Reborn in 1999: Starting as a black marketeer

There are bookstores near most schools, not to mention key universities like the University of International Business and Economics, which has a sizable Xinhua Bookstore right next door.

After lunch, Wang Feiyang strolled to the bookstore and found the foreign language section.

Although it can't compare to English, Russian isn't exactly a minor language anymore, so the bookstore was filled with all sorts of Russian books. Wang Feiyang picked out a whole set of the Beijing Foreign Studies University edition of "University Russian" textbook, a total of eight volumes!

To be honest, if you can really master this set of textbooks, your level will be roughly equivalent to a graduate student majoring in Russian.

Wang Feiyang's current Russian proficiency is quite impressive in spoken language, almost on par with that of an average Russian speaker. However, his grammar and vocabulary are still lacking, since he didn't major in Russian in his previous life, and his work in foreign trade doesn't require a high level of Russian proficiency.

After settling the bill, I carried the books downstairs to the guesthouse and ran into Hu Xiaoyun and Guo Juan.

"Wang Feiyang, it seems you're staying at the guesthouse. I wonder what the rooms are like here? I'm thinking of staying here too, could I come and see your room?" Guo Juan greeted him warmly.

"Don't you live at home? Why do you suddenly want to stay in a guesthouse?" Wang Feiyang asked, somewhat surprised.

Guo Juan and Zhang Liang are both locals from the provincial capital and live at home.

"Sigh, my home is a bit far from here, it takes more than an hour by bus, it's too much of a hassle. So I discussed it with my family and we decided to just stay here and go home on weekends."

"Then why don't you stay at Hu Xiaoyun's hotel? The conditions there are better," Wang Feiyang said with a smile.

Guo Juan's eyes widened, and she said self-deprecatingly, "Hu Xiaoyun stayed in a four-star hotel! How could the conditions be bad?! The problem is, the price is also high. I'm not a rich woman like Hu Xiaoyun; we poor people can't afford to stay there."

Hearing her say that, Hu Xiaoyun patted her a little embarrassedly, blushing as she said, "What do you mean by 'little rich girl'? Actually, it's not that expensive over there. Long-term rentals are only six thousand yuan a month."

Guo Juan sighed, spread her hands, and looked at Wang Feiyang helplessly, asking, "Six thousand yuan a month! Wang Feiyang, do you think it's expensive?"

"It's very expensive!" Wang Feiyang gave a very straightforward answer.

Just kidding, I only pay 800 yuan a month to stay in a guesthouse, while Hu Xiaoyun's place costs 6,000 yuan, which is more than six times more expensive!

"So let's check out the guesthouse. It seems the agency has an agreement with the guesthouse, so we can get a discount if we stay here," Guo Juan said with a smile.

"Yeah, it's 800 yuan a month for a single room. I think the conditions are alright, at least much better than the high school dorms. Come on, let me show you around," Wang Feiyang said readily.

He led the two women upstairs and opened his room door.

This is a single room, not very big, but it has everything you need except for air conditioning.

After looking at it, Guo Juan was very satisfied and clapped her hands, saying, "I think it's great, let's stay here."

"Huh? No way, this is a single room with only one bed. If you stay here, where am I supposed to stay?" Wang Feiyang joked.

He regretted it a little after he said it. He didn't want to provoke Guo Juan, and it wasn't appropriate to make such a joke. Perhaps it was because he had "integrated" the personality of an old businessman from his previous life, and he spoke too casually.

Guo Juan was taken aback, seemingly not expecting Wang Feiyang to joke like that with her. A slight smile played on her lips as she feigned shyness, saying, "Don't talk nonsense..."

Hu Xiaoyun frowned slightly, looking somewhat unhappy.

Wang Feiyang quickly waved his hand, "Just kidding. If you really want to stay at the guesthouse, just go to the front desk and tell them you're a student attending a Russian language training course here, and they'll know."

"I'll go back and discuss it with my family today. If it's okay, tomorrow... oh, tomorrow's Sunday, so let's move in the day after tomorrow."

Wang Feiyang's training class is held six days a week, with only Sunday off. Today happens to be Saturday.

After finishing their business, and with time before afternoon classes, the three sat down and chatted casually.

Although they were classmates, they hadn't known each other for more than a few days and weren't very familiar with each other yet. So, it was not something a student of that age would do for Wang Feiyang to directly ask Zhang Liang and Hu Xiaoyun for money.

"Hey, what did you buy with that big bag you were carrying?" Hu Xiaoyun asked curiously as she turned her head and saw the big bag that Wang Feiyang had casually placed on the bed.

Wang Feiyang opened the bag, casually pulled out a book, and said, "The textbook we were given was too simple, so I bought a set myself and plan to study it on my own in the meantime."

When it comes to studying, the two girls have a lot of complaints.

"Ugh, if I'd known Russian was this hard to learn, I wouldn't have gone to study in Russia!"

"Yes, after studying it for a few days, I feel that Russian is much harder to learn than English. I used to think English was difficult in high school, but now compared to that, I find English to be very easy."

Wang Feiyang also agreed, saying that Russian is indeed much more difficult to learn than English. Not only does it have more letters, but its grammar is also particularly complex. Most words are divided into masculine and feminine, nouns have six case variations, verbs have six person variations, and adjectives must adhere to strict gender, number, and case agreement with nouns!

Therefore, many international students who have been there for several years, if they don't study hard, can't even have a proper daily conversation.

"You're so lucky. You've been learning Russian since you were little, and now you're so good at it. You don't even need to go to preparatory courses; you can go straight into university," Hu Xiaoyun said enviously.

Going to study in Russia after graduating from high school is actually quite simple, even if you want to attend Moscow State University, which is the best university in Russia!

All you need is a high school (or vocational school) diploma and your high school graduation exam results. Then, get a notarized Russian translation. Go to the international office of the university you want to attend, pay $50 to $100 USD to apply for an invitation letter, and then take your passport and the invitation letter to the embassy to apply for a visa (there's almost no chance of being refused). Finally, just buy a plane ticket and fly there...

Of course, most people in China are unaware of these procedures; otherwise, Wang Feiyang and Zhang Liang's parents wouldn't have spent 30,000 yuan to hire a study abroad agency to handle these formalities.

In his previous life, after Wang Feiyang arrived there, he worked as a study abroad agent for a period of time, charging only a service fee of one thousand US dollars, and helped several students from China with their study abroad procedures.

This was a very profitable business, but the biggest problem was finding students and building trust, so it was discontinued.

…………

Before afternoon classes started, Zhang Liang stared wide-eyed when he saw Wang Feiyang and two girls walking in together, chatting and laughing.

He couldn't understand why, despite his efforts to please the two women, his relationship with them didn't seem to grow any closer, and he was even rejected when he tried to have lunch with them.

But Wang Feiyang didn't seem to have done anything, so how did he suddenly become so close to them...?