Chapter 185 Why did I inform you? : Should we offer a prayer?

Secretary Fang was just transferred here from Beijing.

Last year, in an effort to alleviate the taxi shortage, Beijing relaxed entry restrictions. In just one year, the number of taxis in the city surged from over 10,000 to over 40,000, making it much easier to hail a taxi.

Wang Xiao is now demanding that more taxis enter the market. Although his original intention was to make money, it will objectively alleviate the transportation pressure in Jiangdong, which is beneficial to the country and the people.

She had assumed Wang Xiao would want to take on government projects, as everyone knew that these projects were extremely lucrative.

Unexpectedly, they had no intention of touching this area at all.

Secretary Fang nodded: "That's fine, the province will give you the green light."

"I also demand the opening of gas stations," Wang Xiao added, seizing the opportunity. "With more taxis, the difficulty in refueling becomes a major problem. We can't let the cars be unable to run because of a lack of gas."

There are too few people who own cars now. Secretary Fang, or most non-industry leaders, have basically no idea how much money gas stations can make.

Even gods have their shortcomings, let alone humans.

In Secretary Fang's view, Wang Xiao's request to build a gas station was simply a matter of course, as it was to provide supporting facilities for the taxi company.

So she readily agreed: "Okay, the province has no objection to the approval process, but we need to ensure safety."

Ivanov's ears were practically perked up like a rabbit's, but all they talked about from beginning to end was work.

Yes, he was Wang's business partner after all. Although he didn't express any opinions from beginning to end, it didn't stop the translator from doing his job conscientiously.

Finally, after Wang Xiao shook hands with Secretary Fang and said goodbye, as he returned to his car, Ivanov, who had come along, couldn't hide his disappointment: "Aren't you going to talk some more?"

"What are we going to talk about?" Wang Xiao asked, puzzled. "The boss has finished talking to me, and now it's time for the two of us to discuss this. Making LCD screens doesn't make money, but it's very important for us to gain a foothold in China. Do you understand what I mean?"

Ivanov was forced to switch off his observer mode and switch to his business acumen: "You mean, this will help us get government endorsement?"

Wang Xiao nodded, as if talking to himself: "We've developed too fast."

They swallowed the dividends of the era whole, turning themselves into a juicy piece of meat that everyone wanted a bite of.

They are not state-owned enterprises, so if they want government endorsement, they must offer a pledge of allegiance.

The LCD screen was not only her obsession, but also their pledge of allegiance.

With it there, they can also enter an invisible protective circle.

Ivanov had already begun to think: "If we import production lines from Japan, they most likely won't provide the most advanced ones. But that's okay. I can bring over all the experts in this field from Moscow and St. Petersburg, and just give them the same salary levels as Japanese scientists and engineers."

"The factory should not be located too far from the commercial city, so that they can come and visit at any time, which will help alleviate their homesickness."

"Schools, yes, with more people, the education of their children needs to be addressed."

"And what about hospitals? If they're sick, can they get treatment here?"

Wang Xiao replied to each of their questions one by one: "Location is not a problem, we can choose a nearby one."

Now that the red line for arable land is no longer mentioned, land acquisition is very simple.

"The school will see their choices at the time. Those who want to go to a foreign language school will have Russian classes or receive English instruction directly."

"Don't worry about the hospital either, there's a branch in the commercial city that specifically serves those who trade goods."

"Really?" Ivanov exclaimed in surprise. "I had no idea!"

Wang Xiao chuckled, "There are many things you don't know."

She still complimented her friend, saying, "You're in good health; you don't need to go to the hospital."

Strictly speaking, the hospital in the commercial city was thanks to Chen Yanqiu.

Chairman Chen, who came from a factory as a doctor, had frequented the commercial city many times and felt that it was inappropriate not to have a hospital specifically for the Russians.

The commercial city also thought it made sense and submitted a report to the health bureau.

Chen Yanqiu used his connections to get the Provincial Hospital of Traditional Chinese Medicine to open a branch in the commercial city.

Why a Traditional Chinese Medicine hospital? Because the Russians trust Traditional Chinese Medicine, especially massage and acupuncture, and are very willing to undergo physical therapy.

Later, in order to meet the diverse needs, the Traditional Chinese Medicine Hospital added intravenous infusion and injection services, which excited a group of scalpers.

Well, once you've seen how thick Russian needles are, you'll understand why Russians feel they're receiving gentle care in Chinese hospitals.

Ivanov laughed heartily and repeatedly expressed his desire to experience physiotherapy at the hospital as well.

Wang Xiao was utterly speechless: "You should take a break. There won't be any gentle and beautiful nurses for you. The ones who will give you massages are all burly men."

Ivanov immediately calmed down: "Then forget it, I won't add to the hospital's workload."

Wang Xiao chuckled: "Let's go, let's get to work."

Ivanov then lamented, "Everyone says that socialist governments are inefficient, holding meetings over and over again for a small matter, and not getting a result for at least six months. But I think there's a big difference between socialist countries. In Moscow, well, they definitely won't approve a project without dragging it out for a year or two."

Wang Xiao wanted to remind him that modern Moscow has nothing to do with socialism anymore.

But considering love and peace, she skipped this step altogether.

"If you were to build a similar LCD screen factory in Moscow, do you think the Moscow government would welcome it?"

Of course we welcome it, since the government doesn't have to spend a single penny. The Moscow government will definitely welcome it with great fanfare.

Ivanov's eyes lit up, and he began to get restless: "You said..."

“I don’t need to say anything,” Wang Xiao interrupted him directly. “The Soviet Union had a population of less than 300 million, but China has 1 billion. We need a huge market to support the development of LCD screens.”

The taxi boom will quickly disappear once subway lines open one after another, cars fill the streets, and ride-hailing services emerge.

How long the gas station profits can last depends on the degree of interference from the two major oil companies.

They cannot continuously supply blood to the LCD screen.

It's not just about LCD screens; in any industry, if it eventually can't operate independently, it means it's simply not viable.

Ivanov could only shut his mouth in disappointment, muttering, "Alright, alright, let's go to the trade city."

In fact, if the fleece factory hadn't just started out, and if there weren't any factories producing fleece in China, and if the company hadn't known so little about it, making it difficult to make decisions on many things, Wang Xiao and Ivanov really wouldn't have had the time to make a special trip to Jiangdong.

But since we're already here, we should still do our job of checking things.

Wang Xiao made a special trip to check on the progress of her newly proposed tent-style mosquito net.

It's quite good; after it was put on the shelves, it became popular with resellers. Some even consider it the greatest invention of the century because it made everyone's lives much more comfortable.

It's simple and easy, keeping mosquitoes away.

Wang Xiao picked up a mosquito net to check the size and was quite surprised: "Why is this size?"

The trembling supervisor quickly stepped forward to explain, "This is for domestic sales, and it's designed to fit the dimensions of a bamboo bed."

Currently, most families in China do not have air conditioning, and the living conditions of urban residents are generally cramped, like pigeon coops.

This resulted in ordinary people, especially those in the south, generally having to rely on bamboo beds to cool off at night and endure the sweltering summer heat.

So when the trade city was looking for factories to manufacture tent-style mosquito nets, the manufacturers immediately thought of using them on bamboo beds, so that people wouldn't have to worry about being carried away by mosquitoes while trying to cool off.

Wang Xiao was stunned.

She truly never imagined that mosquito nets could be used in this way!

It seems that people from any era truly understand the era in which they live.

Wang Xiao nodded: "OK, let's expand and strengthen it then. By the way, how's the follow-up on the aid supplies?"

The supervisor quickly replied, "We're already in contact with them."

"Hurry up," the boss demanded. "It's almost June, don't procrastinate."

Ivanov smiled beside him: "Don't be nervous, we're just passing by, taking a casual stroll. If there's anything we didn't do well, fix it quickly, and we can pretend it never happened."

The supervisor smiled awkwardly and repeatedly assured everyone that they would strictly abide by the company's rules and regulations and would absolutely not dare to play any tricks.

As a result, Ivanov's smile deepened, making the supervisor break out in a cold sweat.

Haha, who would believe that?

Even with a dedicated national anti-corruption system, corruption continues unabated; let alone just one company.

All I can say is that if you act quickly, things will get much better.

When Ivanov's friends heard that he had returned to the east bank of the Yangtze River, they made a point of inquiring about the situation in Moscow, and they all grimaced at the news.

When Ivanov tried to persuade them to invest in the Sakhalin Island oil and gas field project, they all made excuses to leave.

They unanimously agreed that the 100 million-unit plan was a good idea and that they wanted to continue it.

One should not be fickle. They are not unfaithful; it's good enough that they focus on one project.

So on June 7th, after finalizing the taxi licenses and gas station arrangements, and having preliminarily completed the site selection for the LCD screen factory, Wang Xiao and Ivanov once again flew back to Sakhalin Island.

As for why they didn't just go all the way and go to Japan again to inspect the LCD screen production line?

Sigh, you can't conduct an investigation just by talking.

Who are you? Why should they bother with you? Do they have nothing better to do than wait for you to come and investigate?

You have to send a letter, wait for the other party's reply, and then everyone needs to finalize the details before the trip can proceed.

This inspection was particularly special; it wasn't enough for Wang Xiao and Ivanov to just go and see it, the leaders had to go along as well.

However, when provincial government leaders went abroad in 1993, it wasn't something they could just do on a whim; the process was quite complicated.

Therefore, this matter cannot be rushed; we can only wait.

It's okay, they're not in a hurry anyway.

They've secured the airline routes, taxi licenses, and gas station operating rights; they're definitely getting the better deal.

Sakhalin Island in June has completely shed the shadow of harsh winter, and its beauty is simply unfair.

The coastline is winding and curving, with golden sands and azure waters reflecting each other; when the sea crashes against the shore, it truly echoes Su Shi's lines: "The waves crash against the shore, rolling up thousands of piles of snow."

The best part is the island's temperature—it's so cool! And the June sunshine is so gentle; it's perfect for a picnic.

Wang Xiao made a decision on the spot: "I want to suggest that Xiang Dong come and film here."

My God! Sakhalin Island in summer is so photogenic; every shot looks like a postcard.

Ivanov laughed and said, "Then let's stay on the island for a couple more days."

They were leisurely enjoying themselves, getting off the plane, getting into the car, and driving around admiring the scenery.

The Sakhalin state government is in complete chaos.

Unable to find them, state officials searched the entire island but couldn't locate their investors.

Finally, the old Party Secretary of the non-staple food base was driven to his wits' end: "I don't know! Who should I ask? I don't care where the employer is, as long as the employer pays us our wages!"

These one or two cadres do nothing but take a paycheck every day.

If you want to find a boss, there aren't any on Sakhalin Island. Why don't you go ask in Moscow?

But the state government officials really didn't dare to go to Moscow to ask.

Well, like most of Russia's Far East, Sakhalin Island is dissatisfied with the Moscow government and everyone wants independence, but they are also afraid that if they become independent, they won't be able to make a living on their own.

The Moscow government has brought a large investment to their island, but they messed things up and drove the investors away; the local government, having made a mess of things, is too afraid to let Moscow know about it.

Sometimes, officials' mentality isn't much different from that of elementary school students.

They make a mess and then try to cover it up, hoping for a miracle that the problem will disappear on its own.

If the problem persists, then just postpone it, one day at a time.

Let's talk about it when it really can't be delayed any longer.

The state government leaders are currently in a state of not being completely dead yet, still clinging to the illusion that a miracle will happen; therefore, every day is incredibly agonizing.

This led to Wang Xiao acting as if nothing had happened. When she went to the state government to find the vice governor with Wuxi Yangshan peaches that had been air-freighted, the vice governor, who was about the same age as Comrade Chen Yanqiu, immediately hugged her and burst into tears: "Where have you been? Where have you all been?"

Wang Xiao was startled. What are you doing? Is it really that serious?

Russians are quite reserved; crying loudly doesn't fit the Russian national character.

"I went to Japan and then returned to China; I have work to discuss."

Look how honest she is.

There are very few businessmen as honest as her, and I'm not exaggerating.

Her honesty, instead of winning the deputy governor's favor, caused him to explode: "Oil and gas fields! You've run away, what will happen to the oil and gas fields?"

Wang Xiao's shout made him tremble all over.

She seemed startled and stammered, "It's progressing according to plan. The American architects have already come in and designed the blueprints, and the workers will be in place soon to start building the workers' community. Even our food processing base has gone there to cultivate new land and plant leafy vegetables."

Vegetables such as eggplants and tomatoes can be transported by train to the oilfield living area.

However, leafy green vegetables like bok choy must be grown locally because preservation costs are too high and transportation is very inconvenient.

The reason they initially started growing vegetables in the suburbs of Sakhalin was because spring came earlier there and there were more residents. Chinese farmers also needed to accumulate more experience before they could grow vegetables on the far northern island.

The deputy governor hesitated, a blank expression appearing on his face, clearly unable to keep up with the pace of development.

She stammered, "But why did you leave without saying anything?"

“How to develop the oil and gas fields is our business.” Ivanov walked in from outside, standing slightly ahead of Wang Xiao. “We have no obligation to report to anyone, including the Sakhalin Regional Government.”

He turned his head to the side, as if complaining to his partner, "I said there was no need to run over here, let's go, let's go."

He helped Wang Xiao turn to the side by supporting her shoulder, but she still turned her head and gave the deputy governor a slightly apologetic smile: "Excuse me."

The assistant next to her was quite perceptive and picked up the peaches she had brought.

They made their stance clear: I'm not sending this gift.

Ah, these are genuine peaches.

Good heavens, peaches can actually be this delicious! The flesh inside the skin is practically a pool of honey.

Giving this to state government officials is far too lenient on them.

The lieutenant governor watched them walk out of the state government building, his face burning with embarrassment.

Is this all about a box of peaches?

This was a heavy slap in the face, a warning to her, and a warning to the entire state government.

Figure out who's in charge, and don't try to control the oil company.

If we cooperate well, we can all sit at the same table for a meal and receive gifts such as cashmere coats and peaches (damn, she can already smell the peaches).

If you don't cooperate, you'll get nothing.

Douglas is still living in the hotel, overseeing the construction of the workers' community from start to finish.

So over the past two weeks, he has witnessed firsthand just how much suffering the officials of the Sakhalin regional government endured, which allowed him to finally vent his anger.

Before that, when he first arrived on the island as a representative of an American oil company to begin negotiations for oil and gas fields, he had already had enough of the rudeness of Russian government officials.

Their fickleness and constant changes of mind make every businessman who deals with them want to fuck the whole world.

Now, Douglas, having exhaled a breath of stale air, looked at the boss of Wuzhou Oil Company with surprise: "You really don't intend to give up? Oil prices are likely to keep falling, and I don't know when they will bottom out and rebound."

Ivanov didn't want to delve any further into the topic: "Of course, there's no such thing as a sure thing. We've come this far, we have to give it a try."

Douglas shrugged and flashed his signature smile: "Then may God bless us and wish us good luck."

Then he turned to Wang Xiao and asked, "Miss Wang, what is your faith? Please let your faith bless us as well."

Wang Xiao's face was serious: "Mazu."

No kidding, they're mining offshore oil and gas fields, and Mazu is the goddess of the sea, so of course they have to worship Mazu.

Oh no, after hearing that, Wang Xiao immediately became anxious.

Why didn't they properly pray to Mazu before deciding to develop the oil and gas fields on Sakhalin Island?

The worst part is that she only just realized now, is it too late to go and worship Mazu?

Thinking about it that way, the peaches in her hand no longer smelled good.

This was the first time Ivanov had ever heard of the sea goddess being called Mazu.

In ancient Greek mythology, he was a god.

Ivanov was extremely curious: "How are you going to worship Mazu? Do you have to go to a special temple, like we go to a church? Don't you worship Buddha in your temples?"

Wang Xiao was almost in tears: "Neither Jinning nor Xiaozhou are on the coast, so there are no Mazu temples there. We have to go to Fujian."

Oh dear, I'm so anxious. No one in business is immune to superstition.

Especially with such a large investment amount, it's really hard to think about it too much; just thinking about it makes me feel suffocated.

Ivanov, feeling flustered by what he heard, cautiously asked, "How about we go to the temple to pray?"

Douglas immediately sensed something was wrong: "How should we pray? What will be the consequences?"

Wang Xiao tried hard to recall the video explanation she had watched: "You have to ask for the Holy Grail and seek the opinion of Mazu. If Mazu disagrees, then this matter cannot be done."

"What?!" Douglas went completely berserk, abandoning his usual Hollywood star demeanor, his face contorted in a grotesque expression.

"Hey, my friends, I have to remind you. The contract has been signed, and the architects have finished their work. Terminating the contract for this reason will result in you having to pay a hefty penalty."

Ivanov gave him a strange look: "My friend, haven't you always wanted us to stop this project? Why are you unhappy now?"

Douglas choked instantly.

From the company's perspective, it's best not to let Wuzhou Petroleum Company get the first piece of the pie.

However, from his personal development perspective, he cannot afford to lose the Sakhalin oil and gas field project now.

Because international oil prices have remained low and have been trending downwards, oil companies are cutting costs and investing cautiously.

There are no new projects starting. Douglas has been working on the Sakhalin Island project for too long, and there are no available positions for him when he returns.

If the Sakhalin Island oil and gas fields fail to develop, his situation will only become more awkward if he returns to the United States.

His personal future was more important than the company's interests.

The company belongs to the boss, to the major shareholder, but not to him, the employee.

Even if he owns company shares, God, those meager shares are not enough to make him willingly work like a slave.

Of course, Douglas would never admit to that.

Even when facing himself, he could write openly in his diary: We need to follow up on the Sakhalin Island oil and gas field project, which will allow the company to maintain and train a highly efficient extraction team even in a sluggish international oil market.

A person who can even deceive themselves will naturally speak righteously and sternly to the client: "Because this is the spirit of contract, the great spirit of contract. We are not like some governments that break their promises."

With that, he said firmly, "I hope we can all abide by the contract, my dear friends," then walked away with his chin held high.

Oh!

Ivanov didn't believe a single syllable of what he said.

Bosses only care about their partners: "Which temple should we fly to to pray?"

Wang Xiao wasn't sure which temple was the most efficacious, so he could only hesitate and say, "Let me ask."

Footsteps sounded outside, and a pretty waitress came over respectfully to knock on the door: "Ladies and gentlemen, someone is looking for you outside, Miss Wang, um, it's your worker."

Wang Xiao found it strange; the construction workers were still on their way, so what kind of workers could she possibly have on Sakhalin Island?

When they saw the old Party Secretary and his entourage, everyone was both amused and exasperated. Ah, these are farmers!

Wang Xiao walked forward: "What's wrong, Party Secretary?"

“This…” The old Party Secretary pushed a scrawny, dark-skinned man forward with a troubled expression. “We don’t know what to do either.”

What happened?

The unconscious man was found on the beach by police officers on patrol on the island.

Although all East Asians look the same to Russian police, based on his clothing and accent, the police believed he was most likely of Chinese descent.

There's only so many people on Sakhalin Island. The Chinese people on the island are just farmers who grow vegetables at the food processing base.

The police officer, who had also gone to buy groceries, was very kind and specially took the person back.

But when they made the delivery, the old Party Secretary and his colleagues were dumbfounded.

They are not one of their people.

They were speaking Chinese, but unfortunately, they couldn't understand a single word.

The old Party Secretary tried his best, even bringing paper and pen, hoping that, despite the dialect barriers, everyone could at least communicate using Chinese characters.

Unfortunately, this fellow was illiterate and couldn't write.

If this were in China, I'd just give him some travel expenses and let him go home on his own.

But this was, after all, a foreign land, and the old Party secretary's sense of Party principles and humanity wouldn't allow him to abandon his compatriots.

Having exhausted all other options, he thought of Wang Xiao.

Mr. Wang has traveled extensively and is very knowledgeable; perhaps he can communicate with the other party.

Wang Xiao was both amused and exasperated. She greeted the other person, "Where are you from? Can you understand me? Speak slowly."

As soon as this guy opened his mouth, not only Wang Xiao, but also his Chinese bodyguards recognized him.

Sigh! We're from Fujian.

The Fujianese contingent is a significant part of the middlemen in the illegal reselling industry. They truly travel all over the world; their influence can be found everywhere.

The young trader, who barely escaped with his life, is not yet 18 years old. While eating a peach, he lamented, "The boat was perfectly fine, but it capsized for no reason."

Of course, this is a translated version; the original pronunciation was too difficult to pronounce, and Wang Xiao couldn't even repeat it.

She looked at the young man with a wry smile and said, "You didn't really just worship Mazu and then board the ship without going through any formalities, did you?"

The young man from Fujian, who called himself Xiao Hei, said earnestly, "Mazu said I can go to sea."

Then, he became smug, "See, I'm not safe and sound, am I?"

After listening to the commotion for a while, Ivanov suddenly came to his senses: "Wang, he knows about Mazu, he must know which temple is the most effective for worshipping Mazu."

Ah, it really is true.

Rather than getting confused by making an international call, it's better to ask in person for clarification.