Chapter 67 My Sister is Really Fierce (Correction): That's what smashed our signboard!

Wang Xiao called Ivanov to tell him about his idea of ​​organizing a trip to Moscow.

After all, Moscow is the most famous, and many people at the steel mill don't even know which direction Almaty, Kyiv, and the Baltic states are in.

In comparison, Moscow is still the most attractive destination for those traveling abroad.

To everyone's surprise, when Ivanov heard that they wanted to stay in Moscow for five days, he immediately burst into laughter: "That's easy, just come to the sanatorium and rest for five days."

The Soviet Union had a long history of sanatoriums, which was related to the mandatory leave mandated by national law.

In 1920, Lenin issued the decree "On the Use of Crimea to Comfort the Working People." Two years later, mandatory leave was written into law.

Since then, Soviet citizens have spent at least two weeks in sanatoriums every year.

This is a sacred and inviolable right granted to them by national law.

It truly makes modern-day office workers shed tears of envy.

Since then, sanatoriums of all sizes, architecturally beautiful and imaginative, have sprung up in every corner of the Soviet republics, offering citizens a variety of amazing treatments, from hot spring baths to electrotherapy, crude oil baths, radon flushing, and cave therapy where one can breathe clean air a thousand feet underground in salt mines.

These sanatoriums were originally only open to Soviet citizens, but isn't the Soviet Union in complete disarray right now?

Money is scarce everywhere, and everyone wants to make money.

The sanatorium, which was short of funds, also secretly started earning extra money.

“The $50 they earn for each trip they make is enough to enjoy five days of relaxation in a sanatorium. If they get bored along the way, they can wander around the city of Moscow without any problem.”

Ivanov negotiated with her, saying, "Have each of them come wearing two down jackets, and when they leave, I'll change them into two fur coats."

Doesn't this sound like Ivanov is at a huge disadvantage?

In fact, in Moscow, there are plenty of people willing to trade a tracksuit for a fur coat.

Wang Xiao bargained and asked for some more gifts with Soviet characteristics.

When people travel abroad, they should be able to produce something to prove they've been to Moscow.

Ivanov repeatedly said "OK," it was all a small matter.

Compared to the goods they brought, it was nothing.

Very good.

What an abundant resource of porters this is!

"Wang, we need to unite. Besides the steel mill, other people from the large factory area can also be brought over."

With hundreds of thousands of people, each person buying goods worth five thousand US dollars, the total volume is in the hundreds of millions of US dollars.

"Your Majesty, you are truly a genius."

Wang Xiaozhen didn't feel that he was a genius at all.

However, Ivanov's words gave her inspiration.

Since it's a welfare benefit, it's a resource. All resources can be exchanged.

If other factories want to enjoy such a good opportunity as overseas travel and health retreats, they'll have to offer some benefits in return.

Then, state-owned factories of this era basically had their own unique benefits.

This is another achievement of Dr. Chen's work.

Ms. Chen Yanqiu is completely numb.

What can she do? Besides obediently following her daughter's orders like Old Wang, what else can she do?

Wang Xiao encouraged the elderly couple, saying, "Now that you two are officials, people outside will have to think twice before trying to bully me."

Who knows what's going on in other people's lives once the door is closed?

She walks out as the daughter of the deputy director of the steel factory; everyone who sees her must praise her powerful background.

Dr. Chen stopped doing the numbing cream and mustered up his courage to stand up: "Come on, Mom will go with you."

She has to stand up.

If her daughter suffers losses or losses outside, at least she can get her money back and have a place to stay at home.

Sigh, Old Wang is already the deputy factory director, and she's going to be the future union chairman. We should get them a bigger house next year.

Her requirements weren't high; she didn't need a house as big as the factory manager's, just two times the size of what she had now would be fine.

From now on, when guests come to our house, we won't have to sleep in the living room anymore; at least we have two guest rooms.

Dr. Chen felt increasingly pleased with himself.

Hey! This official position is really suitable.

Wang Xiao silently touched her nose. She was a sure thing about being a second-generation official, because her parents clearly didn't have high expectations for life. Even though they were factory leaders, all they wanted was a bigger house.

Then go ahead and become an official without worry.

The next day, after breakfast, Wang Xiao went to the provincial government to talk to Deputy Secretary Cao about the land issue. He also brought up the overseas travel benefits as a condiment, saying, "I see that all our leading cadres are working very hard, getting up early and working late, without ever having a chance to rest. Comrade Lenin once said that those who don't know how to rest don't know how to work."

She enthusiastically suggested, "Why don't our leaders also go to Moscow for a visit and study? Our company will cover the expenses. Don't worry, it's definitely not some underhanded deal."

With his fluent Russian, Deputy Secretary Cao naturally longed to visit Moscow.

But she could only shake her head regretfully, her words ambiguous: "Never mind, thank you for your kindness. The situation is rather special right now, it's not convenient for me to go."

What was so special about it? Of course, it was the failure of the August coup in the Soviet Union, the betrayal and dissolution of the Central Committee of the Communist Party of the Soviet Union, and the fading of the red of the national flag.

Wang Xiao instantly understood and resolutely refused to persuade him any further.

Just kidding, making political mistakes is the most fatal thing for an official.

She invited government leaders to go abroad for tourism—no, I mean, for inspection. Her real purpose was to build good relations with them, not to deliberately offend anyone.

Wang Xiao smiled and said, "Then let's wait until the situation stabilizes. Really, Moscow is quite beautiful. Last time my schedule was too tight, and I didn't have a chance to explore it properly. If I have the opportunity to go with the Secretary next time, we must visit it thoroughly."

She then suggested another alternative: "Budapest is also a good option. I heard that Hungary started its reforms in the 1960s and has a lot of experience. I have a few friends there, and I'd really like to visit sometime."

Getting to Budapest is a bit of a hassle, though. There are no direct flights from China to Budapest right now, so they have to fly from the east bank of the Yangtze River to Moscow and then take a train.

Deputy Secretary Cao did not refuse outright, but simply said, "Maybe next time."

After finishing their casual conversation, the two got down to business.

There is no such thing as land auctions in the provincial capital now; what was allocated to her was a plot of land of 80 mu (approximately 5.3 hectares).

It's only about half the size of the land in Xiaozhou, but the location isn't bad; it's in the new district of the provincial capital.

Of course, this place is quite desolate right now. Looking around, there are still large tracts of farmland in the distance.

In this season, the rice has been harvested, but the wheat seedlings and rapeseed have not yet sprouted, giving it a wild and desolate feel.

It was rare for Wang Xiao to be stunned by what he saw.

Walking around 80 acres of land would make your legs thin. So Wang Xiao rode in Deputy Secretary Cao's car and saw it all the way through.

They only came down a few times along the way to carefully examine the condition of the land.

Accompanying her was an architect from the Jiangdong Provincial Architectural Design Institute.

This time, they need to have a general impression before they can submit the design draft.

Wang Xiao has decided that she will refine this design to perfection, and it will take at least six months to finalize it before she can slowly start planning the development.

Why aren't you in a hurry?

Because she was already fighting on two fronts, developing both Zhimen and Xiaozhou.

The total cost of the buildings on both sides is estimated at 1.1 billion yuan.

If she were to start working on this side as quickly as possible, then at least another 1 billion yuan would have to be invested.

To be honest, even landlords don't have surplus grain, let alone a second-generation official like her who was just brought up by herself.

From an investment perspective, the most cost-effective thing for her would have been to acquire the land, hold onto it, and wait for the land price to skyrocket before selling it.

After all, development means a continuous flow of money, and once the funding chain breaks, it will become an unfinished project.

But if you leave it lying around, it's different; it can wait dignifiedly to slowly increase its value a hundredfold.

But doing so would not align with Wang Xiao's principles. Besides, she did want to build a large shopping mall complex in the provincial capital, and she felt she could make money from it, so there was no need to leave the land barren.

Moreover, the local government allowed her to acquire land at a low price because they hoped she would develop it and drive the economic development of the area.

Since she took advantage of this, she should reciprocate with equal actions.

At most, she can do phased development: first build shopping malls, then office buildings, and finally residential development.

Look, she's so conscientious even as a real estate developer. Why build houses if you don't improve the surrounding area?

Are we supposed to expect people to spend their life savings only to end up living in the middle of nowhere, having to go to the city just to buy a bag of salt? No way, they need to have everything readily available.

"What do you think?" Deputy Secretary Cao asked for her opinion. "This is the largest plot of land right now; the rest are too remote."

To be precise, Jiangdong's current planning is also a process of trial and error.

The Jiangdong Provincial Government held no fewer than seven internal meetings to discuss the paid transfer of land use rights to foreign entities. Each time, everyone had many concerns, fearing that they would become the culprits.

After all, Xiao Zhou's recklessness doesn't mean there's no risk involved; it just means they're willing to do anything to grab investment.

This time, Jiangdong finally made up its mind because it received confirmation from Shanghai that Pudong New Area was going to transfer land use rights. The procedures have been completed and the contract will be signed next week.

That's how it is in local governance. When the higher authorities haven't issued specific instructions, everyone has to look at typical examples and advanced practices to grasp the direction of the situation and make the next decision.

Since the central government has been monitoring Pudong New Area and land has been sold off, there shouldn't be any major problems with Jiangdong selling land.

Even if they are held accountable later, they can always find excuses for themselves.

Wang Xiao nodded, without putting on airs: "It's fine, thank you for your trouble, Secretary. I'm sorry to have troubled you."

Deputy Secretary Cao smiled and said, "That's to be expected. The land transfer fee is US$2 million. A Hong Kong businessman was interested and was willing to pay 15 million. But after our collective discussion, we still prefer yours."

This isn't a lie she made up to fool people; it's the truth.

The reason why Jiangdong Province rejected him was simple: he had made his fortune in the stock market.

The provincial government felt he was unreliable and feared that he might have money to acquire land today, but would lose everything tomorrow and be unable to afford development.

Wouldn't that mean this land is going to be wasted in his hands?

Wang Xiao smiled broadly: "Then I will definitely live up to the leaders' expectations."

A price of 2 million US dollars is not high. For 80 acres of land, the value of this land will definitely increase more than 10 times in a dozen years.

However, considering national income, it could increase more than tenfold in a decade or so.

So, it seems alright.

It can only be said that, comparatively speaking, land currently has the greatest potential for preserving and increasing its value.

Seeing that she didn't haggle, Deputy Secretary Cao was quite pleased: "Which company are you planning to hire to build the house?"

Wang Xiao, quick-witted and perceptive, immediately feigned a troubled expression: "Oh dear, Secretary, I'm really worried about this. The construction company is already operating at two fronts, and they won't be able to spare any more manpower for at least a year. As for other companies, I haven't contacted them before, and I don't know much about the industry. Secretary, do you have any suitable companies to recommend in the Jiangdong area?"

"Our province's construction companies are quite good." Since the ladder was already being handed over, Secretary Cao naturally accepted it. "The Supply and Marketing Building on Huaihai Road, as well as the Jinning Hotel, were all built by the provincial construction company. They have a great reputation."

Wang Xiao readily agreed: "Okay, I'll go find them once the design is finalized."

As for when the design draft will be finalized, that's another matter.

She really needs to make some plans.

Wang Xiao arrived today in her Lada sedan, and then followed Deputy Secretary Cao's car to inspect the land.

As for the Lada sedan, sorry, I had to pick up a long-term business partner from the Jinning Grand Hotel and take him back to Jiangzhimen.

Therefore, after inspecting the site, it was Deputy Secretary Cao's car that took the architect back to the architectural design institute, and then gave Wang Xiao a ride to Jiangzhimen before returning home.

Once the initial agreement is reached, the local government should draft the contract, go through the formalities, and finally both parties should sit down and sign it. So now, this task has fallen to the government again.

She has to wait for further notice.

etc--

Wang Xiao is so desperate for a car, does he really have to be so rude?

Even if she couldn't hail a taxi, asking for a car directly from the steel mill wouldn't be a big deal for her now.

But Wang Xiao did just that, and shamelessly grinned: "Secretary, I'll hitch a ride with you today."

Deputy Secretary Cao laughed and said, "What's the big deal? One car is enough to fit them all. Driving two cars would be a waste of fuel."

Not only was she not angry, but on the contrary, she was quite happy.

Young people today certainly think differently from the older generation; they love freedom and dislike being constrained. But judging from Wang Xiao's current attitude, it's clear he's not unfamiliar with the subject.

If someone isn't close to you, why would you directly ask to ride in their car?

The architect was driven away, but the architectural design institute still needs to conduct a detailed on-site survey before they can begin planning and designing.

The car drove to Jiangzhimen again. Wang Xiao hadn't been here for almost two months, so naturally he had to check on the situation.

As the car approached the International Trade City, looking at the bustling crowd outside, she couldn't help but smile.

But when her gaze swept over the rows of stalls at the entrance of the trade city, she instantly transformed into a city management officer and couldn't help but frown.

After the car stopped, she quickly thanked Deputy Secretary Cao, then got out and went to check on the stall.

Ah, there are shops selling clothes, shoes, hats, fabrics, and even blankets, various knitwear and handicrafts, toys, fishing gear, game consoles and small household appliances—everything you could want. And of course, there's plenty of food for sale.

This is practically a mini department store.

Each stall was crowded with customers—people with blond, red, white, and black hair; people with blue, green, and black eyes; men and women; old and young; all haggling over the prices of their goods.

Because of the language barrier, many people use calculators to input numbers to indicate prices and negotiate the final transaction price.

Wang Xiao's face was as black as the bottom of a pot. She strode towards the commercial city, just as Xiang Dong came out to see off a customer. Seeing the boss's face, he quickly came over to ask with concern, "What's wrong? Is the ground bad?"

She returned to Jiangdong to acquire land, and as a high-ranking official, he certainly knew that.

Wang Xiao suppressed his anger and pointed to the stalls outside: "What's going on here?"

"Oh, them?" Xiang Dong didn't pay much attention. "With so many people coming and going here, some people started setting up stalls. Day by day, more and more people came."

After he finished speaking, he realized something was wrong and quickly explained, "Don't worry, they're just making small-scale noise, it won't affect our business."

The middlemen who frequent the Zhimen area mainly serve large customers, the kind who will order an entire planeload of goods at once.

They might buy a few melons and dates from the stalls outside, and carry them onto the passenger plane, but the cargo planes they charter are for goods from the trade city.

Wang Xiao finally couldn't hold back her anger any longer and roared at him, "Think carefully before you do anything!"

Xiang Dong was truly dumbfounded.

No, there's no reason why people shouldn't set up street stalls outside shopping malls.

Our customers are not the same group of people at all.

He further explained, "Many of the people buying things from these stalls are also local people from Jiangdong. This stall arrangement..."

Wang Xiao interrupted him directly: "Isn't the land outside our rented property? If it's ours, then it's our responsibility. How could we not take it over!"

A noisy commotion arose outside.

A red-haired, bulbous Russian man was gesturing wildly with his arms, emphasizing in Russian, "No, no."

The vendor standing opposite him grinned and shook his head, saying, "What are you talking about? Is this Russian drunk?"

Wang Xiao strode forward and asked in Russian, "What's going on?"

The Russian man, as if grasping at a straw, almost burst into tears on the spot: "No, it's not this garment."

He had his eye on a winter coat at the stall and wanted to buy 500 pieces. After paying and receiving the 500 coats, he inspected them and discovered something was wrong—the coats were of poor quality.

But when he went back to the stall owner, the owner refused to acknowledge the debt.

"This is the winter coat, this is what you were promised." The vendor's voice was louder than anyone else's, and he even yelled at Wang Xiao and the others, "Hey, don't be a Westernizer and favor the Russians."

Although the red-haired scalper couldn't understand what he was saying, he could guess that the other party was making excuses, so he could only mutter repeatedly to emphasize, "This, this is what we agreed on."

The middleman and woman next to him chimed in, "Yes, that's it. This is the one that's hanging up, not that kind."

Wang Xiao reached out and touched the winter coat he had taken out. After comparing it with the clothes he had rejected, she understood the difference.

"Call the police," she said calmly. "If it didn't come from our trade center, then we can only solve the problem by calling the police. By the way, call the Industry and Commerce Bureau. They deceived customers and sold counterfeit and shoddy goods. Let's see how they handle it."

The vendor was frightened, cursing under his breath, and tried to run away with his tricycle.

However, how could the commercial city let him escape? People had already surrounded him and blocked his way.

The vendor was both anxious and frightened, his voice cracking as he cried out, "What are you doing? You foreign compradors, are you helping foreigners bully our compatriots? You're shameless, you're so eager to worship foreign things!"

Even when the air force patrol came around, they were still subjected to indiscriminate attacks.

He only calmed down when the police station and the industry and commerce bureau arrived one after the other, and he only dared to mutter softly, no longer daring to shout curses.

Goodness, in just over ten minutes, Wang Xiao truly experienced the profound depth of the national swear words of the early 1990s.

However, she remained unmoved, simply observing the handling of the situation by the police station and the industry and commerce bureau.

If you sell substandard goods, and customers find out and want to return them because they're not satisfied, then you have to give them a refund.

The refund isn't the end of the matter; the local industry and commerce bureau will still impose a fine according to regulations.

The vendor immediately threw himself on the ground and began to cry and scream as he rolled around on the ground.

Indeed, in film and television works, it is almost always women who do this, and the standard image is that of an elderly woman from the countryside.

But in reality, there have always been plenty of men who have done this; this guy just kept rolling around.

The red-haired Russian was dumbfounded. Fearing trouble, he quickly dropped the five hundred pieces of clothing and ran away.

Ignoring the man rolling on the ground, Wang Xiao directly provided the police with a clue: "See which factory he got his clothes from; maybe he's a salesman from that factory."

The person who was rolling around stopped rolling, suddenly sprang up like a carp, and ran away.

They even abandoned the tricycle and the goods on it.

The police station and the industrial and commercial bureau were caught off guard; he actually managed to escape.

The police officer asked Wang Xiao with considerable curiosity, "How did you know? Do you know him?"

Wang Xiao shook his head and pointed to the five hundred pieces of clothing: "These have been soaked in water, and for quite a long time."

In Jiangdong, why would perfectly good clothes get soaked? Because of the summer floods.

And where exactly in Jiangdong were the flooded areas? They were mostly towns and villages.

Unfortunately, township enterprises are quite developed in Jiangdong, with many townships having established factories.

Having said all that, both the local police station and the local business administration bureau understood the situation.

This is a classic case of false advertising.

The clothes that are displayed for sale are indeed of good quality and must withstand the scrutiny of customers.

But what about the large quantities of goods they might bring out again? They might be the same goods that the township enterprises couldn't relocate in time and that were submerged in floodwaters for half a month.

My goodness, floods are so dirty! There's nothing you can't imagine that they don't contain.

Can you wear clothes that have been soaked for half a month?

No wonder it had that indescribable smell.

That makes sense. Without a factory behind it, how could they possibly produce 500 pieces of clothing all at once?

As soon as the police and industry and commerce officials arrived, a group of vendors quietly pushed their tricycles and left.

Those who got closer heard the inside story and then another group of people hurriedly ran away.

Soon, the once bustling tricycle street vendor economy was largely depleted.

Especially those selling clothes, shoes, hats, fabrics, textiles, blankets, and knitwear—most of them had already left, and the rest hung their heads, silently pretending to be quails.

The food and drink vendors, on the other hand, seemed unconcerned, still calling out to customers and occasionally craning their necks to watch the spectacle.

The staff from the Industry and Commerce Administration Bureau have already started their work, visiting each stall one by one to check the quality of the goods.

There's nothing wrong with displaying and selling them, but what about those hiding behind the scenes?

Be honest, if you get caught, you'll be fined three to five times the amount.

Previously, because this area was military territory, everyone kept to themselves and didn't interfere with each other.

But since the International Trade City took the initiative to call them and invite them over, they will definitely have to strictly supervise this place from now on.

Ha, they haven't lost enough face at home, they have to go abroad to be trampled on.

The police from the local police station also began investigating what factories were behind each of these stalls.

Confess honestly, don't cover for others.

If you don't explain, then it can only be considered your personal responsibility.

Think about it carefully, whether you can handle it all by yourself.

Wang Xiao turned to Dong's assistant and began to instruct, "Go and arrange for people to print leaflets explaining this matter. After investigation by the police and regulatory authorities, it has been found that some small vendors in the free market are indeed deceiving customers by selling inferior goods as superior ones. Please check the goods you have purchased in time, and if you find any quality problems, come back and return them immediately. Customers who have left their contact information in the trade city, please call them as soon as possible to remind them."

The assistant nodded frantically at first, then looked completely bewildered: "Return the goods? Return them to whom?"

The small vendors have all run away. Even if they haven't run away yet, getting them to admit that they sold the goods is harder than climbing to heaven.

"Return the goods to our trade city. This time it was because of our poor management, which allowed unscrupulous vendors to take advantage of the situation. But starting today, we are issuing a statement that we will not bear any responsibility for any quality problems with goods purchased outside of the trade city."

Wang Xiao's gaze finally returned to Xiang Dong's face. "How about you and the Trade City each bear half of the losses this time?"

Xiang Dong was so eager to dig a hole and bury himself in it that he quickly declared, "I'll compensate you."

Upon hearing this, the assistant quickly ran away. "Better to sacrifice a friend than myself," he thought. "If my boss is willing to take responsibility, what else is there to say?"

Wang Xiao shook his head: "No, I am responsible for this. It is because the training of senior leaders in the commercial city was inadequate and failed to change your mindset in time."

Honestly, she was furious and wanted to yell at that bastard to death.

But if you think about it calmly, which big shot hasn't done something stupid on their path to success?

Huawei's top executive is impressive, right? Yet, at the age of 44, he still got scammed in his business dealings. Not only was he fired, but he also incurred a debt of two million yuan, and that's how Huawei's story began.

Thinking about it this way, Xiang Dong is only 24 years old. He didn't even graduate from junior high school. Isn't it normal for him to struggle and stumble in the business world?

Moreover, it's not surprising that he lacks experience and his mindset hasn't changed much, as he's only been running the International Trade City in Jiangzhimen for less than a year.

Everyone needs time and pays a price to grow.

As the boss, she can't claim all the credit for herself and shift all the blame onto others when things go wrong.

“I understand your thinking. You feel that the commercial center is the commercial center and the street stalls are the street stalls. Customers can tell the difference; they are not the same thing.”

Xiang Dong remained silent, tacitly agreeing that what she said was true.

Wang Xiao continued speaking on his own: "I imagine that in your past business dealings, you were bullied and helped by others. The former told you to get lost and not allow you to set up your stall. The latter took pity on you and gave you a place so you could continue your business. You've been through the rain, and now that you have the ability, you want to help others, right?"

Xiang Dong looked up at her in surprise. He hadn't expected that Wang Xiao could actually understand what he was thinking.

He had never heard of the saying "because you've been caught in the rain, you want to hold an umbrella for others" before, but that's exactly what it means.

Only those who have been self-employed know the hardships of being self-employed. Seriously, you're treated like a dog. Even if you don't offend anyone, it's useless. If someone is unhappy, they might just kick you as they pass by.

He figured that since the area outside the commercial center was empty, there was nothing wrong with people setting up a stall and making a living there.

So when his third brother told him that when people wanted to set up a stall, he didn't chase them away.

I think it's good that everyone is getting along peacefully.

“But you’ve forgotten something, or rather, you haven’t realized it,” Wang Xiao said expressionlessly. “You think the goods in our trade center are high-end and that the goods at the street stalls are just so-so. Everyone I buy things from understands this. But, for the end consumer, all these goods have only one name: Chinese goods!”

This was a real wake-up call, and Xiang Dong's eyes widened in surprise.

Wang Xiao's voice was neither loud nor soft, and even had an eerie calmness: "The middlemen might know this, but when they sell their goods, they don't differentiate between different grades or tell their lower-level distributors whether the goods were bought from the trade market or from a street stall. Anyway, they're all from the same place, and they're all direct-from-the-market goods."

Why do I go to the trouble of setting up a commercial city? We handle the sales ourselves to ensure quality control.

Otherwise, if I rent out the stalls and control the warehouse and POS system, the stall owners will still have to obediently pay their commissions, wouldn't that save me a lot of trouble?

But we can't skip this step. I've emphasized it many times: in the Soviet Union and Eastern Europe, Chinese goods weren't without competitors. At the same price point, Turkish goods were their strong competitors.

We have no right to be arrogant, nor do we have the luxury of complacency. Even if other places don't care and just want to make quick money, treating their customers like fools, we cannot do that.

We must leverage the wide variety of goods from Huaxia Market to ensure that while the middlemen are disappointed with the quality, they are also certain of one thing: that the goods coming from our trade center are of guaranteed quality.

She spent a fortune buying airplanes and invested over a billion yuan to build a commercial city, not to make a quick buck and run away.

"Your dividends are gone this year." Wang Xiao looked at Xiang Dong. "Can you accept that?"

Xiang Dong nodded listlessly, like a frostbitten eggplant.

He wasn't heartbroken about the high dividends; in fact, he was, but he couldn't care less about that right now.

His real pain comes from feeling incompetent.

He thought that perhaps he could only be a store manager of a clothing store, selling clothes; managing a huge international trade city was already beyond his capabilities.

Wang Xiao comforted him: "You've done a good job with internal management. The key is to shift your mindset and stand firm in your position."

This is like singing the right song for the right mountain.

If she dressed up as a small-time vendor, she would definitely run to the vicinity of the commercial city and take the opportunity to do some reselling business.

Nonsense, it's good to have a powerful backer, why wouldn't she take advantage of such a good deal?

But now that she owns the trade city, she will absolutely not provide fertile ground for others to grow.

Reputation is an important part of one's career. Why should she risk her own career for someone else's success?

"Don't look at things through a filter. There are too many small vendors selling counterfeit and shoddy products; you have to face this basic fact."

People are like that; they all have a self-protective instinct. They tend to romanticize themselves and the professions they are currently or have been in, hoping that outsiders can understand the hardships and lack of understanding faced by practitioners, while intentionally or unintentionally ignoring the despicable behavior of practitioners and the dark side of this industry.

Xiang Dong was silent for a moment, then asked again, "What about the open space outside?"

In fact, there is a market only when there is demand. If the space is empty, it will not be conducive to attracting people to the commercial center.

“Turn it into a food street.” Wang Xiao showed no mercy. “I can’t control other places, but no other stalls are allowed around the commercial city.”

If this is an online platform, as the administrator, she can collect a deposit and then regulate and constrain the merchants who join. In the event of a return dispute, the deposit can be directly deducted from the deposit manager and returned to the customer.

But offline is not possible.

Outside the commercial city, in the free market, she had no way to track or monitor the transactions between the two parties, so she couldn't determine who was right and who was wrong. It was even hard to say whether the transaction had even occurred.

Let's solve the problem in a simple and direct way.

Wang Xiao returned to her office and started making phone calls in front of Xiang Dong.

Who should I call? The military.

Selling snacks at a stall is very profitable, and she plans to donate this enormous fortune to the Air Force to strengthen ties between the two sides.

There are still some military dependents who are unemployed, so they can come and set up stalls to sell snacks.

Are there any military dependents from Northeast China? Do they know how to make Northeast street food?

Because of geographical proximity, Russians tend to be more accepting of Northeastern Chinese food.

Of course, it's okay if you don't have it.

Now, nearby villagers are also the main consumers of snacks.

Besides family-run restaurants, many villagers in the vicinity now buy food directly from outside the area once they earn money.

Their spending power is also considerable.

Yes, and the citizens who come to Jiangzhimen to watch the excitement also love to patronize the food stalls.

How is the stall fee calculated? It's 500 yuan per month.

The main purpose was actually to express our gratitude to our military for their continued care and support for our international trade city and airport.

Without the support of the military, our work would not be able to proceed.

What are pilots like?

As expected of an Air Force pilot, his skill level is beyond question.

The Soviet pilots also praised the excellent cooperation between the two sides. They expressed their hope to further strengthen this cooperation.

After finishing his phone call, Wang Xiao casually instructed Xiang Dong, "You can tell those small vendors that if their factories cooperate with the return of goods, then there will still be opportunities for cooperation in the future. If they don't cooperate, then sorry, they'll be blacklisted. There will be no future for them. Let them weigh whether they want to lose more than they gain."

Xiang Dong gritted his teeth and made up his mind: "Don't worry, I will definitely recover the losses of our commercial city."

Third Brother definitely knows where to find those people.

If they don't compensate for this, Third Brother will have to pay it out of his own pocket.

This time, he would not be soft-hearted.

Wang Xiao glanced at him and said meaningfully, "In the process of growing up, you will always meet different people. When you reach a certain point, you have to filter your friends and family. Not everyone can walk with you all the way. If you don't make this tough decision, you'll be dragged down by bad luck later on."

She tapped the table with her hand. "This matter cannot be delayed; it must be dealt with immediately."

As she spoke, she picked up the phone again and began dialing the newspaper's number: "Oh, Ms. Zhu, it's been a long time. I just returned from Xiaozhou and brought you some local specialties. Nothing special, just lotus root starch. I've been drinking it for two months and feel much better."

Oh dear, yes, yes, a whole bunch of things have happened. I just arrived at the trade city and this is already happening. ...Tell me, what are these people thinking? They're only concerned with the immediate problems and not the long-term consequences.

Fortunately, our public security bureau and the industrial and commercial administration bureau have both been mobilized to investigate this matter.

"You want to come and interview us? No problem, no problem, you're welcome. We need your media power to deter these scoundrels and troublemakers. They definitely need to be arrested; they'll be fined and thrown in jail, and they'll be the ones who suffer."

When Deputy Secretary Cao got his hands on the latest newspaper and saw this news, he couldn't help but laugh: "This Wang Xiao is really something else."

Her secretary glanced at the news and exclaimed in surprise, "Oh my, I didn't expect her to be like this. I thought she had already finished by recalling those substandard goods under the name of the International Trade City. I didn't expect her to expose her own dirty laundry and even call the reporters over."

He really didn't know that.

Because after he followed Deputy Secretary Cao to drop off Wang Xiao yesterday, he secretly stayed at Jiangzhimen for a while, witnessed her handling of the dispute, and even learned through inside information that she simply rented the open space at the entrance of the commercial city back to the army to set up a snack stall.

The fact that they contacted reporters or something must have happened later, something they didn't see.

“Crisis management, Miss PR.” Deputy Secretary Cao laughed as he tapped the newspaper. “This news has to be published. Hiding it will only cause trouble. The fact that she paid for it shows her responsibility. She has to let her clients know that she has this responsibility. If competitors attack her or the goods in the International Trade City in the future, she will have to provide evidence to prove it.”

As she spoke, her smile deepened. "Young people these days, they're really quick-witted."

The secretary nodded: "Yes, this woman is indeed a capable person. There's a Sun Chao in Anqing who's very good at private trade, like Sun Wukong. I think this Wang Xiao is even more capable than her. She's truly a woman who doesn't yield to men. The younger generation surpasses the older generation."

Deputy Secretary Cao sighed, "Compared to her, our factory is really disappointing."

She had always wanted the International Trade City near Jiangzhimen to stop sourcing goods from Jiangbei and instead sell only products from factories in Jiangdong Province.

They didn't respond at that time.

Looking back now, perhaps they had already anticipated the nature of those small factories and knew they would try to switch things out.

So I simply don't touch it at all.

No wonder the higher-ups want to separate government and business, letting professionals do what they're good at. When it comes to doing business, business people understand business people best.

The secretary is still considering how to respond, such as strengthening the supervision of township enterprises.

It's not surprising that these factories do this. Township and village enterprises belong to the collective economy and are basically self-sufficient in terms of profits and losses. In most cases, they have nothing to do with receiving financial support from higher authorities.

They will naturally have to absorb the losses caused by this flood themselves.

It's highly unusual that they'd be reluctant to accept something that's been invested so much money.

But one thing is one thing, and the next is the critical period for post-disaster reconstruction and production recovery. You can't afford to ruin your reputation.

Before the secretary could finish writing her little essay in her mind or even utter a word, Deputy Secretary Cao laughed to himself: "She really is a formidable character."

Who is it?

Since the leader didn't say it directly, the secretary could only guess.

It's probably about Wang Xiao.

That's absolutely right, she's really amazing for such a young age.

The contract went to the meeting today, so let's sign it as soon as possible.

————————

The land transfer mentioned in the article.

1991: Pudong New Area transferred land use rights to an external entity for the first time.

SHANGHAI, Nov. 5 (Xinhua) -- An agreement was signed yesterday for the first time in Pudong New Area to transfer land use rights to external parties for compensation. This marks a new step forward in the development of Pudong.

This land use right transfer contract was signed by the Shanghai Municipal Land Administration Bureau, Newsway (International) Limited (Hong Kong), and the Shanghai branch of China Real Estate Development Corporation. The land area for which the land use right is transferred is 5,270 square meters, and the term of use is 50 years.

It is understood that following this paid transfer of land use rights to foreign entities, Lujiazui, Jinqiao, Waigaoqiao, and Pudong New Area will successively transfer land use rights to foreign entities. Industrial land in the Jinqiao Export Processing Zone has already been reserved by foreign-invested enterprises and domestic enterprises.

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