Chapter 158 Applause for the Leader's Speech: Happy Lantern Festival!
Wang Xiao was going to eat, and Ovechkin and the others immediately followed.
The large group rose in a grand procession, creating a striking scene.
It must be said that the allure of money is truly dazzling.
They arrived dressed in the same flashy outfit. But after seeing so many stylish people in the trade city, nobody gave them a second glance.
But then a million-dollar prize appeared out of nowhere, and they instantly became walking, talking stars.
Everyone's eyes followed them as they passed through a path lined with steaming, fragrant snacks.
Then I saw that they had flower cakes and flower steamed buns in their hands.
Rather than being lured by the aroma of the food, they were perhaps captivated by its beauty.
Despite their burly appearance and tendency to make a lot of noise when their cars break down, the Russians simply cannot resist anything exquisite and beautiful.
These colorful steamed buns, shaped in various ways, are so exquisite they look like hand-carved flower buns; they're simply irresistible at first glance!
Wang Xiao stared intently, utterly puzzled. The flower cake was one thing, but the flower-shaped steamed bun—
People in Jinning mainly eat rice, and they rarely steam buns at home; they even make fancy steamed buns!
The staff member from the trade city who accompanied them explained, "We sell everything, from all over the world. People now call this place the World Food Expo."
As she spoke, she gestured forward with her mouth, indicating to the boss that he should look.
There were several stalls in front of me, including a bearded Russian man selling kebabs and a Russian woman with a headscarf selling cheese pies.
There were quite a few people standing in front of the stall, including dealers and children who had brought their New Year's money to join in the fun.
The old lady who brought the child opened the red paper package for her grandson while scolding him, "Why don't you eat your regular meal and insist on coming here to eat this?"
As a result, she bought one for herself.
The staff almost burst out laughing and explained to the owner, "This auntie is Er Maozi, and their cheese pies are a family recipe passed down through generations."
When the Japanese devils occupied Northeast China, they tried to drive the Russians out. But the Japanese devils also liked her father's cheese pancakes, so her family wasn't evicted.
As for why she's now setting up a stall selling pies in the trade city, it's not that she came here on her own initiative.
Moreover, she has relatives serving in the military here. When she saw so many Russians doing business, she jokingly mentioned it when she went home to visit her family.
What was said in jest was taken seriously by the listener.
She tentatively followed along and set up a stall.
As a result, the authentic hometown flavors conquered the taste buds of countless foreign traders, turning her stall into an instant internet sensation, where she could earn in a day what she used to earn in two or three months.
It was from her that, little by little, other Russians started setting up stalls.
That's why the food street in the commercial city has earned the reputation of being an international food expo.
The Russians are really enthusiastic about participating. Not only are they selling food, but they've also added blond-haired, blue-eyed people to the stage where people used to do somersaults and perform operas.
Truly blue-eyed, the blonde on stage had a pair of cat-like emerald eyes.
When her gaze swept across the crowd, it was enough to steal one's soul.
She parted her lips slightly, and a cheerful melody of "Red Berries Bloom" flowed out.
People in the audience applauded and cheered.
The female scientist, who had been invited to dinner by Wang Xiao, frowned and muttered under her breath, "This is really rude."
In Moscow, in St. Petersburg, throughout the Russian Federation, and even in all the CIS countries, street performances are currently a very normal thing.
Even her son, who hadn't graduated from elementary school, would take his violin after school and perform on the bustling streets to earn pocket money.
It's terrible. This mother's business is so-so that she can barely support her family and can't even afford to give her children pocket money.
but--
This specially constructed stage is for Chinese opera actors to perform, not for others to use for their own entertainment.
A staff member at the trade center explained, "It's break time now."
The performers who came to perform today have had a very tough time. Everyone has made it very clear that if it weren't for international friendship, no matter how much money they were given, they wouldn't have come out to work on the first day of the Lunar New Year.
So it's perfectly normal for them to perform for a while and then take a break.
During the empty spaces in the middle, Russian actors came on stage to perform, which was quite nice.
The person on stage is clearly a professional. Look at the way he sings; his voice is just like the one played on a cassette tape. The audience is very satisfied.
A guy named Alexander in the newcomer group laughed: "She's the soloist in the choir."
How did he know so much? Because he went on a date with her.
He even got into a fight with another guy in order to get a date.
Unfortunately, the beauty soon left for another lover, and unexpectedly, she is now self-reliant and has come to China to perform.
They're really performing for money.
The beautiful woman with cat-like eyes finished singing a song, took off her hat, and circled the stage – was she asking for a tip?
She had a sudden inspiration after seeing that Chinese opera actors would ask for tips after their performances, with many people throwing money into their baskets. She then volunteered to go on stage and perform with them.
When Alexander tossed in a hundred-dollar bill, she winked at him, which made everyone burst into laughter.
Andrei teased Alexander, "Brother, you might be able to relive your old dreams soon."
After the cat-eyed beauty finished asking for a reward, she jumped off the stage cleanly and neatly, making room for the next person.
This time, the performers on stage are acrobats, and they're doing a bowl-balancing act.
However, Wang Xiao and the others were in a hurry to eat and didn't continue reading.
The onlookers seemed quite happy, with many clapping and cheering while eating snacks. Some even shouted themselves hoarse from excitement.
Don't blame everyone for looking ignorant.
It was a limitation of the times. In the era before mobile phones could be used to watch videos, apart from a small number of people who went to Moscow to buy goods and even paid for tickets to see a Russian circus performance, who had ever seen a Russian balancing bowl on their head or throwing bowls?
How interesting!
Wang Xiao turned to the staff and asked, "Are there many Russian artists coming to the trade city to buy goods these days?"
The girl being questioned is Chen Yu's assistant, who has quickly grown into a walking encyclopedia of the commercial city under intense pressure.
She nodded in affirmation: "Yes, there are more and more of them. But they're mostly small-scale operations with little capital."
No wonder.
Just like how, after China moved towards a market economy, arts groups that used to be supported by the national treasury and didn't have to worry about funding fell into deficits and had to find ways to make money.
The situation for Russian song and dance troupes and art groups is only going to get worse.
The assistant joked, "The people who went up on stage today really hit the jackpot; they'll probably be able to buy a whole package of goods to take home."
Wang Xiao pondered, "We can make use of this and turn it into a permanent stage so they can perform on it."
Sofia was previously recruited by a nightclub for a high price. Although the other party was probably up to no good, they had to admit that, due to various historical factors, China had a large number of Soviet fans and Soviet sympathizers.
Or to be more specific, he was a fan of Soviet literature and art.
Soviet novels, films, and songs all have a large following.
If professional actors were to perform on stage, it would surely attract a large audience.
The arts and cultural performance market is currently quite booming; otherwise, Xiang Dong wouldn't be so envious as to even want to bring the frail and elderly Ulanova to China for a tour.
However, while Grandma Ulanova could no longer dance, the Russian singers and dancers who were forced to go into business were still able to perform.
Wang Xiao turned her head and glanced at the audience clapping and cheering around the stage, thinking to herself that she would talk to Xiang Dong about this later.
Don't waste readily available resources.
If used properly, it might just be a small money-making opportunity.
Never underestimate the power of artistic performances.
When celebrities hold concerts, they can even directly boost the local economy.
Ovechkin glanced at her again and again at the stage, then immediately squeezed over to flatter her: "Miss Wang, if you were to go on stage, you would definitely be the queen of the entire venue."
Ivanov immediately pushed the man aside, his face contorted in disgust.
Look at this layout.
Is Wang the kind of person who would run up on stage and sing and dance for such a petty gain?
She definitely wants to make money off the singers and dancers.
Don't ask how he knows. If he didn't even have this much understanding, how could he be her perfect partner?
The female scientist, Maslova, found this group of people incomprehensible. She shook her head inwardly, deciding to focus on securing sponsorship first.
Their wireless integrated multimedia platform has been in development for over a year due to a lack of funding.
She suspected that if things continued this way, the project would become like the Soviet mobile phones, consigned to the dustbin of history.
During the Lunar New Year, not many restaurants will open their doors to serve customers.
As usual, Wang Xiao and his group went straight into the village, found a family-run restaurant, and let the owner prepare the food himself.
Seeing this, the boss thought, "Well, what else can I say?"
Not only was their own yard, which had been covered with a plastic shed, emptied out, but even the banquet they used to entertain relatives was requisitioned to entertain guests first.
It's quite interesting, actually.
If it were any other customer, the relative who had their food snatched from their mouth would definitely be angry, feeling that their cousin only cared about money and would do anything for it.
But since it was the Russians who were visiting, everyone felt that their treatment was a matter of course. After all, there are no small matters in diplomacy, and the priority was to make sure that the foreign friends were well-fed.
But Wang Xiao estimated that the boss was probably unaware of all that; he simply wanted to make money.
After all, making money is addictive. Once you get a taste of the sweetness, nothing can stop you from making money.
The cold dishes were served first, and while waiting for the hot dishes, Wang Xiao and Comrade Maslova discussed the details of the super-functional integrated communication system again.
It must be said that although the Russians may seem to lead rough lives, they are all actually artists in their own right.
Even without any materials at hand, Maslova was able to create a blueprint for a smart home with just a pen and a piece of paper.
Everyone passed the blueprint around, and they all looked at it with great interest.
The watch can also be used to listen to the radio; it really feels like something out of a 007 movie.
Haha, if that were the case, radio would definitely be obsolete.
Someone nearby countered, "Radio can basically play cassette tapes, so it won't be phased out."
As a result, Wang Xiao dealt them a heavy blow: "Both of these functions can be placed on the phone, so you can listen to the radio and listen to music on the phone."
She remembered that when she was in middle school, she could listen to the radio by plugging in earphones to her phone.
Later, when mobile apps became popular, even headphones could be omitted.
As for listening to music, that's a major function of mobile phones; music phones were once a major selling point.
Everyone stared in disbelief, even Maslova couldn't help but express her confusion: "Are cell phones that important?"
She felt as if, in the words of this Chinese boss, the mobile phone was simply the king of the world, and with one phone in hand, she had the world at her fingertips.
Wang Xiao was almost moved to tears. "Sister, you understand me so well. This is exactly what I meant."
"The functions of a mobile phone can be used indefinitely; it can also be turned into a camera to take pictures."
Wang Xiao emphasized enthusiastically, "Although we now have point-and-shoot cameras that make taking pictures very simple, they are still far inferior to mobile phone screens that can display images instantly."
A good mobile photography app, aside from meeting the specific needs of professionals, can be more practical and useful than a camera for ordinary people.
It can also act as a video recorder, recording on the spot and allowing you to view the recording on your phone immediately.
It can also function as a miniature television, so people won't need to carry a physical TV around to watch TV; they can simply use their mobile phones.
Maslova had seen Japanese-made watch televisions, and although it was a failed invention that was difficult to commercialize, as a fellow scientist, she had to admit that it was a great invention concept, an application geared towards the needs of the 21st century.
This boss now intends to replace watches with mobile phones.
This seems to be the complete opposite.
After all, not everyone needs a mobile phone when they are out and about.
But who can live without a watch? It's a big problem when you're out and about and don't know the time.
However, Wang Xiao cut her off directly: "You can also tell the time on your phone, just like the screen of a digital watch. You can display the time directly on your phone screen."
Well, for her, the watch is just an ornament, completely meaningless.
"How could that be?" Wang Xiao said with a smile.
Before she could continue speaking, a voice called out to her from not far away: "Wang Xiao—"
She turned her head, nodded to the person who came, and even greeted Wu Haoyu's mother: "Hello, Auntie. Have you eaten yet? Let's eat together, the free-range chicken will be served soon."
Wu Haoyu quickly chimed in, "No, we came here to eat."
Wang Xiao nodded to him again to indicate that she understood, then turned her head to continue discussing with her friends: "The watch is useful; the watch can also make phone calls."
She then described the functions of the phone watch.
Ovechkin blinked, utterly confused: "Then why not just call on a cell phone?"
Wang Xiao paused for a second before she managed to control the urge to roll her eyes.
"Schools need to restrict students' use of mobile phones. Otherwise, if students can play games, watch dramas, and listen to music on their phones, they won't be able to control themselves and will be playing on their phones all day long. How will they study then?"
In fact, even adults can't control it.
How many adults don't slack off and scroll through their phones at work?
However, since adults control the world's discourse, they must first control the children.
oh--
Everyone suddenly realized that it was indeed necessary.
Wang Xiao continued, "Besides that, the watch can also monitor a person's health. For example, heart rate, blood pressure, how many steps you take in a day, and how many calories you burn. This data can be directly connected to a computer and a mobile phone."
This way, when elderly, infirm, or disabled individuals live alone at home, other family members can monitor their condition in real time while they are at work. If any problems are detected, they can be addressed quickly.
Alexander sighed, “My God, can’t we just hire a nanny?”
Wang Xiao smiled insincerely: "If you hire a nanny, smart home technology can also come in handy. For example, you can install surveillance cameras at home, and the images can be transmitted to your mobile phone in real time, so you can know whether the nanny is abusing the elderly and children, such as giving them sleeping pills so that you don't have to take care of them and can go out to play on your own."
Everyone immediately straightened their expressions.
This kind of thing has never stopped.
Taking care of the elderly and children is a very troublesome task in itself. A caregiver who lacks a sense of responsibility will cause all sorts of trouble once she realizes that no one is watching them.
There are also cases where nannies gave children large amounts of sleeping pills so they could go out on dates, resulting in the children's deaths.
Such an intelligent monitoring system is indeed necessary. After all, if money isn't spent wisely, it won't buy you peace of mind.
Suddenly, Wu's mother, who had been silent all along, asked, "Can a watch really monitor health conditions?"
“Yes, it is.” Wang Xiao said with great certainty. “Its principle is actually similar to that of an electrocardiogram monitor, except that it integrates some functions.”
Maslova muttered to herself, "My God, we can't do that now. We need a lot of funding to continue our research."
"Do what you can do first." Capitalists, before investing, must first see a return. "This display screen—"
She pointed to the laptop on the blueprint and asked, "Are you using LCD screen technology?"
Maslova paused for a moment before nodding in affirmation: "Yes."
Wang Xiao's eyes lit up: "Then can the display screen be used on a color TV?"
“Of course,” Maslova said firmly. “Back then, people were already making color TVs with LCD screens.”
Wang Xiao's eyes widened: "Really? Did you do this?"
My God, how many treasures does the Soviet Union actually hide?
Unfortunately, Maslova dampened her enthusiasm: "No, it was made by Americans. LCD screens can be used in all kinds of electronic products."
Wang Xiao was puzzled: why did LCD TVs only become popular after the 21st century?
Okay, let's ask the technical questions first.
She mustered her courage and asked rather boldly, "Then what about a touchscreen? I mean, one that replaces the function of a keyboard, allowing you to control the device by pressing buttons directly on the screen with your fingers."
"Yes." Maslova could hardly contain her pride.
Look, this is the power of knowledge! She felt as if she had become a teacher on a university podium again.
"Touchscreens are mainly used in air traffic management."
She suddenly remembered something and added, "But mobile phones, you said, last year IBM launched a phone called Simon, which had a touchscreen."
Wang Xiao immediately covered her mouth.
Otherwise, she would definitely let out a groundhog scream on the spot.
How many surprises await her in this era? These technologies already exist!
She couldn't help but cry out to God.
She was truly surrounded by gold mines without realizing it; how many treasures she had missed!
"I want this too." Her eyes gleamed with greed. "I want a smartphone with a touchscreen."
Maslova reminded her, "This will be very expensive."
"It's okay," Wang Xiao said nonchalantly. "It's sold to rich people."
Any new technology or invention is most effective when marketed to wealthy people.
Because the rich and powerful don't allow others to touch their cheese, but welcome the whole world to try to please them and provide them with more and more interesting new toys.
That's right, smartphones will be defined as a big, showy toy.
When it has fulfilled its mission of showing off and attracting everyone's attention with its powerful functions, that will be the time when its production cost decreases and it gradually enters every household.
This process cannot rely solely on advancements in scientific research and technology; rather, it largely depends on mature production clusters and markets to drive down prices.
For example, when the Balance Scooter was launched to the market by the Dutch in 2005, it cost $80,000 to manufacture and was only a small toy for the wealthy.
But it was only after the Americans drove it up to $20,000 and the Chinese controlled it down to a couple of thousand Chinese yuan that it truly became a means of transportation for ordinary people.
This is a step that cannot be accomplished overnight; it must be done slowly and gradually.
She took a sip of coconut juice; coconuts are the most popular fruit in the trade city this season.
The owner of the family restaurant brought out some free-range chicken soup, and Wang Xiao immediately urged everyone, "Eat up, eat up, drink the soup while it's hot."
However, she did not serve soup to anyone.
If you want to drink, help yourself; she doesn't have the habit of serving others meals.
She poured herself a bowl of soup and drank three mouthfuls in a row, feeling really comfortable.
In the dead of winter, we should eat something warm and comforting.
Actually, she really wants to make hot pot right now.
Just as she was feeling regretful, more people came into the plastic tent, and the owner negotiated with them: "It's okay if we squeeze in, it's just the two of them."
The general public really loves excitement.
It's the first day of the Lunar New Year, a time when every household should be exchanging New Year's greetings.
As a result, when the newspaper mentioned that there was a celebration at the Trade City today, some people made a special trip to the Trade City to have fun.
This is great, there's not enough space for everyone to eat.
“Sure,” Wang Xiao readily agreed. “It’s more fun with more people. Grandma, please have a seat too.”
Instead of smiling, the gray-haired Russian grandmother frowned slightly, as if she had finally been holding back for a long time, and bluntly said to Wang Xiao, "Miss Wang, what you are doing is wrong."
Wang Xiao was taken aback for a moment, but didn't feel particularly offended.
Because she knew that was typical of Russians; they weren't enthusiastic, they were indifferent.
But they will indifferently spend half an hour leading the way for you; they will indifferently take your suitcase, climb the high steps in one go, and then return the suitcase to you.
From beginning to end, they didn't even utter a single word.
"Grandma, what's wrong? Is there a problem?" Wang Xiao adopted a listening posture, welcoming any suggestions.
“A performance? Is all of this just a performance?” the old woman said emotionally. “Were those performances specially staged for us foreigners? The local people here have never seen anything like it. This shouldn’t be happening. This is wrong.”
This reminded her of her terrible memories of the Soviet Union.
To prove that the Soviet Union had sufficient supplies, the authorities would arrange for staged photo shoots. After the foreigners left, the Soviet citizens who had purchased the goods had to return them all.
From beginning to end, it was all a show put on for foreigners.
Wang Xiao blinked twice, unsure how to respond.
She could only awkwardly reply, "It is indeed prepared for you, because we usually start these activities on the second day of the Lunar New Year."
"No," the old lady insisted. "If it was the second day of the Lunar New Year, then why hadn't they seen it before?"
Wang Xiao was very straightforward: "I don't have money. It costs money to invite people to perform. We didn't have that much money before, so of course we couldn't afford it. This year we specially approved a sum of money so that everyone could have a good time together."
The old lady asked with great skepticism, "Don't you really know how to act for foreigners?"
She didn't believe it.
All the drawbacks are the same.
Everyone present looked at each other, equally bewildered; they couldn't explain it either.
The young people are too young; their childhood memories are already filled with relatively abundant material supplies.
And for older people, like restaurant owners—
I'm sorry, my family has been farmers for generations, so I don't know how much food is provided in the city. Anyway, they've always eaten vegetables grown on their own private plot of land.
The only one who could answer the question was Wu's mother.
She smiled, not bothering to avoid offending the respected person, but instead speaking frankly: "In the past, there was such a thing as 'showing the dishes.' Those fresh cucumbers, tomatoes, and tender bok choy were displayed for foreigners. After they left, we would return the dishes. But that's not the case anymore."
She emphasized, "Our concern now is that we have too much food and not enough time to eat it, not that we are worried about the supply."
She gestured outside, saying, "With so many people, we can't possibly accommodate so many actors."
Whether the old woman listened or not was unclear. She seemed slightly relieved, but her eyes remained fixed on them as she emphasized, word by word: "Don't deceive the people, never fool them. The people are not fools; they don't need to listen to your lies and self-deception."
We don't need to listen to flowery lies; we want to know what kind of world we really live in.
The people are always the wisest.
Treating the people like fools is the most foolish thing in the world.
Please remember this. Otherwise, you will die like the Soviet Union. That's how the Soviet Union died.
The people in the room looked at each other in bewilderment. Wang Xiao subconsciously exchanged a glance with Wu Haoyu's mother, and then said in unison, "Of course, absolutely not."
As expected of a high-ranking leader, Aunt Wu added a profound statement: "We will always remember that practice is the sole criterion for testing truth."
"Clap clap clap." Applause rang out from inside the room.
When everyone's attention was focused on her hands, the assistant looked completely bewildered.
What are you doing? One by one.
Didn't you hear the leader speaking? You have to applaud when the leader speaks.
Honestly, a bunch of grown men, with absolutely no sense of self-awareness.
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Happy Lantern Festival! Have a good rest and nourish yourself. Thank you to all the little angels who voted for me or watered my plants between 2024-02-23 07:24:33 and 2024-02-24 07:23:55!
Thank you to the little angel who threw the landmine: Ring 1;
Thank you to the little angels who watered the nutrient solution: Zheng Wuyang 21 bottles; Qiqi 10 bottles; Wucai Fengye 6 bottles; Affirmation, Daydayup 5 bottles; Yuanyuan, Qiaoqiao Shi Xinbian de Xiaoxiao, Ou'an, aurora 1 bottle;
Thank you so much for your support! I will continue to work hard!
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