Chapter 134: Our goal is your equality

Reg was an ordinary oil worker at the Ferroflo oilfield. He said he was ordinary because he really was. Like the other 1,000-odd oil workers here, he rode to work at the oilfield on time every day. After work, his body was covered in oil stains, but he couldn't wash it off. He ate poorly and was paid a low salary. Often, the oilfield would even pay wages in the old rubles, which had already been abolished. 

But even the most ordinary person will have an extraordinary day. The day before it started snowing in 1989, he encountered something that would change his life forever.

'These oilfield leaders simply don't think of us as human beings. Just to please the Chinese, they made you stand in the playground and pour cold water on your heads in such a cold day. What if you get sick, they can use that as an excuse not to pay you, right? They just won't give us a way out!'

In one of the rooms of the workers' dormitory, a North Russian woman said angrily to Leger, who was lying on his own bed at the moment. Despite the thick blanket and the cold shower, he was still shaking uncontrollably, and the sound of his teeth chattering was clear.

It may not be snowing yet, but the punishment of standing there in the cold wind and pouring cold water, even if they are used to working in Siberia, is simply unbearable.

'Stop it, if this gets back to Mr. Pushkin, I'll be the one who gets into trouble,' said Lege, very dissatisfied. 'It was Nia who made the mistake today. If she hadn't gone bothering the Chinese, Mr. Pushkin wouldn't have been angry. I should have broken her legs today. Why did she have to go and steal some egg tarts? Are those even edible?'

Rage pointed at a girl next to him and shouted angrily. The little girl lowered her head and silently shed tears. She was very afraid of Rage and even shuddered when Rage suddenly raised his voice.

The woman was unhappy at this: 'Mr. Lege, Nia is your daughter, how can you say such things about her? Why don't you think about it? If it weren't for the Pushkin leaders running roughshod over the oilfield all the time, how could they bully us like this? I heard that the day before yesterday, someone's sister came to the oilfield and was raped by those animals.'

'Okay, I said don't say this again, don't let it get into the ears of the Pushkin leaders!' Lege said.

At this time, the sudden knock on the door startled a few people, especially Rege's wife, who immediately stood up and shook her head in panic, saying, 'It's not really in the ears of any leader. I'm not saying anything about Lord Pushkin, I'm just saying I'm not good!'

However, immediately afterwards, a female voice came from the door: 'Hello, Mr. Rege, Mr. Zhou Ming came in the evening specifically to see you.'

This voice was familiar to both Leger and his wife, and they knew it was the voice of the Chinese interpreter. Leger's wife then let out a sigh of relief, but was also very surprised and wondered what these Chinese people wanted.

Leger thought for a moment and then said, 'Is it Mr. Zhou Ming? Thank you very much for coming to see me, but I'm a bit inconvenienced at the moment. Could you come back another time?'

The voice outside did not give up and continued, 'Mr. Reger, we feel very apologetic about what happened today, and we don't want to be seen by anyone else. Could you please open the door first? We can talk about anything that's going on inside.'

Reger understood that his bad luck today was because of these Chinese people. If Pushkin knew about it now, who knows what would happen! So Reger had no choice but to ask his wife to go open the door first and let Zhou Ming in.

Zhou Ming came with Du Peng Suhan and the bodyguard **, and Katerina was still acting as the translator. The first thing Zhou Ming saw when he came in was Reg lying on the bed. Zhou Ming sat down by the bed and said, 'Mr. Reg, are you okay? I feel that Mr. Pushkin really went too far today.'

Su Han handed a bag to Leger, while Zhou Ming continued, 'Inside are milk and egg tarts, as well as some US dollars and antibiotics. I hope Mr Leger will get better soon.'

Leger smiled and said thank you, 'Mr Zhou Ming, I am very grateful for bringing me these things, but Mr Zhou Ming, please leave first. I will definitely get better.'

'Is it because of Pushkin?' asked Zhou Ming.

This question made Rege suddenly freeze. He never expected Zhou Ming to ask such a direct question so bluntly, so he didn't react at first.

Facing the staring eyes of Leger, Zhou Ming explained to Leger while handing the egg tart to Leger's daughter: 'Mr. Leger, you don't need to be surprised about anything, because this is very obvious. As for why I would say this to you so directly, it is just that I am not really an important guest here. I am here to cause trouble for people like Pushkin and to help oppressed oil workers like you.'

If Zhou Ming's previous question only surprised him and made him think, then Zhou Ming's current words really confused him.

Zhou Ming said in response, 'It's hard for me to explain the specific reasons to you at once, but there is one thing I think you can also see. After we arrived here, although Pushkin was entertaining us, he was more on the lookout for us, wasn't he?'

Reg thought about it for a moment and it seemed that it was indeed as Zhou Ming had said.

'Although I am not a Westerner and I don't believe in God, I at least understand that all men are created equal. In your words, everyone is a child of God. We should all be close and loving in this big family of the world, but God miscalculated, because not every child is kind-hearted.'

Zhou Ming very reverently borrowed some things from Eastern Orthodoxy to explain to Lege: 'Everyone may have various identities in the world, but everyone's birth and seniority before God are the same. Everyone should be friendly brothers and sisters, but there are always some people who want to break this rule.'

'These bad kids, because they don't have to play their roles, they have a little more power. So these people go against the original intention of their coming to this world, betray their father, they no longer love their other brothers and sisters, or these people have been corrupted by Satan inside, become very evil, so they bully their brothers and sisters, even feel pleasure from tormenting them!'

Zhou Ming's words ended with great indignation, and after listening to Zhou Ming's words, Lege unconsciously clenched his fists.

'A child like Pushkin should have been equal to you, Mr. Leger, and it could even be said that without your enthusiastic work there would be no leadership. So what right does he have to punish you like this? I've heard of some even more outrageous things!' Zhou Ming said.

'But... Mr Pushkin is the head of the oilfield, he is the leader,' said Leger, trying to emphasise something, but the tone of his words was not firm.

From this tone, Zhou Ming immediately heard the content: 'Shouldn't the leader set a good example and lead you well? If you don't create value, what leadership does he have? Can he bully you just because he is the leader? Are you willing to be bullied like this?'

As Zhou Ming spoke, his tone grew more and more intense. A tear rolled down the corner of Reg's eye. He said reluctantly, 'I don't want to. Not just me, but all the workers in the oilfield. But what can we do?'

Zhou Ming had been waiting for Reg to say this. Zhou Ming immediately gave him the answer: 'Of course we have to rebel against him and get him out of his position as leader!'

'Get him out? We're just ordinary oil workers, how can we do that? It's simply not something we can do,'

Reg muttered, but Zhou Ming noticed that when Reg said this, there was a faint look of great expectation in his eyes, and his hands were clenched into fists. Zhou Ming immediately understood, as the old saying goes: 'Don't say no with your mouth, but your body is still honest.'

So Zhou Ming decided to give him one last straw: 'Mr. Reg, can you do it? I think you'd better not jump to conclusions so quickly. Here in Siberia, I think you must have heard of the Vladimir family?'

Reg nodded and said, 'I have heard of it. It is the largest family in Siberia.'

'This is the same family that owns the Ferrovu oil field and also runs the mafia. That is why they dare to do things so blatantly, and even the state government is afraid of them.'

Zhou Ming spoke little by little, and Lege kept nodding, his eyes flashing, as if Zhou Ming's words had triggered some bad memories of this family in him.

But then Zhou Ming's words suddenly changed, and he said, 'But so what? Mr. Lege, I think you should know that in the team we came over with this time, there was a man called Domel, a man whom Pushkin respected very much because he was a direct member of the Vladimir family.'

Regge let out a surprised cry, his eyes full of disbelief. Zhou Ming continued, 'So our goal in coming here is very simple, which is to investigate the situation in the oil fields and get rid of the corrupt leading cadres like Pushkin. But some things are not as simple as they seem. We have rules for everything here. Domer also has opponents in the family...'

Zhou Ming paused deliberately before continuing, 'Do you understand what I'm saying, Mr. Leger?'

Leger nodded, "I do. Pushkin is someone who opposes Mr. Domer, so he can't be moved lightly.'

Zhou Ming snapped his fingers, "That's exactly why I'm looking for you. Mr. Domer is going to set up a trade union that will truly protect your interests. Only in this way can we stand together and drive away leading cadres like Pushkin!'

'Really? Then I must join this union, I don't want to be bullied by these bad guys anymore!' said Reg.

Zhou Ming patted Reg on the shoulder and nodded solemnly: 'I agree with your joining!'