Chapter 103: The Timing Is Just Right

The train chugged along through the snowy plains, and Xu Maohé's face was as long as a shoe sole.

Li Xian, worried that Xu Maohé might act out due to past grievances, tried to offer some words of comfort, but it only led to Xu Maohé's continued sighs.

According to Xu Maohé, he had long since moved past the loss of over a million RMB; it was just the humiliation he couldn't swallow. He said he wanted to "break arms and legs," but if such a conflict were to arise on this train, it would ruin his business as a middleman.

Seeing that Xu Maohé still had some level of rationality, Li Xian felt relieved.

Even though the customs and order of this era were gradually disintegrating, some rules still stubbornly held sway. Otherwise, such a scenario, where two rival groups would hold back their grievances due to an outsider's words, wouldn't occur.

After traveling for a full day and night, the train officially entered Russia. Li Xian then understood why this transport route was called the Golden Line.

The first stop in Russia was Polgar, which was essentially a temporary checkpoint for border inspection.

Before the train even reached the station, the middlemen on board began organizing their goods and lining up in the carriages. As soon as the train came to a stop, Li Xian was stunned—looking out over the tiny platform, it was packed with people!

The middlemen disembarked like dumplings falling out of a pot. As soon as they opened their packages, they were swarmed by a crowd of Russian vendors. These vendors didn't care what the middlemen were selling; each of them waved bundles of rubles, asked the price, and immediately started filling plastic bags.

The scene was as if money was no object.

Li Xian had heard about the imbalance in Russia's industrial foundation after the dissolution of the Soviet Union—heavy industry was abundant, but light industry was extremely weak. However, the scene before him was beyond his expectations. Even if light industry was weak, was it really this severe?

To someone unfamiliar with trade, it looked like a scene from primitive times with people scrambling for food!

The train stayed at the small station for over forty minutes. By the time it departed again, many of the goods the middlemen had brought were already gone.

Seeing this, Li Xian slapped his thigh.

Damn, what a loss.

If he had known, he would have brought a few hundred down jackets himself!

Seeing Li Xian's frustration, Xu Maohé finally smiled. "Don't worry, this is just small potatoes. Wait until we get to Chita, Ulan-Ude, and Irkutsk. That's where it gets exciting!"

After over six hours, the train arrived at Chita.

Li Xian had heard of this place before. He remembered there was a mysterious military exercise here a few years ago, and some Russian netizens made a thermal imaging "zombie event" video, causing a sensation and panic. It was later confirmed to be fake.

But now, this place had no military bases or nuclear power plants; it was just a small industrial city on the Russian frontier.

By the time the train arrived, it was already past seven in the evening. The temperature was shockingly low, and even with a wool military coat, Li Xian felt a chill in his back, as if the breath he exhaled immediately turned to ice. His nose felt painfully frozen.

Yet, outside the station, it was exceptionally lively.

Rather than calling it a station, it would be more fitting to call it a market. Rows of containers lined both sides of the road, brightly lit with electrical wires, and a dense crowd was waiting.

Xu Maohé, who had not yet moved his goods, signaled his helpers, and everyone worked together to unload a large package, about as tall as a person. Xu Maohé walked straight to a container, paid a 200 USD rental fee, and then opened the package.

What does it mean to pack five hundred down jackets with a compression machine?

When the knife cut open a slit, the down jackets burst out like popping popcorn, unfolding with a "bang."

With the container established, a large crowd gathered around. There were Russians and Chinese, but these people were not buyers; they were translators. Xu Maohé picked a Chinese person with black-framed glasses and a gray down jacket from the crowd and stood by the stall, lighting a cigarette.

Before long, some genuine buyers arrived. Conversations in rapid, indistinct chatter filled the air.

"Boss, he's asking if two thousand binoculars can be exchanged for this batch of down jackets." A Russian in a military coat approached the stall and said something, which the translator immediately relayed to Xu Maohé.

"Tell him to go cool off somewhere!"

Xu Maohé casually replied and smiled at Li Xian. "Little brother, this is the Chita big market. Here, your goods have no price; it's barter! Get it right, one deal could get you a Santana car. It's not bragging; it's really exciting!"

Looking at the bustling crowd and the noisy conversations at the stalls, Li Xian believed it.

Soon, a Russian businessman reached an agreement with Xu Maohé. The exchange process was a bit slow, so Li Xian's attention wandered elsewhere. When he turned back, Xu Maohé had already sealed up the goods.

"Hey? Did it work out?"

Li Xian quickly asked.

Xu Maohé nodded, smiling, and held up two fingers, making a peace sign. "Twenty Ural motorcycles. Damn it, they're not easy to transport back."

Li Xian and Wang Tiecheng's jaws dropped.

Ural, the Ural motorcycle from Russia, was a product from the 1950s and 60s. Despite its age, it was known for its classic design and superior performance, able to reach over a hundred miles per hour on the highway.

Li Xian had seen this motorcycle at a dealership when buying a Happiness 250 before; it sold for over 4,000 RMB domestically.

How much are Xu Maohé's down jackets worth? In any garment factory in Harbin, a thousand RMB could get a large package! For these five hundred down jackets, Li Xian strongly suspected they weren't worth five thousand RMB.

The profit was enormous!

Since it was a barter deal, the agreement was only preliminary. The actual transaction would be completed the next day when the motorcycles were delivered.

Xu Maohé had his helpers sit and rest, and directly took Li Xian and Wang Tiecheng with him and the translator in a taxi to the city. On the way, Li Xian learned that the translator's name was Huang He, a Chinese who had settled in Russia during the Soviet era. He used to work as a text editor at a newspaper but had been struggling in recent years and now made a living at the big market.

Besides translating, Huang He also rented out his home as a temporary hotel and restaurant for middlemen.

At Huang He's home, Li Xian was stunned when he saw Huang He's wife, whose backside was larger than the chair, and then the couple's photos from their youth. 

It was incredibly deceptive; the extent of the physical changes was almost unbelievable. However, Huang He's daughter resembled a more refined Russian woman and was quite attractive.

Well, even bamboo can produce fine shoots.

At the dinner table, Xu Maohé chewed on dry black bread and vaguely asked Li Xian, "Little brother, you're so secretive and didn't bring any goods. What kind of business are you planning?"

At that moment, the radio on the table broadcasted a rather formal announcement. Upon hearing the broadcast, Huang He cursed loudly in Russian.

His wife and daughter looked helpless.

Li Xian, curious, asked, "Old Huang, what's this about?"

"Ah, Gaidar is up to his tricks again. He says he's giving out some subscription vouchers to residents, which can be used to buy shares of some factories. But those factories are all defunct now; what's the use of those vouchers?"

Hearing this, Li Xian's spirits were lifted!

He only knew the general events of the economic shock plan but didn't know the specific dates and processes. Now, hearing this broadcast, he realized… the timing of his visit was just right!