Reborn in 1999: Starting as a black marketeer

Wang Feiyang hadn't slept well last night, so he drifted off to sleep as the bus started moving.

When I opened my eyes again, I had already been woken up after we arrived at the station.

I rubbed my sleepy eyes, picked up my backpack, and jumped off the bus.

The dilapidated station was filled with black sewage from the melting snow on its uneven ground, while vendors selling sesame cakes and roasted sweet potatoes called out their wares from the side.

Yes, it feels familiar.

The county town wasn't big, and the bus station was only a ten-minute walk from home, so Wang Feiyang strolled home with his bag on his back.

The spring breeze of reform and opening up has reached this small inland county town. The streets are lined with all kinds of shops. It is noon now, and the streets are full of people going home for lunch after get off work.

The vegetable vendors had almost set up their stalls in the middle of the road. Fortunately, there weren't many cars these days, and the road was mostly filled with bicycles and motorcycles. Everyone squeezed and gave way to each other, and they were able to get through.

The sounds of bargaining, hawking, arguing, and cursing filled the air.

This is what they call the warmth and humanity of everyday life...

After crossing a street and turning into a residential area, you see small villas with tiled exteriors and smooth, wide cement roads leading in all directions. There are no vendors selling things along the roads. This is what the county calls the "luxury residential area," and Wang Feiyang's family lives here.

To send Wang Feiyang abroad to study, his parents almost sold their house, but after much deliberation, they couldn't bear to part with it and borrowed some money from relatives to make up the cost.

When I arrived at my own front door, it was wide open. Standing at the gate, I could hear my parents talking in the living room.

A smile spread across Wang Feiyang's face as he walked inside, calling out loudly, "Mom, I'm home!"

He called home last night to say he would be back at noon today.

As soon as I reached the living room door, the bedroom door opened, and my mother greeted me with a big smile.

The father stood reservedly in the living room, fiddling with the bowls and chopsticks on the dining table, seemingly not paying much attention to his son's return. The meal was already prepared, and he was just waiting for Wang Feiyang to come home so they could eat together.

"Hurry up and put your things down and wash your hands. You must be starving. Your dad just went to the restaurant next door and bought your favorite braised pork with preserved vegetables and grilled lamb chops. They're still warm!" Mom said affectionately, putting her arm around Wang Feiyang's shoulder.

Wang Feiyang felt a warmth in his heart. Although his parents expressed their love in different ways, they both loved him in the same way.

I greeted my dad, put down my things to wash my hands, and then sat down at the dining table.

While serving Wang Feiyang food, his mother kept asking him how he was doing in the provincial capital, whether he hadn't been eating well, and why he looked a little thinner.

His father then asked him how his studies were going, whether he could keep up with the teacher's pace, and whether Russian was difficult to learn, etc.

Of course, Dad didn't know that Wang Feiyang's Russian level was now higher than that of their teacher, Mr. Wu!

After chatting for a while, we got down to business.

Dad said, "The study abroad service company has already notified us to gather early on the 30th. They will send a car to take you all directly to the Capital Airport. Your flight is at around 6 PM."

"The flight is at night? That means it won't arrive in Moscow until the middle of the night?" Mom said, a little surprised.

"There's a time difference. Moscow is five hours behind us, and the flight takes eight hours, so we should arrive there around 10 p.m., which isn't too late." Dad had obviously done his research.

"Won't it be very inconvenient to make phone calls in the future? By the time Feiyang and the others get out of school, we're all asleep here."

Wang Feiyang said with a smile, "Then I'll call you during lunch, when you'll be home from get off work. Besides, I heard from Professor Wu that universities there don't have as many classes as universities in China, and classes often end around 3 PM, which is around 8 PM in China, so it's convenient for a phone call."

"International calls must be expensive. You don't need to make so many calls unless it's important. Once a month is enough," Mom said worriedly.

"It seems that international students over there all use phone cards, and the prices aren't very expensive," Wang Feiyang said casually.

In his previous life, he had run a phone card business. International calls were naturally very expensive, and nobody was foolish enough to dial directly from their mobile phone. Everyone used IP phone cards, which were much cheaper.

"That's alright. Prices must be high in a big city like Moscow. Be careful with your money when you get there, and don't spend it recklessly," Mom advised.

Wang Feiyang nodded with a smile.

My dad said with a serious face, "You'll be leaving in a few days, and the family has already prepared all the money for you. Apart from exchanging $2500 at the bank with your passport and school invitation letter, the rest of the dollars were exchanged through money changers at a much better rate than the bank."

At that time, the exchange rate between the US dollar and the Chinese yuan was still around 1:8.3, but this was the official exchange rate. Ordinary people could not exchange yuan for US dollars at banks back then, since the country's foreign exchange reserves were not large.

Only international students like Wang Feiyang, or those going abroad for tourism, can exchange US dollars at the official exchange rate by presenting their passports and invitation letters. There are also limits on the amount that can be exchanged; for example, international students can only exchange a maximum of US$2500 per year.

This amount of US dollars is definitely not enough, so the rest can only be exchanged with money changers. The exchange rate offered by money changers is higher than that of banks, since that's where they make their profit.

Generally, the exchange rate is 1:9, but it was even higher a couple of years ago, around 1:10!

My dad exchanged $2500 at the bank and then asked someone to exchange it for another $5500 through a money changer at a rate of 1:9.

Some people might wonder, if you're going to study in Moscow, where they use rubles, why bring US dollars?

There's no way around it; perhaps the sharp devaluation of the Russian ruble a couple of years ago scared those universities, so they only accept US dollars for international students' tuition, not rubles...

Moreover, in Moscow, the US dollar is definitely a hard currency, and there are foreign exchange points everywhere, offering exchange rates that are much higher than the bank's recommended rates.

Dad continued, "I've prepared $8000 for you. Don't come back next summer. You've only been there for six months; there's no need to rush back. Boys should explore the world. Besides, plane tickets are so expensive. This money covers all your preparatory and first-year university fees. After you get there, pay your preparatory tuition and deposit the rest in a bank as soon as possible. I heard there's a Bank of China in Moscow. Don't deposit in Russian banks; I heard they're all private, and they might go bankrupt any day..."

My dad also gave me a long list of instructions.

Sure enough, her family had prepared $8000 for her, exactly the same as in her previous life...

This is normal, after all, Wang Feiyang only changed his own life after his rebirth, plus a few people who had already crossed paths with him, such as Su Ying and Song Yi.

It hasn't affected his family yet. Today is the first time he's seen his parents since his rebirth, so naturally it hasn't affected them.