Chapter 194 Don't Cause Me Trouble: Everyone Gets What They Need
Inside the makeshift house made from a shipping container, Douglas roared, "I've been tricked, that damned woman!"
Ha! Now you're spouting this nonsense. When you were luring that girl into bed, why didn't you say she was setting you up?
Douglas felt a chill run down his spine when he saw her frosty expression: "Miss Wang, you have to trust me. Just because you're both women doesn't mean you should unconditionally side with her. You need to understand that these scheming poor people will use every despicable means to climb the social ladder. She came to you and cried to you because she wanted to take advantage of your kindness."
The door opened, and the sound of sobbing came from the next room.
Lyuba came in and stated the demands of the North Korean mother and daughter: "She wants to marry Mr. Douglas."
"No!" Douglas's face turned ashen. "That's wishful thinking. She's insane, and I'm not going to go crazy with her!"
Ivanov, equally annoyed, glared at him fiercely: "What are you yelling about? How could you do something so stupid? You actually got her pregnant!"
Wang Xiao pressed down, feeling a throbbing pain in her head: "Don't argue, and don't call her crazy. Different cultural backgrounds lead to completely different views on sex. She's North Korean and received a traditional North Korean education, so it's normal for her to think this way."
Douglas didn't accept this at all, instead sneering, "Oh, so in her opinion, sleeping with a man is such a big deal? Then why was she able to take off her pants so easily?"
Wang Xiao was speechless for a moment, unable to utter a word.
"Miss Wang, is there such an easy path in the world? Just because she slept with me, she has to become my wife and share everything with me? If crossing social classes is so easy, then why are we working so hard?"
Wang Xiao's head throbbed even more: "Alright, swear to God now, did you ever tell her that you would marry her, that you wanted to spend the rest of your life with her, or anything like that?"
Douglas vehemently denied it: "Am I crazy? It was just a one-night stand, one night. I treated her to a nice meal and bought her a beautiful dress. I didn't take advantage of her. It was consensual, nothing more."
He repeatedly emphasized, "Miss Wang, you have to believe me, you can't take her side. She's just a gold digger, trying to get rich quick."
“But she’s pregnant,” Wang Xiao emphasized. “One night, maybe you both had your fun, but the only one who has to take responsibility is her! Why didn’t you use protection?”
Douglas, a middle-aged man, actually felt aggrieved: "I bought her medicine."
"So, she's the one who suffers the side effects from the medication, right?" Wang Xiao emphasized. "Do you admit that because of your recklessness and frivolity, things have escalated to this point?"
Douglas painfully began to rub his hair vigorously.
Fuck!
He had been in Moscow for so long and had never encountered anything like this.
Looking at these seemingly delicate Asian women, each one is more cunning than the last.
He dared not let Miss Wang know that he had previously only dated pure Russian women. It was precisely because he had failed to seduce Miss Wang that he became interested in Korean and Japanese women after arriving on Sakhalin Island.
Chinese women are no good. The Chinese women on the island are all tough women, like shrewish old ladies and vegetable growers. They are all strong and formidable.
Wang Xiao gently tapped the table: "Let's not talk about the past, let's just talk about the present and the future. No matter who is right or wrong in this matter, if it's not handled properly, it will be a big problem for you."
Good heavens, she's starting to want to call on God now.
She didn't want to deal with this mess for even a minute.
However, if this matter is not handled properly, it could very well plant a landmine.
The Koreans on Sakhalin Island have lived there for decades, even longer than most ethnic Russians who migrated there after the Soviet era.
Moreover, due to historical and ethnic reasons, the Koreans here are more united.
Once someone believes they've been bullied and decides to cause trouble for oil and gas fields, it's truly impossible to guard against.
So even if she really wanted to curse, she had to grit her teeth and deal with the situation.
"My dear friend, have you thought about this? If you abandon her, she'll give birth to the child, then go to the US and sue you for child support. Think about your status, then think about hers—what a fantastic news story! Don't you think the reporters will go crazy?"
Douglas's face was ashen, his lips pressed tightly together, and he remained silent.
"Think about it again, my dear friend. How embarrassing will it be for your wife and children when that day comes? If your wife wants to divorce you, how much alimony will the court make you pay? And how will your property be divided? Please note that you are away from home for many years, while she has stayed at home, given birth to your children, and raised them."
“My dear friend, if this gets back to your company, do you think someone will use it against you? We are friends, my dear Douglas, and we have always had a very pleasant working relationship. We believe that there is no one more suitable than you for Project Number One. We are helping you, my friend, because we don’t want the project to be reassigned.”
Douglas's face darkened further; he looked like he wanted to devour someone.
Ivanov patted him on the shoulder and sighed softly, "My dear friend, just consider it a lesson learned from your mistakes."
“$10,000, that’s the most I can offer her in compensation,” Douglas demanded fiercely. “This child absolutely cannot stay.”
See, who says Christians would never have an abortion?
When faced with their own interests, no divine will matters.
Wang Xiao nodded, let out a long sigh, and had no choice but to go to another room to see the woman.
Oh God! She's going to cry out to God again. She needs a Ms. Chen Yanqiu right now.
in the country, the union chairman is usually the one who cleans up these messes.
American labor unions are no good; they don't seem to care about these kinds of private matters.
Looking at the North Korean girl with red, swollen eyes from crying through the half-open door, Wang Xiao felt a pang of pity.
To be honest, she couldn't refute Douglas's speculation; but she also couldn't accuse the girl of being a foolish gold digger.
Because social rules implicitly acknowledge or even encourage it, women can and should achieve upward social mobility through marriage.
Otherwise, why would anyone say that marriage is a woman's second chance at life?
The problem is that no social class wants to fall into a lower social class, especially the middle and upper classes. Hence the saying, "Marriage should be between equals."
To put it bluntly, this kind of thing is a high-stakes gamble. Everyone at the table has to rely on their own abilities and accept the consequences of their bets.
Seeing that the boss was hesitant to go in, Lyuba asked her, "Ten thousand US dollars?"
Wang Xiao nodded.
She didn't say Douglas was stingy. Because Americans generally have a weak sense of saving. Even though he's an executive at an oil company and his salary seems high, after deducting all sorts of expenses, it's not easy for him to come up with ten thousand dollars at once.
Lyuba gave an OK sign and went inside to talk to the girl herself.
Less than twenty minutes later, she came out again and made an OK sign: "I'll take her to have the surgery tomorrow. Since it's still early in the pregnancy, a medical abortion will be less harmful to her body."
Wang Xiao was surprised: "How did you talk to her?"
They're surprisingly easy to talk to.
“I told her that Mr. Douglas could give you ten thousand dollars, or you could spend 50 dollars to hire a gunman to solve the problem.”
"Of course, Mr. Douglas could also marry you, take you to America, and buy you a high-value life insurance policy. If you suddenly die one day, Mr. Douglas would be the beneficiary of the insurance."
"Never try to outsmart a rich old man. He could be your father, and he's still so wealthy. If he wants to solve something, the social resources he can access far exceed all the combined imagination of you and your family."
"It's not worth risking your life for an old man who's older than your father."
"Guess why, despite being in Moscow for so long and having so many girlfriends, none of them ever tried to use their bodies to advance their careers?"
"Because the ladder to heaven is right next to a bottomless abyss."
Wang Xiao gave a thumbs up, genuinely admiring him: "You've hit the nail on the head."
Wake up.
A wealthy older man sleeps with a young woman and then takes her back to his home country. You think it's a romantic comedy? Please, 99% of the time it's a horror movie.
Wang Xiao turned back and told Douglas about the progress of the matter, warning him once again: "Don't cause this kind of trouble again. There's an old Chinese saying: 'Even a powerful dragon can't suppress a local snake.' We've resolved this once, but we might not be able to handle it next time."
Ivanov also warned Douglas: "The Mafia factions in this land are so diverse that even the military wouldn't easily provoke them. How do you know your romantic encounter isn't a trap they've set?"
Douglas was furious, his face dark and silent.
Ivanov patted him on the shoulder and emphasized, "Not just you, my friend, but all the workers are the same. Don't easily get yourself into trouble."
Douglas loosened his shirt tie in frustration and complained, "There's nothing I can do about it. They're all hot-blooded young men."
Ivanov once again deeply felt that the king was right.
If you have a choice, choose female workers whenever possible, because they generally don't cause as much trouble.
But it's okay, their company happens to be familiar with this job.
"Hey! My friends, what style of dolls do you all like? The company will be opening a doll shop here, offering you the best prices."
Douglas, aware of the controversy surrounding Ivanov and his cronies at the children's sanatorium in Moscow, sneered, "Shouldn't it be free?"
"No, no, no," Ivanov laughed. "This is for your health, to prevent you from dying from exhaustion."
He was about to say something more when he caught a glimpse of Wang Xiao's ambiguous smile. He immediately suppressed his smile, patted Douglas on the shoulder with an air of seriousness, and said, "Alright, it's settled then."
Wang Xiao ignored them and walked straight out of the container house.
She noticed the people from CNOOC craning their necks to look in their direction, so she walked over directly: "The matter is temporarily resolved. Mr. Douglas has blew a lot of money. I hope nothing like this happens here. If you mess with the Mafia, it won't just be a matter of paying to avoid trouble."
The engineers were momentarily embarrassed and quickly assured them, "No, no."
Some people also emphasized, "We are committed to Party principles."
Wang Xiao chuckled inwardly; she had no belief in any man's integrity in this matter.
It's not uncommon for Chinese aid workers in Africa to have illegitimate children.
She only emphasized: "If something really happens, we can't help you, you'll have to solve it yourselves."
The engineers laughed awkwardly and assured them again, "No, no, definitely not."
Wang Xiao smiled, neither saying she believed him nor disbelieved him, but simply nodded: "Then I wish you all the best here."
She didn't continue the topic, but instead extended an invitation, "Let's go see a movie."
Due to limited space, the movie theater was simply an open area where movies were shown outdoors.
The Chinese, Russian, and American workers present were watching different movies. Some were American films, while others were Hong Kong films.
Well, actually, Russia has also released new movies in the past two years. But since the themes are mostly about exposing the evils of the Soviet era, such as "Cheka," Ivanov didn't like them, so he simply prepared Jackie Chan's comedy action movies for Russian workers.
It's okay if it's not translated into Russian.
Even now, when Russian cinemas show American movies, the voice actors read the lyrics live in front of the audience, holding microphones.
Yes, just like when foreign films were first introduced to Shanghai during the Republican era, Wang Xiao was dumbfounded after watching one.
She had originally planned to watch "Police Story" with them, but the workers were so thoughtful that they thought women didn't like action movies with fighting and killing, so they specially prepared Hong Kong romance movies for the ladies—well, many of the laborers and support staff on the construction site are women.
As the female boss, Wang Xiao had to take the lead in watching.
Ivanov had originally wanted to watch Jackie Chan's movies too. Ah, this Asian martial arts superstar had overturned his image of a superhero, so he especially liked them and was willing to watch them again even though he had seen them countless times.
However, when he saw Wu Haoyu follow Wang Xiao to another screening location, and watching that damned romance movie, he immediately sounded an alarm and changed screenings without hesitation.
Yes, he has to be ready to prevent terrible accidents from happening at any time.
As soon as he left, Douglas felt unsafe and, like a fly that couldn't be shaken off, stuck to him.
Wang Xiao was completely speechless. She really couldn't believe that these men would like to watch "Love in a Fallen City".
To be honest, she didn't like watching it either. It wasn't that the casting of Bai Liusu was a failure—well, she certainly didn't look good—but rather that the lines from Eileen Chang's novels, which looked good on paper, sounded strange coming from the mouths of people on screen.
But Douglas, despite needing a translator to get through it, insisted on writing his own review: "Aha, Mr. Fan is right, women always love to talk about their feelings, as if that makes prostitution seem sophisticated and beautiful."
Wang Xiao wanted to roll her eyes. How come she hadn't noticed? This person was actually quite the chatterbox.
Luckily, they were seated a bit far from the workers, otherwise the other moviegoers would have rolled their eyes and told them to get lost.
Ivanov quickly stopped Douglas: "Hey, my dear friend, a true gentleman observes a game without speaking."
But he was like a blind man holding a flashlight—he only shone it on others, not on himself.
The film showed the fall of Hong Kong and the cessation of ship services. Fan Liuyuan turned back to find Bai Liusu, who had become his mistress. The fall of a city brought them together. They got married.
Ivanov couldn't take it anymore and quickly moved closer to Wang Xiao, saying, "Ha, this must be the broken bridge effect, the illusion caused by hormones, right, Wang?"
He kept winking and making faces, and Wang Xiao wasn't blind; how could he not see through his attempt to hide something?
Hey, don't assume you've fallen in love with Wu just because of the Hokkaido earthquake.
Wang Xiao really wanted to crack open this guy's skull and see what was inside.
If the broken bridge effect makes it so easy to fall in love, then she must be head over heels in love with him right now!
After all, it was her and him who had a gun pointed at their heads in a hotel in Moldova.
In a sanatorium on the outskirts of Moscow, it was she and he who were targeted by an assassin with his head in sight.
Even during the Hokkaido earthquake, it was she and he who spent a night filled with fear and anxiety.
Oh, wait, there are bodyguards too. They're a loving family.
Ivanov continued his incessant gloating: "Just wait, they won't be happy. They'll soon become a pair of bitter enemies."
Wang Xiao couldn't stand it anymore and retorted directly: "No, they will live a happy and fulfilling life."
Wu Haoyu, who hadn't had a chance to interject and also believed that one shouldn't chatter during a movie, suddenly felt sad. He had read the novel *Love in a Fallen City* and knew that Fan Liuyuan, after his marriage, was busy telling witty remarks to other women.
It was rare for him to see Wang Xiao show such faith in love, but the story that evoked her feelings was so fragile that it was easily broken.
Ivanov widened his eyes, firmly dispelling the lady's illusions.
“Hey! Wang, Mr. Fan is a playboy, and I know more about playboys than anyone else.”
Tsk, they really take pride in it instead of being proud of it.
Wang Xiao countered, "They will be happy because they each get what they need. What Bai Liusu needs from beginning to end is a long-term meal ticket, a title of Mrs. Fan that she can use to avoid being looked down upon by her family, and a business card of Mrs. Fan that she can use in social situations."
“She got what she wanted. As long as Fan Liuyuan flirted with someone else and it didn’t threaten her position as Mrs. Fan, it didn’t matter.”
Ivanov instantly sympathized with Fan Liuyuan, who was also a playboy: "Oh, poor Fan, she doesn't love him."
"Does he love her?" Wang Xiao rolled her eyes. "You talk as if he's deeply in love with her."
Ivanov stammered, "But he put in the effort, he deserves some reward."
Paying money and giving a title are both forms of payment.
Liu isn't some stunning beauty, and she doesn't need to do housework for him (he has servants). If she can't offer love, what makes Liu worthy of being Mrs. Fan?
Wang Xiao rolled her eyes again: "Fan Liuyuan didn't lose a single penny in this marriage!"
"First, let's look at the identities of both parties. The Bai family is in decline, but what is the Bai family's status? They were Hanlin scholars in the previous dynasty, belonging to a scholarly family. Even in decline, they are still an aristocratic family."
Douglas's eyes lit up. Oh, this is a noble lady.
In an instant, even the not-so-beautiful actresses on the movie screen seemed to radiate a glow in his eyes.
"What is Fan Liuyuan's status? He is an illegitimate child, the son of a concubine. According to traditional Chinese culture, he is not recognized by the clan and has no right to inherit. He is very skillful and has obtained his father's inheritance. But in high society, his status is still criticized."
"Marrying Bai Liusu, a noble lady from Shanghai, would be a valuable social asset for him, helping him to better integrate into the old money circle."
“Now Hong Kong is rich, one of the Four Asian Tigers, and has a high status, which Shanghai cannot match. But in the 1930s, Shanghai’s status far surpassed that of Hong Kong, and Hong Kong people were proud to use Shanghai goods. The situation was similar throughout the Southeast Asia region.”
"Rather than saying that the fall of Hong Kong made their love possible, it would be more accurate to say that after experiencing life and death, Fan Liuyuan became more eager for stability."
"The most common way for men to achieve stability is through marriage."
"And Bai Liusu is precisely his preferred marriage partner after weighing the pros and cons. He needs a wife from a noble family, but he doesn't want to be controlled by that family. Isn't Bai Liusu the perfect choice?"
"You said they would become a bitter couple, but I think the opposite is true."
"As long as their interests remain aligned, they will always be the most perfect loving couple."
Ivanov blinked twice, revealing a childlike demeanor that belied his age.
Wang Xiao suspected he was faking cuteness because he even raised his hands in a gesture of surrender: "Okay, okay, Wang, you're always right, at least with me, you're never wrong."
Hehe, Wang Xiao's reply was a big eye roll.
Ivanov wasn't angry at all. Instead, he chuckled and made faces, smoothly moving on to the next topic: "So, Hong Kong essentially replaced Shanghai's position, which is why it's developed so well. Now, is it time for Shanghai to replace Hong Kong?"
He has now given up on buying a villa in Hawaii to retire early, so the investment hotspots he can focus on are naturally limited, with China being the most important one.
Therefore, he pays close attention to news from China.
So before Wang Xiao could answer, he gave his own answer: "Definitely. Whatever China wants to do, it can definitely accomplish. In the 1980s, the Chinese government promoted the Pearl River Delta. Now it's the 1990s, and they're promoting the Yangtze River Delta. As long as China wants to do it, it will definitely succeed."
Wang Xiao immediately poured cold water on the idea: "That's not necessarily true. In 1988, the Hainan Special Economic Zone was established, and 100,000 talents went to Hainan. Now, there's another large-scale development of Hainan, resulting in unfinished buildings at the ends of the earth."
She is saying this now because on the 23rd of last month, the then Deputy Prime Minister made a public speech announcing that real estate companies could no longer be listed on the stock exchange and that banks would no longer lend to real estate companies.
Then, just one day later, on June 24, the State Council issued the "Opinions on the Current Economic Situation and Strengthening Macroeconomic Control," also known as the famous 16 Articles, which instantly burst the huge bubble in Hainan's real estate market.
The game of musical chairs, which relied on bank loans to be passed on wildly, has finally come to an end.
Ivanov also saw the news, pursed his lips, and still strongly supported the Chinese government: "But I believe that the development of Shanghai will definitely succeed. It is different from Hainan. It has a good industrial and commercial foundation and a dense population."
He leaned closer to Wang Xiao and, deliberately in front of Wu Haoyu, winked, "Wang, shouldn't we go in now?"
Shanghai in China is equivalent to St. Petersburg in Russia, and Beijing is equivalent to Moscow.
Since they're doing so well in Moscow and St. Petersburg, there's no reason not to try and get a piece of the pie in Beijing and Shanghai.
The movie had just finished playing when the music started.
Wang Xiao stood up, smiling, and walked out with Ivanov: "Let's take a look at the land first."
In fact, during the real estate boom, hoarding land was the investment method with the lowest cost, lowest risk, and highest return.
Those who truly make big money are not those who build houses.
Because there are no costs associated with leaving your land uncultivated, you can simply wait for it to appreciate in value.
But building a house requires a large amount of capital, and once it's built, you have to worry about how to sell it. If you can't sell it, it's stuck in your hands and no one lives there for a long time. As a fixed asset, the house will depreciate, and you'll continue to lose money.
If you sell it early, what does the subsequent appreciation of the house have to do with you?
But Wang Xiao didn't want to do that.
In her view, some money can be earned, and some cannot. Because hoarding land is tantamount to being a scoundrel, exploiting loopholes to breach contracts, and doing such a thing is extremely unethical.
So once she acquired the land, she had to develop it, but instead of selling it now, she rented it out and waited for its value to appreciate.
She'll definitely wait until the inflated land and building material prices come down before making any moves, otherwise the construction costs will be too high.
However, with banks cutting off lending and the real estate market collapsing, it's estimated that the prices of both will soon fall.
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