"How long will Jia Lei's days be like this?" asked Kerr as he kicked away a scrap iron box on the road.

"It's going to be good! It will be fine when the Soviet Union is completely disintegrated and the position of the government of country E can no longer be shaken. Jia Lei said.

"But when will it be? If it goes on like this, Moscow will be over, and you see that the streets are full of garbage and no one cares. Burr also asked with a frown.

"I'm not a god, how do I know what day it is!" Jia Lei said with a roll of his eyes.

Jia Lei can't say it even if he knows!

"Don't talk about these boring topics, let's come out today to make a big purchase for tomorrow's Christmas, you can be happy, you can buy whatever you want! Today I have a treat!" Jia Lei said proudly.

"What are you buying? The prices here are so expensive, and the price of extra food is even higher than what you sell? Eating now is like eating gold, and we really can't eat it." You might as well exchange this money for gold and give it to us!" Mo Bei rolled his eyes and said.

"You're wrong, gold is worth no grain in the Soviet Union right now!" said Burr, pointing to the locals selling on the side of the road.

At present, food in the Soviet Union still has to be sold in stores, and there are few food sellers on the roadside in big cities, and of course in remote rural places like Siberia, you can still sell things secretly.

"Boer is right, as far as I know, the government of country E is selling a lot of gold for grain everywhere, and gold really has no value for food. Ay!...... There are some things that ordinary people still don't know. Jia Lei sighed and said.

For example, in the first two months of the Soviet Union, the country's grain stocks were only 300 tons, and the country needed to consume at least 500 tons of grain every month......

"Gentlemen, do you need to buy a few pieces of jewelry as Christmas gifts for the ladies of the family?" asked a noble lady who came over with a luxurious jewelry box.

"It's beautiful!" Jia Lei said admiringly, looking at the box studded with gems.

"Why are you selling such a good thing?" asked Burr.

"I've already eaten my allotted rations, and I won't have anything to eat if I don't sell it again. The woman reluctantly touched the jewelry box and said.

"How much are you going to want?" asked Jia Lei.

"The jewelry is about $20,000, and the box is only $10,000. The woman said blankly.

"You're losing money on selling it now, and if you keep it for a while, you might be able to sell it for a higher price. Jia Lei said.

"I can't wait any longer, I haven't eaten for a whole day, and if I don't eat again, maybe tomorrow I won't be able to open my eyes. The woman whispered in a slim-fitting trench coat, her waist thin enough to hold with two hands.

"How can a lady like you not even have something to eat?" asked Pete in surprise.

"We now distribute rations according to labor, the government of country E first distributes food to the workers to prevent them from making trouble, and it is the army that gets the most food, because Yeltsin needs their support, and then there are the staff of teachers and scientific researchers, and the rations distributed by people like us who have no work can only starve to death. The woman whispered.

"But didn't you just raise wages in the whole country? Even if you lack a person's salary, you won't be unable to afford to eat, right?" asked Pete, and Yeltsin has raised wages by as much as 90 percent for the whole country since December 1.

"You still don't understand that prices are rising more than wages!" Mr. Jia said.

"I'm not the only one in my family who doesn't have a job, but no one else has a job. The woman said.

Her husband, an official of the former Soviet government, has no job now, and several adults in the family have no jobs, so they can only sell jewelry to buy high-priced food on the black market to fill their stomachs.

"This jewelry box is beautiful, I paid $35,000 for it. Jia Lei said.

"Thank you!" said the woman happily.

"Boss, what are you buying this for?" asked Pete, puzzled.

"Tomorrow night's lottery, I want you to work overtime at Christmas, if you don't prepare a better prize, don't you hate me to death? Tomorrow each of you can choose a piece of jewelry from it and make a Christmas gift!" Jia Lei rolled his eyes and said.

"Yes, there's never been a boss in our country who would have an employee work overtime on Christmas, and this year you left us all behind. If it weren't for the tens of thousands of dollars in overtime pay, everyone would have left a long time ago. Pete said unhappily.

"Bear with me, when Christmas is over, we'll not be busy. Jia Lei couldn't help but say.

"I don't think it's possible, because there are more and more customers coming to the door these days, and we can't accept them all. It hurts so much to watch so much money run out of my hands!" Pete said, clutching his chest.

"There's no way I've used all the connections in country M and country Y, and I can get up to forty air tickets a day. No matter how much I can't help it!" Jia Lei said helplessly.

"Hey......" everyone sighed in unison.

There's a lot of money in front of you, but you can't earn it!

"Okay, don't talk about these unhappy things, let's go buy Christmas decorations!" Jia Lei said.

"Fortunately, as foreigners, we don't need all kinds of bills and quotas to buy goods!" Pete said happily.

"But the money we spend is several times more expensive than theirs!" replied Jia Lei with a roll of his eyes.

Beautiful Christmas trees, colorful latte art, light decorations, and other things that were previously rare in the Soviet Union are now all found on the black market and in imported stores.

"Two Christmas trees!", "Wine and turkey!", "Dessert and fruit......"

These things, which are not basic foods, can already be traded openly. Jia Lei happily led people to buy frantically, not caring about their high prices at all!

＊＊＊＊

Christmas Day December 25, 1991

"Come on, everyone, this is our last business of the year, and after today, everyone can go home for the New Year. Jia Lei stood in the travel agency and clapped his hands and said.

"Wonderful owner, we just had a hasty meal yesterday on Christmas Eve, and I'm definitely going to have a real turkey when I go back today." Pete said.

"I know you all want to go home for the New Year, so we didn't take any of the work in the next few days, come on, everyone! After this last business is done, you can fly back with the plane." Jia Lei said to Pete and their foreign employees.

"I envy them for having a holiday so early, and we're going to stay here on duty!" said Bre.

"Our Orthodox Christmas is in January, early. You don't have to take a vacation with them!" Kerr said.

"But it's New Year's Day in a few days!" said Kerr, with some regret.

"My dear brother, you have no regrets when you think about the bonuses and overtime pay given by your boss. Bauer said.

"Okay, let's go without talking nonsense!" Jia Lei finished speaking and went out with someone.

The door is still the same as half a month ago, crowded with guests who came to sign up.

"We are about to take the New Year's holiday, and we will not accept registrations for the time being. Novan said as he hung the notice of closure on the door.

"No!" there was a frustrated exclamation from the scene.

"Let's go!" Jia Lei said and got on the bus of their travel agency.

"Why are there so many people today?" Jia Lei asked with a frown.

"I'm really sorry! Many of the buses outside have stopped, even the trains have started to be delayed or even cancelled, and my friend wants to go with us to the airport to find a way. A guest was embarrassed to say that many people in the car had come to rub the car.

"I'm sorry, I didn't expect the train to be cancelled. I knew I should have booked a ticket with him at your travel agency!" said the guest's friend embarrassedly.

"Hey...... Even if you go to the airport, it's useless, and now you can't buy a plane ticket even if you spend $100,000!" Jia Lei kindly told him.

"I know, but I'm going to try it, because now that trains are delayed and cancelled on a large scale, and there is no gas at the gas station, the only way to leave Moscow is to take a plane. My friend said worriedly.

"Wait! After a few days, when order is stable, both the train and the gas station will be restored. Jia Lei said.

"But by that time, the police station and the courts will be back in business, right?" said my friend with a wry smile.

"They should be the first to get back to work!" said Burr.

"Huh, aren't they all at work these days?" Jia Lei asked curiously.

"They have also gone through most of the internal cleaning and adjustments, and the police and manpower have been understaffed for the past few days!" Kerr explained, at which point the car started to start.

Many passengers who didn't have time to sign up followed the car for a few steps, and finally stopped helplessly.

The car is wobbly on the snow-covered roads of Moscow, and there are many snow and obstacles on the roads that no one has cleared, and the government has raised the wages of the cleaners to 3,000 rubles in order to call on them to continue working.

But people have not yet reacted to the sudden change in the system, and even with such high wages, there are still very few workers who come to work, and the security on the streets is even worse.

The streets were filled with chaotic crowds and protest processions, and as he passed by a food sales point, Jia Lei saw people in line fighting with the guards, and finally people rushed into the store to grab the food.

There are also idle young people and veterans of the former Soviet Union on the streets, taking advantage of the fire and robbing everywhere with guns. There are crowds of people smashing and looting, and the whole city is a chaotic scene.

"Be careful! someone!" Jia Lei shouted in fright when he saw a young man who had fallen down in the middle of the road.

"Look at me!" instead of slowing down, the driver stepped on the accelerator to speed up.

"What are you going to do?" Jia Lei shouted in horror.

"Sit tight!" the driver shouted, speeding over.

The young man yelled in fright, then rolled over to the side of the road, while the driver slammed the steering wheel around the seat where he was lying.

"It's okay!" Jia Lei patted his chest with palpitations and said.

"What is this person doing? "Did you touch porcelain?" Jia Lei said, sticking his head out of the car window and glancing back.

"Come back!" Boer screamed in fright, dragged Jia Lei back with a white face, and then immediately closed the car window.

"Bang bang bang!" Several bullets hit the wire safety net on the body, and Jia Lei was terrified.

"Damn! let the fat sheep run away. Jia Lei saw in horror from the rear window that more than a dozen strong men with guns ran out of the alley on the side of the road and said fiercely.

"They have guns in broad daylight, and the police don't care?" asked Jia Lei.

"There are too many people to control the proliferation of guns! So I'm on the road now, and I won't stop until I have to!" the driver whistled.

"Your car is driving very well and your judgment is good, I will give you a salary increase and a bonus!" Jia Lei said with a thumbs up.

"Then thank you, boss!" said the driver with a grin, and then he took out a small bottle of vodka and took a sip of it with pleasure.

"I'll take back what I just said! If you drink while driving again, or if you drive after drinking, not only will the bonus be gone!, I will also have people fire you!" Jia Lei hurriedly said.

Drunk driving is deadly......

"Boss, don't be so unkind? How cold is the winter in Moscow! I'll freeze if I don't drink a drink." The driver immediately said nervously.

"But if you drink too much, you're prone to traffic accidents, and you and your guests can't be guaranteed to be safe." Jia Lei said.

"Absolutely not, I have a sense of proportion! I won't get drunk with a small sip of wine. The driver hurriedly said.

"It's not a big deal to have a drink, most of us Eross drink when we drive. The passengers said unconcernedly.

It was as if they had never thought about how unsafe it was to put their lives at the hands of an alcoholic.

"Don't you Russians even want your life for drinking? I don't approve of drunk driving! Now you have only one choice, either quit drinking and continue to be a bus driver for our travel agency, or I will have you fired. Jia Lei said to the driver seriously.

"If I lose this job, my whole family will go hungry! But if I am told to stop drinking, I will die in no time!" the driver said, and the car shook immediately.

It's like the driver's mood!

"Don't get excited! The boss didn't tell you to quit drinking completely, Jia Lei just wanted you not to drink while driving? Bol hastenedly said.

"Oh! that's fine......" The driver breathed a sigh of relief and continued to drive steadily.

＊＊＊＊

The car drove towards the airport like this, to Jia Lei's surprise, there were many more checkpoints on the way to the airport, many cars were stopped for careful inspection, and some people were even detained with people and things.

"Oh no! With so many checkpoints, we won't be in trouble, right?" asked many passengers in fear.

"You didn't bring anything that caused trouble, did you?" Jia Lei also asked nervously.

He is relatively timid, he has investigated the identity of customers before doing business, and most of these people have only made a little financial mistake, and the rest is not a big problem!

"No! You told us not to bring some contraband, so that we would be detained at the airport and have our flight delayed! Passengers said.

"That's good! You check it again right away, and if there's anything out of order, throw it away now. Otherwise, it will affect the whole car!" Jia Lei said vaguely.

Then the passengers below began to whisper, and in a short time two or three passengers took something out of their bodies and threw it away.

Jia Lei pretended not to see it, and quickly turned around!

So they passed safely through four or five checkpoints, and they were not stopped until the last one. I want to chat with more like-minded people about "{?$article_title?} ", WeChat pays attention to "excellent reading literature", chatting about life, looking for confidants~