Reborn in 1999: Starting as a black marketeer

"Wang Feiyang? Wang Feiyang!..."

In a daze, Wang Feiyang seemed to hear someone calling his name. He opened his sleepy eyes and was stunned when he saw what was in front of him.

A man in his early thirties was staring at him with an unfriendly expression not far away. A few soft laughs came from the side. Turning his head, he saw three boys and girls who looked like seventeen or eighteen-year-old students covering their mouths and snickering.

The fair-skinned boy had a gloating look on his face, while the other two girls, one fat and one thin, one tall and one short, simply found it funny.

Where am I?!

What happened?

Wang Feiyang glanced around blankly, and when he saw the reflection in the window next to him, his mind went completely blank.

Beneath her freshly cut short hair was a vibrant, youthful face, taut, clean skin, and bright eyes...

But she doesn't look like she's in her forties at all!

"Alright, class is in session now, everyone pay attention! Your parents spent so much money sending you abroad to study, not so you could sleep in class!... Now we'll begin learning the 33 letters of the Russian alphabet..."

By now, Wang Feiyang was fully awake, but his mind was a jumbled mess, and he couldn't quite make sense of it all.

He turned his head and glanced at the three boys and girls next to him. They were indeed people he knew. The fair-skinned boy was named Zhang Liang, the tall and thin girl was named Hu Xiaoyun, and the short and chubby girl was named Guo Juan.

The three of them and Wang Feiyang went through the same agency to study abroad, received Russian language training in China in the same batch, went to Moscow at the same time, and even attended the same preparatory class, so they were fairly familiar with each other.

The problem is, that happened more than 20 years ago!

After graduating from university, the group went their separate ways. At first, they would chat online occasionally, but after that, they completely lost contact...

As for the man in his thirties, Wang Feiyang only remembered that his surname was Wu, and everyone called him "Teacher Wu." He was a Russian language teacher at the Provincial University of International Business and Economics.

Oh, that study abroad agency is also a university-run enterprise of the provincial university of international business and economics.

Now Wang Feiyang was wondering if he was dreaming or...

I secretly pinched my leg and winced in pain. It wasn't a dream; it must be what they call "rebirth"!

Although it felt absurd and he didn't know why such a huge "pie" had fallen into his lap, Wang Feiyang's composure in the face of major events, honed through years of hard work in the business world, remained unchanged, and no one could tell that he was acting strangely.

Scenes flashed through Wang Feiyang's mind, and he remembered many things.

It is now late September 1999. I failed the college entrance examination this year and only got into a junior college (actually, I had performed better than expected). I was unwilling to study for another year. After repeated discussions and inquiries, my parents finally gritted their teeth and decided to send me to study abroad!

With the spring breeze of reform and opening up sweeping across the land, studying abroad is no longer a rare thing these days. Even in the small county where Wang Feiyang's family lives, some people went abroad to study at their own expense a couple of years ago.

Although his family was relatively well-off, belonging to the more affluent families in a small county town in inland China, it was clear that they couldn't afford to go to developed countries like the UK, the US, Canada, and Australia. After comparing various options, they felt that going to Moscow offered the best "value for money."

Especially Moscow State University, which, according to study abroad agencies, is ranked seventh in the world and is undoubtedly a world-class university!

Moreover, the tuition fees are not expensive. Most majors only require about three thousand US dollars per year, which is about 25,000 to 26,000 yuan.

Add in living expenses, and it'll cost around 40,000 RMB a year, which is much cheaper than in the UK, US, Australia, and Canada!

The agency fee and airfare, plus the cost of a one-year preparatory course and a four-year undergraduate degree, can be covered for 250,000 RMB. This is the maximum amount that Wang Feiyang's parents can scrape together...

Because the procedures were completed relatively late, Wang Feiyang first spent three months in China learning Russian before going to Moscow. Coincidentally, the plane landed at Moscow Sheremetyevo Airport on January 1, 2000.

After that, I completed a six-month preparatory course and a four-year undergraduate degree. After graduation, I worked in foreign trade, traveling between China and abroad, working as a middleman, a freight forwarder, and running a factory. I did whatever made money and did it for over twenty years. Although I didn't become very rich, I settled down and started a family in a first-tier city, and my net worth was barely over 100 million.

Unfortunately, before he could enjoy his good days for even a few days, he was reborn back to square one, essentially going back to square one overnight!

He really didn't want to be reborn!

…………

"Russian has 33 letters: абвгдеёжзий..."

Teacher Wu was giving a serious lecture. Although this was not a classroom but a small meeting room, and there were only four students listening to the lecture, he wanted to live up to the high fees paid by the students' parents.

Moreover, he genuinely hoped that these children could learn Russian well. After all, in three months, they would be heading to faraway Moscow to live and study there for several years, and language was the foundation of everything.

However, it was clear that Mr. Wu's good intentions were not appreciated by his students...

Wang Feiyang stared intently at the snow-white wall, his mind already wandering far away.

He wasn't really happy about being "reborn." After all, he had worked so hard for so many years to achieve a little success, and he hadn't even had a chance to enjoy it yet. Now he had to start all over again, to go through all the hardship and toil. Who could be happy about that?

But since it has already happened, Wang Feiyang will not complain about fate. What he is thinking about now is how he should live this life now that he has been given a second chance!

In his previous life, Wang Feiyang spent almost all of his time abroad from 2000 to 2008, so he didn't know much about the situation in China. It wasn't until after the 2008 Olympics that his main business shifted to China, and he spent more time in the country.

Therefore, having been given a second chance at life, Wang Feiyang could only go to Moscow to look for opportunities. He dared not tell his parents at this time that he did not want to study abroad.

Firstly, his family had already sold everything they owned to pay for his studies abroad, and all their relatives and friends knew about it. Now that he's backing out and saying he doesn't want to go anymore, Wang Feiyang is probably going to have to experience his father's long-lost "Seven Wolves" punishment again...

Secondly, he was more familiar with the situation in Moscow, having lived there for nearly eight years, which could be considered half his "hometown." In contrast, he was completely unfamiliar with the situation in China. Moreover, lacking both education and funds, what could he possibly do if he stayed in China?

Therefore, no matter how you look at it, it's still more appropriate to continue developing in Moscow.

Now that we've decided to go to Moscow, there are some things we need to consider in advance.

Having been given a second chance at life, Wang Feiyang naturally couldn't just spend a few years obediently in school. In fact, in his previous life, Wang Feiyang had done quite a few things while in college, such as selling phone cards, working as a translator, and assembling computers, and he made a little money.

Just like in China, Moscow has been a goldmine in recent years, with plenty of opportunities!

The problem is that doing business requires capital, especially profitable businesses!

The reason why people say that the "first million" is the most important is because if you don't have capital, no matter how many opportunities you encounter to make money, you can only watch them slip away.

But Wang Feiyang, an 18-year-old who failed the college entrance exam, only has three months' worth of living expenses for training given to him by his mother, less than 1,500 yuan.

He was a complete stranger in the provincial capital, without a single relative or friend.

…………

During the break, as soon as Teacher Wu walked out, Zhang Liang, who was next to him, said impatiently, "Wang Feiyang, why are you still sleeping in class? Did you go out and fool around last night? Haha."

It's hard to say why, maybe it's the so-called competition, but Zhang Liang always wanted to belittle Wang Feiyang in front of the two girls, perhaps because Wang Feiyang was taller and more handsome than him.

But Wang Feiyang really didn't have any feelings for those two girls. In reality, there aren't that many beautiful women. Whether it was Guo Juan or Hu Xiaoyun, they were just ordinary-looking girls.

Wang Feiyang didn't mind and casually laughed, "If we're really going to go out and fool around, you'll be the one taking me, right? I don't know anyone here, I can't compare to you, a local expert."

Of the four students, Zhang Liang and the short, chubby girl Guo Juan were locals from the provincial capital, the tall, thin girl Hu Xiaoyun came from a city in another prefecture, and Wang Feiyang came from a small county in another prefecture. This gave Zhang Liang a sense of superiority.

Hearing Wang Feiyang say he was a local bigwig, Zhang Liang laughed and said, "Haha, that's true, I'm quite familiar with the provincial capital. By the way, there's a McDonald's nearby that just opened a few days ago, shall we go check it out sometime?"

Guo Juan, who was whispering with Hu Xiaoyun, quickly turned around and said, "A McDonald's opened nearby? Zhang Liang, are you going to treat us to dinner? That would be great!"

Although he loves to show off and talk big, Zhang Liang is actually quite stingy. It's not cheap for four people to eat at McDonald's; it costs over a hundred yuan, and he can't bear to spend that much.

He could only manage an awkward laugh and say, "I just bought a new phone, so I'm a little short on cash..."

Seeing Guo Juan pout, he quickly added, "If I win the lottery, I'll treat you all to a meal! Last night I just bought a 6+1 lottery ticket, five bets in total, which cost ten yuan. They say the grand prize is worth tens of millions this time, and the draw is tonight. If I win, I'll be rich!"

"Pah! If you could win the grand prize, pigs would fly!" Guo Juan clearly didn't believe him.

Wang Feiyang was stunned. It was as if a lightning bolt had flashed through his mind, and he remembered something!

In his previous life, Zhang Liang really won the lottery!

Of course, it couldn't be the grand prize; it was just a very common third prize, the kind with a prize of 300 yuan per bet. But this guy bought five times the amount, so he also got a prize of 1500 yuan!

After claiming the prize, he was quite generous and treated himself, Guo Juan, and Hu Xiaoyun to a McDonald's meal.

This was Wang Feiyang's first time eating McDonald's, so it left a very deep impression on him.

Moreover, Zhang Liang had been bragging about winning the lottery for years, so it was impossible for Wang Feiyang not to remember it...