Chapter 361 A Different Kind of President (Bug Fix): We Must Never Give Up

If God could save humanity, there wouldn't be so many wars and disasters in the world.

Besides, how could Wang Xiao, a non-believer, have the audacity to ask God for blessings?

On the night after the earthquake, there was no moon or stars to be seen.

The searchlight outside the window cast a pale white streak in the darkness, swaying precariously in the howling wind, and seemed destined to vanish into the night at any moment.

From the direction of the oil refinery ruins, the sounds of metal twisting and groaning from collisions could be heard intermittently, mixed with the distant sirens of ambulances, weaving an impenetrable net in this deathly silent, cold night.

After returning, Wang Xiao wrapped herself in a fleece blanket. Haha, even now she hasn't forgotten to actively promote products. Then she started to space out.

Oh no, to be more precise, it should be called contemplation.

Because when people are spacing out, their minds can be completely blank.

Right now, her mind is about to explode.

Ivanov's military boots slammed heavily on the ground, circling back and forth.

The heater emitted a low hum, and its orange glow flickered on his angular face, making the furrowed brows appear even more deeply etched.

He became a trapped beast.

The Deputy Prime Minister's ambiguous attitude speaks volumes: they, their pack of hyenas, have their eyes on the Sakhalin-1 oil and gas field.

The assistant rushed over, looking hurried, with a stack of documents that had just been faxed to him.

Thank goodness, the emergency repairs were effective; at least the fax machine is working now.

He hurriedly reported the contents of the report: "Currently, there is no legal provision that stipulates that the government can force the government to prioritize the supply of oil and gas to the domestic market."

Ivanov's eyes lit up. He took the documents and said through gritted teeth, "If that's the case, we can always go to court."

Wang Xiao looked out the window.

Because they didn't know if another major earthquake would strike, no one dared to live in reinforced concrete houses. They used simple prefabricated houses for shelter.

Yes, it's the kind commonly used on construction sites.

However, this was already considered a relatively good condition. Most survivors and rescuers had only meager tents to live in.

At this moment, the dusty military tents were being blown about by the wind. These makeshift shelters looked just like paper boats swaying in a storm.

She looked away and shook her head listlessly: "When has the government ever talked about the law?"

Strictly speaking, the current Russian federal government is breaking the law.

Oh, no, the government also talks about the law. When various agencies want to impose fines, they'll pull out a dense list of legal provisions and repeat the fines and fees over and over again.

Apart from that, laws are just pieces of waste paper.

Wang Xiao sighed, "Don't make things difficult for the judge. Moscow's administrative orders are above the law. No matter how capable a judge is, they can't independently adjudicate major cases involving national interests."

If things escalate like this, public opinion, at least within Russia, is unlikely to be on their side.

The government's order is to protect the interests of factories and people in the Far East, ensuring that everyone has a sufficient and stable energy supply.

As for the interests of the unfortunate businessmen, who cares?

So what if they kill the goose that lays the golden eggs? At least they get to eat the egg inside the chicken's belly.

Ivanov began pacing back and forth again.

He knew everything Wang Xiao said. As a native-born Soviet third-generation Red, he understood better than anyone the nominal existence of Russian law.

He just said he was going to sue the federal government, which was just a moment of righteous indignation.

It's terrible that the capitalist world doesn't want to acknowledge Russia as a capitalist country, because there's no worse form of capitalism.

After spinning around five times, he turned to look at Wang Xiao and said, "Wang, let's join forces to put pressure on each other."

He made up his mind: "We have a contract with Mitsui. A sudden supply cut will seriously affect Mitsui's interests and disrupt the Japanese government's energy strategy in East Asia."

Japan is the first entity we can unite with.

The other is China.

Wuzhou Group is a joint venture. It is simply unacceptable for it to harm the interests of Chinese businessmen and the Chinese nation for the sake of domestic interests in Russia.

"We proactively offered CNOOC the opportunity to visit and learn, and we proactively placed orders with Dalian Shipyard, all so that the Chinese government would support us in critical moments, wouldn't we?"

With China and Japan jointly putting pressure on Russia, the federal government will likely not dare to act rashly.

The night wind outside might have stirred up the remaining steel frame, causing it to repeatedly slam against the wall, making rapid, thumping sounds, like thunderous drumbeats.

Wang Xiao glanced at Ivanov and thought to himself, "You really underestimate your Russian government."

Are you kidding me? Russia is incredibly tough on energy matters.

Let's take the Sakhalin oil and gas field project as an example, without going into too much detail.

The Russian government's impressive achievements include, but are not limited to, pressuring Shell to withdraw from the Sakhalin 2 pipeline under the pretext of environmental pollution, allowing Russian companies to take over its operation; forcibly halting the gas supply agreement between Sakhalin 1 and China, forcing the natural gas to be diverted to domestic border regions; and, after the Russia-Ukraine conflict, directly signing a presidential decree to strip ExxonMobil of its operating rights over Sakhalin 1.

Yes, these were all the amazing actions of the Russian Federation government before she transmigrated.

Do you think this powerful nation will succumb to pressure from China and Japan?

On the contrary.

Wang Xiao pulled the blanket around himself tighter and shook his head again: "I think it might backfire and anger the Kremlin. It could even escalate into a nationwide public opinion problem. Even if the government is willing to soften its stance, it is very likely to be criticized for its incompetence, for not daring to offend even China and Japan, and for sacrificing the interests of its own people in order to please East Asian countries."

A fragile national pride cannot withstand challenges.

She sighed softly: "When the snowball of nationalism starts rolling, any foreign-invested enterprise is just a pebble in the way."

Ivanov opened his mouth, then closed it again.

Russia identifies itself as a European country, so it is indeed unlikely that it will adopt a submissive stance towards East Asia.

If bringing in foreign aid doesn't work, what about considering things from within Russia itself?

Ivanov was exhausted after a long day, but at this moment, he had to force himself to rack his brains to find help.

"Moscow Mayor Luzhkov and the Sakhalin Oblast government should oppose federal government intervention in the Sakhalin-1 project."

Ivanov emphasized that "the registered office of Five Continents Oil Company is Moscow."

What does this mean? It means that, according to current Russian law, the taxes paid by Wuzhou Petroleum must be paid to the Moscow government.

As for the Sakhalin regional government, not to mention the oil and gas fields, the successful establishment of an oil refinery on the island would provide a large number of jobs and tax revenue.

Both the Moscow city government and the Sakhalin regional government are unlikely to give up the prize they've already secured.

Wang Xiao thought for a moment, then shook his head again: "I still think it's unlikely."

Central-local power struggles exist in any country; it's either the East Wind prevails over the West Wind, or the West Wind prevails over the East Wind.

For Russia today, the central government clearly has more power.

"Don't forget, our President is known as the Invisible Tsar."

Since the 1993 shelling of the White House, presidential power has become highly centralized, a move that has drawn much criticism from the Western world, which sees it as a violation of basic democratic principles.

But the Kremlin does as it pleases.

"and--"

Wang Xiao sighed, "Times have changed. Now His Excellency the President is riding high."

Why?

Of course, it's because the federal government is in an unparalleled position on the Chechen front.

The decapitation strikes were successful one after another, even killing Chechen President Dudayev. How can it be said that this was not the president's achievement?

Ivanov was taken aback when he heard this, then gritted his teeth.

How should I put it? To put it bluntly, it's like lifting a rock only to drop it on one's own foot.

The turning point in the Chechen war was undoubtedly due in large part to the king's contributions.

Wang Xiao spread his hands: "This is war. Once war begins, it has its own will and is not controlled by anyone."

Ivanov is going around in circles again. How much effort and money have they put into the Sakhalin-1 project from its inception to its current operation? How could they possibly give up so easily?

Wang Xiao covered her forehead and whispered, "Stop spinning me, I'm dizzy."

She felt like she was seeing Van Gogh's starry night, yes, the kind with swirling vortexes.

Ivanov stopped and looked at her, frowning. "Why are you donating blood? Look how thin you are, how can you donate blood?"

Before he could finish lecturing someone, Lyuba brought him ice cream, which made him start jumping up and down in frustration.

"Your Majesty!" He snatched the ice cream away and solemnly warned her, "You can't eat this in this weather."

Are you kidding me?

In name, spring has arrived on this island, but the current outdoor temperature is 0°C!

The water was about to freeze, and she was still eating ice cream late at night.

Wang Xiao said helplessly, "I need to calm down."

The combination of sweetness and coolness in the mouth is most likely to make people feel excited and clear-headed.

Although supplies are scarce after the earthquake, since she hasn't gone bankrupt, she should still be entitled to a box of ice cream.

Ivanov ignored her and picked up the thermos, handing it to her: "Your Majesty, this is what you need right now. You need to replenish your blood and nutrients."

Wang Xiao didn't want to talk to him, but he stubbornly held onto his water cup and wouldn't move it, even unscrewing the lid of the thermos.

The sweet aroma of jujube and longan tea instantly filled the air, adding a rare touch of warmth to this chilly early spring night.

Sometimes, he can be so stubborn that it's a real headache.

Because he couldn't do the Asian squat, he knelt on one knee in front of Wang Xiao.

What could Wang Xiao do? Should he just keep kneeling there? It was freezing outside, and the ground of the makeshift prefabricated house was as cold as an ice rink.

She finally accepted the thermos and took a sip of the longan and red date tea.

The warmth of the tea gave her lips a touch more color.

Ivanov glanced at his watch and immediately said, "Don't think about it, Your Majesty, you need to rest."

He racked his brains to come up with a comforting remark: "At least, we don't need to repay the $5 billion debt."

Wang Xiao couldn't help but laugh.

Yes, at worst we can start over.

She will never lose the courage to make a comeback, no matter what.

But I'm really not willing to accept it.

She absolutely wouldn't give up until the very last step.

"If I had known this would happen—"

Wang Xiao sighed, "I shouldn't have been so eager to give the Kremlin advice."

If the Chechen war remains deadlocked, they might still have leverage to negotiate with the Kremlin.

After all, this president is notoriously strong on the outside but weak on the inside, and needs the help of oligarchs.

The moment the thought crossed Wang Xiao's mind, he was stunned.

Yes, her analysis of the Kremlin has always been based on her impressions before she traveled through time.

The problem is that when she traveled through time, the Kremlin had already changed hands.

In the same country, different eras and different heads of state can have vastly different governing styles and national governance logics.

This difference can profoundly influence intervention decisions in the Sakhalin project.

Wang Xiao suddenly raised his head, staring intently at Ivanov: "I ask you, what kind of person is His Excellency the President?"

Ivanov hesitated slightly, but ultimately told the truth: "He is not a bad person."

Although he had limited political wisdom, although he spent half his days drunk, and although his policy program was so chaotic that even he himself couldn't figure out how to proceed, Ivanov had to admit that he was not a detestable person; on the contrary, he was quite amiable.

Anyone who interacts with him, ignoring his governing abilities, will find it hard not to like him.

Wang Xiao nodded repeatedly: "That's right, that's right, he can listen to what others say, right?"

Her impression of the president mainly came from news reports before and after her time travel; she only had one personal interaction with him.

She needs to confirm with Ivanov.

The person being questioned nodded: "He is not a cold-hearted or stubborn person."

If he had been cold-blooded enough, the 1993 White House bombing incident wouldn't have been so easily downplayed.

It's important to understand that the scale and brutality of Stalin's Great Purge were millions of times greater than those of 1993.

Wang Xiao waved his hand, saying that was enough.

She gestured for Ivanov to sit opposite her: "Listen, Ivanov, we've gone down a dead end. Our true ally should be our President."

She made a gesture, "Russia is undergoing privatization, and the characteristic of privatization is the weakening of the state. This weakening is comprehensive and can reduce the state's administrative intervention capabilities."

This is actually the real reason why the president sitting in the Kremlin has been criticized for being weak.

The president's power is granted by the state; in a sense, the president is the spokesperson for the state.

The policy of weakening the nation fundamentally determines that it cannot be assertive.

For him, it was nothing short of tragic.

But what is poison to one is honey to another.

"This weakening is a good thing for us. We have been applying the Soviet model of a strong state to the current government. But in reality, their governing logic is different. We can talk to the president."

Wang Xiao emphasized, "Since loans can be exchanged for shares, it means that we have room to negotiate with the Kremlin on everything."

"The government now wants to directly access the oil and gas from the Sakhalin-1 project in order to solve the immediate difficulties, with the goal of short-term gains."

"What we want to talk to the president about is long-term interests, long-term interests that relate to Russia's future."

The strong winds made the trees that had survived the storm sway violently, their branches casting shadows that clung to the windows of the prefabricated houses, unable to stand firmly.

It tried to hear the conversation inside, but only managed to press its face against the window a few times, uttering snippets of words like "Project One" and "Russian manufacturing" through the cracks in the window.

More than that, even after the searchlight outside went out, the sky began to lighten, and the shadows of the trees disappeared, they still couldn't hear anything more.

Wang Xiao stretched and looked at the rising sun outside the window, unable to resist yawning: "Alright, let's talk like this. We must get the Kremlin's support."

All commercial works, whether intentionally or unintentionally, avoid the gray areas and try to emphasize the righteous and honorable aspects.

In reality, whether a business activity can proceed and to what extent it can go largely depends on the influence of the person you successfully lobbied.

Ivanov rubbed his face vigorously: "OK, I'll pack up and get ready to leave."

He reached out and touched the porcelain cup next to the heater before picking it up and handing it to Wang Xiao: "You can eat now."

What should we eat?

Wang Xiao stared at the ice cream in the cup, which had long since melted into water and had been warmed by the heat, utterly speechless.

Ivanov, however, argued vehemently: "It's still ice cream, the same ingredients, just in a different form; the core remains unchanged."

He added seriously, "Your Majesty, you are not one to judge people by their appearance."

Wang Xiao gritted his teeth and sneered, "Who said that? I judge by appearance."

Then she took the cup and gulped it down in one go.

What else can we do? Just throw it away?

Are you kidding me? This island has just experienced the biggest earthquake of the century, and there is a shortage of supplies everywhere.

She will be punished by heaven if she wastes food.

Ivanov finally smiled with satisfaction. As he left, he reminded Wang Xiao, "You should get some sleep, or your body won't be able to handle it."

Unfortunately, Wang Xiao was destined not to be able to take this nap.

She had just fallen into a deep sleep when the phone call came in.

Damn it, how come the phone line was repaired so quickly? It didn't even give her a chance to go back to sleep.

Wang Xiao answered the phone with a heavy heart. Douglas's voice on the other end was anxious: "Miss Wang, what exactly happened? Why are people from the Petroleum Commission here saying that all the remaining oil and gas will be transferred to Russia? Good heavens, has our contract with Mitsui of Japan been terminated? When did that happen?"

The person from the Petroleum Commission seemed quite forceful, having already taken the microphone from Douglas, and emphasized: "Miss Wang, the Petroleum Commission sent out a notice yesterday. We hope you will cooperate with our work. All businessmen operating in Russia, regardless of their country of origin, must cooperate with our work."

Wang Xiao felt a suffocating sensation, as if someone had grabbed her throat. She took a deep breath and decided to abandon a direct confrontation and choose a roundabout approach: "Sir, you are making things difficult for us. Without transportation pipelines, how are the oil and gas transported away?"

Thank God, even though she has no religious beliefs, she should thank God now.

When Wuzhou Petroleum Company produced oil and gas last year, it considered transporting it via oil pipelines.

However, the old pipelines left by Japan were in disrepair over the years, and the cost of repairing and putting them back into use was too high, so they abandoned them and prepared to build new pipelines.

However, due to the overly complicated procedures of Russian government agencies, Wuzhou Oil Company has not yet completed the procedures for building the new pipeline, and therefore cannot start construction.

Moreover, the earthquake destroyed most of the usable oil pipelines on the island.

This means that if the government insists on selling the oil and gas from the Sakhalin-1 project domestically, it will have to rebuild the pipeline itself.

Good heavens, this is no easy task for the current Russian government.

It may take three to five years to repair, or it may take thirty to fifty years.

Who knows?

As expected, there was silence on the other end of the phone.

Before Wang Xiao could even catch his breath, the people from the Petroleum Regulatory Commission quickly reacted: "If you're not using pipelines, you're using ships. Haven't you been using ships to transport oil and gas to Japan all along?"

Wang Xiao felt like cursing again after hearing this.

So you guys knew that the Sakhalin-1 project needed to supply goods to Japanese customers.

Putting everything else aside, you directly hijacked the deal. Will you pay the penalty for breach of contract?

Suppressing her anger, she spoke again with difficulty: "But the oil and gas tankers have already been leased by the Mitsui Group, and the right to use them now belongs to the Mitsui Group."

The people from the Petroleum Regulatory Commission grew impatient and insisted curtly, "You'd better figure something out; you have to get a ship here."

Wang Xiao became increasingly troubled: "We don't have any ships. We're an oil company, not a shipping company. We can't solve this problem."

After hanging up the phone, Wang Xiao turned to look at Ivanov, who had just returned with his luggage.

"I don't know how long we can drag this out, but I do know that we don't have much time left."

Ivanov nodded haphazardly: "Don't worry, I'll persuade the president."

He didn't actually know if he could persuade the other party, but he had no way out.

The Sakhalin project embodies their hard work; it is both their cash cow and the foundation for their technological upgrades.

Flying from the largest island in the Far East to Moscow involved a connecting flight and nearly ten hours of travel. Ivanov was so exhausted that his legs were weak when he got off the plane.

But he didn't rest. He had to rush to the Kremlin during this afternoon, otherwise the president might be drunk again if it got any later.

God bless Ivanov, he was lucky, he got into the Kremlin and met the president in less than half an hour.

When the president saw him, his eyes widened in surprise, then he burst into laughter: "My God, my dear Ivan, my lad, did you go to a duel for your lover? Why are you in such a sorry state?"

Ivanov was hardly the epitome of a charming man.

Because when he left Sakhalin Oblast, he didn't even change his military boots.

The mud stains on his military boots had long since dried, mixed with unknown dirt, and the dust on his body made him look as if he had crawled out of a pile of ashes.

Ivanov gave a wry smile: "Sir, I need your help. If you don't help me, I'm doomed."

The president looked increasingly bewildered: "What's going on, my young man? Has your fiancée dumped you? That's terrible! I'm also confused about what young women are thinking these days."

Ivanov had no interest in continuing the pleasantries and went straight to the point: "It's about the Sakhalin-1 oil and gas field, sir. Yesterday I suddenly received a notice from the Petroleum Regulatory Committee, requiring us to stop exports and switch to supplying the domestic market. Sir, can you tell me what's going on? I suspect I've encountered a swindler, a terrible swindler trying to take advantage of the chaos."

"I see." The president muttered to himself, picked up the receiver and dialed a number. "Mr. Ostrović, could you please come in for a moment? There's something I'd like to ask you."

The man who entered the president's office was a thin, gray-haired old man.

The president asked in a gentle tone, "Ostrovich, what's the story behind the Petroleum Regulatory Committee's request to halt exports from the Sakhalin-1 oil and gas field and divert them to Siberia?"

Ostrovich's voice was as dry and cold as the Siberian wind: "This is what it should do. It is the continuous extraction of oil that has driven the natural processes of the strata, which has led to this major earthquake."

Ivanov's heart sank; the so-called Petroleum Regulatory Committee was indeed not a figment of his imagination.

Immediately, he laughed angrily: "Sir, I'm truly sorry. In that case, the Sakhalin-1 project will be immediately suspended to prevent further damage to Sakhalin Island and the surrounding waters."

This is utterly absurd!

The earthquake occurred in the northern part of Sakhalin Island. If you insist on blaming it on oil extraction, then the blame should be placed on the Nevtegorsk oil field, not the Sakhalin-1 oil and gas field project in the south of the island.

Ostrović was also enraged: "It's common sense that oil extraction can trigger earthquakes."

Ivanov turned his head away from him and focused his gaze on the president's face: "Sir, I need to speak with you alone."

Spring arrives in Moscow much earlier than in Sakhalin. Outside the office window, birds are singing and flowers are blooming, a vibrant scene of life unfolding before my eyes.

Unfortunately, the air in the office seemed to freeze for a moment.

The president remained silent for several seconds before gesturing, "Mr. Ostrović, thank you for answering my question. You may leave now."

The little old man with gray hair bowed to him, then turned around respectfully. Before leaving, he glanced at Ivanov with disdain in his eyes.

The office door closed again.

Ivanov cut to the chase: "Mr. President, the export of Sakhalin's oil and gas must not be interrupted."

He heeded Wang Xiao's instructions and resolutely refused to discuss the possibility of not being able to collect payments for internal supplies.

Because you shouldn't hit someone in the face, predicting in front of the president that you can't collect the payment is tantamount to accusing the president of being a bunch of debtors who default on their debts.

He only emphasized: "Foreign exchange, we need to generate foreign exchange through exports. Without foreign exchange, it's all just empty talk to introduce new equipment and new technologies."

The president looked troubled: "But if the energy supply is cut off, how will the factories and people in Siberia survive? My dear young man, you are a kind and warm-hearted person, you should understand their difficulties."

If it weren't for this particular situation, Ivanov would have definitely started swearing at this person.

He understands their difficulties, but who understands his difficulties?

Shouldn't the government be responsible for their hardships? Why should the burden be shifted onto Wuzhou Petroleum Company?

To put it bluntly, if China National Petroleum Corporation hadn't developed the Sakhalin-1 project in 1993, Russia wouldn't be alive today.

We can't just take advantage of them because they do a lot and are proactive.

“Sir!” Ivanov’s expression became excited. “I cannot give up the Sakhalin-1 project, because it is an extremely rare opportunity for Russia.”

"In order to cooperate with us and obtain our exported oil and gas resources, Mitsui Group is already talking to us about third-generation oil refining technology."

He emphasized, "This is crucial for us. Russian industry is in decline, and we need a lot of money to acquire new equipment and introduce new technologies to transform our industry. Where will the money come from? From energy sales."

His voice rose involuntarily, “But since the 1980s, international oil prices have remained low. It’s difficult for us to obtain enough funds when exporting crude oil. We must process oil further to obtain higher added value.”

He shook his head. "So, no, we've been negotiating since last year, and we finally had the chance to acquire Mitsui's third-generation technology. If we miss this opportunity, will we have another chance? Only God knows."

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Goodnight [melted] I originally wanted to finish writing the rest of the story, but I'm too sleepy, so I'll leave it at that.