Unlike the bustling and noisy city of Beijing.
Suifenhe City gives people a feeling of desolation, not only desolation, but also coldness.
Suifenhe City is located on the border between China and its "big brother" (Russia). Occasionally, one can still spot some tall, bear-like Russians in this area. Further north lies the border itself.
"Hoo." Yuan Wai exhaled a breath of white air, shrinking into his clothes, and said to Yuan Li, who was also huddled up next to him, "Little Li, what did Brother Shouren tell us? Why are we just squatting here? I'm doing just fine in Hong Kong, why did he have to send me here? Besides, aren't you the one who can speak Russian? Why did he send me here?"
Yuan Wai kept talking.
The main thing is that this place is completely different from Hong Kong.
What's that saying again? "Having seen the ocean, one finds it hard to be satisfied with a mere stream."
"Stop talking nonsense and be patient." Yuan Li said helplessly. Once Yuan Wai started talking, he couldn't stop, even in this kind of weather where you could easily get frostbite if you weren't careful.
Yuan Li's reprimands had no effect.
"Do you really think they can sell us that stuff? It sounds like I'm listening to gibberish. A few eggs and an iron basin that we have can be traded for airplanes, tanks, and machine tools?"
Yuan Li: ...
During this period, internal problems had already begun to emerge in the Soviet Union, but Wang Shouren's intention was not to have Yuan Shikai come here to exchange for airplanes and artillery. Rather, it was a transaction. Even at its most corrupt, the Soviet Union at that time couldn't possibly acquire those things. That would have to wait until 1985, after Mikhail Gorbachev came to power and implemented a series of policies.
At that time, the Soviet Union was in chaos, and the faith of the entire country was in question, which gave people the opportunity to exchange these things.
During this period, the Soviet Union faced a significant shortage in light industry due to the development of heavy industry. Smuggling was not uncommon during this time.
Wang Shouren also made preparations for this.
They stood under a poplar tree, and after a while, a tall Chinese man walked over. He had blue eyes, but his face was that of a Chinese.
Are you Yuan Li and Yuan Wai?
“Uh…” Yuan Wai paused for a moment, then nodded.
"That's good. Come with me."
"Hey buddy, who are you? Why didn't you give us the password and just let us follow you?"
The burly man scratched his head: "The secret code? Shouren didn't tell me. Why don't you wait a bit, and I'll go ask him?"
"No, no, no, it's no need, I was just joking." Yuan Wai smiled and followed the big man.
They hadn't actually walked very far. Suifenhe City wasn't very big either. Following the burly man's left and right turns, they entered a residential building, a one- or two-story building. The burly man opened the door and greeted them, "Come in quickly."
I went inside, and the room was quite warm.
Yuan Li and Yuan Wai also took off their clothes.
"You've finally arrived! Come, have a seat." The big man busied himself pouring them water and gesturing for them to sit down.
The house wasn't big, with two bedrooms and a living room, where a sofa sat. That was quite an oddity. The whole room had a strange, peculiar feel to it. Some items were from the Ming and Qing dynasties, some were made in China in the 1950s and 60s, and there was also something as rare as the sofa. It was a haphazard hodgepodge.
Yuan Wai didn't stand on ceremony and plopped down on the floor: "Hey buddy, what's your name? And this room of yours is pretty unique, isn't it?"
"Ha." The big man poured a glass of water for the two of them. "Drink water, room temperature. My name is Chang Gui. I've lived in this area since I was a child. Everything here is either traded or brought from over there or collected from the inland."
"Chang Gui, you have quite a wide social circle."
"Haha, it's all thanks to my friends for giving me face. So, friends, let's get down to business. Who do you want to get in touch with?" Chang Gui laughed heartily, then steered the conversation back to the main topic.
"These can be categorized?" Yuan Li asked, somewhat surprised.
“Didn’t Shouren tell you about this? Actually, I didn’t do this before. I used to be a hunter, going into the mountains whenever I had free time. Once, I met Shouren, who was here on a business trip. He gave me money and asked me to take him to see it…”
Hunters these days aren't as honest as you might imagine.
The mountains have plenty of resources, but the resources across the border are equally good. Moreover, it's common for hunters to cross the border to pursue their prey. Therefore, many experienced hunters have developed the ability to cross without being detected. Wang Shouren was on a business trip here and stopped by to take a look, mainly to see how much he could bring back from that other side of the border, that space.
As it turned out, his space was not large, and he could not see anything of great strategic value, so he eventually gave up.
However, before giving up, he started to deceive Chang Gui, who was of mixed Chinese and Russian descent.
As a man of mixed Chinese and Russian descent, he wouldn't necessarily face much discrimination even there. He was quite adept at being a broker. He'd done it before, but only as a side job. Wang Shouren wanted him to do it full-time, and he hesitated at first, but later, as his business flourished, he became increasingly grateful to Wang Shouren.
Sure enough, as soon as Wang Shouren made the contact, he waited here without saying a word.
Yuan Wai took out a cigarette from his pocket and handed it to the other man: "Hey buddy, tell us what you're up to. We haven't thought much about it, just wanted to sell some everyday stuff over there. Didn't we hear that the Russians are really short of this stuff?"
Chang Gui took the cigarette, lit it skillfully, and took a puff: "This cigarette is a bit weak, but it's alright. We're all friends, so I won't beat around the bush. Everyone who wants to do this business has this idea in mind. The Russians are indeed short of money right now, but it's not certain that we can earn it. They are short of money, but the rules there are very strict."
“If you can just carry it in a backpack, you can just go by the road. I know a route that can take you there. There’s a place for trading there. But if you’re shipping a large quantity of goods, then this method won’t work. You’ll have to get in touch with the officials over there.”
"Then how do we get in touch with the officers over there?" Yuan Wai asked hurriedly, adding, "Don't worry, brother, you won't have made a wasted trip."
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