Chapter 151 The White Swan...
When the Ego Company announced the sale of the Udnev to the Macau Entertainment Company, everyone had a feeling of "I knew it."
This is not surprising. After all, the aircraft carrier's unauthorized entry into the port of China caused huge economic losses. It wouldn't be unreasonable for China to directly seize the Udnev to pay off the debt, let alone the fact that they are willing to pay money.
The final sale price announced by Eguo Company was US$35 million, which included the principal, capital costs, and a reasonable profit of 5%. It can be said that not only did they not lose money, but they also made a small profit. Everyone who saw this would praise Old Zhong for his benevolence.
However, for the Eguo Company, a profit of only five million US dollars was a huge loss. After half a year of hard work, it was all for nothing.
At the press conference, the person in charge from Emei did not appear at all. The spokesperson, who was brought in at the last minute, awkwardly explained to the partners and reporters that Ms. He, the person in charge, had unfortunately been experiencing symptoms of illness...
The head of the Haojiang Company on stage wore an understanding business smile, while the well-informed reporters below whispered among themselves.
"Feeling unwell? She really picked the perfect time. Of all times to get sick, she had to fall ill right during the press conference..."
“I heard that Ms. He has stepped down. She was the one who made the decision to dock and anchor. The boss behind the scenes was very angry and took back her power. She is no longer the white glove.”
"A wise decision! I've long suspected that He is a Chinese woman and deliberately sent the aircraft carrier into a Chinese port."
“You’re right. If she wanted to, she could have gotten herself a few foreign passports long ago, but she didn’t. Doesn’t that say something?”
"I heard that the Federal Security Service of Eros had its eye on this company, but fortunately, they cut ties in time and preserved their pure Eros heritage."
Now, it's the late 1990s, and the frenzy of dividing up the League's legacy is coming to an end, just like the career of the alcoholic former president, Ye Mouqin.
To avoid the traditional practice of being purged upon stepping down, Ye Mouqin and his political faction sought a new successor, and they selected an unemployed KGB agent and taxi driver.
That's why the Russian taxi industry is full of talented people. Whether it's an oligarch or a president, they all have to drive for a few years to master the skills and get a firm grip on the wheel before they can steer their lives in order. Only decisive measures can bring the runaway state machinery back onto the right track.
In the plans of the next tough president, Mosk's new order does not intend to leave a place for foreigners. Even multinational giants will have to adapt to local customs and drink vodka when they come to Russia.
The era of unbridled growth is over.
Shortly after the aircraft carrier sale was finalized, He Changyi quietly transferred all of his shares in Eguo Company, including Friendship Store, Scrap Steel Trading Company, Far Eastern Development Bank, Irbuyat Oil Company, Poplar Fund and its affiliated factories and mines, with a total value exceeding one billion US dollars.
The transferee is a little-known small company. Its only special feature is that it is registered in the Cayman Islands, a well-known tax haven with no foreign exchange controls, low compliance requirements, and a high degree of confidentiality regarding its shareholders and shareholding ratios.
It is widely believed that the actual controller of this offshore company is Alexei, an Emirati, who, after He Changyi, has introduced a new front man—Mikhail, also an Emirati, whose previous job was in the KGB.
From then on, the Chinese background of these companies was completely erased, and they became completely "one of their own" in Emei.
He Changyi, on the other hand, disappeared from the public eye.
Are you leaving?
In the airport parking lot, the man in the driver's seat stared straight ahead, his fingers tapping silently and irregularly on the steering wheel.
Sunlight streamed in through the side window, casting a soft glow on his face, making his hair shimmer with a molten gold sheen, and his eyes a deep, dark blue.
Cars came and went in the parking lot, and people outside the cars parted and reunited; the people inside the cars finally turned their heads to look at the woman in the passenger seat.
Will you come back?
He Changyi raised her hand and gently placed it on the back of the man's hand, but he immediately grabbed it tightly in return.
"Andrei".
Her voice was cheerful as she said lightly, "Of course I'm coming back. That's the business I've built up with so much effort, how could I possibly give it up? This is just a temporary retreat. The media has been exposing me far too much; I need to cool things down, at least to stop them from being so interested in me. Heaven knows, I don't want to be targeted by your KGB, and I certainly don't want to be targeted by the tax authorities. Let me happily hide behind the scenes and be a powerful shadow boss."
Andrei lowered his eyes and abruptly reminded him, "Alexei."
He Changyi stepped back into the background, but someone always had to be in the spotlight. Alexei was originally the white glove of the white glove, and now that the first layer of glove was removed, he naturally stepped to the front.
However, no one knew that this nominal boss only had nominal control over all the companies, did not hold any shares, and did not hold any real positions, even though everyone thought that he had registered that mysterious offshore company.
He Changyi used one finger to lift Andrei's chin, and he raised his head following her touch. Although he had no expression, you could still tell that he was unhappy.
He Changyi couldn't help but laugh: "Don't say that, I believe in Alexei."
Andrei looked even more unhappy.
He Changyi continued, "I believe him, just as I believe you."
"No."
Andrei stubbornly corrected him: "You shouldn't trust a mafia member; you should trust me more."
He Changyi smiled again, her eyebrows curving upwards.
“Alright, alright, I do believe you. I believe you will stand by my side, you will watch over Alexei for me, and you will not let anyone take my family business away…”
Andrei gave a slight smile and nodded reservedly: "That's true."
He added, "That's why you should trust me more, instead of some %&*￥#..."
He spoke the rest of his words in the local dialect of Ego, his voice growing softer and softer until it was almost inaudible.
This was completely different from Andrei's usual appearance, as if the Happy Prince had jumped off the sculpture platform, grabbed a spiked club, and chased away the bizarre tourists who not only wanted to pry off the gemstones but also carve "I was here" on him.
He Changyi felt a tenderness in her heart, and the more she looked at Andre, the cuter he seemed. She couldn't help but ruffle his blond hair. The police officer hurriedly tried to protect his carefully styled hair, but stopped when he heard her say something.
"Don't worry, I'll be back, I promise you."
Andrei stared at He Changyi for a long time, his blue eyes like the surface of the sea rippled by a gentle breeze.
"No, it's not just about coming back."
Andrei said softly, "Please come back to me."
The two looked at each other, and He Changyi slowly smiled, her eyes softening completely, her usual toughness and mockery gone.
"good."
She uttered only one word, yet it sounded like a promise.
The lively little deer from the forest that had been in the train station years ago finally leaped in front of him.
The atmosphere was just right, but someone, oblivious to the situation, insisted on interfering and spoiling the fun.
"Hey, you gray-haired pimp, are you trying to make her miss her flight?"
Outside the car, Alexei slapped the hood twice to attract the attention of the two people inside. He then yanked open the passenger door, signaling He Changyi to get out.
"There's nothing to talk about. You should go."
He Changyi readily agreed and got off the car. Before parting, he said to Andrei, "There's no need to see me off at the airport. It's too crowded and dangerous inside."
Andrei simply nodded silently, but as He Changyi turned his gaze away, he glared at Alexei with a sharp look.
Alexei chuckled, picked up He Changyi's suitcase with one hand, and shielded her back with the other, swaggering towards the terminal.
Andrei: ...
Sometimes he also wanted to do things that lacked both procedural and substantive justice.
"I will never understand why you would have anything to say to the police, ha, Oros police."
Alexei told an old joke: "If you line up all the Oroqen police and shoot them all, there might be innocent people; but if you shoot every other one, there will definitely be some who escape—which one do you think that blond kid is?"
He Changyi: "I do not recommend execution. According to your Slavic tradition, they should all be exiled to the Arctic Circle to play wilderness survival, or banished to Siberia to grow potatoes. Those who survive six exiles should be directly elected as President of Russia."
Alexei: ...
Alexei sincerely remarked, "Sometimes I feel you know a little too much."
He Changyi winked at him happily: "You know, our Zhongguo has always loved compiling history books. Whether it's our own history or the history of our neighbors, even if you forget it, we will still remember it. No one knows history better than us."
Alexei muttered, "That sounds even more unsettling."
He Changyi offered a perfunctory reassurance: "Don't worry, if you ever forget the glory of the alliance, you can always look for it in Zhongguo's history books."
Alexei: "...Then I'd rather go to the cemetery; tombstones are proof of history."
Both of them were tall and had long legs, so they quickly arrived at the security checkpoint. Alexei handed the suitcase to He Changyi; he could only take it this far.
"Alright, you can go now. Don't forget to come back early."
Alexei chuckled and threatened, "If you come back too late, I'll swallow your last penny in Oros."
He Changyi calmly said, "You can't do it. Andrei is watching you."
Alexei: ...
Alexei asked sincerely, "Why did you believe that corrupt cop? Was it just because he had blond hair?"
He Changyi pondered, "Perhaps... he has a noble ideal?"
Alexei frowned: "Noble? Ideal? I haven't heard those two words since I graduated from high school."
He Changyi patted his arm and offered a rare, heartfelt word of comfort: "Don't be ashamed. In some ways, you and Andrei are quite similar."
Alexei looked as if someone had shoved a lump of pickled auk into his mouth.
As the flight was about to take off, He Changyi took the suitcase from Alexei, thought for a moment, then let go of the handle and suddenly hugged him.
Alexei's expression softened, and his eyes showed an unprecedented tenderness.
This is his girl.
He was a cunning, greedy, sharp-tongued, and ruthless bad girl.
He only likes bad girls.
As Alexei slowly raised his arms, wanting to hug He Changyi back, she buried her face in his chest and said in a muffled voice:
"If you dare touch my money, remember to keep one eye open when you sleep tonight."
Alexei pushed He Changyi away expressionlessly: "Your flight is going to be delayed."
—Actually, it's not like I absolutely have to like this bad girl... right?
As Alexei walked out of the airport, he saw the black Volga sedan still parked in the distance. Andrei, dressed in a trench coat and sunglasses, stood beside the car and looked over indifferently.
With a deafening roar of its engines, a plane soared into the sky, heading southwest.
Alexei and Andrei looked up simultaneously, watching the passenger plane disappear into the depths of the clouds until it was no longer visible. Then, the two men got into their respective cars and drove off on their separate routes.
When the passenger plane landed again, it was at the Ukrainian capital airport.
Lermontov and Xie Xuejun, who had arrived earlier, were there to pick her up. He Changyi, dressed casually, hurriedly got into the car. Only after the car drove away from the airport did she take off her hat and sunglasses and ask:
"Is Factory Director Ivanov still unwilling to sell the blueprints?"
Xie Xuejun, sitting in the front passenger seat, said, "Yes, the old gentleman is very firm. Unless you come in person, there's no point in discussing the blueprints."
Lermontov complained, "He's such a stubborn old man! The Udnev has already been sold; do you think they can build another aircraft carrier just by keeping those blueprints?"
The Udnev was designed by the Vane Design Bureau of the Union. After the Union dissolved, the design drawings remained in Oros, while the construction drawings remained in Usak. He Changyi wanted to purchase precisely the construction drawings stored at the Usak shipyard.
After listening to the two bodyguards, He Changyi showed no expression and simply said, "Make an appointment with Factory Director Ivanov for me tomorrow."
She was also curious as to why this retired shipyard director insisted on meeting her before agreeing to sell the aircraft carrier blueprints.
The Ukrainian shipyard, which I haven't visited in a long time.
After the Udnev was sold, the shipyard seemed to decline further, with few young people seen on the streets and mostly older workers.
The dock where the aircraft carrier used to be moored is now empty, and the flocks of seagulls have disappeared. Occasionally, a few seagulls can be seen landing on the fence.
Factory director Ivanov was waiting for He Changyi at the dock.
Despite having retired for many years, Ivanov remains the shipyard's most prestigious and respected former director, wielding significant influence over the shipyard.
It can be said that if it weren't for Director Ivanov's tacit approval, He Changyi would not have been able to snatch the Udnev from Xu Shaobo.
"Long time no see, Jong-kook, you've successfully fooled the whole world."
Factory Director Ivanov's opening remarks were quite astonishing, but He Changyi remained unfazed and smiled, saying, "You're joking. How could I possibly have the ability to deceive the whole world? I'm just an unlucky small businessman who originally wanted to make some money selling scrap steel, but ended up almost going bankrupt."
Factory director Ivanov shook his head and said seriously, "You can fool the world, but you can't fool me. From the first time you came to the shipyard, I knew you wouldn't dismantle our Udnev."
He Changyi raised an eyebrow in confusion. Factory Director Ivanov said, "A businessman who wants scrap steel won't care whether the aircraft carrier is intact or not, much less the four main engines under the seventh deck."
He Changyi: "...I'm only interested in aluminum alloys, after all, they're very expensive, I'm a businessman!"
When He Changyi met Ivanov's knowing gaze, he stopped making things up and shrugged.
"In short, I just want to buy scrap steel. The shipyard initially announced that it would sell the Udnev as scrap steel."
Factory Director Ivanov stopped pressing the issue and, unusually, smiled: "I'm very happy."
He suffers from severe rheumatism and has difficulty moving around. He walks slowly along the dock with a cane, and He Changyi walks beside him.
The empty dock was filled only with the sound of the waves.
"I built the Udnev with my own hands. From the earliest design concept to the final semi-finished product, I participated in every stage of its birth. It is my child."
He Changyi remained silent, listening quietly as the old man recounted his story.
“But my child is going to die. Everyone was very sad on the day the work was stopped, but we still had hope. We always thought that there would be a chance to resume work later. Therefore, we were extra careful when storing the equipment on the ship, for fear that it would be corroded by the sea wind. But we never got to see the day when work resumed. And in order to make a living, we even opened the Pandora's box of dismantling the Udnev with our own hands.”
Factory Director Ivanov paused, as if this past was difficult for him to talk about, and said very quickly: "Because I agreed to dismantle some of the aircraft carrier's equipment for merchant ship orders, people later discovered that the aircraft carrier was a treasure trove. Thieves came day and night, cutting all the cables they could find and taking away all the movable equipment. Except for the main engines and boilers that could not be dismantled, the Udnev was hollowed out."
Factory Director Ivanov suddenly stopped, panting heavily.
"We destroyed the Udnev."
He Changyi gently comforted them, "No, no, there's no reason to blame people who are hungry and cold. The Udnev is important, but survival is more important."
Factory director Ivanov fell silent, and after a while, he slowly started walking again, leaning on his cane.
"With the alliance gone, we can no longer build an aircraft carrier, but China can. You will be stronger than us and better able to resist the United States. Perhaps one day, you will be able to make the Udnev truly sail the seas."
He Changyi did not ask Director Ivanov how he determined that she was buying the aircraft carrier for Zhong Guo. Perhaps for an elderly man in his sixties, he had experienced too much, which allowed him to break through the fog and get straight to the core of the problem.
"I'll have them sell you the blueprints."
Factory Director Ivanov suddenly turned around and winked at He Changyi like a mischievous old man.
"But you have to give us a good price. The shipyard has too many people to support, and unfortunately, there's less and less to sell these days."
He Changyi blurted out, "Aren't there spare parts for the Udnev?"
Factory manager Ivanov was taken aback, then burst into laughter: "You cunning girl, did you turn into a rat and sneak into our warehouse?!"
He Changyi laughed as well: "As you said, there is a lot to do to complete the construction of an aircraft carrier."
Factory manager Ivanov shook his head repeatedly: "You've already tricked all our shipyard's engineers and senior technicians into coming to China. Now you've bought up all the blueprints and spare parts. I can't think of anything else you need."
"You. We need you."
Factory Director Ivanov looked incredulous, while He Changyi said with a smile, "To complete the Udnev, how can we do without the person who knows it best?"
She took a step back and said solemnly, "Director Ivanov, I formally invite you to join the Udnev aircraft carrier construction project. We need real Bolsheviks."
Factory Director Ivanov's lips trembled, his voice a mixture of laughter and tears: "No, no, it's too late, I'm too old, I'm already too old..."
He Changyi said gently, “Perhaps the body will wear out with time, but knowledge and experience will remain ever new. Join us, just as you used to tell the workers, ‘Every time you strike a hammer, you strike the American’s head; every time you tighten a screw, you unscrew the American’s head off.’”
"Director Ivanov, please join our ranks, for the sake of the Internasonnar."
Factory Director Ivanov finally smiled, his aged eyes filled with tears.
Then he threw away his cane, raised his right hand, clenched his fist, and shouted, "That's it! That's how it should be! Every hammer blow is a blow to the American head! Every screw tightened is a screwing the American head off!"
Following this meeting, He Changyi purchased the complete set of blueprints for the Udnev from the shipyard for four million US dollars.
Incidentally, she also bought out all the spare parts in the warehouse, as well as the equipment that was salvaged from the aircraft carrier back then, and packed them all up and sent them back to Jong-guk.
Besides that, there was an unexpected bonus to the trip – the factory director, Ivanov, and the engineers and technicians he recommended who had been overlooked when poaching talent earlier.
With a wave of his hand, He Changyi chartered an entire plane, equipped with a professional medical crew, to safely and comfortably transport this group of highly qualified individuals, whose average age was over sixty, to Zhongguo.
He Changyi was very grateful to the Ukrainian government for this.
If the government hadn't been so preoccupied with political infighting and vying for votes that no one cared about the increasingly impoverished lives of ordinary people, she wouldn't have been able to bring these experts to China so easily. If the Ukrainian government had been any more humane, she would have had to work much harder to undermine them.
It is also thanks to the Ukrainian government's complete rejection of the Union and the toppling of statues and monuments to great figures that some of the older generation from the Union era have become utterly disheartened.
However, Factory Director Ivanov did not board the special plane bound for Zhongguo.
The old man, leaning on his cane, led He Changyi to an old, dilapidated Khrushchev building.
The exterior walls of the building were covered with graffiti about freedom and democracy. In the corner, there were a few leaflets that hadn't been completely torn off. One of them called on people to vote for a certain oligarch in his presidential campaign, while the other demanded that the oligarch president step down.
A few local young men, looking rather sleazy, emerged from the building. They stared at He Changyi with malicious intent, spat on the ground, and said contemptuously, "Chinese, ***..."
He Changyi gave a friendly smile: "What did you say? I didn't hear you clearly."
The young people burst into laughter, some pretending to pull down their zippers as if that thing could scare someone; others made faces at her while squinting their eyes.
Someone even tried to pull at He Changyi's clothes, saying, "Let me see if your genitals are yellow..."
Before his fingers could even touch He Changyi's clothes, a heavy punch struck him from below in the chin, knocking him to the ground.
He Changyi stretched her wrists, feeling a rare sense of relief. She knew that since she had taken on bodyguards, she had never had the chance to fight back.
"White trash, you are the inferior ones."
Enraged, the local young men exchanged glances and simultaneously lunged at He Changyi!
He Changyi usually sparred with experts like Xie Xuejun and Nikolai, and any occasional openings she made were deliberate bait. Now, however, everyone she was facing was wide open, with too many weaknesses, making it difficult for her to choose.
However, He Changyi quickly finished making her choice.
Left hook, right hook, whip kick, elbow strike, straight punch... In less than a minute, the ground was filled with guys clutching their wounds and howling in pain.
He Changyi twisted his wrist and said unhappily, "Is that all? Bullying the weak? If word gets out, how will I survive in the martial arts world?"
However, in a blind spot, a young man slowly grabbed a brick, suddenly sprang up, and pounced on He Changyi!
"Bang!"
The young man crashed heavily into the wall, and the bricks fell to the ground.
Xie Xuejun withdrew his leg, and Lermontov reluctantly put the unused gun back into his pouch: "You should have left it to me!"
Another young man lying on the ground yelled, "You cheated!"
He Changyi scoffed, "You have bodyguards but you don't use them? Do you think I'm as stupid as you?"
Local young people: ...
Factory director Ivanov shook his head, pursed his lips, and said, "A bunch of young idiots, Uzbekistan is doomed."
He Changyi dusted off his hands and followed Factory Director Ivanov into the Khrushchev Building, leaving two bodyguards behind to clean up the scene.
"This is Maxina, an engineer at the Potulev Design Bureau."
In a small house filled with the aroma of books, Factory Director Ivanov solemnly introduced the owner of the house to He Changyi.
"She participated in the design of the TU-160."
The gray-haired female engineer smiled and nodded in acknowledgment. He Changyi glanced at Factory Director Ivanov, then at the creator of the "White Swan" before him, and said with a rare hesitation:
"You mean..."
Engineer Maxina asked with a smile, "Ms. He, I heard that you have recruited many engineers and technicians at the shipyard. I wonder if you are also interested in aircraft manufacturing? For example, the TU-160."
He Changyi took a deep breath and said decisively, "Of course!"
The TU-160, nicknamed the White Swan, is the largest, fastest, and most beautiful strategic bomber manufactured by the Allied Powers. No other bomber in the world can compare with it, making it a pinnacle of aircraft design.
Unfortunately, after the alliance disintegrated, nineteen of the twenty-five White Swans were assigned to Uzbekistan.
Adhering to the principle of inaction, the Ukrainian government neither uses its own equipment nor allows others to use it, and under the guise of nuclear disarmament, has forcibly dismantled the vast majority of TU-160s, except for those left for museum exhibition.
The excavator brutally severed the nose of the TU-160; it was a bloodless massacre.
After the alliance dissolved, Potulev Design Bureau also suffered from insufficient funds and was unable to pay salaries. Many engineers were forced to leave in order to make a living, and it was never able to replicate the glory of the alliance era.
Some retired engineers, frail and unable to make a living after losing their pensions, included a friend of Factory Director Ivanov. When he decided to pursue a second career in China, he immediately thought of these struggling old friends.
"Welcome, Jong-kook!"
He Changyi grabbed Ms. Maxina's hand and stammered, "No matter how many people there are, no matter how old they are, we warmly welcome them! Oh, right, about the treatment, and the treatment..."
Ms. Maxina gently interrupted her.
“For people our age, salary is no longer the most important thing. What we care more about is whether we can pass on all the knowledge we have learned in our lives before we go to meet Marx. I don’t want to go to my grave with regrets.”
He Changyi immediately said, "Don't worry, Zhong Guo has the best students! They're thirsty for knowledge! You can even whip them with a pointer! Whip them as much as you want!"
Ms. Maxina and Factory Director Ivanov couldn't help but laugh.
"Then I had no choice but to pour out everything in my head. It's unbelievable that after thirty years, I actually have a second chance to be a teacher in Jong-kook."
Ms. Maxina exclaimed, "You've developed so well now! The students have surpassed the teachers. Now it's our turn to learn from you!"
The two sides had a very pleasant conversation and were still talking even as it got dark, but Ms. Maxina took the initiative to end the topic.
“The city isn’t very safe at night, my girl. Even if you have a dozen bodyguards, you can’t protect yourself from sniper shots in the dark all the time. You have to be more careful. We have a lot of time ahead of us.”
He Changyi held Ms. Maxina's hand reluctantly, saying, "I'll come again tomorrow, please wait for me, please wait for me..."
Before parting, Ms. Maxina hugged He Changyi and whispered in her ear:
"Would you like to see the heart of a swan?"
In a remote, long-abandoned old warehouse, He Changyi saw the engine of the TU-160, a survivor rescued from the massacre.
The ladies of the Maxina family have preserved the engine in excellent condition; there is not a trace of rust, and after removing the top dust cover, there is not a speck of dust inside.
He Changyi slowly stepped forward and gently touched the long-dormant heart.
Although all she could see was an engine, she seemed to see the white swan that had once soared through the sky, elegant and aloof.
"I'll take you home."
Swans belong in the sky, not in dark, old warehouses.
Not long after, Zhongguo Customs.
"What is this? Scrap steel? Do you even have scrap steel like this?"
Customs officers pointed a sharp, loud bang at the engine of the TU-160. This thing didn't look like scrap metal at all!
Who uses specially made temperature-controlled and shock-absorbing material to pack scrap steel?!
The cost of these materials is way higher than the money you'd get from selling them as scrap steel!
"Of course it's scrap steel."
He Changyi said with a smile, "After all, I'm just an ordinary small-time trader."
Customs officer: ...
There must be one of them who has a serious misunderstanding of the meaning of "ordinary"!
As the 1990s drew to a close, looking back from the turn of the century, He Changyi was surprised to find that she had completely broken free from the shadow of the original book and created a new world that belonged to her alone.
In this new world, she has family, friends, a career, endless wealth, and a true lover.
She was once Yang Daniu, then Yan Zhengyue, but always He Changyi.
Having broken free from the shackles imposed by fate, she will finally be free.
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Author's Note: That concludes the main story. What follows is a side story; feel free to suggest anything you'd like to see in the comments!
Seven days after the series concludes, a free bonus episode will be released, featuring the "what if" scenarios for the three male guests.
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