Chapter 243 From now on, work for me: No one is without desires.
General Cheng frowned, looking quite troubled.
However, Wang Xiao has never had a kind and understanding heart, and she has no biases towards any group.
So, you can worry about your troubles, I'll just eat my vegetables and eat my rice.
General Cheng was surprised that this young woman was so calm and composed, acting as if nothing had happened.
Minister Cao remained calm, thinking to himself, "Without this kind of effort, they wouldn't have been able to get to where they are today."
She wasn't going to be a persuader; she just smiled and discussed with Wang Xiao how good the lamb for today's hot pot was, how tender it was. The cabbage hearts, after being blanched, even tasted sweet.
In the end, General Cheng couldn't hold out any longer and waited until after dinner before asking the restaurant manager to find them a place where they could talk.
To be honest, restaurants in this era, especially high-end ones, are never just places to eat; they are important social venues.
Without saying a word, the person in charge immediately opened another small conference room for them.
Once the door is closed, it's a completely different world.
Minister Cao didn't come in. In her words, she didn't understand anything, so she didn't want to say anything more.
Just one.
"If you manage to manufacture drones, let me know and we'll place an order."
Wang Xiao readily agreed: "Okay, we've been waiting for you, our big customer."
This made Minister Cao burst into laughter.
After entering the small conference room and after the people brought by Minister Cao had finished their inspection, he finally spoke: "It's just that an old friend of mine wants to get some titanium alloy."
Wang Xiao was completely bewildered: "Titanium alloy? I have rare earth elements, but I really don't have titanium alloy."
As it turned out, General Cheng was also a layman, and he actually blinked and asked Wang Xiao, "What are rare earth elements used for?"
Wang Xiao couldn't explain it in a few words: "It's a rare metal, an industrial raw material. As for that titanium alloy, I really don't have any, and I don't know where to get it."
General Cheng suppressed his emotions, avoiding looking at the Russian, and spoke only to Wang Xiao: "The disassembled aircraft contains titanium alloy."
Wang Xiao then said "Oh," and pointed at Ivanov: "I said we should ask him about this. Without him, where am I supposed to find planes to dismantle?"
But before General Cheng could be happy, she emphasized, "We've never done this before. Whether we can get it or not is hard to say. So, all I can say for now is to give it a try; I can't make any guarantees."
General Cheng flattered her, saying, "President Wang, you're too modest. We all know you're incredibly capable. Otherwise, how could you have amassed such a fortune?"
But Wang Xiao declined, saying, "It's precisely because we have such a large family and business that we have so many people who depend on us for their livelihood, and so many others who are watching us and hoping we'll die. That makes things even more difficult for us."
She smiled and said, "Making this is not as good as making drones."
But General Cheng shook his head: "We need this, and we also need to make drones."
Wang Xiao laughed and said about drones, "Then let's go back to Russia and see if we can find scientists to do this project. Your military farms should place orders then."
General Cheng smiled broadly: "Definitely, definitely, I've been looking forward to it for a long time. It saves us from soldiers getting poisoned and collapsing in the fields after spraying pesticides, which would be a laughing stock for the villagers."
Wang Xiao smiled and took the opportunity to make another request: "By the way, General, there's something else I'd like to ask you to see if you can help me with."
General Cheng became wary: "You're not still thinking of taking over the air routes, are you? That's really not an option. We're having a tough time right now, and we can't afford to overreach ourselves."
Wang Xiao sighed, "Well, then I won't trouble you, General. But could you do me another small favor? I went to the Red Star Ribbon Factory today to try and take over their old factory buildings. But the factory has moved away, though it still needs to produce. Their products are of good quality, but the market is currently very volatile, and orders have decreased drastically. I was just wondering if you need any goods? They used to supply a lot of materials to the military and military factories."
General Cheng still couldn't readily agree.
Procurement is a complex matter, no matter which organization you're in.
Especially now, with the military also engaging in business.
Therefore, General Cheng simply said, "Alright, I'll go back and ask around."
Wang Xiao smiled and nodded in thanks.
Actually, she didn't really expect to get this extra order.
She was merely using this incident to express her stance; she was simply taking the titanium alloy issue to heart.
As Wang Xiao left the conference room and headed back to his private room, he saw the restaurant manager seeing off a woman in her early thirties, saying, "Think it through, don't be so impulsive."
"I wasn't acting impulsively." The woman, who had the same short haircut as Meng Tingwei, with gentle eyes and cheekbones that couldn't be covered by makeup, looked extremely forlorn. "I just felt it was unnecessary. It's awkward for everyone here. But I can't help it. I'm already this age. If I don't have children now, it will be too late."
The person in charge frowned: "Well, there's nothing we can do about it."
She herself was even glad that she got married and had children early, and that she only started working after weaning her children.
Thanks to the family planning policy, no one dared to force her to have a second child, so her career path continued to rise without ever being interrupted by childbirth.
Wang Xiao stopped and turned around to greet him, "Don't rush off, Mr. Huang. I need to trouble you with something. Please mentor this manager and train her to be a capable manager like yourself. I'm opening a store in Beijing and I'm short a general manager. I'm wondering where to find someone."
Mr. Huang was taken aback, but then smiled warmly: "Oh, Mr. Wang, no trouble at all, it's my honor. Hey, Zhao Qing, hurry up and thank Mr. Wang. Oh, I'm so jealous, Mr. Wang, you don't even think about poaching me."
Wang Xiao chuckled: "How could I dare? If I poach you, the Jiangdong Provincial Government would call and scold me for being immoral, specifically targeting the pillars of the province."
Mr. Huang shook his head repeatedly before nodding: "Okay, I will definitely train you wholeheartedly. As long as you don't mind my poor skills later."
Wang Xiao exchanged a few more polite words with her before returning to the private room.
The plates on the table had been removed and replaced with citrus fruits and strawberries. Under the light, the orange-yellow and red-red fruits looked especially tempting.
Wang Xiao took an orange and rubbed it in his hands, trying to make a small orange lamp. He also made a solemn promise to Minister Cao: "Next time, bring some cherries. South African cherries grow in winter."
The secretary is selecting karaoke songs; everyone's enthusiasm for karaoke is running high. Even the Prime Minister and his wife took a photo of themselves singing karaoke at home.
"Great, let's wait and see what's new in winter." Minister Cao beckoned her to his side. She already knew about her talent recruitment efforts and laughed, "You're like this, even while eating, you don't forget to scoop some more into your bowl."
Wang Xiao laughed and said, "Government agencies produce talented people. If I hadn't been lucky, I wouldn't have gotten a chance to be a good receptionist like Manager Zhao, who frequently deals with leaders."
Minister Cao nodded and smiled: "That means we are destined to meet, and it means you are destined to attract talent."
Thinking about it, it's actually quite nice.
Wang Xiao's land acquisition in Beijing has only just begun to show some promise, and it will take at least a year before construction is completed and staff are hired. By then, Manager Zhao's child will be old enough to attend daycare, which will naturally have a much smaller impact on her work.
Having experienced this workplace crisis, Manager Zhao will likely be even more dedicated to his work.
Besides, the girl following behind Wang Xiao, named Xiao Tao, is indeed a bit naive and too much like a student. She needs someone knowledgeable in social interactions to mentor her.
Minister Cao sighed, "Having children is indeed a hurdle for women. When I was young, intellectuals were sidelined, which gave me the opportunity to get married and have children, thus completing my mission."
Wang Xiao thought to himself, "A mission? Who gave us this mission?"
So she just smiled and didn't comment.
But Minister Cao treated her like a junior and was quite concerned about her: "President Wang, you'd better make arrangements in advance when you have children. Or, are you going to find someone to have a child for you?"
Every era has its limitations.
For example, in 1994, almost no one in China believed that surrogacy was an exploitation of women.
On the contrary, it is considered a manifestation of modern technological progress.
There are societal opinions about surrogacy, which mainly focus on ethical debates such as whether surrogate mothers will have extramarital affairs with their male employers, and whether the children born should be considered the children of the female employer or the surrogate mother.
Therefore, Wang Xiao was not surprised that Minister Cao would ask such a question.
She just smiled and shook her head: "I don't want to. Childbirth is dangerous, how could I let someone else take the risk for me? They could do something better with that time."
Minister Cao nodded in deep agreement: "Having children is indeed troublesome."
Wang Xiao started laughing again: "So I want to see if the Soviet Union's black technology includes artificial uteruses, so that we can mass-produce children."
Minister Cao's eyes widened in surprise: "There's such a thing?"
Wang Xiao nodded solemnly: "The Soviet government has come up with all sorts of tricks to increase the number of children, even including an egg tax. They might have started from this angle as well."
General Cheng was practically deaf to the noise.
Good heavens, women these days really speak without restraint, they can say anything about things like "egg tax" all the time.
Thank goodness there was a karaoke machine playing music, so he could pretend to listen to the songs and not hear what they were saying.
Wang Xiao and Minister Cao, however, didn't see anything wrong with it. Even the Russians themselves refer to it that way, so why should they avoid it?
Minister Cao laughed out loud: "If that really exists, it would be a great thing. Combined with that housekeeping robot, it would completely liberate women from the kitchen."
General Cheng couldn't hold back any longer. He had no interest in the current decadent music and couldn't listen to it. He shook his head and interjected, "You can't say that. If that's the case, what will happen to the women who work as nannies and hourly workers? They'll lose their jobs. I think you'd be better off working on drones, which is dangerous work. Leave the non-dangerous jobs to other people; at least they can earn money that way."
Minister Cao wholeheartedly agreed: "Indeed, employment is a major issue."
She pointed to the color TV in the private room, "Look, even the karaoke is singing 'Sorrow, Sorrow'."
General Cheng was shocked when he saw it: "No, no, no, these are tears shed behind bars, it can't be that bad."
The private room erupted in laughter, and the secretary, who was singing "Sorrow, Oh Sorrow," looked at everyone blankly.
Wang Xiao was laughing so hard she could hardly breathe.
Dude, your mentality is something else. Listen to what this song is even about.
I wear a 2.8-foot-tall sign around my neck, and it carries me through the streets and alleys.
They really don't hold back at all.
Ivanov listened to the translation of the lyrics and found it incredible.
The Chinese are truly a remarkable people.
It wouldn't be surprising if this song became popular in Moscow. Because the Mafia's power is so immense, many children nowadays aspire to grow up wearing Mafia jackets and becoming members of the gang.
China? Their children's ideal is clearly to grow up to be scientists, maybe with the addition of a boss.
Wang Xiao wiped away her tears with a smile: "That's the charm of people, you can never understand what they're thinking."
Finally, everyone sang "Moscow Nights" together, bringing the evening's eating, drinking, and entertainment to a close.
Once in the car, the first thing Ivanov did was apologize to Wang Xiao: "Wang, I was really outrageous."
Look, when the top military officials in China wanted to speak with Wang alone, Wang insisted that they must be present and listen together, otherwise he wouldn't go.
But when he was at the club, he left Wang all alone outside and went to the study by himself.
His tone made Wang Xiao wonder if her memory was playing tricks on her, as if she really should have had this experience of "the cabbage turning yellow in the field".
Haha, back then she had bodyguards and assistants all around her, she couldn't even write the word "alone" anymore.
But that didn't stop Wang Xiao from taking the opportunity to brainwash him: "So, you know I've been pretty good to you, right?"
Ivanov chuckled, eager to prove himself: "Titanium alloy, we should be able to get our hands on it."
Although this stuff is notoriously expensive, and there are quite a few people who know about getting titanium alloy scrap from abandoned aircraft, at least Nikolai and his group do.
But in reality, not many people actually considered this route.
Why? Because it's like everyone knows that the materials from dismantling old cars can be sold for money, but there are still a lot of abandoned cars on the streets—it's a hassle.
You can't just drag the whole aircraft frame out to sell and have the buyer disassemble it for you.
Those who are interested in buying airplanes either have their eyes on the cash needed to buy plane tickets or can simply obtain ready-made titanium alloys from the national strategic reserves; there's really no need for them to do something so troublesome and laborious.
Thinking about it this way, Ivanov truly felt like a law-abiding citizen, and he actually started selling scrap metal in a legitimate way.
Well, what else could they be but scrap? Those airplanes, exposed to the sun and rain, piled up on the tarmac, what use could they be but a testament to the desolation of the Soviet Union after its dismantling?
He had once heard a saying that poor people couldn't afford to live in mansions because they couldn't afford to maintain them.
Aren't the post-Soviet CIS countries just like this—poor? No matter how many good things the Soviet Union left behind, they couldn't keep them.
It's better to sell it while it's still worth some money.
Otherwise, they probably wouldn't even be able to sell it for the price of scrap steel.
Wang Xiao scratched his head: "Do you know how to extract titanium alloy from scrap?"
Ivanov, the academic underachiever, instantly activated his self-defense system: "I don't know." Then he countered with, "Aren't you studying chemical engineering? You don't know either?"
Wang Xiao rarely suffered a setback, but he wasn't guilty at all. "I'll return it to my teacher in eight hundred years."
But none of that matters.
Because Russia lacks everything except scientific researchers, and the current situation of brainpower being out of sync with physical labor is particularly serious.
Ivanov had already planned it out: "Do you think the steel mill could refine titanium alloys?"
This was something beyond Wang Xiao's knowledge.
Honestly, why ask such a thing?
"I don't know, let's ask. If it can really be extracted, there's a possibility that Kugang Steel could regain its former glory as a world-class factory."
The pancake smelled so good that even Ivanov, who considered himself a lazy bum, got excited.
He had long accepted Wang Xiao's view that Russia had no future in developing light industry. But if it could take its heavy industry to a higher level, it could find its place in the world.
After all, Europe and America are busy with deindustrialization.
Back at the hotel, the man upstairs didn't even bother to take a shower; he was busy making phone calls.
He wanted to save his steel mill; he wanted to save Russia's heavy industry.
Wang Xiao clicked her tongue secretly as she listened to him muttering to himself.
Sure enough, people get tipsy and their blood boils when they drink alcohol.
Good, keep it up. If the steel mill really does produce titanium alloy, she'll get a share of the profits.
Oh dear, that's it, kid. You're on your own now, I'm going to sleep.
Wang Xiao stretched and went back to her room; she had a tough battle to fight tomorrow.
As it turns out, Mr. Wang's awareness was very necessary.
After all, when it comes to acquiring land, there will always be holdouts during demolition and relocation.
It would be historically inaccurate to say that 40 acres of land on the outskirts of Beijing's Second Ring Road could have been acquired so easily in 1994.
Therefore, the next morning, after eating a hearty meal, she went to the Red Star Ribbon Factory, only to receive bad news as soon as she entered—at the staff meeting the previous day, everyone strongly opposed selling the old factory to her.
Wang Xiao didn't feel like it was a bolt from the blue.
That's how business works, isn't it? Ask for the moon, then haggle.
Tell me, state your demands first. What exactly do you need to sell the factory for you to agree to?
The factory manager shook his head, quite helplessly: "Everyone just doesn't want to sell."
To be honest, he wouldn't be happy to move from the Second Ring Road, well, even though it's on the edge of the Second Ring Road, to the Third Ring Road, which is closer to the Fourth Ring Road.
He understood the employees' feelings.
Even if they move away, the old factory is still there, so at least everyone will still have something to look forward to, right?
Wang Xiao sighed softly, starting to put pressure on them: "That's such a pity. It seems that the Air Force and Russian orders I secured for you yesterday will be useless."
The factory manager's eyes lit up instantly; he had no doubt about Wang Xiao's sales ability.
On the surface, sales seem to be all about product quality and price. But those who actually work in the industry know that, most of the time, what determines success or failure is one's sales channels.
If you lack the channels, even the best things will struggle to catch someone's eye.
Wang Xiao shook his head, looking quite regretful: "Forget it, the deal is already done. I'll just find some similar southern goods to substitute. It's alright, factory manager, you don't need to worry about my deal falling through."
The factory manager is worried about her with complete idiot!
The factory manager was worried about the livelihood of the ribbon factory!
"Hey, Mr. Wang, don't rush to switch factories. We can discuss this further. After all, people aren't familiar with you, so it's understandable that they have some reservations. Once the products are sold and they recognize your capabilities, they'll naturally be more willing to trust you."
Ivanov had been on the phone for half the night and his eyelids were almost too heavy to keep open. After listening to the translation, his eyelids immediately closed to their maximum capacity.
Good heavens, to put it in Chinese terms, this factory manager's abacus beads are practically bouncing off people's faces.
This is a scheme to get something for nothing. They're trying to open up sales channels so they can then go it alone.
Tsk, they're so good at scheming, how come their factory is going downhill?
Wang Xiao smiled and said, "I advise you not to think too much about it. After all, if you run all three hundred machines and produce a huge amount of goods, and then the other party suddenly decides they don't want them, the loss will be too great. Cross-border lawsuits are too costly. Arguing with the military might not even yield a result. I don't mean anything by it, I just like to be upfront about the unpleasant things."
The factory manager vehemently denied it: "That's not true. We never do things like kicking someone after they've served their purpose. It's just that, oh dear, I can't persuade everyone. I really have no other choice."
When Wang Xiao pressed him for more information, he just shook his head repeatedly.
"Alright then." Wang Xiao didn't press the matter. "You go ahead with your work, we'll be going now."
Yang Tao couldn't believe her ears. After following the boss out of the factory gate, she whispered, "Mr. Wang, which factory should we choose next?"
Good heavens! The boss gave up so quickly? She thought the boss would persist for a while longer.
That's right. The boss's time is much more valuable than hers. There's really no need to waste time on such a trivial matter as 40 acres of land.
Wang Xiao was utterly speechless at her desperate attempt to convince herself: "Who told you we were going to give up?"
Yang Tao immediately stopped breathing and whispered, "But the factory manager said it's the factory workers who disagree; they can't bear to leave the factory."
She could actually understand that feeling.
It's like her old house in her hometown, the place where she grew up. Even if it's just sitting there empty, as long as it's still there, the time she spent living in it will never disappear.
Unfortunately, her boss wasn't buying it: "There's no wall that can't be breached, and no one is without desires. If you say you absolutely won't, it just means you don't have enough leverage."
Since there was still some time, Wang Xiao took the opportunity to personally lead the team on their way. "First, we need to find out the real reason why the employees are determined not to sell the factory. Don't spout nonsense about being reluctant to part with it. Most of the employees in the ribbon factory are women. Working women are willing to stretch every penny they have to spend. They don't have the leisure to indulge in romantic notions about matters that affect their income."
She added, "Don't impose your ideas on others. People's thoughts vary greatly depending on their living environment and the pressure they face."
The starfruit is going to burrow into the ground again.
She never seems to be smart in front of her boss.
Xiao Gao and Xiao Zhao looked at her with envy. The boss was only going to such lengths to train her because he needed her; otherwise, he probably wouldn't even bother to say a word to her, let alone get angry.
Fortunately, while Yang Tao's ability to slay the entire scene is indeed weak, her execution is truly strong.
As soon as the boss gave the order, she quickly found out that the reason the ribbon factory workers disagreed was because they didn't want to move in the first place.
Everyone felt that as long as the factory hadn't been sold, it still belonged to them, and since they didn't want to leave, no one could force them.
After Yang Tao finished her report, she also complained, "What are they thinking? The Beijing municipal government made them move, how could they possibly stay?"
Wang Xiao didn't respond to her question, but only asked, "So now that you know the reason, what are you going to do next?"
Yang Tao finally had something to say: "Shatter their illusions, contact the government, and let them know that relocation is definitely going to happen, so stop dreaming."
She thought her plan was good, but unfortunately, her boss wasn't going to let her off so easily. He pressed her further, asking, "If they just stand their ground with the government and refuse to move, and the government doesn't want to escalate the situation, what are you going to do then?"
The starfruit got stuck.
Are you really going against the government? Isn't that just asking for trouble?
Wang Xiao said meaningfully, "Think carefully about what I said. No one is without desires, and the employees of the ribbon factory are no exception. Find out what can move them the most and make them eager to move away immediately."
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Note: In the 1990s, Chinese law indeed did not restrict surrogacy at all, and it was widely considered a sign of advancement in medical technology. It can only be said that people's understanding of new things evolves over time. Initially, it was difficult for people to recognize the problems involved.
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