Chapter 756: Going with the Flow

After He Yuzhu and Kajia reached an agreement, Kajia hurried home.

Her husband, Bafuluofu, was a Deputy Bureau Chief of the Moscow police, and he was currently sitting in the living room flipping through a document.

The fire in the fireplace crackled, casting light on his face, flickering bright and dim.

"Did you see your teacher? Is he still working on things related to computers?" Bafuluofu asked, looking up.

Kajia shook her head and said with a hint of regret, "He handed the factory over to a junior fellow apprentice of mine. He has retired now and is helping his son with business!"

"If he's not in that line of work anymore, what can you talk to him about?"

"We talked more about the international situation. He—he actually predicted that our great Soviet Union is going to collapse, and he said that we won't last ten years!"

A look of displeasure appeared on Bafuluofu's face, and he immediately stopped Kajia from continuing: "Don't say any more; this is reactionary speech. If it hadn't come from your teacher's mouth, I would have had to bring him in for questioning."

"But I've started to have that feeling too," Kajia said, standing by the window.

"Impossible! Absolutely impossible! I know that American imperialism is constantly suppressing crude oil prices just to bring us down... but we will definitely pull through."

Bafuluofu stood up and paced back and forth, his expression very anxious.

Kajia sneered, "Even in the homes of officials like us, life isn't exactly comfortable; one can only imagine how the common people are living."

"This is only temporary; we have just encountered some difficulties!" Bafuluofu didn't even believe the words he was saying; fine beads of sweat seeped from his temples—not from the heat, but because his mind had been stirred by the news Kajia brought back.

Just then, the telephone rang.

Kajia picked up the phone, and He Yuzhu's voice came through.

"Kajia, I have already placed the goods in the warehouse. You can go and take a look. The address is 51 Waya Street."

"Alright, I understand. Tomorrow at noon, my husband and I will treat you to a meal at the Doctor Zhivago Restaurant in Red Square, at twelve o'clock."

"Alright, see you tomorrow!" He Yuzhu said.

"Let's go, I'll take you to see something." Kajia turned around and helped her husband take the thick wool coat hanging by the door.

"What are you taking me to see?" Bafuluofu frowned and threw the document in his hand back onto the table.

"You'll know when we get there." Kajia tied her scarf and pushed open the door.

Bafuluofu sighed and followed her.

The two drove across more than half of Moscow to a warehouse district on the edge of the city.

It was already dark, and there was no one in the warehouse area.

Kajia explained their purpose to the two Russians guarding the warehouse, and they handed her a set of keys.

Kajia walked to the first warehouse.

The iron lock was frozen and a bit stiff; she had to twist it twice before it opened.

When the heavy iron door was pushed open, it made a harsh creaking sound, and a blast of cold air mixed with the scent of fabric rushed toward them.

Bafuluofu followed behind her, glancing inside nonchalantly at first, but then his whole body froze.

Inside the warehouse, textiles were stacked neatly, piled up like small hills.

The two walked past rows of shelves; as far as the eye could see, there was a dazzling array of goods, everything one could wish for.

Kajia didn't speak; she opened the second, the third... all the way to the tenth.

When the door to the tenth warehouse was pushed open, a strong aroma of liquor mixed with the cold air rushed out, and crates of white liquor were likewise piled up like small hills.

After Bafuluofu finished looking at these ten warehouses, he asked, "Kajia, whose... whose are all these?"

"Half of the things in these ten warehouses belong to us," Kajia said, wrapping her coat tighter.

"Kajia, are you trying to take bribes? Do you know what kind of charge that is—"

"This isn't a bribe," Kajia interrupted him. "This is an investment from my teacher in us. These things aren't taken for free; we have to do one thing for him—arrest the entire Red Square Skinheads gang. They have already set their sights on my teacher's company."

Bafuluofu fell silent. He paced back and forth at the warehouse entrance, his boots making heavy echoes on the concrete floor.

He knew the difficulty of this matter better than anyone.

"Kajia, to move against that Red Square Skinheads group, we must bring the Bureau Chief in. As far as I know, the Bureau Chief takes money from them every month."

The corners of Kajia's mouth curved slightly: "Then we will offer twenty-five percent of the shares to the Bureau Chief to get him to act as soon as possible."

Bafuluofu stared at his wife for a long while before finally nodding slowly: "Kajia, this teacher of yours is truly a man who does big things. Without these goods, it would be very hard for me to convince the Bureau Chief. Actually, it's not that I haven't thought about the things you mentioned, I just always felt that our country is so big, it wouldn't collapse so easily... but your teacher is an outsider; perhaps he can see things we cannot. To tell you the truth, our Bureau Chief has privately advised me not to be too stubborn."

Ten days later, the Moscow police launched a large-scale raid.

The Red Square Skinheads were rounded up in one fell swoop, with not a single person from the core members to the lackeys escaping.

When the news broke, the entire city was shaken.

He Yuzhu's batch of goods indeed played a key role in this affair.

Once the Bureau Chief Vasili learned that he would receive huge benefits, he cleanly and efficiently "cracked down" on the Red Square Skinheads.

In Bafuluofu's words, as long as the benefits are great enough, the Bureau Chief can betray anyone.

Half a month later, the weather in Moscow was still cold, but the snow on the roadside had begun to melt, and icicles under the eaves were dripping water.

He Yuzhu and his group prepared to leave, and Kajia brought her husband Bafuluofu along to see them off.

Kajia wore a dark blue wool coat, her cheeks slightly flushed from the cold wind.

Bafuluofu was wearing a crisp police uniform with a black short coat over it, his expression much gentler than when they first met.

He Yuzhu waved at them and said with a smile, "I will come back if I have the chance."

Bafuluofu stepped forward, solemnly opened his arms to embrace He Yuzhu, and said, "You are welcome to come to Moscow again next time."

He Yuzhu patted his back and said with a smile, "No need to be so formal, I will come often."

The group got into the car; it was much warmer inside than outside, and the car windows were covered with a thin layer of mist.

He Zheng leaned over, his face filled with unconcealable pride: "Dad, you really are amazing. You came here once and directly opened up the upper-level connections in Moscow. You don't know, Xiao Du is flattering me every day now, making me feel like the general manager of the Northern Company."

He Yuzhu smiled faintly: "You all should go to Kajia's house often to deliver some things and keep the relationship well-maintained. After you go back, you can add one more business—buy peanuts, process them into shelled peanuts, and sell them here; the profit can be several times higher."

"Dad, how did you think of this business?" He Zheng's eyes lit up.

"Took a taxi and heard the driver talking about it," He Yuzhu said in a flat tone, as if he had just picked up a business opportunity in passing.

He Zheng smiled, half-sentimental and half-serious as he said, "Dad, why do I always feel like my doing business is just like playing around... Why don't you come be the Manager at our company instead?"

He Yuzhu glared at him and scolded irritably, "I wouldn't even be the Manager of Liushi Trading Company, so why would I be the Manager of your company?"

He Zheng was stunned, then asked curiously, "The scale of Liushi Trading Company... just how big is it?"

He Yuzhu originally didn't want to tell him, but then he thought it might be good to give the kid a little stimulation, so he nonchalantly spat out a few words: "The assets are probably around one billion US dollars."

He Zheng's smile froze instantly.

He opened his mouth but couldn't speak; after a long silence, he whispered, "In the future... I will definitely surpass them."

He Yuzhu patted his shoulder, his tone softening, "No need to envy others; as long as you keep your feet on the ground and take it one step at a time, you will succeed sooner or later."

He Zheng nodded vigorously, his gaze fixed outside the car window.

At the same time, in a rented room in Si Jiu Cheng, the brothers Liu Guangtian and Liu Guangfu had been cooped up for three whole days.

This rented room was not large; the walls were pasted with yellowed old newspapers, and a tin stove was burning in the room, the fire blazing brightly. Two single beds occupied each side, with two old suitcases and scattered clothing piled in the middle.

Liu Guangfu had already smoked several cigarettes in a row, and the ashtray was piled full of cigarette butts. He irritably crushed the cigarette butt he had just finished smoking: "Brother, when exactly are we going to go trade clothes?"

"No need to rush." Liu Guangtian leaned against the head of the bed, slowly taking a sip of hot water, "We can't do the antique business. Xu Damao has been learning from his Siqiang for nearly thirty years, and at the critical moment, doesn't he still have to go to Rong Bao Zhai for authentication? We are far behind them."

Liu Guangfu paced back and forth in the room, frowning as he said, "But there are already so many people selling clothes now; can we really make money?"

Liu Guangtian put down his teacup and smiled: "Why are there so many people selling clothes?"