Chapter 74: The Certificate Makes its Debut (Completed)...
The shelves are almost completely empty!
Zheng Xiaowei came to He Changyi with a beaming smile to share the good news, his back teeth showing as he grinned, but he also pretended to be troubled and frowned.
"Boss, what should we do? There are just too many customers! The store is almost overflowing, and everyone is struggling to keep up!"
Of course, it wasn't that exaggerated. There was still room to stand if you squeezed in. He was just trying to be nice to the boss and show off his skills.
He Changyi understood and said, "Thank you for your hard work. Everyone will receive double bonuses this month."
Zheng Xiaowei left, both happy and regretful.
—If only the boss could see that he works harder than others.
After a while, Zheng Xiaowei came again, but this time his frown was much more genuine.
"Boss, what should we do? Someone's causing trouble for Geng Zhi!"
He Changyi asked, "What happened? Why are you causing him trouble?"
Zheng Xiaowei glanced at Geng Zhi, whose hair was disheveled and forehead was covered in sweat. Without thinking much, he went straight to He Changyi and said:
“A few Emirati people said they had no money and insisted on paying with some kind of receipt. I said no, we only accept rubles and dollars. Then they blocked the cashier and refused to put their things down, saying that if we didn’t accept their money, they wouldn’t leave today!”
He Changyi found it strange. It was her opening day, so would anyone dare to cause her trouble?
Putting aside everything else, even the city's police department sent a small team to maintain order at the scene. Of course, these junior civil servants who worked overtime also had their share of benefits; they left with a large basket full of various gifts before the store even opened.
Not to mention the officials who came to support the opening. Although they only stood briefly at the entrance before being ushered into the VIP room, their mere presence spoke volumes.
Even gangs that collect protection money wouldn't dare cause trouble in this situation. They might be reckless, but they're not stupid; they don't survive in the underworld by fighting and killing.
The white ones won't come, and the black ones dare not come, so who is it?
He Changyi went over to check the situation himself and saw several Ego people standing in front of the cashier. They were poorly dressed and looked miserable, as if they had been pickled in black bread and pickled cucumbers.
These people were ushered to a corner by bodyguards who were temporarily working as part-time security guards, so as not to affect other customers from paying their bills.
They looked extremely uneasy, their eyes darting around or fixed on the floor, but they all clung tightly to the goods in their arms, refusing to put them down no matter how others tried to persuade them.
The bodyguard from Emei said impatiently, "If you can't afford it, then leave. Nobody here is forcing you to shop! Come back to the store when you have money, or go out now and sell the receipt to pay for it!"
Some customers said, "When I have money, will I still be able to buy such cheap discounted items in stores?"
Some customers even said, "Who says vouchers aren't money? Each voucher is worth 10,000 rubles!"
The bodyguard laughed and said, "Forget it! Are you still thinking that one voucher can buy two Volga cars? Why don't you go to the market and ask if your voucher can still sell for four dollars?"
The customer exclaimed, "Even if it's only worth four dollars, that's enough to pay the bill! I brought ten receipts!"
He Changyi walked over and asked, "What happened?"
Upon seeing her, the Eguo bodyguard quickly smiled and said to the generous Zhongguo boss, "They're just some scoundrels who don't want to pay. I'll kick them all out right now!"
Zheng Xiaowei muttered sourly to Geng Zhi, "This guy is really cunning, just waiting to show off in front of the boss. Why didn't he just say to kick all these people out?"
The Eguo bodyguards were determined to impress their boss, at least to let her know that they were no less capable than those Zhongguo veterans!
He picked them up, one in each hand, like chicks, and tried to shoo them out and take the goods from their arms. One of them cried out urgently:
"I'll pay! Pay! Don't take my things! I worked so hard to get them!"
Another customer cursed, "That damned Chubais! He said he distributed all the state assets to us, and the voucher is proof! The voucher is the asset, the currency, the money! Why can't I use the voucher to pay?!"
—A voucher? She seemed to have seen this news in the newspaper. It was the most important reform after the disintegration of the alliance, where ordinary people truly became owners of the country and thus obtained a one-way ticket to a free economy.
He Changyi stopped the bodyguard and asked the customer for a receipt.
The voucher was dark brown, beautifully printed, and looked somewhat similar to the ruble. The image was of the White House located beside the Mosk River—the same White House where the drunken president had previously fired tanks at it (cough...).
After the collapse of the Union and the establishment of the new Russia, how to transform the country from socialism to capitalism became the most important issue for the government, especially the tens of thousands of state-owned enterprises, whose existence was the antithesis of capitalism, as they were too non-privatized.
But to casually distribute state-owned enterprises to five, six, seven, or eight oligarchs would be treating the people like fools. Although they may not be smart, these idiots happen to hold the election votes.
So the government at the time came up with a method that seemed simple and crude, but was indeed simple and crude as well—
All state-owned assets will be distributed equally among all citizens.
The voucher serves as proof of asset ownership, and the government distributed a total of 150 million vouchers to all citizens.
In this way, privatization is achieved, and every citizen becomes a shareholder of a state-owned enterprise—no, it is no longer a state-owned enterprise.
Overnight, the vast fortune accumulated by the alliance over decades vanished into thin air.
At the beginning, everyone was happy. They had finally escaped the shadow of the steel giant, and there was no more planned economy or power corruption. They had finally ushered in the long-awaited free economy.
Everyone lay on the giant's fallen torso, feasting on its flesh and blood.
It was like a pie falling from the sky, and everyone happily took a big bite.
However, things rarely go as planned.
When a company has 150 million shareholders, whose advice should be followed for the company's management and future development?
When new shareholders own tens of thousands of companies, they also face the dilemma of how to exercise their supreme shareholder rights.
As a result, warrants began to circulate in the market like stocks.
Of course, just like stocks, they also experience dramatic rises and falls.
At its peak, each warrant was worth twenty dollars, but soon no one believed that these former Union assets, already mired in industrial crisis, were still worth so much money.
After all, when a country cannot even stabilize its prices and exchange rate, who can guarantee that these vouchers won't become worthless like the ruble?
The ruble was at least once legal tender, but the legality of the voucher may not last until next spring.
When He Changyi was taking the subway, he often saw people standing against the wall with a piece of paper pinned to their clothes that read "Second item half price"—just kidding, the paper actually read "Sale voucher" or "Purchase voucher".
Many people casually sell their vouchers in exchange for a bag of freshly baked donuts or a newly released cassette tape of popular songs; in short, they are much more useful than a piece of paper.
Some people are reluctant to sell their warrants easily, as these are symbols of equity. With just this piece of paper, they can receive dividends from companies across the country, which can amount to a huge sum of money!
Although no one knows whether the existing ruble denominations will be enough to meet the demand after a company's profits are divided into 150 million shares, even the smallest unit of currency, the kopek, seems too large.
However, even the most distinguished shareholders need to eat.
Dividends are a pipe dream, and almost every company is saying they're on the verge of bankruptcy. Forget about whether there are any profits to distribute to shareholders; they can't even afford to cover daily operating costs. If you don't believe me, just look at the workers who aren't getting paid. Of course, these workers are now shareholders too.
Helpless, the shareholders had no choice but to try to sell their shares at a good price and repeatedly regretted not selling them off at the highest point.
It would be great to be able to exchange it for money, but it would be even better if I could take advantage of the store's opening discounts to exchange it for goods that offer great value for money!
This explains why customers sometimes wave their receipts at the checkout counter.
After understanding the whole story, He Changyi thought for a moment and said to Yelena, who was in charge of the cashier, "You can accept receipts, and charge the market price."
Upon hearing this, the anxious customers' faces lit up instantly.
Yelena asked uncertainly, "Will we have to collect receipts from now on?"
He Changyi nodded firmly: "Yes, we'll take them all."
The customers who had been circling around the cashier and listening intently erupted in excitement!
Great! They can finally spend all the vouchers they have that are constantly depreciating and practically useless!
Those who acted quickly had already told their families to hurry back and get the vouchers. They could buy twice the amount of goods today—truly a double celebration!
Zheng Xiaowei's eyes darted around, but he wouldn't say it himself, so he nudged Geng Zhi with his elbow.
Geng Zhi ignored his little tricks and sincerely advised, "Boss, the voucher is worthless. It's written in the newspaper. Who knows, the government might not recognize it one day."
Although the ruble isn't worth much, it's still the country's legal tender, and unless there's another change of regime, it won't become worthless.
But the voucher is another story; it can become worthless in an instant. Who would trust the government's credibility these days?
He Changyi first praised Geng Zhi, saying, "You've been reading the newspapers quite well lately."
Before the silly boy could even feel happy, she turned and said, "However, you haven't read enough."
Geng Zhi: "Huh?"
He Changyi looked at the crowd gathered in front of the cashier and switched to Chinese.
"The government has already started a pilot auction program in the Leningrad region."
Geng Zhi didn't understand, so he asked directly, "What are you auctioning?"
He Changyi turned to look at him, a faint smile on her face, and said softly:
"enterprise."
Geng Zhi still didn't realize what that had to do with the voucher.
Zheng Xiaowei finally couldn't take it anymore. If it weren't for this dim-witted guy arriving early, how could he have been trusted by the boss?
"Idiot, corporate auctions don't collect money, they collect vouchers!"
Continue read on readnovelmtl.com