Chapter 196 Moscow Doesn't Believe in Tears: Chaos

Ivanov had already started making phone calls to assign tasks. While waiting for the call to connect, he hastily replied, "It's true. Two of my friends, through different channels, both say it's true."

He didn't want to dismiss Wang Xiao's complaints as meaningless, because it was a mess created by his country's government.

He once again fell into deep pessimism.

Perhaps the Americans and British are right; this country is not trustworthy, and anyone who invests here will suffer greatly.

Wang Xiao paced back and forth in the room like a trapped beast.

The Soviet Union had done the same thing before. In early 1991, the Soviet president announced that the 1961 versions of the 50-ruble and 100-ruble denominations would be withdrawn from circulation, and each person was limited to exchanging 1,000 rubles within three days.

Then the Soviet Union collapsed.

Why is the Russian government so foolish as to resort to this tactic?

She took a deep breath and called to Ivanov, "We have to go back to Moscow."

Ivanov had just finished a phone call and nodded haphazardly: "Of course, we'll leave right away."

The assistants quickly packed their boss's luggage so they could leave immediately.

As they were leaving, they ran into Douglas.

He returned with Ivanov and his men because he was going to the airport to pick up an important engineer.

Now, he was leading his group towards the hotel with a broad smile, and he even greeted Wang Xiao and Ivanov, saying, "Hi, good afternoon, dear bosses. What brings you here?"

Wang Xiao replied with a smile: "Goodbye, my dear friend, summer is already halfway over, we're going on vacation."

Ivanov, equally beaming, said, "Well done, my buddy, welcome to the new friend."

As he spoke, he shook hands with the American engineer.

Douglas laughed heartily and gestured: "Then have a pleasant journey."

There are no flights back to Moscow from the airport right now; the earliest flight will be tomorrow morning.

Fortunately, an air force is still stationed on the island, so although the base is struggling, it has not been abandoned.

The two boarded a military plane and flew directly to Vladivostok, then transferred to a plane to Moscow.

By the time they arrived at Central Street, Moscow was already shrouded in darkness. Apart from sporadic gunshots and the sounds of singing and dancing from nightclubs, the city was deathly quiet.

But they all knew that this might be the last time they would be silent.

When news of the abolition of the old ruble spreads, the entire city will likely descend into utter chaos.

Ivanov took a deep breath of Moscow air in late July. Even though the city was still known as a forest city with excellent greenery and a natural oxygen bar, he still couldn't hide his disgust.

"Let's go." Wang Xiao moved his shoulders and neck with difficulty, and the bones made a creaking sound.

The long flight left her completely exhausted.

Ivanov grunted in response, but remained motionless for a long time.

Wang Xiao knew his pain and could only offer futile words of comfort: "Perhaps the government just wants to stabilize the situation. Look, when the ruble was abolished in 1991, the dollar and ruble were kept at 1:30."

Ivanov said in a low voice, "Well, and then the Soviet Union collapsed."

Wang Xiao was at a loss for words. That abolition of the ruble had freed the Soviet government from a burden of 7 billion rubles. The government claimed this action had cracked down on currency speculators and speculators, but how many ordinary families had been bankrupted as a result?

"Let's go." Ivanov, like a bear that had been crushed, trudged forward dejectedly.

Wang Xiao quickly followed, offering futile words of comfort: "Don't worry, I have a feeling this country won't collapse."

This is probably one of the miracles in world history.

The government, which was so terrible that everyone was complaining about it, was still able to stay in power and didn't collapse even after the change of leadership.

After much thought, the only explanation is that international capital has already reaped Soviet wealth by destroying the ruble's credit system and forcing the ruble to depreciate sharply. What they want is its wealth, not the territory itself.

So, even though the world was in ruins, it lived a peaceful life.

The only ones who suffer are the toiling masses living on this land.

In the eyes of the powerful and wealthy, they are not even worthy of being called human beings, so they don't care at all.

On the 24th, the Central Bank of Russia finally officially announced that all rubles issued in 1992 and earlier would cease to circulate.

TASS – STAR News Agency broadcast a statement from the Central Bank: All large companies and institutions holding currencies different from those of 1993 must exchange them at banks by the 26th.

Russian citizens and those holding Russian residence permits can exchange up to 35,000 rubles, equivalent to about US$35. However, foreign citizens are limited to a maximum of 15,000 rubles per person.

For amounts exceeding the limit, they will first be converted into a 6-month fixed deposit, and can only be withdrawn after 6 months.

The entire city of Moscow descended into madness.

The streets were filled with people running frantically. Everyone was searching for a bank, hoping to exchange their old rubles for new money.

To Wang Xiao's surprise, even at such a moment, the Russian people did not seem angry, and no one directly attacked the government.

They lined up calmly, just like they would line up to buy bread or milk, strictly adhering to the rules.

If it weren't for the radio and television news broadcasts and the clear black print in the newspapers, this day would seem no different from any other for the native inhabitants of Moscow.

Wang Xiao couldn't believe it and subconsciously asked the Russian shop assistants employed on the commercial street, "Aren't you in a hurry? Your money can only be withdrawn in 6 months."

Good heavens, she had to call upon God. With the ruble's fragile exchange rate, who knows how badly it will plummet in six months? Besides, Russian banks are notoriously unreliable. The probability and speed of bank failures are comparable to those of a grocery store on the street.

The pretty saleswoman just sighed heavily: "It doesn't matter. We Russians all know not to let rubles sit overnight."

The ruble depreciated so quickly that everyone became numb to it.

Four people in her family work, but they don't have a single ruble in savings.

Every month, as soon as they receive their salary, they immediately exchange it for US dollars or other daily necessities.

The 35,000 ruble allowance is enough for their family.

She felt that most Muscovites were like that.

Those who will truly suffer in this catastrophe are the residents of remote areas. They are isolated from information and suffer from poor transportation; by the time they receive the news, the exchange period may have already ended.

But that's okay, there's land in remote areas, they can grow potatoes and survive.

What else can they do? Living on this land in this era, they can only pray for God's blessing.

Wang Xiao was truly convinced.

What has the Russian government done to deserve such a people left by the Soviet Union?

However, the shop assistant overlooked one group: foreigners in Russia. They are another group that will face annihilation due to the Russian government's actions.

To be more precise, they are foreign investors.

Almost as soon as they started talking, Huaxia Commercial Street went completely crazy.

Large numbers of international students and wholesalers rushed to the commercial street, hoping to exchange their old rubles for new currency.

Even though Wang Xiao and Ivanov stayed up all night and worked their hardest to make arrangements, it was still to no avail in the face of such a massive crowd.

They didn't have any new coins; the little they did get could only be used to give customers change.

The wholesaler reacted the fastest: "I want to place an order. I want to buy clothes from your store now."

The third sister complained anxiously, "Boss Wang, you're so well-informed, why didn't you give us a heads-up? 15,000 rubles is nothing! On the 26th, the money will be worthless. Are you trying to kill us?!"

Wang Xiao, of course, denied that he had received prior information.

She hadn't dared to leak anything before.

Now, she insists, "How would I know? If I knew, would we be in this mess? Let's go, let's not crowd in the shop anymore. Let's talk outside. We can't do business like this."

In a panic, the Chinese businessman cursed, "What kind of business can we still do? My money is all worthless now!"

Because of the inefficiency of Russian banks, most wholesalers have stockpiled a lot of rubles that they cannot exchange for US dollars in time.

It's no wonder everyone is so anxious right now.

"Alright, stop arguing." Wang Xiao picked up the megaphone and yelled, "What's the point of arguing now? In terms of losses, mine are no greater than yours. Are you leaving or not? Hurry up."

She led the way, and a large group of Chinese businessmen and Chinese students followed her to a theater not far away.

It's broad daylight, and the theater is completely empty.

Wang Xiao slipped a pack of cigarettes and a one-dollar bill to the gatekeeper, who immediately opened the gate without hesitation, letting the group in.

The outside world was noisy, anxious, and bleak, but the theater was magnificent, splendid, and elegant.

The high, circular private room is engraved with intricate patterns, featuring blue backgrounds and gold flowers. The crimson velvet curtains exude the unique elegance of velvet and are embroidered with a hammer and sickle design.

Looking up, you can see a portrait of Lenin painted on the wall above the curtain.

This eclectic and bizarre mix would surely have amazed wholesalers who rarely get to go to the theater at another time.

But now, nobody wants to look at it anymore.

Almost instantly, the theater was filled with an estimated 1,000 people.

Wang Xiao continued shouting through the megaphone: "International students, stand on the left; business people, stand on the right. Hurry up, okay, okay, stop dividing it up. If you have less than 1 million rubles, my advice is to hurry to the train station or airport, buy plane or train tickets, then cancel them and you can exchange them for Singapore dollars. If you don't have time, go to the post office and send money to your relatives and friends. Once they receive the money, it will be in Singapore dollars."

One wholesaler shouted, "Don't send money! The ruble is falling too fast. By the time you receive the money, it might be worthless."

The international students snapped out of their daze, quickly agreed, and hurriedly ran outside.

They also need to inform their friends, otherwise everyone will be in trouble.

15,000 rubles, that's only $15! What can you do with that much money in Moscow? A plane ticket from Moscow to Shanghai costs $410 now. Even a ticket from Almaty to Urumqi costs $150.

International students are no big deal; businesses are small-scale, so their problems are easy to solve.

The remaining wholesalers all made a request: "Boss Wang, we don't trust any of the others, we only trust you, we want to place our orders on the commercial street."

"No," Wang Xiao said honestly. "With so many people, if everyone came and wanted to exchange their rubles for goods, we wouldn't be able to supply them. That's not realistic."

Because the ruble has depreciated too quickly, many wholesalers are now rushing to the commercial district to buy goods as soon as they make money.

They simply couldn't possibly have that much inventory.

We urgently requested additional orders from domestic suppliers, but our production lines can't keep up in the short term.

Who knows what the ruble will be worth if we push the timeline back any further?

The third sister had a sudden inspiration: "Oil and gas field, right? Didn't we invest in an oil and gas field? I'll make an additional investment, Mr. Wang, I trust you. All these rubles are from this additional investment. Here, count them."

Wang Xiao also felt that she had lost her mind. The security situation in Moscow was so bad that she was actually traveling around with tens of millions of rubles.

However, it doesn't seem that exaggerated, because on May 20th of this year, the Central Bank of Russia began issuing 50,000 ruble notes. Truly good news for 520 (May 20th, a day associated with good fortune in China); tens of millions of rubles are just a few hundred sheets of paper, enough to fit in a large bag.

The others looked at each other in bewilderment.

Some people were tempted, thinking that at least President Wang was more reliable than the Russian government.

Some people hesitated because who knows if the oil and gas field project will actually make money.

Just as everyone was hesitating, a foreign student ran in breathlessly: "Hurry up, it's already dropped to 1700."

This means that now 1 US dollar can be exchanged for 1700 rubles.

Yesterday, the exchange rate was 1:1000.

Some of the theater's wholesalers were so distressed that they burst into tears on the spot.

Wang Xiao was also anxious and shouted at his assistant, who quickly ran to find the person in charge of the bank collection point in the commercial street.

Due to the rapid depreciation of the Russian ruble in the past two years, residents have refused to deposit money in banks. After undergoing reforms, Russian banks, which have deposit-taking tasks, have finally agreed to take the initiative and simply set up two collection points in the commercial district.

The daily turnover was transported back to the bank vault by armored trucks and then exchanged for US dollars at the exchange rate of the day.

Only large clients like Huaxia Commercial Street can enjoy this kind of service.

Of course, the wholesale market also has them, but today the collection point at the wholesale market said they don't have any new rubles to exchange for everyone, and they don't have enough US dollars.

Damn it, those Russians just want to take advantage of the situation and seize their property.

They were unwilling to suffer this injustice silently, so they came to find Wang Xiao.

The bank manager came running over, panting.

There are no idle people in the banks now; long queues have formed at every savings branch, and everyone is busy exchanging new rubles for customers.

They also need to prevent anyone from taking advantage of the situation and using counterfeit rubles to obtain new rubles.

"Miss Wang, what's the matter? Tell me quickly, I have a lot of things to do."

“The armored truck is coming, but we don’t have enough safes.” Wang Xiao made his demand directly, “My oil and gas field has completed all the procedures. We need to pay now and then we can start construction.”

The bank manager was stunned, looking confused, not understanding what she meant.

"We need to deposit the rubles in the bank and then transfer them to the American oil company. Understand?"

The manager responded with "Oh, oh," and breathed a heavy sigh of relief.

As long as not so many people are demanding to exchange for new rubles, that's fine. Good heavens, this is the biggest headache for banks right now.

Three days, and they stopped exchanging currency at noon on the 26th! That's insane!

Those damn bastards, why don't they try doing this job themselves?

The bank manager left in a hurry.

The theater erupted in chaos again, with someone demanding, "I need this money to buy more stock; I'm running out of stock."

Wang Xiao didn't mince words: "Then it's half and half. Do you think I don't want to do business? It's really impossible to do a month's or even a year's worth of business in one day. I also need to pay domestic manufacturers, and they don't accept rubles."

Everyone could only grit their teeth and try to understand each other.

Those who have the influence to approach Wang Xiao are all large wholesalers, and the amount of rubles they want to exchange is at least several million.

A newly arrived international student asked a friend to help him exchange money at the airport, and he sat down to do odd jobs and keep accounts.

The Russian government's move really scared everyone. Even the well-behaved kids who originally planned to stay out of the world and focus solely on their studies suddenly felt the need to find ways to make money.

The third sister and two other highly respected wholesalers were selected to act as inspectors to prevent anyone from tampering with the accounts and causing chaos.

The bill for over a thousand people was finally settled, but the number of people in the theater not only didn't decrease, but actually increased.

Because more wholesalers, including a large number from CIS countries, had heard the news and flocked to the theater.

No one is unafraid of losing the money they've worked so hard to earn.

Later on, Wang Xiao became numb and could only collect money one payment after another, part of which was used as payment for goods and part of which was used as their investment in the oil and gas field.

The theater doorman came and told them to leave; there was a performance that evening.

An enraged wholesaler shouted, "These courtesans know nothing of the sorrow of a fallen nation, still singing 'The Song of the Rear Courtyard' across the river. Don't they see what Russia is like now? How can you still have the mind to sing this bullshit opera? How can you even stand listening to it?"

The companion next to him sighed loudly: "The poor and the rich don't live under the same sky. Look at the Battle of Siping, people were eating each other in the city. And the wives of officials still lined up outside the fried dough stick shops every day to buy fried dough sticks."

That's a bit ironic, because compared to ordinary people in Moscow, they are the wealthy ones.

At least the gatekeeper completely ignored the horde of vendors.

Wang Xiao was at a loss; she hadn't expected so many people to come looking for her either. Many were unfamiliar faces; she had no idea there were so many wholesalers in Moscow.

“Let’s go, we’re not done yet, let’s go to the bank.” Wang Xiao made a direct request to the bank manager, “Give me a VIP room, this matter has to be finished today.”

The manager's mindset is still stuck in the mindset of accumulating deposits.

His economic logic is correct: as long as there are fewer rubles in circulation, the ruble will not depreciate wildly.

Therefore, he probably didn't realize, or didn't want to realize, that the government's main goal was to render everyone's rubles worthless; rather, it was diligently continuing to absorb savings according to the existing cooperation model.

The main group moved from the theater to the bank.

The long procession marched down the street, attracting considerable attention.

But none of the Moscow residents waiting in line to exchange money glanced in their direction.

Speculators were constantly hawking their wares among the queuing crowd, enticing people to exchange their rubles for US dollars at a low price.

If we had been any later, we wouldn't have been able to cover the 1,700 rubles exchange rate.

The group hurriedly entered the bank, booked a private room, and formed three queues to deposit their money.

Some customers waiting in line pointed at the door with dissatisfaction, and the manager had to go out and explain: "They are here to deposit money."

Okay, so no one has any objections.

Saving money? Only a madman would dare to save money. Who knows if the money you save today will be worthless tomorrow?

Time ticked by, but the line outside the office showed no sign of shortening.

When the bank closed, the Russians who hadn't managed to get in line to exchange for new rubles obediently left.

My God! They didn't even argue with the bank!

None of the wholesalers inside were willing to leave.

They dared not leave, because the rubles in their hands would be worth something else overnight.

Seeing that the two sides were about to start arguing, Wang Xiao had no choice but to pick up the megaphone and continue shouting: "Overtime! One hundred US dollars a night, I beg everyone to work overtime."

The bank clerk was stunned. $100! That's more than their monthly salary.

The employees who were exhausted and wanted to leave all stopped in their tracks.

It's clear that as long as the money is right, forget about 996, even working all night isn't a problem.

Wang Xiao then made a second request: "The exchange rate will be calculated based on what is announced tomorrow. Who knows what will happen tomorrow? I can't possibly bear this part of the loss for you."

The wholesalers looked at each other, and finally, Third Sister urged them, "Stop talking nonsense. You're lucky that someone's taking care of you now. Wholesalers from other regions would have nowhere to turn to for help."

This is absolutely the truth.

As is well known, although the Soviet Union has collapsed, each of the CIS countries claims that it will go its own way.

However, in reality, none of the governments had the power to issue their own currencies, and there were close economic ties between the Soviet republics.

Therefore, to this day, the ruble remains the international currency among CIS countries.

Russia's unilateral announcement of abolishing the old ruble is not just a matter of breaking ties with other countries; more importantly, it will bring catastrophic consequences to businesspeople in these CIS countries.

The rubles in their hands will soon become worthless overnight.

People often find comfort in seeing others who are more unfortunate than themselves.

The wholesalers who had initially expressed their opinions immediately became obedient and readily accepted Wang Xiao's proposed solution.

The bank lights stayed on all night, and they were busy all night long.

When the bank opened the next day, the bank employees, who hadn't slept all night, washed their faces with cold water and continued working.

Wang Xiao was so sleepy that she could barely keep her eyes open, but she dared not leave.

So much money, money collected from so many wholesalers—if there's even the slightest mishap, not only will her first half of life be wasted, but her second half will also be ruined.

When she was too tired to continue, she would sit down and close her eyes for a while, then continue working while keeping an eye on the bank.

By evening, the bank staff were too tired to continue, so they had to split into two shifts, each working half the day.

Wang Xiao also arranged for someone to deliver late-night snacks to replenish everyone's energy.

Just as everyone was busy, a group of police officers suddenly entered. The man in the lead had a neatly trimmed stubble and looked at everyone present with a suspicious gaze.

The bank manager, exhausted with bags under his eyes, quickly put down his hamburger and stepped forward to explain, "We've been busy exchanging new rubles for people all day, so we're working overtime to process deposits tonight."

The policeman's gaze fell on the bags everyone was carrying, and he gave a cryptic smile: "Oh, looks like you all have quite a bit of savings."

He suddenly frowned, his face darkening. "Show me your identification documents, the police are checking them."

The wholesalers in line were terrified.

Nobody in Moscow likes dealing with the police; they're not much different from the Mafia, and might even be more terrifying.

Wang Xiao was so exhausted that she was numb and couldn't keep up a smile.

She stood up abruptly, staring blankly at the police officer: "Is there something you need?"

The bodyguards were startled, but they still dutifully surrounded her to ensure the safety of their employer as soon as possible.

The police recognized Wang Xiao's face.

Although East Asians all look quite similar to Russians, this female boss of the Huaxia Commercial Street is a well-known figure in Moscow.

Legend has it that she was incredibly influential and had extensive connections among the high-ranking officials of both countries.

He hadn't expected the Chinese businesswoman to be so assertive.

Just as the sheriff leading the team was about to say something, a voice came from outside: "Sir, I think we should be friends who can coexist peacefully."

In the summer, Moscow's electricity supply seems to be particularly strained, and even the lights are dimmed considerably.

Under the lights, Ivanov was no less disheveled than Wang Xiao. From the day before yesterday until now, he hadn't slept for more than three hours in total.

Good heavens! He had never hated casinos, bars, and strip clubs so much.

He's been marinated in all these places.

When Wang Xiao made an appearance at Huaxia Commercial Street, he was responsible for running around to accompany guests, giving money to smooth things over, so as to ensure that this large sum of money, from the old rubles of thousands of wholesalers, could be converted into US dollars and invested in the Sakhalin Island oil and gas field project.

If they could call a halt at any time before, now they're completely on board.

They have to keep going with the oil and gas field projects.

Ivanov felt like he had been kidnapped, and the feeling was terrible.

So when faced with the police who came to his door to freeload, he wasn't interested in smiling, he just narrowed his eyes slightly: "I think it's better if we don't cause trouble for each other."

The police chief in charge couldn't save face: "Sir, we are just carrying out our duties."

“Sir, listen, there are gunshots outside.” Ivanov gestured to listen and pointed out the window. “You are the ones who should be carrying out your official duties. We are not the enemy; on the contrary, we pay high taxes in the hope that the government and the police will protect our safety.”

Behind him was another team, larger than the police.

Without even looking, the sheriff knew that these men were capable of taking on at least two police officers on their own.

There's no way around it; without that kind of capability, you simply can't earn the salary of a top-tier security company in Moscow.

The sheriff muttered something under his breath and impatiently ordered his men, "Dismissed!"

A young police officer, confused, asked his superior, "Are we going over there?"

The sheriff slapped him on the head and launched into a tirade of abuse.

Well, that was a bit vulgar, but the gist was: if you want to die, go ahead and do it yourself.

The Mafia now has more advanced weapons than the police and is more professional at killing people.

Wang Xiao didn't know if she was just exhausted and dazed, or if it was because Moscow TV was showing a lot of Hong Kong police dramas, but she had the illusion that she had wandered onto a movie set.

Ivanov nodded to her, sat down in a chair, said only, "I'm going to sleep for a while," then closed his eyes and drifted off to sleep.

He was exhausted, his nerves were on edge. He didn't dare close his eyes until he was back with his companions.

He was asleep, so Wang Xiao naturally couldn't sleep.

She rubbed some cooling balm on her temples and encouraged the workers: "Keep up the good work, everyone. I'll give you all bonuses tomorrow."

Exhausted to this point, some bank employees even gave up their bonuses.

But the bodyguards from the security company are all fully armed. With them watching, who would dare say they want to leave work now?

Besides, the gunshots outside had just started; who would dare to go out at night and risk their life?

The bank was enveloped in an eerie, quiet bustle.

The computer keyboards clattered loudly, employees chatted incessantly, and some were busy eating hamburgers and drinking bubble tea; but no one dared to chat idly, everyone just wanted to finish their work as quickly as possible.

Even the wholesalers who had already paid didn't dare leave, preferring to spend the night squatting in a corner of the bank.

Later, there were still too many people, so the manager had to ask them to leave. They then went to Huaxia Commercial Street to spend the night together.

The commercial street will also be awake all night.

Those who had more than 35,000 rubles were trying to exchange their money for goods.

Some people even gave up exchanging for new rubles altogether, because the news of abolishing the old ruble severely damaged confidence in the ruble market.

On the 23rd, the exchange rate was 1:1000; on the 24th, it became 1:1700; and on the 25th, it became 1:2000. In less than 48 hours, the wealth of all ruble holders shrank by half.

In this situation, who would dare to accept rubles?

Why not quickly switch to essential living supplies?

Whether there are tears in Moscow or not is no longer important.

The important point is that the market simply doesn't believe the tears of ordinary Russians. Or rather, the tears of all the unfortunate ruble holders.

By the 26th, the previously peaceful and orderly currency exchange lines gradually turned chaotic. This was because, according to the central bank's regulations, all old rubles were no longer permitted to circulate by noon.

However, the queues outside showed no signs of shortening, with some people staying up all night to queue and exchange rubles.

Even with all 780 savings banks in Moscow working at full capacity, they still couldn't meet the currency exchange needs of so many people.

The bank where Wang Xiao and his group were staying ran out of new rubles before noon.

Almost instantly, the people's pent-up anger reached its peak. The furious crowd waved their rubles and charged forward.

"Give us back our hard-earned money!"

The bank counters and windows could not stop the citizens who had reached their breaking point.

Some people even climbed over the counter, grabbed the tellers, and shouted at the bank to hand over the vault keys and return their hard-earned money.

Wang Xiao was so frightened that she didn't dare to breathe.

Faced with the angry mob, unless the bodyguards open fire to suppress them, threats alone will not stop them.

But if a shot were fired inside a bank, the consequences would be completely unimaginable.