Chapter 82: The Ruble is invalid

On 15 August 2012, the stand-off at the entrance to the Cherv Market in the capital of the North Russian Republic continued between the North Russian Republic Law Enforcement Bureau and the general public of North Russia, as well as the Chinese merchants in the market.

The vehicles of the law enforcement bureau have been surrounding the entrance to the Cherv Market for more than an hour. As the time drags on, more and more people gather here, including many domestic and foreign journalists. This makes the director of the law enforcement bureau feel very anxious, because his task today is to shut down the market. However, if he not only fails to complete his task, but also allows foreign media to film the incident, the consequences will be unimaginable.

In this state of anxiety, the law enforcement director shouted, 'Today, no matter what, this illegal Chelf Market must be shut down. This is an order personally issued by the president. Anyone who obstructs will be resisting violence. Our law enforcement agency has the right to use all necessary means!'

On the other side, the leader, Konong, shouted in response, 'The Chelf Market must not be closed! Even if it is an order issued by the president, we will not allow it! If you really want to forcibly close down this market, then please trample over my dead body!'

Following Konon, the other elderly people from Northern Russia who had come with him also stood in front of the Chelf Market, not backing down.

The head of the law enforcement bureau was furious. Pointing at Konon, he shouted, 'Konon, old man, I know you are very well-respected in Krisco, and I respect you, so I let you off. But that is no reason for you to shout at the law enforcement bureau. Don't think I'm really afraid to arrest you. I just don't want to cause too much conflict. I hope to resolve this matter smoothly!'

Konon also pointed back and said, 'If you are just a bureaucrat, then please take back your respect. I don't need the respect of a bureaucrat at all. I still have the same thing to say. The Cherv Market is the savior of our entire North Russia. If it weren't for this place and these Chinese people, most North Russians would not have survived the year. They saved us. We North Russians must never be ungrateful!'

As soon as Konon finished speaking, a photo suddenly appeared on the big screen at the entrance to a shopping mall not far away. It was a picture of a raggedy old North Russian man, holding a few old rubles in his hands, looking up at the sky with tears in his eyes and a dazed expression.

When he saw the photo being released, Konon pointed at it and said, 'Do you see? This photo is a news photo that won an award in the United States twenty years ago. This photo was the most representative photo of Northern Russia back then. At that time, all of us Northern Russians looked like this. If there had been no Cherv Market and no Chinese businessmen, we would all be dead, and there would be no one like you.'

Konong became more and more agitated as he spoke, his whole body shaking uncontrollably: 'But now that you've grown up, you want to shut this place down for some ridiculous reason. You're simply ungrateful bastards!'

Not only Konong, but also the other elderly Northern Russians who had followed him, shouted at the top of their lungs: 'Yes, we must never let down our Chinese benefactors, we must not be ungrateful bastards!'

In the midst of the crowd, some young people asked the people around them in a daze, 'What really happened back then? Why is Mr. Konon so agitated with these people?'

Only some older people would answer with tears in their eyes, 'That was a time when people were eating each other. When everyone, including the president, gave up on us and drove us to our deaths, it was these Chinese people who saved us with their hands.'

...

Let's go back to 7th July 1989. According to the lunar calendar, this was the beginning of the hottest time of the year, and it was no different in North Russia. However, despite the temperature of 20 degrees Celsius, none of the North Russians in Krisco felt warm. Instead, everyone felt a deep sense of coldness in their hearts. The reason was none other than an order issued by the North Russian authorities that morning.

'Due to the current economic situation in the country, President Nikolic has issued a presidential decree announcing the abolition of the old ruble and the issuance of a new ruble. All North Russians are requested to go to designated banks with their ID cards within three days to exchange them for new rubles. After three days, all old rubles will cease to be legal tender.'

This news was broadcast over the radio, and suddenly the entire lively Gele Street became quiet. Some of them kept their previous posture, looking up at the radio above their heads, while others stood there in a daze with the radio in their hands. No matter what posture they were in, the confusion and disbelief in their eyes was hard to hide.

'What does this broadcast mean? Does it mean that the rubles in our hands will no longer be valid and will no longer be considered money?'

One person asked the person next to him, confused, and the other replied, 'I don't understand either, but that's what it sounds like on the radio. Otherwise, they wouldn't be asking us to exchange our rubles for the new ones. But what's wrong with these rubles? Why are they suddenly invalid? What's the difference between the new rubles and these old ones, and why do we have to exchange the old ones for the new ones?'

The man answered, but his tone was still full of confusion, and his question was exactly the same as the one on Grosse Straße and in the hearts of all Krško people.

But their confusion and questions are normal. Leaving aside the history of the issuance of the ruble, just these people from northern Russia have been using the ruble since birth, whether they go shopping, pay the electricity bill, go travelling, or even go abroad. The ruble is still widely accepted and has great value in many places.

Therefore, in the eyes of many people, the ruble is a symbol of their lives. Now suddenly there is an announcement on the radio that the ruble is to be abolished, how can they accept this?

It's the same as if the central government suddenly announced that the renminbi would be abolished after twenty years. After all, not everyone is an economic expert. Everyone is used to a certain way of life and a certain currency. At this time, if you suddenly ask them to change, they won't be able to adapt.

Among the crowd, there was an elderly northern Russian woman. She was wearing dirty clothes with holes in many places. Her action at this time was to stop and take a can to the customer opposite her, obviously making a trade.

Although Griboedova Street is similar in status to Chang'an Avenue, since the economic crisis broke out, this central street in Krisko has become a hodgepodge market where all the North Russians hawk their goods. This old North Russian woman is also an ordinary member of this army of traders. She really had no money left at home, and wanted to buy a summer dress for her grandson, so she took the few tins she had left and went out to sell them.

She was lucky. She soon had a buyer for her cans on Gorodskaya Street, but just as she was about to sell the last can, she heard the news like a bolt from the blue.

The ruble was to be abolished and become invalid?

The old woman from Northern Russia was suddenly at a loss. Because she had gone to the Cherniv market to buy clothes, the cans she sold today were in rubles. But now the radio suddenly announced that the ruble would be abolished.

'Can we not do this deal? I won't sell the cans,'

the old woman from Northern Russia said to the person in front of her. But the person was quicker, and as soon as the old woman had finished speaking, he took the cans from her with a firm hand and quickly slipped a few old rubles into her hand, saying, 'No, I've already bought these cans.'

The old Russian woman didn't want to sell, but she was old and frail, while the young man opposite her was strong and fit. She simply couldn't compete with him, so she had to say, 'But the radio just said that the ruble has been abolished, so how can you still sell it?'

The young man didn't listen at all: 'That's got nothing to do with me. We agreed to trade in rubles, and I'm not cheating you. Now the ruble is no longer valid. You'll have to go and talk to the President, he's the one who said it was abolished.'

The old woman from Northern Russia wanted to say something else, but the young man simply did not give her the chance and ran off with the can, leaving the old woman standing there, looking at the young man's back as he ran away, and feeling confused as she held the rubles she had just received.

'Hey, what are you daydreaming about? The young man has already run away, and didn't you hear the announcement just now? The President has already issued an order, so these rubles will be worthless in the future!'

Someone next to her reminded the old woman from northern Russia, but she still felt at a loss. If you think about it logically, the young man who ran away is indeed hateful, but should she hate the young man now? There seems to be no reason to think about it, because they did agree to trade in rubles at the beginning, and the young man did not deceive her about anything.

As she thinks this, she looks down at the rubles in her hands and tears involuntarily well up in her eyes.

This old woman from northern Russia doesn't understand why the rubles she has used all her life have suddenly become worthless because of a radio broadcast today. Why is it so hard for her to buy her grandson a summer shirt? Why is it that she has already used up the last of her canned food and still can't do it? What is wrong with this country? Is it really trying to push people to the brink?

The old woman from Northern Russia stood there silently crying. It was clearly summer now, and she was already wearing short sleeves on the street, but now in her heart, there was an icy coldness that penetrated to the bone.

At that moment, there was a click, and a passing American journalist took a picture of the old woman from Northern Russia.

Although he was not a very good reporter, at this time he could keenly sense the situation of this old woman in northern Russia, and that was the state of the entire Gele Street and even the entire Krisco. After hearing that the authorities in northern Russia had forced the replacement of the new ruble, they were so confused and at a loss as to what to do, and it had even disrupted their lives.

The old ruble is no longer valid, what should they do?

This is the same thought in the minds of every ordinary North Russian at this moment, and just at this time a propaganda car drove onto the street, spreading the surprising news.