Chapter 175 This is a hot potato: If one door closes, another opens.

Everyone in the car was baffled, especially the bodyguards, who were terrified that the woman was a mole for the mafia, deliberately trying to lure the boss off the bus so they could carry out the kidnapping.

The woman pounded on the car window, roaring like an angry mother beast, demanding that they give her back her grandson.

Ivanov tried to explain to her through the car window: "Madam, we haven't seen your grandson, there are no children in the car."

But the angry woman ignored him and continued to pound on the car window.

The driver wanted to accelerate and rush past, but he was worried that the woman was just an innocent victim of human trafficking and that he might knock her down and cause her serious injury.

But even with that slight hesitation, dozens of people quickly gathered around the car, each one tall and strong, the kind who could kill a bear with a single punch.

Well, the problem now isn't whether they have the heart to step on the gas and drive off; it's that, in their agitated state, they managed to gang up on this imported, extended, bulletproof limousine and flip it over.

And no matter how much they assured each other in the car, the crowd waving their fists ignored their attempts to explain.

When a scholar meets a soldier, reason is useless.

There was no other way; judging from their posture, they had no choice but to get off the bus.

"Back off!" Ivanov shouted. "At least let us open the car door!"

The car door opened, and the two bodyguards got out first to protect their boss who was paying their salaries.

A guy who looked like a bear rushed up and tried to grab Wang Xiao, but Lyuba immediately raised her gun and pointed it at his head: "Sir, please step back. We did not mean to hurt you."

A collective gasp rippled through the crowd, and several people recoiled in shock.

"Now, please come here, Madame, and take a close look at our car to see if her grandson is in it."

The woman rushed onto the car and carefully inspected it, her face gradually turning from hopeful to desperate.

"Open the cover in the back." The employee representative from the rare earth company appeared out of nowhere, pointing angrily at the rear cover of the car.

The worker standing next to him, covered in sweat, was the same miner Wang Xiao and his group had met when they arrived at the mining area and was being interviewed by a reporter.

The latter suddenly rushed forward, roaring and demanding that the trunk be opened.

Unfortunately, the back of the package only contained a few boxes of Kangyuan biscuits, Sanjiu Weitai (a Chinese medicine for stomach ailments), Qinqin Babao porridge, and Wahaha (a Chinese beverage brand). The first two were Chinese products that had recently entered the Russian market, while the latter two were brought by Wang Xiao herself. She chose them as gifts for the leaders of the rare earth company, and also took the opportunity to advertise them.

But since they couldn't reach an agreement on business, they naturally took it back the way they came.

“No, we’ve already said we haven’t seen any children,” Ivanov complained, frowning. “We don’t even know you, what would we need your grandson for?”

The rare earth company's employee representative waved his arms vigorously, as if he were about to give a speech in the street, his spittle flying far as he spoke: "You just want to use innocent children to threaten us workers so you can forcibly take the mine from us!"

etc--

Ivanov was going crazy: "What kind of nonsense is this? What would I need a mine for? Do you think I'd have nothing better to do than come here and mine?"

"Stop pretending!" the employee representative interrupted him hastily. "Your true colors have been exposed long ago. You can't fool us with your pretense now."

No, even Wang Xiao couldn't stand it anymore. There was no reason to just throw mud at someone like that.

They did go to the rare earth company, wanting to invest, but the mining area is huge. Can they just shove any random mine into their hands?

Amidst the commotion, the reporter arrived, breathless, and insisted on giving an interview.

Ivanov quickly seized the opportunity to explain himself: no, he had never intended to touch the mine, and he still didn't understand what was going on.

The miners were arguing back and forth, making it sound like a street market, which finally allowed the reporter to piece together the whole story.

The woman was the wife of the miner who was being interviewed. She was at home taking care of her grandson when she turned around and couldn't find him. Realizing something was wrong, she ran to the mine to look for her husband, and her coworkers quickly helped search for the child.

On the way, they encountered a representative of the rare earth company, who provided information about Ivanov's group's vehicle and swore that they were the scoundrels who had stolen the child.

“There are no outsiders in our mining area. Apart from you jackals who want to seize our property, no one else would do such a despicable thing.”

"OK!" Wang Xiao was exasperated by the barrage of criticism. "Even if we wanted shares in your mining company, shouldn't we sit down and talk to you first? We're already here, and we've met with the leaders of the rare earth company. Why can't we talk to you?"

She pointed at the rare earth company's employee representatives, "Do you think your rare earth company is superior to the mines, and that only you are worthy to sit down and negotiate with us, while the mines are not?"

The commotion among the crowd grew even louder.

Ivanov seized the opportunity to shout, "Since you were convinced from the beginning that it was related to the mine, why don't you think about who wanted to buy your shares but were rejected by you? Even if someone is trying to sabotage you, these are the people who are more likely to do it."

This statement is hardly reasonable, but the rare earth company representative, perhaps due to preconceived notions or taking the opportunity to settle personal scores, brazenly declared: "Don't try to shift the blame. We didn't see anyone else, we only saw you!"

Wang Xiao, having reached her limit, retorted directly, "Catch the thief red-handed! Where's the child? You saw it clearly, there were no children in our car. Madame, how old is your grandson? Five? If a five-year-old child were kidnapped by a stranger right under your nose, wouldn't he scream and shout?"

The lawyer frowned and chimed in, "Ladies and gentlemen, we have already made things clear. This matter has nothing to do with us. You should hurry up and look for your child elsewhere, so as not to waste time and endanger your child."

The miners looked at each other, caught in a dilemma.

They had been searching the neighborhood for hours but had not found the child.

Just as the stalemate was at hand, the sound of a truck suddenly came from afar.

There are many trucks in the mining area; besides train cars, trucks are constantly coming and going to transport goods.

At first, no one paid any attention, but when the sound of a child crying came over, the sharp-eyed bodyguard shouted, "There's a child over there."

Not far away, the truck window was open, and a large, tattooed arm, like an excavator, stretched out of the window, holding a struggling and crying child in its hand.

The chassis of heavy trucks that can run in mining areas are so high, and the ground is so hard. If that child were thrown out like that, his neck might break.

The miners, an older man and woman, turned pale with fright and frantically shouted at the child as they ran towards him, crying, "Xie Liaosha! Put him down, put my child down!"

A head with a large tattoo on his arm and a buzz cut leaned out of the car window, a malicious grin on his face: "Oh, ladies and gentlemen, my arm is so sore, oh dear, I'm going to throw it out."

The middle-aged man and woman tried to approach, but a dark gun barrel protruded from the car window, pointed in their direction: "Don't move, sir, please remain calm!"

The miner was furious: "You bastards, you despicable scoundrels! I'm going to kill you all!"

The woman was already in tears: "Put down the child, please, put down my grandson."

She raised both arms high, her face full of pleading.

Threatened by gun barrels, the miners could only express their anger from a distance: "Put down the children! How can you hurt children?"

The man with the buzz cut and large tattoos whistled, then tossed the child aside with a light flick of his wrist. The woman was thrown to her knees by the force of the impact, clutching the child tightly and wailing loudly.

The people around them quickly helped the grandfather and grandson up.

The young men on the truck said arrogantly, "Let's be polite first, then we'll use force. This time we'll help you take care of your kids, but next time we can't guarantee that someone won't suddenly break their neck!"

The agitated miners hurled insults at the truck, but the driver ignored them, stepped on the gas, and sped past.

Seeing a miner fall to the ground in a panic as he tried to avoid something, the people on the vehicle burst into wild laughter.

The truck drove away, leaving behind a cloud of dust.

The driver of the luxury bulletproof limousine muttered under his breath, "Boss, we're just too soft-hearted."

Otherwise, if the truck could rush out, why couldn't their cars?

Ivanov, annoyed, waved his arm impatiently: "Go away, go away, what bad luck!"

Nothing went right that day.

As the car passed the miner ahead, he saw the child still crying loudly, which made him even angrier. He rolled down the window and waved the Coke in his hand: "Okay, kid, stop crying, here's a Coke for you."

Wang Xiao rolled her eyes at him. Giving a five-year-old a Coke? Dude, can't you wish the kid well for once?

"Let's have some cookies, oh, and some eight-treasure porridge, darling eight-treasure porridge. Or how about some Wahaha?"

Even the Russians, known for their fighting spirit, probably think that milk is more reliable than cola for a five-year-old.

The woman inserted a straw into the bottle cap and let the child drink Wahaha. She also tried to discipline the child, saying, "Why did you run off by yourself? Why didn't you call for Grandma?"

"My dad took me away. He said he would take me to eat something delicious."

Tsk, judging from this situation, it's hard to guard against a thief within your own ranks.

The people in the car were eager to hear gossip, but the noise outside was too loud, and they couldn't gather enough useful information for a long time.

As it was getting late, the lawyer asked the boss, "Should we go back to town or stay here for the night?"

"Let's go to town," Wang Xiao said without hiding her disdain. "It's too dusty here."

She was genuinely worried that if she stayed too long, her lungs would be covered in shadows.

The hotels in town weren't very high-class, but at least they had hot water. Even better, if you were willing to pay in rubles, they would also serve stewed beef with potatoes.

Ivanov asked curiously, "Do you raise cattle here? Are the cattle freshly slaughtered? Do they have horns?"

He now has another cow horn in his collection, and Wang Xiao doesn't know the specific reason why.

The hotel owner grinned: "What cow? It's canned beef, ha—"

He showed a bottle to the customer, "This is canned beef from China. But it's too expensive. I heard they're going to build a frozen meat warehouse here, and then frozen meat from China will be shipped out directly. Haha, then meat will be cheaper for us."

Upon hearing this, Ivanov's eyes lit up like a camera shutter flash, and he immediately continued the conversation excitedly: "It seems that Chinese goods are very popular with you, my friend."

As he spoke, he winked at Wang Xiao, indicating: "See? We Russians aren't all xenophobic. There are still many of us who are friendly to China."

The hotel owner laughed heartily: "Of course, they're just like us; they export the best stuff."

Wang Xiao: Hehe, thank you.

That was a good compliment; please don't do it again.

Ivanov didn't expect things to go wrong so quickly, and he forced a change of topic: "Haha, well, brother, we encountered something strange at the mine just now."

He went on and on about how he had conspired with outsiders to kidnap his son.

The hotel owner was initially confused, but after Ivanov described the old miner's situation again, he suddenly realized: "No, no, no, sir, you're mistaken. That's not his son, it's his son-in-law, his son-in-law."

Everyone was bewildered. The reason for this misunderstanding was that in Russian, "grandson" and "grandchild" are the same word.

The old miner couple were also unfortunate. They had three children: their eldest son stayed on the battlefield in Afghanistan and never came back; their eldest daughter married and moved away and rarely came home; and their youngest daughter was by their side, but she caused the most trouble for the elderly couple.

Because she married an unreliable hoodlum when she was a teenager (since the Soviet era, the legal marriage age for Russian women has been 16), and after having a child, the two became even more unreliable. They abandoned the child with an old miner couple and spent their days doing nothing but eating, drinking, and having fun. In recent years, they have even become addicted to drugs.

Having heard this, what else is new under the sun?

When Wang Xiao passed through Qianjin Police Station (she did it as an act of bravery), she encountered the police arresting drug dealers.

A young mother and her four-year-old daughter accompanied guests ice skating.

Can you believe it? Who would believe it if they hadn't seen it with their own eyes?

But having already witnessed it, hearing such absurdities now only elicited a sigh from her.

Ivanov was clearly no calmer than her bystander; she transformed into Godzilla, roaring and cursing the damned government.

In the Soviet Union, such an absurd thing would never have happened.

Even though drug-related crimes existed during the Soviet era, they have never been as rampant as they are now.

After criticizing the Russian government, he began cursing the damned American imperialism and many other Western powers.

If it weren't for their mischief, Russia wouldn't be in its current state of devastation.

Wang Xiao saw the veins throbbing on his forehead and was really worried that he would get so excited that his blood vessels would burst and he would collapse.

For her own benefit and for the sake of great international friendship, she had to bite the bullet and comfort him: "Don't worry, my dear Ivanov, the boomerangs will eventually pierce themselves. Those who suffer from drugs later will definitely be in much worse shape."

She's not using the self-deceptive mentality of Ah Q. Think about the sweeping legalization of marijuana in various countries, and then think about how instead of arresting addicts and sending them to rehab, taxpayers' money is used to build facilities to ensure that drug users can "safely" enjoy drugs; those are all real things that have happened.

Seriously, humanity shouldn't even think about what to do when Earth is destroyed; some highly advanced humans will always find a way to court disaster.

But Ivanov knew nothing of this; he just stared blankly at Wang Xiao and asked, "Really?"

“Of course,” Wang Xiao said confidently. “Haven’t you read the Sherlock Holmes stories? Back then, London was full of opium dens. Rulers would do anything for their own benefit.”

The hotel owner suddenly blurted out, "As long as the profit is right, capitalists can sell the rope that will hang themselves."

Everyone present laughed happily, and even Wang Xiao and Ivanov did not feel offended.

After everyone finished dinner, they went back to their rooms to rest.

Russia's economic crisis is truly affecting all aspects of life.

The temperature drops significantly at night in the mining area, and the heating won't be turned off until May. But Wang Xiao woke up in the middle of the night from the cold; there was no warmth in the room at all.

She dared not sleep any longer, so she got up, took a rechargeable hand warmer to warm her hands, and began to write down the next work plan.

It wasn't until daylight appeared outside the window and footsteps echoed in the hallway that she got up to brush her teeth and wash her face before going out to have breakfast with Lyuba, who was waiting outside.

As soon as she went downstairs, someone called out to her: "Madam—"

Wang Xiao turned around and looked at the person who spoke with a somewhat blank expression.

Excuse me, sir, do we know each other? Most Russians look pretty much the same to her, unless they're acquaintances.

The groups of three or five in front of us clearly had nothing to do with the word "acquaintances".

The man with graying temples spoke urgently: "Madam, can we sit down and talk? We want to transfer our shares to you."

Oh dear! What happened?

Has the rare earth company changed its mind?

But these people in front of her didn't seem to be leaders from the rare earth company. The important people, however, left a deeper impression on her.

Just as she was completely confused and turned to ask Lyuba for help, Ivanov came downstairs yawning.

Upon seeing the visitors, his expression was filled with joy, and he waved his hand repeatedly, saying, "No need to be polite, it's nothing, just a small gift for the children."

When they left yesterday, they left a row of Wahaha drinks for the child.

To be honest, he thought that although it was a little sweet, it wasn't as sweet as sweet milk. But for some reason, the kids actually liked it.

Even their Russian employees at the Huaxia Commercial Street enjoy drinking it. And it's not just the women; the men drink it too.

But he was being too generous, because the person hadn't come specifically to thank him again; they were there to discuss business.

"We want to transfer our shares in our mine to you."

It was only then that Wang Xiao finally understood the identities of the other party; they were the miners from yesterday.

Although the events of yesterday ended relatively well, the workers present were quite frightened.

Who doesn't have children? Even if you don't have children, you still have a life, right?

Those mafia members had clearly become lawless, threatening to shoot them to their faces. They wouldn't dare risk their own lives and the lives of their families.

The miners gathered together last night to discuss the matter, arguing until the wee hours of the morning before finally deciding to sell their shares.

But they didn't want to sell to the Mafia because the price they were offered was outrageous.

As is well known, the ruble was quite valuable when the Russian-issued notes were priced, but by the time they were issued last year, the ruble had plummeted to almost nothing. Now, the downward trend is so severe that the cost of minting the notes is higher than the intrinsic value of the currency itself.

Those mafia gang actually wanted to buy the shares at the price printed on the coupons.

How is this any different from outright robbery?

But if they don't sell to the Mafia, who else can they sell to? Every company is short of money, and besides, without the necessary skills, who would dare to mess with the Mafia? They're a bunch of completely unreasonable guys.

After much deliberation, they set their sights on Ivanov.

Firstly, this person is wealthy; according to a representative of the rare earth company's employees, he planned to invest 2.2 billion rubles. They don't need that much money; 200 million rubles would be more than enough for them.

Secondly, this person is not someone to be trifled with. What law-abiding citizen would be accompanied by a group of people, with even the ladies carrying guns?

Forget it, let these powerful people fight like dogs. As long as they get their due money, that's all that matters.

Unfortunately, while their plan was well-thought-out, the contractor they found was uncooperative.

Ivanov didn't even ask Wang Xiao's opinion before shaking his head and refusing without hesitation: "I'm sorry, gentlemen, thank you for your kind offer, but I have no intention of buying the mine."

He wasn't being arrogant or trying to lower the price; he was just being nosy and asking for trouble.

Those lawless gangsters from yesterday are clearly used to running rampant in this area. Even a powerful dragon can't suppress a local snake; trying to snatch something they've been plotting against is just asking for trouble.

It's just a small mine; its value isn't high enough for him to be willing to take such a big risk.

The miners were dumbfounded and anxiously surrounded him: "Sir, please reconsider. Our mine is very productive, one of the best. We can discuss the price further."

Ivanov firmly replied, "No, no, no, you've misunderstood. I truly have no plans to invest in the mines. I'm so sorry."

The workers could hardly hide their disappointment, and in the end they could only look at each other, at a loss for what to do.

Ivanov was very friendly and warmly invited them to have breakfast together.

But the miners had no appetite for breakfast and all said their goodbyes with heavy hearts.

Ivanov, however, was particularly enthusiastic and even emphasized that there would be buttered eggs today.

For ordinary Russians today, this is already considered a fairly decent meal. It's worth noting that many people now rely solely on potatoes grown on their private plots in the suburbs and a very limited variety of vegetables to make a living.

Even after the miners sat down at the table, they were still trying to persuade the amiable big boss from Moscow, but unfortunately, apart from ordering another large plate of fried eggs with butter (each of them could eat at least five fried eggs), Ivanov said he couldn't do anything else.

Finally, the miners, having had a hearty meal, could only bid farewell and leave in disappointment.

Wang Xiao ate her buckwheat porridge slowly and deliberately, accompanied by fermented bean curd that she had brought from Jiangdong as a side dish.

It's a pity there was only rye bread on the table and no white steamed buns. Otherwise, the oily, stinky fermented bean curd spread in the middle of the steamed buns would have tasted absolutely amazing.

Ivanov could enjoy the stench of cheese, but he refused to eat it, leaving it to Wang Xiao to enjoy alone.

After finishing the porridge in her bowl, she put down the spoon, wiped her mouth clean, and smiled slightly: "It seems our investment has taken a turn for the better this time."

Having witnessed the miners' plight, she couldn't believe that the employees of the rare earth company wouldn't feel the same way.

If you're willing to transfer your coupons today, we can negotiate a good price.

Once the Mafia comes knocking on your door, there will be no room for negotiation.

Ivanov finished his fried egg with pickled cucumbers and Harbin red sausage—real Harbin red sausage, imported from Harbin—wiped his mouth, and agreed, "Well, let's not go out today, let's stay and rest. I'll go make a phone call."

What kind of call? It was, of course, a call asking a friend if they were interested in taking over the mine.

Just because he's a local tyrant doesn't mean his friends are untouchable.

This can be considered a reward for the miners indirectly contributing to his successful investment in rare earth companies.

————————

Happy Dragon Boat Festival! May you have good health, peace, and happiness every day!