Chapter 85 Buying Bones for a Thousand Pieces of Gold: I would like to ask you to purchase the research results of our research institute.

The Grand Hotel holds great significance for the long-time overseas Chinese community in Moscow.

It's not just because it employs renowned Chinese chefs and uses ingredients flown in from China, allowing visitors to savor a variety of traditional Chinese dishes and snacks; it also carries a lot of past glory for the older generation of overseas Chinese.

For a long time, it was the only place in Moscow where you could get authentic Chinese food.

For Chinese people, the most important part of celebrating Lunar New Year's Eve is dinner.

As the guests walked through the lobby toward the private rooms, many recognized Wang Xiao and looked surprised, clearly unable to understand why she wanted to sit in the lobby as well.

Don't even mention she wanted to hear a piano performance. In ancient times, people of any status would request a private room upstairs at a restaurant. What would it look like to sit in the main hall with a bunch of Russians? It would be beneath her dignity!

A hall of three or four hundred square meters, dozens of tables, and several hundred people—is this a factory canteen?

Wang Xiao simply sat upright, smiled, and gave a slight bow as a greeting, showing no sign of feeling embarrassed.

Just then, the waiter brought the dishes to the table, and everyone immediately began to enjoy their New Year's Eve dinner in a foreign land.

Uh, the first thing Wang Xiao drank was hot and sour soup.

How should I describe it?

Authentic Chinese cuisine?

Honey, has your tongue turned Russian? What's the fundamental difference between this and Moscow borscht?

Even Chen Jingjing muttered to herself, "Sister, this is different from the hot and sour soup in the commercial city."

Seriously, it's not that they're picky eaters; even the Russians at the next table were muttering, "It's not good. Authentic Chinese food isn't like this. They're trying to fool us."

His companion emphasized, "This was made by the most famous Chinese chef; it's authentic Chinese cuisine."

“No, that’s not true,” the complainer retorted. “The restaurants in the free market sell authentic Chinese food, it’s cheap and the portions are big, only one dollar. This place is much more expensive and not even good.”

“Okay, I admit Mapo Tofu is delicious, and the stewed meat is delicious too. But—” his companion shook his head, his face full of unspoken words, “you know.”

The complaining diner sighed, "There's really nothing we can do about it."

Wang Xiao's curiosity was piqued to the extreme, and she couldn't help but ask her Russian friend at the table, "What's wrong with the restaurant?"

Honestly, although the restaurant's target customers are not Moscow residents, the food, hygiene, and service are all quite good, and there's nothing particularly to criticize.

Seriously, don't assume that Moscow has very high food hygiene standards.

The elderly women selling homemade food on the street were in no way better hygienic than the stalls outside the Huaxia vegetable market.

Ivanov and his two bodyguards looked bewildered.

I don't know, they've eaten there twice and thought it was alright.

I can't take it anymore.

Wang Xiao immediately stood up and went over to greet them: "Excuse me, I just arrived in Moscow, and I also feel that the Chinese food at this restaurant is a bit lacking. Is there anything wrong with the Chinese restaurant you mentioned?"

The two were taken aback and immediately became embarrassed, quickly emphasizing, "No problem, it's fine as long as you're Chinese."

Wang Xiao pressed further, "Could you tell me the real reason? Because I'm ordering food for my friends, from many countries and regions, and everyone wants to eat authentic Chinese cuisine."

The person who had been complaining finally stammered, "If your friends like a lively atmosphere, that's fine. But if they prefer quiet, well, you know what I mean?"

Oh, I see, you think it's too noisy.

For example, in this hall, even with hundreds of people eating, you can still clearly hear the piano playing.

Evening cultural performances are not affected.

If you switch to a proper Chinese restaurant, haha, as long as someone's playing drinking games, you'll practically have to shout to talk to them.

Especially the middlemen and women who do business, they shout and hawk their wares every day, so their voices have become very loud.

Wang Xiao returned to her desk, and Chen Jingjing, extremely curious, asked, "Sis, what's the problem?"

After hearing the answer, she suddenly realized: "No wonder this restaurant takes Chinese people to the small back hall. They think we're too noisy."

The adults from both families at the table became embarrassed.

What's all the fuss about? We're sitting around this table having a meal, and people can't even say a few words?

Oh dear, the Russians are just too quiet, not lively at all.

Ivanov and his bodyguard then realized, "Oh, this is it."

It's alright, not all Chinese people are so energetic and impulsive. The more opportunities I have to interact with Chinese people, the more interesting it is to see them eating with such joy.

Chen Jingjing asked her cousin curiously, "Sis, are you also going to set up a small dining room so that the two groups of people can eat separately?"

"There's no need," Wang Xiao said indifferently. "My target customers for running this restaurant are resellers."

Firstly, it makes it easier to collect market information.

Secondly, resellers have money. Why shouldn't customers who have low demands and are generous with their money deserve special treatment?

Do Muscovites not make noise while eating? Even when they're toasting and drinking at the table, they still make a lot of noise.

Chen Jingjing stared wide-eyed in surprise, incredulous: "Sister, didn't you say that you need to integrate into the local community to establish yourself and do business?"

Wang Xiao smiled: "The situation is different."

As the two sisters were talking, a familiar middleman came over with a wine glass, looking for Wang Xiao: "Hey, Mr. Wang, how can you hide from us? Come on, come on, are you looking down on us roughnecks?"

He was loud and boisterous, which drew sidelong glances from the Russian guests next to him. The polite white-haired waiter, however, managed to maintain his composure, at least keeping his smile from cracking.

Wang Xiao stood up with a smile: "I didn't hide. This is my first time here, I'm just learning something new."

She picked up her wine glass and followed the group, and Xiang Dong followed without a word. He wasn't worried about Wang Xiao being in danger going alone; he was simply afraid she would be forced to drink.

As expected, as soon as Wang Xiao entered the small hall, the familiar black marketeers and black marketeers immediately started to jeer, all saying that she should punish herself by drinking three cups.

Without saying a word, Xiang Dong picked up the cup and drank it for her.

Wang Xiao said seriously, "I can't drink, I can't drink. The Russian doctor told me that I'm taking medicine for a cold and I absolutely can't drink alcohol."

The ringleaders were displeased, repeatedly saying that Wang Xiao was putting on airs and that the big boss was looking down on them. Look at his current entourage! He's accompanied by two Russian bodyguards, one on each side—they're practically two fierce generals.

They entered their private room with bodyguards. What does that mean?

Wang Xiao laughed and retorted, "I'm just afraid you'll try to get me drunk, but I can't drink. Third Sister, don't you think so? When we're out and about, we have to take care of ourselves."

The woman known as "Third Sister" chuckled, "Exactly! Expecting those stinky men to be gentle and chivalrous is a pipe dream!"

A middleman who knew her well bluntly said, "It has to be Xiangyu. If it were someone like Boss Wang, who wouldn't pity her?"

Wang Xiao ignored him and instead reached out to pull her mother down: "Third sister, do I look good in this outfit?"

The third sister then took a closer look and nodded repeatedly: "It looks great! Where did you buy this outfit? I didn't see it in the Russian stores, nor in the department store that sells European and American goods."

It's so shiny, one glance at it and you can only think of one word: expensive.

And it's expensive, quite luxurious.

Third Sister is not very educated. She is a typical street urchin from the hutongs. If she were in China, she would definitely be a female hooligan or a female hooligans. It's really hard to describe her.

It felt like it existed in another world.

"It's custom-made, a private custom order. It's Yun brocade, the kind from 'Dream of the Red Chamber,' made by the Jiangning Imperial Textile Bureau." Wang Xiao proudly boasted, "They had forty or fifty people working on it since November, and it was only finished yesterday. It was flown over to me, and I was worried it wouldn't make it in time for the New Year."

The middlemen and women at the dinner table were all speechless with astonishment.

The concept of private customization is largely unknown to ordinary people in most parts of China. However, more than half of the middlemen in Moscow come from Beijing, so they are naturally more knowledgeable about it.

For example, there is a clothing store in Beijing called "Tebiete". There is only one cheongsam in the whole country, and it costs 8,800 yuan. There are many people scrambling to buy it.

Why is a piece of clothing so valuable? Well, where there are buyers, there are sellers.

Third Sister's figure is a bit too much for a cheongsam, but Wang Xiao's outfit seems to be flattering on all waistlines, so she could give it a try.

She immediately reached out and touched it, her eyes eager: "How much is it?"

Wang Xiao laughed and said, "It's very cheap, only 50,000."

Everyone at the table gasped. Goodness, what a boast! Only fifty thousand!

Even if it's made of gold, it's still expensive!

Wang Xiao scoffed: "Oh, it's one thing for others to say that, but are you deliberately trying to make fun of me? Let alone 50,000 Chinese yuan, did you even blink when you threw 50,000 US dollars into the casino?"

Several people laughed awkwardly.

More than half of the Chinese speculators have visited Moscow's casinos, and about one-third of them are regulars.

Among the people present, some had just packed up their stalls at the free market, and then immediately sent all the money they had earned from a hard day's work to the casino.

Gamblers' addiction is no less intense than that of drug addicts.

Ultimately, it was because the Soviet Union, as the big brother, changed its tune too quickly, changing its mind in an instant.

Yesterday they were all legitimate and upright, and overnight the casinos sprang up.

And the Russians are really meticulous in their work. Can you believe it? They actually run schools to train professional casino staff.

Wow, this is like they're trying to turn Russia into America's Las Vegas.

"I don't know how to play cards," Wang Xiao continued, smiling as she spoke to her third sister. "I just like pretty things and I love nice clothes. This dress has gold thread in it. Third sister, even if you hadn't come to me today, I would have still come to show it off to you. It took me so long to get this dress."

Third Sister laughed so hard she slapped the table: "So you deliberately sat in the hall just to show off to us?"

Wang Xiao said seriously, "That's right, but none of you looked at it, so I had to say it myself. I showed off for nothing. I even told my mom that if I sat there wearing this outfit, I would definitely be the most dazzling person there. My mom almost died laughing."

The third sister laughed so hard she clutched her stomach, and finally managed to say, "Give me the tailor's phone number, I want one too. Oh, I want something different."

"Sigh, no two pieces of Yun brocade are exactly alike. Each master weaves a unique design."

However, Wang Xiao refused to introduce the tailor, saying, "No, I can't give it to you. I just said yesterday that I would make a set for my mother too, and I've already booked the other two months' worth of work for her. I added 10,000 yuan just so that she could start working after the third day of the Lunar New Year."

The third sister objected: "Hey, hey, why are you arguing with your older sister? I've finally found something nice. I'll offer 70,000 yuan and have them work overtime tonight to make it for me, is that alright?"

Wang Xiao frowned: "Sister, you're going to work this person to death. Fine, how about this, I'll ask around and see if any of their fellow disciples can spare the time to take this job."

"No, no, no, what do you want to ask? Give me the phone number, I'll go ask."

Wang Xiao refused no matter what: "I'm afraid you'll use money to bribe people and end up making their tailors sick. Who will I ask to make clothes for me in the future? I've already told them I need six sets a year, and I can't miss any of them."

"No, no, you're just trying to tempt me." The third sister grabbed her hand. "Little sister, can you spare a set for your older sister?"

After much pleading and persuasion, Wang Xiao only agreed to ask around.

As a result of their argument, no one else had a chance to say anything else.

Wang Xiao only took two sips of wine before taking his leave during the meal service in the private dining room.

To this day, the two bodyguards' Chinese language skills are still at the level of "Hello, have you eaten?", and they can't understand a word the two women are saying.

But seeing how the Chinese woman kept trying to touch the boss's clothes, they guessed it.

Well, the boss is trying to sell something.

That's true. Looking at the Russian Federation now, apart from speculators, who can afford to wear expensive Chinese brocade?

No wonder the boss was sitting in the lobby; it turns out she didn't want to listen to someone play the piano, but rather to personally model her new clothes.

After all, given Moscow's weather, the only time you can take off your heavy coat is when you go inside to eat.

If she wore this outfit to meet people outside, they would all admire her as a brave woman!

No sooner had Wang Xiao stepped out of the small hall than someone teased Third Sister: "Oh, you're spending a fortune to win a beauty's smile, spending 70,000 yuan just to get close to her."

The third sister didn't care: "So what if it's 70,000 yuan? You can't even hear a sound if you throw it in a casino. I'd be happy to buy a nice dress."

Go to the casino and play a couple of rounds. It's fun at first, but it gets boring if you keep losing.

In this life, money comes easily, so you should always find some enjoyment for yourself.

Those ladies on TV, from wealthy families, even save up fine fabrics for their children. The Jiangning Imperial Textile Bureau—wasn't that the place that made dragon robes for the emperor in ancient times? Just hearing that name tells you it's high-class and sophisticated.

A piece of clothing costs 70,000 yuan. There's no time to buy it now, but I can wear it out when I go home to pay respects to my ancestors during the Qingming Festival.

Wow, he really is a big business owner. Even though there are two streets around, he still personally steps in to promote his clothes.

Wang Xiao ran all over the small hall upstairs in one go.

Don't let her average memory fool you; when it comes to making money, her memory is astonishingly good.

Whether it's a middleman she's dealt with, an elderly overseas Chinese who's shopped at Huaxia Commercial Street, or an embassy staff member, she can accurately call out the surname of anyone she's met. She even knows exactly who is from whom and who is related to whom.

So it's not surprising that she found seven more sellers for Yun Jin in one go.

Xiang Dong thought calmly.

His only worry now is that the production capacity of Nanjing brocade cannot keep up.

He went straight to his concerns.

Wang Xiao, however, didn't care at all: "With orders, there will naturally be more people to do the work. For an industry to take off, there must be market demand."

In her opinion, the only reason for the complaints about how tiring and tedious brocade weaving was that apprentices would quit after a few months was that the pay was too low.

Why do large companies' 996 work schedules receive so much criticism, yet everyone still desperately tries to get in? Isn't it because they offer high salaries?

What workers truly hate is that while demanding a 996 work schedule, they also wish their employees would only receive 996 yuan per month.

If you raise wages, you'll naturally be able to attract workers.

It's true, workers these days, especially those in rural areas, are incredibly hardworking.

For example, her aunt and uncle worked at the factory in Zhouzhen. During peak season, they worked overtime from dawn till dusk. They were overjoyed to receive an extra thirty or forty yuan in bonus each month.

I just wish I could work overtime every day.

This reflects the simplest mindset of grassroots workers: working more is no problem, hardship is no problem, as long as the pay is right, everything is negotiable.

In addition to promoting custom-made Yun brocade clothing, Wang Xiao also took on 10 intermediary business deals.

What kind of deal? It's when a middleman helps resellers buy shops.

The Soviet Union has only been dissolved for a month or so, and the speculators in Moscow are still in a guerrilla-like state.

The usual business model is to leave the hotel at three or four in the morning, take a handcart loaded with goods to the free market to secure a good spot, sell until dark and then pack up and return to the hotel.

Can you make money doing this? Yes, absolutely. Because the Russian Federation and even the entire CIS region lack light industrial products.

But precisely because it's so profitable, those who want to run this business long-term start planning to upgrade their equipment.

Especially after witnessing the booming success of Huaxia Commercial Street, many people became even more determined to take over a shop and start a business permanently.

The problem is, they don't know how to get their hands on the store.

Most of them don't even speak a word of Russian, let alone understand the Russian Federation's privatization policy.

Why don't they ask for help from the local Chinese community in Moscow? Don't say they're not on the same wavelength; business people who eat at the same restaurant are considered acquaintances!

Well, this is a bit awkward.

There are not many elderly overseas Chinese in Moscow, and more than 90% of them are students who stayed behind and did not return, or even surrendered to the Soviet Union.

When the Sino-Soviet split occurred in 1960, it coincided with the three-year period of natural disasters in China. Many of them realized the poor state of the domestic economy from the simple meals they were served by the national leaders. Later, even when the President of China personally wrote to them, inviting them to return to China, they refused.

Of course, if you ask them whether they regret it now, eight or nine out of ten would say no. According to them, even the head of state who wrote to them was killed, let alone them who had returned to China at the time.

But whether they regret it or not, their time in the Soviet Union was far from pleasant.

Surveillance, the surveillance carried out by the secret police for decades, has never disappeared.

The cold shoulder and marginalization that prevents one from ever entering important positions persist.

Therefore, although the Russian federal government has now abandoned its surveillance of them, they are still unwilling to deal with government agencies and lack the connections to do so.

Against this backdrop, Wang Xiao, this successful pioneer, naturally became a guiding light in everyone's eyes. Those involved in illegal trading who wanted to stay in Moscow and make their mark all hoped to learn from her.

Their requirements aren't high; a 300-square-meter shop would be fine.

It's freezing cold now, setting up a stall in the open-air market is really too much of a hassle.

Wang Xiao readily agreed: "Okay, then I'll ask the Moscow city government for you."

She genuinely welcomes her compatriots to stay, settle down, and develop their careers.

Because shifting from guerrilla warfare to positional warfare means that business owners must pay more attention to their reputation and product quality.

Otherwise, if the goods you sell are subpar, people can come after you directly.

The more people like this there are, the more guaranteed the overall quality of Chinese goods entering Moscow will be.

When the overall economic environment improves, people who make a living in this field can earn more money.

There's no future in a bunch of weaklings fighting each other.

Of course, there's another reason why she's so enthusiastic.

The middlemen are willing to pay in US dollars when buying from stores, but she acts as an intermediary to convert the money into rubles, which at least allows her to spend more rubles.

Even a tiny mosquito is still a piece of meat.

Wang Xiao carefully recorded everyone's needs for the store, then smiled and promised to make the most of the time before saying goodbye and heading to the last small hall.

This area probably has the highest level of intellectual content among the row of small halls, as it houses scholars conducting research and visits in Moscow, as well as several embassy staff members.

I won't go into the latter; it's for work, and I can't go home for the Chinese New Year.

But why didn't the former return to China? Was it because he couldn't get leave?

No, no, it's related to the current delicate international political atmosphere.

Some scholars weren't originally studying Eastern Europe and the Soviet Union, but they happened to be here when the Soviet Union collapsed. For those who are dedicated to conducting social research, how could they possibly miss such a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity for field investigation? So they simply stayed.

As for why they don't go back home for the Lunar New Year? It's because they're afraid that if they go back, they won't be able to leave again.

This isn't just them being petty and judging others by their own standards; it's because things are very tense in China right now, with various organizations conducting round after round of political study sessions, for fear of any defection incidents.

If something goes wrong, the leaders will bear joint responsibility.

The embassy usually organizes a New Year's celebration for students in Moscow today, so there were very few people out for dinner.

They were also very cautious, maintaining a listening posture no matter what the people at the table were saying.

When Wang Xiao and his group knocked on the door and went in, a woman inside was complaining: "The Russian Federation is a complete mess right now. When we were declaring foreign currency at customs, the customs officers extorted our ballpoint pens. When we were at a multilateral meeting, I asked the organizing committee where they were staying and when the press conference would be held. They didn't know anything. When they finally got answers, three different people gave me three different answers, and none of them were correct."

The others just laughed: "You'll get used to it. They're confused themselves, and nobody knows what's going on."

The door opened, and Wang Xiao and the others went in. Only then did the complaining female reporter stop talking.

Wang Xiao pretended not to hear and just smiled and greeted people.

The person who had been sitting with his back to the light turned his head and smiled at her: "President Wang, you look radiant, and you look beautiful all over."

Without hesitation, Wang Xiao replied, "Oh my, you have such good taste. I've been wearing this all the way here, and you're the first person to compliment me, you..."

Her eyes lit up instantly.

Hey bro, the bro from the Chinese Embassy in Japan, she didn't get to eat the Tang Monk's flesh.

Wang Xiao's face immediately lit up with a smile: "Mr. Wu, you've been transferred to Moscow? That's wonderful! Whenever you're free, I must treat you to a meal. Thanks to your help in Tokyo last time, our factory is now officially in production, and our products are being sold in Japan and Europe. I'm here to report this to my superiors. By the way, did you receive the postcard I sent you?"

One scholar asked curiously, "What kind of factory are you? What products do you sell in foreign markets?"

Unlucky Mr. Wu immediately said awkwardly, "I wasn't transferred to Moscow; I came here on some business. I received your greeting card; it's very beautiful. Thank you very much."

Wang Xiao immediately smiled at the scholar who had just asked the question, and then followed up with the handsome young man: "In your opinion, would postcards like these be popular in Japan? Our Christmas cards are very popular in Europe this year."

This was truly an unexpected outcome.

The steel mill's printing plant made calendars and sold them on the market, and also made some greeting cards.

As a result, the Budapest resellers loved it and, after taking it back, urgently requested another 100,000 copies, which sold out completely.

This greatly annoyed the Polish trader, who lamented why he hadn't discovered sooner that Chinese greeting cards were also quite good.

Wang Xiao could tell that the young man didn't want to talk about the power of love, so she naturally went along with it.

Mr. Wu shook his head and could only regretfully say, "I don't know, I don't understand business."

Wang Xiao didn't need his business acumen; she just wanted to get close to the young man so she could seduce him and take advantage of him.

Xiang Dong thought to himself, "It seems Wang Xiao really intends to expand into the Japanese market, otherwise there's no reason for him to be so enthusiastic towards the staff of the Japanese embassy."

Little did he know that his boss was interested not only in the Japanese market, but also in the tempting prospect of acquiring Tang Sanzang (a character from Journey to the West).

Unfortunately, before Wang Xiao could exchange more than a few pleasantries with everyone, there was a knock on the door of the small hall.

The middleman, who had dealt with Wang Xiao before, came over drunk, pointed at the people in the private room, and while hiccuping, introduced them to the Russian behind him: "Look, these are all cultured people, only they can understand this."

The old Russian man had gray hair and wore glasses on his nose.

Well, Wang Xiao couldn't distinguish the physical differences between Russians, Ukrainians, Belarusians, etc., and since he couldn't say they were Soviets, he simply referred to them all as "old Russians."

A little flustered and embarrassed, he took the initiative to introduce himself: "Excuse me for bothering you all, I am Poloikov, and I work at the Institute of Political Economy of the Russian Federation. I apologize for disturbing you all, but I would like to ask if any of you are interested in our research findings?"

The crowd exchanged bewildered glances, and several embassy staff members' expressions changed drastically.

Although China has now acknowledged the collapse of the Soviet Union and established ambassadorial-level diplomatic relations with the Russian Federation, the political environment remains delicate.

At the Beijing Hotel, a place that was monitored by the KGB for decades, what's with this talk of being interested in Russian political and economic research findings? Isn't that just stirring up trouble?

It's not that diplomats are easily frightened; it's just that in extraordinary times, no amount of caution is excessive.

Now that the country has stated that it will focus on economic development, this is definitely not the time to provoke conflict.

Wang Xiao immediately turned around, led his men out, and asked with great interest, "What are you researching? The new economic policies of the Russian Federation? I'm really interested in that. To do business, you have to understand local policies. But let me tell you, some of the policies of the Russian Federation are really baffling."

The middleman, who was introducing the business, didn't understand much Russian and relied on body language for more than half of his daily communication. But at this moment, he kept muttering, "That's right, that's right, this is a college student, a cultured person who would be interested in this."

This Russian man was his landlord, and he was a really nice guy. His wife also took good care of him; they were an exceptionally gentle and kind family.

Now he has brought his men to the Beijing Hotel, hoping to find someone to buy the research results of their research institute.

What they study is the background and political and economic context of the changes in the Soviet Union. They have a wealth of firsthand information.

They are willing to sell, or even co-found, research institutions with foreigners in exchange for foreign exchange earnings.

This smuggler was originally at home celebrating the Chinese New Year, but he even paid for the ingredients and asked his landlady to help him prepare a feast. There was stewed beef with potatoes, roast chicken, and fried eggs with butter, which smelled incredibly delicious.

Then he invited his landlord's family to celebrate the Spring Festival together.

Ahem, as for why he stayed in Moscow for the New Year? It's because he got into a fight in China, seriously injured someone, and fled the country overnight.

He dared not go back, lest he disturb the police officers' New Year celebrations.

As they drank, their landlord, Dr. Poloikov, started talking about the predicament their political economy institute was facing.

Prices are soaring, the ruble is depreciating, and the institute is unable to secure any funding from higher authorities. It's driving me crazy.

However, some people in Western countries are interested in their research findings and want to pay for them.

But to this day, the old man still speaks only of our Soviet Union, finding it difficult to accept selling the data he painstakingly researched to Western countries.

His colleagues were in similar situations.

But if the institute rejects a wealthy buyer, how will it survive?

The reseller didn't really feel anything when he heard that.

It's normal that intellectuals are having a hard time because of economic reforms.

Decades ago, China had a film called "Middle Age," in which intellectuals lived worse lives than the Russians today.

Besides, the Russians are really too easy to deal with.

On the 12th of last month, they gathered 50,000 people in downtown Moscow to protest the dissolution of the Union, the splitting of the army, and the liberalization of prices, demanding the protection of workers' interests.

As a result, they didn't achieve anything and disbanded on their own.

I really don't understand why so many people risk going out of college to travel around. What are they trying to achieve?

They keep talking about society exploding, but with their attitude, even if the earth explodes, they still won't be able to.

But because he felt indebted to the landlord's family and had drunk two bottles of sorghum liquor, he got drunk and directly pulled people over and said he would help them find a buyer.

And so this impulsive door-to-door sales pitch came about.

Wang Xiao led the person to the lobby, arranged for them to sit down, and then inquired about their purpose.

For a moment, she didn't know what to say.

Despite having passed the postgraduate entrance exam before transmigrating into the book, to be frank, she actually had no interest in research whatsoever; she was just trying to maintain her positive, hardworking, and ambitious online celebrity persona.

Now, they're actually offering to sell her research materials.

Before Wang Xiao could react, someone next to him asked softly, "How much do you sell your materials for?"

It was the female researcher who had been sitting in the small hall; she was clearly quite interested in these materials.

However, Poloikov's answer made her back down immediately: "One million, one million US dollars."

Okay, she can take her leave now.

Even if you sold her by weight, you wouldn't get that much money.

But she still wanted to try one more time, pressing for an answer: "If I'm just looking at it, and you can resell it to someone else, how much would it cost?"

Poloikov was dumbfounded; he hadn't expected such a bizarre move.

But the value of information lies in its content. If you see everything, isn't that the same as giving you all the information?

The female researcher argued, "That's different. Library books can be lent to many people. The Soviet Union has already dissolved; that's a fait accompli. I just need to look at the materials; I won't take them away."

Wang Xiao listened with great interest, eagerly anticipating the final outcome of their negotiations.

Ivanov and the others were also very curious. He even whispered to Wang Xiao, "What price do you think she got?"

When it comes to doing business, intellectuals are not good at it.

The problem is that China reformed and opened up early, and their economic awareness was in place.

If the two sides really fought, the Chinese would probably win.

As expected, after several exchanges, Poloikov was at a disadvantage and, barely alive, said, "Ten thousand dollars, at least ten thousand dollars for one viewing."

Good heavens! He still has to figure out how to go back and persuade his colleagues.

But finding suitable buyers is so difficult. Why not do what Ms. Shen suggested and just do an open system where everyone can buy a copy for $10,000?

That way they might be able to earn even more.

Moreover, as long as this is done, the business can continue indefinitely. At least for the next few years, their research institute will no longer have to worry about funding.

He even let his thoughts wander to his old friend's workplace.

Almost all research institutes in the Russian Federation are struggling to survive. When old friends get together, the conversation always revolves around how to make ends meet.

Providing photocopies of materials is excellent; it's much better than selling materials directly.

Those present who could understand their conversation were greatly impressed.

Ivanov even gave the female scholar a thumbs up, saying, "You've cut a million dollars down to ten thousand dollars, what a skill!"

This woman has really chosen the wrong profession; she should be in business.

If that's the case, with her abilities, why would she need to haggle now? She could just buy it for a million US dollars and get whatever information she wants without any problem.

Wang Xiao smiled and expressed the same meaning in Mandarin.

Ms. Shen's face flushed slightly, and she said with a wry smile, "There's nothing I can do, I'm just too poor."

She arrived in the Soviet Union in the autumn of 1990. On her way there, she followed the advice of her seniors and, with a keen business sense, carried two large bags of down jackets, leather jackets, and pearl necklaces to Moscow. As a result, she made tens of thousands of rubles on her first purchase.

Given the price levels in the Soviet Union at the time, she could easily be considered a propertied person. This huge sum of money was enough for her to live comfortably for many years.

But her biggest regret was not exchanging her rubles for dollars back then.

Then she watched helplessly as the ruble plummeted in just over a year, and she too fell into poverty.

If it weren't for the fact that someone had secured sponsorship to treat her today, she would never have been willing to spend five US dollars on a meal at a restaurant in Beijing.

Wait a minute, the blind student has discovered the key point.

Isn't it fifty US dollars? Eating in the small hall should cost fifty US dollars per person on average.

Ms. Shen looked completely bewildered.

Fifty US dollars? That's enough for her to live on for several months. Who can afford to spend that much on a single meal?

When the two sides compared the menu prices, the reseller sitting next to them was about to slam his fist on the table and stand up.

Damn it, this is supposed to be the Beijing Hotel, but it's just a bunch of people ripping off each other, isn't it?

Let's take advantage of them and fleece them.

Xiang Dong quickly grabbed him: "Alright, alright, you can't get out of a nightclub in China without spending a thousand yuan. Forget it."

The reseller then cursed angrily, "Poor Russian."

He said this because, apart from the chefs who were Chinese, the staff at the Beijing Hotel, including the waiters, were all from the former Soviet Union.

Each of them treats people differently based on who they are.

Oops, I've gone off-topic.

Ms. Shen quickly steered the conversation back on track, saying that she had followed him from the small hall to the main hall, and that in addition to asking about the price of the materials, she also wanted to solicit sponsorships.

Even if it were ten thousand US dollars, she couldn't come up with it.

She smiled wryly and said, "I should have exchanged my rubles for US dollars sooner; I could have been a rich woman."

Hindsight is 20/20 and doesn't make much sense.

At least her wealth came from sudden wealth.

Ordinary Russians, or people from former Soviet countries, were even more unfortunate, losing their life savings overnight.

Last year, Wang Xiao saw an old woman crying loudly in the street. She had worked hard all her life and saved 20,000 rubles to buy a new house.

As a result, everything collapsed when the ruble depreciated.

Wang Xiao only asked, "So?"

"So I would like to ask for your investment." Ms. Shen is a typical pragmatist and very down-to-earth. "Once my research yields results, the royalties will be split equally with you."

Dr. Chen and Wang Tiejun exchanged a glance. Good heavens, what kind of nonsense is this?

What... what's going on here?

Fearing that Wang Xiao might think she wasn't worth investing in, Ms. Shen quickly emphasized, "The whole world is very interested in the changes in the Soviet Union. I've lived here for over a year and have experienced the changes before and after the collapse of the Soviet Union. With supplementary information from the Soviet Union, I believe my research results will be published soon, and sales will be good."

Wang Xiao chatted with her for a while and felt that she really had a lot to say, so he asked curiously, "How long do you plan to do this research?"

"In fact, I wanted to conduct on-site investigations and research throughout the Soviet Union and Eastern Europe."

When the topic of interest came up, Ms. Shen's eyes lit up. "This is a huge change in the socialist cause, and I want to experience it firsthand. Media reports are unreliable; they always speculate on what readers want to see and then provide partial facts to mislead them. The truth can only be truly felt by being there in person."

Wang Xiao thought for a moment and gave a figure: "Fifty thousand US dollars, I'll sponsor you fifty thousand US dollars. However, I require that half of all royalties for your future articles on Soviet and Eastern European issues, including books and e-books."

Chen Yanqiu gasped.

Fifty thousand US dollars!

Currently, one US dollar is roughly equivalent to seven or eight Chinese yuan.

Fifty thousand US dollars is at least equivalent to three or four hundred thousand.

Comrade Wang Tiejun is already the deputy factory director, but his annual salary plus bonuses doesn't even amount to 10,000 yuan.

This is the kind of money a highly skilled technician could never earn in a lifetime of hard work.

Oh my goodness, this brat is really getting better and better at burning money.

Wang Xiao smiled and added, "I require full copyright. Regardless of the language in which it is published, I must receive half of the royalties. By the way, I also need to make a copy of the materials you had copied at the Institute of Political Economy."

Ms. Shen hesitated for a moment, then nodded in agreement: "Okay, I can write you a guarantee."

"No, we'll sign a contract. I'll have a lawyer draft one tomorrow, and then we'll sign it."

She didn't actually expect to earn much in royalties from her $50,000 investment, but as the saying goes, "a thousand pieces of gold to buy bones," this was a great opportunity.

The Institute of Political Economy has already started selling its data to outsiders. Can other research institutions withstand this? When you see one cockroach, the room is already crawling with cockroaches.

Science and technology are the primary productive forces. Perhaps she'll get lucky and discover some worthwhile investment projects within them.

As for the copied materials, besides satisfying her strong curiosity, they were also a rather exquisite gift, which she planned to give to Deputy Secretary Cao.

Clearly, Deputy Secretary Cao was very interested in these things.

Any rational ruler would be interested in authentic historical materials.

After all, we have all followed similar paths, and the drawbacks of the Soviet Union are now more or less present in China as well.

If we don't learn from this, it will happen to us sooner or later.

The two sides finalized the agreement, and the atmosphere at the dinner table became lively.

The gray-haired Poloikov is quite interesting; his favorite drink is actually cola, and he drank several cups in a row.

Ms. Shen was much more reserved and only ate a little salad.

Wang Xiao told Ivanov about the middlemen asking for help in finding shops to buy from, and Ivanov was immediately overjoyed: "You haven't even finished a glass of wine, and you've already brought in business. Seriously, we should ask the Moscow government for a commission."

If they were to drive the project forward, it would be far more efficient than if the Moscow government were to do it themselves.

Wang Xiao laughed and said, "Sure, we'll keep the best for ourselves."

The waiter brought out new dishes.

Perhaps because New Year customs vary from place to place, the Beijing Hotel is offering glutinous rice balls in addition to dumplings today.

Thank goodness, although other Chinese dishes have been completely altered, at least the glutinous rice balls still taste like normal glutinous rice balls.

Chen Jingjing was quite disappointed. She had already eaten dumplings with chocolate and cheese fillings, and she felt that chocolate would actually be a better match for glutinous rice balls.

She had wanted to try it to see what it tasted like, but unfortunately, what was served was just the usual black sesame filling glutinous rice balls.

Perhaps because it was a sweet treat, both Ivanov and his bodyguard, as well as Poloikov, who was left behind to sample the Chinese New Year delicacy, accepted it well and praised the glutinous rice balls as a unique and delicious food.

After eating the glutinous rice balls, the New Year's Eve dinner is almost over.

Although the Beijing Hotel is open from 6 p.m. to 11 p.m.

But Wang Xiao and his group didn't plan to keep watch there overnight, and it would take more than an hour to drive from the hotel to the sanatorium.

So, before nine o'clock in the evening, everyone was ready to leave after having eaten and drunk their fill.

Interestingly, they specifically chose the Beijing Hotel for their New Year's Eve dinner to savor authentic Chinese cuisine.

However, after the meal, everyone agreed that the Russian food here was actually better.

For example, sturgeon meat jelly and cold-smoked fish spine both taste very good.

It seems that all authentic local delicacies are destined to be exclusively available in their own country.

As Wang Xiao put on her mink coat and was about to leave, she happened to run into a group of handsome young men coming out of the small hall.

She was so annoyed she wanted to slap her forehead.

Oh dear, all she wanted to do was get Poloykov out of the small hall to avoid unnecessary trouble.

After chatting with Ms. Shen for a while, she completely forgot about the young man.

Good heavens, she must be so busy she's completely out of her mind.

She completely forgot about the delicious food that was being served to her.

To her delight, the young man actually came over to greet her, saying, "We've finished eating, we're leaving now."

Wang Xiao was overjoyed and immediately rummaged through her bag for paper and pen, writing down her contact information: "Call me if you need anything. Where's your number?"

The others present were confused but thought she was really working too hard, especially during the Chinese New Year.

Qian Xuemei wanted to advise her niece that she should rest when she needed to.

As Comrade Lenin said, those who don't know how to rest don't know how to work.

Only Ivanov, the playboy, saw through the scheme. After the young man left his phone number and left, he smiled strangely at Wang Xiao: "The beautiful night hasn't even started yet. You should go out and celebrate the New Year properly."

He had made plans with his girlfriends a few days before the Lunar New Year, so he was in a very good mood on this Chinese New Year's Eve.

Truly, no matter what kind of toy it is, it can't compare to a beautiful body.

Wang Xiao was about to roll her eyes at him.

Nonsense! Didn't you see that Ms. Chen Yanqiu and Comrade Wang Tiejun are behind me?

If I take him out tonight, haha, how am I going to explain this to my parents?

Forget about premarital sex; any sexual activity not aimed at marriage is considered blatant immorality in their eyes.

If things get chaotic, she won't have the energy to clean up the mess.

Yes, Tang Sanzang's flesh is certainly delicious. But she wouldn't go through all that trouble just to eat a piece of meat.

This is putting the cart before the horse.

Ivanov was particularly sharp at that moment and quickly figured out what was going on.

He was incredibly kind and promised, "Don't worry, I'll help you."

Wang Xiao looked at him suspiciously: "How are you going to help?"

“Just you wait,” Ivanov said confidently. “I guarantee you’ll have an unforgettable night.”

Making your business partners happy is an essential skill for any competent businessman.

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The Institute of Political Economy of the Russian Federation was indeed looking for buyers to purchase their research results at the time. Many research institutions were then trying to find ways to raise funds themselves. Thank you to all the little angels who voted for me or watered my plants between 2023-12-14 06:59:37 and 2023-12-14 23:08:01!

Thank you to the little angels who watered the nutrient solution: Xiao Ye 50 bottles; Echo., Just Sunset 10 bottles; Tantai Wuchu 6 bottles; Junzi Danmo, Affirmation, September, Little Dough Prince 5 bottles; 20655808, Quietly is the Heart's Xiao Xiao, Fat Bear, Ou An, Hui, Happiness Forever 1 bottle;

Thank you so much for your support! I will continue to work hard!