Reborn in 1999: Starting as a black marketeer

With a roar, the silver-white Boeing 747 soared into the sky.

Once the plane had stabilized, the cabin became lively, as it was lunchtime, so the flight attendants began serving dinner from a cart.

These days, the standards for flight attendants on international flights are quite high; they are tall and have sweet faces, especially those on domestic airlines, where the flight attendants are truly one in a million.

For this reason alone, Wang Feiyang decided to choose Air China for all his future flights!

Because he had flown on Aeroflot, the women there couldn't be called flight attendants, they were more like "mama-goers," since most of them were middle-aged Russian women with round waists...

Wang Feiyang ordered a beef rice bowl and a glass of orange juice, and Zhang Liang followed suit, ordering the same thing.

Liu Jianjun, the middleman next to him, ordered a small bottle of Japanese sake in addition to the beef rice.

Wang Feiyang also asked him curiously how the wine tasted.

"The taste is so-so, and the alcohol content isn't high either; it's somewhere between baijiu and beer," Liu Jianjun said with a smile.

Wang Feiyang suddenly remembered something, "Oh right, didn't they say that Air China's international flights would offer Moutai? Why didn't you ask for it?"

"Hehe, they do offer it, but only in first class and business class. We can't get Moutai in economy class." Liu Jianjun must be a frequent flyer with Air China, so he's quite familiar with these things.

After the meal, Liu Jianjun said, "Hey bro, do you smoke? Want to grab a smoke?"

Smoking is still allowed on airplanes these days. There are usually designated smoking areas at the rear of the plane. After a meal, a cigarette is better than being a god. Right now, some old smokers have gathered there and are puffing away.

In his previous life, Wang Feiyang wasn't a heavy smoker, only about a pack every three or four days. After all, in the business world, smoking and drinking were unavoidable.

Upon hearing Liu Jianjun's invitation, he readily agreed, and the two got up and went together to the smoking area at the back.

Liu Jianjun took out cigarettes, one for each of them, and the two of them lit them on the fixed lighters in the smoking area, puffing away.

Taking a deep, satisfying inhale and exhaling a smoke ring, Liu Jianjun smiled and said:

"You students have it so good. The university campus is full of beautiful Russian girls. If you can find a Russian girlfriend, then your trip to Russia won't be in vain."

Those of us doing business in the big market are in a terrible situation. We're surrounded by a bunch of Russians every day, and we hardly ever see any women, or if we do, they're all older women.

I don't dare to go out and wander around normally, because if I get caught by Officer Mao, the penalty starts at one hundred US dollars!

Damn it, it's so dark over there. The police are patrolling the streets and don't care about anything else, they just keep an eye on us Chinese and check our passports!

"And even if you have a passport and visa, it's no use. You can't leave without paying..."

He started cursing and swearing as he spoke, clearly having suffered at the hands of Officer Mao.

He wasn't very old, and he got along well with Wang Feiyang, so he spoke quite casually.

However, what he said wasn't an exaggeration. Moscow was truly in chaos at that time, the national economy was on the verge of collapse, and wages in various units couldn't be guaranteed, so everyone had to "use their own methods" to make money.

In universities, many professors are practically "putting up their prices," requiring a certain amount of money to pass an exam.

In his previous life, Wang Feiyang encountered the infamous "Extinction Master" at school, who claimed that no student could pass the exam without paying her off!

Moreover, that old woman was really ruthless. Russian students had to pay $100 to pass, and $200 for excellence; foreign students had to pay $500 to pass, and $1,000 for excellence.

I must say, the old lady was quite kind; she even knew how to take care of her own countrymen...

Wang Feiyang didn't want to waste his money, so he went to the old lady several times to plead with her. In the end, he learned how formidable the old lady was. She didn't say anything, but just gave him a few difficult problems to solve. With Wang Feiyang's skill level, he definitely couldn't solve them...

In the end, I had no choice but to pay $500 to get through.

…………

Wang Feiyang responded with a smile: "I can't compare to you big bosses. Those bosses in the big market may not seem impressive on the surface, but each of them has a net worth of millions or tens of millions."

"Haha, that's true! If we couldn't make money here, who would come to this godforsaken place? We can't eat or sleep well, it's so cold, and we're treated like inferiors. We're not cheapskates!" Liu Jianjun laughed heartily, without any modesty.

"By the way, Brother Liu, you must be doing business at the Ant Market, right? Are stalls there in high demand right now? How much is the rent per month?" Wang Feiyang asked casually.

Although he had been a middleman in his previous life, it was only a few years later, and at that time the Ant Market was almost gone while the Lyublino Market was rising. So he set up a shop in Lyublino and didn't know much about the Ant Market.

Moreover, it was still the end of 99, and Lyublino was not even finished yet. The Ant Market was at its most prosperous, and almost all the Chinese merchants were still concentrated there.

However, Liu Jianjun was shrewd. He narrowed his eyes, looked at Wang Feiyang, and tentatively asked, "Brother Wang, aren't you a student? Why are you concerned about the big market?"

"Hehe, I also got a batch of jeans before I came, planning to test the waters here." Wang Feiyang didn't hide anything. Anyway, Liu Jianjun was in the bag business, so there was no competition between the two of them.

Liu Jianjun was quite surprised and said in astonishment, "I remember you just said you came to study preparatory courses, right? You haven't even arrived in Moscow yet, and you're already investing so much in business?"

Although Wang Feiyang wasn't asked how much the goods were worth, it was clear that it wouldn't be less, because small batches of goods weren't worth shipping from China at all; the profit wouldn't even cover the shipping costs!

Therefore, these middlemen often ship goods worth hundreds of thousands or even millions of yuan each time.

"My family gave me some money to try it out, but if I lose money, there won't be a next time," Wang Feiyang casually made up an excuse.

Liu Jianjun thought it was reasonable. After all, these days, families that can send their children to study abroad must be well-off. However, Wang's parents were also very generous, daring to give their child so much money to do business in his first year in Moscow.

After thinking for a moment, he said seriously:

"Although I run a bag business, I often wander around the big market when I have nothing to do, so I know the basic situation."

There are quite a few people selling jeans, and they're keeping prices very low. I saw that their wholesale prices are generally around 200 rubles, which is about eight US dollars.

In addition, the rent for shops in the market is not cheap, and shops are hard to come by. The monthly rent and management fees are at least two or three thousand US dollars, and the better the location, the higher the cost.

Moreover, to get a berth, you have to pay an extra "tea fee," which starts at around five thousand US dollars...

Wang Feiyang frowned as he listened. According to Liu Jianjun's explanation, his batch of goods was in serious trouble!