Chapter 3 Currency Exchange or Currency Exchange (Revised)

Beijing, Friendship Store.

It was afternoon, and the glass curtain wall of the modern building reflected a dazzling light. Security guards stood at the entrance, their eyes fixed intently on those entering.

When the visitors were foreigners with Western-looking faces, the security guards ignored them and let them into the store.

But the person about to enter was a person of Asian descent with black hair and black eyes, so the security guard hesitated and stared at the person, scrutinizing them closely.

If the person is wearing a suit and bowing obsequiously, well, they're probably Japanese, so you can let them in.

If they really can't tell, the security guard will hold out his hand and ask the person to show their passport.

He Changyi stood at a distance, pondering how to sneak into the Friendship Store and exchange some US dollars with the foreigners inside.

She inquired and found out that to obtain an entry visa, one needed an invitation letter issued by the Russian Public Security Bureau, which cost $500 on the black market; while a one-way ticket on the international train from Moscow cost $164.

In other words, He Changyi needs to exchange for $828.

Even a single one-way ticket to Emei would cost at least $664.

Although she managed to extort more than 7,000 RMB from the Yang family and Jiang Weiguo, ordinary people face restrictions on currency exchange these days. They can't exchange RMB for USD at the bank, so they have to find their own way.

Where can I exchange my money for US dollars?

He Changyi thought of the Friendship Store, which was only open to foreigners.

Although currency can be exchanged on the black market, the exchange rate is too high. He Changyi has limited funds and needs to prepare as much capital as possible to purchase goods for future sale in Oros. He cannot spend too much of his budget on currency exchange.

Therefore, exchanging currency directly with foreigners is a more economical and practical option.

He Changyi stared at the Friendship Store in the distance, wondering how to fool the security guard at the entrance and make him think he was a foreigner.

Is he impersonating a Japanese person, or pretending to be a Hong Konger?

Just as she was lost in thought, a sharp shout suddenly came from the side.

"Hey, what are you doing?!"

Perhaps because He Changyi had been standing there for too long and kept staring at the foreign-related shops, the patrolling police officers became suspicious and walked towards her with serious expressions.

He Changyi was shocked. She didn't have a Beijing household registration or a temporary residence permit. If the police found out, she would be sent back to her hometown as a vagrant.

run?

Or should we not run?

If she runs, can she escape from under the walls of the capital?

As the comrade in the peaked cap drew closer, He Changyi suddenly calmed down and gave him a friendly yet puzzled smile.

"Any problem?"

This time, it was Comrade Big Peak Hat's turn to be stunned.

He Changyi pointed to himself, his face full of genuine confusion.

"Mr. Police, is there anything I need to cooperate with?"

Comrade in the peaked cap stared intently at He Changyi, half believing and half doubting.

"Are you a foreigner? Really? Can you speak Mandarin?"

He Changyi maintained a polite but bewildered smile, as if she hadn't understood what he was saying.

Comrade in the peaked cap began to have doubts.

The girl standing opposite me has black hair and black eyes; on the surface, she appears to be a genuine Chinese person.

But she was extremely tall, dressed stylishly, and wore a padded-shoulder suit that only men would wear. She looked proud and dashing, which was not like the style of domestic women.

Could he be a returned overseas Chinese?

The comrade in the peaked cap struggled to recall the English training courses at the bureau, gesturing as he spoke:

"Pa, Paz, that, Paz, Paz."

He Changyi tilted her head, as if she didn't understand.

You only realize how little English you have when you need it. Comrade in the peaked cap wondered if he had memorized the words wrong, while trying to make out the shape of his passport.

"Pascal... this little booklet is for getting stamps when you enter the country..."

He Changyi looked completely bewildered, while Comrade Big Peak Hat was practically sweating profusely with anxiety.

Just as he was wondering whether to call an English-speaking colleague over via walkie-talkie, the girl in front of him suddenly lit up and ran towards a tall man passing by.

She affectionately took the other person's arm, mumbled something incoherently, then turned around, waved to the comrade in the peaked cap, and walked away briskly with him.

The comrade in the peaked cap, who had been trying to stop him, stopped halfway and slowly lowered his hand.

—The man she just grabbed, he looked like a blond, blue-eyed foreigner?

Wow, so this girl really is a foreigner!

He Changyi only breathed a sigh of relief after walking more than a hundred meters.

That was close; we almost got sent back before we even got started.

These days, it's really not easy to go to another place to build a career; if you're not careful, you can easily be mistaken for a drifter.

Fortunately, she managed to catch a foreigner; otherwise, given the way the man in the peaked cap was so inquisitive, she wouldn't have been able to escape even if she pretended not to understand Chinese.

"%&*%#￥@#@?"

Suddenly, a string of gibberish reached her ears, and He Changyi remembered the passerby she had casually grabbed.

He looked down at He Changyi, his azure eyes filled with doubt, his face slightly flushed, as he tried to pull his arm away from her grasp.

Out of the corner of her eye, He Changyi noticed that the comrade in the peaked cap was still watching them from afar. Instead of letting go, she hugged him even tighter.

The young man beside her stiffened, and she practically dragged him forward.

He Changyi tilted her head back and smiled sweetly at him.

"Change money?"

The man looked bewildered and spoke again:

"&*%#￥@#&*%#￥@#?"

Can't understand……

He Changyi's face fell. Why wasn't this guy speaking English?

"Can you speak Chinese?"

The man responded again with gibberish.

He Changyi sighed. Oh well, it's already lucky that we were able to grab a foreigner off the street to help us out. One shouldn't be too greedy.

However, although it can't be exchanged for money, this face can still be used as a pass.

He Changyi smiled at him, and the man paused for a moment before awkwardly returning a smile.

The next second, he was dragged into the Friendship Store by He Changyi.

The security guard saw a man and a woman walking towards him from afar, their arms around each other. The man's blond hair looked dazzling in the sunlight.

He couldn't help but think to himself, "Foreigners really have no manners. They hug and kiss in public. It's indecent."

As they entered, the woman leaned affectionately against the man's chest. Her face was obscured, only a section of her snow-white neck and jet-black curly hair were visible.

Even the most experienced security guard couldn't help but curl his lip in disapproval.

Tsk tsk tsk, look at these foreigners, they're really indecent. That's why they say foreigners are open-minded!

He withdrew his gaze and swiftly stopped the next local who tried to sneak into the store.

"If you're a foreigner, then come in!"

The Friendship Store displays a wide variety of specially supplied goods, including lacquerware, cloisonné, ivory carvings, silk, jewelry and jade, antique calligraphy and paintings, as well as imported televisions, refrigerators and washing machines, and Marlboro whiskey, which represents Western fashion.

The variety of goods is so vast that entering feels like stepping into a shopping maze.

After turning a corner and confirming that the security guard at the gate could not see her at all, He Changyi released the man's arm and took a step back.

Okay, thanks for your help, bye~

Used and then thrown away, He Changyi turned and left decisively, and the man subconsciously chased after her.

But she had long legs and walked fast, disappearing in just a few steps, leaving him bewildered as he was pulled into the Friendship Store.

The man shook his head, looking completely bewildered, and walked out of the store. Just as he was about to leave, he couldn't help but look back one last time.

A strange, beautiful woman...

He Changyi thrived in the Friendship Store and quickly found foreigners willing to exchange currency.

Foreigners are happy to exchange some RMB so they can bypass regulations and freely enter and exit restaurants and shops in China, instead of having to use foreign exchange certificates to spend money in designated places.

He Changyi exchanged $500 at a rate 20% higher than the bank's rate—enough to buy an invitation letter; and $200 worth of foreign exchange certificates—enough to buy a one-way ticket to Russia.

Although it was much cheaper than on the black market, it still cost her more than 4,000 yuan.

With the US dollars in hand, He Changyi immediately went to the black market to buy an invitation letter and worked tirelessly to obtain a passport and visa.

Next, I bought a train ticket for the Zhong'e Russian Intercity Railway.

This was during a period of inflation and scarcity of goods following the collapse of the alliance and the implementation of shock therapy in Oros. Rumors began to circulate that "you can earn enough to buy a Mercedes in a week by doing business in Oros," sparking a trend of people going to Oros to make a fortune.

Therefore, tickets for the Zhong'e train, which departs twice a week, are in very short supply. You have to queue for more than two months to buy a ticket at the train station, and you still might not be able to get one.

He Changyi originally planned to save money by buying the ticket herself at the train station, but when she saw the endless line of people outside the Beijing station, her lips twitched and she was forced to give up. She then spent an extra thousand yuan to buy a ticket from a scalper for the train with the earliest departure time.

A few days before the train departed, He Changyi took a bus to Xidan to buy goods.

She wandered around the market for a while and found that leather jackets and fake Adidas were the best-selling items. Eight out of ten stalls sold them, and the counters were surrounded by Slavs with rolled tongues, slapping stacks of cash on the table and buying leather jackets and sweatshirts by the ton.

He Changyi made a quick decision and chose the stall with the best price-performance ratio, wholesaling twenty leather jackets and ten Adidas sweatshirts in one go.

The leather jacket is the cheapest pigskin jacket, costing 70 yuan each; the Adidas is fake, a set only costs 30 yuan.

He Changyi had spent almost all the money she had. Just before boarding the train, she had less than a hundred yuan left, not even enough to buy a return ticket.

This means that her trip to Oros is either a gamble or a complete loss.

However, He Changyi didn't care. From the day she climbed out of the river, every day she lived was a bonus.

Going to Oros is a gamble, and if you're going to gamble, gamble big, otherwise it's too boring.

Dragging a luggage bag as tall as a person, and carrying her passport and train ticket, He Changyi walked into the waiting hall of the international train.

The waiting hall was bustling with people, mostly foreigners with high noses and deep-set eyes, with a small number of Chinese people. There were more men than women, and almost no elderly people.

Despite their different skin colors, they all shared the same thing: carrying large bags and bundles, eager to make a fortune in Oros.

As a rare female speculator, He Changyi's appearance has attracted a lot of attention.

She calmly walked through the various gazes, found a spot close to the ticket gate, put her luggage bag on the ground, and waited patiently for the train to depart and for ticket inspection.

People nearby kept glancing at this unfamiliar face, while He Changyi was also observing the people in the waiting room without making a sound.

The Slavs with high-bridged noses, the mixed-race Stanislavs, the short and stocky Huns, and the loud-voiced Chinese middlemen.

Different ethnic groups subtly banded together, mutually excluding and wary of each other, creating an atmosphere far more tense than that of waiting rooms on domestic trains.

He Changyi lowered her eyes; the journey ahead would not be peaceful.

Two hours before departure, several station staff members suddenly arrived and moved a huge scale to the ticket gate.

"Everyone has brought their luggage! Each person can only bring 35 kilograms of luggage; any excess will incur extra charges per kilogram!"

A note from the author:

----------------------

Please add this to your favorites! I'm adding this to my favorites every day!