Chapter 154 A Lively New Year: Hehe, everyone's here.

Wang Xiao was just pretending to be an enthusiastic citizen, instructing the TV factory to drive big trucks and sell color TVs in various towns and villages in the two provinces like selling watermelons; all the while he was secretly laughing at the other party's misfortune.

As a result, the boomerang ended up hitting him directly.

Losing money? Haha, if we're really talking about losing money, she's definitely lost more.

Can you believe it? A taxi company that manages a total of 20,000 taxis in Jinning and Xiaozhou, the bills it shows the boss show that the only income is a paltry 120 yuan per vehicle per day in franchise fees.

Yes, that's a lot. It can earn 2.4 million a day. Even after deducting all expenses, that's still comparable to 2.08 million.

If any family had such a money-making ancestor, they would be able to sit up laughing in the middle of the night.

but--

Comrade, is this the only source of income? Aren't there any other sources of revenue?

The taxi manager, Lao Yang, looked completely bewildered.

What else could it be?

Boss, you need to know when to stop. You've already accepted their money as a gift; you can't possibly take a cut from their daily income.

If this gets out, it won't sound good.

Wang Xiao was so angry that he laughed.

"Advertisements." She was too lazy to make Lao Yang think of anything else. "What about the ads on the back of the seats? Don't tell me you didn't do them."

Old Yang's pupils dilated instantly. It was an advertisement! He'd completely forgotten about it.

Wang Xiao was furious: "Get it done now, immediately. Contact potential clients and emphasize one thing: those who can afford to take taxis are all wealthy people who are willing to spend money. Roughly estimate the identities of those who take taxis, their approximate pick-up locations and destinations, and create a clear target audience profile for the clients. This will make it easier for them to target their ads precisely."

Seeing Lao Yang's blank expression again, Wang Xiao felt a wave of dizziness and almost fainted on the spot.

What kind of person in charge did Tang Yicheng recommend? At best, he's only fit to be a supervisor; he's not qualified to be the general manager of a taxi company.

But where could she find paratroopers in such a short time?

She had no choice but to reluctantly settle for second best: "Just tell the clients to put ads on our taxis so that all the wealthy people who come to these two cities can see them."

If you're taking a taxi, it certainly won't be a short trip to your destination; you'll have to sit in the car for at least ten minutes.

During this long journey, the driver and passengers are complete strangers. If they're outgoing, they can at least exchange a few words, but if they don't like talking to strangers, what can they do besides stare blankly at their seats?

At least you can close your eyes and sleep when you're on a train. You can't exactly fall asleep in a taxi, can you?

It is well known that the longer you stare at an advertisement, the greater the chance you will remember it.

Such precise advertising is a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity.

If you're interested in advertising, do it early. If needed, the manufacturer can provide the advertising images, and we'll handle the car seat covers. Advertising periods start at three months.

Old Yang wished the boss would do it himself, but he had no choice but to bite the bullet and ask, "How much do we charge for advertising?"

"Ask him yourself." Wang Xiao wanted to roll his eyes.

Are executive salaries so easy to earn?

The boss has already gone this far with the plan, and you're still not satisfied? Everything's been arranged by the boss, and the subordinates have done the work. What's the point of having you as general manager? Are you just a mascot?!

Then you also need to have the qualities of a mascot.

Poor old Yang, a middle-aged man, was trembling with fear at the shouts of his young female boss, not daring to utter a single breath.

The boss even threatened him: "If you don't handle this matter well, you'd better think twice about how you spend the New Year."

When she left the office, she was all smiles again, greeting the company's cleaning lady and wishing her a Happy New Year in advance.

After she left, the cleaning lady remarked, "Our boss is so kind."

Old Yang sneered: "Amicable?"

That's because you didn't see her yelling at you!

He rushed back to the office to find Tang Yicheng as if his pants were on fire.

Even though Tang Yicheng was more than ten years younger than him, he still started by saying, "Hey, Brother Tang, help! It's about that advertisement on the taxi..."

Tang Yicheng was speechless. He could only grit his teeth and say, "I'll ask about the cost of advertising on the train seats. You should find out the prices for TV stations, newspapers, and outdoor billboards, and then compare them."

After hanging up with Lao Yang, Tang Yicheng estimated the time and called Wang Xiao's mobile phone.

The key point is to apologize.

He chose Lao Yang to succeed him because Lao Yang was the oldest and could keep the group of veterans in check.

He was afraid that he wouldn't be able to manage anyone else.

However, this person doesn't think much and is a bit out of touch.

It was because he didn't choose the right person back then.

In fact, Wang Xiao knew perfectly well that it wasn't surprising that Tang Yicheng had chosen such a person who was like an abacus bead that only moved when propelled.

After all, when he volunteered to go to Suifenhe to get cars, he didn't know whether the trip would be a meteoric rise or a disastrous failure.

If he had chosen a particularly outstanding person to take over his job back then, and he had been defeated and turned back in disgrace, would he still have a place?

No subordinate can be an NPC; just assign them a loyalty attribute and everything will be fine.

In fact, every living person has their own little schemes. As long as you understand what bosses care about most, you'll be fine.

Wang Xiao was particularly understanding of the high-ranking official: "You're nothing special, you can't be good at everything. Just call him more often to give him guidance. Let him feel at ease. I scold him because I want him to get things done, otherwise I would definitely ask him to leave peacefully."

This isn't just empty talk; she has no intention of replacing her key personnel.

Especially after confirming that the taxi company was indeed making a fortune, she was even less likely to replace them with top-notch staff.

Why? Because the bigger the tree, the more the wind will blow against it.

Taxi companies are so profitable that they can only develop stealthily, rather than taking the opportunity to expand and strengthen themselves in a high-profile manner.

Otherwise, anyone eyeing this piece of fat meat would pounce on it and bite its neck off.

Old Yang is a lazy bum; a lazy bum who can keep things in check, then he can just stay lazy and hold on to his old ways.

If it were someone else who was capable, even if she told them to keep a low profile, they would still have to achieve better results than their predecessor.

The key issue is that people don't see his/her behavior as positive; they think it's just normal work.

The saying that personality determines behavior patterns is exactly what this means.

Only a true salted fish will be content with mediocrity and never expand its market beyond its current level.

Wang Xiao did not explain the subtlety of the situation to Tang Yicheng.

As the boss, it might be better if she made the long-time employees think that they were only giving him face and being considerate of each other when they treated the successor he recommended with leniency.

After instructing Tang Yicheng to teach the older newcomers more, she asked him, "How's it going on your end?"

"Not so good." Tang Yicheng immediately shook his head upon hearing this. "I reckon there won't be many trading companies that can survive."

Why? It's the same old story: contract fulfillment rate.

At present, it would be considered good if Russian companies could fulfill half of their obligations.

Even though Tang Yicheng was so busy every day that he barely had time to breathe, when he occasionally went to a restaurant, all he heard about was the inability to collect payments for goods.

These people are usually fine on the first and second trips, and a basic trust has been established between them.

As a result, on the third trip, the order quantity was larger than the previous two times; and in a flash, the payment was impossible to recover.

"There's nothing we can do about it." Wang Xiao rarely spoke up for the Russians, saying something conciliatory. "Their prices and exchange rates change too quickly, so we can only operate through direct sales."

Tang Yicheng immediately asked his boss, "Should we take over the office buildings and such left by the trading company? I reckon the barter trade won't last, and they'll withdraw."

In theory, these companies could switch to other businesses and ship their products directly on the free market.

However, those that can operate border trade companies are all state-owned enterprises.

It's not that he's prejudiced against state-owned enterprises; it's just that state-owned enterprises have their own rules.

It wants to change its business model, but there are many restrictions imposed on it.

Nine times out of ten, it will force it to give up.

Then, the vacant buildings of the foreign trade company can be taken over by them and converted into wholesale buildings to expand their business scale.

Goodness, Suifenhe is really making a big splash now.

According to the data he obtained from the Municipal Housing Bureau, the total investment in Suifenhe's construction has reached 600 million yuan.

This exceeds the total of the previous 15 years.

Of these high-rise buildings, 41.8% are commercial buildings, 28.2% are office buildings, and the remaining 30% are residential and commercial housing.

According to the housing bureau, the local government intends to make real estate a pillar industry in Suifenhe.

If this trend continues, the properties they acquire can be used for their own purposes or held for future appreciation.

Wang Xiao was stunned.

Seriously, who would dare to imagine that?

Two years ago, around this time, she so actively encouraged Tang Yicheng to buy a house in the provincial capital.

As a result, after buying a set, the person felt satisfied. Later, when they had money, they preferred to buy motorcycles rather than settle down in Beijing.

In just two short years, she already knew that investing in real estate and other investments could increase value.

Despite his feelings, Wang Xiao hesitated for a moment before deciding to proceed cautiously: "Don't act now. Housing prices are still high. Let's wait until this bubble bursts."

Tang Yicheng, ambitious as ever: "Then when will that be?"

Wang Xiao frankly said, "We'll wait until the banks stop issuing loans, and until the national policies are adjusted. But to be honest, it's hard to say how far Suifenhe can develop."

Tang Yicheng was completely bewildered: "Why? I think this place has great development potential, it's so close to Russia."

Wang Xiao sighed: "It's precisely because we're so close that things are so complicated."

In her memory, Suifenhe's special status as a border city was not likely to last long.

Before she transmigrated into the book, the news reported that the country was becoming more open. But based on her experience, the so-called further opening up seemed to be no different from what happened in January 1993.

What does that mean? It means that current policies have been tightened.

Then why does it tighten?

She once guessed that the barter trade between the two countries was not going well, with Russia having a low rate of fulfilling its obligations, while the quality of Chinese goods was also problematic.

Over time, people became less willing to play together, so the opening of Suifenhe fell into disuse.

But upon closer examination, it becomes clear that this conjecture is actually unfounded.

Issues related to private trade should be handled by the private sector itself. After some time and adjustment, both sides will eventually find the most suitable way to conduct trade, without the need for official adjustments to the degree of openness.

So why does it tighten?

There is no reason for China to close its doors; China has always been quite active in trade with Russia.

If the only party capable of blocking the door is Russia, then that's the Russian side.

Why would it do such a thing?

After much thought, Wang Xiao guessed it was related to the Russian government's political stance.

Even though the Soviet Union had vanished into the dustbin of history by the 1990s, the memories of it remained in the hearts of the Soviet people.

This is a very frightening thing for the Russian Federation government.

The history of the new regime dictated that it had to cling to the coattails of Europe and America in order to counter the remaining forces of the Soviet Union.

OK, then they have lost a perfect enemy, an enemy that can be used to divert the attention of the Russian people when they are complaining about their increasingly worsening lives and the intensifying domestic conflicts.

But this enemy must exist.

As is well known, diverting domestic conflicts is not the same as resolving them, or it requires violent revolution to overthrow the rule of the exploiting class or the vested interests.

It doesn't want to revolutionize itself, so it can only shift its contradictions elsewhere.

Is there a more suitable hypothetical enemy than China?

China and the Soviet Union had been at odds for decades, and there were also territorial disputes between them in history.

Especially in the Far East, many places were seized by Tsarist Russia from the Qing government at the time, and there were even territories forcibly occupied during the Soviet era.

Robbers are always insecure, and Russians place particular importance on their territory.

They naturally feared a large influx of Chinese into Russia, where they would become new immigrants and thus the land would be effectively controlled by the Chinese.

Politicians need voters' votes, and when they can't give voters what they want, instilling fear in them is a simple, crude, and effective method.

Faced with a common enemy, and with the fear of losing their homeland, they can overcome hunger and cold with a little more effort.

Since we're already enemies, we definitely have to show some attitude.

As is widely known, maintaining a harmonious and friendly relationship requires the joint efforts of both parties.

But it only takes one party to exert force to destroy this relationship.

For example, the Russian Federation government only needs to abolish the "temporary border pass" currently used to facilitate the entry and exit of border residents, and also adopt a visa system for ordinary official passports.

With travel between the two countries severely restricted, border trade naturally plummeted.

Suifenhe itself thrived because of border trade.

Without this trump card, Suifenhe, lacking core competitiveness, will soon be brought back to its original state.

By then, the hype will have died down, and no one will want to live in the houses that have been built.

Tang Yicheng gasped, "What's wrong with them now? Their government is simply incapable of organizing production to meet the needs of the people."

Putting aside other things, just take Heilongjiang Province as an example. Every day, it is sending a large amount of vegetables, fruits and non-staple foods to the other side of the strait.

Without these, what would the Russians eat? Pickled vegetables every day?

Wang Xiao said coldly, "What does that have to do with them? All politicians need to do is maintain their power. They don't need ordinary people to live well."

Conversely, when people live well, their needs naturally increase. This, in turn, creates more problems for politicians.

Tang Yicheng blurted out instinctively, "It can't have come to this, can it?"

Although he knew the Russian government was incompetent, he believed it was more a matter of governance.

Wang Xiao made no attempt to hide his disdain: "As for it, you can only ever think of it in the worst possible light. The Russian Federation government is both stupid and wicked."

Tang Yicheng was amused. It seemed that his boss had suffered quite a shock in Moscow, as he couldn't say a single nice word now.

Wang Xiao had to remind him: "Don't think I'm exaggerating. I reckon Russia will take action as early as this year. They've been reforming their economy for a year now, and the situation is getting worse and worse. The government will definitely have to find a way to shift the blame and create a common enemy."

Tang Yicheng nodded with a smile, "I know, I know."

After venting his frustrations, Wang Xiao started to care about his subordinates: "Are you going home for Chinese New Year this year?"

"No way." Tang Yicheng said decisively, "We need seafood the most right now, so I have to keep an eye on things here."

Wang Xiao asked curiously, "What about your parents?"

"They're coming on the first day of the Lunar New Year; they haven't seen snow in the north yet. Oh, by the way—"

Tang Yicheng remembered the key point, "Um, can't we do it the way we used to? Do we have to file our taxes ourselves first?"

He had wanted to say this for a long time, even though since June of last year, the state had clearly stipulated that import taxes in Suifenhe would be halved.

But it's still very high.

This is much more than what they used to do by working directly with the tax bureau.

Furthermore, the import of cars in Suifenhe is basically the same as the business of middlemen carrying out transactions. Unless it is imported by an official agency, in which case there is no tariff, everyone is secretly transferring goods.

The fact that they took the initiative to contact the tax bureau and pay them money was already quite unique.

Now we need to go even further; the money is flowing out like water, and it doesn't really fit in.

“Listen to me on this,” Wang Xiao insisted. “Times have changed. Now that we’ve reached this scale, we’re a ready-made target. There are too many people who want to pounce on us and take a bite out of us.”

If others can do it but we can't, we'll easily become a target for criticism.

Tang Yicheng had no choice but to reluctantly agree: "Alright, alright, I don't know how long I can keep this up anyway."

This sounds a bit disheartening, but if the car manufacturers themselves say it, then outsiders can't exactly pat them on the back.

After hanging up the phone, Wang Xiao made a mark in his notebook, indicating that one less person had returned for the New Year.

However, when the Lunar New Year's Eve arrived, there were more people than people in Jinning.

She and Ivanov were visiting frontline employees who were still on duty on New Year's Eve, and the main point was to give each of them a red envelope.

The red envelopes given on the first day of the Lunar New Year are for that day, and are not the same as today's red envelopes.

Although Lunar New Year's Eve in 1993 was not a public holiday according to national regulations.

However, since the Lunar New Year, employees in units including the steel plant have been in a state of being physically present but mentally absent. Today, there were only a handful of them, and they left early after only an hour or two.

People like those at the International Trade City who work diligently deserve to receive bonuses.

When Ovechkin led his large army in a mighty attack, neither of them took it seriously.

After all, Lunar New Year's Eve is just an ordinary day for the Russians, and the number of people coming today is the same as yesterday.

It wasn't until Ovechkin ran over cheerfully and greeted him loudly as if he were taking credit that Ivanov realized it was a large group of acquaintances.

An acquaintance from the doll club.

Cough cough, Wang Xiao didn't recognize him.

Honestly, when she saw them every day, she could still recognize a few Russian faces, but now it's really hard for her.

But that didn't diminish her shock.

Wait, everyone, what are you all doing here?

Although China has reformed and opened up, there are still no child centers.

She didn't have the guts to challenge everyone's acceptance level.

After all, her public image is still very positive and upright.

Ivanov then asked with a profound question: "Are you here to become middlemen? Heh, that sounds like a promising career."

"No, no, no," Andrei said on behalf of everyone, looking extremely happy. "We're here to experience the Chinese New Year."

Someone nearby countered, "No, we're here to invest. Like Ovechkin."

Instead of encouraging his compatriots, Ivanov poured cold water on their enthusiasm, criticizing them: "What can you invest in? Make leather jackets too?"

“Of course not.” The red-haired Alexander said with great interest, “Cars. Since Russian cars are so popular in China, I can open a car factory here.”

Then Ivanov struck him precisely: "What technology? Technology that was introduced in the 1960s and hasn't been improved in the past thirty years?"

"Hey, my dear buddy, you have to believe in us. We will definitely bring new hope to this land."

Wang Xiao almost laughed out loud at this point, and directly asked them, "Is the club still around? Is the sanatorium still open?"

She suspected that they were being hunted down by the Mafia.

But the club members all swore that there was no, absolutely no.

The guy who had been persistently trying to get me to join the club has already passed away yesterday.

As for who actually did the killing, only God knows; the Moscow police certainly don't know yet.

Some say it was another gang that taught him a lesson, others say it was internal strife, and still others say he got arrogant and is running for city council, with his next step being mayor.

His rival sent him to meet God first.

Becoming an official in the Russian Federation government is now a high-risk option.

Since he's already gone, why do people still have to come to China?

It's because he was too clean and efficient that everyone felt afraid.

He was so arrogant and powerful that he could just die like that, let alone others.

Alright, alright, things aren't peaceful in Moscow. Everyone should go out and lay low for a while.

Just then, they heard that Ovechkin had already bought a factory in China, and that the first batch of goods produced had even been packed up and flown to Moscow.

Without saying a word, they dragged their suitcases over.

Wang Xiao took a deep breath. What is the key to a spontaneous trip?

money!

They happen to have this thing, so naturally they have nothing to fear.

She sighed heavily: "Let's go!"

What are you doing?

Of course, we'll take them out for New Year's Eve dinner.

The sun is about to set outside; what else should we do if we don't go back for dinner?

When Ms. Chen saw the large, imposing group, she wasn't surprised at all.

Because she had already decided that their family would have their New Year's Eve dinner at the steel factory's canteen this year.

What else could they do? Wang Xiao, Ivanov, and Ovechkin, plus their Russian bodyguards (Xiao Gao and Xiao Zhao had gone home for the Chinese New Year), couldn't even fit everyone at one table.

Even with a plane full of people arriving, Chen Yanqiu remained calm and composed. She picked up her house keys and led the group: "Let's go, let's go to the cafeteria for something hot."

With so many people, even cooking dumplings for them is too tiring.

I won't serve you.

Wang Xiao immediately responded enthusiastically: "Okay, let's go to the cafeteria."

Her cell phone rang, and when she answered it, she found that the caller was Wu Haoyu.

She immediately wished them a happy Lunar New Year's Eve and a good time to say goodbye to the old year and welcome the new.

The person immediately launched into a bombshell: "Wang Xiao, I'm in Jinning. Can I come to your house for New Year's Eve dinner?"

Aren't you going home for the Chinese New Year?

What an unfilial son! Wang Xiao felt sorry for his parents.

It was one thing for him to go on a business trip to Moscow last year, but he's back in China this year and still isn't going home for the Chinese New Year.

"My parents won't be spending the Lunar New Year at home either."

Oh, I see, it's probably for work.

Wu Haoyu sounded a little pitiful on the other end of the phone: "Is it okay? Will it bother you? If not, I'll just go to a restaurant and grab something to eat."

Wow, this tea! The aroma is even wafting through the phone line and onto her face.

Did she get angry?

No way, let me tell you this with absolute certainty.

The only reason humans hate green tea is because it's not served to you.

Otherwise, you will feel absolutely wonderful.

"Sure, come on, we won't miss your pair of chopsticks."

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I feel like my procrastination has kicked in again. Thank you to all the little angels who voted for me or watered my plants with nutrient solution between 2024-02-19 07:05:25 and 2024-02-20 03:40:13!

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