Chapter 419 I Can't Let You Bully Him: What is Love?

Gusinski only considered it for a short five minutes before agreeing to Wang Xiao's request.

Yes, he considered himself a gentleman, and a talkative one at that.

The reason he resolutely refused the Kremlin's repeated demands that he stop broadcasting footage of the Chechen war was simply because their attitude was too tough.

If they could speak to him politely, pleading, "Please, stop playing those shows," given his stubborn nature, even if he didn't want to, he wouldn't say no.

Besides, he really has no intention of getting involved in the mess between the Kremlin and the White House right now.

He knew that there was an understanding between Chubais and them that someone would be pushed into the government to ensure that everyone's interests would not be harmed.

But he knew it definitely wouldn't be him. He himself didn't want it, and the Kremlin wouldn't be happy about it either.

He knew all too well how much the president hated him. He hated that he told the truth, hated that he told the public how badly and tragically the Russian army was fighting in Chechnya, and hated that he told the president how disappointed the public was with his administration.

Even now, in order to secure his re-election, the president has had to accept his and NTV's help, but the president has not started to like him.

They knew perfectly well that their partnership was merely a matter of necessity.

At the Sparrow Mountain Club, the person who was truly favored by the president, or rather, had a close relationship with the president's family, was Berezovsky.

Everyone tacitly agreed that, barring any unforeseen circumstances, Berezovsky would be the one promoted to deputy prime minister.

To be honest, Gusinski didn't feel much about it.

So what if he's a deputy prime minister? The Russian government changes deputy prime ministers like a revolving door of trinkets at a container market. The former deputy prime ministers are still working for them now, aren't they?

Berezovsky could take a position that looked glamorous but was actually full of pitfalls. In fact, to be fair, his smooth-talking nature was more suited to the role.

So after thinking for five minutes, Gusinski readily agreed: "I will publicly declare that I will never take up a government post in order to maintain my independence as a journalist."

As he said this, he even revealed a subtle, almost gleeful, sense of schadenfreude.

He wasn't stupid; he had already vaguely guessed why Wang Xiao had come to him first, instead of seeking out Berezovsky, with whom he had a closer relationship.

The strategy is to start with him, get him to make a statement first, and then put pressure on Berezovsky.

Is he angry? Of course not.

The only thing a mature adult gets angry about is that he has been taken advantage of.

Gusinsky, however, didn't think he had suffered any loss. On the contrary, he was quite happy to have been a tool, making Berezovsky suffer a setback.

It's worth noting that at this year's Davos Forum, Berezovsky was shocked to see Gennady Zyuganov, the chairman of the Communist Party of the Russian Federation, being courted by Western tycoons. He was so alarmed that he had to seek reconciliation with him in order to jointly confront the Communist Party of the Russian Federation. Before that, his relationship with Berezovsky was extremely strained.

Rivals are enemies, and the latter has said a lot of bad things about him in the Kremlin.

Gusinsky believed he had good reason to suspect that the reason Korzhakov had sent troops to nearly kill him the winter before last was because Berezovsky had instigated him in front of the former Grand Steward of the Kremlin.

That cunning fellow is perfectly capable of doing such a thing.

Berezovsky nodded again to confirm: "I will issue a statement, and hopefully this boring and terrible farce will end soon."

As he spoke, he subconsciously glanced at Wang Xiao again and sighed inwardly.

What a terrible woman.

She accurately discerned the subtle relationship between him and Berezovsky, skillfully grasped his professional aspirations, and then went to his door without hesitation to make her request, giving him no chance to hesitate or waver.

If everyone could work this efficiently, Russia would surely be transformed.

Wang Xiao seemed unaware of his subtle observation and proceeded to the next topic: "Mr. Gusinski, I overheard that NTV is raising funds to expand its business?"

Gusinski didn't know what to say.

Indeed, as an independent television station, NTV naturally cannot receive the same level of official support, especially financial support, as Channel 1, which is recognized as the president's exclusive channel.

He needs funding; only with sufficient funds can NTV produce and acquire more programs and attract more viewers.

He nodded: "Indeed, we are looking for investors."

Wang Xiao laughed: "I wonder how many shares you're willing to sell? Is 40% okay? We at Wuzhou are very interested in investing. Do you have any information?"

She glanced at the clock on the wall. "I'm free before 11 a.m., I wonder if I could take a look at the relevant information?"

Every entrepreneur dreams of winning the heart of an angel investor, and Gusinski immediately put on his coat: "Of course, it would be an honor for NTV and me."

He had long heard that Wang Xiao was good at interpersonal relationships and had an excellent reputation in business; he hadn't realized it before when he was dealing with Queshan Club and always heard her criticize everyone.

Now that real money was being handed to him, he sighed inwardly: "Truly generous."

If you cooperate with her, she will proactively offer you benefits and won't let you suffer any losses.

What impressed Gusinski even more was that when the two of them went downstairs to leave the apartment, Wang Xiao's bodyguard actually handed a business card to the excessively handsome doorman, urging him to become a model.

Good heavens, even at this time she doesn't forget to dig people out to make money for herself, no wonder her rise is so astonishing.

Gusinski considers himself a trustworthy media professional who keeps his word.

In the morning, he agreed to Wang Xiao's request to issue a public statement. That evening, he sat in the NTV news studio with a left-wing evening newspaper in hand, righteously emphasizing that he had absolutely no intention of entering politics.

The media is the media, and the media must maintain an independent stance.

but--

“I will never fall into the trap of despicable people. Do they think that by attacking me like this, I will be so scared that I will obediently run to their camp, seek refuge, and beg them to stop targeting me?”

"No, I absolutely will not! I will defend to the death my freedom to participate in elections as a Russian citizen. This is no longer the Soviet Union under the rule of the KGB. Intimidation, threats, and framing won't work! I will definitely go to the polling station and cast my vote."

"Long live freedom! Long live Russia!"

At the Punonin family's dinner table, Lydia exclaimed while looking at the television screen, "So they deliberately targeted the Jews to get Jewish bankers to support Zyuganov."

No wonder, with the election going on for so long, those who can see the tricks of the trade have all realized that money is really important.

If you don't have money for advertising, citizens won't see you. The less they see you, the less likely they are to remember you.

Like a vague shadow in a group tour, how many people can truly understand you and be willing to vote for you?

Elections are not as simple as Mark Twain's "Running for Governor"; they involve a lot of money.

Punonin was speechless for a moment; he didn't know how to respond to his wife.

The Communist Party of the Russian Federation (CPRF) shouldn't be so foolish as to expect Jewish bankers to support Zyuganov; if that were the case, the CPRF's loyal supporters would rise up in revolt.

But when Gusinski said that on television, combined with the news that had broken before, it was indeed easy for the public to have the same thoughts as Lydia.

Punonin's gaze unconsciously shifted to Wang Xiao, who was staring at Lydia with a smile on her lips.

This made Punonin secretly breathe a sigh of relief.

Now that they had formed an alliance, and he was hoping that Wang Xiao could advise him on how to run for president in the next election, he certainly didn't want his wife to become enemies with Wang.

Fortunately, thank God, Wang is indeed very clever, and she can always get along with anyone if she wants to.

Even if she wanted to laugh now after hearing her wife's words, her laugh would be gentle and sincere, and she would look completely in agreement.

What Punoning didn't know was that Wang Xiao's smile was genuine.

What a great sample object!

Wang Xiao is surrounded by shrewd people. Even Xiao Gao and Xiao Zhao, who are known for being slow-witted, have a political acumen that surpasses that of most Russians.

Unlike Lydia, whose political level is roughly equivalent to the average Russian citizen.

Judging from her reaction, Wang Xiao knew that the last part he added to Gusinski's speech was perfect.

Since a statement has already been issued, we must take this opportunity to annoy our competitors; otherwise, wouldn't it be a waste of platform resources?

She took a sip of borscht and praised Lydia: "Your soup is still the best, especially rich and creamy."

Just then, the TV started showing commercials, and Lydia's attention was drawn back from the news program. She said happily, "This is very simple. I'll tell you how to do it after we finish eating."

But when Lydia finished dinner and cleared the table, wanting to tell Wang Xiao how to make borscht delicious, he was nowhere to be found.

Lena looked at her mother curiously: "Can Miss Wang cook? Does she cook too?"

She probably won't go into the kitchen; she'll probably only go into places like her father's study, um, with Uncle Ivan. It's a study that she, Tonya, and her mother can't go into.

Because that's where we talk about serious matters.

She knew from a young age that only men and adults went to the study, while women and children chatted and played outside.

Lydia's gaze unconsciously drifted to the closed study door, momentarily lost in thought, before she finally sat back down on the living room sofa, silently staring at the thick door panel.

Obviously, human vision does not possess the ability to see through objects. Even if someone is behind a door, the person inside cannot perceive that they are being stared at by someone outside.

At least Wang Xiao knew nothing about it.

She was sitting on the sofa, listening to Ivan and Punonin chatter.

The main topic of their conversation was Ivan's complaint to Punonin: what should he do? He'd never been a deputy prime minister before, he didn't know how, and he was worried.

Wang Xiao spread his hands innocently: "I comforted him, telling him there was nothing to be afraid of, and that he should just open his eyes and get things done, but he wouldn't listen."

Ivanov looked at her with a resentful gaze, as if he were on the verge of being abandoned, and muttered, "You have no experience either, you've never done this before."

Wang Xiao turned her head away immediately: "Fine, fine, you guys talk, pretend I didn't say anything."

Then Punonin shared his insights with Ivan—he had never been a deputy prime minister either, but he had served as an official for so many years, so he had some experience in being an official.

Wang Xiao couldn't help but shake her head as she listened, and finally she couldn't hold back any longer and said, "Vlamik, isn't this what workers' self-governance is like? The Yugoslavian model."

Punoning paused for a moment, slightly embarrassed.

He opposes everything about the Soviet Union and socialism, but Yugoslavia was once known as the glory of socialism. Now he wants to borrow Yugoslavia's workers' self-government system, which seems to contradict himself.

But the tax police major general had been an official for so long, and he naturally had the presence to hold the line at crucial moments. He said calmly, "Don't you Chinese have a saying, 'It doesn't matter if a cat is black or white, as long as it catches mice, it's a good cat'? Giving all the shares to the workers and making them the masters of the country is indeed very similar to workers' self-governance."

Wang Xiao shook his head directly: "No, the chances of the cat catching the mouse are probably slim. Worker self-governance has its advantages, but it also has significant drawbacks. First of all, if a factory with worker self-governance makes money, the workers are most likely to distribute the wealth to themselves, rather than reinvesting in production. This is normal; money only counts as money when it's in your own pocket. If you invest in updating equipment and infrastructure, you won't see economic benefits in the short term, and the workers will feel that it's a waste of money."

As she spoke, she shook her head even more vigorously, "Let alone a factory, even an entire city or a country, such long-term investments would be heavily criticized, seen as disregarding the lives of ordinary people, a wasteful and extravagant display of wealth. Furthermore—"

She then pointed out the following day, "Worker-run factories, lacking macro-control, suffer from severe duplication of construction and waste of resources. This phenomenon was not uncommon in the development of factories in Yugoslavia."

Punonin was speechless for a moment: "Then what good ideas do you have? Without worker self-governance?"

Russian factories are facing a serious problem: they are not afraid of being auctioned off cheaply, but rather that nobody wants to buy them.

Unlike China, Russia has already undergone more than a decade of economic reforms before deciding to focus on major issues and let go of minor ones. The country already has a first and second batch of people who have become rich (with Deng Xiaoping's Southern Tour in 1992 as the dividing line).

Russia does not have such conditions; as soon as the national political system changes, privatization is immediately promoted.

Those who were supposedly among the first to get rich, those who made a fortune during the Komsomol economic reforms in the Soviet Union, also fled abroad long ago because of the change in the political system and fear that their wealth was insecure.

This resulted in Russian factories either being privatized by the "red factory directors" at almost no cost, or being abandoned and effectively shut down.

“Workers’ self-governance is possible.” Wang Xiao shook his head. “I just want to say, don’t treat it as a panacea. It will also create a lot of problems.”

Punoning was speechless: "Since you know there's a problem, why keep going? How are all these workers going to survive after all this failure?"

Wang Xiao didn't feel irresponsible at all. Instead, he said seriously, "We're diverting them to the countryside. If you let them try and fail, their enthusiasm will wane, and they won't feel that it's because the heavens are jealous of their talents and didn't give them a chance. Simply put, they'll accept their fate."

For any country and any regime, citizens who accept their fate are the easiest to manage because they don't cause trouble.

As for things like development and creativity, those should be put on hold until the overall situation is stabilized.

Punoning was still speechless: "The countryside is no good either. You've been running farms for so many years, don't you know what the countryside is like now? It's fragmented, large areas of farmland are abandoned, the young people from the collective farms have all left, and infrastructure construction has almost completely stopped."

He was a tax policeman. In order to collect taxes, he traveled almost all over Russia, where deforestation was more severe in the countryside than in the cities.

“Alright, Vladimir, please trust the Russians,” Wang Xiao emphasized. “Please trust your compatriots. I feel you have a misconception that Russians are incapable of supporting themselves on the land. Dacha can grow crops well, but farmland can’t? How is that possible?”

She genuinely felt that Russian bureaucrats were somewhat contradictory in their thinking.

On the one hand, they blamed the economic collapse on the Soviet regime and believed that the people were innocent; on the other hand, they distrusted Russians who grew up in the Soviet Union, believing that the latter were equally incompetent.

It seems that apart from themselves, no one else can do it.

In fact, the worst performers were clearly themselves.

Wang Xiao wanted to sigh: "Believe in them. It's almost impossible for them to get rich by farming, but they can support themselves and their families with the land. The country only needs to maintain the most basic medical and educational expenses, and they can survive."

Punonin felt she was being overly optimistic: "Wang, Russian farmers are different from Chinese farmers. Chinese farmers can go out to work, but Russia's industrial situation can't provide that many jobs. Without extra income, they won't see hope, and then things are prone to going wrong."

Wang Xiao waved his hand: "No, just don't collect any of the various levies. Let me put it this way, the reason why Chinese farmers go out to work is that after paying agricultural taxes and various levies, the income from farming is at most enough to feed themselves. If farmers don't go out to work, they won't have money to pay for their children's tuition, let alone medical expenses."

Seeing Punonin's astonished expression, she decided to go all out, "Chinese farmers suffer a lot. Let's put it this way: China hasn't yet achieved the goal of industry supporting agriculture. So, at least for now, overall, Russian farmers aren't worse off than Chinese farmers. Don't think of some things as too serious."

Ivanov nodded to Punonin: "Wang is right. I have met many farmers in China who work in factories, some local and some from other places. Some of the things they do are unbelievable to me."

The resilience of grassroots workers is incredible, and it makes one feel ashamed.

Wang Xiao sighed: "There's really no need to think so much. The worst outcome for workers' self-governance is that they become farmers. Russia is vast and sparsely populated, and capitalists are unwilling to invest in agriculture and animal husbandry. They won't engage in an enclosure movement and turn into sheep eating people. These vast and fertile black soils are the workers' last resort."

Looking at Punoning, she was filled with emotion. "There's no need to be afraid. So many people going to the countryside will cause unrest. Because land is the most important means of production for farmers, as long as there is enough land, there won't be any chaos."

There was a knock on the study door, and Lena took on the role of the young hostess, bringing in tea and snacks to serve her father and the guests.

Wang Xiao smiled as he accepted the jasmine tea she offered, and shook her hand: "Thank you, my beautiful and lovely girl."

Lena blushed and, almost without thinking, asked, "Miss Wang, what are you talking about?"

As soon as she spoke, she felt a burning sensation on her back. It was her father, it had to be him. He was silently scolding her: children shouldn't pry into adult matters.

She was so frightened that she pursed her lips and didn't dare to turn around.

Wang Xiao smiled and gently touched her cheek, saying softly, "We're talking. We're lucky; thankfully, this isn't America."

Lena was dumbfounded. What strange things was Miss Wang saying? What did she mean by "thank goodness Moscow isn't America"?

God, she and her classmates wished this place could turn into America overnight!

Wang Xiao smiled and said, "Could you please go out and ask your mother if she has prepared the secret recipe for borscht? I need the real recipe, because if it doesn't turn out right after following it, it's definitely because your mother is keeping it a secret."

Lena temporarily forgot about her strange argument, wrinkled her nose and retorted, "No, it must be because you can't cook that you made it bad."

Wang Xiao chuckled: "If your Uncle Ivan can't do it either, you can't wrong me, okay?"

Lena made a face at them: "That just means neither of you can cook."

“Alright,” Punoning urged his daughter gently, “Close the door for Dad, and remember to tell Mom about the borscht.”

Once the door was closed and her daughter's footsteps had faded away, Punonin shook his head disapprovingly at Wang Xiao: "You really shouldn't have teased Lena. She admires you and will take your words seriously."

He didn't know when it started, but his daughter had become a fan of the king. Perhaps it was the human instinct to admire strength; children always subconsciously gravitate towards those they perceive as powerful.

Wang Xiao smiled, then said seriously, "I wasn't teasing Lena; I was speaking from the heart. Thanks to the Soviet Union for cultivating a large number of versatile talents for Russia, almost everyone has their own unique skills. Teachers can also be stage directors and playwrights, and engineers and workers can also perform on stage. Farmers can also be singers. Their existence ensures that the monotonous rural life day after day is not lacking in artistic influence and nourishment, enriching everyone's spiritual life. And as long as people have food to eat and their spirits don't collapse, they can get by."

She discovered this while traveling to farms around the country with Ivan; Russia is full of artistic talent.

For them, being able to play musical instruments, perform, and sing seems to be a matter of course.

It was at that moment that she felt a sudden sadness, because she suddenly realized the significance of that statement: The Soviet Union originated from the noblest ideals of mankind.

It really works hard to take good care of its people.

Even now, when this topic comes up again, Wang Xiao can't help but sigh: "Whether you still hate the Soviet Union or not, please face up to its legacy. It is wealth, wealth that has enabled Russians to withstand harsh winters and depressions."

Before falling asleep that night, Lydia couldn't help but ask her husband again, "When is Ivan finally going to marry the king?"

Fearing her husband would be unhappy, she quickly emphasized, "I'm afraid Wang will find Ivan troublesome and one day he won't be able to stand it anymore and will dump him."

Yes, she told herself, she treated Ivan like a younger brother. Since her brother was unreliable, she definitely had to find him a reliable sister-in-law.

That's right, that's what she thought.

Lydia grew increasingly anxious as she received no answer from her husband: "Flamikil, what's wrong?"

“It’s alright,” Punonin mumbled. “She won’t dump Ivan.”

Lydia was speechless. Men are so inexplicably confident. What do you mean the king won't dump Ivan? Just because she's madly in love with him?

God, she can love him to the point of life and death, and she can also love someone else with overwhelming passion. This only shows that she has a strong capacity to love, not that she can only love one person.

But Lydia didn't know how to explain this to her husband, because it sounded like she was implying that Wang Shui was promiscuous.

But what she didn't know was that her husband didn't care at all whether Wang Xiao was faithful or not.

Just as a man doesn't care much about whether another man is chaste with his wife, because the world's standard for judging men is always social attributes > family attributes.

Just like his current wife, Punonin was afraid that Wang Xiao would leave Ivan.

By doing this, she will not only hurt poor Ivan, but also seriously damage her own relationship with her alliance.

He established his connection with Wang Xiao precisely because of their close relationship. Once the former disappears, the latter is also likely to vanish as well.

This was undoubtedly a heavy blow to his political career.

But now, he is no longer afraid.

He knew that Wang Xiao would not give up on Ivan easily again. She had already placed a huge bet on Ivan, and she would not break off her ties with him unless absolutely necessary.

This is sunk cost.

Faced with enormous sunk costs, does love still matter? No, it hasn't mattered for a long time.

Besides, who can say this isn't love?

What is love?

Punoning remembered a quote he once read: there are only two ways to express love in this world: one is to give money and resources, and the other is to personally step in and help you solve your problems.

The rest are just sweet talk and empty words to fool people.

By this standard, who dares to say that Wang doesn't deeply love Ivan? So what if they don't get married or have children?

She could give, and has already given, far more to Ivan than that.

She did business with him and made him the richest man in Russia. Good heavens, it was only then that Punonin realized how astonishing Ivan's wealth had become.

She presented him with the seat of Deputy Prime Minister of the Russian Federation.

She even helped him plan how to clean up the mess Russia was in now if he actually became deputy prime minister.

It's not a lofty slogan, but a practical and feasible solution to the predicament.

Punoning suddenly couldn't help but let out a silent, bitter laugh.

He couldn't describe the emotions churning in his chest, so he kissed his wife's forehead and softly said, "Let's go to sleep."

Before closing his eyes, he thought of Wang Xiao's words: if Lydia really couldn't adapt to the position of First Lady, then he would have to train Lena in advance.

In Western societies, when the First Lady is unable to perform her duties for various reasons, the First Lady's daughter usually takes over the position.

After all, First Lady is a title, not a specific person.

He thought that perhaps this matter should be put on the agenda as soon as possible.

Before falling asleep, he vaguely wondered if Berezovsky would be willing to let go of the deputy prime minister's matter and allow Wang to get what he wanted.

It's estimated to be difficult.

Punonin, having been through the motions of power, possesses a sensitivity to power far exceeding that of ordinary people.

In June, after the first round of elections, the president emerged victorious, defeating all other candidates and advancing smoothly to the second round. At the celebration banquet, Berezovsky presented his ideal candidate for deputy prime minister: "I propose Mr. Potanin; I believe he is suitable for the position of deputy prime minister."

Potanin came from a family of high-ranking officials in the Ministry of Foreign Trade. His frequent foreign affairs activities gave his family extensive connections and a broad perspective. He himself was jokingly referred to as an "aristocrat."

Strictly speaking, among this group of oligarchs, Potanin is indeed a suitable candidate for politics.

But Wang Xiao didn't care whether he was suitable or not. She had prepared the position of vice prime minister for Ivanov, and no matter how suitable someone else was, they would have to give way.

She shook her head without hesitation: "I disagree. My choice is Ivan."

A collective gasp filled the room, and someone's voice trembled as they exclaimed, "Ivan? Miss Wang, are you kidding me? He's only 32 years old, he... he has absolutely no experience."

Wang Xiao retorted without hesitation: "32 years old isn't 3 years old, why can't I be one? Besides, do Russian deputy prime ministers have to be in their seventies or eighties to become one? Where do you get experience if you don't do it?"

The president's daughter, Diachenko, was also somewhat surprised: "Your Majesty, why did you think of making Ivan the deputy prime minister?"

Wang Xiao replied without hesitation: "Because they will bully him."

She glanced at the oligarchs. "I can't stay in Moscow forever. Who knows what ways you'll find to bully Ivan while I'm gone? So it has to be Ivan. I won't allow him to be bullied by you."

Gasps filled the banquet hall.

Just to ensure he wouldn't be bullied, they made him the vice prime minister?

This is just ridiculous and nonsensical.

When did Russia's deputy prime minister become so worthless?

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I spent all day yesterday revising the materials. [Let me see]