Chapter Seventy

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  Chapter 24: The Cost

  After dinner, everyone didn't want to leave, blowing in the breeze, admiring the ancient courtyard, a cup of clear tea in hand. At the end of August, Beijing's weather was much cooler, although it was hot at noon, but the trees in the yard were shaded and didn't feel hot.

  "What time is the plane from Nanning?" Liangzi asked after taking a sip of clear tea.

  "More than two o'clock."

  "Grandma Liang said: 'It's time to go now, study hard, hurry up, don't make your family worry.'"

  "Uh-huh." After Old Man Fang finished speaking, the old lady remained silent from then on. The reluctance in her eyes was visible to everyone. Soon, Mo Bei and Xiao Yi adapted to this new reality, taking care of them.

  The old mother remained silent, holding up her tea cup to block the tears that were about to fall.

  Liang Zi glanced at her watch, "It's getting late, you're not going to see Ye Lao Si anymore." She didn't let him inform anyone that she had arrived in the capital.

  "This is handed over to you, after reading it he will do." Fang Mo Nan took out the file bag, which was thick with her writing. Ye Si Ge looked at it afterwards and knew its value, what to do next.

  Liang Zi sent Fang Mo Nan off on the plane, his mom didn't go, she was afraid of losing control. The first time they walked together as three, she still hadn't felt it. It wasn't until after experiencing their separation for half a year that she realized how hard it was to spend days without the three of them.

  Ye Lao Si received the news when Fang Mo Nan's plane had already taken off, he hastily rushed to the quadrangle courtyard, where Liang Zi was waiting for him.

  Liang Zi looked at him, sweating profusely and panting, "Nan Nan gave this to you, it's here." He put it on the table. "Don't think of her as so despicable, besides, in your territory, even if we had a few guts, we wouldn't dare play tricks on you."

  "Alright, take your time." Liang Zhi stood up and brushed past him, gently closing the door behind him. After two months of being together, they couldn't be said to have a deep understanding of each other, but it was still a decent relationship.

  Ye Laosi sat down, wiped the sweat and drank two mouthfuls of clear tea. He opened the paper bag handed to him by Liangzi, tore open the opening, and pulled out a stack of papers with "Your Opportunity" written on them. Ye Laosi's eyes grew wider and wider as he looked at it. Mainly about Soviet economy, politics, military, nationality and other aspects:

  Due to the long-term implementation of a highly centralized planned economy, all five-year plans in the Soviet Union, except for the first two, were not truly completed. The speed of economic development has rapidly declined over the decades since the war, and the gap with developed countries has also widened. The Soviet Union entered a state of long-term economic decline from the mid-1970s, and the traditional extensive economy could no longer be sustained. It is worth noting that this economic crisis was not a short-term partial crisis in a certain field, but a comprehensive long-term crisis.

  Although the Soviet Union claimed to be "the most developed socialist country", there was a long-term shortage of main consumer goods. After more than 70 years of construction, the per capita GNP in the Soviet Union in 1985 was $3,396, not only lagging behind Western developed countries but also behind some Asian and Latin American countries. The per capita income of the Soviet people was about one-third that of Western countries, but due to the Soviet policy of controlling consumption and high accumulation, the gap between the living standards of the Soviet people and those in the West was even greater. In 1985, the per capita housing area was only 15 square meters, half that of Western countries; there were 14 cars per 100 households, only one-seventh that of Western countries. Main consumer goods were in short supply for a long time, and often required rationing. The people's living standards fell from fifth in Europe to eighty-eighth in the world in the 1980s.

  Although the Soviet Union had developed space, weapons and biotechnology, only 25-30% of its research results were adopted, with an average conversion cycle of 10-12 years. In contrast, the United States had 85% of its research results converted into productive forces within 5 years. In modern technological fields, the Soviet Union lagged behind Western developed countries by 15-20 years, and the gap was growing wider.

  The technical level of Soviet civilian industrial products was very backward, and the quality of products was poor. Even according to the most optimistic estimates, only 18% of Soviet industrial products reached international standards, and they had no competitiveness in the international market. Due to the lack of competitiveness of industrial products, the Soviet Union could only rely on selling natural resources, especially oil resources, to earn foreign exchange, and became a raw material exporting country.

  The Soviet Union's agriculture has been lagging behind for a long time, with low efficiency. Due to consecutive years of poor harvests, the Soviet Union was forced to spend its scarce foreign exchange on importing grain, spending over $7 billion each year, and its economy was strained. At the same time, the failure rate of Soviet agricultural tractors reached 12.5% per year, three times that of the United States; a large number of crops were lost due to untimely harvesting, and even if they were harvested, 20% of grain and 33% of potatoes rotted and became unusable each year due to poor storage. In 1980, half of the country's collective farms and state-owned farms did not make a profit.

  The Soviet Union was economically backward, lacking in material goods, and the people's standard of living had been stagnant for a long time, with the gap between it and the West growing wider. This fundamentally shook the people's faith in the superiority of socialism. Among the Soviet leaders, Andropov was a rare clear-headed person, who made astonishing remarks at an internal meeting of the Communist Party: "The main danger to the Soviet Union does not come from world imperialism, but from the poverty and hardship of its own people."

  The overly centralized power system made the CPSU, as the core of the alliance leadership, in a state of complete lack of supervision. The appointment and lifelong tenure systems of the CPSU created a good environment for the formation of vested interest groups. The bureaucratic institutions were overcrowded and idle; the vested interest groups were corrupt and decadent, and the CPSU gradually lost its prestige among the people. Especially during the Brezhnev era, the Soviet leaders' thinking was rigid and conservative, missing opportunities for development and reform, and domestic problems accumulated. After entering the 1980s, the Soviet political crisis inevitably emerged: within just three years, three top leaders died in succession, and the country's leadership by a sick man made the Soviet Union lose the precious opportunity for development in the five years before 1980.

  The "socialism" of the Stalin model did not bring a satisfactory life to the Soviet people, leading to people's resistance, disgust and indifference to the traditional model. Especially when the affluent life of the upper class forms a huge contrast with the ordinary people's life, this emotion is even stronger, forming people's questioning of the legitimacy of the CPSU's rule.

  The Tsarist Russia was founded on aggression and expansion, making the Soviet Union a country with the most ethnic groups in the world. The development of these ethnic groups is extremely uneven, with many still in the tribal stage. Ethnic issues have been very sharp for a long time. Both Tsarist Russia and the Soviet Union implemented high-pressure policies of oppression and assimilation against minority nationalities.

  In the 1970s, the Soviet Union engaged in an irrational arms race with the United States to compete for world hegemony, resulting in military spending accounting for a quarter of its national income, carrying a heavy burden. At the same time, the Soviet Union extended its hands everywhere, supporting pro-Soviet regimes and guerrilla groups, plotting military coups, causing widespread resentment from the international community. In 1979, the Soviet Union invaded Afghanistan, immediately becoming mired in a guerrilla war quagmire, not only creating a "bleeding wound" that would take years to heal for the Soviet Union, costing tens of billions of rubles each year, but also greatly damaging the Soviet Union's international image.

  In 1981, after Reagan came to power, he changed the original US shrinking strategy and responded strongly to the Soviet expansion everywhere. He also declared that he would conduct research on the "Star Wars" program, which triggered a new round of arms race***. At this time, the Soviet Union, which was in trouble at home and abroad, had no strength to cope with it and was forced to shrink comprehensively.

  Finally, there was a sarcastic joke that the Soviet Union was a train that had come to the end of the tracks and could not move forward. Each leader handled this crisis in his own way; Stalin ordered the execution of the engineer and the conductor; Khrushchev rehabilitated them; Brezhnev pulled down the curtains and ordered the train to rock back and forth, creating the illusion that it was moving; Gorbachev opened the curtains, stuck his head out the window and shouted "There are no tracks ahead! There are no tracks ahead!"

  Ye Lao Si read it through once, then carefully read it again. By this time, the sun had set in the west and the room was darkening. He felt that this was completely impossible. Although they had broken off relations with the Soviet Union, his family's older generation still had deep feelings for their eldest brother. This was simply impossible. The data was too detailed, it couldn't be fabricated out of thin air. Besides, she didn't need to deceive him like this, this wasn't a joke.

  He just wants to make some money, no need to take it to an international level.

  "This needs to be discussed with someone." Ye Lao Si gave He Jun Yao a call, and during the wait, he carefully read through the stack of documents. His hands rested on the armrests, his fingers tapping out a rhythm as he sank into deep thought.

  He Junyao arrived when the lights were just starting to come on, and after he pushed open the door, it was dark inside, with only one person sitting in a circle chair. "You little guy is really good at enjoying yourself, finding such a great place." Seeing that he didn't make a sound, "What's wrong with you? Acting so deep." He found the switch and turned on the lights.

  Ye Lao Si suddenly couldn't adapt to the brightness, covering his eyes with his hand and squinting as he said, "Lao Da, you're here."

  "I'll show you some information, but you need to be mentally prepared." Ye Laosi said mysteriously.

  He Junyao's voice suddenly choked. He quickly scanned it again and exchanged a glance with Ye Laosi, "Impossible." He Junyao said, "The data released by the Soviet Union to the outside world is not like this at all."

  "It's impossible, our country isn't also whitewashing the situation?" Ye Laosi said with a curl of his lip, although he felt uncomfortable in his heart, this was the fact.

  "Hey, you dare to speak out of turn!" He Junyao punched him in the chest. "What do you want?"

  "Where did you get this? If the data inside is true, it should be top secret." He Junyao furrowed his brow and asked seriously.

  "I didn't, someone else gave it to me. A little kid handed it to me and ran off." Ye Laosan lied with a straight face, because the last page had a note that said not to tell anyone that Fang Mennai wrote it, so he made up an excuse, you can ask him whatever you want, Ye Sige. Just because he still calls him Ye Sige, no matter if it's true or not, he has to keep his word and can't betray her."

  "He thought I would," He Junyao raised an eyebrow and asked. "Let's just forget it."

  "This one? I want to verify whether the data inside is true." Ye Laosi said, "He Grandfather has a wide network of connections, and he has his subordinates in the security intelligence system, let's verify it."

  "What if it's true?" He Junyao asked.

  Ye Lao Si smiled slyly, "Then we'll get rich. You see, our country doesn't lack what they need. Think back to when the old Soviets broke off relations, not only did they withdraw their experts, but they also wanted us to repay our debts. I heard that at the time, when repaying with agricultural products, eggs, potatoes, and apples had to be sifted through, and those that were too big or too small weren't accepted; pork had to have just the right amount of fat, neither too much nor too little."

  "Hey, don't be too happy yet. We need to verify the authenticity of the data first." He Junyao said calmly.

  "That's all right, if it doesn't work out, I'll just go to the Soviet Union and that will be that." Ye Lao Si was infected by the wonderful situation depicted in his heart.

  "Don't forget, the relationship between the two countries is still frozen. If you go, aren't you afraid of being mistaken for a spy?" He Jiaoyu poured a basin of cold water, "You'd better be honest with me, let me verify it first, and then we'll discuss it further."

  "And another thing, where did you get the capital from? The three walnuts and two dates in your hand are not even enough to fill a tooth gap." He Jiaoyu poured another bucket of cold water.

  "This will always have a way." Ye Lao Si said, and went to ask Liang Zi again. "However, Old Big, you still need to confirm it for me first."

  "Let's go," said Ye Laosi, and the two jumped onto the military vehicle, speeding quickly towards He Junyao's home.

  The military vehicle turned a few corners and finally entered a quiet alley, with rows of quadrangle courtyards on both sides. If it weren't for the guards standing upright at the entrance, I would have thought that we had arrived at an ancient tourist attraction. The He family was also a quadrangle courtyard, with a deep courtyard, and the early autumn evening had a hint of coolness. After they got out of the car, they hurried in.

  The lights in the house were still shining brightly, and Old Man He sat upright with his sword drawn, sitting in the middle of the room. As soon as he saw his grandson come in, he couldn't help but feel a pang of guilt in his heart, always feeling that he had wronged this child.

  As soon as he saw Ye Lao Si following behind him, he said kindly, "Fourth son has come running. It's been some days since you've come." Although his tone was benevolent, the old master had long occupied a high position and had accumulated a lot of prestige, so Ye Lao Si sat on his right side with a posture as straight as a clock, not daring to be presumptuous.

  "Grandpa, it's so late and you still haven't rested." He Junyao asked with a serious face, "Where is Grandma?"

  "Your grandmother should rest first," said Old Man He.

  Old Mr. He looked at his grandson's coffin-like face and got so angry that he couldn't help but scold, "Hey, don't give me that deadpan look, it makes me furious!" His liver fire was burning fiercely, especially when he saw his grandson's poker face, which pained him. What a good young man he used to be, now the past is unbearable to recall.

  "Grandpa He, we have something to discuss with you." Ye Laosi said hastily.

  "Something's up," Old Master He raised an eyebrow and teased, "Is it that you've gotten into another mess and don't dare go home, so you're looking for a savior?"

  "Grandpa He, are you saying that Fourth Son is just a troublemaker in your eyes? Even when something happens, he still needs to be rescued." Ye Laosi said discontentedly.

  "Really? You're still like this at your age?"

  He Junyao watched as his grandfather began to ramble on, "Grandfather, I have a document here that needs your help to verify." He handed it over to Old Master He and helped him find his reading glasses.

  He Lao Yezi flipped through it slowly, frowning and looking for a long time. The room was quiet, with only the sound of the clock ticking away. He Junyao quietly went out and brought in two bowls of noodles. One bowl was handed to Ye Laosi, who had been called out by him when dinner hadn't even been eaten yet.

  "Where did you two come from?" Old Master He took off his old glasses, his face stern and his eyes piercing as he looked at the two youngsters.

  "Grandfather, don't worry about where it came from, first verify its authenticity for me, especially the economic data." He Junyao said slowly, not forgetting to finish the soup in his bowl.

  Ye Lao Si gave a thumbs up in his heart, "Awesome!", Only Lao Da dared to speak loudly in front of those old men, others saw him and were like mice seeing a cat, they didn't even dare to breathe.

  "The data will be available soon, but there's someone who just arrived from the Soviet Union, we can ask him." Old He said, and personally dialed a phone call.

  About twenty minutes later, a screeching sound came from outside the gate, and a man in his thirties rushed in from outside, saluting Old He with a military salute, "Chief, good"

  "Please sit down," said Old Man He.

  He Junyao and Ye Laosi also knew the newcomer. They stood up to greet each other, then sat down together again.

  "Little Wu, it's so late to call you, sorry to trouble you, tell me about your experiences and feelings living in the Soviet Union." Old He's tone was warm, but his presence still seemed overpowering to the person across from him.

  Xiao Wu was surprised, the old man called him so late just to hear about his life. The bystanders He Junyao and Ye Zhenhua, however, had their eyes shining brightly as they stared at him intently. Taking a deep breath, he slowly recounted his experiences in the Soviet Union over the past year.

  After finishing speaking, Old He let his grandson send him out.

  Ye Lao Si excitedly said, "Grandpa, it seems that this information is 60% true. The black market exchange rate for US dollars to rubles is 1:15, while the official exchange rate is 1:0.9. If we have connections, we can make a pretty profit from buying and selling." He furrowed his brow and said, "Actually, our country's foreign exchange with the Soviet Union seems to be similar, just pretending to be prosperous."

  "Be careful, our country has strict foreign exchange controls." Old He warned with a stern glance.

  "Hehe" Ye Lao Si sneered at the old man, covering his mouth.

  "You're a sly monkey." Old Mr. He was deeply moved, he had also been to the Soviet Union when he was young, "Alas, big brother, I dare not imagine such development going on."

  "Now is not the time for nostalgia, Grandfather. From what I've gathered and Wu's recent encounter, since Comrade Chernenko's passing, Gorbachev has taken over. The Soviet Union's political situation has already begun to highlight contradictions and problems. The enterprise autonomy reform that began during Chernenko's era has now met with increasingly fierce opposition. The Soviet Union focuses on heavy industry and military industry, while daily necessities are scarce. Food is also in short supply. Our opportunity has arrived." He Junyao said seriously.

  Even if Mr. He didn't work on the economic front line, he had some understanding of this. In this way, as long as there are people who can operate with heart, they can absolutely make huge profits from it. Relying on daily necessities, scarce materials, food and other products. Taking advantage of the chaotic situation in the Soviet Union today, exchanging advanced heavy industrial equipment from the Soviet Union, such as machine tool mother machines, advanced punching presses, and advanced military research data and weapons. Research data and data for equipment such as aircraft carriers, fighter jets, and missiles.

  "He Lao Yezi looked even deeper, 'If the Soviet Union develops like this, its control over Warsaw will also weaken. That is to say, its Eastern European partners, Poland, East Germany, Czechoslovakia, Hungary, Bulgaria, and Romania will not have a good future either. The Central Asian region of the Soviet Union's various republics is right next to us, and the American devils won't let go of this rare opportunity. It seems we need to strengthen our reconnaissance efforts over there, can't let the Americans put their guns at our doorstep.' After saying these things, he sighed again, 'Alas, without money, it's hard to do anything.'"

  As a junior, can't you say anything? At this time, it's also not good to express opinions. The country is good or bad, they are clearer than anyone else.

  "That's all for now, wait for my news." Old He said finally, holding a stack of papers, feeling heavy.

  Ye Lao Si had no choice but to hurry back home obediently.

  When only He Junyao and his grandson were left in the living room, the old man pointed to the pile of materials and asked, "Do you see the person who wrote these materials?"

  "He Junyao held the materials, stroking his chin, thinking for a moment. The handwriting is strong and powerful, with a stable and forceful font, indicating that the writer is an open-minded person. From the beginning to the end, the font remains consistent, without any emotional fluctuations, showing that the writer is a calm and objective person. Moreover, he is very familiar with economics, and other aspects are also well-covered. The language is concise and clear, like a summary, which suggests that there should be no malicious intent, and it's not a trap. He must be in his thirties, otherwise, he wouldn't have developed such good handwriting skills, and the writing is done with his left hand."

  Old man He smiled with his eyes and looked at his grandson who was talking in front of him, "Oh, then tell me, is it a boy or a girl?"

  This sentence almost choked He Junyao to death, and he looked at the information again, but it was really impossible to see the subtlety of the font. It said that men wrote it, but some details were all noted, and men were not so meticulous. Admitting, "Grandfather, forgive my ignorance, I really can't tell whether it's a man or a woman."

  Mr. He watched his embarrassed grandson with a pleased expression, finally able to see him make a fool of himself and change color. "It should be written."

  "Hmm?" He Junyao's face sank, his eyebrows raised in anticipation of Lao Ye's brilliant idea.

  "There is a faint scent on the paper, not the scent of ink or the original scent of the paper itself, but the scent that comes from one's hand when writing and pressing down on the paper." Old Master He said.

  He Junyao picked up the documents and held them to his nose, taking a careful sniff. The scent was very faint, so faint that if he hadn't smelled carefully, he would have thought it was just the smell of ink.

  "Little kid, you still have a lot to learn." Old Man He was delighted, his eyes narrowing into slits as he looked at his defeated grandson. (If you like this work, welcome to subscribe and reward on Starting Point website, your support is my greatest motivation.)

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