Becoming a Russian Oligarch After Rebirth
Chapter 278: Playing by Unexpected Rules_1

Chapter 278: Chapter 278: Playing by Unexpected Rules_1

In accompaniment to Argay’s dreadful screams, Yekolyan began to feel his legs shake, his scalp going numb.

With his trembling arm, he pointed at Argay, his lips shaking as he managed to ask, "Is what you’re doing... illegal?"

"Well, you’re welcome to sue me then." Wang Ye responded with a smile.

He truly wasn’t afraid of them taking legal action. Last time, it was Argay who had come with a group of people and attacked the Yukos Group workers who were dispatched from headquarters.

They had reported it to the police, but the local station didn’t care at all!

They sent over just two people, who then pretended to inspect the situation and declared it as nothing more than internal corporate conflict, which was beyond their jurisdiction...

It was clearly because Yekolyan was in cahoots with some of the officials at the station.

Now, Wang Ye was doing unto others as they had done unto him, giving Argay a taste of his own medicine. If the local station dared to interfere, he was more than prepared to play along.

After all, didn’t everyone have a few "big Buddhas" backing them up!

Wang Ye refused to believe that the likes of Gavriil and The Emperor would abandon him over such a trifling matter!

Never mind The Emperor, even a simple phone call from Gavriil could smooth things over for him.

In all honesty, the bosses of the small city stations like this were almost certainly corrupt!

If it came down to a showdown, the station chief would need to assess his power as well. Anyone with half a brain wouldn’t bother about such a pitiful dispute...

Dumbstruck by Wang Ye’s response, Yekolyan found himself at a loss for words.

He knew deep down that if their opponent dared to be so audacious, it was because they had nothing to fear.

But hadn’t he heard that Khodorkovsky always acted with restraint, never resorting to violence...

How could this so-called "special assistant to the president" be so ruthless!

"I... we’re both civilised people, Mr. Mikhail. How about we sit down and have a frank discussion? Actually, I’m more than willing to cooperate with the Yukos headquarters. It’s just that some management personnel and workers, who fail to understand that they are at an advantage, are worried about their work and remuneration after the oil field was sold off so inexplicably. They’re seeking a clear statement."

Yekolyan forced a smile, attempting to change the topic.

He was ready to back down now, because he knew he couldn’t compete with them through force...

Wang Ye stepped forward, standing at the head of the long conference table. Yekolyan quickly took a few steps to the side, making way for him.

"I announce the immediate termination of Yekolyan’s position as general manager. You’re fired!" Wang Ye announced loudly.

Yekolyan was startled.

This...

This wasn’t how things were usually done!

They hadn’t even had a changeover, he hadn’t had a chance to express his thoughts, and now he was being fired without discussion?

He hastily protested, "This is unfair! It violates labor laws! I... I protest!"

"Your protest is invalid. Have him taken out," Wang Ye nonchalantly waved his hand.

Immediately, two big guys toting AK74’s came up from either side, grabbing Yekolyan’s arms and dragged him out...

"Get rid of this one too," Wang Ye said, disgust written all over his face as he looked at Argay.

By this point Argay, covered in a cold sweat, had lost his voice and was feigning death on the side of the conference table.

Anton pulled out the knife lodged in Argay’s hand, and Argay let out another miserable scream.

The two big guys marched up, picked up Argay and dragged him out as well.

......

Once Yekolyan and Argay were dragged out, the meeting room fell silent.

The oil field executives, in particular, didn’t dare to breathe, fearing they might be the next ones to be dragged out...

Wang Ye swept his gaze around the room. Wherever his gaze landed, the executives quickly lowered their heads, not daring to meet his eyes.

"Does anyone else want to follow Yekolyan out?" Wang Ye asked.

Everyone hastened to shake their heads.

Originally, they all came with Yekolyan in hopes of securing a bit more benefits for themselves. After all, Yekolyan had promised them that if they could cut a "fat chunk" from Yukos, their share wouldn’t be sparse.

But looking at the situation now, forget about a "fat chunk", they’d be lucky to avoid being ’sliced’ themselves!

Who would dare to stand with Yekolyan now?

Above all, Yekolyan had been fired by this special assistant...

"Alright then, listen up. Those of you who want to leave the oil field to seek other opportunities within the next three days can submit your resignations to... Ah, to these men right here. Yukos Group won’t mistreat you. Everything will be handled in accordance with labor laws. Any compensation that you’re entitled to, you will receive, and you won’t be shortchanged by a penny."

As he spoke, Wang Ye pointed at several of the Yukos personnel who had been dispatched from the headquarters. Since they were originally sent to take over the oil field, they would be the ones to attend to these trivial matters. Wang Ye had no interest in dealing with them himself.

Following this, Wang Ye continued, "For those who choose not to resign, just continue working diligently. The Group will treat you fairly. After the Group takes over the oil field, the base salary of all staff members will increase by 25%. In addition, depending on everyone’s performance in their jobs, we will give out corresponding performance bonuses. Please devise a plan to implement this system as soon as possible."

The personnel sent from the headquarters quickly nodded in agreement.

Wang Ye was now trying to win over the hearts of the people. He had reviewed the data about the oil field before coming and found that the base salary of the grass-roots workers was extremely low!

Those workers only made less than $200 in wages each month...

Although this salary was not considered low locally, one must not forget that during this period, the cost of living was very high in Russia, especially for clothing, food, daily necessities, and other light industrial products which were nearly all imported, so prices were naturally high.

Therefore, a $200 wage really wasn’t enough for a family to live on.

Wang Ye wasn’t blindly offering raises. The goal of a business was to make money, not for charity after all.

But the oil industry was most definitely a highly profitable one!

One just needs to look at Khodorkovsky’s fortune to know this...

For Wang Ye to increase the salaries of the oil field workers by 25%, it was merely a drop in the bucket and would barely impact the Group’s profits, so Khodorkovsky shouldn’t have any objections.

Once this news spread, it would undoubtedly greatly improve the oil field workers’ good opinion of the Group, stabilising the normal operations of the oil field.

Merely driving away Yekolyan would not have solved all problems. Raising salaries to stabilise the workers’ "morale", that was the key to truly resolving the root of the problem!

Furthermore, he was simply spending Khodorkovsky’s money. He wasn’t at all fussy about it...

......

Sure enough, once Wang Ye mentioned a wage increase, the faces of the oil field management brightened.

Wang Ye had said the raise would apply to "all staff", and that naturally included them. Since their base salaries were higher than ordinary workers, they would benefit the most from this decision!

People die for wealth, and birds die for food. They had caused trouble alongside Yekolyan, their objective being securing some benefits for themselves.

Even though they hadn’t been able to secure larger benefits now, an increase in salary was still welcome...