Chapter 610
Revitalizing? No, Taking Off!
Chapter 610 Revitalizing? No, Taking Off! (4000 words)
"My goodness! The Deputy Director of the Presidential Office and Director of the Inspectorate of the Russian Empire is equivalent to the Deputy Director of the Central Office and Director of the Central Inspection Office of our East Asian Communist Party?! This level... must be at the vice-ministerial level, right?!"
The older folks were dumbfounded. The more they were in the system, the more they knew how difficult it was to get promoted, especially to the ministerial level, where ability, luck, and connections were all indispensable.
"How many months has he been serving as deputy director of the secretariat?"
"It's less than four months at most!"
Holy crap.
This is the core advisory circle of the Russian president. Their power has shifted from managing housing to managing officials, reporting directly to the president, and even recommending the dismissal of ineffective officials—they wield considerable real power.
Under normal circumstances, it takes at least 3 to 5 years to go from deputy director to deputy director, and that's assuming everything goes smoothly.
But Putin took this path and only took 4 months! It was a rocket-like promotion.
Even if he were Ye Liqing's biological son, it wouldn't happen so quickly.
Anyone with even a slight understanding of international politics would be completely baffled as to how Putin managed to do it. Does he have some hidden, powerful background?
That shouldn't be the case. If he were really that capable, how could he have lived such a miserable life before, almost becoming a taxi driver?
The silver-haired female cadre's face was blank, her mind a complete blank. After a long while, her voice was hoarse: "This...this is what Lin Xiaohe predicted?"
She looked utterly devastated, as if she were completely broken: "How on earth did they do that?! Does this even make sense?!"
As if grasping at a last straw, she looked at her secretary beside her: "What did the international political experts say? Did they see anything?"
The secretary quickly gave the leader a nitroglycerin pill, fearing that the leader might faint due to excessive emotional excitement.
"Leader, take a deep breath, inhale, exhale... Experts say that Ye Liqing urgently needs loyal and capable people from his own circle to purge the bureaucratic system."
The silver-haired female cadre's breathing gradually slowed down, but everyone, including herself, knew clearly that it was easy to deduce the cause from the effect, but how difficult it was to predict the future when one was in the midst of it!
Lin Xiaohe is either a genius or a lucky woman destined for greatness!
……
On January 3, 1997, after reporting to her superiors, Lin Xiaohe boarded a plane and flew directly to Moscow.
This trip was a secret mission; Lin Xiaohe only brought Chen Guang and two bodyguards with her.
January in Moscow is the coldest time of year, and looking out of the airplane window, the rooftops of Russian-style buildings are covered with a layer of white snow.
The office of the Deputy Chief of Staff of the Presidential Administration and Director of the Inspectorate General is located in Building No. 4 of the Old Square.
Putin sat behind a large oak desk, a newly signed document spread out in front of him.
His new position gives him the authority to oversee the implementation of policies throughout the federal executive branch. From cabinet secretaries to governors, he has the power to recommend disciplinary action against anyone who fails to comply with presidential orders.
Dmitri pushed open the door and came in, followed by a familiar, slender figure.
"Lin!" Putin stood up, walked around the desk, shook hands with Lin Xiaohe, his face full of excitement, "You must come to my house for dinner tonight. Lyudmila and the children knew you were coming, so they decorated the house early and prepared lots of delicious food."
Lin Xiaohe gripped those rough, large hands tightly, shaking them up and down, everything understood without words.
"Congratulations, you've made it to dawn."
“Yes.” Putin glanced at the clock on the wall. “Time is tight. The president wants to see me in half an hour. Let’s get down to business first, and we can catch up properly tonight.”
He handed over a document directly: "This is the business plan of Neva Petroleum Technology Consulting Company, which will gradually expand into oilfield technical services."
Immediately afterwards, Putin took a document from his drawer that bore the red seal of the Presidential Office and pushed it in front of Lin Xiaohe.
Putin's voice wasn't loud, but every word was clear: "This is the Presidential Administration's list of special suppliers. I've already added Neva Corporation to it."
Lin Xiaohe opened the file.
The directory listed more than twenty companies, each with a six-digit code. Neva Company's name was listed last, with the code "97-024".
“This means three things,” Putin said, holding up three fingers. “First, all agencies under the Presidential Administration, including Kremlin properties, government buildings, sanatoriums, and even some military units, can directly purchase equipment and services from you without bidding. Second, your supplies will enjoy special channels at customs, and the Inspector General’s Office will issue a batch of green passes. Third, if you encounter any obstacles when dealing with any federal agency, you can coordinate directly through my office.”
Lin Xiaohe smiled, her eyes crinkling: "Does this count as getting in through connections and being carried along?"
Putin: "Haha, if everyone who uses the back door is as honest and principled as you, I'd be willing to use the presidential palace gate as a back door."
He walked to the map of Russia hanging on the wall and pointed to two places with his finger.
“I have two suggestions. The first is to upgrade the heating systems of government agencies.”
"More than 3,000 government buildings, schools, and hospitals in Moscow still have heating systems from the Soviet era, which are inefficient and prone to malfunctions. The Presidential Administration has a special fund this year to replace the boilers and pipes in 200 government buildings in Moscow. The tender documents will be issued next week."
Putin spoke rapidly: "Your Eastern country has a mature industrial boiler manufacturing capability. If you can make your products meet the standards of the Russian bear and price them 30% lower than European manufacturers, this market will be yours."
Lin Xiaohe quickly calculated: "Two hundred buildings, each system costs $500,000, that's $100 million. With a 30% discount, it's $70 million."
"This is just the beginning." Putin returned to his desk. "If Moscow succeeds, St. Petersburg, Yekaterinburg, and Novosibirsk will follow suit. The heating system renovation for government agencies throughout the entire Russian bear country will be a market of at least five billion US dollars over the next five years."
Putin expressed his sincerity: "The second direction is technical services for the Far East oilfields."
Putin pulled out another document from the drawer, marked "Top Secret".
"This is an equipment procurement plan for several oil fields in the Far East. The three regions of Sakhalin, Irkutsk, and Tyumen will require approximately $800 million worth of compressors, pumps, valves, and control systems over the next three years."
Lin Xiaohe glanced at it: "These are usually the procurement areas for Russian oil and gas. How do we get in?"
"One of the responsibilities of the General Administration of Supervision is to inspect the procurement compliance of state-owned enterprises," Putin said expressionlessly.
“I can suggest that these companies, under the same conditions, give priority to suppliers who can provide domestic alternatives. Although your products are not made in Russia, as long as there is an assembly base in Russia, it can be considered as localized production. This does not require me to give a direct order, only a letter of recommendation.”
He paused, then added, "Of course, the prerequisite is that your products must pass the national standards certification of Russia. I will have the standards bureau cooperate with this, but there can be no falsification."
Lin Xiaohe finally understood why Putin insisted on coming to Russia for a face-to-face meeting.
Putin trusts Lin Xiaohe more than he trusts the oligarchs in Russia!
In his view, cooperating with Lin Xiaohe was a win-win situation. Lin Xiaohe's character and social status would not allow her to do anything substandard.
For the entire half hour, Putin was the only one speaking.
When the time came, Putin gave Lin Xiaohe an apologetic smile and hurriedly went to the presidential office.
That evening, Lin Xiaohe brought several local specialties from Dongguo to Pujin's house for a gathering. Pujin's house was a two-story villa located in the suburbs. Lyudmila had piled up the snow in the yard into two large snowmen, wearing hats bought from Dongguo, and they looked simple and cute.
Pushing open the door, the dining room comes into view. Exquisite silver cutlery is set on the long dining table.
Lyudmila and her two children were busy with everything, doing it all themselves.
Those who attended the gathering were all familiar faces to Lin Xiaohe; they were all part of Pujin's core team.
After a brief exchange of pleasantries, the two sides set out the food together in a relaxed and comfortable atmosphere, just like being at home.
Lyudmila touched her face to Lin Xiaohe: "Dear Lin, thank you for the embroidery. I really love it. It's a wonderful work of art, a magical Eastern art."
"I'm glad you like it. Next time we go to Dongguo, let's visit Suzhou. The scenery there is as exquisite as Suzhou embroidery."
At 7 p.m., Putin arrived home just in time, covered in snow: "Wow, everyone's here today. My dear Lyudmila, is dinner ready?"
"of course."
Olivia salad, caviar, borscht, Pozharskaya meatloaf, Russian dumplings, Kiev chicken rolls, braised beef, and honey cake baked by the children themselves after the meal.
A very traditional and hearty Russian dinner.
After everyone had eaten until they were about 70-80% full, they slowed down and started chatting.
Pu Jin was very interested in Lin Xiaohe's eastward relocation and westward construction project in the Tie Nan District. He asked many questions about the details and finally said regretfully, "Unfortunately, we have a vast land area and a sparse population, so we can't rely on land revenue."
Lin Xiaohe suggested: "It is enough to safeguard the wealth and land left to you by your ancestors. As long as you hold onto oil, military industry, and finance, you will have a lot of room to maneuver."
Lin Xiaohe and the others discussed the predicament of Russia in more depth.
Economically, shock therapy has devastated the Russian bear country, causing a massive outflow of state assets. To stop this, government leaders must demonstrate a tough stance.
Ideologically, Russia wanted to be closer to the West, but the West regarded it as an enemy. Lin Xiaohe shattered their illusions with very blunt words.
"Sign with the West? That's impossible. The United States across the ocean sees you as a threat and will not allow you to become powerful again."
"As for Europe... you have structural conflicts in your civilizational identity, historical narrative, and worldview."
“Peter the Great’s Westernization reforms only reached the upper class, while most people, especially the Orthodox Church, regarded Moscow as the Third Rome, and there was a deep gap between it and Western European civilization, which advocated reason, secularism and the tradition of Roman law. Many European thinkers still regard you as an Eastern despot with Mongol characteristics, and this label of civilizational other is deeply rooted.”
Everyone sat up straight and listened attentively to Lin Xiaohe's words.
Lin Xiaohe proved with her abilities that she has a keen sense of international politics, and everyone is eager to know her opinion.
Indeed, her perspective is unique.
Lin Xiaohe stirred the tea bag in her ceramic teacup and said quietly, "I don't need to say much about the historical aspects. What I want to emphasize is the psychological mirroring and negation. Europe needs you to define yourself as non-European. Democratic Europe versus autocratic Russia. Similarly, you need Europe to define your unique mission as the decadent West. Both sides project their own problems onto each other. This mutual othering makes any approach seen as a threat or pollution."
Everyone was shocked. According to Lin Xiaohe, the relationship between Russia and Europe was like fire and water, and they could never reconcile.
Is Lin Xiaohe talking nonsense?
Everyone seemed to be deep in thought.
……
A week later, Lin Xiaohe returned to the provincial capital and immediately convened a special meeting on trade between the Tienan District and the Russian Federation.
At Lin Xiaohe's suggestion, the attendees voted and unanimously agreed on three measures.
Measure 1: Establish a trade service center for Russia in the southern part of Moscow.
The location was chosen in an office building near the presidential office.
The service center has three functions: first, to provide consulting services on Russian laws, standards, and markets to enterprises in the Tienan District; second, to act as the business front desk for Neva Company, directly connecting with the Russian side's procurement needs; and third, to collect Russian bidding information and provide timely feedback to the provincial capital.
Measure 2: Establish a joint certification laboratory between China and Russia.
In cooperation with the Russian National Bureau of Standards, we have established laboratories in the provincial capital and Moscow, respectively, to specialize in GOST certification for oil equipment.
The Putin Council, through the General Directorate of Inspection, coordinated the dispatch of two Russian experts to the provincial capital for training. This allows equipment exported to Russia by companies in the Tienan District to complete certification domestically, reducing the timeframe from six months to one month.
Measure 3: Establish a special channel logistics system.
Using the green light provided by Putin, a "China-Russia energy equipment express line" will be established between Dalian Port and Vladivostok Port.
Equipment from the Tienan District is loaded onto ships in Dalian, arrives in Vladivostok in three days, clears customs in no more than 24 hours, and then is transported to various oil fields via the Trans-Siberian Railway.
The Putin Council coordinated with the Mauritanian customs authorities to classify Neva Company as a low-risk enterprise, granting it exemption from inspection.
This is a big step, but nobody wants to lose this opportunity.
The two oil companies sent representatives to protest to the provincial government because the Russian state could not come up with that many US dollars. Neva Petroleum Technology Company agreed to exchange some of its oil for the settlement.
It is well known that crude oil imports in the East are monopolized by a few companies, primarily the two major oil companies. Neva Company's actions have encroached upon their territory.
Lin Xiaohe was summoned to the central command and was once again berated for lacking a sense of the big picture and forming factions.
The two oil companies are of a higher rank than Lin Xiaohe, and they don't care about a mere district head.
Lin Xiaohe: "We exchange oil from Russia, which is cheaper."
This is much cheaper than going through the Strait of Hormuz!
The other party didn't want to hear any of this and insisted that Lin Xiaohe and her actions were not in compliance with regulations.
Lin Xiaohe chuckled and decided to go all the way, applying to the Ministry of Commerce and other departments for "non-state-owned trading import qualification for crude oil".
Some people are questioning what to do with all the oil Lin Xiaohe has imported if he doesn't sell it.
Lin Xiaohe waved her hand and said, "I have my own methods. Don't ask or guess. Just watch quietly."
"Boss, the plan has begun. Let the Tie Nan District take off!"