Reborn in 1999: Starting as a black marketeer

After dinner, we chatted for a while, and then everyone went their separate ways to attend to their own business.

Zhang Liang was about to call on people to play cards again, while Liu Yingying wanted Wang Feiyang to come to her room to watch a movie, but Wang Feiyang politely declined, saying that he had something to do later.

If it were just Liu Yingying alone, it wouldn't be a problem for Wang Feiyang to go over, but her roommate Zhuzhu has already returned, so it would be a bit inappropriate for Wang Feiyang to go over there. He can't just hang around in a girl's room all the time; it's quite inconvenient.

Seeing that it was almost time, Wang Feiyang took out a pack of cigarettes from the cabinet, wrapped it in a plastic bag, tucked it under his arm, and strolled out the door.

Their dormitory building is quite large, with dozens of rooms on each floor and long corridors. Right now, the corridors are quiet and there are hardly any people walking around.

Walking along the long corridor to the other end, Wang Feiyang stopped in front of a room.

A sign was attached to the door: 【Дежу́рный-по-общежи́тию】. This was the floor manager's room, and she usually lived here.

Actually, there is a senior administrator in the dormitory, but he is a logistics and administrative staff member of the school. He is only responsible for handling major matters and does not usually handle anything. He has an office on the first floor of the dormitory and only comes to work for two afternoons a week. Most of the time, you can't see him.

Wang Feiyang knocked on the door, and soon footsteps sounded inside. The door opened, and the floor manager, an older woman, peeked out, glanced at Wang Feiyang, and asked with a stern face, "What is it?"

This floor is almost entirely occupied by Chinese students, so when she saw Wang Feiyang, she knew he was also a student living here.

Wang Feiyang said with a smile, "Hello, I'm a student who just moved in a couple of days ago. My classmates told me you're the floor manager, so I came to get to know you."

Perhaps it was hearing Wang Feiyang's fluent Russian that made the dormitory supervisor feel more favorably toward him, and her expression softened as she smiled and said, "Welcome to Moscow. If you have any problems with the dormitory, feel free to come to me. I live here."

To be honest, these floor managers are quite pitiful. They are not considered formal employees of the school, but rather temporary workers with extremely low wages, less than three thousand rubles a month. If it weren't for the free accommodation provided, they would have difficulty supporting themselves in Moscow on that salary.

Wang Feiyang said, "Well, I came here to ask you some questions about the dormitory."

The caretaker, an older woman, opened the door and let him in. "Come in and let's talk."

Upon entering, the room was similar in layout to the dormitory where Wang Feiyang and his friends lived, but with more household appliances, making the room feel somewhat cramped.

"Well, I personally prefer a quieter environment, so I was wondering if I could apply for a single room. There seem to be some empty rooms on this floor, like room 708, which is empty." Wang Feiyang didn't beat around the bush and asked directly.

The cleaning lady frowned, about to say something, when Wang Feiyang waved the cigarette in his hand and smiled, "These are cigarettes I brought from China. I know you smoke, so I wanted to invite you to try them and see if they're any different from the cigarettes here."

The caretaker's expression softened a bit. Without any hesitation, she took the pack of cigarettes, examined it, and asked without looking up, "These cigarettes must be pretty cheap. You should take them back; I can't accept your gift."

Wang Feiyang waved his hand, "It's not expensive. I bought it at the airport duty-free shop. It only cost thirty or forty US dollars a piece."

Upon hearing the price, the dormitory supervisor finally smiled, clutching the pack of cigarettes tightly. Looking at Wang Feiyang, she said, "There are indeed rooms available, but according to school regulations, preparatory students can only stay in double rooms. You can only apply for single rooms after you officially enroll as freshmen. So, this is a difficult matter..."

Wang Feiyang smiled knowingly. Since they hadn't refused outright, it meant there was room for maneuver.

He immediately and decisively said, "How about this, you help me move to an empty dormitory, like 708. The next semester is about to start, and I guess there won't be any new students coming. This way, it won't violate the school rules, and it will still be considered as living in a single dormitory."

The female administrator tilted her head and thought for a moment, then hesitated, saying, "It doesn't violate the rules, but..."

"Since my room is no longer being used by new guests, I'll just pay an extra fifty dollars a month for my stay. I'm just not sure how to pay this, so I'll give it to you and ask you to handle it for me," Wang Feiyang said decisively.

This was a plan he had already devised. Trying to monopolize a dormitory room just by giving away a pack of cigarettes was really wishful thinking. But by giving the administrator a "bribe" of fifty US dollars every month, this matter would definitely be settled.

Because that's almost half a month's salary for her!

Sure enough, upon hearing Wang Feiyang's words, the building manager's eyes lit up, and she said somewhat impatiently, "That is indeed a good idea. You can give me the fifty dollars, and I'll go and give it to the school for you. I'll give you the key to room 708 in a bit, and even if more new students come, I'll arrange for them to stay in other rooms."

Things went exceptionally smoothly, just as Wang Feiyang had envisioned.

That's how Moscow is these days. Rules and regulations are all nonsense. As long as you're willing to spend money, there's nothing you can't get done!

Of course, the prerequisite is that you have certain communication skills and it's best to gain other people's favor, so that you can get things done for the least amount of money...

Wang Feiyang chatted with the administrator for a while. At this moment, his Russian proficiency won him the administrator's favor again. She even asked him curiously how he could speak Russian so well and whether he had studied it before.

"I've been learning Russian since I was little. Oh, my grandfather taught me. He was also a student at Moscow State University, but that was more than forty years ago," Wang Feiyang said without hesitation. In fact, his grandfather never studied abroad; he spent his entire life in his small village and had never even been to another province...

…………

When Zhang Liang learned that Wang Feiyang had directly asked the administrator for a single dormitory room, his eyes widened in disbelief. "I heard they say that old lady is hard to talk to, and there aren't any single dorm rooms here. How did you manage to get one?"

Wang Feiyang smiled faintly, not mentioning that he gave the building manager a $50 tip every month, but simply said, "Isn't this great? I'm living in a single dorm, so you're living in a single dorm too. Besides, I live in 708, so it's convenient to eat together and stuff."

"Yeah! I'll be living in a single dorm room from now on, which will make playing cards and stuff much more convenient, haha..." Zhang Liang suddenly realized and was overjoyed.

He really got a great deal; he didn't even have to show his face and still got a single dormitory room.

Of course, he probably won't be alone for long. If more new students come, they'll be assigned to his room, since he didn't pay the administrator fifty dollars a month...