Chapter 212 Why Don't You Do It Yourself: It's All Military and Police
Wang Xiao's first reaction was that she didn't want to get involved.
Ugh, so incredibly annoying!
"I'll contact the embassy for you and see if they can help you find a solution."
"No, no, no!" The state-owned enterprise cadre on the other end of the phone sobbed, "President Wang, you must save us, please don't contact the embassy."
Wang Xiao rolled his eyes to the sky, but reluctantly had to go and bail the person out.
Yes, yes, theoretically speaking, the trade fair has already ended, and whether the people who stayed in Moscow are alive or dead is none of her business.
But the problem is that Moscow's container market is just getting started, and it needs to attract a large number of manufacturers.
These two idiots got into trouble. People back home won't call them morons for going to nightclubs and partying in Moscow under these circumstances.
People will just say, "Oh, so he had bad luck in Moscow. It was that Wang Xiao who organized some kind of trade fair and container market, which prevented him from returning home, and now he's in trouble."
Wang Xiao was counting on the container market to become her new money-making opportunity in the next few years, so she certainly couldn't let such a small matter ruin it.
Ivanov was worried: "I'll go with you."
From a theoretical perspective, the overall situation is now settled.
The military attacks launched by the government forces during the day were extremely fierce, and the parliament simply could not withstand them.
The newly elected president, who is also the vice president of the Russian Federation government, called the air force unit where he had served and requested that planes be scrambled immediately to protect the White House.
Oh, I forgot to mention, this acting president is also a major general.
But the air force ignored him.
Then the speaker and acting president sought help from the embassies in Moscow of Belgium and France, requesting political asylum.
Why choose these two countries? Wang Xiao didn't know either; she only knew that they had been rejected.
With no other options, the Speaker and the Acting President insisted that their personal safety be guaranteed before they would surrender; finally, at 6 p.m., they walked out of the White House under the protection of special forces and were then taken directly to prison.
This became the reason why Ivanov despised them.
"So many people died for them, and they actually surrendered? And they even asked for protection of their personal safety! If they had even a fraction of the backbone of the Six Gentlemen of the Hundred Days' Reform, if they had the courage to 'laugh as they face the sky with their swords drawn, and remain loyal to the cause,' they wouldn't be such worthless fools!"
Wang Xiao stared at him in surprise: "What books have you been reading these past few days?"
Ivanov turned his head away and remained silent.
The assistant carefully handed the female boss a card with a dense list of various document names on it.
Wang Xiao wanted to shake his head.
For a playboy-type academic underachiever, finding so much information to look at is really not easy.
"What do you want to do? Like China, try every path since the Opium War?"
Ivanov awkwardly turned his head away, avoiding looking at his companions, and said in a muffled voice, "Now it's our turn to learn from you."
Wang Xiao didn't know what to say for a moment, so he could only pat Ivanov's hand, leaving everything unsaid.
Unfortunately, this rare warm and tender atmosphere came to an end along with the car when we reached our destination.
Armed soldiers stood at the entrance of the nightclub, their heads covered with black cloth, only their eyes showing, like the dark muzzles of guns.
Wang Xiao subconsciously clutched her chest, took a slight breath, and then continued walking forward.
"What's going on?" she asked Ivanov in a low voice.
The latter looked serious and gently shook his head.
The assistant quickly went over, handed over a business card, and indicated that he and his boss were there. They were there to pick up a friend.
The soldier standing to the left of the gate glanced at Wang Xiao and Ivanov and nodded slightly.
When they went inside, Wang Xiao saw that the hall near the entrance was filled with police officers.
They made everyone face down against the wall, hands on the wall, legs spread apart, and pointed guns at the backs of those who didn't do it correctly, roughly pressing them against their backs; then they began to search them.
The police searched from the wrists down to the feet, and even made the person take off their shoes to check if there was anything hidden inside.
Ivanov and his bodyguards received the same request as soon as they appeared; they had practically walked into a trap.
“No, no, no!” Ivanov refused without hesitation. “Who is your commander? I want to speak to your commander.”
The police ignored him and reached out to push him, when a man in camouflage coming down from upstairs stopped the police: "Hey! Buddy, he's not him."
The soldier in camouflage couldn't be identified by his rank; he must be Ivanov's friend, because he immediately launched into a tirade against the latter: "What are you doing here?"
Ivanov said irritably, "Business? My business partners in China finally made it to Moscow, just to answer our government's call to spend foreign exchange, and then we ran into you. Oh, my friend, what exactly are you doing?"
"A mission," the man in camouflage said vaguely. "Just a mission."
"Mr. Wang!" A joyful shout suddenly rang out from the corner, accompanied by a sob, "Oh, Mr. Wang, you've finally arrived."
Wang Xiao looked in the direction of the sound and discovered a row of women sitting in the shadows of the corner.
It seems that the military and police were only searching men, which is a stroke of luck amidst misfortune.
Wang Xiao greeted the soldiers in camouflage and gestured, "She's our client, can we take her with us?"
The man in camouflage glanced at Ivanov before nodding to Wang Xiao: "Of course."
Then he called out, and a soldier, also wearing a black hood with only his eyes showing, quickly walked over, made an inviting gesture in a soft voice, and led the person to Wang Xiao.
She grabbed Wang Xiao's arm and burst into tears, saying, "Mr. Wang, I thought I would never see you again."
Wang Xiao had no patience for someone else's face covered in snot and tears, and quickly called out, "What happened? Are you the only one? Where are the others?"
The middle-aged man who was being held down cried out, "Me, me, Mr. Wang, please save me!"
Wang Xiao recognized the middle-aged man wearing glasses and gestured again to the soldier in camouflage: "Excuse me?"
After receiving a nod in response, this time he was brought over by the police.
"$100 per person." In front of the soldiers, the policeman held out his hand directly, "Please pay the fine."
Wang Xiao frowned: "What did they do wrong? Why do they need to pay a fine?"
The female cadre even shouted, "We have no money! You can't treat foreigners like this! You're completely lawless!"
Another commotion came from upstairs. A soldier with a black cloth over his head pushed and kicked a young man to the ground. His face was covered in blood, and his features were no longer recognizable.
The soldiers dragged him to a corner like they were carrying a dog.
From Wang Xiao's position, their tall figures completely blocked the young man's view, and she could only hear his painful pleas for help through the gaps in the human wall: "Help me! Please help me."
But no one moved.
Everyone's face was indifferent, as if none of this had anything to do with them.
Wang Xiao smelled blood, followed by the stench of cheap perfume mixed with sweat.
Another group of soldiers, draped in black cloth, led several young women downstairs. They were wrapped in coats, but their legs were bare. In the October Moscow night, it was chilling to behold them.
The policeman suddenly sneered through his nostrils: "You can afford to pay $25 to see a striptease, but you can't afford the fine?"
The soldier in camouflage seemed completely unconcerned about the beating that was taking place, and gestured to Ivanov: "Sorry, my dear friend. You know, the police have their rules."
Ivanov shrugged at him. "I understand, my friend. It's so cold, it's a shame you're so busy. We should really have a drink together."
He had no intention of paying the money, and Wang Xiao remained unmoved.
She braved the cold winter night and the chaos of Moscow, and under the guns of the military and police, to get the person out; she had already done more than enough.
The female cadre could speak some Russian, so she bargained with the police, even showing them her and the male cadre's wallets, and finally settled on $50 each.
The police essentially got two months' salary for free. How that money will ultimately be divided is anyone's guess.
Ivanov politely bid farewell to his friend, then quickly left with Wang Xiao and the others.
Good heavens! He really dislikes the smell of blood, especially the smell of blood from under a gun barrel.
Once on the bus, the male cadre, probably feeling safe, started cursing: "Damn it! These poor bastards are desperate! Damn it, the nightclub let people watch striptease, striptease is art, and now they're finding a reason to fine them. They're really desperate for money! Oh dear, good art performances are being trampled on."
The female cadre chimed in, "Exactly! They're treating us like suckers! What's wrong with watching a striptease? Don't they run their own striptease school? Striptease is great, you can earn $100 a day. It's clearly a modern, civilized society, yet they still try to rip people off."
"Stop the car!" Wang Xiao suddenly raised his hand. "Throw them both out."
Without saying a word, Lyuba immediately reached out and grabbed the female cadre.
The female cadre was terrified: "Hey, hey, what's wrong with you! Mr. Wang, what do you mean by leaving us out of the car? How could you be so vicious?"
Wang Xiao remained expressionless: "Me, vicious? Who's really both stupid and vicious?"
"If striptease is so great, why don't you go and do it? Why don't you ask your grandma, your maternal grandma, your mom, your sisters, or your daughter to go and do it?"
"I can understand the logic behind his beastly words. After all, it's in a man's nature to drag innocent women down with him and persuade prostitutes to reform."
"What are you advocating? What the hell are you advocating? Why don't you take a piss and look at yourself in the mirror, and see what a vicious and stupid thing you really are!"
"Go ahead! You two go together!" She pointed at the male cadre. "What the hell are you? You're so great, why don't you let your grandma, your mother, your wife, your sisters, or your daughter jump? Damn it! They're so unlucky to have gotten involved with a piece of trash like you! Why don't you jump yourself?"
The two screamed like pigs being slaughtered, desperately clinging to the car and refusing to get off.
The neon sign next to the car displayed an advertisement for a striptease school, with the smiles of young women seemingly extending an invitation to them.
The female cadre shouted, "President Wang! I was wrong, I was wrong, please forgive me. My daughter has just started elementary school, she can't live without her mother."
The male cadre also shouted, "Yes, yes, Mr. Wang, I was wrong. My wife doesn't work, and my child hasn't even graduated from junior high school yet."
With a bang, the car door slammed shut. Wang Xiao said expressionlessly, "They are other people's children too."
The two were so frightened they almost lost their minds, and dared not utter a word of dissent, nodding repeatedly: "Yes, yes, that's right, that's right."
Wang Xiao then uttered two words again: "Drive."
But this time, the car only went less than a hundred meters before stopping again.
Because of the roadblocks, heavily armed officers stopped the car and announced the president's order with a blank expression: "Excuse me, ladies and gentlemen, you have violated the curfew. Please get out of the car and come with us."
This is a new ban, which was just issued today.
Ivanov looked at his uniform and tried to strike up a conversation: "What unit are you from? The Taman Motorized Rifle Division?"
“Sir, please stop talking nonsense.” The officer remained unmoved. “Please cooperate and get off the vehicle immediately.”
Ivanov held up his wrist, gesturing for the other person to look at their watch: "But the curfew starts at 11 p.m., and it's 10:45 now."
"Is that so?" The officer in the camouflage cotton-padded jacket, who seemed to be a captain, suddenly sharpened his eyes. "Then we can wait until 11 o'clock before asking you to get off the vehicle."
The female cadre became agitated: "Hey, why are you being so unreasonable? Waaah—"
Lyuba covered her mouth without hesitation.
Guns don't have eyes.
The bodyguard in the passenger seat cleared his throat and gestured to the armed soldier blocking the car window next to him: "But we have special passes, which we just got today."
According to regulations, businessmen like Ivanov and Wang Xiao are not eligible for special passes.
However, if the government had truly followed the rules, such unrest would not have occurred.
Regardless of their excuses or methods, they were among the first to receive special passes.
But such privileges seemed to provoke the captain in charge, who suddenly raised his voice: "Get out of the vehicle! I now suspect that someone on the vehicle is carrying weapons and is involved in a rebellion."
With a loud shout, the soldiers surrounding the car all pointed their guns at the people inside.
But at almost the same moment, Lyuba unhesitatingly hugged her female boss with her own body, and Nikolai also protected Ivanov.
The remaining bodyguards readily produced their identification: "Sorry, warriors, we have no intention of arguing with you. However, we all have gun licenses, and according to government regulations, we are authorized to carry weapons to protect our employer."
The two sides reached a stalemate, and finally, under the dark muzzle of guns, each took a step back.
The men could get off the bus one by one to undergo the so-called inspection, but the women could not accept such humiliation.
Under the protection of two bodyguards, Ivanov slowly stepped out of the car, raised his hands high, and cooperated with the inspection.
The soldiers' inspection methods seemed even more brutal than the police's; Wang Xiao could clearly see the pained expression on his face as he frowned.
She instinctively called out, "Ivanov."
The latter gave her a reassuring smile, then pleaded with the soldier checking him: "Hey! Brother, look, I just got a girlfriend, and we're about to get engaged. Please go easy on me."
The soldier slightly raised his head, seemingly glancing at him, or perhaps not at all, before turning his head towards his superior and shaking his head slightly.
Ivanov got back into the car, and Wang Xiao took his hand.
I don't know if it was because the Moscow nights in October were so cold, but his hands were icy cold.
He looked up at her and comforted her, "It's okay."
After everyone, including the driver, had finished their checks and returned to the vehicle, Ivanov waved goodbye to the soldiers: "Really, I'm really looking forward to you catching all the mafia. Since our president said that the Speaker brought the Chechens to Moscow and turned them into the mafia, now that the Speaker has been arrested, I'm sure you'll be able to wipe out the entire mafia next."
The officer didn't react at all, he just raised his hand to indicate that they could leave.
Wang Xiao only dared to breathe heavily after the car had traveled more than 500 meters.
Just now, when the gun was pointed at the car window, she felt her heart stop beating.
“It’s alright.” Ivanov’s face was still pale, but he stubbornly patted her hand: “It’s alright, Your Majesty, it’s alright.”
Let's hope so.
Who the hell said the Soviet Union disappeared without bloodshed? All the growing pains came after its collapse.
Who can say that Moscow hasn't been through a war? In fact, the war may not have ended yet.
Otherwise, why is the White House still burning? It's as if only by completely burning it down can it represent a new beginning.
The Soviet red flags that had stood around the White House were also burned to ashes.
Suddenly, the male cadre shouted, "What's that smell? They... they didn't throw some kind of chemical weapon into our car, did they?"
"No!" Wang Xiao frowned. "Stop talking nonsense."
He was afraid of being left off the bus again, so he had no choice but to hold his nose and endure it.
Once the car returned to the hotel, Wang Xiao took out her makeup kit and said slowly, "You guys get out of the car first, I need to touch up my makeup."
The male cadre cursed inwardly: "What a mess! Wearing makeup at this hour? What's she doing? Wearing makeup in the middle of the night? Oh, she's wearing makeup? I really didn't notice."
Ivanov readily agreed: "Of course, a beautiful lady should always be radiant."
He got out of the car with his bodyguard Nikolai and assistant, and beckoned the male cadre to walk towards the hotel.
Xiao Gao and Xiao Zhao also got out of the car and took charge of guarding the area around the vehicle.
Wang Xiao opened the vanity case and casually remarked, "Section Chief Tang, you're dressed too lightly. Put on a trench coat; it's windy tonight."
Lyuba had already taken out her bag, unfolded a trench coat, and handed it to the still-shaken female cadre.
As a female boss who always needs to be mindful of her image, Wang Xiao routinely carries clothes with her when she goes out. Otherwise, if her clothes get dirty, it would be unsightly for her to continue wearing them in public.
In addition to the trench coat, there was also a shawl.
However, a shawl is not a cape; a trench coat is more suitable now.
Section Chief Tang's nose tingled, and his eyes instantly welled up with tears. He quickly took the trench coat and put it on, saying softly, "Thank you."
After the three ladies got off the bus, the driver immediately began cleaning the passenger compartment.
God, He truly understands.
When the dark muzzle of a gun is about to be pressed against your head, who wouldn't feel a sudden urge to pee? He was almost scared to death, let alone a Chinese woman who had just arrived in Moscow and was still living like she was in the Soviet era.
A woman should always have dignity and shouldn't have to go through such an embarrassing experience.
Wang Xiao dropped the person off at the hotel reception and then prepared to leave.
The hotel owner came out of the next room and stared at her and Ivanov in astonishment: "Are you crazy? You still want to go out at this time! Don't you see what it's like outside? My God, even the White Terror couldn't be worse than this."
Wang Xiao and Ivanov exchanged a glance, feeling that there was indeed no need to risk going back.
Who knew they would be stopped and checked several times along the way?
"Are there any rooms available? Please book a few for us."
The boss quickly agreed: "Yes, yes, yes, the sheets and duvet covers were all washed and changed today. Just make do for one night, we'll talk again when it gets light."
The male cadre had already returned to his room. Hearing footsteps and voices outside, he secretly opened the door a crack to peek out.
Seeing that Wang Xiao and his group seemed to be staying overnight, they were so surprised that their voices rose: "Oh my, Mr. Wang, you're staying here?"
Wang Xiao wondered how their company, a large factory with tens of thousands of employees, could find such an arrogant and stupid person to be their overseas representative.
Let's leave aside the fact that I went to a nightclub to watch striptease late at night.
Just one moment he was in front of so many Russians, calling them "poor Russians" and "crazy poor"; the next moment he was in front of the hotel owner, looking at the hotel with disdain. How could he not be afraid that the owner would kick him out and leave him homeless in the middle of the night?
The male cadre really looked down on this hotel. He was already planning to rent an apartment in the diplomatic residence. When traveling, at least a two-bedroom apartment would be a fair reward for the hardships he had endured in Moscow.
Wang Xiao gave a slight smile: "Yes, the hotel is very nice, we are very satisfied. Goodbye, good night."
After escorting his boss back to his room, Xiao Gao muttered under his breath, "Mr. Wang, you're absolutely right. If all state-owned enterprise cadres were like this, even the biggest companies wouldn't be able to do business well in Moscow."
Good heavens! They really think they're on a vacation abroad, enjoying themselves!
In Moscow, which product manager can succeed without enduring hardship? When expanding into new markets, how can you expect to open up sales channels without putting in the effort?
They're so spoiled; they think people are begging them to give them orders.
Wang Xiao smiled but didn't comment. She only reminded them, "It's getting late, you should all go and get some rest."
Xiao Zhao and Liu Ba had finished inspecting the entire room when Xiao Zhao suddenly remarked, "This hotel has a good location; it could serve as a base."
Wang Xiao chuckled: "You really are General Su Yu!"
What does it mean? It's a short story.
When General Su Yu arrived in Shanghai after the liberation, he passed by a coffee shop and remarked that it was a nice coffee shop.
His wife found it strange, "You're usually not very romantic, why would you think a coffee shop is nice?"
As a result, General Su said in a serious tone that if a heavy machine gun were set up on each of the four sides of the second floor of this coffee shop, the entire street could be controlled.
Everyone laughed when they heard this.
Xiao Zhao was even more eager to try: "How about I go on guard duty with Brother Gao tonight?"
"What's there to be on guard for?" Wang Xiao urged them. "Go back to sleep. We don't have any heavy machine guns."
She turned around and, seeing that Ivanov showed no sign of moving, asked curiously, "Why don't you go back to your room to sleep?"
Ivanov's expression was complicated. After watching Xiao Gao and Xiao Zhao leave, he whispered, "Wang, do you really hate it when I go to nightclubs and clubs to watch striptease shows?"
In present-day Russia, striptease has been packaged as an art form. Numerous famous actresses from various troupes perform striptease. Schools are also openly recruiting students.
Wang Xiao sighed softly: "I've always believed in one thing: no matter how loud the voices around you are, or how loud your slogans are, whether you truly believe in something depends on whether you're willing to do it yourself, whether you're willing for your family, your relatives, your lover, and your friends to do it if you truly love them, and whether you'd feel proud because they did it?"
"If you are unwilling, it means you do not approve of it, and you do not believe it is good."
"It's immoral to encourage others to do something you don't even approve of."
Wang Xiao patted Ivanov on the shoulder, "Alright, my dear friend, get some rest."
But this night, they were destined to have no sleep.
It wasn't that Wang Xiao was picky about beds; she could fall asleep even on a makeshift bed on the floor when she was extremely tired. Rather, it was at five o'clock in the morning when footsteps suddenly sounded outside, and Xiao Gao anxiously came to knock on the door.
Then armed soldiers came to search for the so-called rioters. No matter how much the boss protested, they still broke into the room one by one and arrested several people without explanation.
Wang Xiao and the others were also kicked out of the room.
At five o'clock in the morning in Moscow in October, when she got on the train, freezing like a dog, she was so angry she wanted to curse.
Section Chief Tang burst into tears: "In such a big city like Moscow, isn't there a safe place for people to stay?"
Wang Xiao, who was cursing the damned Moscow government, suddenly brightened up upon hearing this and grabbed Ivanov, who was also cursing, saying, "Hey! Ivanov, a safe place... can't we provide our friend with a safe place to live?"
The container market!
There, apartments and villas have been built using thousands of shipping containers, which can be rented out in large quantities.
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