Chapter 197 We monopolized the entire Moscow market: Bullshit!

The bodyguards nervously formed a human wall, keeping the boss and his clients inside, fearing they might be affected.

Nobody wants to get into a bloody conflict with ordinary citizens unless absolutely necessary.

However, the exhausted and frustrated citizens' emotions had reached their limit, and some began to punch the manager, forcing the bank to continue the exchange business.

The manager, a tall, burly man, was being escorted, his clothes disheveled, and he looked like he was about to cry. "We really don't have a single new ruble left. This is all the money the higher-ups have given us."

Someone pointed at Wang Xiao and shouted, "Why don't you kick them out?"

Wang Xiao quickly picked up a megaphone and shouted, "We're here to deposit money! Yes, it's not even 12 o'clock yet. You can deposit money or send it to other relatives and friends. That way, the money you receive later will be in new rubles."

The bank employees who had been assaulted quickly stood up and tried to maintain order: "Those who want to deposit money, please line up here; those who want to make remittances, please come here."

Someone squatted on the ground and wailed, "When will we get the money? By the time we receive it in six months, the ruble will be worthless."

Ivanov slept half the night before and felt a bit better. He was able to speak with a strong voice: "But now that you've received the new rubles, won't the rubles depreciate?"

The crying inside the bank grew louder, with countless elderly women wailing.

God, why can't you forgive us? What sins have we committed?

Such a terrible thing has never happened before!

Wang Xiao felt a lump in her throat, but still reminded everyone, "Hurry up, hurry up, after midnight, you won't even be able to make a money transfer."

The bank staff also shouted, "Quick, everyone, grab your money! We need to hurry!"

The crowd became flustered, and the atmosphere inside the bank eased up a bit.

The question remains: should they send money to relatives and friends, or deposit it in their own bank account? This has left everyone in a dilemma.

In any chaotic time, the credibility of family, friends, and the government is greatly diminished.

In the end, most people chose to trust their elderly parents back home and sent money to them; only a very small number were willing to deposit the money.

When even remittances of old rubles ceased at noon and only deposits were accepted, the powder keg was ignited once again.

Countless angry people pounded on the counters and windows, demanding that they continue to accept their old rubles.

But rules are rules, and forcing banks to their deaths won't change anything. This was in July 1993, when banks in Moscow were conducting business via computers.

Seeing that chaos was inevitable, Ivanov quickly directed his bodyguards to escort them to the office for safety. Even if the door was flimsy, it was still a door.

They were already discussing a plan to break the window and escort the boss and clients out.

Amidst the chaos, a retired Soviet soldier, his chest adorned with medals, shouted: "What's the point of you making things difficult for the bank? This isn't something the bank can decide. The people who should really be responsible for us are in the Kremlin."

The angry citizens instantly found their anchor: yes, they demanded justice.

Why should their hard-earned wages become worthless?

"We need rubles! We need to survive!"

It's unclear who started chanting slogans, but the surging crowd changed direction and headed towards Red Square.

Wang Xiao and Ivanov were afraid that the main force would turn back, but they had no choice but to grit their teeth and stay at the bank.

Because they have to watch as large sums of money are converted into US dollars and transferred out.

Every minute wasted means that this wealth will lose value.

The task was finally completed at 3 p.m., and the two of them, supported by bodyguards, stumbled and left the bank.

Since returning to Moscow on the 23rd, both of them have been severely exhausted, both physically and mentally. The fact that they didn't collapse at the bank is a testament to their strong will.

The streets of Moscow were in a mess, even worse than the Labor Day parade.

Some citizens who failed to complete the exchange before 12 o'clock were wailing, while others were angrily smashing the savings bank.

Large crowds had gathered outside the shops, and those who wanted to buy things were turned away because they didn't have new rubles. Those who did have new rubles, on the other hand, couldn't be sold anything because the shops lacked small ruble change.

The station was even more crowded, and those who were in a hurry to catch a train couldn't even get on a bus because they didn't have new rubles.

Money may seem like just a piece of paper, but without it, the entire society would be paralyzed.

Wang Xiao was helped into the car and slumped onto the soft leather seat, asking Ivanov weakly, "How has your president been spending these past few days?"

Ivanov scoffed: "He went on vacation, and the Central Bank announced the decision to invalidate the old ruble after he went on vacation."

"What?!" Wang Xiao, on his deathbed, sat bolt upright in shock. "Such a huge matter, shaking the very foundation of the nation's economy, tantamount to shaking the very foundation of the country, and he actually went on vacation?!"

She has absolutely no sympathy for the Russian people anymore.

How could they tolerate such a guy time and time again, and even elect him as their next president? Was their brain frozen solid by the Siberian cold wave, or poisoned by vodka?

Some hardships are truly something you have to go out of your way to endure.

Ivanov couldn't read minds, so he naturally didn't know what Wang Xiao was thinking.

Even so, he found it absurd, a world more magical than One Hundred Years of Solitude.

He was exhausted and didn't want to talk about it anymore, only muttering to himself, "This time, our oil and gas field project can only succeed, it cannot fail."

Before today, he had no idea that there were so many wholesalers, and that they had accumulated so many rubles.

No wonder.

The economic collapse in the ruble region was only worse than, if not better than, that in Moscow. Due to the slow and inefficient official trade, it could be said that private wholesalers ensured the normal functioning of life in the ruble region.

It is easy to imagine how important the ruble is in the CIS countries where foreign exchange is scarce.

Even if everyone basically chooses the 50/50 model, buying goods on one hand and investing in oil and gas fields on the other, the total amount accumulated by so many people is still terrifyingly astonishing.

In just three days, they raised another billion US dollars.

No wonder his friends hinted to him that a large part of the purpose of this financial reform was actually to seize the wealth from foreigners.

With so much money, who wouldn't be tempted?

Ivanov thought expressionlessly that there was probably no government in the world more self-destructive than this one.

After today, it is unlikely that any foreign investment will set foot on Russian soil again.

He let out a weary groan: "May God bless us with good luck."

Wang Xiao stretched his neck with difficulty and said slowly, "Think positively. The good thing is that after today, we can monopolize the entire Moscow market, and even the whole country, and a wider range of wholesale markets. Because their money is in our hands, they are afraid that they won't be able to pay us back or deliver the goods, so they want to give us their business."

Aha! Without this trick, they can only raise funds within the Chinese business community.

But after today, everyone is their shareholder and customer.

Ivanov suddenly woke up, his beautiful peach blossom eyes wide open.

Oh God, it seems that's really true.

A crisis is an opportunity; what is poison to one is honey to another.

They achieved a monopoly on the Moscow wholesale market through such a bizarre method.

"Keep going!" Wang Xiao shook his neck with difficulty to make himself feel a little better, and his voice was muffled. "We have to work hard to earn money so we can pay off our debts."

As the car passed through Red Square, the passengers could clearly see through the window that the crowds gathering in the square were growing larger and larger.

Someone stood on a high place and gave a loud speech to the surrounding crowd.

Some people held banners that read "Give me back my hard-earned money," "Long live Soviet Socialist Russia," and "Don't live a life of compromise, live with dignity."

Someone was crying while trying to talk to the person next to them.

Some people waved bundles of banknotes in their hands, looking around blankly, trying to find something to hold onto.

However, apart from the fully armed guards, no one else showed up at the Kremlin. The tricolor flag flying atop the dome remained silent, as always, conveying its stance through silence.

Government officials are surely aware of just how much public outrage their policies have generated. Even the president, fully aware of this, made a hasty retreat to avoid being dragged out of his office and torn to pieces by the angry Muscovites.

"What a despicable coward!" Ivanov cursed through gritted teeth.

Everyone on the bus agreed with his assessment.

No one should cower in the shadows at a time like this. This is the government you lead; what kind of behavior is it if you hide?

Everyone returned to the commercial street, filled with righteous indignation.

The entire two commercial streets looked like they'd just been through a war.

Those who had more rubles than the exchange limit and those who were so panicked by the ruble's collapse that they gave up exchanging money all rushed to the shops and exchanged their precarious banknotes for goods as quickly as possible.

Unfortunately, yesterday and today, July 25th and 26th, were public holidays in Moscow, and only food stores were open.

People who couldn't get into state-run stores could only shop at private stores.

Some small wholesalers didn't contact Wang Xiao directly; they went to the store and bought 10 or 20 pieces of goods at a time.

In short, the store's stock was completely depleted, and everyone was exhausted. Even when they saw the boss, the manager could only manage a weak, tired smile and feebly greet him, "Hello, boss!"

Seeing that everyone's dark circles were practically hanging down to their cheekbones, Wang Xiao quickly sent a warm message: "Everyone, please receive another round of grains. We'll take turns resting. Thank you all for your hard work."

The so-called grain was actually a bonus.

However, the commercial street no longer dares to issue bonuses.

Because bonuses are considered part of salary, and according to current Russian law, all income under salary categories is subject to taxation.

This forces businessmen like Wang Xiao to find ways to exploit loopholes.

We have to drill.

The current legal system in Russia can only be described as chaotic, with numerous contradictions.

If Wang Xiao wants to be a law-abiding businessman, then sorry, a 20-page legal document will solemnly declare: a 105% tax will be levied.

Yes, it is 105%, there is no misplaced decimal point.

The chaotic legal system and unreliable government have forced every businessman who survives in this country to try every means to avoid, evade, and evade taxes.

Taking Huaxia Commercial Street as an example, although the ruble has depreciated several times since last autumn, everyone's wages have not increased by a single ruble.

They only pay 1/10 of the salary, and the rest is replaced with insurance or grain, because these are not taxable.

All business owners do this. Bosses are willing, and employees are even more willing.

In particular, they have their own farm, which basically guarantees the food and drink needs of the store employees and their families.

When everyone looked back at her and Ivanov, their faces were oily, their dark circles were like pandas, and their eyes were bloodshot. They quickly and weakly complimented each other, saying, "Boss, you've worked hard too. We can handle it."

Thank goodness, although I was exhausted to the point of going crazy, at least things didn't get chaotic and no one robbed me. I managed to get through these three days without any major incidents.

However, no one dared to truly relax, because too many people's old rubles had not been exchanged in time.

For bad people, money is as valuable as life itself; this is a recipe for rebellion driven by officials.

Wang Xiao and Ivanov were so exhausted that they wanted to collapse on the spot and sleep for three days and three nights.

But after they ran upstairs, neither of them dared to close their eyes. They both held military binoculars and kept an eye on the movements in Red Square.

As the sun slowly moved westward, crowds poured in from all directions, gathering in Red Square.

This square, less than 700 meters long from north to south and only 130 meters wide from east to west, has red walls as solid as a castle, and gray-brown buildings that remain silent as ever. They stand side by side with the beautiful, colorful Orthodox church, silently and coldly witnessing all the ups and downs of this country.

The green hills remain, and the setting sun has reddened them many times.

The assistant tiptoed upstairs to deliver the latest newspapers to the bosses.

These past few days, they've been so busy that they haven't even had time to read the newspaper.

Wang Xiao quickly flipped through the news sketches, extracting from them what kind of chaos Moscow was actually experiencing in just three days.

In the food stores, all the eggs, rice, flour, sugar, oil, salt, and so on—everything that could be stored—was swept away with old rubles, even vegetables and meat.

In department stores, change under 50 rubles is usually not given. Some sales clerks will give you two pieces of chewing gum or two small handkerchiefs as change, while others will simply wipe it away without a second thought and keep it as their tip.

At the subway ticket counters, long queues formed at each window as people exchanged their loose change and old banknotes for subway tickets. Although each person was limited to five tickets per transaction, this did not deter people, especially the elderly, from repeatedly queuing. Because they couldn't afford to waste the tickets, the elderly often only had loose change on hand.

These elderly people, who built the great red Soviet Union with their youth and blood, can now not even afford a single ruble.

The price of a toilet at the airport, which used to be 10 rubles per use, skyrocketed to 100 rubles overnight. Even excrement and urine suddenly became ten times more valuable.

There's also the black market, where money changers with connections to banks buy up old rubles at half price. Even though everyone knows they're losing money, they can't afford to queue up and have no choice but to swallow their pride and get ripped off.

The reaction of high-ranking government officials to the suffering of the people is truly ironic.

On the 24th, after the central bank announced the abolition of the old ruble, both the prime minister and the deputy minister of finance gave speeches expressing their support for the decision.

But political parties and groups clearly have no intention of going crazy with them.

Republicans see this as a stab in the back for the president, because the policy is designed to target those who support him and make their living in the market.

The "Democratic Russia" perspective shifts the blame to the parliament, claiming that since it is supported by the parliament, the parliament should be dissolved.

Parliament retaliated, with the speaker publicly stating that it had not been approved by Parliament and should be cancelled.

The "rescue team" accused the government of having an anti-people policy.

Most interestingly, the Deputy Prime Minister and Finance Minister, who is currently on a business trip in the United States, issued a statement today saying that he had absolutely no intention of participating in this action, accusing it of being a "planned political action against the president, the government, and their policies," and advocating for accountability and the removal of the governor of the Central Bank of Russia from his post.

Tsk, so this is going to be a Rashomon-like situation.

The CIS countries collectively expressed their dissatisfaction, pointing out that Russia had failed to fulfill its basic obligation to provide six months' advance notice.

The concept of an economic alliance that was originally discussed is now largely doomed to fail.

Ukraine and Kyrgyzstan have announced a halt to ruble foreign exchange transactions, while Azerbaijan has stated it will no longer use the ruble.

Turkmenistan and Moldova have decided to accelerate the issuance of their own currencies. Good heavens, given the meager foreign exchange reserves of these two countries, it's easy to imagine that their newly issued currencies will also be doomed to collapse.

Amidst the bleak winds and bitter rain, Kazakhstan, Tajikistan, and Uzbekistan became the minority. They decided to remain in the ruble zone.

However, since they were still waiting for the new ruble and the old ruble had stopped trading, one can imagine how chaotic things must have been for these three countries. It was as if they had been plunged back into primitive society overnight, forced to resort to barter.

The door opened again, and the assistant came over to ask the boss what he wanted to eat for dinner.

From downstairs came the complaints of Chinese people: "Those Russians are too cunning and wicked. They deliberately brought old rubles to the train to exchange for our money. How were we supposed to know that this money is now worthless?"

It turned out that the Chinese businessman had just arrived in Moscow and, not knowing what was going on, exchanged his old rubles and took a taxi, intending to have a meal at a restaurant first.

When he got off the bus and went to pay, trouble ensued. The driver, of course, refused to accept old rubles, and to make matters worse, the two couldn't communicate in the same language.

Fortunately, there are many Chinese businessmen in Moscow. The driver judged him to be Chinese based on his appearance and manner of speaking, and took him directly to the Chinese commercial street.

This has become a tacit practice in Moscow: any disputes involving Chinese people, especially those involving language barriers, are first sent to the Chinese Commercial Street.

Someone always steps in to solve the problem.

Now, as expected, the store manager has already paid for the unfortunate Chinese businessman's taxi fare in accordance with the company's internal regulations.

The Chinese businessman was full of grievances and kept complaining: "Those Russians are so bad, they're deliberately trying to scam us. I think they intentionally tricked us into boarding the train, taking advantage of our ignorance that the old ruble is no longer valid. Those Russians are utterly wicked, what a terrible country they are."

Seeing that he was getting more and more agitated, the store manager quickly stopped him: "Alright, alright, this kind of thing happens in every country. In China, when cloth coupons were abolished, and this year grain coupons were abolished, there were still people who took advantage of the fact that rural people were out of touch with the news and didn't know about these things, so they used the unusable cloth coupons and grain coupons to cheat people out of money."

This is also a written rule in the store's employee handbook.

When you earn money in someone else's country, you can't eat your food and then complain about it. The Russians can criticize their own country and government, so as an outsider, you should say nice things. You can criticize corrupt officials and say they've let the Russian people down, but you absolutely cannot openly criticize their country.

Because human emotions are universal.

Huang Rong can scold Huang Yaoshi, but she absolutely will not allow anyone to speak ill of him.

The minor disturbance downstairs quickly subsided and things returned to calm.

The store manager inquired about the Chinese businessman's situation, made a few phone calls, and found him a bed in the wholesale building. Regardless of whether his business would succeed later, at least he had a place to stay immediately.

Meanwhile, in Red Square not far away, the turmoil intensified, with crowds gathering in ever larger numbers. Even as darkness fell, Wang Xiao could still clearly see the angry expressions on their faces through his high-powered military binoculars.

Ivanov suddenly cursed, "Damn it! Why don't they just rush in?"

They say those with nothing to lose are fearless, so why are the Russians, whose wealth has been completely plundered by the government, still so calm? Why don't they just storm this damned government? Like the Paris Commune!

Russia clearly inherited the biggest legacy of the Soviet Union.

Ivanov continued to curse incessantly, never mentioning why he didn't rush out and blow up that damned turtle-like government.

We all yearn for heroes, but how many people are willing to risk everything to become one?

Wang Xiao looked at Ivanov scrutinizingly, and finally shook his head regretfully.

The person being stared at was bewildered: "Your Majesty, what's wrong?"

Wang Xiao sighed deeply, with a hint of regret: "I was just thinking about the possibility of getting you into that position."

Ivanov was startled, instantly transforming into the little demon Benboba from "Journey to the West," with the same expression as when the boss, the Nine-Headed Insect, demanded he eliminate Tang Sanzang and his disciples: "Me?"

Wang Xiao's sigh grew louder: "So I gave up. You're not shameless enough, you have a bottom line, you still have humanity, so you're not suited for politics."

Ivanov was speechless. Was this a compliment or an insult?

He blinked, feeling as if he hadn't reached a dead end yet.

That's why he couldn't understand why the poor, who were already being exploited and couldn't even afford food, didn't rise up in rebellion. Just like the Chinese history books say: "Are kings and nobles born with a special destiny?"

Wang Xiao immediately dispelled his illusions: "Don't worry, the first thing that happens in peasant uprisings in China is to kill wealthy households and seize grain."

She gestured with her chin towards Red Square, saying, "We're so close; if someone were to rebel, they'd be the first to come and rob our two streets."

Never mind then.

Ivanov immediately quieted down, but then emphasized, "The grievances have their perpetrators, and the government is the one who caused them such misery. They should be looking for trouble with the government, not with businessmen like us. Without us, even the most basic supplies in Moscow cannot be maintained."

The assistant brought over chicken noodle soup. The hen used to make the soup was a free-range chicken, and the greens inside were freshly picked, cooked until they were bright green and juicy.

Wang Xiao ate noodles with chicken soup, hesitated for a moment, and then said, "The people are the greatest legacy that the Soviet Union left to Russia. People who grow up in socialist countries have a common characteristic: no matter how much they criticize the government, they still have full trust in the government at critical moments and feel that the government will not ignore them. This has become an instinct ingrained in their bones."

She took a sip of chicken soup and sighed softly, "The people have never let the government down; it is always the government that has failed the people."

Ivanov fell silent once again.

Fortunately, he didn't self-harm or deliberately refuse to eat; he still finished his bowl of chicken noodle soup.

After dark, the president, who had been so busy with his vacation, finally made an appearance in Moscow and announced the government's new decision—to extend the ruble's exchange period.

All Russians can continue to exchange for new rubles at banks, a period extended to the end of August; and the exchange limit has been increased to 100,000 rubles. There is no limit to the exchange of old rubles with a face value of 10,000 rubles, and old rubles with a face value of 10 or less can continue to be used.

Wang Xiao was so angry at this move that he laughed.

His Excellency the President surely doesn't find his decision particularly wise and brilliant.

How much did he hate the ruble? He hated both the old and the new ruble.

His constant changes of policy will completely destroy the Russian people's confidence in the ruble.

Who will dare to trust the ruble in the future? Not only ordinary citizens, but also legitimate foreign investment will no longer dare to enter the market.

Did he think he had appeased those citizens who hadn't received enough new rubles? No, he had offended even more people who, before noon today, had been willing to exchange their old rubles at a discount for new ones.

Without a doubt, this group of citizens is the most responsive to government policies.

Now, suddenly, the deadline has been extended to more than a month later. What has become of their previous positive response? Are they idiots who trusted the government, and fools who deserve to be humiliated, betrayed, and deceived?

Wang Xiao let out a broken groan and muttered to himself, "It's over, the ruble is finished."

It's so annoying! Can't things be a little more stable, so people can have a couple of peaceful days?

But reason told her that if the economy had developed steadily from the Soviet Union to Russia in the 1990s, how could she have had the opportunity to make a fortune?

An opportunist like her has no right to be pretentious.

But she was really annoyed; she wanted to cause trouble, to smash something to vent her emotions.

Just as she was pacing around the room, the phone rang.

"Who is it? What is it?"

The person on the other end probably sensed her agitation and paused for a moment before answering, "I am Wu Haoyu."

Wang Xiao replied without hesitation, "I'll call right away."

"No, it's nothing." Wu Haoyu quickly stopped her. "Don't hang up. I just wanted to ask if you're alright."

Moscow's international standing is declining rapidly, so he didn't learn about the cessation of the old ruble's circulation until he read the newspaper on the evening of the 24th.

He then called Moscow, but no one answered the phone for a long time.

After finally getting through, the other party impatiently said they were too busy and that everyone was extremely busy to answer any questions.

Wang Xiao didn't know how to answer Wu Haoyu's question for a moment.

Okay? Okay my ass!

They finally made it through, but that damned Moscow government announced an extension of the exchange period and an increase in the exchange limit.

Damn it, she wants to blow up the Kremlin now!

Wu Haoyu hesitated for a moment before cautiously speaking, "But hasn't the situation stabilized? The ruble plummeted because everyone was afraid their old rubles would become worthless, so they frantically dumped them. Now we don't need to worry about that; the ruble's exchange rate should stabilize."

Wang Xiao was stunned for a moment, then jumped up and cursed, "What a load of crap!"

If the ruble returns to its original exchange rate of 1:1000, wouldn't that mean they lost a fortune exorbitant amount when exchanging it for US dollars at 1:2000?

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Note: The ruble crisis of July 1993 is a true story. According to the Russian president's memoir, *The President's Diary* (I bought a physical copy because there's so little information online), the decision was made jointly by the president, prime minister, finance minister, and central bank governor to counter the impact of the old ruble from the former Soviet republics. The president's family was unaware of this. His eldest daughter and her family had just received their wages (in old rubles) and went on vacation, only to return without money. [Let me see...]