Flip the table and divide the family property! Take his wife and daughter into the mountains and eat

Soviet port, Customs-supervised warehouse No. 1.

The huge searchlights illuminated the snow-covered ground as if it were daytime.

Before the five "Jiefang" trucks had even come to a complete stop, Zhao Shanhe pushed open the truck door and jumped out.

He ignored Vasily in the car, tightened his sheepskin coat, and walked straight to the warehouse gate.

There, a car with consulate license plates was parked early in the morning.

Jin Wanfu, wearing an elegant woolen overcoat, was standing by the car, holding a handkerchief and covering his nose, seemingly disgusted by the smell of engine oil.

But he showed no panic whatsoever, nor any fear of the unfamiliar environment.

Behind him stood two elderly Chinese men wearing glasses and blue lab coats, pointing and gesturing around a pile of goods whose tarpaulins had just been removed, holding flashlights and magnifying glasses.

Those were piles of rebar, gleaming with a cold metallic luster.

"Brother Zhao, have we arrived?"

Upon seeing Zhao Shanhe, Jin Wanfu stuffed his handkerchief back into his pocket, a familiar slight smile on his face.

"Was the journey smooth? Did Director Vasily cause you any trouble?"

"Does he dare?"

Zhao Shanhe smiled, turned around and pointed to Vasily, who had just climbed down from the back of the truck and whose legs could barely be straight:

"Director Vasily has been very responsible throughout the trip, doing a great job as a bodyguard."

Vasily, his face dark, leaned against the car door for a long time before he could catch his breath.

He looked up and saw Jin Wanfu, then the two Chinese experts inspecting the steel, and finally the contract in Jin Wanfu's hand that had been prepared long ago and was just waiting to be signed.

That instant.

It felt like a lightning bolt struck Vasily's mind.

Not right.

Everything was going too smoothly.

From Director Li's "helplessness" to Zhao Shanhe's "madness" and now Jin Wanfu's "calmness".

He suddenly remembered what Director Li had been emphasizing: "We are sincere; we want to exchange for some heavy supplies."

He had previously thought that was official language.

Now he understands.

These Chinese people never intended to accept only rubles from the beginning.

They came for this batch of special steel at the bottom of the warehouse!

This batch of steel was leftover from the military-to-civilian conversion. It had been sitting in the warehouse for two years, unwanted and taking up space, not to mention the high maintenance costs.

Vasily had been trying to get rid of it, but no one could stomach it.

Now, Jin Wanfu has already brought in experts and inspected the goods.

What does this tell us?

This means that the "stolen goods" channels had already been set up here long before they started arguing, banging on the table, and putting on an act in the office!

This is a net.

A large net had been woven long ago, waiting for him to crawl into it.

"Director Vasily."

Jin Wanfu walked over with a smile, handed over the contract, and even straightened Vasily's wrinkled collar.

"Don't just stand there."

"Experts have inspected it. Although this batch of steel is from inventory, its quality is good, and it just covers the 30% price increase."

"As for the rest, how about we use fertilizer to offset the cost? Is that a good idea?"

Vasily stared intently at Jin Wanfu's smiling face, then glanced at Zhao Shanhe, who stood beside him with a cold expression, lighting a cigarette.

A chilling feeling of being thoroughly outmaneuvered shot from the soles of my feet straight to the top of my head.

"you……"

Vasily gritted his teeth, his voice hoarse:

"Is Director Li one of your cronies too?"

"That's not how you say it."

Zhao Shanhe exhaled a smoke ring, walked over, and patted Vasily on the shoulder with such force that Vasily's body swayed on one side.

"Vasily, we are comrades."

"Among comrades, the key is to help each other."

"I helped you clear out your inventory, and you helped me sell my mountain produce. It's a win-win situation."

"A win-win situation?"

Vasily gave a bitter laugh.

Screw win-win!

You guys won twice!

He was cut by Director Li's soft knife, stabbed by Zhao Shanhe's hard knife, and finally had to be drained of his marrow by Jin Wanfu, that smiling tiger.

"you……"

Vasily looked at the group of Chinese men and could only sigh deeply, his whole body deflated like a punctured balloon.

"You guys are ruthless."

"That's really ruthless."

He was truly convinced.

I'm impressed by the methods these Chinese people use to set things up.

The steps are all interconnected and leave no room for error.

"Alright, stop reminiscing."

Zhao Shanhe shoved a pen into Vasily's hand and pointed to the bottom corner of the contract:

"Sign it, Director Vasily."

"Once we sign, we're brothers."

"I won't sign..."

Zhao Shanhe narrowed his eyes and pointed to the five train cars behind him that hadn't been unloaded yet: "Then I can only take the goods back. When the higher-ups investigate, you'll find that this warehouse full of scrap steel can't be turned into a big leader's wife's leather coat."

This is the final ultimatum.

It is also the final step.

Vasily held the pen, his hand trembling twice.

He looked at the contract, then at the pile of steel inventory that had been giving him headaches for two years.

Forget it.

It's all for the mission anyway. It's all to clear out inventory anyway.

Since you can't resist it, then... enjoy it.

"Swish, swish, swish!"

Vasily gritted his teeth and signed his name on the contract.

At that moment, he suddenly felt a huge weight lifted off his shoulders.

A strange sense of relief washed over me.

Although I was tricked and fooled, this matter... finally came to fruition.

"Ha ha ha ha!"

After signing the document, Jin Wanfu burst into a hearty laugh.

"That's great! Director Vasily is indeed a straightforward person!"

Jin Wanfu waved his hand, and the driver who had been waiting nearby immediately ran over, carrying a box of glass bottles wrapped only in newspaper without any labels.

That was the hardest "water of life" on the Soviet side—vodka made from 96% medical alcohol.

There was also a bag of sliced ​​red sausage, pickled cucumbers, and even two roast chickens that I don't know where they came from.

"Come!"

Jin Wanfu dragged over the wooden box used to store tools and placed the wine and meat on it:

"It's freezing cold, so let's not say anything more."

"We absolutely have to have a good drink with Director Vasily today!"

"Let's soothe our throats with this gesture of friendship between China and the Soviet Union!"

Vasily's Adam's apple bobbed violently as he looked at the unlabeled bottle of "water of life."

That was the taste of home, and it was his only cure at that moment.

"Come!"

Vasily didn't even wait for Kim Wan-fu to finish speaking, nor did he take the delicate little wine glass.

He reached out with his large hand, which was covered by a half-gloved leather hand, and snatched the bottle of 96-proof liquor.

"Glug, glug."

He looked around and then pulled out two large enamel mugs that the driver usually used for drinking water from the toolbox next to him.

The bottle opening is tilted.

The liquid, as clear as water yet as fiery as fire, with a pungent ethanol smell, crashed into the vat like a waterfall.

Fill it up.

Both jars were full.

That bottle was emptied in no time.

"Jin, move aside."

Vasily stretched out his arm and shoved away the smiling Kim Man-bok, whose grey-blue eyes burned with two ghostly flames.

He picked up one of the jars and slammed it heavily onto the wooden box in front of Zhao Shanhe.

"Bang!"

A few drops of liquor splashed out and landed on the wooden board that was soaked with engine oil.

"Zhao".

Vasily pointed to the jar of liquor, enough to knock out a bear, and a vengeful, ferocious smirk curled at the corner of his mouth:

"The contract is signed, you're the winner."

"But in the Soviet Union, business never ended on paper."

"It's in the wine."

Vasily picked up his own jug and thrust it forward, his gesture less like a toast and more like a challenge to a bayonet charge at Zhao Shanhe.

"Since we are Chinese comrades, since it is Sino-Soviet friendship..."

"Then drink to your heart's content!"

"Anyone who doesn't drink enough today, anyone who passes out first, is disrespecting me, Vasily! That's disrespecting the Soviets!"

Vasily stared at Zhao Shanhe, his eyes revealing a fierce determination:

"Come on! Cheers!"

He hardened his heart:

If I don't vent this anger on the table, I, Vasily, won't be able to sleep tonight!

Aren't you arrogant? Aren't you good at fighting?

Let's see if your little body can withstand the raging Siberian fire! I'm going to drink you until you have a stomach hemorrhage, until you kneel on the ground and call me grandpa!

In the wind and snow.

Vasily tilted his head back, as if swallowing poison, and charged at the half-pound enamel mug.