The sun is high in Novosibirsk in the early morning, and the mist that should have dispersed is still lingering.
It may not be fog, but haze.
Standing by the window, Yang Mingzhi had already changed his clothes.
He turned his head and said: "My dear, please change your clothes quickly, we will go into the city later."
"Okay! I hope we can buy some good things. I said you are really energetic today, even though you work so late!"
"Forget it, I'm in the city for a meeting, and shopping is very secondary. It's because of the meeting that I feel energetic. In fact, for shopping, Annie bought two bottles of pickles yesterday. We can go shopping on the street.
Just go shopping and don’t expect to buy anything else.”
"Um...maybe it's clothes."
"Stop talking, get up quickly, we'll wait to leave after breakfast."
In Moscow, Yang Mingzhi always enjoyed the Lubyanka supply, so fresh beef and eggs were available every day.
When he arrived in Novosibirsk, his food standards were downgraded. At least, he was guaranteed free daily rations of taliba and sauerkraut.
The meals are just this kind of endless cycle, which is really uncomfortable.
Today was a good day. He specially sent someone from the warehouse to bring out a bottle of black caviar.
Every comrade in the design bureau, and even all the guards, shared some caviar.
The extremely salty caviar is wrapped in hard bread cubes. Especially the young people in the design bureau, today is the first time for them to eat caviar.
It's just that everyone's eating appearance is not elegant. Currently, it is illegal to eat in a large office. Many people eat directly outdoors, while some people get into the warm dormitories.
Bread in the left hand, canned sauerkraut in the right hand with a fork, and a bowl of rye potato soup in front of him. Thanks to the supplies brought by the director, today's breakfast is much richer than before.
Popov smiled and came to Yang Mingzhi, who was also drinking soup outdoors: "Director, Comrade Anne's craftsmanship is really impressive. Her husband must have been enjoying it."
"His husband has already died. Why, are you interested in her?"
"No, absolutely not!" Popov tried his best to retort, "My family is still alive, but the work factor is not with me."
"Okay. But you proposed to me. Anne does need a second husband, but this matter requires her attitude. She doesn't care, so why should we care too much? There is one more thing."
"You tell me."
"The caviar is pretty good."
"Yes, it is a specialty of Russia and of our alliance."
"Hey, I just don't know if Novosibirsk produces it. I guess its output plummeted during the war."
Speaking of Russian caviar, most of its raw materials are Russian salmon eggs. This type of salmon is widely distributed in the Lena River and the Ob River, but making the eggs is time-consuming and laborious. Anyway, the factory that processes caviar is basically a food factory, processing and supplying sour pickles.
Wouldn't the army be better?
Yang Mingzhi thought of a strategy, at least he thought it was a good one.
"Comrade Popov, please send someone to take out five more boxes of caviar from the box."
"Ah? Director, is this a side dish for everyone's lunch?"
"You...you think so beautifully! It's as a gift."
"Ah? What a great gift. Who can I give it to?"
"To that upright factory director!" At this point, Yang Mingzhi sighed deeply, "I guess you can't buy many good things in the city's stores. I heard that the factory director is a real old Bolshevik. I think I am an internationalist.
The status of a warrior is very useful against this kind of person, and I will give him some caviar. I think he will meet my request."
"What do you want from him?"
"Yes, I have to get at least a stamping lathe from him and rent a production team. In this way, the biggest obstacle to making guns will be gone. I can't expect that man to be happy when he sees my drawings, Dongfang
There is a tradition that you should bring gifts when visiting others. Caviar and a few bottles of vodka, that’s enough.”
Popov nodded deeply: "You are right, I have never seen a man who can resist vodka."
Just as Yang Mingzhi was preparing the gift, a call suddenly came into the big office.
It turned out that it was a call from President Lysenko. He claimed that the car sent by the Municipal Soviet had entered the gate of the Academy of Sciences.
Look at the time, it's half past eight in the morning, and all the luggage has been prepared.
Yang Mingzhi himself also dressed up. He put on a full military uniform, and all medals were hung in designated locations in accordance with relevant regulations.
He has too many prologues, but unfortunately they are a bit uncertain today, otherwise they would blind other people's eyes when reflected in the sunlight!
Star Tao also wears all her medals like her husband, but she has to wear loose and warm clothes with a bulging belly. Even so, the most important "Gold Star Medal" hangs on her chest.
In comparison, Lieutenant Grishenko was much shabby. He did not have any medals, only a small badge representing the identity of the Ministry of Internal Affairs, and a "Moscow Defender" commemorative medal. All soldiers who participated in the defense of Moscow were awarded this
A commemorative medal. But in faraway Novosibirsk, owning this commemorative medal is very rare!
The drawings were folded neatly and loaded into a large briefcase. This bag was the most critical, and it was carried by Yang Mingzhi. The second lieutenant was carrying a linen bag, which contained two bottles of vodka and five boxes of caviar.
Such a gift should be enough. Yang Mingzhi's purpose is not to give gifts to gain friendship. He has a very strong purpose. As long as the purpose is achieved, there is no need to continue to give away the vodka in the warehouse. It should be used as a reward for his subordinates and his own treasure.
Yang Mingzhi and his wife were waiting in the big office. The two didn't wait for long before three cars arrived.
"Wow! You need such a formation to pick me up?"
Yang Mingzhi, who was already standing outside, first saw clearly all the cars, with Soviet flags planted on the fronts. Then, some people wearing blue hats got out of the cars.
"Oh, these are the guys from the local Ministry of Internal Affairs? They..."
Yang Mingzhi suddenly had an ominous premonition and couldn't help but poke Gryshenko: "Comrade Second Lieutenant, your colleagues are not here to pick me up to investigate, right?"
"Ah? How is that possible? I don't know what's going on."
After all, the guys from the Ministry of Internal Affairs are not easy to mess with, especially in Novosibirsk, which is so high up in the sky and so far away from Moscow. Even in Siberia, which is known as a bitter cold land, there must be some secret prisons and labor camps, and even now people who were detained during the Great Purge are still there.
The prisoners were closely guarded by local Ministry of Internal Affairs personnel.
This kind of issue is too sensitive, and Yang Mingzhi is very measured. He just pretends that those poor people don't exist. Besides, he can feel pity for those people mentally, but that's it.
The blue hats who got out of the car were all equipped with pistols, but they just got out of the car, and each one quickly made a warning posture. It seems that they are there as "bodyguards"?
An official in plain uniform walked over quickly. He was wearing a standard woolen coat, a red flag badge on his collar, and a huge velvet hat on his head.
This man stood in front of Yang Mingzhi. He did not salute. After stating his surname Vasilynov and his position in the organization, he extended his right hand.
Yang Mingzhi subconsciously saluted the military salute, which is the unique respect of soldiers, and then stretched out his hand to shake it.
"Ah, I thought you would send a soldier."
"Comrade General, I am a messenger. Don't worry, we have prepared a suitable venue and invited the factory directors you need."
"You also sent people to observe? There were even comrade journalists."
"Reporters? No, this is not a public meeting and reporters should not be notified. But we did send people to observe it."
Yang Mingzhi nodded. Mayor Umov is indeed smart. The design bureau wants to develop new weapons, and this matter must be kept confidential. Instead of asking the newspaper not to talk nonsense, it is better to hold a secret meeting so that everyone is on their own.
Even if there were indeed enemy spies in Novosibirsk, the spies knew nothing about it. Of course, Yang Mingzhi felt that the local branch of the Ministry of Internal Affairs had eliminated all spies.
"Hurry up and get in the car."
Without any more pleasantries, Yang Mingzhi, who was wearing a medal, helped his wife into the car first, and then got in quickly. He only held his briefcase, which really made Vasilynov sitting in the co-pilot curious.
"General, it seems that you have a lot of information for your meeting? Oh, I can understand that. We also prepare a lot of information for meetings. Sometimes many people in the audience can fall asleep just by reading out the documents."
"Haha, you are joking."
Is this guy an acquaintance? Or does he have other plans? In Novosibirsk, he is almost alone, especially once the car leaves the Academy of Sciences, the situation will be even worse.
Yang Mingzhi built a wall in his heart. He and this man had a heart-to-heart talk, and soon started talking about other things, such as the current situation in Novosibirsk.
He was completely unfamiliar with this city. He didn't know what it looked like during the Tsarist Russia. The current situation was just that he drove through its periphery two days ago. The general scene he saw was that factories were highly concentrated in the city, and the urban area was thinly shrouded.
An industrial city with thin haze, nothing more.
No matter what the purpose was, the official who responded was indeed talkative. He did not hesitate to praise the greatness of Novosibirsk under the Soviet system. Such as such a great industrial city, hard-working local people and a large number of mines, it was as if this
Except for the cold winter, everything about this place is wonderful.
Ah, except for the winter cold.
It is this inevitably cold winter that makes Novosibirsk inherently deficient. Yang Mingzhi believes that if this city had not been facing a huge dilemma in the Soviet Union today, it would have lacked opportunities for rapid development.
It was the terrible offensive of the German army that forced the Soviet Union to engage in the "Eastern Development".
In fact, after the war, the Soviet Union was also engaged in "eastern development" and even built cities in the Arctic Circle! Unfortunately, those cities were political products, and the purpose of building remote cities was to exploit local minerals. With the collapse of the alliance, the new
Facing an economic disaster, the Russian Federation is no longer able to maintain remote cities. Countless small cities in the Far East have been abandoned. Many settlements are gradually integrating into the frozen tundra of the Arctic Circle, becoming a paradise for "wasteland lovers".
There is a reason for the Soviet Union to develop the east. Especially now, the Moscow authorities do not need to use large ruble subsidies to stimulate brave western immigrants to move eastward. Think about what is in the east! At least there is no war there, right? It's just
Winter is colder than Moscow and St. Petersburg, but will your life be endangered if you live in a centrally heated room?
As long as you are alive, it is the best.
The car fleet soon left the Academy of Sciences campus and marched on the wide streets of Novosibirsk. The city underwent large-scale construction after entering the Soviet period. Originally, the city was not large. With the establishment of a large number of state-owned factories, new factories were first built.
In the suburbs, the newly built roads are naturally wider. Now, the factory areas surrounding the city have also become part of the city.
The city's population is still increasing, and the city's suburban lines are extending outward.
To understand a city, you can only truly understand it by going deep into its streets and seeing the daily lives of ordinary people there.
The destination of the motorcade was the City Soviet Office Building. According to Vasilynov, the office building was the post office building in Novosibirsk during the Tsarist Russia.
There are many old-fashioned buildings in the city of Novosibirsk. They were built by Tsarist Russia and are full of Russian style, and some buildings are also full of Central Asian style.
Tsarist Russia established the West Siberian Governor-General in the 19th century to manage the area where Novosibirsk is located. It was later renamed the Steppe Governor-General in 1882. After Soviet Russia was established and won the civil war, it was renamed the Novosibirsk Oblast. But for a long time
In the history of Tsarist Russia, the capital of the Governor-General was Omsk for a long time, and Novosibirsk was the capital for a short time.
Now, the administrative scope of Novosibirsk is too large, and Omsk will be separated from the Novosibirsk Oblast. This is what will happen soon.
For these reasons, the most luxurious Governor's Palace of Tsarist Russia was built in Omsk, and there was also a small Governor's Palace in Novosibirsk, which was just a spare.
The most suitable office space for administrative agencies is the post office building. In this time and space, the Municipal Soviet did not plan to build a new building. They repaired the original post office building and installed a central heating system. For the sake of urban development, officials
, continue to work hard.
The building is an old building. It is a solid building made of marble and granite. The Roman columns in front of the gate are beautifully carved and also add to the sense of solemnity.
With such momentum, why should we build a new building?
"This is it, Comrade General. The venue we have prepared for you is on the third floor. It seems that you should be the last to arrive," Vasilynov said.
"Really? I'd rather arrive earlier. It's already past nine-twenty, and we're still done? I really don't like being late."
"I'm really sorry, Comrade General. Their factories are all in the city, and it's really convenient for them to come here. And the Academy of Sciences..."
"No need to say any more, you will lead the way. I want to meet the factory directors. Well, after the meeting is over, I also want to meet the comrade mayor and the comrade first secretary. I just don't know if I can meet the comrade governor today.
.”
"I'm sorry. The governor and the first secretary of the state are still in Omsk. If you want to see the second secretary, it is possible."
"Forget it." Yang Mingzhi shrugged, "I just want to meet those senior officials to express my greetings. When my scientific research has real results, I will go to see them with the results."