"Money, money, money, your mind is full of money now," Jin Lulu and Zhao Guodong divorced. Fearing what others would say, she followed Zhao Xiaohai to the Soviet Union and continued to yell, "I see, you are almost obsessed with money and can't get out."
When it comes to big cities in the Soviet Far East, there are definitely not many of them, and among them, Irkutsk can definitely be counted as number one. This city in the heart of the Far East has benefited a lot from border trade activities with China, and its urban development is naturally very rapid.
Looking back historically, China and Russia had already established a small trade relationship across the Heilongjiang River as early as 1957, though this relationship was short-lived. With the thawing of diplomatic relations between the two countries in 1983, border trade began to re-emerge. However, until 1986, this trade was largely illegal and semi-smuggled. Zhao Xiaohai knew that even in 1986, when he was there, smuggling still dominated trade along the Sino-Russian border. The government-approved exports were far from sufficient to meet Russian demand, and trade tariffs were also very high.
At that time, China had just begun its comprehensive reform and opening-up policy, and its systems were quite imperfect. Smuggling, an illegal trade, was rampant not only along the Sino-Russian border but also in other coastal and border areas. Customs officials, who received bribes, were happy to turn a blind eye to this illegal trade because there were no explicit national laws restricting it.
A memory of looking up information in his previous life aroused Zhao Xiaohai's great interest. The first thing he did when he arrived in Irkutsk this time was to reconnect the thread he saw in the information from his previous life.
Military smuggling? What's wrong with military smuggling? Zhao Xiaohai had already made up his mind. Not only would he use the Soviet border guards to smuggle goods, he would also find a way to contact higher-level Soviet officers in the future. If possible, he even wanted to smuggle an entire train of goods.
More importantly, the cargo Zhao Xiaohai intended to transport—cigarettes worth 500,000 rubles—would have required connections to enter the Soviet Union. The Soviet government had always implemented tobacco control, restricting imports. Even with the current reforms, this ban persisted. In the Soviet Union today, selling cigarettes privately was illegal, and those caught would be heavily fined.
Of course, the more the government prohibits the private sale of goods, the higher the profits, and this will never change. The Soviet Union is located in the far north, and tobacco and alcohol have always been indispensable consumer goods in Soviet life. State policy strictly restricts the sale of tobacco, but cannot prohibit private trade. Therefore, private goods have become the only way for smokers to relieve their addiction.
As far as Zhao Xiaohai knew, on the Soviet black market, one avoirdupois ounce (the internationally accepted unit of weight: one ounce = 28.350 grams) of medium-quality tobacco cost between 80 and 150 rubles. In China, anyone who dared to sell ordinary tobacco for a few dozen grams for one or two hundred yuan would probably be beaten to death.
As for finished cigarettes, their prices on the Soviet black market were even higher. During this period, the most popular cigarettes sold on the black market in the Soviet Far East were essentially from China. Domestic cigarettes like "Da Qianmen" and "Da Fu Zi," which cost 20 cents a pack, were sold for 20 rubles a pack; "Beidaihe," "Evergrande," and "Shanhaiguan," which cost 1 yuan a pack, were sold for 120 to 150 rubles a pack; and "Ashima" and "Five Golden Flowers," which cost 2.5 yuan a pack, were sold for 400 to 470 rubles a pack. As for foreign-made cigarettes like "Sanwu," "Hilton," and "Marlboro," there was no fixed price on the black market because there was no demand for them. Even if someone had them, they wouldn't dare sell them on the black market—smuggling Western cigarettes was not just a matter of getting caught.
Zhao Xiaohai was incredibly bold. He came prepared, even making a desperate move. The cigarettes he smuggled were all finished cigarettes, including ten cartons of Marlboro. If such a shipment of smuggled cigarettes had been intercepted in China, it would have been no problem, as he had a tobacco business license issued by the Green City Tobacco Monopoly Bureau. However, if he were caught by Soviet police, it would have been troublesome. Zhao Xiaohai probably wouldn't have been able to resolve the situation without spending several years in a "hardship camp."
Because of this, Zhao Xiaohai didn't bring the goods directly this time. Instead, he had a few trusted associates seal the goods in the train compartment and cover it with canned goods. As for the next step in selling the goods, Zhao Xiaohai had already made up his mind. He believed that with the skills of the local Soviet executives, it would not be difficult to sell the goods in a short period of time. The key was how much he was willing to pay. Hehe, I believe that those ten boxes of Marlboro will be enough to open the eyes of these money-hungry old Russians.
Of course, one thing is very important, that is, Zhao Xiaohai did not intend to make much money from this smuggling. His real purpose was to establish relationships. He wanted his partners to understand that he, Zhao Xiaohai, was a very courageous person - a trader who was courageous enough to bring them huge wealth.
"Brother, isn't the cost of living here too high? Ninety-five rubles a night. Let's go somewhere else." Li Qiang said nervously, looking at the luxurious hotel room in front of him. "I think the 'Susha Hotel' we just saw is pretty good. It has convenient transportation, is cheap, and..."
Zhao Xiaohai casually handed the waiter who was carrying the luggage two ten-ruble tips and sent him out of the room. He closed the door and then said with a smile: "Okay, Qiangzi, don't be so stingy. You know, we are here to do something important this time. If we don't stay in this high-end hotel, how can we hold back those greedy Russians?"
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