Yegor was stunned for a moment before realizing that from the very beginning, the little witch in front of him had been talking to him about compensation.
Whether it was about who was good or bad, or political differences, all those topics were centered around making him pay compensation!
"I... I have nothing to give you as compensation."
Yegor was somewhat dejected.
Hydrus, however, said to Edmond, "Edmond, you send those comrades we captured back home. I want to visit their base."
Edmond nodded. Crack!
"You're coming back to our base with me?"
Yegor looked shocked.
"What are you going to do?"
Hydrus rolled her eyes. "Out of the two hundred and forty-three people you brought, one hundred and seventeen are elderly, weak, or disabled. I bet those people are living even worse than the workers under me!"
...
...
Evgeny Yegor's team was one of the many groups of Russian wizards entering Ukraine. At this time, they were stationed in a group of abandoned farmhouses on the outskirts of Chernihiv.
The sounds of coughing and complaining filled the air.
The smell of decay and sweat was overpowering.
A light rain was falling from the sky, but it could not wash away the stench of the area.
"It's Comrade Yegor!"
"Comrade Yegor is back!"
The old people and women walked out of the houses, while children hid behind doors and windows, cautiously peering outside.
"Comrade Yegor! Did you get any food?"
"Comrade Yegor! Where are our comrades?"
Yegor looked embarrassed; he didn't know how to answer.
Hydrus sized up the people in front of her. They were dressed in rags, thin and sallow, with no appearance of 'noble' wizards at all.
She turned her head to look at Yegor. "Your Mr. President lets your people live like this?"
Yegor stammered, "He has his difficulties too. The situation in Ukraine isn't good right now, and money is needed everywhere..."
He sighed. "The main problem is that prices are rising too fast. Last month, a cabbage only cost one thousand two hundred Karbovanets, but this month it costs three thousand. The President has raised our living allowance, but it can't keep up with the rate of inflation..."
Hydrus laughed. "Do you know, Yegor? The reason prices are soaring is precisely because your Mr. President is recklessly issuing Karbovanets. This is called inflation. The amount of goods remains the same, but the amount of money in circulation has increased, so naturally, prices rise."
Yegor remained silent. He didn't understand these things, but he knew his comrades were about to break. Otherwise, they wouldn't have been goaded into raiding the grain depot.
"Comrade Yegor," an old gentleman walked forward tremblingly, "who is this little comrade?"
"She, she is..."
"I am the owner of the AA Group."
Hydrus announced her identity openly.
The old man drew his wand with as much speed as he could muster and pointed it at Hydrus—though his movements were actually worse than those of a first-year student at Hogwarts.
"What have you done to our comrades?"
The old people and women behind him also pulled out their wands.
"Yegor! Have you defected?"
Hydrus waved her hand with a smile. Spells flashed like a spider's web among the red wizards in front of her.
The wands in the hands of the elderly, weak, women, and children all flew out of their control and landed in front of Hydrus.
"I am not your enemy. I am here to help you!"
Crack!
Crack!
Edmond arrived via Apparition with the captured red wizards. In their hands, they held food, medicine, clothes, and even children's toys—tin clockwork frogs.
"Your life of hardship is about to end. I will lead you toward true light! The idea of fighting for the interests of the people is very noble, but before that, you must fill your own stomachs first!"
"Communism isn't achieved overnight. It requires the efforts of many generations! What we must do is achieve our goals in stages!"
Hydrus was extremely thankful that she had paid attention during her political education classes in her past life.
"Marx said that the prerequisite for achieving communism is a great abundance of material goods! So, what we need to do is build up the economy. We must achieve the combination of technology and magic, improve productivity, and build a harmonious society—we want the people to no longer worry about their lives! Let the children receive a sufficient education! Let the elderly receive high-quality care!"
The light rain in the sky gradually showed signs of becoming heavier. Rainwater accumulated in the poorly drained village, gradually forming puddles.
When the puddles merged, streams began to flow out of the village—perhaps even a tiny trickle could eventually turn into a torrent, a torrent that would submerge everything.
And the young girl standing among the crowd, speaking passionately, seemed to be radiating light.
"Comrade Yegor! Your compensation to me will be to assist me in creating a harmonious society where all people are free from worry. Do you accept?"
Yegor's eyes lit up. He seemed to see the shadows of great leaders in Hydrus—Stalin, Lenin!
"I do, I do!"
He shouted with all his might.
The old and young around him looked at the supplies piled on the ground, and one by one, they clenched their fists in excitement.
"Ura!"
"Ura!"
"Ura!"
...
...
Vinda placed the AA Group Industry Report gently on the table and stared at Audrey in silence. The atmosphere once reached a freezing point.
Finally, the Lady of the Rose spoke:
"Is this the homework you submitted? It's clearly done by someone else. You didn't even bother to transcribe it yourself!"
Audrey curled her lips. "But the Future Development Plan was written by me personally. I daresay it's full of valuable insights. Teacher will surely praise me when he sees it!"
Vinda remained elegant, but her gaze was sharp.
"As someone who, like Gellert, can see fragments of the future, if you still couldn't write a good development plan, you might as well go find a cup of mercury to drink!"
"Gellert has already told you: if you want your subordinates not to betray you, you either need sufficient leadership or you must control everything and know your industry inside and out!"
Audrey shrugged indifferently. "I am Teacher's disciple, so I follow the same path as he does. He relies on extraordinary personal charisma and leadership. I don't think I'm any worse!"
"Fine, fine..."
Vinda smiled, but only the corners of her mouth turned up; her whole face still looked cold.
"I really want to know where our Miss Astley's leadership is. Why don't you perform some for me?"
Knock, knock, knock...
A knocking sounded. Audrey called out past Vinda toward the door, "Come in!"
Evgeny Yegor walked in, wearing a crisp wool coat.
"Reporting to Comrade Astley! The number of comrades who entered Ukraine with me and are willing to devote themselves to our great cause has reached eight hundred and ninety-seven!"
"Excellent, Comrade Ye-Ye! (—Evgeny Yegor, Secretary of the Ukrainian Wizarding Communist Party, given the code name Ye-Ye by the Great Leader AA!), what is the situation with those who are unwilling to join?"
"They have been corrupted by the President's sugar-coated bullets and have chosen to stand against the people! They are no longer our comrades!"
Ye-Ye said with annoyance.
"However, a steady stream of comrades from Russia are pouring into Ukraine under the call of our Party! It is estimated that more than three thousand new comrades will join by the end of July!"
"Very good, Comrade Ye-Ye!"
"It's just, Comrade Astley, the treatment for those newly joined comrades..."
"Our comrades will absolutely have no worries in their lives. They will have a lifestyle worthy of the title of revolutionaries. This is my personal promise!"
"Thank you, Comrade Astley. I will inform the comrades of this good news immediately!"
"Go! We will soon establish the Ukrainian Ministry of Magic. Have everyone get ready. When the time comes, let us realize our great ideal step by step!"
"Yes! Comrade Astley!!"
Comrade Ye-Ye withdrew with a beaming face.
Only the two beauties, one old and one young, remained in the office.
The older beauty stared blankly at the younger one, speechless for a long time.
Audrey suddenly broke into a smile:
"Grandma Rosier, how many people were in my teacher's Alliance at its peak?"
[Reviews - Power St0nes - Comments are highly appreciated to keep me going.....(+50 chapters) patre0n.c0m/talecrafter]