Chapter 135 The Standard of the New Elite: Who's Using Whom?
There is no doubt that businesses are always trying to guess what consumers are thinking in order to precisely target their customers and make a lot of money.
Even with big data algorithms thirty years from now, it will be difficult to pinpoint the exact timing of such events (otherwise there wouldn't be so many big-budget productions that flopped); let alone in today's world where information is extremely limited, everything relies on subjective speculation.
A rollover could happen in a heartbeat.
The sanatorium originally approached the three musketeers on its own initiative.
Uh, that is, Andrei and his group.
Through various dramatic performances, the three men who were originally tied to Ivanov's rise to power now have their own names.
The purpose of this collaboration is to increase the brand awareness of realistic sex dolls, thereby creating the illusion among the middle class that "owning one is equivalent to having the quality of life of the wealthy, and living like a tycoon," thus generating a consumer impulse.
However, things took an unexpected turn.
So far, the nursing home has failed to attract any middle-class visitors.
Conversely, the newly rich were in a frenzy.
They seemed to have been injected with adrenaline or suddenly possessed, one after another publicly declaring: "Dolls are the only trustworthy companions."
In front of the camera, these guys acted more and more exaggeratedly than the last.
Even Wang Xiao found it offensive.
Andrei and his men, however, were cursing and swearing.
Without a doubt, these bastards who jumped out are just like that Armenian rich businessman—they love nothing but dolls.
They simply discovered the code to traffic.
The first person to try something new is a hero; unless followers can provide even more exciting information, the public will quickly lose interest.
However, this group of new elites cunningly chose another path: when they could not defeat their predecessors individually, they banded together and won by sheer numbers.
In fact, this tactic clearly proved effective.
At least when they flocked to the sanatorium seeking "comfort from the dolls," reporters also swarmed in, capturing the images of the nouveau riche indulging in unrestrained behavior while embracing the dolls.
The playboy's laughter and chatter constantly touched the dolls' sensitive spots, causing them to let out one delicate moan after another.
The dolls' expressions are perfect, always carrying a charming smile.
Weighing about ten pounds and only half a meter tall, the robotic waiters constantly move around the lobby, serving tea, coffee, and snacks to the guests.
They can also talk, greet guests, and have sparkling eyes.
If you touch the antennae on their heads, they will even sing, and the sound is quite pleasant.
One journalist wrote in his report:
Undoubtedly, these small robots play a role somewhere between servants and children.
Inflatable dolls, on the other hand, are companions.
In this way, it becomes a complete family structure, a family structure that matches a man's imagination.
A perpetually charming wife, children constantly running around—everything is under his control.
No one cares how the wife should always be charming, nor how the children should always be running around.
The existence of robots makes everything perfect.
Of course, many more criticisms were sharp and sarcastic.
For example, these nouveau riche are clearly just trying to attract attention and deliberately trying to get the public's eye on their own.
What eternal companionship? That's a lie. They've never been without female companions.
Then the newly rich retaliated without hesitation, emphasizing that the dolls were their soulmates.
In front of their dolls, they can completely let loose, without worrying that their family members in their arms will betray them or collude with outsiders to hurt them.
As for the media's accusations that they were just trying to attract attention, they believe they haven't done nearly enough.
On New Year's Day morning, the newly rich, yawning and crawling out of bed from around the children, staggered off to the buffet restaurant for their meal.
They can certainly choose the delivery service, where a server will bring breakfast to them.
But who would be that foolish?
No one really believes that they come to the sanatorium every day because they are obsessed with dolls, right?
What a fantastic social space! Building connections here is key.
Only a fool would eat in their room.
Large, lavishly decorated buffet restaurants, which cost a fortune, are important venues for social activities.
The outfits were designed to be understated yet luxurious and casual, but in reality, the nouveau riche were striking all sorts of poses as they carried plates of caviar, fresh organic vegetables, and imported tropical fruits.
The caviar was air-freighted from Sakhalin Island, the organic vegetables were freshly supplied by farms in the suburbs of Moscow, and the jackfruit, coconut, and dragon fruit were all genuine imports. The watermelon and strawberries were also produced in greenhouses in the suburbs.
Wang Xiao has already begun considering growing tropical fruits in greenhouses in Russia.
Because of the extreme polarization of consumption in this country.
While many ordinary people can't even afford the cheapest, sour, and small locally produced apples, the wealthy only want to enjoy the freshest imported fruits.
The local tropical greenhouse fruits were priced at a mid-to-high level, so there should be a market for them.
She dared to think this way because she had eaten wax apples grown in greenhouses in Liaoning when she was traveling there before.
Moreover, when she looked at it last time, she discovered that in the early 20th century, Russians had grown orange trees, lemon trees, pineapple trees, and palm trees in greenhouses.
That means, theoretically speaking, the greenhouses here can be used to grow tropical fruits.
If it can be grown on a large scale, it should be more profitable than growing vegetables.
Oh well, what can we do?
Since they still need to continuously invest money in oil and gas extraction, they have to find ways to increase revenue and reduce expenditure.
Just as Wang Xiao was spreading strawberry yogurt on a slice of toast, ready to enjoy it, one of the playboys chatting happily suddenly shouted, "Why don't we just start a cult of children? Children are more trustworthy than people."
Hehe, now you've finally revealed your true colors.
Wang Xiao and Ivanov exchanged a glance. They thought to themselves, "I knew it! These people are so enthusiastic, acting like they're dying over the inflatable dolls. They clearly have ulterior motives."
What they care about is still the country and their social status.
Andrei and his two companions jumped out first, gaining the upper hand.
If the latter wants to get a share of the pie, they can only make the pie bigger, hype up the doll concept, and attract more people to enter the market.
How can I describe this?
It's like a small startup with some brand recognition being picked up by big capital. With a large influx of hot money, the power held by the original founders of the startup is quickly diluted.
These newly joined elites may not be individually that strong, but once they band together and form a new force, their impact on Andrei and his companions can only be described as overwhelming.
The new generation of young people are now calling for the establishment of so-called "children's cults," which is an open and blatant exercise of power, or more specifically, a transfer of influence.
Andrei and his group could, of course, refuse.
But it doesn't matter, the latter group already has enough members, they can easily leave the three of them behind and form their own teaching team.
So even though they were seething with hatred, Andrei and the others had no choice but to swallow their anger and agree.
Of course, as pioneers, they also have unique advantages; they can occupy the position of elder in this children's cult.
As for the cult leader—
That doesn't exist.
Because this is a gathering for eating, drinking, and having fun; we don't talk about politics, only about romance.
They've simply come together because of a shared interest; what need do they have for a cult leader?
They don't need to be indoctrinated.
Wang Xiao and Ivanov exchanged another glance as they watched them talking animatedly, then buried themselves in their breakfast.
It's truly astonishing that the greatest skill of the powerful and wealthy, or rather, the upper class they represent, is their ability to lie through their teeth and make everything appear respectable.
Unfortunately, not everyone is blind.
The news of the establishment of the Doll Cult immediately caused a huge uproar in Moscow.
Even Ivanov's friends in the Baltic Sea, St. Petersburg, Siberia, and the Far East heard the news and called to inquire.
Is there some strange virus spreading in Moscow? Why are you all acting so strangely?
To actually spend one's entire life with a doll? Are you out of your mind?
Ivanov could only say that people from outside Moscow were frighteningly weak in their sensitivity to power.
It's the Moscow media who are able to grasp the key points.
The newspaper clearly stated: The Doll Cult – The Birth of a New “Style Hunter”.
What are style hunters? They can be considered the precursors to the Soviet hippies.
This concept originated in the 1950s and was themed around challenging the rigid norms of mainstream Soviet culture.
Doesn't that sound like a breath of fresh air?
But sorry, just like Ah Q was deemed unqualified to participate in the revolution, not just anyone can become a style hunter.
Its members are mainly composed of the children of the Soviet Union's political and economic elites.
After all, in the postwar 1940s and 50s, only these people could obtain information about Western music and fashion, as well as the carriers of this information—fashionable clothes and records that would not be sold in stores—through black market transactions and privileges.
The reporter quoted his predecessor's assessment: the so-called style hunters were nothing more than the children of the Soviet elites who used scarce Western clothing and music to distinguish themselves from ordinary Soviet people suffering from material shortages.
Now, outlandish costumes and rock music have been replaced by lifelike sex dolls.
These things are essentially no different; they are all expensive and beyond the reach of ordinary people.
Faced with such a statement from the reporter, Ivanov, as the operator of the sanatorium, immediately cried out that he was wronged.
He emphasized that he proactively approached the robotics institute to research and develop high-specification, lifelike sex robots, with the aim of liberating women.
After all, in his view, Russian women are heroic and great, and their value should not be reflected only in their role as male partners.
They should step out of their homes and get to work.
They should not be bound by their families because of their identity as women.
However, at the same time, as human beings, everyone has sexual needs.
In order to solve the problem of sexual deprivation caused by women leaving home to work and being separated from their partners, they came up with the idea of using realistic sex dolls as a substitute.
"In fact, this is a great undertaking," Ivanov said seriously. "Male lifelike dolls are just the first step. Next, we are developing female sex dolls. I believe that with the help of these dolls, people can devote more energy to social development."
An older reporter sternly questioned him: "Are you trying to turn the sanatorium into a brothel and become the brothel madam yourself?"
Ivanov subconsciously looked up.
Thank goodness, his partner reacted very quickly and had already provided him with the answer using a cue card.
“How could you think that?” Ivanov blinked his almond-shaped eyes, his expression extremely sincere. “Brothels are full of living, breathing people, while we’re just dolls. In fact, it’s the opposite. I’ve always been against sexual exploitation. I believe that, given a choice, heroic and great Russian women can shine in many more professions.”
Then, prompted by Wang Xiao, he went on to talk at length about the existence of sex toys, claiming they could help prevent the spread of sexually transmitted diseases.
He even talked about AIDS, a terrible disease that is currently incurable.
Prior to 1989, the spread of HIV in the former Soviet Union was mainly caused by the improper use of medical devices.
After 1991, however, its main mode of transmission became sex.
Unsafe or inappropriate sexual behavior not only damages the stability of a family, but also causes serious harm to the physical and mental health of the individuals involved and their partners.
Ivanov led the reporters on a tour of the dolls' daily care and disinfection procedures, and then took them to a sex toy store.
Here, you can find not only all kinds of sexy lingerie, but also a wide variety of sex toys, which is dazzling.
"but--"
Ivanov shrugged. "Currently, the best-selling product is condoms. This is good news for us, at least it means that people are paying more attention to safety issues."
Unfortunately, the strict reporter didn't buy it and directly complained: "That's because our supplies are extremely scarce, even condoms are in short supply."
Well, Ivanov wasn't going to dwell on such trivial matters. He quickly moved on to the next segment, advertising their newly opened sex shop in St. Petersburg.
They bought this store in St. Petersburg at the end of last year, when the Russian Federation had just begun its privatization process.
At the time, they hoped to make a big splash, because St. Petersburg's position in Russia was somewhat similar to that of Shanghai in China.
It is closer to Europe and more open.
Unfortunately, the resettlement of the store's original employees could not be resolved, and the store was forced to remain vacant for six months.
Later, the employees couldn't take it anymore and voluntarily backed out. Then, the store was renovated again in the summer and officially opened in the winter.
I don't know if it's because this store is located right next to a nightclub, but its best-selling items are all kinds of sexy lingerie.
Ahem, because that nightclub is most famous for its striptease performances that start on time every night.
Of course, Ivanov didn't need to mention these things to the reporters.
He emphasized that these toys were made by Japanese craftsmen and their teams.
Why bring up the point about Japanese craftsmen?
Firstly, Japan has a very developed X culture, and there are many Japanese adult films on the Moscow market.
Secondly, there's the Russian mentality.
Although they consider themselves a European country, they have a natural sense of superiority over Asia.
However, because Japan's economy is now highly developed, Japanese people are buying things all over the world.
Therefore, Russians also perceive Japanese goods as high-end and sophisticated.
Japanese home appliances are generally more expensive than Chinese products, and their business is quite good.
Furthermore, China does not recognize the legality of brothels, and cracking down on prostitution is a key focus of the police's work.
Since the reporter had put all these topics together for the interview, to be on the safe side, Wang Xiao chose to remain anonymous, while Ivanov stepped forward to emphasize the Japanese concept.
He went through a lot of trouble to finally complete the interview with the reporter and get him off.
Indeed, he often couldn't help but breathe a sigh of relief when he saw this gray-haired reporter board the bus.
Good heavens, he's been drained dry.
However, he still admires people who work hard.
For example, this elderly journalist couldn't even drive her car to go out for interviews because she couldn't afford gas (gas prices in Moscow had gone up), but taking the bus didn't stop her from working.
Hopefully, she will be more lenient in her writing and say some good things about them.
If she can't do it, then naturally there will be more writers to serve them.
Ivanov nodded and muttered to himself, "Actually, she's right. The Doll Cult is just a way to show off one's status."
Wang Xiao continued, "That's natural. The new elites have already formed, and they need their own social spaces, distinct from those of the old elites."
Because the old aristocracy (yes, they were the de facto aristocracy) carried too much political weight, while modern Russians basically don't talk about politics anymore, and discussing politics in public is even considered a boring and rude act.
Therefore, the places where the old aristocracy used to frequent are no longer suitable for the new aristocracy.
Although everyone knows perfectly well that the latter's wealth comes more than half from the former, times have changed, and they want to show that they are cutting ties with the former, or even kicking the former while it's down.
With all these factors combined, the children in the nursing home became their new choice.
At least the baby saw that humans treated everyone equally and wouldn't become anyone's spy, so it was safe to be held in their arms while doing business.
Their banding together in the sanatorium was tantamount to officially announcing the birth of their social class.
have to.
What else can we do now that things have come to this point?
Let's focus on providing excellent service to the newly rich.
To be fair, if the service is excellent and the customer is satisfied, these newly rich are quite generous.
They generally have a habit of tipping. When they're in a good mood, or when they want to show off their wealth, they start throwing money around, buying drinks or meals.
Buy all kinds of clothes and jewelry for your dolls.
That's right, capitalists have no bottom line.
When Wang Xiao realized that this place would become a club for the nouveau riche, she launched the concept of exclusive jewelry for dolls, including pearl necklaces, diamond bracelets and so on.
Russian women have always loved jewelry, so the newly rich accepted it well, which made the sanatoriums a fortune.
However, capitalists are never satisfied.
She exchanged a glance with Ivanov and immediately approved the launch of the club membership system.
To better serve its customers, the sanatorium only accepts members of the Doll Club.
How should this membership system be implemented? The reference version is the membership system of a Japanese golf club.
Well-informed newly rich immediately saw investment opportunities in this.
Membership is like an admission ticket, a ticket to enter the new elite class and form an effective social network.
This means that the limited memberships will be sought after in the future and have the potential to appreciate in value.
Those with quick reflexes acted without hesitation.
For businesspeople, connections are more important than all resources.
Even a penniless young man from the countryside can thrive and quickly acquire a wealth of resources as long as he can build a network of connections.
So what if a membership card is worth $5,000?
In Japan, a club membership can sell for 30 million yen, which is equivalent to 220,000 US dollars.
At this point, Moscow's newly rich are not considering the income gap between the two countries.
Even if American jeans were sold in Moscow, they wouldn't automatically lower their price just because Russians have lower incomes.
Ivanov sold 500 memberships in one go, earning $2.5 million, and his mood finally improved.
Who would have thought?
Since their sanatorium opened a little over a month ago, they have already sold more than a hundred robots.
Wow!
We've finally opened up the market! This is truly something to celebrate! Let's throw a party, pop some champagne, and have a proper celebration.
Pah!
Happy my foot.
None of the robots sold were lifelike dolls; they were all service robots that were half a meter tall.
When the first playboy expressed interest in household robots, Ivanov assumed he was simply rich and had too much money to burn.
As a result, by the time they reached the second, third, and even the 117th position, Wang Xiao's face had turned black.
When Professor Kabaev wanted to get her to invest in developing household robots, what did she say? She believed that there was no market for household robots and insisted that someone else make sex dolls instead.
And the result? To this day, not a single sex doll has been sold, but over a hundred household robots have been resold.
She didn't know how to face Professor Kabaev.
Undoubtedly, given the current wage levels in Moscow, the existence of domestic robots is more of a status symbol.
Because it is more expensive than human labor, and because it is more difficult to use than human labor, it qualifies as a luxury item and a standard feature of the nouveau riche.
Ivanov sighed, "Are our dolls destined to never sell?"
"Who said they can't be sold?" Wang Xiao gritted his teeth. "Haven't we already sold them in Japan? We'll completely open up this market later."
The consumption levels of ordinary people in Japan and ordinary people in Russia are not on the same level.
She refused to believe it.
She can bring lifelike dolls into love hotels, and she can also sell dolls to thousands of households in Japan.
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Well, the Lunar New Year is almost here, and there's a lot to do. I'll try my best to maintain a daily update of 6000+ words. Thank you to all the little angels who voted for me or watered my plants between 2024-01-31 07:02:01 and 2024-02-01 07:20:30!
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