignore us, we're helpless.

We can find someone to do it ourselves.

If you don't act now, you won't have a chance to get in later.

Before they arrived, Wang Xiao and Ivanov had repeatedly rehearsed the situation and were certain that the first round of negotiations would not go smoothly.

Therefore, they need to leave themselves and the other party a way out, so that they can always negotiate again.

In other words, after refusing the unreasonable demands of the authorities, they could not leave directly, but had to find a legitimate reason to stay.

Why go through all this trouble?

Because the government is anxious, but that doesn't mean the officials are anxious.

Moreover, airfares in Russia have increased, and the government's operating funds are severely insufficient.

Even for energy officials in charge of oil and gas resources, flying from Moscow to Yuzhno-Sakhalinsk is quite expensive.

Don't think this is a small expense and insignificant.

For administrative departments, such seemingly insignificant small expenses may lead to the cancellation of the next trip if they cannot be reimbursed or borrowed in a timely manner.

Whether it succeeds or fails is entirely the government's business. Even if he succeeds, he won't get an extra penny in bonus, so why should he take the money he earns selling cabbages and worry about the work of a drug dealer?

Therefore, as businessmen, the way they leave room for officials must be one that officials can easily reach with a simple step.

The main principle is to absolutely not tire out the leader.

Before coming to Sakhalin Island, Wang Xiao and Ivanov had discussed Gagarin as their final destination.

Even if Gagarin hadn't mentioned seafood, the two of them would have found ways to entice him to want to do business and make money.

And whenever business is discussed, they naturally have to stay and investigate the market, which gives the authorities another opportunity to contact them.

Of course, now that Mikhelson and Director Hu have this issue, it makes even more sense.

Whether Mikhelson liked it or not, the group still drove off to his processing plant in a large procession.

This processing plant is a row of single-story buildings that specialize in processing seafood.

On Sakhalin Island, similar processing plants are everywhere. To be fair, it has nothing unique about it.

Mikhailson's initiative in engaging in barter trade demonstrated considerable business acumen.

It's just that I was unlucky.

Compared to his unremarkable factory, his villa in the suburbs was quite beautiful.

The deep green walls, the exaggeratedly large lemon-yellow windows, and the soaring spires immediately evoke the image of a church.

This is clearly a typical Orthodox architectural style.

However, this architectural structure highlights the owner's status as a newly rich man.

It's important to know that although many Soviet families owned their own country villas.

But in the typical Soviet era, they wouldn't risk offending the world by deliberately building Orthodox-style country villas.

Even though it's freezing cold now and there are no flowers in the yard, everyone has to admit that this villa is very well built.

If it were in Moscow, given current property prices, it could easily fetch $300,000.

Moreover, although most of the furniture in the house is made of wood, each piece is exquisitely crafted. Whether it is the cabinets, the beds, or the carvings on the stair railings, it is clear that the builder put a lot of thought into it.

However, Sakhalin Island is sparsely populated. Even though many Japanese and Koreans have come to the island, the total population of the capital city is only about 300,000. Housing prices here cannot be compared with those in Moscow.

The fact that the processing plant and the villa were placed together was barely enough to get Ivanov to pay for Mikhelson's bill.

With reporters watching closely, Mikhelson, despite his extreme reluctance, had no choice but to grit his teeth and watch as Ivanov and his entourage hired a lawyer to draft a contract.

Then, under the threat of the reporters' cameras, he signed his name with utter despair and even pressed his fingerprint on the document.

Good heavens, where is he going to find such a large sum of money to pay off his debts?

When he was pressing his fingerprints, he made a last-ditch effort, muttering in a low voice, "Last time a Japanese man offered me $250,000, but I refused to sell the villa."

The subtext was that the factory and villa combined were only mortgaged for $300,000, which was a huge loss for him.

Ivanov readily agreed: "Then you can ask him for a higher price and sell it directly."

The reporter nodded in agreement, "That's a good idea."

Not good at all. Once you sell it to him, you'll never have a chance to get your villa back.

Ivanov was quite easy to talk to and offered, "I can give you a year's grace period. I believe in you; you can work your way up the factory and the villa, and you can certainly keep them."

What if we can't save it?

Wouldn't that be better?

Fortunately, they didn't have any property in Yuzhno-Sakhalinsk, and the city lacked commercial housing.

The villa in the suburbs is conveniently located not far from the city center, making it easy to live here in the future.

That's right—

This job went far too smoothly; it didn't even take half a day.

This made it impossible for them to fill time with filler content.

Fortunately, it was getting dark, so Ivanov naturally invited everyone to have dinner together.

While eating, they might be able to uncover even more problems that they had to deal with while remaining on Sakhalin Island.

The restaurant was recommended by Gagarin; it was called Ocean, and was said to be the most luxurious restaurant in all of Yugoslavia.

But this luxurious bar made Wang Xiao feel an indescribable sadness.

It's not that the restaurant's decor was particularly shabby; in fact, the interior decoration was quite nice, and it looked quite pretty at night when the lights were on.

The problem is that the restaurant's dinner, apart from seafood, consists mainly of various canned foods.

The latter was only obtained because Gagarin used his connections.

Along with it, a bottle of Capital Brand vodka was also enjoyed as a privilege.

Don't underestimate this bottle of wine.

Although the current Russian president is himself a pub enthusiast, the government has not completely lifted restrictions on the sale of alcohol, so getting an extra bottle of vodka is by no means an easy task.

However, Wang Xiao suspected that Gagarin went to great lengths to get the alcohol because he wanted to drink it himself.

He drank at least half of the bottle of vodka at the dinner table by himself.

Director Hu and others don't crave alcohol. Ivanov's recent taste is wine, while Mikhelson is too worried to drink at all.

As for the female reporter and Wang Xiao, the former kept asking her about things related to China out of curiosity, while the latter was busy arguing with seafood.

It's delicious! Freshly caught seafood is indeed very tasty.

To facilitate storage, the traditional practice of the people of Sakhalin Island is to catch seafood in winter.

Both king crab and geoduck have an exceptionally sweet and fresh taste.

The restaurant's cooking method is also simple: the food is steamed or boiled and served directly, with sauces provided for customers to dip themselves in.

Wang Xiao devoured one dish after another, but didn't touch a single canned food, not even a hint of the rich pork or beef.

The reporter couldn't help but ask curiously, "Don't you like canned food? Don't Chinese people like canned food?"

The other Chinese guests at the table also seemed uninterested in canned food; apart from one person trying a can of pineapple, the others didn't touch it.

Wang Xiao nodded honestly: "I don't like it. As long as conditions allow, we always cook and eat it fresh."

The reporter exclaimed in a low voice, "This is simply unbelievable."

Because in her memory, many of the canned foods she ate when she was a child came from China and were called Great Wall brand.

Her earliest impression of China was canned food.

Moreover, she was quite certain that Chinese canned goods were renowned. This was because when she traveled to Eastern European countries for business, she found that the original-flavor pork and luncheon meat in the Czech Republic, as well as the tomato-sauce carp and tomato-sauce eel in Romania, were very popular with the locals.

She had always thought that China was particularly good at making canned goods. Even though, like the Soviet Union, in order to earn foreign exchange through exports, the Chinese people could hardly afford caviar, they still liked it.

Wang Xiao shook his head: "When fresh food is scarce, canned food is indeed quite rare. When fresh food is available, everyone eats fresh food."

The reporter found it increasingly unbelievable.

Factory Director Hu laughed and answered her question: "We make canned goods to earn foreign exchange. All the varieties you mentioned are customized according to the tastes of your respective countries."

For example, when we exported to the Soviet Union, we initially made braised pork. But you didn't like it, so we started making steamed pork instead.

How did he know so much? Because he was born into a family of food factory workers.

Although Huaxia canned goods exported to various countries are uniformly called the Great Wall brand, their production sites are actually scattered throughout the country. The head office signs supply contracts with foreign companies, and then distributes them to local areas for execution.

He could talk to you for ages about canned food production.

Factory Director Hu proudly emphasized, "We have produced so many canned goods and have never made a mistake."

He added with a touch of pride, "Even if we ourselves don't eat much of it, we can still grow into a major producer and exporter of canned food just by relying on foreign trade demand."

The reporter listened with great admiration, and emphasized earnestly, "No wonder your reform and opening up was successful; you can succeed at anything."

Factory Director Hu was dumbfounded and quickly emphasized, "Exporting canned goods started in the 1950s, it's not something that happened in the last few years. Back then, we were all in the same boat, we were even learning from you, our Soviet big brother."

Mikhailson, who had been eating without tasting anything, suddenly blurted out, "What kind of big brother are you? You're not even a little brother anymore."

In fact, Chinese businessmen in Russia have heard similar things quite often.

However, those who said this to their faces before, although with a strong sense of self-deprecation, were basically joking, and at least had a smile on their faces, unlike him who had an indifferent expression.

For a moment, no one knew what to say.

Gagarin, who was enjoying his drink, suddenly remembered: "Hey, clothes, I brought the down jacket I need to change into."

Wang Xiao and Ivanov almost lost their tempers.

No, brother, we don't need you to bail us out. What are you talking about with down jackets right now?

It's so late at night, pitch black, can't you just finish your meal and go to sleep? And wait until tomorrow to bring up the matter of changing your down jacket?

This way we can have another day of leisure time.

But since Gagarin had already said it, they couldn't just let it go.

Ivanov could only manage to maintain his composure, and readily replied, "Of course, we've already brought them all."

The reporter asked curiously, "Why are you changing your down jacket?"

Wang Xiao sighed and explained, "A small number of unscrupulous merchants saw that the Russian people liked our clothes, so they took the opportunity to stir up trouble and cheat people with counterfeit goods. In order to avoid everyone's losses and to protect the reputation of our Chinese products, our commercial street has decided to recall all the counterfeit down jackets and replace them with our high-quality down jackets."

Factory Director Hu, standing nearby, suddenly realized: "Oh, it was you guys. Yes, yes, this is a good thing, it's meaningful."

The bodyguards, listening nearby, couldn't help but think to themselves, "Of course it's meaningful, but this meaning cost a fortune."

Fortunately, Director Hu was very perceptive and earnestly emphasized to the reporter: "We at Huaxia are cracking down on counterfeit and shoddy products."

Then he complained to someone, “The market economy isn’t easy to run either. If you regulate too strictly, everyone will be timid and afraid to take action or engage in economic development. If you relax the regulations even slightly, bad elements will immediately take advantage of the situation and try to disrupt the market order.”

The reporter was intrigued by his words and discussed with him for several minutes the question of how socialist countries should develop a market economy.

Factory Director Hu quoted a famous saying from a national leader: "Socialism is not the same as a planned economy, nor is capitalism the same as a market economy."

The reporter listened with great interest and then expressed a desire to see the two down jackets he wanted to change into.

So, in this most luxurious restaurant in the city, everyone did something surprisingly un-luxurious.

Everyone laid their clothes on the chairs so the reporters could snap photos.

Wang Xiao was particularly skeptical. Given the current photography conditions, what difference could be made between the two down jackets?

The reporter pressed further, "What will you do with the counterfeit down jackets you take back? Will you display them to warn people to be careful and not buy fakes?"

“No.” Wang Xiao shook his head firmly. “It’s hard to tell a fake from the outside.”

It's really unbelievable.

Because of the long-term severe shortage of light industrial products in the Soviet Union, many Russians today do not even know how to judge the quality of clothing.

They subconsciously regard brightly colored and beautifully designed Chinese goods as substitutes for fashionable Western goods, and are therefore willing to pay higher prices than their own country's outdated and monotonous products; they are completely unaware that the former are often just cheap street vendor goods.

It is precisely because of this psychological misalignment that they become particularly angry and feel cheated when they discover that the products they have bought are of poor quality.

Because they expect the same quality as high-end products.

However, this psychological misalignment is difficult to explain to consumers.

Therefore, Chinese goods might as well make the best of a bad situation and use their labor advantage to become a substitute for Western products.

Wang Xiao explained, "We confiscated these counterfeit goods and are preparing to burn them publicly."

On a sudden inspiration, she took the initiative to extend an invitation: "I wonder if you are free tomorrow and would do us the honor of attending our burning ceremony? We want to use this method to demonstrate our firm determination to resist counterfeit and shoddy products."

Hey! In this way, they've just booked another trip for themselves.

The reporter was quite interested and nodded repeatedly in agreement: "When will you start? Please call me anytime."

As she spoke, she handed her business card to Wang Xiao.

Now that dinner is over, the down jackets have been exchanged, and the matter has been settled, everyone should naturally go home and find their own mothers.

Locals naturally went home, but outsiders could only stay in hotels.

Factory Director Hu warmly invited his compatriots: "Would you like to come with us and stay at a hotel run by the Japanese?"

This is actually quite an interesting story.

Despite the current heightened vigilance of Sakhalin Island officials towards Japanese discussions of territorial ownership, they are actually quite eager for the arrival of Japanese people, believing it will bring them substantial wealth.

Therefore, there are quite a few Japanese people running businesses in Yuzhno-Sakhalinsk right now; they run restaurants and hotels.

Director Hu's companion nodded in agreement: "Yes, yes, yes. When we stay at Japanese hotels, they treat us the same as everyone else and don't charge us extra."

He emphasized this because, in present-day Russia, accommodation is cheapest for Russians, while prices for people from other CIS countries double. For foreigners from non-CIS countries, prices can be three to four times higher, or even five times higher.

"It's one thing that they charge high prices, but even though they charge the price of a three-star hotel in Shanghai, the accommodations are not as good as our guesthouse."

Factory Director Hu complained, “The hotel we stayed at last time was filthy; the paint was almost completely peeling off, and when we turned on the tap, the water that came out was all rust. The TV was a 12-inch black and white set, and when we turned it on, we thought it was broken because there was no picture for ages. The bathroom was also leaking, and the door wouldn’t close. When we went to the front desk to find someone, they had already left after get off work that night, and nobody cared about it.”

His companion shook his head, emphasizing, "What's the big deal? The worst thing is the phone. I never want to make a phone call in a Russian hotel again in my life."

Wang Xiao burst out laughing. She knew all too well why her compatriots would say such a thing—because all the hotel phones were rotary dial phones!

Isn't it incredibly classic and stylish?

Good heavens, if you've ever actually used a rotary dial phone, you'd know just how useless it is, and how deadly it can be.

Once, Wang Xiao was making a phone call in a hotel. He held the phone in his left hand and dialed the number in circles with his right hand. He made the call for more than two hours.

At first she used her index finger to flick it, then she switched to her middle finger, and finally she had no choice but to switch to her ring finger.

Even so, my hand still hurt terribly.

So late at night, this female boss called her bodyguard into her room and made him stay for an hour before letting him go. It wasn't because she was desperate or trying to take advantage of the innocent bodyguard, but because she wanted him to help her make a phone call.

Who would believe that if I told them!

The last time Tang Yicheng called her, he mentioned seeing a particularly beautiful antique telephone and enthusiastically asked her if she wanted it.

If she wanted it, she would take it off.

Poor God, her first reaction upon hearing this was that her fingers were cramping and hurting.

Factory Director Hu laughed heartily and nodded repeatedly in agreement: "I wouldn't even buy one of these rotary dial toy phones for my child; my hands hurt just looking at them."

Although everyone was having a good time, Wang Xiao declined his compatriots' kind offer.

Gagarin had already made arrangements for them; they were to stay at the military guesthouse.

Although it was called a guesthouse, the rooms reserved for them were for high-ranking military officers and were equivalent to presidential suites in a luxury hotel, with absolutely no shortage of amenities.

Why are they treated so well? Is it because their social status has improved?

Don't overthink it; it has absolutely nothing to do with how thick or thin their wallets are.

Ivanov reminded Gagarin, "Don't forget to take us to the fishing grounds; we need to find out exactly under what conditions the seafood is caught."

Gagarin's face was full of indescribable expression: "What's so interesting about this? I guarantee it's all as high-quality as the seafood we ate today."

Wang Xiao shook his head: "No way. Haven't you heard? Back when China was making canned goods, the pig slaughtering conditions didn't meet the requirements, and Soviet experts wouldn't accept pork from pigs slaughtered like that. When it comes to food safety, we have to be extremely careful."

Gagarin could only helplessly reply, "OK, OK, no problem, I'll take you to see it tomorrow."

Oh, yeah!

Finalizing this deal will give them several more days at sea, enough time for Department of Energy officials to come and discuss it with them at any time.

Unfortunately, man proposes, God disposes.

The next morning, while they were having breakfast at the military club, Gagarin suddenly received a mission and had to go on an urgent business trip.

As for the details and timing of the business trip, I'm sorry, that's a military secret and cannot be disclosed.

Ivanov went into a frenzy on the spot: "What about the seafood? You need to arrange for someone to take over this matter."

But how could Gagarin agree to that?

This was a side income he had finally managed to find.

As the saying goes, money can move people's hearts. Even trusted friends can turn on each other on the spot when faced with a huge fortune that is hundreds of times their normal income.

Now that he's introduced the business to someone else, he won't have the chance to eat at the table anymore.

He would never do something so stupid.

Ivanov threatened him: "If you don't help me find someone, I'll find someone myself."

Gagarin resolutely refused and even threatened him in return: "Hey, my dear Ivanov, if you do that, you will lose my friendship."

He further implied, "Wait for me. The iron thing you want will be there when I get back."

He then urged Ivanov to hurry back to Moscow, saying, "Sakhalin Island is not a place for humans to live. Go back now, my friend. I can't bear to see you suffer here."

Get out of here, you bastard!

Seeing that their friendship was about to capsize, Wang Xiao had a sudden inspiration and took the initiative to say, "Let's wait for you first. We can collect and burn all the counterfeit down jackets on the island at the same time."

What if they don't bring new down jackets to change into?

It's simple. The victims bring the counterfeit goods over, state their needs, and then the counterfeiters fax back to Moscow to arrange for the goods to be shipped over in bulk and distributed one by one.

As for the recycled fake down jackets, a grand collective burning ceremony will be held later.

Hey! With all this back and forth, a week on the water is nothing.

Ivanov quickly grasped the key point and immediately nodded in agreement: "That's right, since we're already here, we should get everything done. Never mind, you go ahead and do your work, we also have tasks to complete."

Gagarin repeatedly asked him, "You're not going to get someone else to get the seafood, are you?"

"Yes, yes, yes," Ivanov said impatiently. "If you're as slow as a tortoise and we've finished dealing with the down jackets and you still aren't back, we'll definitely have to talk to someone else about the seafood."

Gagarin was overjoyed: "No problem, three days at most, I'll definitely be back within three days."

ha!

Although Sakhalin Island has a small population, its large area makes up for it.

By the time they finish collecting the down jackets, a week might have passed, enough time for them to leisurely return.

In fact, recycling down jackets did take Wang Xiao and Ivanov a lot of time.

They first sought help from a reporter, asking him to act as an intermediary and advertise in newspapers and news outlets, promoting the recycling of down jackets.

For this work, they also gave an exclusive interview to reporters, providing a detailed account of the project's progress in the Moscow region.

In short, they issued a press release.

Then, starting the day the news broke, they began receiving fake down jackets from the victims one after another.

At this point, Wang Xiao truly had to admire the ability of those two major counterfeit-producing provinces to distribute their goods.

Despite being located in southern China, they managed to sell fake down jackets from western Moscow to eastern Moscow, and then spread them to other CIS countries.

Even viruses don't spread as fast as them.

Fortunately, Sakhalin Island has a small population; in two days combined, they only managed to collect a total of seven down jackets.

If the quantity were any larger, Wang Xiao wouldn't know how to clear the name of Chinese goods in front of reporters.

Look, your Chinese products are all counterfeit.

Seven down jackets seem insignificant compared to the total sales of thousands.

Their large-scale recycling of down jackets has yielded remarkable results.

Because some local residents of Sakhalin Island directly used South Korean goods as stepping stones to their advantage.

The reason given was that she had spent a lot of money on a Korean dress, but it faded and became unwearable. The store refused to give her a refund or exchange, claiming that she had bought it two months ago, washed it three times, and had not followed the washing instructions.

The Russian woman was still indignant: "You don't have so many messy rules. If it's a problem with the quality of the clothes, just admit it."

She bought this down jacket last year; the Chinese are still willing to solve problems.

She earnestly emphasized to the reporter, "Write down what I said, I won't change my name. I just want to say that Korean products are so expensive, but the quality is terrible, they are not as good as Chinese products at all."

However, she was still a little worried, "What about the future? Where can we buy authentic Chinese goods in the future?"

Ivanov explained from the side, "We're here to cooperate with the military club and open a specialty store selling goods from China. If you need anything that's not in stock, you can come over yourself or call us and let us know your needs, and we'll ship it over as soon as possible. Don't worry—"

He winked at the woman, "We're offering the best prices; it's just the production and transportation costs."

The Russian aunt sighed, "I understand, I understand, it's definitely more expensive than outside. The food we eat is all more expensive than outside."

Sakhalin Island is bitterly cold, and it relies entirely on outside sources for food.

How much can you buy with that meager subsidy from the Northern Circle?

The people who live on this island are destined for misery.

Wang Xiao thought to himself, "The island doesn't really welcome you guys to stay here."

Sakhalin Island feels to her like her own child has been snatched away, and the other party doesn't cherish it or want to raise it properly.

It can only be said that the robber was greedy and selfish.

Fortunately, their generosity earned them a second chance to negotiate.

The energy ministry representative did indeed summon them again on the afternoon of the third day after their arrival on Sakhalin Island, before Gagarin had returned.

Wang Xiao and Gagarin discussed it and decided to make another trip to the capital.

This time, no one arranged for them to wait in the reception room.

Instead, as soon as they got out of the car, the secretary led them directly to the deputy governor's office.

Quite surprisingly, things changed again when I returned to my seat.

The lieutenant governor sat behind his desk, while the energy department representative sat with them on the sofa next to him.

Wang Xiao and Ivanov exchanged a glance. "Oh, does this mean the deputy governor is completely withdrawing from the negotiations? Then why arrange it in her office?"

The convenient meeting room was silent; it must be empty.

However, neither of them asked anything, and they pretended not to notice anything amiss. They simply exchanged polite greetings and then began the negotiation process.

This time, the Department of Energy's attitude changed again, going to the other extreme, and proactively suggested that they establish a new oil development company.

"Independent, not dependent on any unit."

Wang Xiao and Ivanov immediately perked up, half excited and half alert.

If they're so easy to talk to, they're definitely going to pull off something big later.

As expected, the Ministry of Energy made a request: "However, you must use Russian-made equipment for exploration and extraction, as well as equipment needed for processing products."

Before the two businessmen could even speak, the deputy governor sitting behind her desk sneered, "Are you kidding me? Surely I don't still not understand the state of Russian industry?"

100% Russian equipment?

Can Russia produce it?

The great Russian Federation's domestic manufacturing industry can only provide 40%-60% of the equipment and parts needed for oil production; the rest must be provided by other republics.

In the first quarter of this year, Azerbaijan only provided the Great Russian Federation with 267 oil pumps, when it was supposed to provide 1,484.

From 1988 to the present, there has been a shortage of 57% of delivered oil pumps, 40% of sucker rods, 14% of workover equipment, 35% of blowout preventers, 8% of submersible pumps, and 45% of well site compressors.

This year, there are already 34,000 idle wells.

Don't you want to extract oil, but rather create more idle wells?

Don't even dream about it. Don't state-owned enterprises want to import Western equipment? They just don't have foreign exchange.

Now that we finally have foreign exchange, you should stop pointing fingers!

Good heavens, Longdi Cave.

They started by reporting data, which was indeed very impressive.

Wang Xiao couldn't help but gasp inwardly.

Russia's border regions are truly acting with complete impunity when confronting the central government.

No wonder, people are bound to be obligated to help others.

Sakhalin Oblast no longer expects the central government to provide it with any strong support, so it's no wonder it's letting itself go.

They did promote democracy during the collapse of the Soviet Union.

Okay, sister, you're good at talking, so please talk more.

The representative from the provincial energy department started bragging and wouldn't stop.

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Regarding the Russian oil industry in 1992, the relevant information is the article "Russia's Oil Industry - Current Situation, Problems and Prospects" published in the March 1994 issue of the magazine "Former Soviet Union and Eastern Europe".

At that time, there were indeed significant conflicts between Russia's border regions and the central government. Thank you to all the little angels who voted for me or watered my plants between 2024-01-23 06:57:45 and 2024-01-24 07:07:20!

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