Chapter 254 Too Many Good Days: Threatening Me?

Unfortunately, there's an old saying that goes something like, "Man proposes, God disposes."

Well, or to put it even more grandly, say that even the wisest can make a mistake.

Wang Xiao was on high alert in Bucharest, but the problem actually spread outside of Romania.

Hungary has been hit by a thunderstorm.

Don't get me wrong, there wasn't any unrest in Hungary that affected Wang Xiao's business there.

Instead, it was a Hungarian film distributor who, without any regard for ethics, released the original version of "Escape from Deadly Island" without any prior notice!

Hungary and Romania are so close, they're practically neighbors.

But throughout history, neighborly relations have been rare. Those that don't fight like dogs are truly friendly nations.

The relationship between Hungary and Romania is one of historical enmity.

Let's not talk about things far away, let's talk about things closer to home.

The last battle Romania fought was during the Soviet-German War in World War II, when it volunteered to fight Hungary in front of the Soviet Union.

As a result, the Hungarians, who had originally planned to lie down in front of the Soviet Red Army, suddenly had a burst of energy when they saw the Romanians attacking. They grabbed their weapons and went to fight.

Then the 500,000 Romanian troops who thought they could take advantage of the situation reportedly suffered more than 70% casualties.

After the collapse of the Eastern Bloc and the change of flag colors, the shared political beliefs did little to improve the relationship between the two neighbors.

First, there is a territorial dispute. There is a piece of land on the border between the two countries called Transylvania, which was annexed by Romania after World War I, but there are millions of Hungarians living there.

This year, Romania plans to revise its Education Law, intending to mandate that all schools teach history and geography in Romanian. On the surface, this seems normal. However, this move directly impacts the mother tongue education rights of the 1.2 million people of Hungarian descent in Romania. Naturally, the Hungarians are unhappy.

But Romanians are even more dissatisfied with the Hungarians.

In 1993, Hungary implemented a "passport simplification policy," issuing passports to Huns residing in Romania. Thanks to this measure, over 20,000 Huns of Romanian origin have now obtained Hungarian citizenship.

Would Romania be willing? Since ancient times, land and population have been the most important things for a country.

The Romanian government immediately protested, accusing its old neighbor of cultural annexation.

However, they did as they pleased.

Just like now, Wang Xiao contacted the Romanian distributor through the film company, hoping they would urgently withdraw the film and not show the original version, but the distributor ignored her.

When the Minister of Culture came knocking on her door to demand an explanation, she was utterly overwhelmed by his wrath.

Wang Xiao's only consolation was that after realizing something was wrong yesterday, she decisively moved to a hotel near the embassy district in Bucharest.

Otherwise, with the Minister of Culture so aggressive, she was afraid he might frighten her elderly landlady.

"Miss Wang, what was your promise?"

OK, he has the right to get angry.

The prop master for "Escape from Deadly Island" disappeared at the orphanage believed to be the inspiration for the film. Meanwhile, a mentally challenged girl inexplicably appeared in the prop box, and her clothes bore the license plate number of Minister Luo Wenhua's nephew—yes, the same license plate number of the luxury car that transported the girl in the movie.

Haha, it's making headlines, how could the movie not be a hit? Every gossip-loving person will want to go to the cinema to see for themselves, and movie tickets aren't even that expensive.

The minister was still angry: "Why is there an original version of the movie being released?"

Wang Xiao was already numb: "Because the movie had already passed censorship before, it was released according to the normal process, including overseas distribution."

"Because 'The Great Swordsman' has many overseas fans, it is considered a calling card for Romania's external promotion, and the film also wants to earn foreign exchange for Romania."

"So after it passed the censorship, its overseas distribution went through the normal process. The contract also stipulated the same release date as the original Romanian release date, a simultaneous global release."

Of course, this figure of "global" is a bit of an exaggeration; it mainly focuses on Europe.

“We’ve called the publisher to ask for their cooperation, but they won’t agree and there’s nothing we can do. That’s how the contract was signed, and if they release it, they won’t be in breach of contract.”

If she were the distributor in Hungary, she would also release the film.

The current level of public interest in social news is so high, and the social sentiment it evokes is an effect that many marketers dream of achieving but cannot.

If we release it now, the box office will definitely be a huge hit, and we'll make a fortune.

Furthermore, setting aside personal interests, from the perspective of national affairs, the distributor should also release the film.

After all, just this month, NATO launched the "Partnership for Peace" program, and Hungary and Romania submitted their applications on the same day.

They're all people eager to curry favor with powerful figures and embrace another world, so of course they have to compete to see who comes first.

From a businessman's perspective, she felt it was perfectly reasonable.

The Minister of Culture, who felt betrayed, could not accept this.

Everyone else was furious, gritting their teeth as they said, "So you mean it's only right? Things have gotten to this point—"

He slammed a stack of newspaper clippings on the table, his anger blazing like it could set the whole building on fire. "Is this all justified?"

Wang Xiao noticed that several major European newspapers, such as The Guardian, had followed up with reports, and he took a slight breath.

As she exhaled, she could no longer hold back: "Minister, now that things have developed this way, isn't it inappropriate to push all the responsibility onto me?"

"The incident at St. Mary's Welfare Home was exposed by The Guardian last year. If you had paid more attention and investigated properly back then, things wouldn't have ended up like this now."

"As for the movie, 'Escape from Deadly Island' has already passed censorship, but for the sake of our friendship and to avoid amplifying the negative impact, I've stubbornly held back its full release until now. The funds haven't been recouped, and I'm bearing all the pressure. Did I say anything?"

"Minister, I'm a victim too! Who will give me justice?"

Minister Popescu was momentarily speechless, and his subsequent accusations weakened considerably: "So now, are we just going to stand by and watch Romania be disgraced and become a laughingstock?"

Wang Xiao cursed inwardly, "How dare you say that?"

From the time I forcibly stopped reporters at the welfare home and refused to let them into the air-raid shelter until now, what have you government officials been doing?

Besides hyping up the issue of college students demanding the state to redistribute jobs in an attempt to divert public attention from welfare institutions, what else have they done?

To say your crisis management skills are zero is an understatement; they're clearly in the negative.

But which businessman doesn't curse officials like dogs in his heart, yet have to fawn over them in front of them?

Wang Xiao said sincerely, "How can this continue? Don't worry, soon everyone will be too busy to keep an eye on the welfare homes in Romania. By the time they remember, the government will have already taken care of it."

Minister Popescu stared at her, his expression inscrutable: "So, can I trust you, Miss Wang?"

Wang Xiao smiled and said, "No, it's because I believe in you, sir, and I believe that the Romanian government can handle this matter well and give the public an explanation."

Popescu didn't respond to her question, but instead pressed, "So, Miss Wang, what are you going to do?"

Wang Xiao smiled and said, "If the leaves are placed in the forest, they won't stand out."

Before Popescu could ask any more questions, Xiao Gao knocked on the door and came in, whispering, "Boss, something's happened at the container market. General Manager Ruan is waiting outside for instructions."

Wang Xiao narrowed his eyes and turned to look at Popescu: "Sir, I think you don't need to be in such a hurry."

Popescu was taken aback when he heard that the trouble was in the Bucharest container market. He immediately swore, "It has nothing to do with me, Miss Wang. We are allies now, and allies should trust each other."

Wang Xiao smiled and said, "OK, then I look forward to a pleasant collaboration."

Popescu began to dodge the question: "Miss Wang, I don't know anything about the container market, and besides, our Ministry of Culture has no jurisdiction over this area."

Wang Xiao sneered inwardly, "That old fox, all he wants is to eat meat."

Her smile was flawless: "Of course, I never make things difficult for my allies. I will handle this myself."

She nodded slightly and stood up.

Minister Popescu also rose, put on his hat, and took his leave: "Well then, all the best, my beautiful lady."

Wang Xiao saw him off at the hotel entrance and personally watched him get into his car and leave.

As soon as he got in the car, he immediately called the Deputy Minister of the Interior: "Michael, what are you doing? What's going on with the container market?"

Michael, probably still high, mumbled, "Let's teach that damned Chinese woman a lesson, or she'll think she can bully everyone in Romania."

Popescu was furious: "What are you doing here at a time like this? Don't you know I'm overwhelmed with problems right now and need her to suppress the orphanage issue? She's busy dealing with the container market, how can she possibly manage the orphanage?"

Michael dismissed it: "Let's see what she's capable of. If she can't even handle the container market in Bucharest, do you believe she can manage the attention of the whole of Europe, no, the whole world?"

It's a good thing Wang Xiao couldn't hear these words, otherwise she would definitely have been thinking to herself.

Haha, you're overthinking it. Romania doesn't have that much influence now.

Otherwise, she wouldn't have been so confident that she could handle this matter well.

Of course, for her right now, the most urgent task is to deal with the turmoil in the container market.

As soon as Ruan Xiaomei saw her boss, her first reaction was to apologize and admit her mistake: "I'm sorry, President Wang, I didn't expect Lao Li and the others to make trouble at this critical juncture. I underestimated their strength."

Xiao Gao and Xiao Zhao started taking notes in their mental notebooks again.

The first essential quality of a leader who can lead a team is the ability to take responsibility and not to shirk blame and pass the buck to others when problems arise.

Wang Xiao nodded slightly, said nothing, and only asked her, "So, do you have any plans for the next step?"

"Yes," Ruan Xiaomei immediately replied, "I would like to ask Mr. Wang to give you his opinion."

Xiao Gao and Xiao Zhao kept writing down key points: When going to apologize to the boss, they couldn't come empty-handed; they had to bring an emergency plan.

You can let your boss choose the answer, but you can't ask your boss to answer the question for you.

Wang Xiao nodded again, then asked, "What are they making a fuss about?"

Ruan Xiaomei said helplessly, "We demand a rent reduction, otherwise we will all terminate our leases."

Wang Xiao asked incredulously, "That's it?"

Ruan Xiaomei's helpless expression deepened, and she nodded: "That's it."

She came to Wang Xiao not because she couldn't handle it, but because she felt that it was her fault for causing this mess while the boss was in Bucharest.

Wang Xiao shook her head, skipping the topic and asking the Anna sisters first, "How is Ms. Laura?"

“She’s willing,” Ruan Xiaomei said succinctly. “She’s willing to come to the market as a typist; she knows how to operate a computer.”

Regardless of how others viewed Laura, Ruan Xiaomei felt a sense of sympathy for this unfortunate woman.

Perhaps because she had also played the role of sacrificing her own interests for her family, she was able to empathize with the other person more.

When Laura was 18, her parents died in the line of duty and became national heroes.

But at the same time, the sisters also became orphans.

Laura had been accepted into university, but if she went to university, she would not be able to take care of her younger sister and would have to send her to an orphanage.

She couldn't bear to leave, so she gave up going to university and chose to work, while also taking care of her younger sister.

When people are young, they are always full of courage and hope, believing that tomorrow will be better.

But reality is always crueler than dreams.

First, there's Anna. The fact that she can now take care of herself means that she doesn't have complete Down syndrome; she just has a low IQ.

In childhood, it's not a big deal if a 4-year-old child is slow to react and lacks the quickness of their peers.

Because everyone knows that some children are "early to understand" and others are "late to understand."

Some children don't speak fluently when they're in elementary school, but that doesn't stop them from going to top universities and becoming professionals later in life.

Back then, Laura was also unaware of her sister's problem, only thinking that things would get better when she got older.

Anna grew up like this, until she was 10 years old, when her older sister had to accept the fact that her younger sister was indeed mentally challenged.

But at that time, although she was devastated, she was not in despair.

Because her parents were people's heroes, the government has always taken care of her and her sister.

Knowing that Anna was mentally challenged, the government took care of her schooling. This is why, despite her low IQ, she was still able to attend an international high school.

But in December 1989, Cătiscu and his wife were executed, the red regime collapsed overnight, the Romanian flag was changed to a tricolor flag, and the orphan of a people's hero was no longer valued.

Laura never expected that she and her sister would be supported by the state for life.

She had been saving the government pension for their parents, hoping to use the money to support her younger sister.

Tragically, the leu has depreciated dramatically, and now 10,000 lei have less purchasing power than 100 lei in 1990.

The compensation money that the parents received at the cost of their lives instantly turned into a stack of worthless change.

To make matters worse, Laura's company was privatized, and she was laid off because the new company only needed highly educated people, and she didn't have a college degree and was not qualified for the job.

Look, this poor girl never indulged in debauchery, never acted recklessly, and never recklessly exploited her status as the daughter of a hero. She was diligent and honest, yet she ended up like this.

Ruan Xiaomei sighed: "People say that taking care of the elderly is more hopeless than raising children, because children always grow up and get better and better. But I think Laura's situation is the most hopeless. Anna is 14 years younger than her. Anna won't get better and better. She will always need someone to take care of her."

My sister's life was thus hijacked.

In Laura's words, she never had her own youth or hope.

Wang Xiao gently closed her eyes and turned her head to look out the car window: "We've arrived."

Ruan Xiaomei quickly got out of the car and opened the car door for her boss.

The container market is chaotic, well, actually it's always bustling with noise whenever it's open.

Now, it has added more stalls than last year, becoming one of the top wholesale markets in Eastern Europe.

Seriously, you can buy almost everything you need in your daily life here.

The vendors coming and going were all in a hurry, each carrying large and small bags.

Wang Xiao walked through the crowd to the entrance of the market management office, where hundreds of people had gathered in a noisy crowd.

Someone shouted, "Hey Ruan, don't make a big deal out of nothing! Let Wang Xiao come out, we only want to talk to her!"

Wang Xiao said softly, "Were you looking for me? I'm here."

She didn't shout or get angry, but the crowd still parted the sea as quickly as Moses parted the ocean, making way for her.

Wang Xiao's face remained calm as he glanced lightly across the faces of the crowd before walking slowly into the office.

The person at the front instinctively reached out to grab her arm, but Xiao Gao dislocated it on the spot without any hesitation, causing him to fall to his knees in pain.

The people nearby were startled and quickly tried to smooth things over: "Mr. Wang, it's not that serious, it's just that the young man was impulsive."

Wang Xiao turned his head, sneered, and glanced at him coldly: "He's young and doesn't know any better. You're not young anymore, Old Li."

The man called Old Li blushed, rubbed his hands awkwardly, and said with a forced smile, "Mr. Wang, it's really because you're not in Bucharest that you don't know how difficult things are for us. We have to bribe everyone, and it costs money inside and out. We really can't afford it anymore, so we wanted to ask you to be lenient."

Wang Xiao stopped and faced everyone: "Do you think the rent is too high?"

"That's right!" The young man who had just had his arm put back on by Xiao Gao was clearly still not satisfied with the ordeal, and he shouted again, "Even the kiosks on the street don't have the same rent as the chests and cabinets!"

Others chimed in, "That's right, even the kiosks aren't as expensive as this."

Ruan Xiaomei could no longer contain herself: "How much goods does the kiosk sell in a day? How much does the container stall sell in a day? Are they on the same scale?"

The merchants showed no sign of backing down: "Our turnover is high, but our profit margin is thin. We're just losing money to gain publicity."

Wang Xiao waited until they finished arguing before speaking: "Any other requests?"

"That's all," the young man shouted, his neck stiff. "Anyway, the rent has to be reduced by at least half, or we'll all terminate our leases."

Wang Xiao was speechless for a moment.

After making such a big fuss, is this all you've got?

Who gave them the courage to think they could make a big fuss?

Her gaze swept over the faces of the merchants once more, and she said calmly, "Many of you who came here today are people who followed me from Budapest to Bucharest."

“I remember that when you couldn’t take your money out of Hungary, I found a way to help you transfer the money out, convert it into goods, and send them to Bucharest.”

"To get this done, I pulled strings and made deals at all levels. I don't know how much effort I put in, but I finally opened the air route from Xiaozhou to Bucharest."

"Okay, some people will definitely say that I open airlines to make money. That's true, no normal person would do a good deed for nothing. Making money together is the way to go."

"Let me tell you about this kiosk. I haven't made a single penny off you, have I? I let you run it, didn't I?"

"When you first arrived in Bucharest, how did you interact with Romanians, build good relationships with the government and police, and maintain contact with the embassy? Didn't I, Wang Xiao, personally teach you step by step?"

"How do you get the visa so you won't be an illegal immigrant in Romania? Did I, Wang Xiao, pay for a lawyer to help you get the status?"

"The Bucharest market was established, and everyone was able to gain a foothold in Romania. I, Wang Xiao, deserve credit for that, even if I didn't make a huge contribution. And how have you treated me as a result?"

Several people lowered their heads, not daring to meet Wang Xiao's eyes.

But they didn't leave.

If making a scene could get the rent halved, wouldn't that be a great deal?

In business, who would complain about having too much money in their pocket?

Wang Xiao issued an ultimatum: "If you want to go back and focus on your business, I can pretend this never happened. If you don't want to go back, come and sign the termination agreement."

Everyone present was startled. Old Li couldn't help but say, "Mr. Wang, we just want to have a proper talk."

"There's nothing to talk about." Wang Xiao looked dejected. "It's like trying to feed a dog with mutton. I don't think I've done anything to wrong anyone. Since you don't appreciate it, then forget it."

The group exchanged bewildered glances. The young man who had spoken earlier declared fiercely, "We've cancelled all our leases! We've rented more than just one stall!"

Wang Xiao said casually, "Those who walk different paths cannot make plans together. Let's sign the termination agreement."

The group looked at each other, none of them daring to be the first to speak up.

Finally, the young man stubbornly stepped forward: "Sign it or not, we're not afraid of you. Let me tell you the truth, the Bucharest container market exists because of us!"

As he spoke, he glanced sideways at the other merchants.

Several people remembered his previous promise, gritted their teeth, and stepped forward to sign.

That's right, the Bucharest container market was built by these Chinese businessmen.

They are here; this is the real container market.

Without them, this place is just ruins!

Little brat, do you really think you can fool them?

Who's afraid of who?!

A group of people signed the termination agreement with great fanfare, waiting for Wang Xiao to break down.

As a result, Wang Xiao was impatient to wait for them to finish signing and had already gone to the office inside to read today's English newspaper.

Everyone wanted to make some tough threats, but they couldn't find the boss, so they could only angrily threaten Ruan Xiaomei: "Let's see how this container market continues to operate!"

Ruan Xiaomei didn't even look at them, her tone equally slow and leisurely: "There's no need for you all to trouble yourselves with that."

She nodded to her subordinates, "Alright, you can call them over to sign the contract now."

The merchants were all taken aback. Who were they? What kind of contract were they going to sign?

Before anyone could question them, a group of people rushed into the market, including Romanians, Arabs, and Chinese.

When they saw Ruan Xiaomei, they were all incredulous: "Are you really letting us rent seats directly?"

Ruan Xiaomei nodded, smiling broadly: "Of course, these stalls are where you do your business. Why should we let vampires do nothing but lie on you and suck our money?"

The Chinese businessman who had caused trouble earlier was shocked and instinctively rushed forward, wanting to find Ruan Xiaomei and demand an explanation: "What do you mean? Are you demolishing houses after crossing the river?"

Ruan Xiaomei sneered: "What do you mean? You buy shops from the market at low prices and then sublet them to other merchants at high prices, making a killing off the difference, aren't you? You're insatiable! You've ruined your own livelihood, do you expect anyone to beg you to eat this food?"

The Chinese business owners who had just terminated their leases panicked. Their aggressive tactics were intended to make business in the container market unsustainable, forcing Wang Xiao to back down, or to bring their customers and second or even third tenants to their new market to attract customers.

Now that these second and third tenants are getting their stalls directly from the container market, what business is there for them?

No way! Hundreds of Chinese businessmen protested, determined not to allow anyone to rent their original shops.

However, the second and third tenants who actually do business in the market are not fools; of course they know that renting container spaces directly is the cheapest option.

They were latecomers and could only sublet from established merchants at higher prices. Now that they have the opportunity to rent directly from the market management at a lower price, it would be strange if they didn't seize the opportunity.

The previous sub-landlord blocked them from signing the contract.

dream!

Without a word, the tall and burly Romanian and Arab merchants grabbed a Chinese merchant who was blocking their way and threw him outside.

Then, as soon as they turned around, Huanhuan quickly went to sign the contract.

Other subtenants followed suit, efficiently and physically getting rid of the original tenants.

Inside the office, Wang Xiao turned a page of the newspaper, seemingly oblivious to the wailing outside.

Xiao Gao and Xiao Zhao both shook their heads inwardly, feeling that the traitors in the container market were all incredibly weak.

With such a big fuss, I thought they had some kind of trump card up their sleeve.

So it's just like a child threatening their parents, "I'm not eating."

Good heavens, the boss isn't their parent. Take it or leave it, let them starve! There are plenty of people in the world who can't afford to eat.

Both landlords and tenants make money; whose money isn't money?

Their actions completely crossed the boss's line.

The boss hates state-owned construction groups the most. They rely on their Class A general contracting qualification to do nothing but earn management fees by subcontracting to small companies.

No, they're even more disgusting than state-owned construction groups.

At least the latter knows what they rely on for a living and won't be foolish enough to threaten the government, saying, "I don't want the Class A general contracting qualification anymore."

Unlike them, they have no self-awareness.

Some of the Chinese businessmen outside were already crying out, "You traitor surnamed Wang, you're bullying your own Chinese people!"

Others echoed this sentiment, beginning to condemn Wang Xiao from the moral high ground of patriotism.

Mr. Wang, however, turned a deaf ear and didn't care at all.

Aren't all overgrown children like this? They've had too many good days, they deserve a beating, and they love to use moral blackmail.

She's neither a country nor a government, why should she indulge them? She's crazy!

Ruan Xiaomei sneered from outside: "Look down at yourselves, you're stepping on Romanian soil! Don't you even know whose turf you're making money on?"

Another Chinese businessman who had just signed a lease termination agreement changed his mind: "We did not sublet; we run our own business, and we want to rent again."

Ruan Xiaomei glanced at them and had already mentally drawn up the accounts, knowing what kind of businesses they were in.

She was able to call over the second and third tenants so quickly because she had a clear understanding of the situation of all the merchants in the market.

She said indifferently, "I'll let you rent for another three months since you haven't been leeching off me. After three months, get out."

Think making a scene won't hurt? Dream on!

Seeing that his attempts to persuade Wang Xiao had failed, Old Li, the leader, finally lost his temper and yelled at Wang Xiao, "You, surnamed Wang, if you want to wipe us out, you just wait!"

Wang Xiao finally put down the newspaper in her hand, walked to the window, and looked at him calmly: "Okay, I'll wait."

It would be nice to have some surprises, so that the opponent wouldn't be too weak. She just felt it was too embarrassing for a fellow Chinese.

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Good morning. I worked overtime until midnight last night. As soon as I opened my eyes, it was another day of work.