super energy power

Su Cheng was so depressed in the embassy that he decided to go out and see if he could find some opportunities.

The counselor in charge of the mission strongly opposed it, and only reluctantly agreed after writing a letter of guarantee in Sioux City.However, he still dispatched a staff member from the Wuguan to Su Cheng, and introduced: "Qi Xiaokun is a soldier sent from China to protect the safety of the embassy and its personnel. It sounds good to Qi Xiaokun, if he thinks there is a dangerous place, you can't go, and where to go, he has the final decision."

Counselors have great powers and responsibilities in the embassy. After all, they are also full of official authority.

Su Cheng can't play his temper either, and said with a smile: "We'll just take a walk around the embassy area. It's not peaceful outside, so we must pay attention to safety, especially not to make inappropriate [speech] comments, let alone interfere with the work and life of Russians. , and rallies, with particular attention to foreign journalists. "The counselor urged Su Cheng repeatedly before allowing Su Cheng to go out.

In fact, if it wasn't for Su Cheng's independent mission and direct orders from the upper echelon, the counselor would definitely not have let him go out.All the attachés of the delegation from China obediently stayed in the embassy without any room for negotiation.

When they were talking, Sikong Guan from Guangtong Bank enthusiastically asked to participate.Sikong Guan is the deputy general manager of Guangtong Bank, enjoys the treatment of the departmental level, and is also a veteran bank expert in this line.

He had an assistant, and together with Gu Hongjun, who was defending Sioux City, the team immediately swelled to five. Qi Xiaokun hurriedly dragged them out. He was really worried that no matter how many people there were, they would not be able to control them.

After asking for a car from the embassy, ​​Qi Xiaokun consciously became the driver, and walked along the leafless avenue.Su Cheng put his hands in his pockets, looking around like a tourist.

There are very few people nearby, probably because of the embassy area, and cars with diplomatic license plates can be seen passing by from time to time.Occasionally, someone rides a bicycle and rushes forward.

It was not the first time for Sikong Guan to come to the Soviet Union. He leaned against the window and said, "There are a little less Soviet people here, it seems like nothing has changed."

Su Cheng also said: "We are here to find the unstable factors, Xiao Qi, let's change the road."

Qi Xiaokun turned the front of the car without saying a word, and slid into another side road.

After walking like this for a few minutes, bursts of slogans came to my ears, but it was a small-scale gathering of hundreds of people. The leader was giving a speech with a loudspeaker. Cheers, some emotional, even jumped up and shouted some slogans.

If you only look at them, it will make people feel that the disintegration of the Soviet Union seems to be a very popular event.However, the street stalls on the roadside and the long line of more than a hundred people proved that the Soviet Union had indeed fallen into the rhythm of economic collapse.

Most of the street stalls are middle-aged and elderly people who sell small accessories, small household appliances, and the most popular one, old clothes and pants.Those who line up are people who buy bread and other food. Russia has begun to implement the supply system again. It is said that the limit of some republics is lower than the painful period after the war. It cannot but be said to be a kind of irony.

Su Cheng patted Qi Xiaokun on the shoulder where the car was stopped at the intersection, and asked gently, "Can I go down and have a look?"

Qi Xiaokun looked distressed and said, "There are a lot of people, and this is a political rally."

"I just want to watch the street stalls. I can't understand what the person with the loudspeaker is saying."

"Five minutes, and no political [〖〖〗] speech." Qi Xiaokun often does security work, knowing that it is important to do security with a service mentality, so he didn't forcefully stop it.

The gray Volga slid a few hundred meters before stopping. The Soviets along the street looked this way curiously, but had no intention of leaving.

By the end of the 80s, the Volga was still considered a good car in China, and many leaders still took it.In the Soviet Union, Volga cars once entered the lives of ordinary people. However, as the pace of disintegration accelerated, the Soviets saw fewer and fewer Volga cars. The cost of living has also made driving an extremely luxurious thing.

Su Cheng casually walked to a street stall and browsed around.

All they sell are old clothes.

The same is true for the nearby street stalls. Needless to say, these people took out the clothes at home and sold them.

A little further ahead, there are also small electrical appliances such as radios and tape recorders, as well as second-hand goods such as sewing machines. Some of them may be more than one year old, and there are serious signs of wear and tear on them.In addition, children's toys, jewelry accessories, leather briefcases, and even medicines are all sold on the street stalls.

"How much is this?" Su Cheng asked, pointing to a fur coat.

The street vendor was an old man with a white beard. He seemed to think he was a foreigner, so he naturally stretched out a finger and said, "0 dollars."

Su Cheng nodded slightly, and said in Chinese: "It's cheap to buy a thick leather jacket at this price."

Qi Xiaokun smiled, yelled and asked a few words in Russian, and then replied, "I'll sell it to you for $1."

Su Cheng was stunned for a moment, then he took out the $1. The old man cheerfully held up the green bill, read it carefully several times, and after confirming that it was correct, he threw the leather jacket to Su Cheng indifferently.

Qi Xiaokun said from the side: "If you use rubles, it will cost tens of dollars. It is much easier to use foreign exchange. Many places allow barter. Look ahead, a bottle of ordinary liquor can be exchanged for a piece of clothing. gone."

"In this way, wouldn't there be no market for clothes?"

"Why, there are so many people selling clothes because clothes are the best sellers. Besides, this is a relatively affluent area of ​​Moscow. If you drive another minute, people there probably sold out their clothes long ago in order to make a living." Qi Xiaokun said slowly. Taking a deep breath, he continued, "It's not been a year or two since the Soviet Union's economy stagnated. They used to sell it secretly. After the Soviet Union disintegrated, they sold it blatantly."

"These are second-hand dealers?" Su Cheng suddenly realized something.

"Of course. They exchange bread and canned goods for residents' second-hand goods, and then sell the second-hand goods to those in need. They can always get enough food and clothing. It's different now. When I first arrived in the Soviet Union, I used domestic They dare not go out to eat because of their wages and embassy subsidies. At that time, one ruble was exchanged for 'dollars, but now two dollars can be exchanged for hundreds of rubles."

"In the future, I can exchange thousands of rubles." Su Cheng said casually.

Sikong Guan said anxiously: "So, the economy of the Soviet Union has already collapsed. If we give them a loan, will we be able to repay it?"

"The Soviet Union's economy has collapsed long ago." Su Cheng said indifferently: "If it wasn't for the economic collapse, how could the Soviet Union collapse so quickly, the CPSU was not so much disbanded as it was elected to step down with its feet. The Soviets have had a rough few years."

"At least, before the disintegration, the ruble could still be used, but now it can't." Qi Xiaokun provided as much information as possible: "I heard that someone used the ruble to exchange some things in the remote countryside before the news spread. .However, most people’s savings are wasted.”

Some well-to-do Soviets often have savings of tens of thousands of rubles, or more than one hundred thousand dollars, which is no less than that of ordinary middle-class American families.But they are also the first to be hurt in this wave of disintegration.

It's a very grim and very funny cycle.The people who expect the disintegration of the Soviet Union for the sake of "democracy" and "freedom" are mainly high-level bureaucrats and the national middle class who call themselves elites.However, when "〖〖Freedom〗 and '〖Democracy〗' came, it was the middle class in these countries who became impoverished first and became the lower class of society.This is like a peasant uprising. The peasant army who revolted in order to survive is the executioner who makes more peasants unable to survive.

The cycle of history always uses human life as the material for satire.

Sikong Guan looked around worriedly, and then said: "When I was on the plane, I looked at the electricity consumption and power generation of the Soviet Union. In recent years, the power generation and power consumption of the Soviet Union have decreased by more than 10% every year. The data for 1991 has not yet come out, but looking at the first three quarters, a decrease of 15 is certain. This is much more serious than the financial crisis in capitalist countries, and it is a sign that the country is out of control. If we lend to the Soviets, if they If we can’t recover for a year, what shall we do?”

"It is indeed difficult for Russia's industrial production to recover within one year, and it may not work in 1 years. However, industrial production is not the only way to get rich."

"What else is there for a country?"

"Explore resources. Russia is quite rich in oil and natural gas. As long as they export resources, they can easily earn enough foreign exchange and then use it to return us. If it doesn't work, let them use oil and natural gas to pay off their debts."

"Even if their oil production can reach the highest level in the Soviet Union, it may not be enough to accumulate foreign exchange for reconstruction. The Soviet Union has long been doing oil sales." Sikong Guan's thinking is based on the analysis of the actual situation, the most normal thinking .

Before the early 90s, the highest value of oil prices was a few hours during the Gulf War. At other times, crude oil often remained in the range of $7 per barrel.Moreover, the price of Soviet crude oil is often lower than that of Middle Eastern crude oil.It can be said that although oil has brought a lot of foreign exchange to the Soviet Union, it is not like a continuous stream of gold flowing like later generations.

Since the 7s, the Soviet government has long relied on the sale of oil to balance its budget.Their biggest expenditure is to buy grain from abroad, and most of the oil foreign exchange is consumed on this.

Sikong Guan took it for granted that the price of oil would remain below $30 for a long time, which would be enough to give Russia and other countries some financial subsidies, but he would not agree to relying on oil to survive or even rebuild the country.

Su Cheng didn't argue, just said: "Countries with oil will not die of poverty after all. Just keep your heart in your stomach. Our task now is to find a way to lend money to Russia."

... (To be continued