Alexei held a sausage in one hand and a wine glass in the other, eating and drinking comfortably.
"Uncle, how is it?"
"It tastes delicious. Tell me, kid, what do you want from me? You wouldn't come to see me for no reason, would you?"
When Shamilov's father was young, he and Alexei were good friends. Later, Alexei joined the army and was away for twenty years.
When Alexei came back a few years ago, Shamilov's father had passed away in a car accident and his mother had also passed away due to illness. Alexei sighed and settled down in this small village.
Alexei never married and had no children, so he treated the orphaned Shamilov as his own child.
A few years ago, whenever the young Shamilov encountered any difficulties, he would run here to seek Alexei's help.
In the past two years, as he grew older, Shamilov came less frequently, and only once in the past year.
Even when Babulev arrested him, he didn't come to see Alexei.
"Uncle Alexei, I'm currently doing business with the Chinese. I bought this wine and sausage from China, and I need your help."
"I don't know how to make deals, how can I help you?"
"My business is now very big, so naturally there will be people who are jealous of my achievements. You are also aware that the city of Bu is full of gangs, and there may be people who will try to steal money and kill people, so I need your help."
"My son, Uncle Alexei is old now. He just wants to live out the rest of his life here in peace and quiet. He doesn't want to get involved in the ups and downs of society anymore."
"Uncle Alexei, I know you were a powerful figure in your youth. I'm not asking for anything from you. I've gathered some men to protect me. Could you please train them for me? I'll pay you handsomely and ensure you live a comfortable and prosperous life in your later years."
Alexei drank another small glass of wine and fell into deep thought.
He is forty-four years old this year. After experiencing twenty years of ups and downs, he has long since become indifferent to everything in the world. He really just wants to live the rest of his life quietly in his hometown and no longer think about the blood and glory.
Seeing that Alexei didn't respond, Shamilov started playing the family card. "When my father died, he specifically told me that if Uncle Alexei comes back one day, I should come to you if I have any difficulties. Uncle Alexei, you can't just watch me get swallowed up by this society, can you?"
Alexey looked at Shamilov for a long time, then laughed. "You little bastard, you're actually threatening me with your damn father. Well, for your father's sake, I promise to help you train your men. Forget about the reward, as long as I have enough wine to drink."
Shamilov was overjoyed. Although he didn't know what Uncle Alexei had done in the army, he knew that Alexei was definitely an important person. When the border between China and the Soviet Union was tense a few years ago, there were countless troops stationed here. He saw with his own eyes that the troops stationed in this village at that time took good care of Uncle Alexei, and even people with very high military ranks came here to visit him.
"Uncle Alexei, don't worry. Wine and meat are not a problem. You can eat whatever you want. I will even take you to China to see what they have. The Chinese are quite good at eating."
He knew that Uncle Alexei's only hobby now was probably eating.
This one hit Alexei's soft spot.
"Should you bring your people here or should I go to the city?"
"Of course you should go to the city. If you stay with me, I will take good care of you."
"You're just a smooth talker, always saying nice things. Okay, wait for me outside while I clean up."
Shamilov walked out of Alexei's house and stood outside the yard looking around.
The name of this village is Xiechangji. Alexei lives at the easternmost end of the village. Three hundred meters further east is a small hill. When the border was tense in 1979, there was a garrison camp there.
Shamilov's mind brightened and he walked towards the abandoned camp.
When we arrived at the base of Xiaogao, some collapsed houses proved that this was the camp from that year. There were also several rusty tanks, cars and some machinery left there alone in the open space of the camp under the snow.
Shamilov had played with these broken tanks before, and when he saw the abandoned machines, he felt nothing.
But now these rusty things have taken on a completely different value in his eyes, that is, stacks of money!
He also knew that there were dozens of armored vehicles and tanks buried underground in and around the camp.
After the border situation eased, these garrisons here became meaningless, and it was not easy to withdraw these heavy armored vehicles.
Therefore, the old tanks were stripped of their engines and artillery systems and buried on the spot. Anyway, they were equipment that was about to be scrapped.
A tank weighs dozens of tons. How much does it cost?
And this is just the village of Xiechangji. How many former garrison camps along the Amur River were there, and how many tanks and machinery were left unevacuated? The numbers are simply astronomical.
Can all be turned into money.
I just don’t know if one ton of this steel is worth a box of wine?
I guess it’s impossible for the Chinese guy named Wan to give a box of wine for one ton, even if it’s two tons, it’s fine.
Even so, the things abandoned by the army within a radius of 100 miles were enough to make him a wealthy man in Bu City.
When Shamilov, who had a long dream, returned to Alexei's wooden house, Alexei had already packed his things and came out with a suitcase and a backpack.
"Uncle Alexei, is this all you have to bring?"
"There's nothing to take with me. The remaining rags are locked up in the house. There's nothing valuable at all."
The two of them got into Shamilov's broken Lada and returned to Bu City in a hurry.
When Shamilov returned to his house, Igor, Taras, Daniel and Anton had already returned, and there were seven or eight other young people in the house.
These are the people summoned by Igor and his three companions.
At the same time, Igor also found him a vacant yard nearby.
When he was dealing in steel, he needed a spacious courtyard to store the steel sent by others. Therefore, when he went out this morning, he asked Igor and others to see if there was any vacant space around. If not, he would go to the suburbs to find a place.
Now that we have found a place, let Alexei live in this building.
After Shamilov settled Alexei, he took the newly recruited brothers to inspect the vacant site.
This is a recently abandoned sawmill. The factory buildings are not many but the area is quite large, covering an area of over ten thousand square meters.
Because they had not been abandoned for long, the houses could be occupied after a little cleaning.
Shamilov ordered Igor to find someone to clean up immediately. The main task was to connect the heating equipment and install the glass. The rest was just cleaning, which was not a very demanding job.
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