Chapter 35: Truly Daring: 10,000-Word Update

In an instant, Wang Xiao thought of the unpredictable international situation.

In the late 1980s and early 1990s, the dramatic changes in Eastern Europe and the collapse of the Soviet Union led to the fall of the socialist bloc. Sino-Soviet relations only eased in the mid-1980s; prior to that, it is said that a million troops were stationed along the border.

She was so frightened that her mind went blank, and she was completely stunned.

Fortunately, Dr. Chen hadn't expected her daughter to be of any use in the infirmary. She rushed over immediately, quickly checked the female college student lying on the ground, and then swiftly drew up the medicine. After one injection, the Russian girl, whom Wang Xiao thought was about to die, gradually recovered.

Chen Yanqiu then realized that her back was covered in cold sweat. She rolled her eyes at her dumbfounded daughter and said, "Ask her if she has any allergies, like peanuts or nuts."

She had studied Russian before, but for a very short time, and at that time she was practically mute in Russian. After not using it for many years, it was completely useless now.

Wang Xiao finally came to her senses and quickly began translating.

As it turned out, this girl was quite carefree. She looked completely bewildered and thought for a long time before saying that she might be allergic to some kind of nut that Wang Xiao didn't even know what it was. She had eaten it when she was a child and developed a rash, but it wasn't serious.

Wang Xiao wiped the sweat from his forehead and solemnly warned her, "You absolutely must never eat that again. It's too risky, too dangerous."

She knew she was allergic to peanuts; it was always on American TV shows, and they'd disappear just like that, very quickly.

It is said that fewer Chinese people are allergic to peanuts because peanuts were introduced to this land during the Ming Dynasty. At that time, all those who were allergic to peanuts died, and the gene for this allergy was also lost.

I don't know if it's true or not.

The female college student was even more confused; she hadn't eaten any nuts. She had just eaten sugar shortbread, which didn't contain nuts.

Wang Xiao hesitated and turned to look at her mother. The ingredients of the sugar shortbread were indeed very simple, just sugar and flour, without even a single sesame seed.

Dr. Chen picked up a broom to clean up the mess on the floor, saying dismissively, "What's the big deal? It's an allergy; even a tiny bit can be fatal. Does the factory that produces sugar biscuits not produce other foods? Peanut biscuits, sesame biscuits, walnut biscuits, and the like? Even a tiny bit of those would be dangerous."

She was afraid her daughter wouldn't believe her, so she used her past work experience as an example.

She has a friend who is also studying medicine, but unfortunately, she is allergic to penicillin.

How severe is the allergy?

A bottle of penicillin was accidentally dropped and broken on the ground. The liquid didn't touch her; she only smelled it, and then she collapsed.

Her condition was far more serious than that of the Soviet female university student. Everyone rushed to her aid and even performed a tracheotomy to save her life.

Upon hearing this, Wang Xiao felt despair.

If that's the case, how can she sell her specialty products to the Soviet Union?

Food in this era was truly rudimentary, and the concept of allergy warnings was generally absent. At least, none of the local specialties Wang Xiao had seen had this feature on their packaging.

If she wanted to do business in Soviet food, it meant she would have to package it individually.

This is too troublesome and costly; it's not worth it.

Tang Yicheng, seeing her pale face, was completely bewildered and whispered, "Isn't everything alright?"

The Russian is really thick-skinned. This girl had barely recovered when she started acting like nothing had happened, staring longingly at the can of syrup.

This bottle was given to her by Dr. Chen to calm her nerves, but she's not allowed to take it now.

Having just faced a life-or-death situation, Dr. Chen dared not let her go and simply had her lie in the infirmary for continued observation.

In case anything goes wrong later, we can deal with it promptly.

Wang Xiao whispered about how the export specialty products project failed before it even got off the ground, and Tang Yicheng was helpless.

Given the limited production conditions of the food factory, it's simply unrealistic to expect them to renovate their workshops and improve their production technology specifically for orders with uncertain export volumes.

Wang Xiao understood as well.

Right now, clearing inventory is the priority for most manufacturers; everything else can wait. Otherwise, if inventory can't be cleared, funds can't be recovered, and production simply can't continue.

Only when a factory, like the Xin County Soap Factory, clears out its inventory and gradually opens up sales channels, will it consider introducing new equipment and improving its production processes.

"Never mind." She had to give up with regret. "Let's export canned food first, and put the local specialties aside for now."

She let go quite completely, even giving up on repackaging the "Top Ten Specialty Products" herself.

The food factories will still supply the hotels themselves, and she will help print the "Top Ten Local Specialties" food bags with the hotel's label. When customers want a gift bag, the hotel will help seal it.

Well, sealing it is simple too. Use a plastic zipper seal, and then use a saw to heat the candle until it's sealed tightly.

Tang Yicheng was surprised; he hadn't expected Wang Xiao to give up so quickly. Logically, shouldn't she be tackling difficulties even when they weren't there, or creating them if they weren't?

“It’s not worth it.” Wang Xiao clicked the abacus beads. “The returns are too small and the risks are too high. There’s no need to take the risk.”

She would rather earn less and just take the sales commissions from various food factories.

As for how much of the local specialty products the food factory sold to the hotel, without her involvement, it's impossible to know for sure; well, that depends on whether the food factory has a long-term vision.

If everyone is willing to cooperate long-term, things will be fine for each other. When she goes to other provinces to do sales, she will naturally bring along products that will benefit her.

Otherwise, forget it.

Of course, it's not entirely impossible.

The prerequisite is to attract investment, update production equipment and processes, and train workers to improve their skills and at least ensure labor discipline.

Seriously, although it sounds a bit... well, it could easily be mistaken for deliberate slander.

But nowadays, workers in food factories, especially in some small local factories, can actually eat the raw materials while they are producing food.

Under such conditions, the hygiene quality of the product is questionable.

Hmm, let's see if any of the foreign businessmen staying at the Jinning Grand Hotel are interested in the food processing industry.

The living standards of people in mainland China have improved, and this is most directly reflected in their diet. People are now very willing to spend money on treats.

For production, we'll adhere to export standards. Yes, full export standards. The packaging will have instructions printed in Chinese, English, and Russian.

In this way, the food could not only be exported to the Soviet Union and Eastern Europe, but also help with domestic sales.

Well, it's not that consumers are blindly worshipping foreign things or think exported goods are superior. It's because, for a long time, the best products were supplied for export in order to generate foreign exchange.

At the same time, domestically, due to the scarcity and limited supply of materials, even defective products are treated as treasures.

So, all things being equal, would you choose export products or domestic products? Nobody wants to be taken advantage of, and nobody wants the best.

Yes, that's how we do it.

We'll have to go back and look around to see if we can connect someone with investors to build a food factory and make this specialty product project a success.

Well, this can be seen as her offering her allegiance to the local government, which will help everyone get along better.

When Wang Xiao is thinking, his eyes are fixed straight ahead.

After observing this for a long time, even Dr. Chen began to misunderstand.

She sighed, grabbed a mesh bag, and kept stuffing three jars of syrup into it, muttering, "This isn't proper food, eat less of it."

Wang Xiao was completely confused and couldn't keep up with her pace.

No, why are you suddenly talking about canned food in syrup? Eat less of everything, she has absolutely no interest in canned food.

Even when she did a live stream eating canned yellow peaches during the pandemic lockdown, it was all just to ride the wave of popularity.

However, her reaction only fueled Chen Yanqiu's misunderstanding. He frowned, opened the can, and reluctantly emphasized, "Alright, alright, just one bite is enough. Eat your food first. If you finish the whole can, you won't have room for anything else."

Wang Xiao was left unsure how to react.

Luckily, the doctor on duty returned at that moment and, seeing the situation, laughed and said, "It seems Xiaoxiao has grown up and still likes canned food. Eat, eat, it's okay, don't listen to your mother. Auntie is telling you, if you brush your teeth after eating canned food, you still won't get cavities."

“Oh, that’s not true,” Chen Yanqiu immediately retorted.

After listening to the whole conversation, Wang Xiao felt that he might understand why the original owner was so obsessed with love.

One theory suggests that all those with a "love-obsessed" mindset are compensating themselves for not receiving enough love from their families during their upbringing.

Because daughters are often neglected in traditional families, romantic infatuation is more common among women.

They lacked love in their families of origin and wanted to have a small family as compensation.

But the original owner's situation was different. She came from a well-off family, and her parents were open-minded (if wholeheartedly supporting their daughter's studies and career wasn't open-minded enough, then there really aren't many parents in the world who deserve the word "open-minded"). Logically speaking, she didn't need this kind of psychological compensation.

But she just happened to be so hopelessly in love.

In retrospect, it's probably related to her upbringing.

Dr. Chen is not a harsh mother who scolds her daughter, but she also has the major flaws of traditional parents, namely, she is too strict with her child and interferes in everything, big or small.

From food and clothing to daily necessities, and even the choice between arts and sciences in high school and college application, her daughter has to listen to her every word.

Wang Tiejun, the father, wasn't unloving of his daughter, but like most traditional fathers, he believed that raising a daughter was the mother's responsibility. He knew her mother was doing it for her daughter's good, and he would never disagree.

Over time, even if the original owner's growth was smooth sailing, he still felt repressed.

She felt unhappy at home and couldn't tell anyone.

Because no matter who looks at their family, they all feel that her parents are already so good, and her life and job are so good, so if she is still not satisfied, then she is a complete ingrate.

After all, her mother's upbringing and choices were correct, saving her from many detours.

Many people are extremely envious of her.

She's someone who won at the starting line.

It's so frustrating! Even the feeling of not being able to breathe feels like a mistake.

As for why Wang Xiao didn't feel that her parents were particularly strict with her, that's thanks to the original owner's madness.

The scene she had with Ruan Rui completely terrified the elderly couple.

As long as Wang Xiao stops causing trouble, it's fine no matter what she does.

Well, it's like the predecessors planting trees so that the successors can enjoy the shade.

Besides, Wang Xiao isn't stupid; she always says what she wants directly. And in family relationships, sometimes, speaking up gives you the upper hand.

You'll never get a good outcome if you suppress your own feelings.

so--

Without saying a word, Wang Xiao screwed the lid back on the jar and handed it to the Russian girl lying on the bed: "Here, have some. It was just opened, I haven't touched it."

Then she called to Tang Yicheng, "Let's go eat."

Dr. Chen finally remembered to stop chatting with his colleagues and called out from behind, "Hey, hey, aren't you going to get your food? Eat and come home with me."

"No." Wang Xiao didn't even turn her head. "You didn't even ask me what I wanted to eat before making your own decision. I want fish soup today."

Dr. Chen was furious but helpless. This brat! Why didn't she say so earlier? When she asked for pig's trotter soup and bone broth, she didn't say a word about not wanting them.

Wang Xiao didn't get to drink the fish soup at this last meal. Because they arrived late, there was no more fish soup left, only river clam and salted meat soup, which Wang Xiao drank happily.

Chen Yanqiu held back, but she just couldn't understand why this salted meat soup was better than pork rib soup.

But she was afraid that her daughter wouldn't get to drink the salted meat soup, so she simply had an excuse not to eat properly and just lived on canned syrup.

We can only endure until the very end.

Who is Wang Xiao? She's the best at reading people's expressions and moods.

She almost burst out laughing when she saw Dr. Chen's expression.

Yes, keep it that way, even if you don't like it, just bear with it.

Otherwise, if she wants to do something in the future, her parents will keep stopping her. Although in the end they probably won't be able to stop her anyway, they can nag her all day long, and she'll get annoyed.

She's not a good-tempered person.

After finishing her meal, Wang Xiao said goodbye to her mother and headed back to the People's Department Store.

Chen Yanqiu was furious with this girl. Her ankle was injured, couldn't she just stay home and rest?

Wang Xiao thought to herself, "This is just a band-aid wound, and you're saying you're healing it? I'd be more likely to develop internal injuries!"

Don't even think about letting her stay home and not earn money during her precious night!

Tang Yicheng followed her out to take the bus, but he couldn't understand her workaholic lifestyle: "Didn't you say that you had already gotten things going at the department store counter? Now that you don't need to export special products to the Soviet Union, why do you have to go to the department store tonight?"

Because she lost a business deal and earned less money, she had to find a way to make up for the loss as soon as possible.

Wang Xiao turned to look at him and solemnly advised, "Business opportunities require constant and careful observation in order to discover more opportunities."

Tang Yicheng was bewildered. He really couldn't understand what business opportunities could possibly exist in a shopping mall. The mall was full of people doing business, and any potential opportunities would have been snapped up by the stalls.

Especially when the two of them walked into the mall and arrived at the clothing counter, and Xiang Yuan told them with lingering enthusiasm that "the military overcoats are sold out," Tang Yicheng felt even more that they had made a wasted trip.

"The telescopes are sold out too." Xiang Yuan was almost dying of regret. If he had known these two items would sell so well, he should have asked the Russians to bring twice as many.

No, three times or five times is fine.

In less than three days, three hundred military overcoats and two hundred binoculars have been sold out.

Judging by this momentum, he'd be confident he could sell out even if it were five times the original price.

It's not just the provincial capital; as the Lunar New Year approaches, people from surrounding suburban counties and even other cities will come to the provincial capital to buy clothes.

Five times the quantity is nothing; I'm afraid it won't be enough to sell.

Wang Xiao smiled, looked at the Soviet university students who had already changed back into their own clothes, and asked Xiang Dong, "Are you planning to let them go home?"

Xiang Dong paused for a moment, then said, "It's alright now."

All the military overcoats are sold out, why is he keeping people around? Even if customers like watching young Russians, they can't just give them money. Why would he keep people around to watch for free?

He couldn't very well charge admission fees.

Wang Xiao wanted to facepalm again. It seemed that the business tycoon in the book had indeed benefited greatly from the era's dividends to become so wealthy.

He had employees readily available, yet he never even considered taking advantage of their surplus value!

"Don't rush, take me to the warehouse and let me see which clothes aren't selling well right now."

Although Xiang Dong didn't understand why, the fact that he had sold 300 coats and 200 binoculars, earning him a profit of 130,000 yuan, was enough for him to believe in Wang Xiao's intelligence.

Sure enough, college students are college students; as long as they don't go crazy with romantic entanglements, they're good at everything.

He led the group toward the warehouse, explaining, "Flight jackets and wool coats aren't selling very well."

It's not that it's bad, it's just that it sells slowly.

If Wang Xiao doesn't speak up, he doesn't plan to do anything special. Anyway, the clothes will definitely sell when everyone is rushing to buy New Year's goods before the end of the year.

Flight jackets and wool coats were popular a couple of years ago, especially the latter. When "Shanghai Bund" was all the rage, it swept the entire city. A coat with a white scarf was the standard attire for young men in the provincial capital, and every one of them looked like a walking Xu Wenqiang.

Seriously, 100,000 of these coats were sold. The department stores that sourced them made a killing.

Seeing this trend, the garment factory quickly ramped up production. However, the excess stock coincided with the backlog of goods caused by the failure to pass the price control test. Xu Wenqiang's style instantly plummeted from the top to the bottom.

It's not that the clothing quality is bad, or that the clothes are too outdated; it's just that fashion trends are really hard to predict.

Wang Xiao glanced at the clothes, already having an idea in mind, and asked Xiang Dong, "If I sell these two styles, what percentage of the commission will you give me?"

Xiang Dong readily agreed: "How about ten percent? Clothing profits are high, but I still have to pay counter fees and a bunch of other miscellaneous expenses."

"OK, ten points it is." Wang Xiao didn't haggle. She took a medium-sized leather jacket and a large woolen coat out of the warehouse and called to the male and female college students who had nothing to do, "Come on, I've found you some extra work. I'll give you two bottles of Erguotou tonight."

The Soviets' love of alcohol was no exaggeration; they could drink straight from the bottle without even having any snacks.

The two young people immediately made a deal. Without hesitation, the girl put on the bomber jacket and the boy wore the same black coat as Xu Wenqiang.

Even Wang Xiao wanted to sigh when he saw it; genes are truly powerful. Look at how ordinary clothes were transformed into a runway the moment someone put them on.

Honestly, this isn't just her being biased or self-praising; the customers in the mall aren't shills she hired. Their reactions speak volumes.

Wang Xiao only helped out a little and gave the two of them some outfit suggestions. Instantly, the customers who were disappointed that they couldn't buy the military coat shifted their focus and stared at the wool coat without looking away, actively asking about the price and wanting to try it on.

As for the girls, they all stared in disbelief at the blue-eyed, high-nosed young lady, unable to believe that the men's leather jacket looked so effortlessly stylish on her.

Perhaps these clothes are not gender-specific?

Want to give it a try?

In the blink of an eye, the counter became lively again, with several sales clerks running back and forth to help customers try on clothes.

Xiang Dong had taken out a cigarette to smoke, but he was so startled that he forgot to light it.

After a long pause, he finally blurted out, "It really is Ken Takakura and Momoe Yamaguchi."

Good heavens! Whatever clothes they wear becomes a bestseller, this is outrageous!

Wang Xiao said smugly, "I believe you. Don't forget the 10% commission. The remaining two days are yours. Let me tell you, even if they're wrapped in old cotton-padded coats, they'll look fashionable."

According to the original plan, Wang Xiao intended for the Soviet university students to stay in the provincial capital for a week to help her sell her goods. Now that the Soviet goods had been sold out ahead of schedule, she couldn't let them leave early.

Why? Is it because you're worried it won't match the content of the invitation?

No, she doesn't care about any of that.

She dreamed of getting them to set off immediately.

The university students returned to Moscow ahead of schedule so she could start the second wave of collaborations and earn a second sum of money.

Unfortunately, the Sino-Soviet international train is not what it used to be. It is no longer the time when the train was deserted with only about twenty passengers a train a day, and there were more train staff than passengers.

International trains are incredibly popular these days, and tickets are in high demand. Once you finally get a ticket, you can't just change it easily; if there aren't any tickets left, you can't get a new one.

With things having come to this point, Wang Xiao had no choice but to proceed according to the original schedule.

However, she wasn't doing this for free by paying to bring these handsome young men and beautiful young women to the provincial capital.

As a qualified capitalist, she must extract the maximum amount of surplus value from others.

They definitely have to help her make money from this wasted time.

"Yes," Wang Xiao nodded in satisfaction as he looked at the bustling shopping mall counters.

Even if there are no fish or shrimp, the commission will still be 10%.

Two days later, when Wang Xiao went to the mall to pay Xiang Dong, she discovered that the money she received was not right.

It's not that there's less, it's that there's more.

Although she didn't know the exact sales figures, she had a general idea of ​​the sales volume from her daily back-and-forth visits, which resulted in her receiving several thousand yuan more in commission.

Wang Xiao instantly became alert.

She never believed that there was any kindness in this world without a reason, especially from men to women. If a man is unusually attentive to a woman, he must be up to no good.

It's fine if he wants to seduce her; after all, she's young and beautiful, and it's normal for men to have such thoughts.

But if the other party has grand ambitions and is after her money, well, then don't blame her for striking first.

After all, men who seek personal gain are generally far more dangerous than women who do. The latter are often only after money, while the former are willing to sacrifice both their money and their lives.

Xiang Dong quickly replied, "Yes, yes, 15 points. Here's a 15% commission. Take it. I want to discuss something with you."

Wang Xiao was about to push the money back when he heard them discussing something. He stopped what he was doing and said calmly, "What is it? Tell me."

Xiang Dong looked a little embarrassed, and cleared his throat before speaking: "Well, I was wondering if you could help me make some connections and see if I could get a few Russians to come to my counter to continue selling clothes?"

He shouldn't have been so audacious as to harbor such delusional fantasies about the Soviet Union.

Foreigners are so rich. It's always been foreigners who hire Chinese people to do their work. The tips they give are enough for the latter to make a small fortune.

Has anyone ever heard of a Chinese person working for a foreigner?

Xiang Dong is a businessman, and perhaps his vision is limited to the times and he doesn't see far enough ahead, but his observation skills are absolutely first-rate.

He felt these Russians weren't wealthy; they were overjoyed even drinking a bottle of Coke. He wandered around the mall, but didn't see them lavishly open their wallets.

And the look in his eyes was clearly one of envy.

Just like in foreign movies, there are poor people everywhere.

Even the Soviet Union, which was hailed as a model of socialism, could not escape this truth.

Wang Xiao looked at Xiang Dong in shock and couldn't help but give him a thumbs up.

Regardless of how unrealistic the novel's writing style may be, Xiang Dong is portrayed as a business tycoon in the book, which shouldn't be considered a forced characterization.

Back in 1990, when everyone still saw foreigners as having an aura of prestige, Xiang Dong was already considering having foreigners work for him.

What great courage!

Xiang Dong was beaming with pride after being praised by her.

If someone else had praised him like that, he probably wouldn't have been so proud.

But Wang Xiao is different. She's incredibly capable; an engineer at a chemical engineering institute is even more successful at selling things than she is.

She praised him, which shows how clever he is.

Xiang Dong pretended to be knowledgeable: "Oh, it's just so-so. Actually, I was just watching a movie. Back then, there were a lot of Russians working as waiters in restaurants. Our country was so poor back then, and they could still do this kind of work. Why can't we do it now? Don't you think so?"

only--

Wang Xiao shook his head regretfully: "They probably won't make it. They are undergraduates in the chemistry department of Moscow, and they are guaranteed job placement after graduation. Moreover, their salaries there are higher than here now."

That's the absolute truth.

Before Wang Xiao transmigrated into the book, the Russia-Ukraine conflict was still unresolved. Analyses of the two countries would frequently pop up online.

One aspect that people are curious about is why Russia and Ukraine failed to achieve the same level of economic reform as China after the collapse of the Soviet Union, even though they embraced capitalism and vigorously pursued economic development.

Aside from various geographical and historical factors, the most widely recognized key factor is that both Russia and Ukraine lack a demographic dividend.

What is the demographic dividend?

To put it simply and bluntly, it's cheap labor.

Until its collapse, the Soviet Union maintained a high level of national income, much higher than that of China today.

Can you believe it? Soviet farmers received wages.

The only way to get someone to willingly travel across the ocean and leave their family to work in a foreign country is to enable them to earn a lot of money here, far more than they could earn at home.

He smacked his lips twice, then regretfully gave up for the time being.

He had never been to the Soviet Union, but who among his generation and the previous generation hadn't longed for it?

We've barely filled our stomachs yet, and their tables are already overflowing with meat, dairy products, eggs, and sugar. I've heard they drink 100 times more milk than we do!

The streets were full of cars, the city was full of skyscrapers, and there were many airports. Half of the Soviets had ever flown! He claimed to be incredibly wealthy, but he had never flown.

That is the ideal socialist life.

He himself would be doing very well in the provincial capital. He wouldn't be interested in going back to the village, even if offered the position of brigade secretary.

Seeing his dejected look, Wang Xiao couldn't help but laugh: "It's alright, I'll ask around. Maybe someone's interested and wants to come to our country to strike it rich. It's not a big deal if it doesn't work out."

Not long after the collapse of the Soviet Union.

To paraphrase her finance professor in college, the collapse of any dynasty is essentially the collapse of its financial system.

With the collapse of the Soviet Union, ordinary people faced a long period of hardship. Poverty breeds resourcefulness; those who were initially reluctant to leave their homes inevitably had to find ways to go out and earn a living.

The first choice is naturally the country's big cities, but when the economy of big cities is also in a mess and there are a lot of unemployed people, then naturally one has to look outwards.

People who would even resort to illegal border crossings to escape are doing so in order to live a better life.

At that point, job seekers will be begging employers.

We have a connection with them, and they want to come and give it a try, so we'll just accept it.

Wang Xiao thought with great interest that Slavic models were really popular. In the era of online stores, Slavic models were generally much more expensive than Chinese models.

There's a reason why they're expensive. Their products are high-quality, and clients get a return on their investment, so naturally they're willing to pay.

Hey, you could consider doing business in this area; there's a lot of potential there.

Xiang Dong, unaware that she had already thought about the internet age, simply nodded upon hearing this: "Yes, ask her for me. Don't worry, I'm not the kind of person who would abandon someone after using them."

Wang Xiao smiled broadly: "Of course I believe you, otherwise I wouldn't have asked you to cooperate next time."

Yes, although her guests won't be able to return home until tomorrow morning, they have already finalized a second deal.

The Soviet Union doesn't have any military overcoats in stock right now, but they're bringing watches, night vision goggles, and cameras this time. These are all good Soviet products, so they shouldn't have to worry about sales.

On her own side, she prepared as many as eight samples, allowing the Soviet side to choose the one they wanted most.

Cough cough, of course, she didn't pay a penny for the samples.

Hearing that they could do business with the Russians and sell their goods in the Soviet Union, all the manufacturers were very enthusiastic. They gave Wang Xiao everything, including towels, bath towels, thermos flasks, jeans, sweaters, down jackets, and even several television sets.

Because the shortage of goods in Soviet stores is now very serious, including color TVs and refrigerators that Wang Xiao originally thought would be in good condition, which are also in severe shortage.

With everyone showing such deep affection, what could Wang Xiao do? Of course, he accepted it all without hesitation.

Instead of letting so many products gather dust in the warehouses of various factories, it's better to send them across the ocean to shine.

Tang Yicheng was initially puzzled as to why so many manufacturers were actively seeking her out. But then she remembered that she had helped these people who had attended investment promotion conferences to buy cultural relics to build good relationships with foreign businesses. It seemed that everyone had a good relationship and wanted to cooperate closely, so it wasn't surprising.

Exactly, how are we going to get all this stuff onto the train?

That's right, 20 tons of soap worth 40,000 yuan have already been shipped to Beijing by train, and then will be loaded onto an international train.

However, the remaining toothpaste and toothbrushes, with a factory price of 10,000 yuan, missed the shipment and were originally planned to be brought onto the train by the Soviet guests themselves.

Now, with their luggage added, each person has to carry at least 200 kilograms of packages. How are they supposed to manage that?

The research institute staff were hesitant and tentatively asked Wang Xiao if they could arrange another express delivery service. Although it was more expensive, at least the person and the goods could arrive at the same time, which would be more convenient.

That's right, this express delivery will cost more money again. I wonder if the soap factory will be willing to increase the sponsorship budget.

The director looked at Wang Xiao with unease.

A single penny can drive even heroes to their deaths.

In an era where selling atomic bombs is less profitable than selling tea eggs, even the director of the provincial chemical research institute dared not raise his voice.

Wang Xiao comforted him, "It's okay, I'll try to talk to the train station and see if they can help."

She went directly to the train station and openly made her request, asking for help with her luggage.

International friends, having traveled a long way, were quite surprised by China's current development, so they brought back some local specialties.

Please, thank you for your help.

Xiang Dong watched from the side and felt that Wang Xiao was dreaming. It was difficult to even arrange shipping for such a large amount of goods nowadays, let alone have the goods go with the person without even having to arrange shipping.

He remembered it clearly: the maximum weight a person could carry on a train was 40 kilograms.

However, something astonishing happened: a huge pile of luggage was unimpeded and loaded onto the train, and the Russians embarked on their journey home on time.

Xiang Dong couldn't help but curse, "Damn it!"

When he was running a courier service, he wanted to carry more goods, so he begged and pleaded with everyone he could, but he spent a lot of money and still didn't get anything done.

How come when it came to Wang Xiao, he didn't see her do anything complicated? She just said a few simple words and the matter was settled?

Wang Xiao patted his upper arm with a beaming smile: "There are no small matters in diplomacy."

It's normal. Looking ahead thirty years, during the lockdown, communities will have dedicated staff to serve foreigners; unions will successfully help foreigners recover unpaid wages, and this will be widely publicized in the news; university students will have a clear sense of inferiority and know that they cannot be compared with international students, and they will only ask that the other party not go too far.

Moreover, the Friendship Store is now exclusively for foreign guests.

She never worried about not being able to take the goods with her.

While Xiang Dong was still trying to process her words, Tang Yicheng suddenly realized: "You killed four birds with one stone. You calculated from the beginning that they would have to carry back a lot of goods, and only they could transport them back."

However, this sudden realization did not make Tang Yicheng complacent; on the contrary, he felt a little uneasy.

"What are you thinking about?" Wang Xiao said nonchalantly. "As long as the transaction is completed and the factory makes money from this business, that's fine."

Seeing that the two old men were still feeling uneasy, she comforted them, saying, "It's all the same. When you're away from home, you're all members of the socialist family. Everyone helps each other out. People from our country are taken care of when they go to the Soviet Union or Eastern Europe."

The two of them felt a little better and stopped saying anything.

As Dr. Chen watched the train disappear into the distance, he suddenly remembered and asked, "Um, did the Russian take everything he wanted to buy?"

She kept giving her daughter meaningful glances, saying, "They've already given you the foreign exchange certificates; you can't take them for yourself. It would be too bad!"

"Yes, I brought it," Wang Xiao assured him repeatedly. "I personally negotiated with each factory and got the goods from them at factory price."

Good heavens! In fact, the gift packages she brought back for the foreign porters were all samples from various factories; she didn't spend a single penny.

With so many samples, including down jackets and cashmere sweaters, would the factory really lose money like this? Sigh, there are so many garment factories. One factory sends four down jackets, another sends five, and soon they've piled them up.

Her Soviet partners only needed to wait for the people to return to Moscow to inspect the goods and confirm the product quality; the samples naturally returned to the porters.

Fifty thousand rubles can buy a lot of things. Are these sample gift packages worth that much?

Enough, of course it's enough!

Do you know how outrageous prices were in the Soviet Union? They were so outrageous that the word "distorted" perfectly describes it.

Don't be fooled by the fact that bread costs only one cent in Chinese yuan, and a roast chicken is only equivalent to one yuan; but the rubles you get on the K3 international train, which can buy a bottle of Erguotou (a type of Chinese liquor) for two and a half yuan in China, can buy you a whole day's worth of Russian cuisine.

The gift package Wang Xiao prepared for them, which included a down jacket, a bottle of Erguotou (a type of Chinese liquor), a pair of cotton shoes, a towel, and a bath towel, could fetch at least seven or eight thousand rubles when they returned to Moscow.

How did Wang Xiao know about such an outrageous thing? Of course, it was the Soviet university students who told her.

How can college students be so careless? They don't even know how to uphold the dignity of their motherland when they go abroad? Ahem, it's not that our army is not vigilant, but that the enemy is too cunning.

The person was originally reserved and unwilling to bring it up. But Wang Xiao was good at persuasion; she had only graduated from university six months ago and had a lot in common with college students.

University students in the socialist camp during this era were generally concerned about the future and destiny of their motherland, and were particularly passionate. As they chatted, many things just came out of their mouths.

Wang Xiao then invited college students to model for the counters in shopping malls in waves, essentially having separate conversations with them.

In this way, she was able to compare the words of different people, and after several rounds, she naturally gained a basic understanding of the current situation in Moscow.

At present, prices in the Soviet Union have not risen significantly, and due to continued government subsidies, prices in stores have remained largely unchanged. However, there is a severe shortage of goods, and stores are largely empty.

It's not that there's no stock at all, but rather that there's very little stock, and it's all quickly bought up by people with connections.

Why are they stockpiling so much stuff? To smuggle it.

This kind of thing is very popular in the Soviet Union and Eastern Europe now. The most popular thing right now is to buy caviar, smoked fish, watches and the like from the Soviet Union at low prices, and then take a train to Poland to sell them at high prices.

Because Poland has now opened its market and abandoned government subsidies, the supply of goods has increased significantly, but prices have skyrocketed. Those who engage in this kind of trading are making a lot of money.

This activity is known locally as tourist smuggling, and those who do it can earn tens of thousands of rubles in a single morning.

Indeed, in times of limited supplies, people with power and influence in any country never lived poorly.

When Wang Xiao heard this, he exclaimed "Oh—" and understood. No wonder the college students accepted their identity as manual porters so readily; they also understood that they were a variation of tourist smuggling, only with less risk and greater safety.

Tsk tsk, as expected, nine out of a billion people are in trouble, and the remaining one hundred million are still searching.

Countries facing similar predicaments tend to have similar mindsets.

Ah, that's how business works. Only when everyone involved profits will they be motivated to pursue the next collaboration.

Next time, next time we'll get a big one. We've seen the vast market; we absolutely can't be stingy anymore.

Otherwise, if others realize what's happening and join in, the competition will intensify, and she'll earn less money.

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Well, I changed the title, but the new title seems to drive readers away even more, and the results are even worse. So what should I do? As a comparison with the female lead, Ah Jin decided to continue writing while lying down.

To be fair, the earliest Chinese to do business in the Soviet Union and Eastern European countries were initially treated very kindly by the locals (many of the materials Ajin researched mention this kind of assistance). However, due to the inherent flaws of capital accumulation (shortsightedness, fraud, rampant counterfeit goods, internal strife, etc.) and local economic instability, friendliness gradually turned into hostility.

Additionally, the description of smuggling tourism in the Soviet Union at that time is based on the article "Smuggling Tourism" published in the March 1990 issue of *Studies on Contemporary Socialist Issues*. The price information is based on memoirs by traders at the time.