Chapter 60 The Thief Comes to the Door (Complete)

While acquiring scrap steel, He Changyi was looking for a new shop location in Vladimir.

Previously, due to limited funds and a lack of familiarity with the local area, the property she rented was not only small but also quite far from the local business district.

Although Zhong Guo canned food has gained a reputation locally and many customers come specifically to purchase it, the Zhong Guo store does not usually have a large customer flow due to its remote location.

Meanwhile, some shrewd local vendors used this place as a secret sourcing point, buying small batches of Zhongguo goods and then reselling them at high prices, hoping that no one in the world would know the source of their goods.

He Changyi didn't want to be just a wholesaler who contributed from behind the scenes, since the bulk of the profits came from retail.

Unlike Mosk, the market in Vladimir is limited, and the small vendors here cannot purchase goods on the same scale as the large retailers in Mosk.

In other words, they swallowed up He Changyi's profits but couldn't bring her a corresponding return.

He Changyi decided to expand the store and turn it into a real Zhongguo Department Store.

To this end, she specially prepared a thousand color TVs as a gimmick for the opening.

For the people of Russia, an inexpensive color television is just as appealing as a canned food with improved flavors.

After all, having only physical food can easily lead to nutritional deficiencies, and spiritual nourishment is also indispensable.

Just one week after He Changyi arrived in Vladimir, she received a notification from the railway station's freight department that a thousand color TVs shipped from Zhongguo had arrived in Moscow.

This batch of color TVs could not be lost, so He Changyi personally went to Moscow.

At the Mosk train station, He Changyi did not encounter Andrei, which was not surprising, after all, he was no longer the junior policeman who needed to take turns patrolling.

However, she encountered another "acquaintance".

Across the bustling crowd, the middle-aged policeman with a hooked nose stared expressionlessly at He Changyi.

He Changyi found it a bit strange that he was still doing patrol work. Logically speaking, since Andrei had been promoted, shouldn't this more senior policeman have been promoted even higher?

Just as she was about to take a closer look at the man, the hook-nosed policeman flashed by and disappeared into the crowd.

For some reason, an ominous premonition welled up in her heart.

He Changyi's intuition was always accurate. She immediately sped up and picked up a thousand color TVs at the freight station. That same day, she took a truck back to Vladimir.

The return journey was smooth sailing; there were no robbers or corrupt police officers, and the color TV was successfully moved into the warehouse behind the store.

He Changyi breathed a slight sigh of relief, but she still couldn't be completely at ease.

Zheng Xiaowei habitually inquired, "Boss, why did you suddenly decide to buy a color TV? Can those Russians afford it?"

He Changyi made up a story: "Who said I was going to sell them to the Russians? I'm keeping them all for my own use. I'll smash them one by one, and once I've smashed them all, I'll go back to China."

Zheng Xiaowei: "Huh? Boss, this is too extravagant..."

Although Geng Zhi also felt it was a bit wasteful, the child was kind-hearted and immediately defended He Changyi:

"What do you mean by luxury? If I had the money, I'd do the same. I'd buy two bowls of soy milk, drink one and let the other cool; I'd buy two meat buns, eat one and look at the other. Hey, I wouldn't feel bad about wasting money!"

Zheng Xiaowei: "...Is what you said the same thing?"

Geng Zhi: "How can it not be the same thing? For the boss, a color TV is like soy milk and steamed buns; he can eat it whenever he wants. Unlike you, you're as cunning as a sieve, always thinking about how to make money."

Zheng Xiaowei: "I can't explain this to you!"

Geng Zhi: "What's there to be unclear about? I'll go get a hammer right now, and if the boss says to smash something, I'll smash it—Boss, tell me, who should we smash?!"

The gloom in He Changyi's heart was swept away.

That's why emperors have always liked to keep court jesters; it's always fun to have someone perform a stand-up comedy routine on the spot.

She tapped Gengzhi's forehead and joked, "To be fair, I'll smash your blockhead first, then his sieve-like head. I won't let either of them go."

Geng Zhi and Zheng Xiaowei: "Huh?"

Seeing these two incredulous faces, He Changyi was amused again.

"Alright, these TVs are meant to be kept for resale. Be on your guard these next few days, lest thieves break into your home again."

He answered firmly and loudly, "Hey! Don't worry, I'll sleep right at the warehouse entrance, and I guarantee no one can get in!"

Zheng Xiaowei whispered, "Yes, they couldn't get in through the door, so they climbed in through the window."

The security situation in Vladimir is better than in Moscow, but not by much.

As an industrial city with relatively low population mobility, most of Vladimir's residents are factory workers who have received some education and are relatively more disciplined and of higher average quality.

But even the highest level of education cannot withstand poverty.

Theft, robbery, fraud, extortion...

Well, at least he doesn't kill people indiscriminately, which is better than Mosk.

Having witnessed countless cases of murder and robbery, and even murder without taking the goods, He Changyi was impressed by the simple and honest nature of the local people when she first arrived in Vladimir, even though she was standing on the ground with a robber.

However, for Geng Zhi and Zheng Xiaowei, Vladimir City was simply a city of sin. They encountered trouble every day. They were either stopped and extorted by the police, or staring at thieves outside the window while guarding the warehouse, or drunkards banging on the door in the middle of the night.

Even Zheng Xiaowei, who harbored a burning desire to make a fortune, couldn't help but complain to Geng Zhi:

"Everyone says that the public security in China is bad, but compared to Russia, our country is really much better. At least the police are really effective."

Geng Zhi immediately said, "Since things are better in China, you should go back quickly. Don't stay here and get in the way."

Zheng Xiaowei glared at him: "No way! I've suffered so much, I won't go back to China if I don't earn a million!"

Geng Zhi: "...Then you can stay here for the rest of your life."

"Isn't this cursing him?" Zheng Xiaowei was so angry that he started rolling up his sleeves.

Geng Zhi, now that he was thinking clearly, immediately said, "If you dare to hit me, you'll be on night duty by yourself tonight."

Zheng Xiaowei swallowed his anger and lowered his sleeves.

Sigh, the last time he encountered a thief climbing through a window.

In the middle of the night, he suddenly saw a pale, eerily white face with green eyes pressed against the glass, which terrified him so much that he had nightmares for a week.

The building's security guards were complete incompetents. Later, the owner paid for iron bars to completely seal the windows, which stopped the window-climbing thieves from appearing again.

After arranging things at the shop, He Changyi, still feeling uneasy before leaving, thought for a moment and added one more word of advice:

"Color TVs are worthless, but life is more important than anything else. If you need to run, then run. Don't try to tough it out."

Geng Zhi patted his chest and said confidently, "Boss, you can rest assured, I will definitely keep a close eye on the warehouse!"

Zheng Xiaowei patted his chest and said, "Don't worry, boss, when that time comes, I'll definitely take him with me!"

Geng Zhi: ? ? ?

He Changyi nodded in satisfaction: "Okay, I'll give you a bonus later."

Zheng Xiaowei said smugly, "Learn from this!"

Geng Zhi: ...Something seems off. That's not how it's taught in school.

The night was peaceful and uneventful; nothing happened. Geng Zhi was yawning when he opened the door for He Changyi.

He Changyi let the two go back to catch up on their sleep, while she personally guarded the shop, thinking to herself that she still didn't have enough manpower and needed to hire a few more people.

There weren't many customers in the shop. He Changyi heated up a can of food for lunch and was about to start eating when she saw the cleaning lady hesitating outside the door.

He Changyi understood immediately, got up, opened the door, and warmly invited the other person to come and have some food together.

The cleaning lady, unable to refuse her earnest invitation, reluctantly ate a couple of bites before finally speaking up:

"Miss He, please be careful."

He Changyi asked, "What are you being careful about?"

The cleaning woman looked around nervously, lowered her voice, and almost spoke in a whisper.

"Last night, a truck was parked downstairs, and several people climbed up the iron ladder outside to the third floor. They wanted to steal your color TV..."

He Changyi was startled.

How did they know there were color TVs in the warehouse?

She stared intently at the cleaning woman, trying to be as soft-spoken as possible, so as not to frighten her:

"How did you know? I mean, you weren't discovered by those guys, were you?"

The cleaning lady said with some shame, "They won't notice me, I... I live in the bathroom."

He Changyi was somewhat surprised, but then he understood.

Before the collapse of the Union, people could live in the state-allocated Khrushchev housing for free. Even if the per capita living space could not reach the minimum standard of nine square meters, at least they had a place to live.

After the collapse of the Union, the Oros government implemented housing privatization reforms. While residents obtained housing ownership, they also had to start paying miscellaneous fees such as property management fees, heating fees, water and electricity fees, and maintenance fees, causing a sharp increase in the cost of living.

Once you start defaulting on payments, prepare to say goodbye to your house.

The cleaning woman was forced to sell her only home because she couldn't pay off her debts, and now she has to secretly sleep in the building's bathroom.

The bathroom is next to the window and right next to the warehouse. It's unusually quiet at night; you can almost hear the footsteps of stray cats.

The cleaning lady first heard the sound of a truck engine, then heard the sound of several people climbing the iron stairs outside the building.

She went to investigate and discovered a group of young thugs standing outside the warehouse, trying to pry open the iron windows with crowbars.

After failing to achieve their goal, the group, muttering curses in hushed tones, rushed downstairs, jumped onto a large truck, and drove away.

After learning that they wanted to steal the color TV from Jong-guk's store, the cleaning lady hesitated for a long time before finally deciding to warn the store's owner.

"In short, you are a good person and you don't deserve to be treated like this."

After listening, He Changyi didn't say anything. He got up and found an opaque black bag. He filled the bag with all the useful items on the shelf, and finally took out a thick wad of cash from the cash register and stuffed it at the bottom.

She shoved the heavy bag into the cleaning lady's arms.

"You didn't come today, and I didn't hear anything. Don't let anyone find out about these. Come back to me for more when you're done."

The cleaning woman's face flushed red, and she wanted to push away the bag, yet she was also reluctant to part with it.

"I……"

He Changyi half-pushed and half-pulled the person to the door, first checking if anyone was outside, then opened the door and sent the cleaning lady out.

"It's nothing, you deserve it, I'm very grateful to you."

The cleaning woman finally regained her tongue, and she even looked a little ashamed of her previous hesitation.

"No, I didn't do anything, that's too much..."

He Changyi didn't dwell on the question of whether it was a lot or a little, but instead said:

"I'm opening a new store, and I wonder if you'd be interested in being a sales clerk? Room and board included, and a monthly salary of 10,000 rubles."

The cleaning lady stopped abruptly.

Are you telling the truth?

He Changyi smiled and said, "I need an honest and reliable local employee, and you have already passed the interview."

The cleaning lady returned to the bathroom where she was temporarily staying with a dreamy expression.

Her daughter was doing her homework on the toilet when she saw her mother come back. She sensibly stepped forward to take the bag, but she was caught off guard and almost fell because of the weight of the bag.

"Mom, what is this?"

Suddenly, the cleaning lady cupped her daughter's face in her rough hands and showered her with kisses.

"Darling, we'll soon have a bed together, and maybe you can even have a table for reading and writing!"

Upon learning that a gang of thieves had their eyes on the color TVs in the warehouse, He Changyi had a feeling of "Ah, I knew it."

Well, if everything went smoothly, she would start to wonder if she had traveled to a parallel universe, like a crime-ridden alley or a civilized city like Gotham (…).

Although the thousand color TVs she brought were outdated products that couldn't be sold in China, they were top-quality goods in Oros. They could be resold immediately, or even if they weren't sold, they could be taken home for personal use.

On the color screen, Ye Mouqin's flushed face, indicating he was drunk, looked even more prominent.

I just don't know how this news was leaked...

He Changyi specifically requested that the color TV factory not write any text or pictures on the packaging that would reveal the contents, not even in Chinese, because who knows if any Oskar could understand it.

She checked the goods when she picked them up at the freight station, and there were no signs that the outer packaging of any of the color TVs had been opened. If there was no collusion between the porters at the train station and outsiders, who else would know?

He Changyi thought of the hook-nosed policeman again.

This guy has terrible eyesight, like a starving vulture.

But her only interaction with the hook-nosed policeman was when he failed to extort her. Could it be that this guy is particularly vengeful and still has his eye on her, this fat sheep?

He Changyi kept the doubts in mind and first tried to find a way to solve the immediate problem.

Moving the TV urgently is impractical. Given the current security situation in Russia, even the police station's armory and the bank's vault cannot guarantee 100% security, and the thief's informant won't show any ill intentions on their face.

Besides, who knows if there are accomplices watching us from the outside?

Don't look back. She moved the TV to what she thought was a safe new location, and then someone came running there because they smelled it. It was all for nothing.

Furthermore, although He Changyi had plans to move, she had maintained a good relationship with the building's property management staff over the past period of time. She knew who to ask for help when problems arose, so it could be considered a base of operations.

If it weren't for the cleaning lady's tip-off, she wouldn't have realized the thief had already taken the TV.

At this dangerous moment, He Changyi needs help from the building management.

Let's get right to it.

He Changyi left Geng Zhi, who had just come back from catching up on his sleep, to watch over the shop while he went to explain the situation to the manager.

The administrator hesitated for a moment before saying, "Do you need me to call the police for you? But frankly, the thief didn't cause you any harm, and that's just your side of the story; the police won't take it seriously."

He Changyi said, "I understand, so I need you to send a team of security guards to patrol outside the warehouse at night."

The administrator neither agreed nor disagreed, but simply looked at He Changyi with his eyes.

So she readily agreed and slapped out a small envelope, which the administrator swiftly stuffed into his pocket with the skill of a magician.

"Okay, theoretically we should provide security for the tenants... Those damn thieves will find they've come to the wrong place. Our good lads in the security team will scare these guys to death!"

Tonight, He Changyi didn't let Geng Zhi and Zheng Xiaowei keep watch, and sent them back to the staff dormitory she rented nearby.

Zheng Xiaowei left work happily, and his straightforward nature, surprisingly sharpened for a moment, as he asked He Changyi:

"Boss, has the warehouse been burgled again? Should I stay and keep you company?"

He Changyi patted his shoulder and spoke softly, a rare occurrence for him.

"Good child, I appreciate your kindness. But your skinny arms and legs are useless. You should get yourself stronger first."

Geng Zhi: "...Why should the puppy be allowed to stay?"

He Changyi said more gently, "Sigh, I'm not trying to discourage you, but when it comes to fighting power, even three of you tied together wouldn't be a match for it."

The little black dog barked obediently.

upright:……

Everyone says he's a jerk, but the boss's words are clearly even more cutting...

At night, the shop had only one person and one dog.

He Changyi locked the door from the inside, leaving only a night light on. He lay half-reclined on a cot in the warehouse, with the Gloucester pistol given to him by Alexei beside him.

The little black dog lay quietly by the bed, but its size could no longer be called "small". Its shoulder height reached He Changyi's thigh, and it weighed about 70 kilograms. When it stood up, it was a head taller than a primary school student.

He Changyi originally thought he had picked up a worthless mongrel, otherwise the dog dealer wouldn't have just thrown it on the car. But as the little black dog grew up day by day, its thick fur and protruding muzzle gradually became visible, and its size gradually approached that of a large dog.

After leaving the puppy stage, the black puppy showed no friendliness towards strangers, and its aggression and protectiveness increased day by day.

When He Changyi went out, she had to use a thick iron chain to keep the dog by her side to prevent strangers from being attacked by the vicious dog if they got too close to her.

Of course, this isn't entirely without its advantages.

At least He Changyi has never encountered pickpockets again, and those who want to rob or extort her will first consider whether they can withstand being bitten by the big dog next to her.

The little black dog is a natural guard dog. Those in the know praise He Changyi for raising a good dog. It is a purebred Caucasian Shepherd, which is quite valuable and can be exchanged for a motorcycle on the market.

He Changyi: ... She didn't know if it was valuable or not, but this thing burned through money much faster than a motorcycle that burns through gas. If she weren't doing business and had plenty of money and didn't have to worry about food and drink, just feeding the dog would be a difficult task.

Who would have thought that the little black dog ate more in one meal than both Geng Zhi and Zheng Xiaowei, two teenagers, combined?

Of course, the amount of feces was also considerable, cough.

In short, thanks to He Changyi's good food and drink, the little black dog had a glossy coat, strong bones, and sharp teeth that gleamed white. Its bite force was considerable, easily breaking beef bones.

He Changyi had brought dogs with him when he was in Vladimir. They could provide early warning and attack, and they couldn't be bribed, making them much more reliable than bodyguards.

As night deepened, the streets were deserted, with only the occasional distant sound of vehicles passing by before returning to silence.

The little black dog slept sprawled out, its belly exposed without restraint, and even snored.

He Changyi was reading a book when, without looking up, she reached under the bed and precisely pinched the furry muzzle. The snoring stopped abruptly, and the puppy whimpered pitifully, its wet nose pressing hard against her palm.

He Changyi patted the dog's head insincerely.

"Go to sleep, go to sleep."

The little black dog sighed heavily, like a little person, stood up, and patted its way to the foot of the bed to lie down, so that its bad owner wouldn't bother it again.

Just when everyone was most drowsy, He Changyi suddenly heard the sound of a truck engine outside.

Although the driver turned off the car the next moment, the little black dog had already sprung up on the spot, rushed to the iron window, and started barking wildly at the outside.

"Woof woof woof woof woof—"

He Changyi got up, grabbed his gun, and walked to the window, where he came face to face with the thieves climbing up the iron ladder downstairs.

These thieves all looked quite young, no more than twenty years old, a time when they were most lawless and reckless.

Seeing that someone in the warehouse had discovered them, the thieves did not retreat. Instead, they quickened their pace upstairs. The leader carried an iron bar with blades strapped to it, which they could easily slip through the gap in the railing.

Someone shouted, "Quick, quick, there's only one woman from Zhongguo here!"

He Changyi expressionlessly drew his gun, aimed it at the thief downstairs, and shouted:

"Who wants to taste the bullet?"

The thieves were all startled, and some immediately tried to back down, but the leader shouted:

"All of you, charge! That's a fake gun!"

Without saying a word, He Changyi raised his hand and fired a shot, the bullet narrowly missing the thieves.

"Now, who would doubt that this is a fake gun?"

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Author's Note: Currently revising the text.