Chapter 50 Taking the Train to Moscow (Bug Fix): A Mobile Business Hall

Unable to exert any effort from the military, Wang Xiao immediately made an international long-distance call to Moscow.

Ivanov, Wang Xiao's business partner in the Soviet Union, was startled by the phone call.

As a Soviet trader accustomed to the presence of women, he never dared to underestimate female comrades.

But now, he has to say that the Chinese saying "the bolder the man, the greater the harvest" is probably not an irony.

She really has a vivid imagination.

No, no, no, my dear comrade, haven't you missed the point?

The key to building your own aircraft transport fleet isn't the planes or the airport, but whether you can schedule international routes.

Can airplanes just take to the skies whenever they want? They need approval to fly to any destination and must follow designated routes.

oh.

Thanks for reminding me, I forgot about that.

But these issues can be considered once we have airplanes.

Now tell me, is it possible to get a plane for rent?

That's incredibly impressive.

In contrast to China, airplanes, like tanks, were in overproduction in the Soviet Union.

Otherwise, it would be impossible for someone to exchange canned food for it.

Moreover, to facilitate cargo transportation, they need cargo planes, which means the military has even more extra military cargo planes.

Well, when it comes to being a middleman, the Soviet army was quite experienced.

When you have too much stuff, it becomes worthless.

Renting it isn't a big deal.

Ivanov has already figured out how to handle the rent, in particular.

Before transmigrating into the book, Wang Xiao had accidentally seen online that a new B 737-300 passenger plane in the 1990s had a contract price of US$36 million and a monthly operating lease fee of US$280,000.

But Ivanov believes the two situations are different, and he estimates that the monthly rental fee for a cargo plane would definitely not exceed $200,000.

This is less than half the profit from a single cargo transfer by plane.

It's a small matter compared to the overall operating costs of the flight transport squadron.

The key is to apply for flight routes. As long as we can get the flight routes approved, this business is definitely viable.

Ivanov was even annoyed that he hadn't thought of it sooner.

Moscow had long since become a transit hub, through which large quantities of Chinese industrial products flowed to the entire Soviet Union and Eastern Europe.

Owning his own shipping fleet—my God, that's the shipping magnate of this era, meaning a continuous stream of wealth would come rolling in.

Now, the key question is: how to ensure that planes can fly freely between the two countries?

Ivanov stated that he would take charge of finding a solution on the Soviet side.

His grand reason for reporting this was that he needed to import large quantities of inexpensive and high-quality Chinese light industrial products through barter trade in order to maintain market stability and ensure the basic living needs of ordinary people.

Ha, this truly demonstrates the shamelessness of bureaucratic capitalists.

It's as if he's not a big-time reseller, or someone who made his fortune by selling goods at high prices on the free market.

Ahem, but Wang Xiao is not to be outdone.

She had already figured out where to start: the leverage she was using was to solve the triangular debt problem of large state-owned factories.

It has been proven that engaging in trade with the Soviets was an effective means of stimulating the economy.

So far, the steel mill has recovered 10 million of its 50 million debt.

This is still under the condition of extreme shortage of transportation capacity.

If such a shipping route existed, bilateral trade would continue daily. It's believed that the debt could be resolved smoothly before the end of the year.

Besides the steel mill, the other three of the four major steel mills in the area are also heavily indebted. Seeing the steel mill gradually emerging from its predicament, wouldn't they be tempted to follow suit?

Extending this analogy to the entire province, there are countless factories hoping to escape the vortex of triangular debt.

Trade with the Soviet Union presented a golden opportunity.

The steel mill's leaders were very interested, and several other large factories also expressed their support.

However, their support was useless because they didn't know what to do either.

Everyone made a bunch of phone calls, but in the end, no one knew which temple to visit.

The people who answered the phone all said they had never encountered such a thing before and that it shouldn't be their responsibility.

So who should be in charge? Civil aviation, right? Airplanes should be under the jurisdiction of civil aviation.

Not necessarily. Everything that flies in the sky, runs on the ground, or swims in the water should be considered transportation, and should be under the jurisdiction of the Ministry of Transportation.

Are the Civil Aviation Administration and the Ministry of Transport under the same organization? I'm confused.

In the end, Wang Xiao was so confused that he could only burn the incense back at the Air Force unit.

It wasn't that she was desperate and trying anything.

It's not uncommon for military aircraft to be converted for civilian use these days.

In 1986, the State Economic Commission and the Air Force jointly established China Express Airlines, which currently has 23 branches across the country, operates 24 domestic scheduled flights, and connects 14 open cities and tourist cities through a transportation network.

Since you already have 24 flights, opening another one isn't a big deal.

The air force personnel were dumbfounded.

They only intend to rent out the idle properties, and they're willing to rent out the people and the land together.

But opening up international flights seems a bit far off for them.

Even if Wang Xiao wanted to open a domestic flight now, they could find a way.

For international matters, especially those involving foreign countries, even a few dozen stamps wouldn't solve the problem; it would probably require at least a hundred.

Wang Xiao argued logically: "What's the difference? Aren't they all the same? It's not like we haven't established diplomatic relations with the Soviet Union. If we can fly domestically, why can't we fly internationally?"

"Then wait a moment."

Even heroes can be driven to desperation by a single penny. For the sake of money, the military leaders finally agreed to make a phone call and ask.

Hey, this question actually yielded some insights.

The civilian use of military aircraft began with the reform and opening up.

From 1978 to 1982, there were five domestic and international routes, with a total of more than 10,000 flights, transporting more than 700,000 people and more than 10,000 tons of cargo.

As long as there are precedents, we can use them.

Wang Xiao urged enthusiastically, "Then let's ask them right away!"

To motivate them, she made a promise on the spot: "Don't worry, leader, we need people for airport maintenance, and we'll definitely come to your military unit. Whether it's pilots, ground staff, or even flight attendants, you can find ways to arrange jobs for veterans and their families."

As it turned out, the Air Force had even bigger ambitions than she had imagined. They wanted to know if the large factory could help with things like household registration, employment, schooling, and jobs for demobilized officers and their families.

Wang Xiao wanted to roll her eyes inwardly.

They still take care of their jobs; there are still a lot of children of employees from large factories staying at home these days.

But her words remained sweet as honey: "Of course, of course, our leaders have high hopes for this air transport squadron. It's not just our steel plant's leaders; several other large factories are also paying close attention to this matter. As for children's schooling, our large factories have their own schools. If needed, I can find a way to coordinate."

She had already come up with a ready-made reason to persuade the school affiliated with the large company.

Family members, think about it.

The family planning policy has been in effect for ten years. In the future, dual-income families will only have one child, and the number of children enrolled in school will decrease.

If the factory-run schools do not seize the opportunity to quickly recruit students from outside the area, the number of students will decrease sharply, and the number of classes and the scale of the school will have to be reduced accordingly.

At that time, what will happen to all these teachers and school leaders?

Workers work hard to produce goods; we can't support so many idle people.

If the leadership sees things are going wrong and shuts down the school and reassigns the staff, then there'll be nowhere to turn for help.

Don't say it's impossible. Aren't there plenty of workers who are staying home and not getting paid right now because production has stopped?

Therefore, we must plan ahead.

We should cooperate with the military now and quickly take over the education of the children of military personnel.

Whether you raise one sheep or a flock, it's all the same. The more students you have, the more your school can develop.

As for the household registration of military dependents, well, these days it's not like you need food coupons to eat. This problem isn't that difficult to solve.

Well, we'll talk about the resettlement of demobilized officers later.

Things have to be done one step at a time; no one can become fat overnight.

After a long back-and-forth discussion, it became clear that the other party was genuinely interested in continuing the cooperation.

The Air Force then agreed to try to submit an application to higher authorities and strive to finalize the international flight arrangements as soon as possible.

However, Wang Xiao has to arrange the plane himself. If the plane isn't available, then the international flight is out of the question.

So when Tang Yicheng escorted two more shipments back to Jiangdong, the first thing Wang Xiao said to him was, "Go home and pack your things; we're going to Moscow."

Tang Yicheng was stunned: "You're really going?"

Although they said last year that they wanted to visit Moscow, it was just talk.

After all, from last year until now, or more precisely, from the time he met Wang Xiao, he has never seen her idle for a single minute.

People who are eager to make money while watching the Spring Festival Gala on New Year's Eve are willing to take time out to travel to Moscow.

And it wasn't by plane, it was by train!

It takes a whole week to travel by train.

She doesn't even mind wasting time?

Wang Xiao was baffled: "Can't you make money from tourism? Hurry up, let's go and get ready before we set off."

Despite her seemingly warlike actions, the entire Chemical Research Institute was on the verge of collapse from waiting.

Those eager to exchange ideas with their Soviet counterparts, like Sister Miao, were particularly keen to see firsthand the development of the Soviet chemical industry.

The rest, hoping to go abroad to see something new or take advantage of the opportunity to bring their families to get freebies, are eager to step out of the country as soon as possible.

Even the director was getting impatient and complained jokingly, "Oh dear, so you're taking us out in May? I thought you were going to wait until the universities in Moscow had their summer break."

Wang Xiao really wanted to roll her eyes.

You're still being picky about free overseas travel? If you don't care, then don't go.

However, in front of her superiors, she was still very good at putting on an act, speaking as if it were the truth: "There's no other way, Director. Spring comes late in Moscow. They don't have spring until April. May is the most beautiful and suitable time for tourism. Besides, why did I choose now? Actually, it's entirely for the safety of so many comrades in our institute."

I went to great lengths to select this train. We traveled with the aid supplies, and the government specially sent people to escort us to Moscow.

"Huh?" The director was astonished. "Aid supplies? Aid to Moscow?"

Wang Xiao nodded: "That's right. This is the only safe bus; you don't have to worry about running into any monsters or demons."

Unfortunately, the director is too preoccupied with safety issues to care about right now.

He felt like his entire worldview had been shattered.

During his student days, the entire nation tightened its belts to provide aid to Asia, Africa, and Latin America, which was understandable given their poverty.

Now it's the Russians, even the Soviet Union, our big brother, needs their help?

This is truly amazing; in the blink of an eye, a hen can turn into a duck.

Wang Xiao was completely speechless.

What kind of nonsense is this? Even science students shouldn't use colloquialisms like this.

It should be said that fortunes change every thirty years.

Just as incredulous as the director were Dr. Chen Yanqiu and Comrade Wang Tiejun. They had asked the steel plant for leave to go see Red Square together.

However, the factory was very considerate. Knowing that the factory wouldn't have to pay for their travel and accommodation expenses, they readily classified it as an overseas inspection trip, which was considered an official business trip and not a vacation.

Even as they were about to board the K3 train, the elderly couple kept muttering to themselves at the train station, "Do the Russians also need our aid?"

Tang Yicheng analyzed seriously from the side: "It's probably not very good. I heard them say that they are particularly short of food and clothing."

Dr. Chen sighed, feeling rather uneasy: "Brother Su Nian, he actually wants our help too."

Tang Yicheng couldn't understand the difference between what she was saying now and her previous remarks.

Sigh, Xiang Dong isn't here. If Xiang Dong were here, he probably could figure out the reason for Aunt Chen's emotional change.

This time, he went abroad with Wang Xiao, and Xiang Dong had to guard the Jiangdong base.

If I have another chance, I'll switch with him myself.

After all, everyone wants to go abroad and experience something new.

Wang Xiao was munching on an apple, lamenting that there was still a shortage of fruit in early May, otherwise a box of big cherries would have been perfect.

Seriously, she loves to eat cherries whenever she's in a car. Hmm, strawberries are good too, Dandong cream strawberries are her favorite.

She could understand why her mother was sighing so loudly.

It's one thing for ordinary people to suffer, but it's quite another for officials to have to acknowledge it.

The Soviet Union was the leading power in the socialist camp, and it openly asked for aid. This shows just how devastating its defeat was in the US-Soviet rivalry.

As a latecomer who grew up watching the Soviet Union's glory days, now suddenly becoming an aid provider, I guess any ordinary Chinese person who knew about this would have a similar mentality to Dr. Chen.

I felt both proud and heartbroken.

Ruan Xiaomei chimed in from the side, "Oh dear, what happened to the Soviet Union? It looked so beautiful in the movies."

She secretly rejoiced that when Wang Xiao asked her, she ultimately decided to go to Budapest, Hungary with her husband.

If she went to Moscow, no one would hire her as a nanny, and her husband would become her bodyguard.

Indeed, after intense internal struggle and numerous discussions between the couple, Ruan Xiaomei finally decided to go abroad with her husband.

Because she hesitated for so long, Wang Xiao almost forgot about it.

However, it was precisely because she dragged it out that she got a good opportunity.

Mr. Fang, the Taiwanese technician who made hundreds of thousands of US dollars by selling his Taiwanese businessman identity to cooperate with state-owned enterprises in setting up fake joint ventures, went to Hungary to seek his fortune in March.

When Wang Xiao contacted a human trafficker to process "international personnel movement" for Ruan Xiaomei and her husband, she happened to hear that Mr. Fang wanted to find a domestic helper who could cook Chinese dishes, so she recommended him to them.

As for Ruan Xiaomei's husband, he was essentially a buy-one-get-one-free deal.

This guy was in a sports training team when he was young. Although he didn't achieve great success, he could easily take on three ordinary people in a fight.

Upon hearing this, Mr. Fang realized that he did indeed need a bodyguard, so he hired the person.

For Ms. Ruan and her husband, this was like a windfall of 10 billion yuan.

Without saying a word, the couple quietly packed their bags and took a car directly to the capital.

They joined the main force and headed north.

Wang Xiao listened to their chatter but didn't intend to join the discussion. Her eyes were fixed on the ticket gate, and as soon as she saw that they were about to let people through, she quickly urged her companions, "Alright, alright, let's get ready to go."

People who were chatting in twos and threes immediately grabbed their luggage and joined the long queue to get their tickets checked and board the train.

Goodness, those who are boarding an international train for the first time finally understand the special feature of the K3: lots of luggage.

Almost everyone was carrying large and small bags, as if each person was a transport vehicle.

Sister Miao exclaimed, "Why are you all carrying so much stuff?"

Actually, their situation was similar; each of them started with two large bags, filled with silk shirts and jeans.

Wang Xiao smiled and took the opportunity to explain to Sister Miao, "These are all resellers."

Sister Miao exclaimed incredulously, "All of them? This isn't just 900 million out of a billion people, it's a billion people who have collapsed!"

Wang Xiao smiled and said, "Pretty much."

She gestured to the outside, "The Russians over there are Soviet traders. The ones who just walked by were Hungarian traders, and the ones we met on the bus were Polish traders. The rest are mostly Chinese traders. Among them, there are the Beijing gang, the Zhejiang gang, the Fujian gang, and the Guangdong gang, these are the main factions."

It has always been normal for people from the same hometown to stick together.

Not to mention Sister Miao, even Chen Yanqiu was stunned: "Foreign traders are divided into so many categories?"

Tang Yicheng nodded: "That's right, I was also shocked when I found out."

Wang Tiejun had accompanied them on several shipments and knew a lot about it, so he casually chimed in, "Not only that, they go to many places. The Moscow Legion, the Budapest Legion, the Vienna Legion, the Rome Legion."

Dr. Chen and Sister Miao were both dizzy from listening.

This is a complete mess.

This isn't an international tourist train; it's clearly a train for scalpers.

Wang Xiao laughed and said, "There are quite a few mothers here too. It's hard to buy plane tickets this time, so let's just bear with it. We'll take a plane directly after we get back from Moscow."

Everyone cheered.

Taking an airplane? How fashionable!

Apart from the leaders, very few of them, even the senior engineers, had ever flown on an airplane.

Airplane tickets are much more expensive than train tickets.

The director was a little embarrassed and said politely, "This is too much of a waste. We really feel ashamed to have failed the Soviet comrades' hospitality."

Wang Xiao kept smiling: "I'm mainly worried about delaying the institute's work. Going back and forth takes too much time."

In fact, if it weren't for wanting to fully understand the economic situation of the countries and regions along the route from Beijing to Moscow, she would never have taken the train to Moscow.

It's such a waste of time; she's never taken such a long train ride in her entire life.

Fortunately, the trip was quite fruitful. At least she is now certain that Eastern Europe also urgently needs a large number of light industrial products; otherwise, there wouldn't be so many middlemen and traders in Hungary and Poland.

Well, besides Moscow, Budapest and Warsaw (I think Warsaw is the capital of Poland; I've long forgotten my geography lessons) should also have direct flights to meet the needs of transporting supplies.

Ha, once is never enough. As long as we can get the flights to Moscow sorted out, neither the capital of Hungary nor the capital of Poland will be a problem.

By the way, what countries are in Eastern Europe again? How many countries were there after the collapse of the Soviet Union? Those can all be considered.

She took out a world map from her bag, found the target area, and marked it with a pencil.

Tang Yicheng suspected that there was a gold mine growing in the place where she hooked her hair, otherwise why would her eyes be so bright, making him almost afraid to look at her.

After the train departed, it was quite peaceful on the train, perhaps because someone was specially arranged to escort the aid supplies to the Soviet Union, or perhaps because everyone was focused on making money.

The first disturbance didn't occur until we were crossing the border.

According to relevant regulations, there are currently weight restrictions on the amount of luggage that can be taken abroad. Luggage weighing more than 38 kilograms is not allowed to be taken out of the country.

This really stirred up a hornet's nest. A bunch of people were making a ruckus; some were crying, some were cursing, and some were even rolling up their sleeves, ready to fight.

Customs officers remained unmoved and weighed each person individually, rejecting any that were overweight.

It was only then that Sister Miao realized what was going on. She turned to look at Wang Xiao, her feelings a mix of emotions: "No wonder you made us bring clothes."

Wang Xiao smiled and said, "I don't know either. It was the Russians who made the request."

She wasn't exactly lying; when she first did business with the Russians, she didn't know about this rule. Otherwise, she certainly wouldn't have been foolish enough to try and trade soap and toothpaste for other goods.

Luckily, we managed to get a train car that time; otherwise, we wouldn't have been able to take those goods with us.

Later, when he went into the television business, he also tried to get train cars.

If you really rely on manual transportation, you have to bring lightweight and expensive items, otherwise you really won't be able to recover your costs.

For example, the canned food that the guy in front of me is carrying is incredibly heavy. Each can weighs a kilogram. How much profit can he make from 38 cans of food? He can't even make back the cost of his train ticket.

It's getting hot now, so if I had brought a leather jacket in the fall, it would have been lightweight and I could have exchanged it for 3,000 rubles on the streets of Moscow.

Currently, silk shirts and jeans are the most profitable items of their weight.

Even if all else fails, some Erguotou (a type of Chinese liquor) is better than heavy canned fruit.

The reseller who had chosen the wrong goods pleaded for a long time with a mournful face, even trying to exchange his canned goods for lighter items.

However, everyone turned their heads away, and no one stepped forward to learn from Lei Feng's good example.

Having finally managed to get these train tickets, which of you here wouldn't want to go and strike it rich?

Doing good deeds requires having extra resources to spare.

This isn't a life-saving situation, why would you sacrifice your own interests to help someone else make money?

Haha, someone dares to be this nice guy, even Wang Xiao wouldn't dare to reach out and accept it.

Anything that goes against human instinct is very likely a trap.

Never overestimate the integrity of any businessman; even Wang Xiao doesn't believe in his own integrity.

Dr. Chen hesitated for a moment, then took out his money to buy two cans of food for his daughter to take on the road.

Wang Xiao quickly pressed her hand down: "No, no, no, Mom, there's a Russian feast on the train, even better than the Moscow food. Buying canned food is worse than buying wine, don't waste money."

Dr. Chen then gave up, as having proper food was always better than canned food.

Wang Xiao didn't see how that person finally resolved the problem, and she didn't care.

You learn from your mistakes.

In business, who hasn't stumbled and fallen?

Only after crossing the border and passing through customs can this international train truly get on track.

Wang Xiao stopped looking at the world map. After everyone had settled down and put their luggage away, she called to Tang Yicheng, "Let's go out for a walk."

What to look around for? What's there to see on the train?

It was full of people and luggage.

Everyone had so much luggage that the train felt overloaded, and it was moving incredibly slowly. The speed was especially slow when turning corners.

Based on Ruan Xiaomei's experience of carrying goods on a bicycle, the driver must be afraid that the load on the vehicle is too heavy and that if they go even slightly too fast, the vehicle will overturn.

What's so interesting about this train?

However, out of a mixture of fear and excitement about going abroad, Ruan Xiaomei subconsciously wanted to follow Wang Xiao. She even reached out and tugged at her husband, who was idly watching people play cards.

As for what she could do by following him, she had no idea.

She also secretly gestured and winked at Tang Yicheng, hoping to get some inside information.

However, Tang Yicheng was just as clueless. He still had to put on a brave face in front of others, keeping a serious expression and saying mysteriously, "Just watch, don't say anything more."

Wang Xiao didn't hide anything and explained frankly, "We're going to visit our customers now."

Everyone present was stunned.

Where did these customers come from?

Even if they help people carry goods, the recipient has to wait until they get off the vehicle before they can meet them.

The train has just crossed the border; there's still a long way to go.

Wang Xiao smiled. Just then, a Hungarian guest came out of the restroom ahead of her, so instead of explaining to her compatriots in detail, she quickly went up to greet them.

Hey ladies and gentlemen, why don't you take a plane?

Although airfares are high, airplanes are fast.

Instead of wasting time on trains, you could take several flights back and forth and earn enough money to buy countless plane tickets, making several times more money than before.

Now that China and Hungary have a visa-free agreement, Hungarians have a pretty good impression of Chinese people. At least they haven't seen Wang Xiao approaching them unsolicited, treating them like scammers.

The couple, who appeared to be a middleman and a woman, politely accepted the business card that Wang Xiao handed them.

Tang Yicheng had forgotten his English from high school eight hundred years ago, and listening to people talk now was like listening to gibberish.

His eyes were fixed on the business card Wang Xiao handed him, and the more he looked, the wider his eyes widened.

etc.

Where exactly is that air transport company located?

There was no sign of the plane, the flight path was still just a castle in the air, and the so-called international trade mall was nowhere to be seen.

When exactly did she become the general manager? Was it just a title bestowed upon her by a shell company?

Wang Xiao had already launched into a long and enthusiastic sales pitch.

Dear customer, your concerns about flights are not a problem. According to our plan, we can ship goods every three days at the latest, and if we work quickly, we can have at least three to five flights per day.

The people on the other side were stunned. The Hungarian woman with light yellow hair and light brown eyes shook her head.

She thought one flight every three days was enough.

Because from finding sources of goods upon arrival, negotiating prices, to packing and shipping, it will probably take three days.

Wang Xiao smiled broadly: "No need, no need. Our international wholesale market is very close to the airport. Every stall is a factory showcase, directly connected to large factories. No matter what you want, once you finalize the deal with the stall owner, you can just make a phone call to the factory, and someone will immediately transport the goods over. There are also goods in the warehouse. If you're quick, it might not even take half a day from when you get off the plane to when the goods are loaded onto the plane."

They were chatting in the dining car when a Polish trader drinking coffee next to them burst out laughing and actually struck up a conversation: "Like a blitzkrieg?"

Wang Xiao was at a loss for words.

Family, do you really need to be so heartless?

Wasn't the Blitzkrieg a major headache for you Poles? It's a chapter in the history of World War II that no one can ignore.

She composed herself, cleared her throat, and avoided directly mentioning the word "blitzkrieg," only emphasizing again: "The process is very fast, extremely fast. Throughout the entire process, all you need to do is select the goods, place the order, wait for the goods to arrive for inspection, and then handle the packing and shipping—all of that will be handled by dedicated staff. Rest assured, our fees are strictly regulated and will not be subject to temporary price increases."

She then went on to describe the area around the airport, offering a one-stop shop for food, drinks, and entertainment, so you wouldn't be bored while waiting to load cargo, and the prices weren't high.

However, neither Hungarian nor Polish businessmen cared about these small expenses. A few hundred dollars was just a tip to them.

What they care more about is whether flights can be guaranteed, and what the quality of goods in that so-called international trade market is like.

“Sure, sure.” Wang Xiao replied immediately. “We have more than 30 aircraft that take off every day. We are currently allocating flights. By the way, what kind of flights do you need? I’ll do some research now so I can make the most suitable allocations when I get back.”

What an irresponsible act! How can you conduct research so carelessly?

However, both Hungary and Poland had previously practiced socialism and abandoned it in recent years. They believed they understood the drawbacks of socialist bureaucracy and therefore accepted it readily.

Undoubtedly, they would prefer a direct flight to their destination, saving them the time wasted on connecting flights.

As for the services they need, it's very simple: a quiet room and a tub full of hot water so they can rest well.

Wang Xiao smiled broadly: "Sure, sure, we can also arrange for someone to help you wash your hair and give you a bath."

She gestured, and everyone present laughed. Some of them had experienced Chinese bathhouse services before, and they were indeed quite interesting.

Wang Xiao smiled, took out his notebook, and stared at the foreign traders with shining eyes. He held out a hand: "Do you have any business cards? Our charter service will be starting soon. I'll contact you immediately if there are any updates."

No business card? No problem. Just leave your contact information and we'll let you know.

Oh, and if you have a fax, please leave the fax number as well.

When the international mall launches new products, we can inform you of the approximate price range. This will save you from going to the wrong place, buying overpriced goods, wasting time and energy, and missing out on a good opportunity to make money.

Also, you can contact us anytime by phone or fax if you need any goods.

This way, we can prepare the goods you might be interested in before you even board the plane, saving you the trouble of waiting for the goods to be transferred after you arrive.

Time is money; what we're fighting for in the economy is time.

Her tone was so sincere, and her attitude so earnest, that the foreign traders and traders they met for the first time couldn't help but ask with anticipation: When will your flight finally take off?

"Soon." Wang Xiao never hesitates to boast. "My trip to Moscow is to bring the plane back. Once the plane is in place, the flight will begin."

After their pleasant conversation ended and they parted ways, Ruan Xiaomei couldn't help but whisper her doubts: "International Trade City? What kind of place is that? Does Jiangdong have one?"

She worked very hard to prepare for studying abroad. During this time, she was really busy, constantly trying to pick up her English again, which she had neglected since graduating from high school.

It has to be said that hard work pays off, and her intelligence is sufficient; at least she's much better than the two men now. While the two men are still completely confused, she has already roughly understood Wang Xiao's conversation with the Eastern European businessman, through a combination of guesswork and deduction.

After she finally understood, she felt even more confused.

Is the Jiangdong that Wang Xiao mentioned not the same place as the Jiangdong she knows?

What international trade market, what resort, what international airport; she, a native of Jiangdong, had never heard of any of them.

Tang Yicheng was more surprised than she was, no, he was terrified.

Because he knew where these things were—in Wang Xiao's head.

It's more like a pipe dream than a plan; it's something that's not even close to being realized, yet she talks about it with such seriousness.

This is like inviting people to the opening ceremony before the land for building a shopping mall has even been approved.

She even arranged everything from the length of the red carpet to the number of strings of firecrackers to the brand and source of the firecrackers for the opening day.

What could Tang Yicheng say? If she went crazy, he would expose her on the spot.

He could only mysteriously advise Ruan Xiaomei, "Go and take a look next time you return to China."

I think so, there should be some then. They've already blown their own horn, if they're exposed, they're doomed.

Tang Yicheng dared not utter another word and followed Wang Xiao on their way to visit the place.

Whether it was Soviet or Hungarian traders, or Romanian traders (which is particularly interesting, in the male-dominated world of international trade, Romanian merchants are predominantly women), they all approached them proactively, trying to sell their services on international wholesale markets and air transport fleets that they didn't know when they would be able to access.

The most interesting thing about the Romanian women is that they are not all big and strong, looking like bandits; rather, they are the ones who, despite speaking Russian, resolutely refuse to communicate in Russian and insist on using their broken "Eritrean" English.

Even with a pitifully small English vocabulary, and with the two sides barely able to communicate, the other party remained stubbornly opinionated.

This persistence startled Wang Xiao, and a deep sense of sorrow immediately welled up within him.

The dramatic changes in Eastern Europe and the collapse of the Soviet Union are only mentioned in a few lines in history books, but living in this era and sitting among these people, she finally truly felt what it means for an army to collapse like a house of cards.

If not for intense hatred and weariness, why would a businessman whose sole purpose is to make money choose to give up business opportunities rather than speak Russian?

The key point is that it wasn't just one person like this; all the Romanian women they visited on the train were like this.

When it comes to opposing and resisting Soviet great-power chauvinism, Hungary was at the forefront, but Hungarian businessmen didn't care whether they spoke Russian or English.

No wonder Romania is the only country in Eastern Europe that directly executed leaders of the communist regime during the collapse of communism.

Fortunately, the Romanian women had a good impression of China. After communicating more through sign language than spoken language, several of them accepted the business cards that Wang Xiao had printed with instructions in Russian and English, and left their contact information.

Tang Yicheng counted the names on the list. In one day, she worked non-stop, even while eating, and visited a total of 124 international middlemen and middlemen.

Ruan Xiaomei watched the whole thing from the sidelines, completely dumbfounded.

Is this Wang Xiao? Is this the Wang Xiao she knows? How come she can strike up a conversation with anyone she sees?

The key point is that these Russians (yes, whether they are from Eastern Europe or the Soviet Union, in Ruan Xiaomei's eyes, or for most Chinese people, it's hard to tell them apart, they are all Russians) are so easy to talk to. When Wang Xiao talks to them, they respond, each one incredibly enthusiastic.

Wang Xiao finally stopped to take a sip of water, and also took the opportunity to give Ruan Xiaomei a pointer: "See? It's okay, just speak up. Everyone has two eyes and one mouth; there's no reason why someone shorter can't speak. Besides—"

She turned to look at Ruan Xiaomei's husband, "Comrade Dachun, if I may add something, women often face inconveniences when they're out and about. You don't speak English, Russian, or Hungarian. What will you do then?"

Zhang Dachun's face turned red instantly. Unlike his wife, who graduated from high school, he had less than a junior high school education and was lucky if he could recognize all 26 letters of the alphabet.

"Learn!" Wang Xiao concluded definitively, "No one is born knowing everything; everyone learns it."

Tang Yicheng shuddered, feeling as if an arrow had struck his knee.

Fortunately, Wang Xiao didn't even look at him, but only told Ruan Xiaomei: "Teach him, you can't handle it alone outside."

That's stupid, why are you carrying that?

Wasn't it enough to be exhausted carrying the burden of her own family? Now she has to carry the burden of her husband's family too? She's gone mad!

I feel sorry for men; they'll bring bad luck to their descendants for generations.

Wang Xiao said seriously, "A couple must make progress together, otherwise how can they move forward in life?"

That's all I have to say; whether they listen or not is their own business.

Sigh, it's not a big deal if things don't work out, just find another man.

Everyone can live without anyone else.

Wang Xiao gulped down the rest of the water in his cup, ate a banana to replenish his energy, and stood up again: "Let's go to the next carriage."

As Tang Yicheng walked, he advised, "Why don't you take a break? At least slow down a bit."

Wang Xiao didn't even turn his head: "What are you resting for? There are so many carriages. If we don't move quickly, we won't be able to get through them all."

Tang Yicheng had no choice but to hurry up and catch up. He knew that she had chosen to take the train to Moscow not to enjoy the beautiful natural scenery along the way, but because she regarded the K3 train as another Jinning Grand Hotel running on the tracks.

All the passengers on the bus were customers she was taking to an international wholesale market that didn't even exist yet.

How could he be so foolish as to worry about where the customers would come from once the international trade city opened and the planes arrived?

The middlemen come from all directions and travel all over the country, making it very difficult to find them on a large scale.

He even considered hiring a few more veterans to act as bodyguards, so that she wouldn't get beaten up by the street vendors when she went to Xiushui Street to solicit customers.

So, she had her eye on the K3 train engine all along.

Now, Tang Yicheng is really worried that if international flights aren't approved, the wholesale market won't be able to open.

If that were the case, he was really afraid that so many international traders who were already fired up would just tear them apart.

————————

In May 1991, China did indeed send a batch of aid supplies to the Soviet Union, mainly daily necessities, which were escorted to Moscow by rail by Chinese personnel.

Furthermore, Romania's anti-Soviet great-power chauvinism persisted for a long time; those interested can search for it themselves. I won't post the relevant information here, as it's easily locked.

I wrote this because the female protagonist needs to understand the ideologies of her business partners to avoid making mistakes.

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