Chapter 250 Turmoil: Why should she have to bow down?
Someone cares.
The Minister of Culture was extremely concerned.
After leaving the guesthouse and getting back into his car, he let out a beastly growl: "Damn it, that damn Chinese businesswoman, she's threatening us."
The Deputy Minister of the Interior pressed further, "What did she threaten this time?"
"Trains," the Minister of Culture slurred, one syllable at a time. "Glass, wood, and trains."
"Shit!" the Deputy Minister of the Interior cursed. "That damned woman, I told you, just shoot her and be done with it."
The Minister of Culture rebuked, “Don’t be out of your mind! You’ve ruined your brain with drugs. I told you last night that she’s not alone. She has many people behind her. If we make any rash moves, we’ll become the nail that sticks out.”
The Deputy Minister of the Interior asked impatiently, "So what do we do now? What exactly is she trying to do?"
The Minister of Culture, his face cold and his gaze dark, stared ahead: "Do as she says, shorten the application time? I want to see what treasures she has to smuggle out."
Wang Xiao didn't have any special treasures to transport.
She came to Romania for three reasons: first, to attend a film premiere; second, to raise money from merchants in the container market; and third, to negotiate prices with manufacturers to import another batch of building materials.
Now that the Minister of Culture is no longer pressuring her to delete the film scenes, and businessmen are coming to her to rent shops in the Beijing electronics market, she should naturally go into the building materials business.
When we built the fish market in Shanghai, we used Romanian wood and glass. Including shipping costs, the cost was about 20% to 30% cheaper than buying it domestically.
Now, she's going to place another order, and the expected usage is 20 to 30 times that of before, so the price will definitely be more favorable.
Especially for glass factories, your company can achieve its KPIs for the next three to five years ahead of schedule, so how can we not offer preferential treatment?
Wang Xiao rushed off to negotiate with someone with great enthusiasm.
Yes, she doesn't need to do this herself at all; she can just let Ruan Xiaomei or her subordinates do it.
However, Ruan Xiaomei hasn't been back to China for the past two years and knows nothing about Shanghai and Beijing. If she were to go and negotiate, some details would be difficult to grasp.
It would be better for Wang Xiao to go himself, which would also give the Chinese businessmen in Bucharest a little more time to think that he was playing hard to get.
Even if it is true, we can't let them see through it.
Wang Xiao personally visited the glass factory, presenting facts and reasoning with the customers, emphasizing the benefits of stable orders, and managed to reduce the purchase price by another 5 percentage points.
In the end, even the glass factory manager got anxious: "Miss Wang, if you keep pressuring us, we won't be able to fulfill any more orders, and we won't make any profit."
Wang Xiao smiled and said, "How could there be no profit? Stable orders are too important for the factory's development. I grew up in the factory and I know that the most troublesome thing for state-owned factories when they transition from a planned economy to a market economy is sales. Unfortunately, in a market economy, sales can determine the life or death of a factory."
"In order to boost sales, each company has used every trick in the book. It can be said that the expenses for improving technology are less than the expenses for sales."
“Now, I’m essentially taking over the factory’s sales for several years, so your factory can focus on technological innovation. The factory should be giving me a sales commission.”
The factory manager was stunned; it was the first time he had ever seen such an operation.
Wang Xiao, however, felt there was absolutely no problem with it, his face completely nonchalant.
In the test of thick skin, the unlucky factory manager was defeated and could only shake his head and admit defeat: "Fine, Miss Wang, you can't switch factories halfway through."
"Of course, as long as you don't cheat me and the quality of the goods you give me is fine, I definitely won't switch." Wang Xiao smiled and extended her hand. "It's a pleasure to cooperate with you. Your factory can start preparing the goods now, and the deposit will be transferred immediately."
As she was speaking, the factory director's secretary came over to deliver newspapers to the leader.
Wang Xiao wasn't interested at first because she didn't understand Romanian and conducted business in English.
But when her eyes swept across the newspaper, she saw a photo that looked familiar.
"Um, Mr. Nikolai, what is this news article about? Is it about our Minister of Culture?"
She always felt that the scene being filmed was the minister of culture storming off after a movie premiere.
The factory manager looked surprised: "God, didn't you know? Of course you did, this is the movie you invested in."
As he spoke, his expression became subtle. "Miss Wang, you are truly a brave lady. You actually dared to expose the crimes of a powerful figure."
Wang Xiao had a bad feeling: "What evil did I expose? The movie just wanted to remind everyone that so many children are adopted by foreigners, and they have no idea what their situation is like after they are adopted. There are potential risks. After all, you know, there are always some perverts."
The factory manager looked utterly astonished: "So, you didn't make this movie because you read The Guardian?"
Wang Xiao was completely confused and couldn't keep up with his pace.
"The Guardian, what does this have to do with The Guardian?"
The factory manager looked on with suspicion: "It was The Guardian that exposed the sexual abuse of children and organ trafficking in our orphanage. Didn't you know? Isn't that why you made this movie?"
Wang Xiao was so shocked her eyes almost popped out: "Is that so? I didn't know. When did the newspapers report it? We decided to make the movie at the beginning of last year. I guarantee I have no idea about any orphanage scandal."
The factory manager was even more surprised: "Then why is this scene in the movie exactly the same as the orphanage exposed by the British? Also, the license plate number is clearly written in the newspaper; it belongs to our Minister of Culture's dear nephew."
A bolt of lightning struck from the blue, leaving Wang Xiao stunned on the spot.
No, she really didn't know.
She can't even remember her own license plate number, well, mainly because she owns several cars.
But that's not the point. The point is, why did she have nothing better to do than cause trouble for the Minister of Culture?
The license plate number of the luxury car that appeared at the orphanage in the movie—such details could not possibly have appeared in the original movie synopsis she provided!
Wang Xiao couldn't hold back any longer and could only smile bitterly: "It's a misunderstanding, all a misunderstanding, just a coincidence. You see, if the movie really smeared the Minister of Culture, the Ministry of Culture wouldn't have issued a license for its public release, right?"
The factory manager was skeptical: "Really? When is the movie showing? I had something to do last night and missed the premiere. I was hoping to see it properly."
Wang Xiao chuckled dryly: "We needed to adjust the sound effects. The crew wanted to save money, but one of the sound effects turned out wrong."
The factory manager didn't find it unbelievable, because artists in Romania are generally struggling these days, and it's not surprising that film crews reuse sound effects to save money.
He nodded, expressing his anticipation: "Then I'll wait for the movie to be released soon."
Then he advised Wang Xiao, "Although it's just a coincidence, you'd better change it, otherwise it will be very uncomfortable for such a high-ranking official to see. Look, he left in anger."
Wang Xiao inwardly groaned; the Minister of Culture hadn't mentioned this matter when he came to see her this morning.
Does he think she should have figured it out herself?
"Pah!" she thought to herself. These leaders were seriously too self-important, thinking that if they farted, everyone should gather around to smell it and deeply understand its subtleties.
In reality, who the hell cares about your ass?
You have a mouth, but you can't just say it outright.
She was furious, but she suppressed it, said goodbye to the factory manager, and then left the glass factory.
She couldn't even wait to get back to the guesthouse. Seeing the nearest public phone booth, she quickly called the director: "Are you guys crazy? What are you doing using the Minister of Culture's nephew's license plate number for no reason?"
The director, already in a bind, immediately cried out in distress upon hearing the commotion: "How were we supposed to know it was his nephew's license plate number? We just made up a random license plate."
Nowadays, film crews will avoid spending money if they can avoid it, so they focus their main energy on storytelling and save money on props, costumes, and makeup, without paying much attention to them.
"There are only so many license plate numbers in total, so it's inevitable that some will run into each other. It just so happens that he was the one who ran into him."
Wang Xiao reluctantly accepted this explanation. Indeed, with so many digits in a phone number, there have been many cases of TV dramas using the same phone number as ordinary people.
She grimaced, "Change it, change it, change it quickly. By the way, what's this about the orphanage? I heard that the orphanage reported by The Guardian is the same one that appeared in the movie?"
The director, seemingly unfazed, declared: "We'd already filmed before that report! Besides, aren't all welfare homes pretty much the same? We can't just reshoot because they said there was a problem with this one. It's all money going to waste!"
Okay, so as the client, the contractor is saving you money, and you're blaming them? That does seem a bit unreasonable.
Wang Xiao gritted his teeth and admitted, "Okay, okay, we'll change it. We're in the arts, we don't want to get involved in politics. Otherwise, it might be seen as colluding with foreign opposition forces and maliciously slandering the country."
The director sighed, "Let's revise it. Let's see if there's any other material we can use."
To be honest, this reporter was really just looking for trouble.
Even the Minister of Culture's nephew hasn't come forward to say it's his license plate number, so why did you expose it first?
So annoying!
No matter how annoying it is, I still have to get to work.
Wang Xiao passed the problem to the director, and was finally able to return to her family hotel with a clear conscience.
When she received the call from the embassy, she even had the confidence to complain: "It's really a misunderstanding. So many license plates just happen to be the same as his nephew's. The Ministry of Culture didn't even notice it during the review process. How would the film crew know his nephew's license plate number? And the welfare home? In Romania, even houses are mass-produced from the same template, let alone welfare homes?"
The counselor chuckled and said, "There's nothing we can do about it. Some people will always make a mountain out of a molehill and blow things out of proportion, which can have a terrible impact. We should value unity and friendship, and not let ourselves be used as pawns."
Wang Xiao chuckled: "It's being changed, it's already being changed. What an undeserved disaster."
After hanging up with the embassy, she reluctantly dialed the Ministry of Culture's number, and after going through three intermediaries, she finally managed to get the minister himself to answer the phone.
As soon as the call connected, she quickly apologized.
It was the production crew's oversight that they failed to notice the flaw, and she deeply apologized for the trouble caused to the minister and his family and friends.
"We will hold a press conference immediately to clarify the facts and prevent people from believing or spreading rumors."
The Minister of Culture cursed inwardly, "What a hypocrite, now he's playing the good guy?"
However, speaking into the telephone, his voice remained gentle and polite: "Of course, I believe in our friendship, and we should not be enemies."
Wang Xiao laughed and said, "Of course, the friendship between our two countries has a long history and cannot be easily shaken."
Therefore, The Guardian is The Guardian, and Escape from the Island is Escape from the Island; the two should not be confused.
Although The Guardian currently enjoys high credibility in Europe, especially in Eastern Europe.
But to be fair, the media has its own stance.
The color-changing process in Romania is particularly unique.
Generally, socialist countries that have undergone a transformation have experienced a process of "modern civilization baptism." Simply put, this means that Western countries first established proxies within the country, and then the process of peaceful evolution occurred.
But not Romania.
During Ceaușescu's era, Romania's control was even more extreme than that of North Korea. This left the West with virtually no opportunity to establish its own influence.
Therefore, in a sense, Romania spontaneously embraced Western civilization.
From a theoretical perspective, isn't this a great thing? It fully demonstrates the superiority of Western civilization and directly attracts people here.
But if you understand the definition of monotheism, you'll realize that Western countries don't really welcome it.
Simply put, in the Christian concept, the wisdom you possess before converting to God is not considered true wisdom; you must first believe in God to possess wisdom.
Romania lacks this conversion process, it's an unorthodox approach, and most of the current Romanian officials are former leaders of the Romanian Communist Party, just with a different flag.
Given Romania's current situation, it's not impossible that The Guardian is targeting it.
Based on the principle of presumption of innocence, Wang Xiao quickly contacted the film crew and held a press conference that very night, which was broadcast live on television.
The Minister of Culture was very obliging, taking time out of his busy schedule to personally attend the press conference.
Even the counselor from the Chinese embassy came, ready to help put out the fire and clean up the mess at any time.
Fortunately, the minister was quite gracious and accepted the apology from the producers of "Escape from Deadly Island" without any fuss. He even praised the film crew, especially Wang Xiao: "There's an old Chinese saying, 'No one is perfect, who can be without fault? To err is human, to forgive divine.' Miss Wang and all the artists were fortunate to correct their unintentional mistake in time. Here, I would also like to express on behalf of the government that Romania has always supported a free and open cultural exchange, and looks forward to a flourishing garden of arts and culture. However, artistic creation must be approached with caution to avoid unintentionally misleading the audience."
"Sir—" A reporter in the audience raised his hand and shouted before being called on, "Are you putting pressure on the film? Is 'Escape from Death Island' forced to hold this press conference to clear your name because you couldn't withstand the pressure?"
Wang Xiao was almost suffocating from listening.
Dear reporter, you are indeed brave, but you've put me on the hot seat.
"Of course not." Wang Xiao had to force a smile into the microphone. "Actually, regardless of whose license plate it was, it was a mistake on our part that caused the fictional movie to affect innocent people in real life. We would apologize to anyone else if they were misunderstood. We are very grateful to the car owner for their generosity in forgiving our unintentional mistake."
The Minister of Culture's nephew, dressed in a refined manner, nodded slightly, and the light reflected from his glasses almost stung Wang Xiao's eyes.
But Wang Xiao still had to give them a grateful smile.
However, the reporter was clearly there with the intention of digging for news, and kept pressing Wang Xiao: "So, you mean the movie is entirely fictional, and you made this sensational movie to deliberately incite public sentiment and create hype?"
A slight commotion broke out at the scene. It turned out that this person wasn't there for the government officials, but rather to criticize the movie.
Tsk, let's see how the production company responds now.
If you say the movie is purely fictional, then you are simply responding to the journalists' accusations, deliberately stirring up trouble, and hurting the feelings of the Romanian people.
But if you say that the movie reflects reality, then you're directly contradicting the Minister of Culture; you're pointing at a monk and criticizing a bald man.
Fortunately, Wang Xiao wasn't entirely unprepared; she had some data on child trafficking in Romania, which she could now use.
"As we all know, art is a mirror of real life, and what it reflects is inevitably a certain part of life. The initial inspiration for 'Escape from Death Island' also came from real life."
A rustling sound erupted again at the scene. A reporter from the Romanian newspaper Libertarian Liberation News shouted, "So the movie has a real-life counterpart? Who is it?"
“That’s right.” Wang Xiao nodded affirmatively. “We’ve noticed some news reports about social issues, such as the illegal child trafficking and corruption in Valdivia.”
Valdivia is Spanish. After the political upheaval in Romania, he went to Bucharest as a UNESCO expert and became an advisor to the then-Prime Minister of Romania. Yes, the Prime Minister's mother was Spanish.
Then, Valdivia traveled between Romania and Spain, telling the story of the plight of Romanian children in Spain and receiving a large amount of donations, but all of it went into her own pocket.
Not only was she corrupt, she also engaged in illegal child adoptions. She and her Romanian parliamentarian fiancé abducted Romanian children to Spain, charging them money for adoption; in reality, they were trafficking children.
In December 1991, she was tried by a Romanian court.
This incident caused a huge uproar in Romania.
So even though more than two years have passed, everyone present can still remember it when Wang Xiao mentions it.
The Minister of Culture quickly concluded the matter: "Therefore, the lessons of the past should guide the future. It is commendable for artists to draw inspiration from past tragedies and warn against repeating the same mistakes."
He dares to say this so openly now because Prime Minister Roman resigned in October 1992.
What's so bad about talking about outdated and retired government officials?
But the reporter clearly wasn't going to let the film company off the hook, and pressed on to the next point: "So what about Deadly Island? What was the prototype for Deadly Island? Where is the island?"
Before Wang Xiao could answer, another reporter chimed in, "That's right? Why make up an overseas island? In reality, how much better is the situation in Romanian orphanages?"
When Wang Xiao saw that the other party was from The Guardian, his scalp tingled.
Oh my god, I hope they don't start fighting at the press conference.
How should I put this?
"Of course there are prototypes, or rather, sources of inspiration."
Thank goodness, the screenwriter saved her: "It's St. Thomas Island in the Virgin Islands. In 1992, a wealthy man sexually assaulted a young girl on this island. However, the perpetrator was not punished. There are many similar cases, but, we are very sorry, in order to protect the victims, please forgive us for not being able to specify them."
The Guardian reporter remained skeptical: "Didn't this happen in a welfare home? Please tell me, where else could such a terrible thing happen?"
The screenwriter was enraged: "Really not? When Hollywood star Brooke Shields was 11 years old—my God, she was still in elementary school—she posed nude for Playboy. Wasn't that stalking her mother for the whole nation? When she was 12, she starred in the movie 'Pretty Boy,' playing a child prostitute, which required her to expose her body in front of the entire crew and even kiss a 29-year-old actor. This kind of thing has been happening all along, why are you turning a blind eye?"
The stories of Hollywood stars clearly diverted the reporters' attention.
Even a Guardian reporter insisted, "What I mean is, don't just point your guns outwards and ignore the crimes right under your noses."
The director politely replied, "Investigating crimes is the job of police officers and journalists. As fictional narrators, we filmmakers can only ask you to provide us with more authentic material."
The reporter could only say dejectedly, "Then we hope that the government will face the facts and protect children's rights, instead of simply whitewashing the situation."
The Minister of Culture listened attentively and nodded in agreement: "Of course."
He picked up the microphone, cleared his throat, and said, "Perfect timing! I'd also like to take this opportunity to announce something. The government will soon establish a Child Welfare Review Committee to protect children's rights. We will invite international observers to participate."
The press conference reached a fever pitch, and the reporters, no longer concerned with the film, rushed to ask about the details of the Child Welfare Review Board.
Is it specifically for supervising orphanages, or for overseeing the welfare of all children?
What exactly is this review system?
What are the criteria for international observers?
The reporters bombarded him with questions, but Wang Xiao didn't care about a single one.
Thank goodness, this matter is finally over.
Otherwise, if this continues, she won't even know why she came all the way to Romania.
She was clearly there to raise funds for the first phase of the fines for the 40 acres of land in Beijing; attending the movie premiere was just a side event.
As a result, thanks to the support of Luo Shang, even though there were some traitors among the Chinese businessmen, it didn't delay her fundraising at all.
The controversy surrounding the film, however, kept her busy with apologies and press conferences. She wasted all her time on this.
Wang Xiao remained humble until the end of the press conference, and personally saw the Minister of Culture and his nephew off.
As she boarded the car, the Minister of Culture looked at her meaningfully and said, "Miss Wang, we have already shown our sincerity, and we hope that you and your friends can also show your sincerity."
Wang Xiao smiled warmly: "Of course, please rest assured, we will definitely make you satisfied."
The movie absolutely needs to be changed. Even the cut scenes can't be seamlessly connected, and the scenery used for transitions must be altered.
Exhausted, she returned to the guesthouse and continued working before going to bed.
She's not worried about development funding, but has the development plan been released in Beijing yet?
Once things are settled, she wants to start work as soon as possible.
When Yang Tao faxed the design institute's draft to her, Wang Xiao was immediately dumbfounded: "Are you kidding me? Only six stories? I spent so much money to get 40 acres of land, and you only design six stories for me?"
Over the international long-distance call, Yang Tao's voice trembled: "Boss... according to regulations, commercial buildings within the Second Ring Road are limited to a height of 30 meters. Currently, through optimized design, the building height is controlled at 28 meters, six floors of shops. As you requested, the two underground floors are parking garages. Also, the design institute asked what kind of pipelines are installed in the underground parking garage?"
Wang Xiao was flustered: "The charging station is reserved for future electric cars."
Why is there such a height restriction regulation? This has completely disrupted her plans.
Yang Tao quickly said she understood.
Electric vehicles are a hot topic internationally now, and environmental protection is being talked about everywhere. So, the general trend is for cars to run on electricity instead of gasoline, which is not surprising.
"Wait a minute!" Wang Xiao suddenly remembered. "What's going on with Oriental Plaza? Isn't there an Oriental Plaza on Chang'an Avenue? It's definitely more than 30 meters tall. Go and find out why it doesn't have height restrictions, but my project does?"
No way! Nobody can get special treatment in front of her.
Either everyone should have no height restrictions, or everyone should collectively increase their height.
So what if Oriental Plaza was developed by the Li family in Hong Kong?
This is a joint venture, so why should it be treated as inferior?
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The article mentioning Valdivia is referenced from an article titled "Rampant Child Trafficking in Romania" published in the January 1992 issue of the magazine *Today's Soviet Union and Eastern Europe*. The article also mentions that on October 10, 1991, German police arrested a Romanian trafficker named Joachim and uncovered an international child trafficking ring headquartered in Paris. To date, 17 suspects have been arrested. They abduct or buy children, paying up to 16,000 marks and selling them for 50,000 to 70,000 marks. The money flows in quickly, making it a highly profitable business, which explains why so many people are involved. After the fall of Nicolae Ocescu, it became much easier for residents to cross the border, and giving children up for adoption became legal. This allowed domestic and foreign traffickers to collude and engage in large-scale child trafficking.
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