Chapter 448 I'm Not a Landlady: Another World
Wang Xiao spent only three days in Moscow, omitting the beginning and end details.
In those three days, the first thing she did was to ensure that the $500 million was in her account before she officially announced her withdrawal from the auction of the communications investment company.
Gusinsky, Potanin, and Berezovsky breathed a sigh of relief, putting their hearts back into their chests.
To their dismay, Wang Xiao did not leave immediately, but instead spent two more days in Moscow.
They were on tenterhooks, their hearts pounding, subtly trying to find out what she was doing. Was she trying to extort more money? That would be going too far!
Wang Xiao really had no intention of getting something for nothing again; using the same trick twice would only make too many enemies.
Besides, how much money can you really extort? A pittance is utterly useless.
What she's busy with now is sending that $500 million to the Southeast Asian market again to take advantage of the Thai baht's plunge and make more money from the Dominoes dominoes.
This was the task she assigned to Zhou Liang.
As for Tang Yicheng, he shouldn't go back to Hong Kong to continue his revelry; he should go to South Korea in this sweltering heat.
Theoretically speaking, South Korea is quite close to Northeast China, so summers should be much better than in Hong Kong.
Brother Tang, just think of it as going there to cool off in the summer.
Tang Yicheng was completely bewildered: "Wait, whether it cools me off or not isn't the key point. The key point is, what am I going to South Korea for? To investigate their real estate market, wait for prices to plummet, and then buy at the bottom? Well, I have to warn you, that bottom might not be easy to buy."
Why?
As is widely known, South Korea's development history is a direct copy of another country—Japan. It's no exaggeration to say that it's a complete replica of Japan.
Japanese housing prices have been declining since 1991 and there seems to be no sign of recovery.
If South Korean housing prices follow the same pattern, buying at the bottom will turn into being trapped.
Wang Xiao shook his head: "No, I have no interest in South Korean real estate. When you go there, you'll lead a team to investigate and build relationships with their companies' creditors."
Tang Yicheng immediately perked up: "Who are we testing? Samsung?"
He didn't know many South Korean companies, and Samsung was the most prominent one.
Wang Xiao sighed: "Don't even dream about it. A company like Samsung has already made its way into the American spotlight. Even if it goes bankrupt, you can't buy it no matter how much money you have."
Therefore, she wanted to take over South Korea's chip and LCD screen industries, but she never set her sights on Samsung. Her targets have always been second- and third-tier chip and LCD screen companies.
For example, Hyundai Electronics' memory division, Daewoo Electronics' LCD screen production line, and Kia's display division are the divisions most likely to be abandoned by their parent companies when the industry is in decline, with large investments but no profits.
What Wang Xiao needs are their production lines, technology, and a complete team.
The most worthwhile investment is to buy when their value is severely underestimated.
Wang Xiao instructed him: "Remember, you need to establish relationships with these companies and the bankruptcy administration departments of major banks, and find out their debt structure and bottom line. You're not going there to negotiate, you're going there to make friends."
Tang Yicheng agreed, but then found it strange: "Why did you decide to send me? I don't know anything about finance."
“Zhou Liang has finished up his work in Southeast Asia and will go there to cooperate with you. He is still too idealistic and can't handle things on his own. He is your grand-disciple. His master couldn't teach him, so you, as his grandmaster, have to bring him out of his shell.”
Wang Xiao sighed, "Brother Tang, let me give you a heads-up. Everyone says the 21st century is the information age. If Wuzhou doesn't seize this opportunity, we might have to be landlords for at least the next ten years, just like Li Ka-shing."
Tang Yicheng was holding the phone, nodding as he listened, but he almost jumped up when he heard the last part.
Well, no, Li Ka-shing is, after all, Hong Kong's richest man, you could say he's richer than a country.
Why is it so disliked in her mouth?
Wang Xiao said confidently, "What has he done to promote human progress or truly benefit society? No. He just relies on the property, the port, and the berths to collect rent. He's just like those other Hong Kong tycoons. None of them would touch the real technology industry or do export trade, because those require high investment, have low profits, and are risky. How can they compare to the safety and money-making potential of collecting rent?"
Tang Yicheng was speechless. This was not just the situation in Hong Kong; in fact, it was similar throughout Southeast Asia.
In a sense, Western societies are not wrong to attack Southeast Asia as crony capitalism.
For example, Liem Sioe Liong of Indonesia, after Suharto seized power in a coup, took advantage of his good relationship with Suharto and the fact that as a Chinese person he had no foothold in Indonesia and was unlikely to threaten Suharto's rule, he obtained half of Indonesia's clove import monopoly and the monopoly on the import, processing and sales of flour from Suharto, and then made a fortune, even becoming one of the world's top ten richest people.
Take Lim Goh Tong of Malaysia, for example. He was also a very wealthy man. He made his fortune by obtaining the only casino license in Malaysia in 1969.
The situation is similar for the Ho family in Macau.
These people, having gained monopoly rights through their connections in the government, amassed great wealth and indeed became enthusiastic about real estate and banking, with the two sectors complementing each other.
Wang Xiao sighed: "Is this meaningful? I don't think it's meaningful at all. What's the difference between this and the landlords and rich people of the old society? If they just sit there collecting rent, wouldn't their lives be over by then? We can't live backwards in the 21st century!"
She absolutely couldn't stand it.
Her life needs constant upward mobility and continuous stimulation; if she were left to sit idly by and wait to die, she would truly perish.
She would feel no value or meaning in her existence, and even if she spent every day hunting bears on Sakhalin Island, she would not be able to quell the roaring beast called ambition within her.
So she had to go up, she had to stand at the front.
She pointed at Tang Yicheng: "Brother Tang, you've already retired from the military. In the foreseeable future, we probably won't see another full-scale war with real swords and spears in our lifetime. If you want to make military achievements on the battlefield, that's basically hopeless. Let's not ask for anything else, just to leave our names in the history of the Republic, isn't that enough?"
Tang Yicheng's blood was boiling from what she said.
During his years in Hong Kong, he really lived like he was retired. Although he did some smuggling work, such things were considered basic in this era.
Let's put it this way: just tell him which ships haven't carried smuggled goods, and he'll have to go and broaden his horizons.
Therefore, there was no thrilling or dramatic event, since everything had been arranged in advance; early retirement, on the other hand, was somewhat in line with that.
Tang Yicheng immediately promised, "I'll go to South Korea right away."
After hanging up the phone, Wang Xiao drew a line on a piece of paper to signify that the task was completed.
Ivanov brought her a slice of melon and fed her, then curiously looked at the paper she was writing on.
There was a diagram on it, with the Arabic numeral 5 corresponding to the abbreviation for South Korea, and he roughly understood what it meant.
20 → USA, he could guess that 20 were funds withdrawn from the Southeast Asian market.
But what does 15 represent? Where did this money come from?
He really doesn't have time to manage business matters now, but he knows the general flow of funds in the group. Wang has always been very open with him and would never hide anything from him.
$1.5 billion is no small sum; it couldn't just appear out of thin air.
He couldn't help but wonder, "What kind of money is this?"
Wang Xiao was petting a red panda with one hand, holding a pen in the other, and eating a melon. His voice was muffled: "Guess?"
Ivanov thought for a moment, unsure: "A mortgage loan?"
Given the current frenzy of hot money flowing into Moscow, it wouldn't be difficult to mortgage the Huaxia Commercial Street and the container market for $1.5 billion.
Wang Xiao shook his head: "Guess again."
A mortgage loan is possible, but not now.
If she were to do this now, no matter how discreet her actions, it would easily be detected by the ever-present oligarchs, leading to mass panic.
That would be a problem.
Ivanov pondered deeply and even ate a piece of melon himself.
Suddenly, a thought struck him, and he blurted out: "Gusinsky and Potanin."
Wang Xiao immediately kissed the corner of his mouth and praised him enthusiastically, "I knew my Ivan was the smartest and most capable."
Ivanov couldn't hide his smugness: "I guessed it. The starting bid for the communications investment company was $1.2 billion, but I estimate that the final price will definitely not be less than $1.5 billion."
Good heavens, when it was auctioned off in the latter half of 1995, nobody even glanced at it; I doubt anyone would be interested even at $50 million.
Its value has now increased 30 times, and it's being fought over so fiercely.
Wang Xiao kissed him on the cheek again and praised him earnestly, "So smart!"
Ivanov, flattered by the compliment, simply sat down next to her and leaned back: "So what are your plans with this $1.5 billion and $2 billion? The USA? Soros?"
Wang Xiao nodded and drew a circle on the paper: "Yes, let's go after him."
Everyone here is involved in this game. If he can manipulate Britain, Mexico, and Southeast Asia, he should also be prepared to be manipulated himself.
Ivanov chuckled and said with ill intent, "Let me tell you a secret: Soros invested $980 million in Potanin, which was the bid for the telecommunications investment company."
He called it a secret because Soros has consistently claimed that he never makes any investments in the places where he does charity work.
In Russia, he is known as an internationally renowned philanthropist.
Therefore, his actions were highly confidential.
But since Ivanov is the deputy prime minister, if he really wants to know what's happening in Russia, he always has his own channels.
Wang Xiao raised his eyebrows in surprise: "I thought he would bet on Gusinski."
As is well known, Soros was a friend of Berezovsky.
The latter had long been promoting his international financial tycoon friend in Moscow.
Back in 1995, Zovsky even flew to the United States to seek help from them, hoping to secure investment and participate in the Siberian Oil Company's auction.
However, Soros was worried that if the Communist Party of the Russian Federation came to power, his investment would be wasted, so he rejected Berezovsky's proposal.
Even so, it doesn't seem to have affected their friendship.
In the winter of 1996 at the Davos International Forum, Berezovsky emphasized to them that his powerful friend George Soros had just spoken to him about Zyuganov becoming the new president of Russia. Therefore, the oligarchs had to unite to protect the Kremlin.
Now, Soros has actually stood on the opposite side of Berezovsky. I wonder if the latter would spit out a mouthful of blood if he knew about this?
Ivanov shrugged: "Who knows?"
He didn't care.
His real point was that the money he got from Soros turned into a game of chance for Wang, and the target of his attack was Soros.
Just thinking about it makes me feel—it's terrible!
The two looked at each other and burst into laughter.
It definitely feels the best when we do bad things together.
After they finished showering and lay snuggled together in bed, Ivanov stroked Wang Xiao's back and asked hesitantly, "Are we really going to Siberia?"
Wang Xiao nodded: "Of course, staying cooped up in Moscow all the time isn't a good idea. We might as well do what we can do first."
Russia's economic problems cannot be solved in a day or two, even if a god were in charge.
It's currently in a state of short-sighted self-destruction, and you can't stop it yet.
Because the Asian financial crisis had already begun, Russia needed to seek stability at this time. Any slight disturbance could trigger a financial tsunami that would directly engulf the weak Russian economy.
The Muscovites are still on holiday right now, so instead of letting Ivanov stay put like a donkey pulling a millstone, it's better for him to go out for a walk.
She rolled over and lay on top of Ivanov, looking at him with a half-smile: "What's wrong? Is your work a secret? Are you trying to hide it from me?"
Ivanov kissed her helplessly: "I just feel so sorry for you."
Because of him, she can't stay in Moscow for long now, which is really unfair.
Wang Xiao laughed and joked, "If I stay any longer, I'm afraid Gusinsky and Potanin will be stressed."
She was puzzled. "I don't think I've done anything to them, so why are they all looking at me like I'm a tiger?"
Besides, aren't Russians a nation of warriors? They're not even afraid of bears, so why would they be afraid of tigers?
Ivanov laughed: "Because you're already very capable, you're the kind of person who can turn the tide."
Wang Xiao shook his head: "No, it's just information asymmetry and the black box effect. They don't understand public relations techniques, nor do they know how to operate them, so they just make up their own stories and imagine this process hidden in the black box as incredibly mysterious and magical. Then, because of the halo effect, they extended the point of public relations techniques to my whole person, mistakenly thinking that I am very capable in every aspect."
She turned her head and kissed Ivanov's earlobe. "Actually, it's not that amazing. The world is just a giant makeshift operation. When you joined the government, didn't you find it less magical? Most of the time, everyone's just doing the work of a plasterer, just covering things up. So, be confident, you're doing a great job."
Ivanov, like a little pig, grunted and snorted, "It's because you're so capable that you think others are as capable as you."
Wang Xiao smiled at him: "Okay, I admit I'm good. So, isn't my judgment also good? I think you're great right now, so you are great. Alright, no more divergent thinking, our awesome Ivan, now close your eyes and go to sleep! We still have to take a plane tomorrow."
If they don't leave soon, Berezovsky, who wants to know the movements of all Russians, might be driven crazy.
Wang Xiao hadn't decided yet whether to try and squeeze some money out of him. Perhaps it was best to hold off on letting him go crazy for now.
The next day, the two went to the airport and flew directly to a military airport in Siberia. After a half-hour car ride and a 45-minute train ride, they finally arrived at their destination, a collective farm that can be directly translated into Chinese as "bean pod".
Nemtsov specially went to the train station with local officials to pick them up.
He didn't take a vacation at all this summer, seizing every opportunity to conduct as many pilot projects as possible so that more farms and businesses could survive as quickly as possible.
Well, collective farms no longer practically exist.
After the collapse of the Soviet Union, the strict household registration system was legally broken.
As young and middle-aged people began to migrate to Europe in large numbers from Siberia and the Far East, only the elderly remained, who were simply unable to maintain the production of collective farms, and large tracts of land were thus abandoned.
In addition, Bean Pod Town already had a lot of black soil that had not yet been cultivated, so it was selected as a pilot area.
Upon seeing the brightly colored houses in the farm's residential area, Wang Xiao couldn't help but exclaim, "It's simply a rainbow kingdom!"
The local official, who had just begun to smile, exclaimed in surprise, "My God, this is a real-life Monet's Garden!"
Good heavens, these little houses, though all one story high, can't possibly be called country villas.
But they seem to grow in a fairytale forest, because the yard is full of blooming flowers, making it a perfect spot for taking stunning photos.
In July, the Siberian sun shines brightly, casting its light on these fields of flowers, creating a scene resembling unfolded postcards.
Local officials asked curiously, "Don't people in rural China grow flowers in their yards?"
He thought that planting flowers in the yard was a common practice everywhere.
Wang Xiao laughed out loud: "We do plant them, but not many. Most of the space is left empty to grow vegetables and fruits, such as a persimmon tree, a peach tree, or a trellis to grow grapes, with various vegetables growing underneath."
Nemtsov nodded: "That's right. They plant loofahs and beans on even the smallest plots of land in front of and behind their houses, and they grow them on the walls."
When he went to the Yangtze River Delta region for inspection, it was December. There were still old loofahs hanging on the walls of people's houses, ready to be used as tools for washing dishes.
He truly admired the Chinese people's ability to find every opportunity to grow vegetables anywhere. They not only had their own plots of land, but also wanted to grow several varieties in their yards.
Wang Xiao laughed again: "We like to eat, right? In China, when it comes to eating, drinking, and having fun, eating comes first. If you have some money, it's more important to eat first."
As she spoke, she exclaimed in surprise, "You guys are amazing! You managed to cover the land so quickly!"
Look over there, what are those large patches of lush greenery?
Neatly arranged, rustling in the wind, and pointing like sharp swords to the sky, are the slender and upright wheat plants.
Layer upon layer, swaying merrily in the summer breeze, like a velvet carpet covering the earth, are the lively and plump soybeans.
They grow so lush and full, with hardly any weeds in sight, which shows that they are carefully tended to on a daily basis.
This is very rare.
Many arable lands in Russia, due to insufficient care, poor seed quality, and inadequate farming methods, are failing to thrive in the fertile black soil, resulting in low yields.
Wang Xiao asked curiously, "How did you manage to get them back to farming? Was it just by attracting them with the jobs offered by the farm company?"
“No.” Nemtsov shook his head and gestured to Ivanov, who was now a comrade in the same trench. “It was Ivanov who got someone to take care of the land first.”
What does it mean that it's been taken care of?
The land was plowed with a tractor, base fertilizer was applied, seeds were sown, and irrigation wells were dug nearby. Then, when the seeds sprouted and grew to about a finger's length, they were handed over to the original farmers of the farm and residents of the nearby town.
Ivanov explained, “We have investigated and found that the reason why people are unwilling to come to the countryside to reclaim wasteland is not because they really hate farming and don’t want to touch it, but because they are unable to invest in reclaiming wasteland and are afraid of losing money.”
To reclaim land, you need at least a tractor, otherwise how can you reclaim at least several hundred square meters of land?
Xiao Gao and Xiao Zhao sighed inwardly, feeling that the Soviet Union had been too lenient with its people.
If this were in their hometown, such fertile land, where even a handful of soil could ooze oil, would be theirs to cultivate once it was cleared, and for the first three years, they wouldn't have to pay a single penny of tax. Everyone would fight tooth and nail to come and cultivate it.
But in Russia, the government has to dig rivers, build wells, reclaim land, and sow seeds to ensure they sprout before anyone can take over.
And so, their boss praised Mr. Ivanov to a standstill: "You're amazing! You're really amazing! You grasp the main problem immediately and get straight to solving it, instead of having endless meetings and wasting time."
If there weren't other people around, she would have hugged him and kissed him a lot.
Ivanov was embarrassed by her praise, but couldn't help feeling a little proud: "I'm afraid of delaying the farming season, let's do it first and see what happens."
Actually, he was too lazy to argue with anyone else, and he found that doing it this way was more efficient.
Because the farmers who came to cultivate the land were recruited from China, he directly converted the subsidies originally budgeted for Russian land reclamation into wages and paid them to these Chinese farmers. This not only made the progress faster but also saved a lot of trouble.
Even the vegetable gardens behind the houses they just saw were cultivated with the help of Chinese farmers he found, and the seeds were planted by them.
Then they went to nearby towns and, on a family-by-family basis, started a simple and brutal allocation process—which plot of farmland did they want? Which vegetable patch did they want? Once they got it, they signed a contract guaranteeing that they would not abandon the land for three years.
After the three-year tax exemption period, the contractor will decide whether or not to continue planting.
It was precisely this spirit of giving away freebies that revitalized this land in a short period of time.
Wang Xiao nodded vigorously in affirmation: "Three years from now, they will definitely be willing to continue planting."
Putting everything else aside, at least half an acre of vegetable garden per family can basically guarantee the vegetable needs of the whole family.
Do you know how outrageous the prices of vegetables are in Russia?
In Moscow, for example, she saw in last month's newspaper that in ordinary markets, cabbage cost 15,000 to 18,000 rubles per kilogram, which is equivalent to 2.6 to 3 US dollars; cucumbers cost 8,000 to 10,000 rubles per kilogram, which is 1.22 to 1.72 US dollars; and even new potatoes cost 1.7 US dollars per kilogram.
Don't assume that prices in remote areas will be much cheaper. Often, due to inconvenient transportation and high shipping costs, prices are actually higher.
With farmland and vegetable gardens, at least feeding the family won't be a problem.
Moreover, there is a train here, and town residents can take the train every weekend to take care of the farmland and vegetable gardens.
It can simply be called perfect.
She asked with great interest, "I didn't really look at the vegetable garden earlier. What kinds of vegetables are planted there?"
Overwhelmed with curiosity, she walked back, and Ivanov, who was also visiting for the first time, followed her.
When he saw the vegetable garden this time, he was amazed: "Why are there bricks stacked on top of it?"
Nemtsov asked in surprise, "Don't you know? Wasn't it you who ordered the Chinese farmers to do it?"
Local officials quickly explained, "They said that planting vegetables with bricks in the gaps is the best way to retain water, moisture, and fertilizer. You only need to water them once a week, and you don't have to worry about them drying out. They said that this is how vegetables are grown in Sakhalin Oblast, and you don't even need to weed, which is very convenient. I think the results are quite good."
Wang Xiao laughed: "They really know how to adapt to changing circumstances."
Tomatoes, cucumbers, lettuce, cabbage, bok choy, broccoli, kale, radishes, carrots, and garlic are all grown in the cracks between the bricks. Oh, and there are also zucchini and bell peppers.
The rest consisted of large stalks of beets, cilantro, spinach, dill, parsley, and arugula, as well as onions, an essential part of Russian cuisine—truly a rich variety.
That's enough for a family to eat.
In the distance came the sound of a rooster crowing and the sputtering of a tractor.
Wang Xiao found it quite strange. It wasn't even harvest time in Siberia yet in July, so what were the tractors busy doing?
Nemtsov has been here for the past few days and knows everything: "They cleared the land themselves, wanting to grow more crops and raise chickens, ducks, and livestock."
Town residents can only come here on weekends to tend to their vegetable gardens, so it's naturally inconvenient for them to raise poultry and livestock here.
However, the farm's native inhabitants owned more land, growing potatoes, carrots, beets, alfalfa, oats, and the like to raise livestock and ensure their own egg and meat supply.
So, urban residents with retired elderly family members were tempted to live in the countryside, cultivate more land, and raise chickens, ducks, or even pigs.
Doing this in July is indeed a bit late, but some people still choose to get started, even if it's just to plant a season of leafy vegetables before the cold winter arrives.
Wang Xiao excitedly tugged at Ivanov's arm: "Look, what a great thing you've done!"
Many things require someone to take the lead; this is the "first sheep effect." Once someone takes the lead, others will look on with envy and follow suit.
She originally wanted to watch people reclaim wasteland, but alas, she didn't possess the talent of the Chinese people; she couldn't plant, she could only watch.
When she got halfway there, she heard the sound of rushing water, which distracted her again.
This time, a local official explained to her: "The power station is a hydroelectric power station, supplying the farm's living and production needs."
During Stalin's era, there was a slogan in the Soviet Union: "One power plant for every collective farm!"
So almost overnight, thousands of small hydroelectric power stations sprang up across Soviet territory, quickly solving the energy shortage problem.
However, by the Khrushchev era, the Soviet Union had become a genuine industrial nation. The rise of various large-scale hydroelectric and thermal power plants made small hydroelectric power plants a symbol of backwardness, and they were subsequently abandoned one after another.
During his recent visit to China, Nemtsov discovered that there are still many small and medium-sized hydropower stations in the rural areas of the Yangtze River Delta region.
Their existence has effectively alleviated the problem of insufficient power supply in rural areas and ensured local industrial production.
So after Nemtsov returned to Russia, he reported to Ivanov that small hydroelectric power stations should be promoted again in rural areas.
This approach is low-cost and quick to implement, taking only a month or two at most, making it much more practical than completely overhauling the power supply system.
Wang Xiao listened and nodded. Energy supply is a great test of a country's comprehensive infrastructure capabilities. Given Russia's current situation, it is indeed unrealistic to expect to improve it in a short period of time.
Why not use a small hydroelectric power station first? It won't matter if there are no fish or shrimp.
But she had one question: "What if it freezes in winter?"
In the Yangtze River Delta region, even if the water surface does freeze in winter, it is basically a static surface, and the ice is thin.
It's completely incomparable to Siberia.
Ivanov and Nemtsov both laughed: "Most people go back to the city in winter, so electricity usage decreases."
There's no other way; Siberia is just too cold, and the heating in rural areas isn't working, so most people have to go back to the city to get through the coldest time of the year.
Nemtsov explained, "It will be fine once the natural gas conversion project is completed."
Ivanov's purpose in coming here was to use his position as deputy prime minister to forcefully push this matter forward; otherwise, the local regional governments would not cooperate with Nemtsov's actions at all, dragging things out day after day.
Wang Xiao understood that doing anything could potentially infringe upon the interests of those with vested interests, or that those involved might find the action troublesome and not want to get involved.
Without strong pressure, many things simply cannot be pushed forward.
But she was curious about one thing: "What will happen to the poultry and livestock that these people raise if they go back to the city?"
The local officials laughed: "Either kill it and eat it, or leave it as feed and let it stay at the service center here."
Wang Xiao wanted to ask more questions about the service center.
A person staggered along the riverbank.
His temples were gray, his beard long, and he held a canteen in his hand. He looked Ivanov up and down with a critical eye, then grinned, revealing a smile that was almost mocking: "Your Excellency, Deputy Prime Minister, are you really letting me manage the hydroelectric power station?"
Ivanov glanced instinctively at Nemtsov, who seemed a little impatient: "Of course, is there a problem? Who here knows more about hydroelectric power stations than you?"
The local hydroelectric power station expert laughed as if he had heard the most outrageous joke in the world: "Oh, esteemed gentlemen, don't you know? I am a Communist! You actually let a Communist manage a hydroelectric power station that is so vital to you!"
Wang Xiao stopped laughing.
Following the Communist Party of the Russian Federation's (CPRF) defeat in the election last year, the CPRF held its Fourth Congress in April this year. The resolutions and speeches adopted at the Congress emphasized that the CPRF should "turn to the offensive" and more actively implement "non-parliamentary methods of struggle".
What exactly is the method? Opinions vary.
Was this veteran Party member drunk and looking for trouble?
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[Let me see] Good morning! Writing this post made me realize that I have a very serious procrastination problem.
The vegetable prices mentioned in this article are referenced from "A Glimpse into the Moscow Market" in the July 1997 issue of "Eastern Europe and Central Asia Market Research," written by Xifeng. At that time, one US dollar in Moscow was only equivalent to one Chinese yuan, and its purchasing power was even less than that of one Chinese yuan in China.
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