Chapter 224 How About This: A Sugar Daddy Who Came to Our Door

Thank goodness, although Daniel was covered in blood, it was only external injury and concussion, and there was no danger to his life.

His most serious injuries were to his legs and ribs, with multiple severe fractures. He'll likely be bedridden for the entire winter.

After the surgery, he was a little dazed, but he still thanked Ivanov and Yura, and then struggled between sleep and wakefulness in a daze.

His wife is on the phone, wanting to transfer her husband to Switzerland for further treatment.

Look, the people of every country with a bad economy don't trust the medical skills of their own country's doctors, always thinking that the moon is bigger and rounder in foreign countries.

But to be honest, Wang Xiao thought the doctors in Moscow should be quite good.

Because her mother is Dr. Chen. Dr. Chen said that being a doctor is the same as working in a factory. The more you do, the more skilled you become.

Russia still has a free healthcare system, which means doctors have to see a large number of patients every day.

In addition, Russia's icy and snowy climate leads to a large number of orthopedic patients every year.

Are doctors in Harbin good at orthopedics? Doctors in Moscow are just as good.

However, hospitals respect the patients' and their families' right to choose; Wang Xiao, being an outsider, has even less right to utter nonsense.

“That’s fine,” Ivanov said softly. “It’s good for him to go out and avoid the trouble.”

Wang Xiao hummed in agreement.

Daniel's most notable subordinates also arrived one after another.

Only then did the police arrive, belatedly, to inquire about what had happened at the scene.

Neither Ivanov nor Yura noticed anything amiss at the time. It was only after the explosion that everyone realized something was wrong.

Yura chased after the police, asking, "When will you catch the murderer?"

The police, however, showed him no mercy and retorted without hesitation: "Okay, sir, why don't you tell me where the murderer is now, and we'll line up and arrest him immediately."

He abandoned the eyewitnesses and went to ask the family members to find out who this newly rich man had offended.

That must be a very long list.

Ivanov was already getting impatient: "Let's go, Yura, we're not needed here. We're superfluous and will only disturb their discussions."

Look, Daniel's wife, children, and subordinates have all come. His most important people are all around him, while his two friends seem out of place.

They left their business cards, promising to help if needed, before waving goodbye and leaving.

As soon as she got in the car, Yura insisted, "Retaliation! This is definitely retaliation from the remnants of the parliamentary faction!"

Fearing Ivanov wouldn't believe him, he emphasized urgently, "They want to kill all the capitalists in Russia, destroy Russia, create terror, and then the Red Army can return."

Ivanov gave him a strange look: "Your grandfather and my grandfather are both back, is there anything wrong with that?"

"Hey!" Yura's face turned red with anxiety, and sweat beaded on her forehead. "They'll kill you, Ivanov! Don't be fooled, they really will kill you!"

"Alright, alright," Ivanov made a pleading gesture. "I understand. Now, come back with me, take a good bath, and get some sleep."

“No!” Yura refused resolutely. “It’s too terrible. We’re in the midst of the Red Terror. I have to go back, immediately, right now. The horrific murderer cannot be allowed to roam free.”

Ivanov did not try to stop him, but took him to the government building, dropped him off, and then turned back.

Only after the car was back on the main road did he try to explain to Wang Xiao, "Wang, you understand, I was just worried about your safety. This place is terrible, everything is terrible."

“I don’t believe what Yura said. I think it’s more likely that the Mafia is behind it than that the so-called Communists are.”

"To be honest, if I were a member of Congress, I would definitely use the car bombing on the president. After all, every wrong has its perpetrator and every debt its debtor."

"So, it's too dangerous here, Your Majesty. Listen to me, a new wave of murders has begun. You shouldn't stay here and continue to take risks."

“I understand what you mean.” Wang Xiao turned his upper body towards her, looking into his eyes. “Ivanov, I can guess what you were talking about in the study. The main reason isn’t what I said; it’s that I felt your protection of me. You’re showing them through your actions that you’re on my side.”

Ivanov's breathing became heavy, and his eyes reddened: "You know, Your Majesty, I can't abandon you. Without you, none of this means anything to me. You know, I was planning to buy a villa in Hawaii and party until dawn every day."

Honestly, he was never a person with lofty ideals.

If he had lofty ideals, he would definitely save the Soviet Union. Even if he failed, he would try his best to rebuild the Soviet Union.

But he never thought of that.

He was just a pleasure-seeking playboy.

Wang Xiao laughed: "You're not that kind of person. You can't stand seeing your compatriots suffer. Well, actually, Yura doesn't know, but I deduced part of the situation from his actions. Although he's difficult to get along with, he's not completely unreasonable. Otherwise, he would definitely have prevented me from showing up at the Kugang Steel Workers' Congress. The fact that he wouldn't let me into the study means he really thinks I can't go in."

Ivanov looked tired and annoyed. He didn't really want to talk about it, but he still said, "They want to kick all non-Russians out. They say it's to protect Russian industries. But I know that's not the case."

“Of course,” Wang Xiao scoffed. “They’re just afraid that foreign capital entering the auction will drive up the prices.”

There are basically two types of wealthy people in Russia: one type has connections to obtain national resources such as oil at low prices for export and then pocket the money.

Another group consists of financial upstarts who make money through the ruble-dollar exchange rate.

Many of the former had already amassed great wealth during the Soviet era, then transferred their assets and immigrated with their families.

The latter, however, was not interested in industry and preferred to continue making money through the financial sector.

This has led to Russian companies facing a cold reception in the domestic market, making them highly susceptible to being artificially undervalued. After all, there are not many newly rich individuals who can accumulate assets exceeding hundreds of millions of US dollars in a short period of time, and even fewer who are interested in manufacturing.

However, this only applies to the situation within Russia.

Capitalists in established developed capitalist countries don't think that way. They are still interested in Russia's large enterprises and are willing to bid for them at more reasonable prices.

Therefore, the government must find a way to exclude them in order to ensure that Russia's industrial wealth can be divided within a small circle.

Ivanov sighed heavily: "You're right. When the time comes, the people will definitely cheer, thinking that the government has finally been brave enough to stop being America's lackey. But if they can't even sell a factory that they could have sold for $10 million, they'll be the ones who suffer."

Look, everything is the people's choice. It's as if the people themselves like to dig their own graves.

Wang Xiao asked curiously, "Will the money from the auction go into the employees' pockets? If not, do you expect the government to distribute it to them again?"

Ivanov paused, then ran his hand through his hair and slowly nodded, "That's true."

He suddenly asked Wang Xiao, "Do you think it's possible that the government took action against Daniel?"

He had heard of a Chinese idiom, "too big to fail."

The government needs capitalists to work for it, but clearly does not want the power of capitalists to become too great.

Because the Soviet Union was feudalism disguised as socialism, and so is the Russian Federation, only disguised as capitalism.

Which president of a normal country can openly order the bombardment of parliament without facing any punishment?

What president of a normal country possesses such extraordinary power? The only difference between him and the Tsar is probably that he wears a suit and not a crown.

“It’s not impossible,” Wang Xiao analyzed. “Daniel has established his own club, and obviously, the people gathered there can easily form alliances. He’s their leader. Don’t forget, our Doll Club hasn’t even done anything yet, and someone has already been shot in the head.”

Yes, yes, on the surface, their miserable experience last winter was a warning to them from the Mafia.

But everyone knows that the Moscow Mafia has intricate ties with the government.

God dislikes humans building the Tower of Babel; the same applies to the Gods of every nation.

“Daniel’s club wants to do more; he wants to bring together businessmen from Moscow and even Russia to work together and do business normally.” Ivanov sighed. “The first clause of their alliance is to refuse to bribe government officials.”

Ivanov put an orange candy in his mouth to suppress the smell from his nose.

Although the driver had cleaned the carriage long ago, he still felt that the carriage was filled with a strong smell of blood that he couldn't get rid of.

It made him want to vomit.

He suddenly exclaimed, "Wang, I think you're wrong about something. Russian laws are contradictory and chaotic, not because legislation can't keep up with social changes, but because they simply don't want the laws to be enforced properly."

"Normal laws can limit power. Abnormal laws are used as tools for extortion."

"If the law is properly enforced, and everyone has rules to follow and acts in accordance with the law, who would still bribe them? Where would their power be manifested?"

"How can they intimidate the people and demonstrate their authority without displaying power?"

As Ivanov spoke, nodding, he was almost in tears. “So they know everything. They did it on purpose. They don’t need a strong Russia, because only a strong people can create a strong country. And they fear a strong people.”

He choked up before continuing, “Just like your Qing Dynasty government, they knew how bad they were. They were afraid that if the Han people became strong, they would lose control, so they preferred the country to be poor, weak, and backward.”

How terrible.

He simply thought his country's government officials were stupid.

They weren't stupid; they knew it was wrong but did it anyway because it would bring them profit. They were simply evil.

Wang Xiao didn't know how to comfort Ivanov for a moment.

From the ruler's perspective, maintaining their rule is the top priority. Without this, everything else is in vain.

She paused for a moment before speaking, "It's also possible that Daniel crossed the line. They said the club was simply refusing to bribe officials. Hmm, but how could they refuse?"

“We are also annoyed by bribery. All that money comes out of our pockets, and we don’t know when it will end.”

Why are we afraid to refuse? Is it because we are not upright and righteous enough?

"If they don't bribe, how are they going to do business? Do they really believe it's legitimate and legal?"

Ivanov was speechless.

He doesn't believe a damn thing!

He considered himself to be among the highest moral standards in the business community, and he never even considered doing business in Russia in a completely legal manner.

Wang Xiao spread his hands: "Then, the only option left for them is to unite, cultivate proxies, and become a shadow government, thus undermining the current government."

She sighed. "This has happened in Chinese history as well. Behind every official who has a name in the court stands a vested interest group. People with money want power, to use power to protect their assets, regardless of how they acquired them. They use power to ensure they can make even more money."

It is obvious that no matter how incompetent the Moscow government is, it is unwilling to stand by and watch this happen.

They just wanted to take advantage of the capitalists; they didn't want to be the ones with the collar around their necks.

Ivanov grinned and gave a sarcastic comment: "Dogs fighting, all tangled up."

After saying that, he deflated, "So, I'm a dog too."

The assistants and bodyguards in the car were all trying their best to suppress their laughter, and even Nikolai, who was originally very melancholy, curled up the corners of his mouth.

Wang Xiao was completely speechless: "Thank you so much for not taking me with you."

Ivanov burst into laughter, tears welling up in his eyes.

Even so, when the car drove back to the villa, he remembered to ask Nikolai, "Do you need me to see him off? Should I send a few more people for you?"

Nikolai paused for a moment before hesitantly nodding, "I want to see him off."

Ivanov called an assistant to help, instructing them, "Call back anytime if needed."

As they stepped back into the villa, the housekeeper was already waiting at the door. Upon seeing them, she hurried forward and said, "God bless us."

When she received the call informing her of the bombing, her heart nearly leaped out of her chest; why do such terrible things always happen?

“It’s alright.” Ivanov reached out and hugged her. “We’re both fine. I need a hot bath, and I want to get some sleep.”

But Wang Xiao cannot make such a request.

Unfortunately, there were guests waiting for her at the villa.

When she saw the parked car, she knew her third sister had arrived.

"How long have you been here?"

The housekeeper explained, "They came in the afternoon and have been waiting. They said they wanted to ask you for help in making a decision."

She knew this woman because she visited them frequently and often brought them small local specialties, such as hand-woven fans, which were really beautiful.

The third sister had been eagerly waiting, and when she saw Wang Xiao, she waved frantically: "Oh my, my Mr. Wang, you're finally back."

She smiled at Ivanov again, but it was just a smile; she didn't exchange any further pleasantries.

She knew perfectly well that once she got on good terms with one of the two bosses, there was no need for her to try and get close to the other. It wouldn't look like she was trying to have her cake and eat it too.

Wang Xiao shook her head and laughed: "Sigh, don't even mention it, it's just tiring. I really don't like business trips. But you, how come you have time to come see me?"

"Look at what you're saying. I wouldn't dare take up your time unless it's something important. Everyone knows you're busy." Third Sister pulled Wang Xiao's hand and walked inside, pointing to the television, "It's this one."

The TV in the reception room was on. Well, we couldn't just leave the waiting guests sitting there doing nothing; having a TV to pass the time was a good thing.

An advertisement from the All-Russian Automobile Federation is playing on the screen: "Let's go buy it!"

Wang Xiao frowned slightly: "You're not thinking of buying this, are you?"

The third sister paused for a moment, then hesitated and asked, "What's wrong with it?"

Wang Xiao's feelings were somewhat complicated, and she bluntly stated, "I'm not interested, I won't buy it."

"Is there a problem with it?" The third sister anxiously pulled out a few securities. "I think it looks pretty good. Car manufacturing has a promising future."

Wang Xiao glanced at the securities and said, to be fair, the securities were indeed quite well made, no wonder they were printed in Switzerland and even had anti-counterfeiting technology.

Each security was printed with a portrait of a person, but Wang Xiao didn't recognize them.

“This is Sava Mamontov,” Lyuba explained. “He was an industrialist before the October Revolution, a steel magnate, and the largest shareholder of the Moscow-Yaroslavl-Arkhangelsk railway.”

Without a doubt, he was the target of the revolution.

Wang Xiao wasn't very interested. She stared at the word "one share" printed on the front of the stock certificate, then looked up and asked her third sister, "How much is one share?"

"Ten thousand rubles."

Wang Xiao had already flipped the book over and said bluntly, "Then just treat it as spending money to buy lottery tickets for fun. Well, winning would be a miracle."

The third sister panicked: "How did it turn into a lottery ticket? It's a stock!"

She missed the golden age of making a fortune in the domestic stock market; by then, she had already come to Moscow to do business.

But she had heard of the myth of getting rich quick through stocks.

It's true, when people can make quick money, they're not willing to work hard selling goods one by one to earn money.

Wang Xiao shook his head: "This is a bond, not a stock. It's used to exchange for stocks. Look, that's what it means."

She had limited knowledge of finance and little energy to explain in detail.

The assistant immediately and cleverly took the securities and began to explain in detail the intricacies of these bearer securities.

If you buy it, you won't enjoy the rights of a shareholder; you won't have voting rights. Furthermore, bearer securities are extremely difficult to trade.

"Look, in this situation, you have two choices. One is to lock it in a drawer and wait for the dividends to start, which may never come. The other is to participate in the buying and selling on the free market. But if you do that, the person who eventually buys it on the secondary market will not be on the original list and will naturally not be able to participate in the dividends."

The third sister suddenly realized: "So, it's the same thing as the oil stocks we bought?"

Wang Xiao was momentarily embarrassed, but quickly regained his composure: "How can they be the same? Our oil and gas fields have already been exploited, and American oil companies have been operating there for six months. Everyone can see where the money is being spent. Where are your All-Russian Automobile Union's factories? Where are your production lines? Where is the money going? Who knows?"

She further emphasized, "Let me be a bit presumptuous: even if we don't make money from oil, tell me, haven't I found ways for everyone to make money elsewhere? Tell me, isn't that right?"

The third sister was speechless.

She did indeed earn back all the money she invested by selling fleece, and even made a profit.

She sighed, "Why is it so hard to make money work for us? With the little money we have, we can't do anything big, and it's a waste to just leave it sitting there. We don't even know where to start investing. It's so frustrating."

Wang Xiao sighed along with her: "You bet it's all so annoying. But if you want to invest, it's actually quite simple. We've talked about this before, you can go back to China and buy a house. Houses in big cities are bound to appreciate in value. Look at how much housing prices are rising in Moscow now. In the future, housing prices in Beijing will only rise even more."

The third sister waved her hands repeatedly: "I don't want that. If I buy a house, I won't have time to move in, and then all my relatives will come to borrow it, and before long it will become theirs. It's so annoying!"

“Then go buy a house in Hong Kong.” Wang Xiao was truly generous. “Buy there now, and it will appreciate in value later, which is a great deal. Besides, houses in Hong Kong are easy to rent out, so you don’t have to worry about them being vacant. It’s also good for you to live there when you retire in the future.”

Third Sister shook her head, seemingly not very interested.

Despite the Hainan real estate boom of 1992 and 1993, the concept of real estate speculation is still weak among Chinese people today.

Wang Xiao shrugged: "Then I really have no idea. If all else fails, you might as well deposit the money in a domestic bank. It has a 10% interest rate, which is more reliable than putting it in a bank in Moscow."

The third sister looked at Wang Xiao with a bitter face: "Hey, Mr. Wang, can't you come up with a project and bring us in to invest?"

Wang Xiao shrugged: "I don't understand finance. If I were to invest, it would be in factories. But you know the situation in Russia, who knows if investing in a factory will make money? I wouldn't dare to lead you guys."

"No way!" Third Sister urged eagerly, "Bring it on, bring it on, bring it on! To be frank, if you don't have big money, small money will just become worth less and less every day. The Russian factories can't get off the ground because they're incompetent. I just don't understand, take cars for example. In Beijing, many taxis are Ladas, which shows there's a market. It's not like they can't sell their cars, so why can't they go on? It's their own problem. Really, Mr. Wang, if you're going to set up a factory, I'll invest with you."

Wang Xiao waved his hand: "I'm really not qualified to visit car factories. When I go on business trips, I visit steel factories."

The third sister was a little disappointed: "Aren't there any other factories?"

Wang Xiao called out, "Ivanov, come here for a second, I have something to ask you."

Ivanov had already taken a combat shower, but not a bath.

The fact that he and Wang Xiao have been able to work together to this day without breaking up, and that both of them are happy to continue their all-round cooperation, is simply because they are a perfect match.

For example, right now, when Wang Xiao saw the third sister, she didn't wink at him or give him any hints, but Ivanov knew that an opportunity had come knocking.

Is that really the third sister? No, she's an investor who approached us on her own initiative.

Real investors don't always spend their own money; the real skill lies in making money with other people's money.