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

"Bang--!"

As the heavy oak door slammed shut, the wind and snow were kept out.

The temperature inside the room instantly dropped to freezing.

Vasily stood behind his desk, his chest heaving violently, his swollen face contorted with extreme rage.

"This is a provocation!"

"This is blatant extortion!!"

Vasily grabbed the coffee cup in his hand and slammed it onto the carpet.

"Snapped!"

The exquisite porcelain cup shattered into pieces, and brown liquid splattered all over the floor, even splashing onto his gleaming military boots.

"I am a representative of the Soviet! I am a section-level official in charge of window trade!"

Vasily pointed at the gate, spittle flying, and roared at Director Li:

"A Chinese farmer! A middleman! How dare he slam my door? How dare he threaten me?!"

"Who does he think he is?!"

Vasily paced back and forth in the office like an enraged bull, his leather shoes clattering loudly.

"I'll make him pay! Director Li! I'm filing a complaint! I'm protesting to your diplomatic department! This kind of shameless behavior must be severely punished!!"

Despite Vasily's furious outburst, Director Li remained seated on the sofa, without even changing his posture.

He slowly took out a cigarette case from his pocket, pulled one out, tapped it on the back of his hand, and then raised his eyelids, his face calm.

"Mr. Vasily, calm down."

Director Li lit a cigarette and took a deep drag:

"You are a foreign guest, representing the image of the country. It's not worth getting angry with a country bumpkin from the mountains."

"This isn't about being angry! This is about principles!"

Vasily slammed his fist on the table, pointed at Director Li, and roared:

"You must control him! You're the chief! You have the authority! I want you to send men to arrest him right now! Make him unload the goods obediently in the warehouse! If he doesn't, impound his vehicle! Arrest him!"

After listening, Director Li sighed softly and flicked the cigarette ash into the ashtray.

"Mr. Vasily."

Director Li's tone turned cold, taking on a firm, businesslike quality:

"What we are doing now is reform and opening up, which emphasizes a market economy and free trade."

"He's a supplier, not one of my soldiers, and certainly not a prisoner."

"If a deal falls through and the seller decides not to sell and wants to take the goods away, that's a legal business practice."

Director Li spread his hands and looked at Vasily:

"I can't exactly send the police to rob people on the road just for this deal, can I? Wouldn't that make me a bandit?"

"If word gets out that I, Li, am forcing foreign guests to buy and sell... I can't bear that label."

Vasily was stunned.

He didn't expect Director Li to pass the buck so decisively; it was as if he was being left hanging in mid-air.

"So...you're just going to watch him haul away five train cars full of top-grade goods?"

Vasily's momentum weakened slightly, but he still held on:

"You need to understand, if this shipment is lost, it's not just a loss for me, but also a loss for your port! Your business will be ruined!"

There's nothing we can do about that.

Director Li casually interrupted him.

He even poured Vasily a glass of water, his tone revealing a hint of helplessness:

"Mr. Vasily, we, like the Soviets, are countries where the people are the masters."

"Since the people are the masters of the country, then transactions must be based on mutual consent. If the people are unwilling to sell, I, as an official, can't just point a gun at their heads and force them to sell, can I?"

Director Li shrugged, his face completely businesslike:

"That's warlord style, we don't do that."

Vasily rolled his eyes, speechless at this set of grand principles.

He scratched his hair in frustration, turning his once slicked-back hair into a mess.

This won't work, that won't work.

Vasily paced around the room twice, then suddenly stopped and pointed at Director Li:

"Then...then you have to keep a close eye on him!"

Vasily, as if grasping at the last straw, gleamed with malice:

"He just said it himself! He's going to sell the goods to those parasites on the Soviet black market! This is smuggling!"

"Can you keep an eye on him? As long as he dares to trade with people on the black market, as long as he dares to distribute the goods..."

Vasily made a gesture of slashing downwards:

"You can arrest people and seize goods!"

"sure."

Director Li agreed very readily, his face even carrying an air of righteousness:

"Combating smuggling is everyone's responsibility. If he really dares to smuggle, I'll be the first to arrest and imprison him, without you even having to tell me."

Upon hearing this, Vasily's expression softened slightly. As long as Zhao Shanhe's shipments could be restricted, there was still room for negotiation.

however.

Director Li then changed the subject, slowly adding another jab:

"But, Mr. Vasily."

"Sable fur and wild ginseng are mountain products that can be stored for a long time, not rotten cabbage."

Director Li pointed to the snow-covered warehouse outside the window:

"In this kind of weather, the hides can sit in the warehouse for three to five years without spoiling. If he doesn't trade them and just keeps them in his possession, that's legally holding private property."

"Even if I know he's waiting for the black market, I can't arrest him unless he makes a move."

Director Li leaned forward, looking at Vasily, his voice low but each word piercing:

"The goods can be delivered in three years."

"But what if those five cartloads of goods just sat here quietly for ten days or half a month..."

"Is there still enough time within your ten-day deadline?"

boom!

Vasily's face turned deathly pale instantly.

The arrogant anger I had just felt was instantly extinguished, as if a bucket of ice water had been poured over me from head to toe. In its place came a chill that seeped into my very bones.

If this were just ordinary foreign trade commodities, whether it's timber or coal, if the negotiations break down, so be it; at worst, you'll get a scolding and a disciplinary action.

But these few truckloads of mountain goods are not acceptable.

In the Soviet Union, top-quality furs weren't just clothes; they were hard currency, as valuable as gold.

The reason Vasily was able to hold onto the lucrative position of port director was not only because he had a high-ranking "mentor," but more importantly, because he was able to continuously procure top-quality furs from China.

Originally, the ordinary goods sold by the Wenzhou merchants were enough to meet their basic needs.

But two months ago, everything changed.

The exquisite sable fur coat, named "Black Pearl," was kept by his "teacher" and given to a higher-ranking figure, directly resulting in his teacher's promotion and his reward.

From that day on, their appetites became quite discerning.

They're no longer satisfied with ordinary goods; they want better ones, the finest like "black pearls."

The destination of this shipment was decided two months ago:

The top-tier items are given to teachers and high-ranking officials to pave the way for advancement.

The next best quality goods flowed into the Moscow black market and were exchanged for US dollars. Only the worst scraps were given to state-run stores to meet quotas.

This chain of interests has long been operating flawlessly, with those at the top holding knives and forks, ready to eat.

If we can't serve it then...

Vasily didn't know how his teacher would treat him.

But he knew that countless people who were "incompetent" were buried in the permafrost of Siberia.

The heating in the room was humming loudly.

Vasily suddenly felt unbearably hot. He instinctively raised his hand, ripped off his tie, and pulled off the leather gloves that symbolized his status.

Those pale palms were covered in a fine layer of cold sweat.

This batch of goods cannot be lost.

Even if it means cutting off one's own flesh, one must keep it.

"Huff... huff..."

Vasily paced back and forth in the room, his steps heavy and disordered.

at last.

He stopped in front of the desk, not daring to look Director Li in the eye, but staring intently at the corner of the desk, his voice hoarse, as if squeezed out from between his teeth:

"Director Li..."

"You...you should have the translator go and follow up on this."

Vasily turned around, his back to Director Li, his hand gripping the back of the chair tightly, his knuckles white.

"I'm not an unreasonable person."

"Since we're doing business, the price... isn't entirely off-limits for discussion."

"I can give him a little extra."

He stretched out a hand and raised it in mid-air.

That hand was trembling slightly.

It was heartache, but even more so, it was fear.

"Tell him... 5%."

"This is the limit! I paid for this out of my own pocket!"

Vasily whirled around, his eyes bloodshot, staring at Xiao Zhang in the corner, and roared:

"What are you all standing there for?! Go now!!"

"Tell him! It's only 5%! Take it or leave it!!"