Reborn in 1999: Starting as a black marketeer

Today's exchange rate is 1 USD to 25.8 rubles. Although tuition and accommodation fees are priced in USD, they will still be converted to rubles at the exchange rate of the day when you pay.

There is a currency exchange point right next to the International Education Center, which is a kind of "feature" on the streets of Moscow, where similar currency exchange points can be seen everywhere.

Whether it's Euros, US Dollars, Chinese Yuan, or Japanese Yen, they can all be exchanged for Rubles at a floating exchange rate. Of course, you can also exchange Rubles for foreign currency freely, without any limits or restrictions.

Of course, exchanging US dollars for rubles and exchanging rubles for US dollars are definitely not the same exchange rate.

For example, today, the official exchange rate of the US dollar to the ruble is 1:25.8, but at the foreign exchange points on the street, you can exchange US dollars for rubles at 1:26.3, and some exchange points even have higher rates, because these exchange points are run by private banks, and some are not banks at all, but "underground banks".

The exchange rate at the exchange point was 27.3 rubles to 1 dollar, because the Russians themselves didn't want rubles...

Everyone knows that the ruble has been depreciating in recent years. It might lose a lot of value if you hold it for just a day or two. That's why foreign currencies like the US dollar and the euro are the real "hard currencies"!

Thanks to the slightly higher exchange rate at the exchange points outside, Wang Feiyang simply exchanged $2000 and received 52600 rubles.

After paying over 49,000 rubles for tuition and accommodation, he had about 3,000 rubles left, enough for him to live on for a while. In addition, he only had 6,000 US dollars left, and he had many important things to do, so he had to be careful with his money!

Zhang Liang and Hu Xiaoyun obediently followed Zhou Yu's instructions and each exchanged 2200 US dollars for rubles, while Hu Xiaoyun, being wealthy, directly exchanged 2500 US dollars. There was nothing they could do; he had money, and they couldn't compare.

…………

Finally, Zhou Yu ran to the school's external affairs office located on the basement floor of the Little Red Building, retrieved the four student ID cards that had just been stamped, and distributed them to Wang Feiyang and the others.

"Here, this is your preparatory student ID. This is very important, so don't lose it. You can show it when you buy bus or subway passes or visit museums, and it will save you a lot of money. You'll also need to show your student ID when entering and exiting the dormitory building and going to the main school building."

This is a lead-gray hard-cover ID card with each person's headshot affixed inside, along with their name, nationality, school, and other information, and stamped with the official seal of the Moscow State University International Education Center.

Wang Feiyang was naturally very familiar with this item. He took it, checked that the name and other details were correct, and then casually put it in his pocket. He smiled and said to Zhou Yu, "Thank you for your help today, Brother Zhou. How about we have lunch together?"

Zhou Yu, a government-sponsored doctoral student with experience working part-time at a study abroad service company, was considered quite capable, which inspired Wang Feiyang to befriend him.

Of course, in the previous life, Zhou Yu also helped them with the procedures, but at that time Wang Feiyang's emotions had not yet been adjusted, and he was listless in everything he did, so he naturally did not deliberately try to befriend Zhou Yu, and he did not even think about these things.

Zhou Yu waved his hand and smiled, "You've just arrived and are quite busy settling in, so I won't bother you today. I'll come visit you again in a few days, once you've settled in. By the way, if you encounter any trouble, feel free to call me. However, my abilities are limited, and I'm usually quite busy. I'll definitely help if I can, but there's nothing I can do if I can't."

The following remarks were just polite words, because Zhou Yu's job was considered done after helping the students complete their enrollment procedures.

From now on, it will be up to Wang Feiyang and his team to rely on themselves...

…………

Watching Zhou Yu board the bus and leave, the four of them stood downstairs at the education center, looking at each other. Suddenly, Zhang Liang remembered something and exclaimed, "How are we getting back to the dorm? Which bus do we take? How many stops do we need to go? Zhou-ge didn't tell us any of this!"

His reminder made the two girls realize the same thing, and they became nervous.

Indeed, this isn't in China, but on the streets of a foreign country!

Luckily, Wang Feiyang was there, otherwise the three of them would have been in real trouble today. They would probably have had to go back to the education center to find a Chinese student they didn't know to help them, but everyone was in class and didn't have time to help. They would have to wait until others finished class and go back to their dorms with them.

In fact, that's exactly what the four of them did in their previous life...

"It's alright, I'm here. I noticed when I arrived. I'll take you back by car later," Wang Feiyang said with a relaxed smile.

The three of them then remembered that Wang Feiyang was very good at Russian, and they breathed a sigh of relief. When they actually arrived in Moscow, they realized what it really meant to be fluent in Russian.

When Zhou Yu was helping them with their business, Zhang Liang and the other two were completely bewildered from beginning to end, and they couldn't understand a single word!

Wang Feiyang was different. Although he didn't say much, judging from his relaxed expression, he probably understood everything.

Now that Zhou Yu has left, the three of them are completely at a loss. They don't even know how to get back to their dorm. But Wang Feiyang is not worried at all because he speaks Russian well, so he can do anything on his own without relying on others.

That's the difference! You have to admit it!

…………

Now that Wang Feiyang knew how to get back to the dormitory, the three of them were no longer flustered.

Hu Xiaoyun laughed and said, "It's much more lively here than the dormitory area. Why don't we walk around and get something to eat, and see if there's a place to get a SIM card? We should call home too."

After they arrived in Moscow last night, Zhou Yu simply called the intermediary company in China to let them know they were safe. Then, the intermediary company called the four families' homes this morning, since it was already late at night back home.

Wang Feiyang was even more eager to get a phone number than the others. His shipment had already arrived in Moscow and was lying in the freight forwarding company's warehouse, which couldn't be delayed.

So when he heard Hu Xiaoyun say that, he immediately nodded and said, "Okay, let's get the phone card first, and grab something to eat while we're at it. There's nothing to do back in the dorm, and we can't cook anything since we have nothing here."

This area is said to be more lively than the dormitory area, but it's actually only slightly more so. It's just that the dormitory area is too remote and has nothing there, which makes this area seem a bit more lively.

If this were in the country, there would be several commercial streets next to such a famous education center!

But this is Moscow...

There were just a few more shops along the street, selling clothes, shoes, socks, bags, and the like. The group walked for quite a while but didn't see a single restaurant. There were a few bars, but none of them were open at midday.

Fortunately, after turning into another street, he finally saw a shop sign with a little yellow bee on it. Wang Feiyang's eyes lit up. This was "Bilan," a very famous telecommunications operator. You could get a SIM card here.