Chapter 19 Shock Therapy and Ropeless Bungee Jumping

The usually empty and quiet mansion was unusually lively today.

"Grandma Vitalie, this is some malted milk powder from China that I brought for you. It's made with maltose, milk powder, and cream. It's very nutritious, and some families use it as a substitute for milk powder."

"Grandma Vitalie, this is the most popular coal mine family brand canned food in China. I specially chose pure meat canned food, which can be eaten directly or processed with potatoes and tomatoes."

“Grandma Vitalie, these are the medicines I bought at Zhongguo Pharmacy. They are all commonly used medicines for the elderly. I wrote the specific effects and instructions for taking them on the packaging in Ethnic language.”

"Grandma Vitalie, this is..."

He Changyi kept taking out all sorts of items from his luggage bag. These items were very scarce in Oros and not easy to buy.

Grandma Vitalie was overjoyed, partly because of the gift He Changyi brought, and partly because she could speak Emei.

—Although the vocabulary and grammar were full of errors, the old man had to guess and make up his understanding of the Chinese-style Emei language.

If something was truly incomprehensible, Alexei, with his sour face, would have to act as a temporary translator.

“He, my child, I don’t know how to thank you. These gifts are so precious to me.”

The old woman's voice was choked with emotion.

At this difficult time, He's gift was like a timely help, greatly relieving her urgent needs.

It's important to know that prices in Russia are skyrocketing right now; the price of a kilogram of bread has reached a terrifying three thousand rubles, and it's still rising.

Faced with such outrageous prices, her meager pension and savings vanished like snowflakes on a hot stove.

In fact, after selling all the valuables in her home, she was already considering selling all the furniture, and even the house itself.

He Changyi stepped forward and hugged the old woman.

“We Chinese believe that a drop of kindness should be repaid with a spring of gratitude. You helped me when I was in the most difficult time after I arrived in Oslo. It is only right and proper that I should repay you.”

This passage should have been deeply moving, filled with the fragrance of the traditional Zhong family virtue of gratitude, but—

Grandma Vitaly's face showed a hesitant expression:

"Why do you have to repay a river for borrowing a drop of water? Is this some kind of usury?"

He Changyi: ...

He Changyi turned to Alexei expressionlessly.

"Translate it."

Alexei glanced at her silently.

He Changyi swore she saw undisguised mockery and gloating in the bear's eyes!

Alexei turned his gaze to Grandma Vitalie and said succinctly:

She said thank you.

Grandma Vitalie asked uncertainly:

That's all?

Alexei remained unfazed.

"Yes, everything else is meaningless nonsense."

He Changyi: ………………

What does "meaningless nonsense" mean? She clearly achieved both conciseness and eloquence, showcasing the long history and culture of this great Eastern country and its noble traditional virtues. Even if a language teacher were to do sentence reduction exercises, not a single word would need to be deleted!

Thank you? Does he think he's some high-class translator who charges by the word?

Perhaps it was the expression on He Changyi's face that betrayed her inner frenzy for traditional Chinese culture, because Grandma Vitalie smiled and hugged her affectionately, kissing her cheeks several times.

"Oh, my sweet little oriental pie, your existence is the best gift God has given me. I am so lucky to have met you."

He Changyi nestled obediently in Grandma Vitalie's broad embrace, and, emboldened by her grandmother's presence, glared at Alexei with a murderous look.

—So you're just translating nonsense, huh? You just wait, you'll get what's coming to you!

Alexei twitched the corners of his mouth, a gesture that looked like a mocking laugh, or perhaps the baring of teeth of a wild beast.

He Changyi wondered incredulously, "Could it be that because the Russian doesn't like to laugh, the muscles in his face that are used for laughing have all atrophied?"

Since she arrived in Oros, she had never seen a genuine laugh on a local's face. Each time, she had to consider the context and background to determine if the other person was giving her a hard time.

Just look at Alexei's expression now. Is he laughing, being sarcastic, or threatening?

He Changyi couldn't understand it, so she simply wrinkled her nose at him.

Alexei glanced at her, then lowered his eyes and looked away first.

Before the formal dinner, Grandma Vitalie made a small dessert for He Changyi to tide him over.

She mixes raw eggs and milk with flour, rolls it into thin strips, deep-fries them, and then drizzles them with honey. This is the most popular local Tatar dish, Chak Chak.

Due to limited raw materials, Grandma Vitalie made only a small dish and pushed it in front of He Changyi, gesturing for her to try it.

Chachacha looks a bit like unshaped, unflattened Sachima, and tastes similar too, only sweeter.

He Changyi ate fast food for six days and six nights on the train. Although he was full, his tongue still felt unsatisfied.

Normally, she might find Chuck Chuck too oily and too sweet, but for her now, the taste was just right, and every cell in her body was cheering and welcoming this calorie-bursting dessert.

He Changyi squinted his eyes contentedly after eating, like a cat basking in the sun, just short of meowing happily.

Especially since Alexei only had a cup of tea and half a baked apple in front of him, this feeling of happiness seemed even stronger.

In front of Alexei, He Changyi ostentatiously picked up a chakchak, slowly brought it to his mouth, took a small bite, and exaggeratedly showed an expression of extreme enjoyment.

Alexei calmly picked up his teacup and took a sip.

But no matter how He Changyi looked at it, he felt that the veins on the back of some people's hands holding the teacup seemed to be bulging.

The main ingredient for dinner was canned braised pork brought by He Changyi. Grandma Vitalie habitually added potatoes, onions, cabbage, mushrooms, and dried plums to the pot.

When He Changyi saw the dried plums that came out of the pot with the braised pork: ...

Alright, when in Rome, do as the Romans do. It's nice to change things up once in a while and try some local specialties from Da'e.

If you ignore the rather novel combination of braised pork with dried plums, Grandma Vitalie's cooking skills are quite good.

The potatoes are soft and fluffy, the onions add flavor, the cabbage balances out the greasiness of the braised pork, and the thick sauce is perfect for dipping bread.

To cater to He Changyi's Chinese palate, Grandma Vitalie specially cooked rice, filling a large plate to the brim, afraid that she wouldn't have enough to eat.

He Changyi was deeply moved, and with tears in her eyes, she forced herself to swallow the plate of rice.

Well, Grandma Vitalie's intentions were good, but it would be best if she didn't start yet.

The rice from Oros and the rice from China are completely different. Even the cheapest Japonica rice from China is a hundred times better than that from Oros.

Although rice is also a staple food in Da'e, the taste cells on the Russian tongue may have been frozen to death by the Siberian cold wave, which is completely opposite to Lao Zhong's tradition of being a gourmet who is not picky about food.

If it weren't for the fact that it was the 1990s and plastic was still very expensive to produce, He Changyi would have suspected that she was eating the legendary plastic rice.

Each grain of rice is firm, just like the Russian rice, completely the opposite of soft, sweet, and melt-in-your-mouth.

He Changyi had never imagined that rice could be eaten by the grain.

When she finally managed to swallow the plate of rice, Grandma Vitalie warmly offered to serve her another plate.

He Changyi was shocked and covered the mouth of the plate with both hands, managing to force a smile.

"No, no need, I'm full... I'm not being modest, I really am full..."

She caught a glimpse of Alexei across from her; he had turned his head to the side, one hand clenched into a fist and pressed against his mouth.

He Changyi: ? Stop pretending, you're just laughing!

Alexei noticed He Changyi's gaze, lowered his hand, and spoke to Grandma Vitalie in Ethnic language:

"She didn't eat much. I think it's because of Zhong Guoren's shyness and introversion. She probably needs to eat some more."

Grandma Vitalie nodded in agreement, then turned to He Changyi and said:

“Poor child, you must have been starving on the train. Don’t worry, I’ve prepared plenty of rice. You can eat as much as you want. I’ve raised children before, and I know how much young people eat. Here, let me serve you another plate.”

He Changyi: ?

I didn't do it, he framed me!

When a plate overflowing with rice was placed in front of He Changyi again, she looked utterly dejected.

Alexei coughed lightly and spoke to her in an unprecedentedly kind tone:

"Eat up. I know a line from an ancient poem by Zhong Guo: 'Every grain of rice is the result of hard work,' so don't waste food."

...What the hell is this rice? It's hard work.

He Changyi stared at him with dead fish eyes, her voice flat and without any inflection.

“You’re mistaken. The original text is ‘Who knows that every grain on the plate is the result of hard work?’”

Alexei was quite composed.

"It's alright, I'm illiterate."

He Changyi squeezed his eyes shut.

While Grandma Vitalie went to the kitchen to add pickled cucumbers, He Changyi suddenly got up and quickly switched her plate with Alexei's.

Alexei was caught off guard, and in the blink of an eye, the plate with only a small piece of bread left in front of him turned into a whole plate of rice.

With a "thud," half a piece of bread flew over and landed on top of the rice.

Alexei slowly raised his head, and across from him, He Changyi held an empty plate in his hand, proudly showing him the bottom of the plate.

"I'm finished eating, you'd better hurry up."

Alexei took a deep breath.

"Didn't you notice that the patterns on each plate are different?!"

He Changyi's plate has a rose scroll pattern, while Alexei's plate has a blue onion pattern.

"……All right."

He Changyi took the plate back from Alexei. Just when he thought she would return his plate, He Changyi deftly poured the rice into his plate and thoughtfully covered it with bread.

"That solves the problem."

He Changyi patted non-existent dust off his hands, showed Alexei the bottom of the plate again, and said with a smile:

"Thank you for the treat, but I'm full."

Alexei looked up at her.

Suddenly, alarm bells rang in He Changyi's mind, and she instinctively hid the plate in her bosom. The next second, Alexei had already leaned over and snatched the plate away.

Within the confines of the dining table, He Changyi and Alexei, like sworn enemies, waged a silent, life-or-death struggle over a plate with a design of intertwined roses.

He Changyi was no match for the bear's immense strength. Seeing that the plate was about to be snatched away, he pretended to bite it.

Alexei paused for a moment, and just when He Changyi thought it was working, he stretched his arm forward, indicating that she could bite it as she pleased.

He Changyi: ...

Pooh!

Even domestic pigs aren't as thick-skinned as him. One bite and his mouth is full of hair. She'll need to eat hairball remedy for at least half a month to aid digestion.

Alexei successfully snatched the plate back and, in front of He Changyi, slowly began to pour the rice back.

Just then, a hesitant voice rang out.

"Hey, what are you doing?"

Grandma Vitalie returned with a dish of pickled cucumbers, just in time to see Alexei pouring rice from one plate into another.

Alexei paused, and He Changyi answered before he could:

“Your cooking is so delicious, Alexei wants to eat more. After all, a small piece of bread is far from enough for a behemoth like him.”

Grandma Vitalie meticulously corrected He Changyi's word choice error.

“It’s ‘giant’, not ‘beast’. Come on, read it with me, ‘гигант’.”

He Changyi obediently repeated it, without mentioning at all that she had deliberately pronounced it as "giant beast".

Grandma Vitalie nodded in satisfaction, then turned to criticize Alexei.

"How could you steal food from the guests? Alexei, I don't remember teaching you that."

Alexei: ...

"I'm sorry, it's my fault."

When Grandma Vitalie turned her back, his gaze met He Changyi's, and invisible sparks flew in the air.

Alexei suddenly laughed.

This was the first genuine smile He Changyi had seen from him since they met.

And that smile seems to say, "There's plenty of time in the future."

He Changyi also smiled.

—We'll see.

After a satisfying meal and a good night's sleep in the bedroom specially prepared for her, He Changyi asked Grandma Vitalie at the breakfast table:

Do you know where I can buy leather jackets?

Grandma Vitalie didn't take He Changyi to the nearby market; instead, she brought the customer directly to He Changyi.

"My God, it's a leather jacket from China! And it's only five thousand rubles!"

"Look at the quality! I've never seen such a high-quality leather jacket in Mosk before!"

"Vita, where did you get so many leather jackets?"

Grandma Vitalie winked mysteriously at her old friends.

“I have a young friend from China, and she is very nice.”

He Changyi gave a well-behaved smile to the group of elderly Eros in front of her.

"Hello everyone, I am He Changyi."

Thanks to Grandma Vitalie's network of connections, all the leather jackets He Changyi brought sold out in a very short time.

The long period of scarcity in the Union made the old Mosk people accustomed to hoarding and exchanging their last ruble for real supplies.

After all, you never know when potatoes and flour will reappear on the empty shelves of the store, not to mention cheese, sausages, and white sugar that have been gone for a long time.

To survive in such times, you have to buy whatever you see.

If someone is selling it, whether it's moldy bread or expired canned herring, go buy it right now.

The leather jacket that He Changyi brought was the best value for money that she had carefully selected in Xidan. It would be very popular even if sold in China, let alone in Russia.

Moreover, she sells the largest size leather jackets, which can be easily worn even by people weighing 200 or 300 pounds.

For people of normal build, they can alter a leather jacket into two adult outfits or three children's outfits.

In other words, you can get two or more leather jackets for the price of just one!

This is such a great deal, it's practically free.

Grandma Vitalie called her friends, and her friends called even more people.

In less than half a day, all twenty-six leather jackets were sold out, and some people even asked He Changyi if she would buy the leather trench coat she was wearing.

He Changyi silently hugged her little trench coat tighter.

This is the outfit she chose after searching through all the stalls in Xidan. It's made of the finest lambskin, processed in Haining, and the design is inspired by major international brands—you should know that this is the peak of these god-level designers' creativity right now.

Even if it costs 10,000 rubles, no one can separate her from her beloved little trench coat.

The person who asked the question was somewhat disappointed, after all, this leather trench coat is indeed exceptionally beautiful and adds a touch of power when worn.

However, he was not discouraged and instead asked:

Are you selling your duffel bag?

After the last customer reluctantly left, He Changyi had been counting money until his fingers went numb.

I never imagined that making too much money could become a sweet trouble.

He Changyi earned a full 300,000 rubles from this trip, more than three times the amount from the last one!

In other words, in less than a month, He Changyi went from a penniless female ghost who crawled out of a river to a wealthy woman with tens of thousands of yuan!

Moreover, she did not sacrifice her conscience and morality for her sudden wealth.

Compared to the likes of Xie Shirong, she is so innocent she could ascend to heaven on the spot.

He Changyi excitedly said to Grandma Vitalie:

“Let’s go out for dinner tonight! I heard there’s a high-end restaurant in Mosk that serves Black Sea caviar, the fattest oysters, and the tenderest veal chops. Maybe we can have a candied nut ice cream afterwards.”

Grandma Vitalie smiled and declined, unwilling to spend He Changyi's money on a lavish meal.

But she couldn't resist He Changyi's sweet talk, and happily put on her last unsold mink coat, applied ivory foundation and bright red lipstick, and styled her gray hair into a neat bun.

He Changyi also put on makeup, with black hair and red lips, as if sketched in a fine brush, the colors so rich they almost overflowed.

The two walked out hand in hand, and ran into Alexei when they tried to hail a taxi at the intersection.

He was still wearing that old leather jacket, and it was unclear what he had been doing; his trousers and shoes were covered in mud.

Compared to the two beautiful and somewhat domineering ladies, Alexei looked completely out of place; even the setting sun seemed to dim on him.

Where are you going?

He Changyi tilted her chin up and said, "I'm inviting Grandma Vitalie to dinner. Do you want to come?"

She thought Alexei would refuse, but to her surprise, he said "okay".

He Changyi: ? ? ?

I'm not just saying this casually, but you really have the nerve to interfere in our ladies' date!

When the three of them arrived at the restaurant by taxi, Alexei calmly sat down opposite He Changyi.

Meeting He Changyi's resentful glare, he suddenly smiled and said in exceptionally fluent Chinese:

Thank you for your hospitality.

He Changyi choked a little.

Mr. Xiong, don't you think you've been laughing a bit too much lately?

The restaurant is luxuriously decorated, with bone china tableware inlaid with gold thread, and caviar served in crystal dishes with seashells for serving.

Even though most of Mosk is experiencing shortages and soaring prices, this restaurant is still packed with customers.

One delicious dish after another was served, and the only sound on the table was the soft clinking of cutlery.

Grandma Vitalie dined with remarkable elegance, the quintessential Oros noblewoman. To He Changyi's surprise, Alexei seemed perfectly at ease in the setting, his dining manners impeccable.

An elegant...bear?

That sounds a little scary.

The meal was served with white wine, and He Changyi had assumed that, according to Russian custom, three bottles of vodka would be served instead.

Unfortunately, she had originally wanted to take the opportunity to test Alexei's alcohol tolerance.

Alexei glanced at He Changyi, seemingly knowing what she was thinking, and silently raised his glass to her.

He Changyi slowly swirled the wine glass.

It's okay, we'll have plenty of time in the future.

The next day, He Changyi went out to find someone to exchange currency.

She had too many rubles; she couldn't carry that much money through customs. It was obvious she was trying to sell herself to them.

After arriving at the Baikal Hotel by taxi, she didn't rush to get out. Instead, she asked the driver to stop the car on the side of the road and observed her surroundings from inside the car, wearing sunglasses.

She seemed to be having good luck today, as she didn't see the Stan people she had previously robbed nearby.

He Changyi got out of the car wearing a baseball cap and sunglasses, walked quickly into the hotel with his head down, and asked the front desk for a room.

Last time, lacking experience, she followed the Stan people to the alley behind the hotel to exchange currency. Later, He Changyi learned that the middlemen usually booked rooms in the Baikal Hotel in advance and exchanged currency in the rooms.

This is because the Baikal Hotel has strict security, and the doormen are armed retired soldiers. If someone tries to forcibly steal money, even if they manage to take the money, they will not be able to escape the hotel.

To some extent, there's a reason why things are expensive.

Last time, He Changyi didn't ask to exchange currency at the hotel. In fact, the cunning Stanman had already realized that she was a novice who didn't know anything about it and that she wasn't accompanied by any experienced people. She was a soft persimmon that was easy to manipulate.

In other words, the Stan people's plan from the beginning was to cut off the border.

If He Changyi hadn't been vigilant and violent enough, her first attempt at being a middleman would have ended in failure.

This time, when faced with the probing of a stranger exchanging currency, He Changyi adopted a cold and uncompromising attitude.

"Either exchange currency at the hotel, or change your contact."

The currency exchange went very smoothly, with 300,000 rubles easily converted into 1,300 US dollars.

But this was much less than He Changyi had expected, considering that she had originally anticipated an income of two thousand US dollars.

Unfortunately, during the short period that He Changyi was away in China to purchase goods, the ruble depreciated again.

Previously, 1 US dollar could be exchanged for 150 rubles, but now it has fallen to 230 rubles per US dollar, a devaluation rate comparable to bungee jumping without a safety rope.

He Changyi thought to herself, if the ruble continues to depreciate like this, one day she might excitedly bring her goods to sell, only to find out after selling them all that she'd lost two hundred dollars.

How can international trade avoid exchange rate risks?

On the way back, He Changyi pondered this global problem and angrily denounced Ye Mouqin's government for being inhumane, calling their shock therapy a painful version of euthanasia.

If things continue like this, every single person in Da'e will die with their eyes wide open in disbelief.

Just as He Changyi was lost in her thoughts, the taxi driver in the front seat suddenly glanced at her quickly in the rearview mirror.

It's hard to say what he was thinking at that moment that made his eyes filled with tension, hesitation, fierceness, and determination.

The next second, he slightly moved his hand on the steering wheel, and the wheel silently turned in a different direction.

The taxi deviated from its planned route and headed towards an unknown future.

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Author's note: I'm taking six daily naps. More tomorrow!