Chapter 95 Becoming a Hostage (Bug Fix): This is truly the worst luck imaginable.
The process for inspecting the goods this time was similar to usual, nothing particularly noteworthy.
It was still an Il-62, the same number of years it had been in service as the aircraft they had acquired in Ukraine.
Wang Xiao even suspected that they were actually put into service in the same batch.
They sold it over there, and then immediately made a move here.
The previous one was priced at $800,000 plus 35 million rubles.
This time, they want the same price.
Actually, this is already considered a discount, because after more than a month, the value of the ruble has depreciated again.
But Wang Xiao and Ivanov were still not satisfied. They used their silver tongues to persuade the Moldovan military representative to change his mind.
He agreed to complete the deal for $500,000 plus 100 million rubles.
Without a doubt, the $500,000 was divided up among the upper echelons of the military, while the supplies purchased with the 100 million rubles were likely to be distributed to ordinary soldiers.
Ivanov couldn't help but exclaim, "You are such a good person!"
If someone can eat meat but thinks of giving their subordinates a sip of soup, they can truly be called a great philanthropist.
The garrison representative sighed slightly: "Everyone has their difficulties."
Wang Xiao took out a price list that he had prepared in advance, which listed the current prices of various mainstream materials in Russian.
“After you have selected the items you need, please leave your address and we can provide door-to-door delivery service. Alternatively, we can deliver the items to any convenient location you prefer, and you can pick them up yourself.”
This garrison representative was clearly more carefree than the colonel in the Black Sea region of Ukraine.
Instead of chasing after customers to sell his weapons, he waved his hand and said, "You can deliver them to their door."
Clearly, he didn't care at all that people might notice they were reselling military supplies.
He didn't care, and Wang Xiao and Ivanov cared even less.
The garrison representative handed the quotation to his subordinates, assigned the tasks, and then warmly invited the guests to lunch.
To be fair, the food provided to the troops stationed in Moldova is worse than that of the troops in Ukraine, consisting mainly of various canned foods.
Wang Xiao was also surprised to discover that the canned pork, mushrooms, and tuna in oil on the table were all products of China.
The garrison representative laughed heartily and even took out his cigarettes and lighter to show them: "These are all Chinese products. Although they look a little inferior, they are cheap and easy to use."
He was clearly in a good mood after closing a deal, and even pointed out the restaurant's furnishings: "The tablecloths, towels, and thermos flasks are all Chinese products."
As for where the goods came from, we have to thank the resourceful middlemen and speculators.
It was precisely because he found Chinese goods to be of high quality and inexpensive that he so readily agreed to change the trading method.
He said with great interest, "Maybe in the future the Americans will change our flag, but it will be the Chinese who change our way of life."
In fact, regardless of the specific point, it was a humiliation for the Soviet Union.
But at this moment, he felt a subtle sense of pleasure in seeking revenge.
Do the Americans think everything is going their way? Dream on!
Even if the Soviet Union collapses, it's like a whale falling and countless other creatures thriving.
He also suggested to Wang Xiao: "You should also produce cola, a more authentic cola than Pepsi or Coca-Cola."
Wang Xiao laughed and said, "We have Coca-Cola, but it's quite expensive, so it doesn't have much of a competitive advantage."
The garrison representative had such confidence in Chinese products that he started showering them with compliments: "No problem, you'll only need a year or two at most, and you'll be able to produce even better-tasting and cheaper Coca-Cola."
Uh, Wang Xiao really wanted to suggest, forget about the cola, how about some plum juice instead?
Actually, she always thought that plum juice tasted much better than cola.
After finishing a canned meal, Wang Xiao and his team spent the entire afternoon discussing with the military officer representatives how to allocate the supplies worth 100 million rubles.
Some people miscalculated the accounts, and some people submitted the forms and then changed their minds.
Some people were quite funny, filling in their lover's address as the delivery address.
His boss found out and forced him to change it to his home address.
Wang Xiao glanced at him, and without saying a word, immediately changed it.
Haha, it's true that men who neglect their own children and rush to raise other people's children are found everywhere, regardless of nationality.
The military representative returned looking impatient after working until the sun had set, and kept turning to his subordinates to complain: "What a bunch of cowards, they can't even handle such a small matter today."
His subordinate asked him, "So, are we still going to give it to them or not?"
His boss frowned deeply and finally cursed, "Tell them to stop this from going on forever."
Then he muttered to himself, "It would be better to give it to the Albanians."
Wang Xiao and Ivanov exchanged a glance, both pretending not to have heard.
What does "give to the Albanians" mean?
Albania borders Yugoslavia and was almost swallowed up by the latter.
But now, the various ethnic groups within Yugoslavia are fighting for independence, with one fighting against the other and the other against each other, creating a complete mess.
War requires weapons, but what if they don't have any? They'll find a way to get them from outside.
Albanians who once relied on aid from the Soviet Union and China have now transformed into Yugoslavia's biggest smugglers.
As for where their goods come from?
Cough cough, Wang Xiao said that he didn't hear anything.
She simply showed the organized shipping manifest to the military leader: "Is this acceptable? If so, we'll arrange shipment immediately."
The garrison representative glanced at the items from top to bottom, then sighed, "Prices have gone up again. They were much cheaper around Christmas."
Wang Xiao immediately stated, "We've already given you a 20% discount."
Ivanov chimed in, "Prices are skyrocketing, changing every day. I guarantee you won't find anything better or cheaper on the market."
Fortunately, the big shot only made a remark; he nodded, which was taken as his approval.
For dinner, Wang Xiao and Ivanov did not stay to eat canned food, but went to a hotel in the city.
Ivanov's friend lamented, "You should have stayed; it's been so long since we had a long talk all night."
Ivanov refused outright: "No, I must stay with this beautiful lady."
What a joke! He doesn't want to stay in the army at all.
He was a legitimate businessman and had no desire to get involved in the arms trade.
Looking at the troops' current posture, he seriously doubted whether they would still have any weapons left when they withdrew.
If that day ever comes, they'll probably just disband on the spot and call it a day.
The four arrived at a hotel in the city center. Without saying a word, each of them ordered a local pizza called Bursa, quickly filled their stomachs, and went back to their room.
Wang Xiao added raisins and white sugar to the yogurt, took it back, and started making phone calls.
At this time, it's already past midnight in China.
Logically speaking, Wang Xiao shouldn't be so immoral, disturbing people's peaceful dreams with a midnight phone call.
But she had already arranged to call Tang Yicheng, who was on night shift that night, to discuss their respective situations.
Especially tonight, this is my number, so call me directly if there's anything urgent.
There's nothing urgent.
Tang Yicheng reported to her on the progress of the taxi company. The drivers have been trained and the vehicles have been registered. Trial operation has started in the next two days.
It's true that the benefits of this era are everywhere.
For example, taxi licenses, which will be sold for exorbitant prices in a few years, are not currently being sold for money.
The management department is worried about not having enough taxis available, not about not having enough licenses.
Conversely, as long as you own a car, you can get as many taxi licenses as you want.
The relevant departments would love for you to conjure up a whole bunch of cars to meet the city's demand for taxis.
Tang Yicheng then mentioned another matter: "Last week when I went to pick up the car, a lot of people in the Northeast were surrounding me wanting to buy it. Hey, Wang Xiao, do you think we should just start selling cars there?"
Perhaps it's due to geographical reasons, or perhaps it's because cars are rare these days, let alone imported ones; in any case, people in Northeast China have a high acceptance of Russian cars.
Even though Russian cars are known to make noise all over except for the horn.
But it's incredibly durable. The advantage of its simple structure is that it lasts for three years when new, three years when old, and another three years when patched up. It's particularly good at making do.
Moreover, a car that can operate normally in such a cold place as Russia will certainly not have any problems in the Northeast region.
A Lada sedan, which officially sells for 70,000 yuan, is available for purchase with an additional 5,000 yuan.
After deducting all costs, they can easily make 20,000 to 30,000 yuan per vehicle.
Wang Xiao thought for a moment and gave specific instructions: "Bring the troops with you."
Why?
Because it's so profitable.
Businesses like this, which are extremely profitable, are too easy for people to target.
They were unfamiliar with the area in Northeast China, so this way of making money made them easy targets.
Bring along soldiers and give them a sum of money; frankly, it's to get them to help maintain order and control the area.
Because unless absolutely necessary, neither local governments nor local forces will usually confront the military head-on.
Hiring troops to do work with money may sound absurd, but it was not uncommon in this era.
Well, after all, there are a lot of people involved in gun smuggling.
Their act of acting as a protector, ensuring the smooth operation of the business, is already considered a very legitimate way to make money.
Wang Xiao added, "By the way, when you sell the car, don't forget to pay the tax at the tax bureau. With the tax payment receipt, we won't be considered to be smuggling."
Tang Yicheng smiled.
Strictly speaking, border trade is actually smuggling.
It's just smuggling that takes advantage of loopholes.
He readily agreed: "Okay, how much money will we give the army?"
"Five hundred, I'll give you a commission of five hundred for each car sold."
Any higher won't do; they still have to pay taxes and maintain good relationships with various parties. All of that requires real money.
Having finalized the deal, Wang Xiao reminded Tang Yicheng, "By the way, remember to call the leaders of the Xiaozhou Municipal Government tomorrow morning to give them the good news. We've already secured the direct flight to Bucharest. Tell them not to worry."
Tang Yicheng burst out laughing.
Is she giving good news to someone? She's clearly urging the leaders in Xiaozhou to hurry up.
Everything is ready; the next step is up to you.
If you dawdle, the losses will fall on your shoulders.
Without hesitation, Tang Yicheng said, "Okay, I'll call tomorrow morning."
He was impressed by Wang Xiao; having him make this call perfectly illustrated the urgency of the matter.
Listen, boss, our CEO Wang was just about to give you some good news last night.
However, considering the time difference, it was too late in China, so I didn't dare to make the call.
She repeatedly told me to let you know the good news as soon as possible.
Once the flights resume, we will be able to enter the Romanian market.
With Hungary and Romania as our bases, we can radiate influence throughout Europe.
Tang Yicheng was getting happier and happier as he thought about it. Just as he was about to hang up, he remembered something: "Oh right, Wu Haoyu from the Tokyo embassy called and said he needs to talk to you. Could you call him back when you have time?"
Wang Xiao raised an eyebrow, glanced at his watch, and said, "Okay, I'll call him tomorrow."
It's the middle of the night in Tokyo now, she'd better not do anything immoral and wake people up in the middle of the night.
After hanging up the phone, Wang Xiao took a shower.
Thankfully, Moldova's fuel supply is currently normal.
According to staff at the Romanian embassy, they went through a particularly difficult period.
Because of a severe fuel shortage in Romania at the time, it was common for tragic incidents to occur where people would be halfway through a bath in the dead of winter when the hot water would suddenly run out.
Thankfully, Moldova doesn't do that.
Wang Xiao took a long, refreshing shower, and only after stepping out of the bathroom did she hear the phone ring.
She thought it was Tang Yicheng looking for her, so she picked up the receiver and called out, "Tang Yicheng, what's up?"
There was a pause on the other end of the phone before someone spoke: "Is this Wang Xiao? This is Wu Haoyu."
Oh, young man.
Wang Xiao immediately softened like a snake, her voice twirling and whistling: "Little brother, do you miss me?"
All that could be heard on the other end of the phone was Wu Haoyu's breathing.
Wang Xiao giggled: "Is your phone being tapped? Can you tell me if you miss me?"
Wu Haoyu had to clear his throat: "Um, Wang Xiao, there's something I need to tell you. The brocade handicrafts you asked me to get last time have caught the eye of a department store in Tokyo, and they want to buy them and resell them."
Wang Xiao immediately became interested: "What kind of goods do they want to stock?"
She knew it; the gorgeous Yun brocade was very much to the aesthetic sensibilities of the Japanese at the moment, so it was no surprise that it was chosen.
"They are quite interested in ties, scarves, shawls, and decorative items, and hope to be able to inspect them in person."
Wang Xiao immediately extended an invitation: "Would you like to come back to China with me?"
Wu Haoyu hesitated and said, "I have work to do here."
Wang Xiao let out a long sigh: "But I miss you so much."
I really want to, and if I happen to meet someone I like when I do, it's a very pleasant experience.
But it's not enough to make her drop her work and run to Tokyo to sleep with him.
After all, that's how "bad girls" are; they only know how to use sweet words, but when it comes to actually doing something—
Sorry, I'm very busy.
The breathing on the other end of the phone became a little heavier, and Wu Haoyu spoke after a long pause: "I'll see when I can take my family visit leave."
Wang Xiao laughed again: "Then I'll wait for your vacation."
Whether she was available at that time is another matter entirely.
Wang Xiao was just about to unleash some cheesy pickup lines and subtly flirt with someone when a muffled "bang" suddenly rang out from outside.
Is it some kind of holiday or celebration today?
She glanced curiously at the direction of the window.
There was a knock on the door, and Ivanov called out to her from outside, "Your Majesty, are you asleep?"
Wang Xiao quickly greeted Wu Haoyu: "I'll hang up now. -- Still awake? What's up?"
She opened the door, and Ivanov, already wrapped in his coat, said hesitantly, "I feel something's not right. Sergei went down to check on things, and we don't know what's going on yet."
The three of them were playing Dou Dizhu (a card game) in the room; it was a Chinese card game that Wang Xiao had taught them.
There is another game called Guandan, which is played by four people.
Playing cards is so addictive that even Sergei and Nikolai were having a great time tonight.
They didn't realize something was wrong until they heard what sounded like gunfire outside.
"It's alright." Ivanov felt he shouldn't frighten the woman, so he reassured her, "Let's stay together for now, so we can look out for each other if anything happens."
As soon as he finished speaking, Wang Xiao saw Sergei turn back.
She used the verb "retreat" because he was truly forced to retreat step by step.
In front of him were rows of raised guns.
Wang Xiao wanted to sigh instantly.
Sure enough, the 007s in the movies are all lies.
The truth is, faced with a dozen or so raised guns, even the renowned KGB would have no choice but to retreat obediently.
And he also had to pray, "Guys, take it easy, don't let things go wrong!"
Without the armed thugs even having to say a word, Wang Xiao and the others obediently raised their hands in surrender.
Oh my god!
The unfortunate men were all lamenting in their hearts: if they had known this would happen, they would have slept in the army barracks tonight.
Even if it's just witnessing someone else's arms deal, it's still better than them having a gun pointed at their head.
Wang Xiao suddenly felt an urge to pee; her adrenaline surged to its peak.
In all her years, whether before or after transmigrating into the book, this was the first time someone had pointed a gun at her.
The time I was robbed on the bus, the robber used a knife.
The deterrent effect of a knife and a gun is completely different.
At least when she was robbed, she was still thinking about taking the knife from the robber and even stabbing him.
But now, seeing a gun makes her legs go weak, like they're cooked noodles.
"Hey guys, what do you want?" Ivanov walked up to Wang Xiao without making a sound, and together with another bodyguard, Nikolai, blocked her with their bodies.
Even at this point, he was still in the mood to feel fortunate. Thank goodness, she was wearing slippers tonight, not high heels, so she could be completely hidden behind him.
God, he now deeply repents. Why did he ask the king to come and watch the plane?
He could have handled this all by himself.
He was filled with regret.
He shouldn't be so anxious about gains and losses, because he was afraid that Wang Xiao would abandon him and shift her career focus to Romania; that's why he asked her to come along.
This proves that he has a wide network of connections and is very useful.
The armed thugs across from us were really arrogant. None of them wore masks, and they just sneered at us: "Russians, damn Russians, they should have gotten out of our Moldovan territory long ago!"
In a flash, Wang Xiao suddenly realized that this was no ordinary robber!
They are—
Extreme nationalists?
The thug standing at the front suddenly punched Ivanov in the chin.
He used all his strength in that punch.
Ivanov groaned in pain, covered his mouth, and staggered back two steps.
Sergei and Nikolai had to reiterate: "We have no ill intentions, and we are willing to cooperate."
I'm really afraid these guys will go crazy again; their emotions are just too unstable.
The young man withdrew his fist and sneered, "You mean no harm? Your very existence is the greatest malice. The Russians should have been driven out of Moldovan soil long ago!"
From a distance, on the other side of the floor, came cries and curses, accompanied by a roar: "Behave yourself!"
Seeing that things were going badly, Wang Xiao quickly said, "Excuse me, I just came from Romania."
Afraid of not having expressed herself clearly, she spoke again in Romanian, which she had memorized by rote, "Da, da! Sendeim, Kinaz."
This means, yes, yes, we are Chinese.
As for the difference between the pronouns "I" and "we," she no longer cared about much.
She said that in Romanian because Moldovans and Romanians share the same ancestry, and their languages are also related.
As expected, the other party's expression softened somewhat, and the young man in jeans who was leading them even asked, "Gina? Gina? (Chinese? Chinese?)"
Sergei and Nikolai both breathed a sigh of relief.
God bless, Wang Xiao really is the most suitable person to speak at this moment.
First of all, she is a young Asian woman, and her image is gentle and harmless, which can minimize the criminals' vigilance.
Secondly, she comes from China, a country with long-standing friendly relations with Romania. This naturally creates a sense of familiarity for Moldovans eager to return to Romania.
Most importantly, their female boss knows her strengths and has the courage to use them.
Thank goodness, both of them secretly glanced at Ivanov.
The boss was still pursing his lips in resentment.
They are truly unaware of their own good fortune.
The bodyguard, who came from a KGB background, thought to himself how fortunate it must be for a man to be able to live off a woman for a long time.
That requires an incredible amount of talent.
Now, all they have to do is quietly wait for their easy victory.
Wang Xiao's heart was pounding so hard that his temples were thumping.
She wisely abandoned Russian and answered in English: "Yes, I am Chinese. I just came from Romania and I have a Romanian residence permit."
As she spoke, she turned her head slightly to indicate, "I can show it to you."
Amitabha Buddha, may our ancestors bless us. Before leaving, she specially brought a Romanian grey card with her.
Otherwise, she would probably have to call the embassy late at night to prove that what she said was true.
The gray card was handed to the leader, "Jeans," who looked at it carefully, smiled slightly, nodded, and praised, "Very beautiful."
Wang Xiao didn't want to be praised at all; every pore on her body was trembling.
The "jacket" following behind the "jeans" looked at her suspiciously and spoke urgently to the "jeans".
Then "Jeans" turned hostile and glared at her fiercely: "Then why are you hanging out with Russians? The Russian army sent you here, so who are you?"
Everyone was on the verge of tears. All they did was hitch a ride with the garrison, how did it turn into such a mess?
Wang Xiaoxin was practically in her throat, but she had no choice but to bite the bullet and explain, "I'm just an ordinary Chinese citizen. I have a friend at the Chinese Embassy in Romania, and he told me that Romania is currently attracting investment. That's why I came here."
She spoke more and more fluently, "But there are no direct flights from China to Romania; you have to transfer in Moscow."
I heard that Romanian Gypsies attack lone foreign travelers, so I hired three bodyguards in Moscow during my trip.
She really wanted to lie and say that Ivanov and the others were ethnic Russians from China.
But considering that the other party might search her ID, she decided it was better to be honest to avoid getting into trouble.
"Jeans" was still suspicious: "Then why did you come to Moldova?"
Wang Xiao remained calm and composed: "Because I heard that Moldova is going to merge with Romania, just like East and West Germany merged. Since I'm going to invest in Romania, I definitely need to understand the situation in Moldova."
Her words clearly pleased the young Moldovans, and several of them couldn't help but smile.
Only the man in the jacket remained wary, asking suspiciously in broken English, "Why would the Russian army send you here?"
His accent was so heavy that Wang Xiao couldn't understand him.
Enraged, the man in the jacket blurted out in Russian, "Why would Russians bring you to a restaurant?"
They considered her an important person because they witnessed this scene.
This hotel happened to be a foreign exchange hotel, and all the guests were foreigners who used foreign currency.
So they simply went all the way and took over the restaurant.
Wang Xiao groaned inwardly, but showed no sign of it that night, speaking naturally: "Because my bodyguards ran into some former comrades-in-arms and wanted to ask them when they were leaving Moldova. They heard that the withdrawal of troops was about to begin. Since we weren't familiar with the area, we hitched a ride."
"Jacket" remained suspicious: "You have no connection with the Russian army?"
Wang Xiao spoke sincerely, "I'm just an ordinary businessman. I just came from Romania. The Gallest city government recommended this investment project to me. I have to be responsible to my shareholders, so I came here specifically to investigate the market. By the way—"
She suddenly remembered, "The newspaper, the Romanian newspaper 'Pravda,' can prove that I wasn't lying."
May all the gods bless you.
She took the latest newspaper with her when she left this morning.
The newspaper reported on yesterday's pork festival organized by Chinese businessmen.
The hotel owner assured them that everything mentioned above was well-intentioned. Because Romanians are conscientious, they know who treats them well.
Wang Xiao carried the newspaper, not to read it on the road, since she couldn't understand Romanian.
She simply wanted to collect them as primary sources.
Such positive official coverage from major local media outlets is invaluable information.
Once enough data has been collected, a comprehensive report can be written, which can be readily presented to prove that Chinese businesspeople in Romania are an outstanding and sincere group.
Simply put, it can actually be used to clear one's name when needed.
When compiled into a book in the future, it will also be a history of the struggles of overseas Chinese businessmen.
"Jeans" looked at the newspaper, then at her.
Wang Xiao pointed to the photo above: "This is me. We Chinese people in Romania get along very well with the locals. We have a traditional friendship and cherish it very much. We all hope to continue this friendship."
So, gentlemen, put down your guns.
We are friends, not enemies.
Unfortunately, even if Wang Xiao had ten times the courage, she wouldn't dare to make a request.
"Jacket" leaned closer, his eyes scanning the newspaper before suddenly fixing sharply on Wang Xiao: "But you can speak Russian. Why can you speak Russian?"
Ironically, he also asked the question in Russian.
Wang Xiao really wanted to curse, but she didn't have the guts. If someone raised their hand and fired a shot, she would be finished.
She could only tell the truth: "Because I was unlucky, out of eight classes in high school, there was only one Russian class, and I just happened to be assigned to the Russian class."
For some reason, this remark struck a chord with the kidnappers, who burst into laughter.
"Jeans" pointed at the newspaper, laughing as he asked, "Are you delivering vegetables to Romanians?"
Wang Xiao smiled and nodded: "Yes, we Chinese can't stand seeing barren land. We'll grow vegetables wherever there's land. After we arrived in Romania, we received a lot of help. We didn't know how to express our gratitude, so we continued our custom from China and gave the vegetables we grew to our good friends."
On a sudden inspiration, she offered, "Would you like to try some of our cucumbers? They're tender cucumbers."
In fact, the cucumbers in the greenhouse are still more than a week away from being ready for harvest.
But there's a type of pickled vegetable in China called "milk cucumber," and Comrade Wang Tiejun was eager to try it. He wanted to pickle it and give it to the hotel owner's wife to thank her for taking care of them.
This morning, when Wang Xiao and the others left, they specially took a bag of tender cucumbers so they could use them instead of fruit.
As Wang Xiao muttered to herself, she opened her suitcase and took out a bag of tender cucumbers.
Honestly, if it weren't for this incident, they would have completely forgotten that they brought cucumbers with them.
The tender cucumbers had already been washed clean, and even though they had been covered up all day, they still looked fresh and juicy under the light.
Wang Xiao held up a cucumber, indicating that everyone should eat it themselves. There were only seven or eight cucumbers in the bag, so the group of young Moldovans had to share one cucumber between two people.
Even so, they ate to their hearts' content.
Because right now, prices are rising sharply in Romania, Moldova, and Ukraine.
Vegetables, especially during this season, are ridiculously expensive, and no one can afford to buy them.
The atmosphere in the room finally eased up a little.
When Wang Xiao saw the man in jeans staring intently at the open suitcase, he couldn't help but curse inwardly, "Damn it, what kind of patriot are you pretending to be? A bunch of robbers!"
She took the initiative, putting the women's underwear in a small bag and handing it to him with a smile: "This is a gift for your loved one."
Then she took out a box of ballpoint pens and handed them out to everyone one by one, saying, "I'm really sorry, I came here for an inspection and didn't bring any gifts. These little ballpoint pens are just a token of my appreciation."
The young people exchanged only a glance before accepting her gift.
Wang Xiao struck while the iron was hot and gave them Big Bubble Gum as well.
The air in the room became more airy, and someone happily pointed at the bubble gum, muttering, "Big Brother," before starting to blow bubbles.
Bubble gum has a sweet aroma that is released after chewing, and it smells quite nice.
Seeing that the atmosphere was just right, Wang Xiao tentatively asked, "So, what brings you here tonight?"
"For the future of us Moldovans and the destiny of our nation!"
"Jacket" was the most excited, waving his fist and emphasizing, "We want the whole world to see our determination. We will absolutely not let the Russians do whatever they want."
So what are they planning to do? They want to kidnap foreigners.
They believed that only in this way could they attract the attention of the international community and resist the pressure exerted on Moldova by Russia and Ukraine.
Just like Albania back then, small countries can only survive by competing with large countries.
Only with close international attention will Russian troops obediently withdraw.
Without the military backing them up, the Russians and Ukrainians who attempted to seize power will realize who the true masters of this land are.
Wang Xiao felt a wave of dizziness; what on earth was all this about?
Whatever you want to do is your own business, why are you trying to harm us?
Wang Xiao awkwardly emphasized, "We're just ordinary people, we probably won't attract much attention."
The group of young people had clearly acted on a whim, and upon hearing this, they began to look at each other in bewilderment.
Wang Xiao was about to use her persuasive skills to try and convince them to give up.
Suddenly, the woman in the jacket shouted, "Find a reporter! She's a foreigner, she must know foreign reporters. If a foreign reporter reports on it, the whole world will know!"
Wang Xiao instinctively wanted to deny it, saying she didn't know any reporters.
Why did she have to drag unrelated people into this mess?
There's no reason to be so dishonest.
However, Pravda wrote in great detail, even mentioning Zhang, a reporter from People's Daily, who said they were friends.
Wang Xiao truly understood what it meant to lift a stone only to drop it on one's own foot.
Now she can't deny it even if she wants to.
She could only rack her brains to say, "But I can't contact him right now, and I don't have his current phone number."
However, fate seemed determined to work against her today. No sooner had she finished speaking than the phone rang, and it was reporter Zhang.
Damn it, why does Reporter Zhang have her room phone number?
Because Wang Xiao had called Comrade Wang Tiejun to let him know she was safe, and she was happily telling him that she could go back tomorrow.
And what was the result?
Unfortunately, this terrible thing happened.
But why did reporter Zhang have to go through so much trouble to contact her?
Because reporter Zhang had heard that the situation in Moldova was very tense, and knowing that Wang Xiao had arrived in Moldova, he wanted to inquire about the situation.
Wang Xiao answered the phone with a stiff upper lip, hoping to fool the other party so he could hang up quickly.
But then, "Jeans" shouted in English: "Who is he? Is he your journalist friend? Since you're a friend of Romania, you're also a friend of us Moldovans. You should stand on our side and speak up for us."
Confused, reporter Zhang instinctively switched to English: "What's going on? Are the people next to you Moldovans?"
The microphone was snatched from Wang Xiao's hand.
She closed her eyes in despair; she had truly done her best.
She was still trying to salvage the situation: "Yes, this is my journalist friend. He wants to do a phone interview with you."
However, Wang Xiao underestimated the professional aspirations of journalists.
Reporter Zhang only spoke a few words with "Jeans" before indicating that he would personally travel to Moldova to conduct an in-depth interview with them.
He further emphasized, "Don't get agitated. Organize your thoughts carefully. Only then can you clearly explain to everyone what your demands are."
He reassured Wang Xiao, "Don't worry, we'll be there soon."
Wang Xiao could only awkwardly reply, "It's okay, we're doing fine now. Moldovans and Romanians are one family, and they are all friends of us Chinese."
After hanging up the phone, she forced a smile and said, "Okay, do you want to sit down and rest for a bit? My friend is coming from Bucharest and it will take him some time. You must be tired from sitting like this."
Unfortunately, before they could respond, the phone rang again.
This time, "Jeans" answered the phone directly and asked in English, "Reporter Zhang, when are you departing?"
Wu Haoyu, on the other end, asked, puzzled, "Excuse me, is this the InterContinental Hotel in Moldova?"
Hearing the voices from the side, Wang Xiao decided to go all out and introduce him: "He is my friend, and he works at the embassy in Tokyo."
Now that things have come to this point, there's no way Wu Haoyu will come over anyway.
His position as a staff member at the Japanese embassy was, in fact, a form of protection for her.
The most dangerous situation for hostages is not when they are threatened, but when they have lost their usefulness.
Sure enough, the group's eyes lit up immediately, and they urged impatiently, "Reporter, have him find us a Japanese reporter. We want to tell the whole world that the Russians have to get out of Moldova."
Wu Haoyu tried to calm them down: "Wait a minute, what exactly happened? Tell me slowly, what do you want?"
On the other end of the phone, they were talking back and forth, each one louder than the last.
Ivanov wanted to speak several times, but in the end he wisely kept his mouth shut.
Russians are now an unwelcome presence; they'd be better off just being mere ornaments.
However, he must say that he did this not because of incompetence, but because—
An obedient and compliant business partner is also a rare treasure.
What else can we do?
He was so weak, pitiful, and helpless.
No one in the room paid any attention to the three Russians; everyone was busy expressing their feelings.
After some arguing, Wu Haoyu said he understood what everyone meant and then advised them, "Since you are acting for the future of the country and the nation, you must be careful about your words and actions and never harm the hostages. Otherwise, you will be at a disadvantage. This is the most basic principle; you must not step on any landmines. Remember this. Wang Xiao, are you all alright?"
The group of young, extreme nationalists suddenly tensed up, and their gazes all fell on Ivanov's face.
The latter had no choice but to bite the bullet and lie through his teeth: "It's nothing, I just tripped and fell."
Only then did they show a satisfied expression.
Wang Xiao could only give a vague answer: "We're fine now. There was a misunderstanding before, but we've cleared it up and everything's alright now."
Wu Haoyu was relieved and said, "I'll try to contact a reporter right away. Please wait patiently. It's late at night in Japan now, and it will take time to find a reporter."
After the call ended, everyone returned to staring at each other blankly.
Wang Xiao raised her hand: "Um, could I wear a jacket?"
She felt cold all over, whether it was because the temperature dropped at night or because the heating wasn't working properly.
"Jeans" glanced at her and nodded.
Wang Xiao quickly put on the down jacket.
Just as she finished dressing, before Wu Haoyu could call back, she heard heavy footsteps outside.
Then someone shouted something in the hallway.
"Jeans" frowned and went to the room door to explain to the other person.
Unfortunately, the man with the scar on his face was very stubborn and shouted loudly.
They were speaking Moldovan, which is Romanian, and neither Wang Xiao nor Ivanov could understand it.
Only two bodyguards seemed to understand some of what was being said, but they dared not make any move, fearing that a single misstep would provoke the kidnappers.
In fact, the most terrifying crimes in the world are those committed on a whim.
Often, they themselves don't even understand what they really want.
For example, right now, late at night, their leader has decided to gather all the hotel's guests into the dining hall.
Wang Xiao quickly put on her socks and shoes, but even so, when they arrived at the dining room, everyone still felt the biting cold.
As night deepened, the heating supply was cut off.
However, no one dared to protest.
The guests all hunched over, and even if their eyes accidentally met someone else's, they would immediately look away.
The dining room was dimly lit and chillingly quiet, like a funeral home in the dead of night, filled with the smell of death.
If someone coughs twice, they will immediately cover their mouth.
Only a few Moldovans were blowing bubble gum, occasionally making a "pop" sound, which was abrupt and eerie, making the entire dining room even more deathly quiet.
Wang Xiao wrapped her down jacket tighter around herself, but still felt terribly cold.
She looked up, and the young man blowing bubbles grinned at her.
Wang Xiao felt like her heart was being gripped, but she was so cold that she couldn't stand it anymore. She raised her hand and made a request: "It's too cold. If this continues, everyone will get sick."
The scarred man glanced at her impatiently and replied in heavily accented English, "There's no heating."
“Then we can have blankets.” Wang Xiao didn’t back down, turning to look at the jeans. “My friend has already told the Japanese reporters that we hostages are being taken good care of. If the reporters come and see us freezing to death, do you think your story will still be credible?”
"Jeans" shouted at Scarface, and then seven or eight young men went out one after another. A little while later, they came back in carrying blankets and threw them directly on the ground.
Wang Xiao remained silent, but immediately went forward and took a blanket, first giving one to Ivanov and the others, and then taking one for himself.
With her taking the lead, the others followed suit and went to get the blankets.
Later, when seven or eight blankets weren't enough, the Moldovans brought some more back.
In the end, every guest was wrapped in a blanket.
But they had been freezing for so long that it took Wang Xiao quite a while before he could finally feel some warmth.
Perhaps because the hostages looked so terrible, "Jeans" said a few more words to Scarface.
About ten minutes later, the hotel staff who had been guarding the area actually pushed a food cart over, with large buckets filled with steaming hot milk.
Wang Xiao held a glass of milk in her hands, using it like a hot water bottle, taking sips every now and then.
She didn't know how long they would be held captive, or whether the kidnappers would give them food and water again, so she had to conserve her energy as much as possible.
Ivanov and his team shared the same idea and worked hard to draw energy.
Just as they were finishing their milk, the hotel staff brought out a large loaf of bread.
Mom, you should have said so earlier!
How can anyone eat this dry, bland bread without milk?
Before the rye bread even reached them, the kidnappers suddenly flew into a rage: "No rye bread! That's something only Russians eat. We want real bread, snow-white bread!"
The hotel staff nervously tried to explain, "We only have rye bread available right now."
"Then let's do it right away! Make cakes and white bread, we Moldovans will never eat rye bread!"
Scarface grabbed the large loaf of bread and slammed it to the ground, saying contemptuously, "This is pig feed."
Wang Xiao looked away. What a tragedy! Who knows the hardship behind every grain of rice on the plate?
But the kidnappers' attitude seemed to have improved.
Especially after Japanese reporters actually called to ask for a phone interview, their attitude could only be described as attentive.
In addition to hot milk, they were also generous to the hotel by bringing wine, butter, and cheese.
These things are really not cheap these days, with prices soaring.
But on this unlucky winter night, the most popular treat was still a steaming hot cheese pie.
Wang Xiao ate two pieces in one go with hot milk.
Just as she was about to reach for the third piece, she heard a commotion of footsteps outside. Then Wang Xiao saw reporter Zhang, a reporter from the Romanian newspaper "Pravda," and people from the embassy.
He is the counselor at the Chinese Embassy in Romania.
Why were they the ones who came?
Although China has established diplomatic relations with Moldova, it has not yet appointed its first ambassador.
Seeing so many officials arrive, everyone finally breathed a sigh of relief.
Wang Xiao also heard someone mutter quietly, "It's alright, the Chinese are reliable, they won't abandon us."
As soon as reporter Zhang entered, he snapped some photos, nodded to Wang Xiao and the others, and then went to interview the kidnappers.
Perhaps to show that it was a serious matter, the person in charge went to a small room next to the dining hall to be interviewed.
The remaining hostages could only strain their ears, trying to catch every word to determine their fate.
Ivanov looked around and, seeing that the kidnappers seemed exhausted, dared to ask Wang Xiao in a low voice, "When will you let us go?"
"Once more reporters arrive," Wang Xiao said calmly, "major media outlets around the world have bureaus in Moscow, as well as their own correspondents and special correspondents. I estimate they will arrive soon."
Ivanov was utterly speechless: "So, we're waiting for the journalists to rescue us?"
What kind of nonsense is this?
The footsteps outside increased in number and gathered at the entrance of the dining room, whereupon the visitors were stopped again.
But they still looked inside and only left after confirming the safety of the hostages.
As more and more outsiders arrived, the atmosphere in the dining room became more and more relaxed. Some people were so sleepy that they simply wrapped themselves in blankets and fell asleep on the table.
Wang Xiao couldn't sleep and didn't dare to sleep. It wasn't until dawn that she managed to doze off while sitting up.
The sound of a food cart rumbling could be heard outside; restaurant staff were coming to deliver the food.
To everyone's surprise, the young men who had been following him with guns had disappeared.
The entire hall was empty, except for the hostages.
She had no idea when those people left.
As breakfasts were served to them, Wang Xiao felt dazed. Was everything from last night just a dream?
But when she saw the quilt wrapped around her, she immediately came to her senses. They had indeed been kidnapped, but now it seemed they had regained their freedom.
Sure enough, when we were halfway through breakfast, the hotel manager came over to tell everyone that they could go back to their rooms and check out at any time.
At this point, no one cared about eating breakfast anymore; many people grabbed milk and bread and hurriedly ran off.
Wang Xiao and Ivanov, like sprinters, rushed back to their rooms.
Thank goodness, her room was alright; everything in her suitcase was still there except for the box of ballpoint pens that was missing.
Compared to her, Ivanov and his two bodyguards' room looked like it had been robbed.
Not only were their belongings ransacked, but what's worse, these bastards actually tore their passports to shreds.
They were going to die; suddenly, they found themselves undocumented in a foreign land.
That's absolutely despicable.
When reporter Zhang came to them, he wrote a press release overnight, took photos, and borrowed the hotel's fax machine to send them back to China.
He is probably the first person in the world to send both a short message and a full article about this matter.
"Let's go, pack up and go back." Reporter Zhang was also speechless, and whispered, "These students are so extreme today, who knows what kind of people they will be tomorrow."
What could he say? Young people these days really only think about the immediate consequences and not the long-term effects.
They thought they were saving the country and the people.
However, kidnapping foreign guests is a standard act of terrorism, no matter where it is carried out.
It is estimated that they will become even more disliked than the Japanese Red Army.
After all, the Japanese Red Army did select its targets, unlike them, who attacked indiscriminately.
It's still hard to say how this matter will ultimately be classified.
Reporter Zhang asked curiously, "By the way, why would they agree to a phone interview with a Japanese reporter?"
How did the Japanese know about this, given that they were separated by thousands of miles?
Wang Xiao suddenly came to his senses and slapped his forehead: "Oh no, I have to make a phone call."
Wu Haoyu had at least helped her, yet she forgot to call him to let him know she was safe.
That's really a bit unreasonable.
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It's so cold, and I still have to go to work. So sad. Thank you to all the little angels who voted for me or watered my plants between 2023-12-24 03:20:12 and 2023-12-25 01:27:34!
Thank you to the little angels who watered the nutrient solution: Don't Touch My Tail 5 bottles; Yi Hao 3 bottles; 37296458, snow仪, 秋水非水, and 藕安 1 bottle;
Thank you so much for your support! I will continue to work hard!
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