In Orthodox countries, Christmas is the second most important holiday after Easter.
Compared with Christmas celebrated by Western Catholic Christianity, it comes thirteen days later.
This is determined by their messed up calendars.
Since converting to Orthodoxy during the Tsarist period a hundred years ago, Tsarist Russia has celebrated Christmas on January 7th every year, and this tradition has continued in the Soviet Union.
But the Soviet Union was a socialist country. Because Lenin said that we should fight against religion, religion was suppressed during the Soviet period.
Especially during the Great Patriotic War, many clergy were forcibly conscripted into the army and sent to the front lines, and churches were converted into field hospitals, breeding farms, etc.
This was a huge blow to religion.
By the mid-1980s, the number of churches in the Soviet Union had dropped from nearly 80,000 to 7,500.
But when Golbachev came to power, this control began to loosen significantly.
In December 1990, the Supreme Soviet issued a decree making Christmas a public holiday, and in 1991 the Soviet Union officially celebrated Christmas.
This is the first time since 1928.
It was against this backdrop that the Soviet people had already begun celebrating Christmas.
The supplies that Dimitri brought back from China were for Christmas benefits for officers and soldiers, but of course, there were only benefits for officers, not soldiers.
About two-thirds of these goods were shipped according to the Soviet Union's price standards.
Dimitri followed his leader's instructions and took the remaining one-third to the market to exchange for some cash.
What Dmitri didn't expect was that when the remaining one-third of the supplies arrived at the market, he could exchange them for more than 400,000 rubles in cash.
This is basically equivalent to the cost of this batch of goods.
It was as if a magic door opened before Dimitri and his immediate superior.
It turns out that these supplies are so valuable in the market that they can be sold at three times the price.
With this reason in mind, it would be ridiculous for them to ask for the 500,000 rubles!
If these 500,000 rubles were exchanged for supplies, they could be sold for several million rubles back in Komsomolsk-on-Amur.
Dmitry's boss made a prompt decision. Not only did they plan to exchange all the remaining rubles for supplies, but they also planned to continue this source of income.
That's why Dimitri came again in person.
Dimitri wanted whatever he wanted. To Wan Feng, it was all the same whether it was goods, rubles, or even Chinese currency. As long as he didn't have any US dollars, it was fine. He didn't have any US dollars either.
"What goods do you want? Have you brought the delivery order?"
"Just send it to me again according to the last order."
Wan Feng immediately ordered Zhang Zhiyuan to send another batch of the goods that he had sent to Dimitri last time.
"Comrade Dimitri, even if you wanted the goods, you wouldn't have come here in person, would you? You're not a nobody. How could the KGB not notice you coming in and out like this?"
Dimitri smiled playfully. "Well, the current Soviet Union... let's not talk about this. The KGB no longer has the energy to deal with these messy things. They are all paying attention to what's going on in Europe. The Far East is now like a lawless zone in the Soviet Union."
Wan Feng understood that the Soviet Union had begun to fall into chaos, but it was only the beginning. In two years, the Soviet Union would become even more chaotic.
"Comrade Wan, I came here for a purpose. We plan to continue doing business with you in the future, and we are ready to discuss the possibility with you now."
Do they still want to continue doing business with me?
Wan Feng was a little surprised.
"Yes, if you like, we will continue to cooperate."
Wan Feng laughed at himself.
He was originally planning to just deal with the old man perfunctorily, but he didn't expect him to come and force him to continue.
Is this good luck or bad luck?
"Comrade Dimitri, I'm a businessman. Businessmen are driven by profit. To do business, both parties must have something to offer. Energy and oil are not within the scope of the transaction. I'm not interested in timber or anything like that. I've already traded steel, so I really can't think of anything else you have worth trading for me."
Dimitri chuckled and said, "Comrade Wan, we can't get those civilian items even if you ask us to trade. We don't have them. What we have are things that are not available in the civilian market."
Wan Feng pretended to be confused: "I don't understand what you mean."
"It's the same kind of thing we traded last time."
"Dimitri, you mean the munitions?"
Dimitri nodded slightly.
"Last time, I was entrusted with something, and I only acted when there was demand. But now no one is looking for me. Even if you bring a nuclear warhead to me, I can't get it out!"
"That's your business. It's not within our scope of consideration. Except for the nuclear warheads, we can get the rest as long as you are willing to trade."
To interpret Dimitri's words, apart from nuclear weapons, they can get anything, whether it is flying, swimming, or running on the ground. What on earth do they do to have such a wide range of resources?
"Dmitri, can I take this as bragging? As far as I know, the army, navy, and air force of all countries are not unified. How can you get them all? I don't believe it! Besides, if I asked for the Kuznetsov aircraft carrier, could you get it too?"
"That one is too big to get."
"Look, you're still bragging."
"Except for things as big as warships and airplanes. It's not that we can't make them, it's that they're too conspicuous and can't be covered up. Apart from these big things, everything else is fine. As for whether or not it's bragging, that's our business, so don't worry about asking."
That's right, all they have to do is get what you want. Why do you care whether they brag or not? Even if they brag to death, it has nothing to do with you.
"Dimitri, you and the people behind you should think carefully. This is an act of treason. Aren't you afraid that you will be liquidated by the country one day?"
"Alas!" Dimitri sighed.
It was rare to see Soviet people sighing. Wan Feng had dealt with Shamilov countless times, but had never seen him sigh.
"How could we not know what we're doing? But the Soviet Union, a powerful empire, is now invisible to us. Comrade Wan, we are in the military and hold high ranks. We know many things that ordinary people don't know. The reason we dare to do this so blatantly is because... there are some things that you foreigners cannot understand. There's no point in talking about this. Let's get back to the deal itself. Do you dare to accept our deal?"
Judging from the way Dimitri hesitated to speak, these Soviet soldiers more or less knew something about the Soviet Union's predicament.
The scary thing is that they also have a gloomy attitude towards the future of the Soviet Union. The Soviet Union is really finished.
Since Dimitri knows what he is doing, he should have nothing to worry about.
If the other party is not afraid, what is he afraid of?
"So, Dimitri, what chips do you want to offer in exchange?"
Dimitri asked for a piece of paper and a pen and quickly wrote something down.
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