Rebirth: My 80s

Chapter 1162 New Master
The "Red House" villa changed hands and several foreigners moved in. It has become the most discussed topic in Sureslavl, a small town 30 kilometers away from Moscow, in recent days, second only to survival issues such as "bread is out of stock again" and "wine prices have increased again."

The main thing is that this "Red House" is the most imposing private building in the area and a symbol of local fame and wealth.

The original owner of the Red House was the Fedorov family. Father Fedorov was awarded the "Hero Medal" during the Great Patriotic War. He spent his whole life in military service and had a great record of military achievements, which made him respected by others.

Little Fedorov did not inherit his father's bravery. It is said that he was thrown into the military camp by his father when he was young, and finally cried for his parents. Fedorov's father was disappointed, but also realized that if he sent his only son to the battlefield, he would not survive more than three days, so he stopped forcing him to drink water.

Although young Fedorov did not have the bearing of a general, he had a great business mind. With the protection of his father, he skirted the rules to run his business and made a lot of money. He also took good care of the elders and fellow villagers. For example, if someone had an emergency and came to him to borrow some money, he would usually not refuse.

But who would have thought that things in this world are unpredictable.

Even the wealthy and powerful Fedorov family had its day of decline, and even their old home property was sold off.

“I heard he was Chinese.”

“Is it true that Chinese people are so rich?”

"Which country doesn't have a few rich people? Go to Moscow and take a look. Now all those who can provide the scarce materials are Chinese. I'm afraid the big businessmen among the Chinese vendors will also try to curry favor with the powerful people in Moscow."

"I heard that in China, many families have too much vegetables and they can't even eat them all until they rot. I envy them so much that I end up feeding them to pigs and chickens..."

"Is this true?! Asshole, don't let me see you!"

"I'm getting off topic. Let me tell you, yesterday evening, a truck drove into the Red House. It passed through the town. I could smell a sweet aroma from a long distance away. It was probably a truck full of food!"

"Yes, I saw it too. There was a clanging sound mixed in with the car's roar. The car must be loaded with alcohol!"

...

The sun was high in the sky, but the light was dim and hazy, unable to shed much warmth.

It was the shopping time after breakfast, and the only street in the town of Sureslavl was crowded with people. A group of people gathered outside the Welsh tavern, which was open but had no hard goods to sell, and they were talking and discussing.

At the base of the wall under the eaves of the tavern, a lazy man sleeping on the floor opened his eyes immediately after hearing the word "wine".

Suwa, the pastor's daughter, walked from the beginning of the street to the end of the street, and then from the end of the street to the beginning of the street. After doing this twice, the bamboo basket on her arm was still empty.

This attracted many young men to come up and chat with her.

Suwa, who was privately called the "Pearl of the Town", had her own way to get rid of them. She didn't say anything, but just smiled sweetly and moved the empty vegetable basket from her left hand to her right hand.

They were all acquaintances and would not be rude or unreasonable. After a shy smile, they hurriedly said goodbye.

Even the landlords don’t have surplus food these days, let alone them who have no say in their own lives at home?

The Mayakovsky family has a lot of mouths to feed. Suva's father, Pastor Yevgeny, adopted five orphans. Although the church provides subsidies, it is not certain that they can buy supplies even if they have money at the moment.

This is Suwa’s current predicament.

Our family hasn’t eaten vegetables for a long time, and we don’t even dare to hope for fruits. My younger brothers and sisters are still young and need a balanced nutrition. Especially when they lack vitamins, it will cause many harms and affect their physical development.

However, after searching for a long time, she didn't find any vegetable leaves, let alone a can of vegetables.

"Ms. Mayakovsky, I have a can of canned vegetables, but it's a few days past its expiration date. Do you want some?"

Someone came up to Suwa and whispered.

"Of course! Oh, Mrs. Thom, thank you so much!"

Suwa was overjoyed. It wouldn't have much impact if the canned food was a few days past its expiration date. When she was working in a research institute in Moscow, she was rich and had plenty of free time. She once saw a can of beef from World War II in a museum. The staff said it was still edible and at least wouldn't poison people.

Mrs. Tom obviously didn't have the can of canned food with her, and she didn't seem to want to move. Souwa immediately realized that it was too early to be happy. She held a few crumpled banknotes in her left hand, which was warmed in the side pocket of her brown woolen coat, and asked cautiously:
"Mrs. Tom, how much money would you give me?"

"That's a 500g can of imported carrots. My husband... met a kind employer and earned it by working. Yes, that's it. The same size of cans now sell for rubles in the city, and it's hard to buy."

So much for Mrs. Tom.

Suwa's snow-white and tender neck moved a little, and she thought that the price had increased again, which was too unreasonable.

Her father's monthly salary was only enough to buy five cans of food.

As for her, her unit was closed down and now she is just a jerk who has to compete with her brothers and sisters for food.

I have enough money in my pocket, but if I spend so much money on this can of food, what should I do later this month?
Besides, the source of this canned food may not be legitimate.

Just when Suwa was struggling between conscience and desire.

There was a noise coming from Aunt Mu's restaurant.

The small restaurant has a wide outdoor corridor with several dining tables placed under the eaves. At one of the tables, there are two strange foreigners sitting. One of them has a silly smile on his face and is extremely strong, even stronger than the strongest man in town.

Fugui felt a headache when he saw the menu which was all in Russian.

On the opposite side, Li Jiankun had a smile on his face, neither anxious nor impatient.

The two generals Heng and Ha were still sleeping and he didn't call them. The purpose of this trip was to go out for a hot breakfast and to have a close contact with this town to see if he could find some servants.

This is the suburbs of Moscow after all.

He didn't believe that he couldn't find someone who could even roughly understand English.

On the contrary, if he could only rely on gestures with his hands, it would not look pretty. Li Jiankun also wanted to find a cook and teach her how to cook.

He is actually easy to support, but if there is no need to suffer, why bother?

A burly woman stood beside the dining table, blah blah blah. She was getting anxious.

Someone just said that these two people came from the Red House. If she failed to do business with such a big neighbor and client the first time, she would cry to death.

"Auntie Mu, this gentleman would like a sausage and fried egg set meal, plus a cup of black tea. The...strong gentleman opposite would like the same thing, but he would like two portions."

"Oh, Miss Mayakovsky, you are really my sweetheart." Aunt Mu gave her a kiss from a distance.

When he heard fluent English, Li Jiankun's eyes had already moved over, and then he was slightly startled, and then his eyes brightened.

The girl in front of me doesn't quite match the temperament of this town.

It might be more appropriate to appear in an upscale venue in downtown Moscow.

She has a slender figure. Wearing flat leather boots, she looks to be nearly 1.8 meters tall. Her blue jeans wrap around her round and slender legs. It is not an exaggeration to say that her legs are several meters long.

Slavic girls are indeed resistant to cold.

He was wearing a grey woolen sweater that outlined a breathtaking curve between his chest and waist, and a brown woolen coat that was open on the outside.

She has an oval face, skin as white as snow, and soft facial features, so despite being so big, she looks playful and pitiful. This is also a typical feature of a Slavic girl. The facial features of a Caucasian girl are more three-dimensional, and in comparison, they appear more stern.

Blonde.

I have to have it.

Of course, Li Jiankun was more interested in her fluent English, which was a pleasant surprise as the girl was obviously not at a level that he could understand.

To be honest, Li Jiankun didn't like the driver of the two generals, and his eyes kept rolling around. Later he learned that he was a street gangster, and meeting the two generals was a blessing in disguise. Now his family should be living a better life than 90% of the Soviet people.

It's like just wanting to pick up a few sesame seeds, but accidentally finding a watermelon.

No matter what he does here next, language barrier will be the biggest obstacle, so what Li Jiankun lacks most is a good translator.

Of course, to know whether it is useful or not, you still need to understand it in depth.

As for whether this girl is willing to work for him, Li Jiankun is not too worried. It should be said that there are probably not many people in this world who can reject his offer.

Li Jiankun stood up and expressed his gratitude to the Slavic girl standing in the crowd outside the eaves. Then he put his left hand behind his back, bent slightly, and gestured with his right hand, inviting her to have breakfast together.

Suwa was stunned for a moment, then responded by saying that she had already had breakfast. However, the aroma of grilled sausages and fried eggs coming from the restaurant made her swallow her saliva in shame.

I had breakfast, a small bowl of oatmeal soaked in boiling water, and the little milk left in the house had to be saved for my younger brothers and sisters.

"We live in that little red villa. We are new here and don't know much about the local area. We don't speak Russian. You may not find anyone in the town who speaks better English than you. I wonder if you would be willing to take some time to introduce this town to your new neighbors. Even having a cup of tea would be fine."

Li Jiankun had a smile on his face, his Dior sunglasses had been removed, his facial features were deep and his face was regular, making him look particularly gentlemanly.

This way, Suwa had no way to refuse.

As Suva walked forward, the crowd became more lively. After all, Li Jiankun took the initiative to admit his identity. Everyone looked at him curiously, trying to recognize his face. They also hoped that this new foreign master would be as magnanimous as Master Fedorov.

Life is becoming increasingly difficult, and no one can guarantee that their family will not encounter insurmountable difficulties.

Aunt Mu brought out the fragrant grilled sausage and fried egg set meal, and there was no telling how many children watching were envious of it. Fugui pouted his lips, thinking that it was related to the Northeast, so why was there such a big difference!

The so-called deluxe meal only contained six slices of grilled sausage, a fried egg, and a spoonful of some kind of soybeans, with no trace of green at all.

I dare to sell it for ten rubles.

According to the exchange rate that Li Jiankun and the others discussed last night, that would be sixteen US dollars, multiplied by 3.7, which is nearly sixty RMB.

Many people in the country only earn one month’s salary.

Li Jiankun called out to Aunt Mu and gestured for her to give one portion to the Slavic girl next to her, because he knew that the latter would be embarrassed to translate what he said.

Aunt Mu happily agreed, thinking that he was indeed the new master, and probably richer than Master Fedorov. Suwa blushed slightly, but she couldn't say anything to stop him. The aroma on the table filled her nose, and God knew how hard it was for her to hold back the increasing saliva secreted from her mouth.

"You drink this cup of tea first."

Li Jiankun handed over the untouched cup of black tea in front of him. While Su Wa was delighted, a strange look flashed across her blue eyes. She couldn't tell whether the other party saw through her embarrassment or was just a warm gentleman. So she took it with a smile, brought it to her lips and took a sip, hiding the embarrassment that could make her look embarrassed at any time.

Because the two gentlemen were concentrating on eating, Suwa did not start a conversation and they just got to know each other.

Mr. Li said with a wry smile that he might only be able to call her Miss Suwa from now on.

Su Wa smiled, knowing that Soviet surnames were indeed a headache for foreigners. Look at how simple their surnames were, just "LI", and even she could pronounce them correctly.

"My sweetheart, enjoy it. I gave you an extra spoonful of chickpeas. I hope you can explain it to the two gentlemen so that they don't misunderstand."

"Thank you, Aunt Mu."

Su Wa didn’t know what Aunt Mu’s name was, but everyone called her that, so the restaurant was also called Aunt Mu’s Restaurant.

Suwa cut a small piece of the perfectly cooked egg with a knife and brought it to her mouth with a fork. She chewed slowly and couldn't help squinting her eyes. She remembered that the last time she ate eggs was two months ago, when the economy was not so bad.

There really is a change every day.

Sadly, not for the better.

What she didn't notice was that Li Jiankun, the eater, was not actually eating seriously.

The girl's eating manners revealed a lot of information. Li Jiankun already had a rough guess about her family education, social relations, and cultural level.

Li Jiankun glanced at Fugui and said, "If you're not full, order a few more."

If it were somewhere else, he wouldn't need to say this, Fugui would not be polite to this rich and inhumane guy. The problem was that the meal tasted good, especially the sausage, which he really liked, but it tasted a bit disgusting.

Li Jiankun added: "Those two guys make money from others, that's how they do it."

Yes!

Transparent.

"Then tell her to get eight more."

Forty slices of sausage, at most two sausages in total, plus ten eggs, isn't that too much? The problem is that there is nothing else to eat to fill you up, such as steamed buns, so Fugui thinks it's reasonable.

After Li Jiankun finished translating in English, Su Wa opened her eyes wide and asked, "How many copies?"

Then Aunt Mu was overjoyed.

The onlookers exclaimed in amazement.

Of course it’s not because of Fugui’s appetite.

Who would dare to go to a restaurant just to eat enough these days?

While Fugui was eating quickly, Li Jiankun and Suwa both finished their meal and started chatting with their teacups.

Suva introduced the town of Sureslavl to him in detail. Although the town is small, it is not really that small. The administrative divisions in the Soviet Union are similar to those in China. There are many villages under it, and people also go to the market, which is why the streets are crowded.

Li Jiankun asked a lot of questions and Su Wa answered them one by one.

Suwa was quite curious about this new master who had just moved to town, and couldn't help asking, "Mr. Li, what do you do?"

"Businessman."

Su Wa was not surprised and smiled and said, "I heard that there are many Chinese businessmen in the city now. You must be one of the best."

Li Jiankun laughed in silence and did not comment.

What’s surprising is that this girl used to work in a research institute and was a fierce weapon researcher.

But it is becoming more and more to Li Jiankun's liking.

You have to know that this kind of unit often emphasizes keeping silent.

However, he still planned to observe the situation for a while longer and said he would find an interpreter, but everything here requires an interpreter, and there is no doubt that the interpreter will know everything he wants to do next.

Therefore, this person must be reliable.

Seeing that Fugui had finished eating, Li Jiankun used the ruble cash he had taken from Chen Yajun to pay the bill. Aunt Mu was very happy and kept saying that she was welcome to come again. Li Jiankun glanced at the empty woven basket at Suwa's feet and asked, "Are you here to buy something?"

"Yes, I wanted to buy some vegetables or wild vegetables, but I couldn't find any in the whole town. Finally, I met an acquaintance who was willing to sell me a can of canned vegetables, but the price was..."

Suwa smiled shyly, "My family can't afford it now."

"I want to walk around town and get familiar with my home, but I don't speak the language... I wonder if you could take me around again. I can give you what you want as a reward."

"That's... unnecessary. Neighbors should help each other."

Although she really wanted the reward, Suwa still refused it, then stood up first and gestured for someone to come in towards the restaurant corridor.

Li Jiankun didn't say much, just followed her and strolled slowly in the town.

There are many stalls on both sides of the street, selling a variety of things, including food, but almost all of them are frozen fish or frozen meat that are so hard that they can be used as weapons.

There was a group of naughty kids surrounding them and joining in the fun.

Chen Yajun really brought a bag of candy to Fugui last night. He took some out of his pocket and distributed them, which made the naughty kids very happy. Someone shouted to their friends, "The new master is handing out candy!"
Good guy.

I guess all the naughty kids in the town got wind of this.

Fugui gets along well with the naughty kids, and sometimes the language barrier doesn’t matter.

Li Jiankun and Su Wa walked in front, watching happily and were happy to see this.

Last night Jin Biao told him some stories about the previous owner of the "Red House". According to Soviet society, this previous owner was not a decent person, but nothing had happened to him over the years. On the one hand, it was because of his ancestors' protection, and on the other hand, it was because people in the town were happy to call him "Master".

Li Jiankun also wanted to create such a situation.

Because in that red house, not to mention other things, there will definitely be some things that are not encouraged or even prohibited by this society.

Safety first.

After having a family, Li Jiankun has a deeper understanding of these four words.

It is worth mentioning that the Soviet Union did not ban guns, but it banned handguns. In the gun shops along the street, there were basically only two types of guns for sale: shotguns and rifles, neither of which was easy to carry concealed.

This is why, even though there is no gun ban, the social security here is so different from that in the United States.

Li Jiankun was even considering whether to buy a shop in the small town and let the two generals Heng and Ha supply supplies. It should be a quick method, but it seems to have a "lighthouse" effect.

"Haha, look at this loser, he can't even stand without drinking."

"What's the point of living?"

"Old Wales, keep your word and get rid of him. If you really sell me a bottle of vodka, do you have any more?"

"When have I ever broken my word? But don't just get rid of him, he'll come back again. Another thing, you can't kill him. I don't want to get into trouble. Who can do that? Tell me to buy vodka again."

...

When they arrived at the door of the Welsh Tavern, Li Jiankun and Su Wa were temporarily blocked.

I saw a sloppy lazy man being held by a strong man, dragged from the eaves of the pub to the middle of the road. The lazy man kept struggling and shamelessly shouted: "Old Wales, you are not nice. When I was rich, I took care of your business a lot. You took advantage of this good thing. Come on, give you the bottle of vodka, and I will disappear immediately. I won't be a bother to you for a week. I will pay for the drinks. I will keep the account first. How about it?"

The tavern owner ignored him and was in a very bad mood. He got up early and went out late to purchase goods, but failed to get any.

God knows what's going on. Even during the Prohibition period, alcohol wasn't this difficult to get.

At this time, a group of drunkards noticed Su Wa and Li Jiankun.

The two people who were hugging each other in the middle of the road separated as the strong man let go of his strength. Everyone stared at Li Jiankun, but the sloppy lazy man staggered in front of Su Wa and asked shamelessly:
"Ms. Mayakovsky, do you have any wine at home? Can you give me some on credit?"

Suwa quickly supported him to prevent him from falling, and said with a helpless smile: "Mr. Popov, I have run out of wine at home."

The lazy man ignored her, slapped her hand away, and looked at Li Jiankun with a smile and said, "I heard that you are the new master, you must have wine."

"Wow! That idiot Popov can speak English!"

Li Jiankun glanced at the drunken, dishevelled, untidy, unshaven man who spoke broken English and smiled, "Yes, but the question is why should I give you a drink?"

The lazy guy called Popov grinned and said, "How about I help you kill someone?"

Some of the onlookers could understand it, and after the translation, everyone laughed out loud, some even holding their stomachs until tears came out of their eyes.

Li Jiankun restrained his smile and was about to say something when he noticed an even stranger scene.

Suwa didn't laugh, but was trembling with fear.

Then she came up again to support the lazy man, and said in an almost pleading tone: "Mr. Popov, I remember that my father is looking for you, please come with me..."

(End of this chapter)