That year the flowers bloomed 1981

Chapter 1339 Who exactly is she?

When Li Ye and Jin Peng arrived at the market, they found it to be very lively.

There were many vendors in this market, and not only Sukölites and Chinese, but also people of Central Asian descent.

The items sold were incredibly diverse, ranging from hero medals and silver tableware to oil paintings and antiques, making it well worth the visit.

Moreover, many of the flower growers at the scene recognized Jin Peng and kept greeting him, making the stroll quite interesting.

However, Li Ye regretted it after only a short while, because there was no sun today and the outdoor temperature was too cold.

The official average winter temperature in Moscow is around -18 degrees Celsius, but this is an "average" and fluctuates greatly. For example, today the outdoor temperature is definitely below -25 degrees Celsius, and may even reach -30 degrees Celsius.

According to science, humans cannot survive in environments below minus 20 degrees Celsius without an external heat source.

In other words, in the wilderness at minus twenty degrees Celsius, no matter how much you jump around to warm up or punch to work up a sweat, if there's no fire to keep warm, you're guaranteed to die in the long run.

Therefore, in such cold regions, human survival relies heavily on heating facilities. Li Ye has been in Moscow for so long, either in a hotel or by car, with very short intervals between the two, so he hasn't felt anything unusual.

But after wandering around the open-air market for half an hour, Li Ye felt his fingers were getting numb from the cold.
He was wearing a pair of fine deerskin gloves, which were far less warm than clumsy hand warmers.

No wonder that in my past life, many people couldn't understand why outdoor enthusiasts who died from hypothermia suffered from it!

The illusion that air conditioning at work and heating in cars are enough to get through winter, and that a shirt and a jacket are sufficient, has led people to overlook their fear of nature and unknowingly fall into the danger of hypothermia.

Li Ye said to Jin Peng, "Brother Peng, if you see any suitable gloves, pick out a pair for me. My fingers are getting tired."

Jin Peng smiled at Li Ye and took out a silver wine flask from his pocket: "Take a sip, and you'll last for two hours."

Well, so why are there so many alcoholics in Suzhou? Isn't it because they're forced into it by the terrible environment?

The three of them took turns drinking from a small wine pot. After they finished drinking, Li Ye felt warm again.

Then he took a fancy to a pair of clumsy and thick gloves and enjoyed the fun of bargaining.

However, when he was about to pay, the other party gestured that they hoped Li Ye would pay in foreign currency.

Jin Peng said in a low voice, "Don't pay in US dollars, pay in rubles."

Li Ye was a man who listened to advice, and despite the vendor's disappointed look, he paid for the gloves.

After leaving that stall, Jin Peng said in a deep voice, "This market is a mixed bag; you can find all sorts of people. You don't know if the person in front of you has ill intentions towards you."

Moreover, this world is too chaotic. Yesterday he might have been a good person, but today, because of hunger, he might become a robber. There are far too many examples of people committing violence for a few hundred dollars.”

Li Ye wholeheartedly agreed, saying, "I know, Brother Peng. When people face dire straits, the line between good and evil is just a thought away."

"Hey hey hey."

Jin Peng smiled and said thankfully, "Of course! If I hadn't listened to your advice back then, I don't know if I would be a good person or a bad person now!"

"Haha~"

Li Ye smiled too.

If Jin Peng hadn't been willing to help Li Ye sell sesame candy in the provincial capital back then, perhaps he would still be struggling on the streets, or perhaps he would have had a different fate. Who can say for sure?
However, Li Ye's smile was still on his face when he suddenly saw a familiar face - Zelyushinko.

A few days ago, after parting ways with the Kamas union representative in the warehouse, Li Ye thought Kamas would contact him as soon as possible, but there has been no news to this day.

At this moment, Zelyushinko was seen standing forlornly behind a large stall, clearly selling things.

Has he been laid off?

Sun Xianjin also saw Zeliu Shenko, exchanged a glance with Li Ye, and then walked over together.

Zelyu Shenko was clearly not a suitable stall owner. Li Ye had already walked up to the stall before he snapped out of his daze and looked up to see Li Ye.

Li Ye greeted him first: "Comrade Zelyushinko, are you doing a second job?" Zelyushinko was taken aback for a moment, then asked in return, "What is a second job?"

"A second job is a part-time job. Our country has been encouraging people to use their spare time for work for several years now."

Upon hearing that workers from China also set up stalls in their spare time, Zelyushinko's expression softened considerably.

When dealing with someone in adversity, the best approach is to leverage common ground to build rapport.

However, Zelyushchenko shook his head and said, "This is not my second job; I am no longer an employee of Kamas."

Li Ye asked in surprise, "Why?"

Zelyushinko remained silent and did not answer Li Ye's question.

Helpless, Li Ye could only squat down and pick through the items on the stall. When he saw that many items clearly showed signs of normal use, he guessed the predicament that Zelyushinko was facing.

If they weren't truly desperate, who would take out their tea set, which they were still using, to sell for money?
Li Ye pointed at the items on the stall and laughed, "Comrade, your business scope is quite comprehensive! Are they all souvenirs from your home?"

Zelyushinko shook his head and said, "It's not just my own stuff; many of them are items from my colleagues' homes that they asked me to bring to sell together."

Seeing this, Li Ye comforted him, saying, "The difficulties are only temporary; things will get better later."

"Ha~"

Zelyushchenko laughed self-deprecatingly: "Do you know how I got fired from the Kamaz factory?"

Li Ye: "."

"After we parted ways that day, I went to confront Factory Director Sumonkov, asking why we believed the boastful White Elephant Man and abandoned our cooperation. But Factory Director Sumonkov falsely accused me of colluding with you and harming Kamas's interests."

Zelyushchenko's expression turned bitter: "I am a Bolshevik, and I have always strictly demanded of myself that I must safeguard the interests of the masses."

But when I was falsely accused, most people didn't speak up for me, while those who stood with me were punished.

Li Ye felt a pang of sorrow.

In his past life, he had been betrayed by his colleagues and had also caused misfortune to befall his well-meaning friends.

The result is that, amidst repeated deception and treachery, they begin to distrust everyone.

"Xu~"

Li Ye sighed and then said, "Aren't you under the Industry Bureau? You can seek help from higher-ups."

"Hahahaha~"

Zeliu Shenko suddenly burst into laughter, then said, "The White Elephant people are a bunch of liars, the Industry Bureau is a bunch of liars too, and they're really ruthless in deceiving their own people."

"."

Li Ye was startled and quickly tried to figure out what Zeliu Shenko meant.

However, Zelyushinko was a straightforward person and quickly solved the mystery.

"Do you know? The Industrial Bureau doesn't agree to us workers selling our shares to Kosh Corporation, but they've brought in another company to force us to sell our shares to them."
But Kosh paid in US dollars for its shares, and you paid in food for your technology, but what did the Industry Bureau pay for?

It's an IOU, a fucking IOU!

Li Ye gasped and looked at Sun Xianjin.

Sun Xianjin was also completely bewildered.

Who exactly is this Sofia?

(End of this chapter)