As soon as he saw this word, Yang Mingzhi immediately became energetic.
Could it be that what's inside the wooden box is the 194 Fat House Happy Water? No! It's not happy water, but a life-saving sugar water!
"That's it. I want it all. How much do you want? I'll give it."
All Feliudov saw from the general's face was excitement. The wooden box was indeed marked "Made in the United States." Did the general just like American products? Indeed, the United States can indeed produce some weird and interesting gadgets.
As for the value of this box of Coca-Cola, none of the store employees knew it. Because if American-made cigarettes were tolerated on the counter, it was simply unbelievable that this box of Coca-Cola appeared here.
The changing expressions of the staff were suspicious, and all the Ministry of Internal Affairs personnel present were able to conclude that there must be corruption involved.
Absolute power brings absolute corruption. Stalin gave his supporters great privileges, such as the huge sum of money given to Yang Mingzhi, which is a kind of legal corruption. But who is against this?
The staff were tight-lipped about this. They didn't want to say that it was the station master who saved some fresh goods. If this group of internal affairs personnel entered the small warehouse to check, they would find more. It was the station master who ordered the store to sell those goods at a high price.
The "huge sums" of money earned from American cigarettes were used as additional subsidies for all railroad workers.
This behavior is of course illegal. However, in a state of war, everyone's quality of life has plummeted. A little more money can at least improve the food.
If there is an interrogation, all the inside stories of Nizhny Novgorod Railway Station can be found out. Filudov and others are all veterans from Moscow. Since the local comrades have acquiesced in the store selling American goods
, I don’t want to be unhappy myself.
The female clerk hesitated for a long time because she didn't know the value of the box of goods.
Yang Mingzhi was waiting for her answer, and now he was overcome with embarrassment.
"Tell me, how much is it? We will pay it truthfully."
"Here... you... you give me two hundred rubles... no! You give me one hundred and fifty rubles."
"Really? Isn't it a bit expensive?" Yang Mingzhi said deliberately.
"Ah! Dear... you are a general? Comrade General, after all, it was shipped here from Murmansk, and the price should not be lowered any further."
"Really? Maybe you still have the same ones in your warehouse. I want them all." As he said that, Yang Mingzhi gave Grishenko a look that seemed like he was going to search further.
All the female staff were panicked.
"It's gone! This is the last box, it's really gone!"
"The last box? Does this mean there were many boxes?" Looking at the woman's eyes, her panic was hard to describe in words.
But Yang Mingzhi was still very interested. If he could continue to find several boxes of Coca-Cola, he could pay a big price.
He no longer paid attention to the pleading eyes of the women and ordered: "Grishenko, you go to their warehouses and search them. Move out all the goods. I want them all."
Grishenko was the first to open the wooden door of the counter and walked into the store warehouse. The employees stood in a daze against the wall, as if waiting for the final judgment.
Feryudov and Kastellura also joined in the search, hoping to find something strange.
…
There was a loud noise in the small warehouse. Outside the warehouse, many train station employees also came after hearing the news. The originally deserted waiting hall was bustling with activity.
More than 20 workers wearing hard hats and coarse overalls gathered around the store. When they saw an officer with medals, they stood there in shock, either widening their eyes or whispering.
The situation had indeed become too embarrassing. Yang Mingzhi motioned to the female clerk who talked a lot: "You...come here. Don't be afraid."
The woman came over muttering, full of anxiety.
"You are afraid because you have hidden some American goods. It seems that these goods cannot be sold in principle. Right?"
She didn't say anything, and acquiesced with a gentle nod and firm eyes.
"Well, if my people find anything, you must sell it all to us. I am a very principled person, and I will pay some money. As for your secret possession of goods, I will not and have no intention to report it to you.
Just pretend it didn’t happen.”
As soon as she finished speaking, the woman's stiff expression suddenly changed. She cheered up and asked in a low voice: "Is everything you said true?!"
"Really! Now tell me sincerely, what else is in your warehouse?"
Yang Mingzhi felt that if he first used the "big stick policy" to scare people, and then released the "carrots" in a persuasive way, the group of people in front of him would definitely tell the truth.
As expected, the female staff recruited one after another, and even revealed who was behind the scenes, the webmaster himself. Of course, Yang Mingzhi didn't care who was the source of the corruption, he just wanted to know what was in the warehouse.
After listening to the female staff member's narration, he felt that he had picked up a huge treasure.
"It's incredible...the goods you intercepted are really rich in variety!" Yang Mingzhi replied in a low voice, with suppressed excitement.
There is a saying that it is like a goose plucking its feathers. Whenever a military train stops at this station, a small amount of goods are taken from the carriage. When the goods arrive at the destination, no one will pursue the missing "odds".
There are very few goods privately intercepted at Nizhny Novgorov Railway Station, but the variety is very rich.
"Let's take another look at this box. Where's your unboxing crowbar? Bring it to me. I want to inspect the goods."
Soon, Yang Mingzhi held a familiar-looking crowbar and forcefully opened the box, just like opening an ammunition box, with extremely skillful movements.
The moment he opened the box and the wooden board facing the top was opened, Yang Mingzhi could only shiver with happiness.
Yes, there are fifteen bottles of Coca-Cola in glass bottles in the box.
He suppressed his excitement and took out a bottle. Naturally, there was no sticker label on the bottle, and there was no formula list or nutrition list. The glass bottle was specially made, with an artistic embossment, and the bottle cap was also made of metal.
He played with the whole bottle, shaking the dark brown liquid in it, and even deliberately swung it, and a lot of bubbles suddenly appeared.
Star Tao was watching her husband's strange behavior and said that this "black water" is indeed interesting. Can this thing be drunk? Maybe it is a kind of wine?
"Brother, what are you so excited about? Is this wine?"
"It's Coca-Cola, silly girl."
"What music? What is it?"
"Oh, you don't understand even if you tell me. Wait until you get on the train and taste it for yourself. The taste is really wonderful."
"Really? It seems like you have drank."
"Of course." Yang Mingzhi blurted out without thinking, but immediately regretted it.
Oops! Why am I telling her this? I have to pretend to know very little now!
Yang Mingzhi had an idea and considered that in China in this time and space, this magical American drink was sold in several important cities along the southeastern river. It was the darling of the rich.
"I once had the opportunity to taste this thing. The taste is indescribable. It's so wonderful. I never thought that we could get this in Nizhny Novgorod! I don't know what to call it. Let's just say
Call it happy water."
"Oh, happy water!" Star Tao couldn't help but cover her mouth and burst into laughter.
Her husband was generous with his compliments, which made Yang Guo eager to try.
Yang Mingzhi estimated that these glass bottles had a capacity of about 500 milliliters, a total of fifteen bottles, and seven liters of happy water. He also saw that there were two bottle openers stuffed in the wooden box. If he wanted to open it, he could open it now
Can.
Obviously, it is better to bring the drink to the car and enjoy it slowly. There are many people standing in the waiting hall, so it is better not to be too conspicuous.
After a while, Grishenko and his close comrades came out carrying some wooden boxes, with only the joy of a good harvest on their faces.
All the wooden boxes were marked with the word "USA", and the officials of the Ministry of Internal Affairs did not hesitate to conclude that they were intercepted goods and moved them out together for inspection.
The female staff were so frightened that their faces turned pale, and the onlookers at the train station dispersed in panic.
"It seems they don't want to be involved in this matter." Yang Mingzhi glanced at the people running away and continued to order: "Open all the boxes and see what's inside."
Now, look at how much the goods are!
Twenty packs of Camel cigarettes.
One box of canned yellow peaches, six cans in total.
Two boxes of orange juice, thirty bottles in total.
Three cases of Coca-Cola, totaling 45 bottles.
A box of Hershey's chocolate military-style chocolates, totaling 20 yuan.
Four tin cans of biscuits.
In addition to cigarettes, there are some high-sugar and high-energy drinks and foods, and even military rations.
Yang Mingzhi understands English, and he can clearly see that all the wrapping paper on the bottles and cans are labels, and he was even shocked by the tin cans filled with biscuits.
If it’s incredible to get Coca-Cola, aren’t those biscuits even more magical? The tin cans are spray-painted with pictures and all the information about the manufacturer.
"It's incredible. Isn't this Oreo? Americans, you are really supporting the Soviet Union and at the same time, you are crazily promoting your consumerism."
The Kraft Company in the United States has long been established, and Oreo is its flagship product. Originally, biscuits were included in some types of military rations in the United States. Of course, food manufacturing giants such as Kraft will desperately get orders and produce them.
The plastic manufacturing industry in this time and space is relatively limited, so oil paper, glass and tinplate cans are most commonly used for food packaging. The Oreo biscuits here are packaged in large tin cans. As for where these goods are sent? Yang Mingzhi guessed that it
Supposedly a children's snack, perhaps sent to Kuibyshev for those children who wish to be diplomats?
Thinking of this, he couldn't help but sigh that War at the Railway Station, whom he had never met for the first time, was really good at picking up rare goods.
Suppressing the excitement in his heart, Yang Mingzhi waved his hand: "I want all these things. You name a price, and I will buy them immediately."
"This..." The female staff member was facing tremendous pressure because the station manager did not intend to sell some of the goods.
"Hey, how much do you want me to give you?"
When all the female staff were hesitant, Feliudov came to Yang Mingzhi and said righteously: "All these things are confiscated! You have no right to sell these goods. Do you have any objections? I forbid you to have any objections, otherwise you will all
Everyone will be punished."
What Feliudov said was so extreme that Yang Mingzhi was so shocked that some female staff members even squatted on the ground in fear.
Yang Mingzhi patted him on the shoulder: "You are too arbitrary. Look, they almost fainted from fright."
"Comrade General, if you want these goods, I have the right to confiscate them all."
"Really? Maybe you are right. But I...I think it is necessary to pay for things. If I don't pay a ruble, I will become a sinner."
Yang Mingzhi felt that now was the time to test his principles. He took out a wad of banknotes from his pocket, counted twenty of them with his fingers, and placed them on the glass counter.
"Twenty packs of cigarettes, thirty rubles a pack, totaling six hundred rubles. I don't know the price of the other items, they should be more expensive. The total here is two thousand rubles, how about you sell it to me at this price?
"
Until now, do they still have the right to refuse? No! Besides, this general is completely hoping to use money to settle the matter. It seems that everything will be settled after accepting the money.
The female clerk stretched out her right hand tremblingly, took the money, and the transaction was completed.
For Yang Mingzhi, buying so much food and drink with two thousand rubles is really a huge profit! Why? My wife’s belly is already six months old, the fetus is developing rapidly, and the expectant mother must get more nutrients. These
Foods high in sugar and calories are rare in the current Soviet Union, and their appearance has simply solved their urgent needs!
He knows that buying these things at American prices doesn't actually cost much. For example, Coca-Cola only costs five cents a bottle in the United States, and the retail price of 45 bottles is less than three dollars.
What Yang Mingzhi doesn't know is that the current exchange rate of the gold ruble to the gold dollar is fixed at 5.4 to 1, so when converted into rubles, forty-five bottles of Fat House Happy Water are at most seventeen rubles. He knows very well that as a lieutenant general, he
, the total monthly income of all kinds of people is two thousand rubles, which is definitely available, and when it comes to food, I'm afraid you really don't need to pay for it out of your own pocket. As a senior general with great talents, the Soviet Union uses money to support him.
Yang Mingzhi watched the woman take the money away. Unexpectedly, Feliudov slapped the woman's hand aside and said sternly: "She can't take this money?"
"Why?!"
Felyudov looked serious and continued to remind: "Comrade General, they have no right to sell these things. As I said, the Ministry of Internal Affairs will confiscate these stolen goods. According to common sense, we should interrogate these people, punish them for their first offense, and confiscate the toys."
After the goods were shipped, the matter was written off."
"You..." Yang Mingzhi was really puzzled. This must not be the first time that American goods have been intercepted at the train station. Even the officials from the Ministry of Internal Affairs in this city did not pursue the case. Why did he, Feliudov, insist on upholding justice here?
They still uphold justice? Bah! The staff of the Ministry of Internal Affairs of Lubyanka, they are all just asking for money, so how can they be really honest? This is human nature. With the constraints that are difficult to break, why don't they seek some benefits for themselves?
?
Yang Mingzhi was still angry: "In this case, I want these goods, and I must pay the bill. Don't rob me, Comrade Feliudov, now that you are listening to my command, you must obey my order unconditionally, do you understand?"
I must give you the money, maybe you want to get those cigarettes for free! Then you can buy them with your own money!"
After that, Yang Mingzhi took back six hundred-ruble banknotes from the pile of money and signaled to Gryshenko: "You guys, please carry all the remaining goods back to the train." (To be continued)