My Realistic Simulation Game

Chapter 74 Human Hearts, Boiling Point

Qin Yuan's "high-stakes gamble" of 48 rubles on Moscow television was like throwing a boulder into a calm lake.

However, the production of the advertisement still took some time. What truly set off a huge wave in Moscow and even the whole Soviet Union was the newspaper advertisement that cost 52 rubles!

Chen Jianhua demonstrated remarkable execution capabilities by leveraging his connections in Moscow and the ruble to pave the way.

He visited almost every newspaper with a high circulation in Moscow.

Pravda has extremely high entry barriers, and its pages are mainly used for political propaganda, showing little interest in commercial advertising. Chen Jianhua ran into a wall.

However, several other major newspapers, driven by both the ruble and the pressure to "generate revenue," opened their doors.

Among these were the newspaper "Labor," which targeted the broad working class, and "Izvestia," which covered the entire Soviet Union.

There's also the *Rural Life Daily*, whose circulation covers both urban and rural areas, and whose influence is particularly profound at the grassroots level.

Even the Xinghuo Daily succumbed to the financial offensive.

The newspaper published by this newspaper is a weekly magazine with intellectuals and middle-class elites as its main readership. Originally, it scorned commercial advertising because of its radical stance and the financial backing it had.

However, Chen Jianhua was well-versed in the art of "saving the country through indirect means." He cleverly used his connections to slip a considerable sum of US dollars into the pocket of the editor-in-chief's wife.

So, in the next issue of the Spark Daily, a beautifully designed "Far East Kvass" advertisement appeared prominently on the inside page, promising to be published for four consecutive issues!

Almost overnight!
In Moscow, Leningrad, Kiev, Minsk... on newsstands in major Soviet cities, the front page or prominent positions inside important newspapers were occupied by the same name and the same image!

Far Eastern Kvass!
In the center of the huge page is a photo of a crystal-clear glass bottle.

The bottle is slender with a simple and elegant label, and inside it is a previously unseen liquid with an enticing golden hue, reminiscent of fine beer.
This is completely different from the murky, dark brown traditional kvass that people remember!

This scene alone attracted countless drunkards.

The advertising slogan shown above shocked these alcoholics.

The West has its Coca-Cola, and we have kvass, a beverage that has flowed for thousands of years!

Far Eastern Kvass, a millennia-old beverage of the Slavic people, is making a triumphant return!

These two short sentences are like sharp swords piercing the heart.

Like ice water thrown into boiling oil, it instantly caused an uproar in the hearts of countless Soviet people!

Why are there so many alcoholics in Moscow? Why were there so many alcoholics in the Soviet Union?
Cold? Yes, the Siberian cold needs strong liquor to ward off the chill.

But what's even colder is the human heart!

Watching as the empire built by their fathers with their blood and sweat, a empire that once promised "equality for all," now stands riddled with privileges, rampant corruption, economic collapse, and on the verge of collapse...

Any Soviet citizen who still had a conscience, who had ever had illusions about this country, and who loved this land, was filled with immense pain, confusion, and disillusionment!
The pain of such a violent collision between dreams and reality is indescribable and difficult to resolve.

As a result, countless people choose to drown their sorrows in alcohol, trying to forget everything.

But now, this advertisement is like a bolt of lightning, cleaving through the gloom in their hearts!

Coca-Cola, the antidote to Western trends!
We have our own drinks!

It has flowed for thousands of years!
It belongs to our Slavic people!
A long-lost, suppressed sense of national sentiment and pride was instantly ignited by these two simple yet highly persuasive words!

"Kvas...golden kvass?"

"A thousand-year-old drink of the Slavic people?"

"A counter to cola?"

Countless people who saw the advertisement, whether they were workers on the street, office workers, university professors, or farmers in the countryside, felt a strong impulse.

You absolutely must try this kvass! This is the true drink of our nation!

Where can I buy this drink?

The kvass I remember was a murky, black fermented substance with a sour smell.

Does this clear, tempting golden liquid, resembling beer, really exist? Is it really that delicious?
Whether it exists or not! Whether it tastes good or not!
You absolutely have to drink it!
This trend, sparked by the advertisement and fueled by nationalistic sentiment and intense curiosity, quickly spread!
Moscow, Red Square.

The State Department Store. This magnificent, palatial building was once a symbol and source of pride for Soviet state-owned commerce.

Its enormous vaulted ceiling, ornate decorations, and dazzling array of shop windows once made it a shopping paradise that people in Moscow and even the entire Soviet Union longed for.

However, in the cold winter of 1990, the scene inside the National Department Store was filled with an ironic bleakness.

The magnificent building still stands, but an atmosphere of decay permeates its interior.

The once-bustling shelves are now empty, covered with a thin layer of dust.

Only a few special counters that require foreign exchange can still display some imported goods, but even those are pitifully few.

Long queues snaked in front of the various counters, and people's faces were filled with exhaustion, numbness, and helplessness in the face of the shortage of supplies.

A sense of oppressive despair permeated the air.

Manager David Cove stood at the window of his second-floor office, looking down at the empty shelves and the long lines of customers with vacant eyes. His brow was furrowed, and his face was filled with anxiety and helplessness.

"The eleventh wave...the eleventh wave!" He muttered to himself, scratching his thinning hair in frustration.

Just now, he saw off another group of customers who came to inquire about "Far East Kvass".

This is the eleventh wave this morning!

From the elderly to the young, from well-dressed intellectuals to ordinary workers, everyone is asking the same question: "Do you sell Far Eastern kvass?"

“Far Eastern Kvass? What’s that?” Davidoff was initially confused.

He had never heard of this brand before!

Let alone "Far East Kvass", even other brands of kvass would not be listed or placed on the shelves in a "high-end" state-run department store like "National Department Store"!
He could only shake his head again and again, watching the customers leave disappointed, and he could even feel the silent accusation in their eyes that "they don't even have this."

"Damn it! It's been all over the newspapers every day, making a huge fuss! But we haven't even seen a trace of it here!"

David Kove slammed his fist on the windowsill, feeling a deep sense of frustration and anger.

He felt that he and the former commercial giant, the National Department Store, were being ruthlessly abandoned by the times.

Just then, there was a knock on the office door.

"Come in!" Davidoff replied irritably, assuming it was another counter manager coming to report bad news.

The door opened, and a pair of people walked in that he hadn't expected: a well-dressed, composed young Chinese man and a beautiful, blonde, blue-eyed Soviet woman.

Davidov paused for a moment, instinctively assuming someone was asking about kvass again, and waved his hand impatiently: "No! We don't sell Far Eastern kvass! We don't have that kind of product here! Go ask somewhere else!"

He turned around wearily, ready to continue staring blankly out the window.

However, a clear, melodious female voice, with a unique rhythm, rang out, entering his ears like heavenly music:

"Hello, Manager David Kove."

"We're not here to buy kvass."

"We're here to sell kvass."

David Kove suddenly turned around!
The beautiful Russian woman wore a confident smile, while the Chinese man beside her calmly took a bottle from his briefcase…

A bottle that gleams with an alluring golden light in the winter sunlight streaming through the window!

On the bottle, the name he had heard and seen countless times today, yet which he desperately longed to see, was clearly printed—Far East Kvass!

The clear liquid, the simple and elegant label, the captivating luster refracted under the light... it's exactly the same as the photo in the newspaper advertisement!
The only difference is that one is a glass bottle and the other is a plastic bottle.

But he no longer cared.

Davidoff's eyes widened instantly, and his heart began to pound uncontrollably!
He felt his breath catch in his throat!

He practically lunged forward, his voice trembling with excitement:
"This...this is...Far Eastern Kvass?!"

(End of this chapter)