Rebirth of Bloody Romance

Zhong Yuemin waved his hand gently, signaling the others to leave first. The people present understood his meaning and left the room quietly without asking any more questions, leaving only Zhang Haiyang and Li Ting, a young couple, behind.

Zhong Yuemin knew that border trade was not only extremely sensitive, but also involved complicated interests. He knew that the fewer people who knew the details of the matter, the better.

Even if someone knows something, they must not be allowed to see every detail. Doing so can, on the one hand, protect everyone's personal safety and avoid unnecessary risks; on the other hand, it can ensure that the entire plan can be carried out smoothly without being interfered with by external factors.

When the last person walked out of the door and closed it gently, Zhong Yuemin showed a faint smile on his face.

Zhong Yuemin looked at Zhang Haiyang and Li Ting in front of him and said softly, "You two should stop being so formal with me. Sit down and talk. What do you think of coming back from the north this time?"

At this time, Zhou Xiaobai and Chen Yijun also found a seat with Xiao Shihua and Xiao Haichen. The two innocent and cute little guys had no interest in the things the adults were talking about in the north, and ran to the side to laugh and play.

However, Zhou Xiaobai and Chen Yijun were different from the other children. Their eyes were always focused on Zhong Yuemin, with curiosity flashing in their eyes. They were obviously looking forward to the experience of returning from the north.

Under the dim light that emitted a yellowish glow, Zhang Haiyang slowly took out a very exquisite cigarette case from his pocket.

Zhang Haiyang's movements were skillful and smooth, as if he had practiced countless times. He gently opened the seal of the cigarette box and then deftly picked out one of the cigarettes with his fingers.

Then, Zhang Haiyang handed the cigarette to Zhong Yuemin with an elegant gesture, and raised his head slightly, with the corners of his mouth naturally curled up, forming a mysterious smile. "Yuemin, come and try this cigarette! This is an authentic old Russian cigarette, it's so exciting to smoke, I guarantee it will give you a brand new feeling and experience!"

However, facing Zhang Haiyang's enthusiastic recommendation, Zhong Yuemin just shook his head gently. "Don't worry, I'm really not used to this kind of cigarette. Remember those several packs of cigarettes Zhang Jiandang brought me last time? Hey, buddy, I just smoked two of them reluctantly. But the taste of those two cigarettes is still deeply remembered by me. It can be said that it is unforgettable! So, now I have no interest in this thing at all."

Zhang Haiyang didn't care about Zhong Yuemin's refusal. He lit a cigarette, took a deep puff, and blew out a perfect smoke ring. His eyes became deep in the smoke. "Yuemin, I've been running around a lot. I've put a lot of thought into this border trade. To be honest, it's really profitable. After the border trade was opened in 82, people went there in an endless stream. Manzhouli has the largest business, followed by Suifenhe. The rest of Heihe and Dongning are also very lively. Think about it, jeans, chewing gum, sweatshirts, down jackets, these things that are commonplace here are treasures in the eyes of the Russians! Even potatoes and cabbages can be sold at high prices over there. Isn't it amazing?"

Zhong Yuemin listened to Zhang Haiyang's description with great interest, his mouth corners gradually raised, revealing his signature smile. "Oh, it sounds really crazy! So what did you get from this visit?"

Zhang Haiyang's smile deepened when he heard this. He raised his chin slightly and said proudly, "Why ask? I was very successful this time! You don't know that even the low-quality wine produced by those small wine workshops in the north can be sold out there! Tell me, has the world become a little confusing? But it's good, we can see the active figures of Chinese people everywhere, it feels quite friendly! By the way, I'm telling you, I actually met an acquaintance in Blagoveshchensk, guess who it is?"

When Zhong Yuemin heard this, he was stunned. Familiar faces flashed through his mind quickly like lightning.

However, no matter how hard Zhong Yuemin racked his brains, he still couldn't remember who had been to that place. "Hmm... who? Why haven't I heard of anyone going there?"

Zhong Yuemin frowned, lowered his head and thought for a moment, then looked up at Zhang Haiyang in confusion, waiting for him to reveal the answer.

Seeing this, Zhang Haiyang couldn't help but chuckle, a sly look flashed in his eyes, and he deliberately kept the secret. "Hehe... just take your time to guess! Anyway, you definitely know this person, and he's an old acquaintance of ours! Maybe you'll remember him by slapping your thigh later!"

After saying that, Zhang Haiyang crossed his arms over his chest and looked at Zhong Yuemin leisurely, seeming to enjoy this feeling of keeping people in suspense.

After hearing what Zhang Haiyang said, Zhong Yuemin's mouth curled up slightly. He couldn't help but reach out and pat his broad shoulders, and laughed heartily. "Oh my god! Don't keep me in suspense. Tell me what's going on. I really can't guess it."

Zhang Haiyang smiled evilly, and a subtle cunning flashed across his bright eyes. He lowered his voice and said mysteriously, "Liu Yonghua, Yuemin, you would never have thought it would be him!"

Zhong Yuemin's relaxed expression suddenly became serious when he heard this. He looked puzzled. He subconsciously raised his hand to scratch his head and shook his head blankly, as if he was confused by the name. He muttered, "Liu Yonghua? Who is this? Why don't I have any impression of him?"

Zhang Haiyang's eyes widened upon seeing this, his expression full of surprise and disbelief, as if he had never expected that Zhong Yuemin would completely forget about this person. He raised his voice and shouted, "Fuck! You actually forgot about him? When we were in the recruit company, the company commander who always disliked us and made trouble for us was Liu Yonghua!"

At this moment, Zhou Xiaobai, who had been listening to the conversation silently, suddenly burst out laughing. Her beautiful eyes curved into crescent shapes. She took over the conversation with a smile and said in a slightly teasing tone, "Haha... It's not that I just don't like you two. It's obviously that you two are too troublesome. All day long, you are like two small firecrackers with the fuse lit. You will explode with a 'crackling' sound at the slightest touch, and you will not stop until you cause some trouble."

Li Ting on the side also nodded and agreed. "Yes, yes, yes, Xiaobai is absolutely right! You two are really a headache."

"It's him? It's actually him!" Zhong Yuemin's eyes widened, his face full of surprise and disbelief, his mouth slightly opened involuntarily. The thoughts in his mind surged like a tide, instantly bringing him back to that distant moment many years ago.

That was in 1969, when Zhong Yuemin and Zhang Haiyang were in the training company of recruits. Since then, he has completely lost contact with this person, as if two lines that once intersected had gone further and further in different directions.

Recalling the scene back then, Zhong Yuemin couldn't help but shake his head, with a bitter smile on his face. At that time, Liu Yonghua always disliked him and Zhang Haiyang, always liked to find fault with them and create trouble for them from time to time.

Naturally, being young and frivolous, they were unwilling to be outdone and often confronted each other head-on and refused to give in to each other.

Looking back now, all those arguments and conflicts seem so childish and ridiculous.

Zhong Yuemin felt emotional: Maybe this is what youth is, full of ignorance, impulse and fearlessness.

"Yes, that grandson is very wealthy now." Zhang Haiyang said with a gossipy look on his face, his eyes flashing with excitement. "That grandson found a small workshop in Changshu to process leather goods, clothes and the like, and he can make more than ten times the profit by reselling them. We met him in the hotel last time. He hugged two old Russian women and didn't leave the house for a whole day, hehe..."

When Li Ting heard Zhang Haiyang say that, she frowned and slapped him in anger. "Can you be more serious? But, after all, Chinese people have traveled all over the world, and only in the Russians' territory can we live like human beings!"

Zhang Haiyang smiled and touched the shoulder that was patted, not caring about Li Ting's blame. He turned to look at Zhong Yuemin and continued, "Yuemin, you don't know that in this Russian territory, we Chinese have been proud of ourselves for once."

Zhong Yuemin laughed out loud and nodded in agreement. "Isn't that the truth? You are extremely poor, but there are even poorer places than you, especially in the Russian Far East."

Li Ting couldn't help laughing, and she felt warm in her heart as she watched Zhang Haiyang and Zhong Yuemin singing the same tune. She knew that although these two men liked to joke around, they were full of love for their country and nation.

"But then again, Liu Yonghua is doing really well now." Zhong Yuemin said with emotion. "When we were in the recruit company, he always targeted us. Now it seems that he is also a talent."

Zhang Haiyang nodded, a trace of admiration flashing in his eyes. "Yes, everyone has his own path to take. Liu Yonghua chose this path, and he is doing quite well. We must also work harder and not be outdone by him."

Li Ting gently handed the account book in her bag to Zhong Yuemin, with a hint of pride in her eyes. "Zhong Yuemin, take a look at our achievements this year."

Zhong Yuemin took the account book from Li Ting and flipped through it carefully, with a look of surprise on his face. "How did you make so much? More than 10 million! And it's only been one year. Didn't you say it was hard to do in the first half of the year? You only made a few hundred thousand a month."

Zhang Haiyang laughed and replied proudly, "This is all the credit of those Soviet traitors under our command. Look now, we have more than a hundred old Russians under our command, who do nothing every day and just eat and drink from us. If they had a conscience, they would have left long ago. But these people also have their uses."

Zhang Haiyang paused and continued, "I asked them to help us bribe the conductor of Su Lie, so that we can buy several compartments with four berths at one time. Except for one berth for sleeping, the rest are all for goods. From the floor to the ceiling, even the windows are blocked tightly. Do you think we can't make money by transporting goods like this?"

Li Ting further added, "And every time we arrive at a station, our goods are snapped up without even leaving the platform. This business is so good! Even our Chinese students studying abroad make a lot of money."

Zhong Yuemin frowned when he heard this and asked in confusion, "International students? How can they make money? They just do translation."

Zhang Haiyang chuckled, patted Zhong Yuemin on the shoulder and said, "Alas! You educated people have good brains, but sometimes they are too limited. The overseas students can speak Russian, they bribed the Russian ticket sellers and controlled a large number of train tickets. Do you know? They can sell a black market ticket for 60-70 US dollars! And how much is the original price? Only 4 US dollars! From Moscow to our capital, such a long distance, the original price is only 4 US dollars! I learned this trick of controlling the carriage transportation from them."

After hearing this, Zhong Yuemin couldn't help but sigh: "We must not let the Chinese take advantage of us. When we are abroad, we feel that 'the sea is wide for fish to leap, and the sky is high for birds to fly'! These international students really use their business acumen to the fullest."

"Did you have any trouble on the road?" Zhong Yuemin asked with concern.

Li Ting heard Zhong Yuemin's question, and a trace of helplessness flashed across her face. She sighed softly and said slowly, "Let's not talk about the customs for now. Just going in and out feels like being skinned alive. But think about it, it's acceptable. After all, as long as it's done properly, there will always be some profit. And sometimes, we will let those Russians under our command come forward to handle some matters, so that we can save a lot of trouble. But the real headache is that there are too many robbers here! They don't fight alone, but often commit crimes in gangs. In broad daylight, they dare to openly commit robbery and even murder. Tell me, isn't this too rampant and lawless?"

Zhou Xiaobai was listening at the side and couldn't help but frowning, with a look of astonishment on his face. "How could it be so chaotic? This is beyond imagination!"

Zhong Yuemin was silent for a while, and he realized that things were far more complicated and dangerous than he had imagined.

However, the trip to the Soviet Union must not stop. "I will go there myself next year."

The worst that can happen is resignation. Compared with the huge bonuses from the Russians, there is nothing that cannot be given up.

"No need. I know you are worried about us, but it will be the same if you go there. You might not be as familiar with the place as we are. After all, we have been here for two years." Li Ting replied with a smile.