1982 Started from Hong Kong

Chapter 531 Evil Capitalists

Starting from Moscow, and passing through the Gorky region,
After two days and one night of bumpy travel,

Around 10 a.m., a long-distance train finally slowly pulled into Yekaterinburg (Sverdlovsk).

The gateway to the Ural Mountains.

In the sweltering heat of July,
Unlike the imperial grandeur displayed by iconic buildings such as Red Square, the Kremlin, and GUM department store in Moscow,
Yekaterinburg is filled with chimneys and billowing coal smoke. As far as the eye can see, there are Soviet-style gray and white buildings and red brick factories, rugged and pragmatic.

"It feels like going from a political stage into an assembly line factory."

Zhai Yuan took off his trench coat and draped it over his shoulders, unbuttoned two buttons on his shirt, and looked around the industrial city.

Ye Yuqing and Li Zhi leaned over from the left and right. The weather was hot and humid, and even their desire to hug Boss Zhai's arm faded a bit.

"Where is this place?"

Ye Yuqing waved her hand at her nose with a look of disgust, trying to dispel the smell of coal dust in the air.

"It's a bit like Pudong, but on a larger scale."

Lizhi coughed softly, her eyes taking in her surroundings with curiosity.

Pudong?

Zhai Yuan turned his head and glanced at Secretary Zhizhi, seeing her nod seriously.
Oh, I remember now. When she moved to Hong Kong, Pudong wasn't a gathering place for the petit bourgeoisie; it was a real industrial area on the Huangpu River.

Chen Jiale and Alexei walked out of the other carriage, followed by more than a dozen soldiers in military uniforms.

Alexei approached and asked, "Mr. Zhai, would you like to rest here for the night, or go directly to see Boss Ye?"

Since the founding of the Far Eastern Bank, Zhai Yuan has established connections with several high-ranking figures in Moscow. He has clearly sensed a change in Alexei's attitude, which has shifted from his previous brotherly and unrestrained manner to a more subtle and unintentional humility.

Zhai Yuan turned his head to the side and first asked the two voluptuous women beside him for their opinions.

Upon hearing that she would finally be able to meet her boss, Ye Yuqing nodded hurriedly and said she would go over right away.

Lizhi didn't have any opinions of her own, and just nodded silently in agreement.

Zhai Yuan then asked Alexei, "Let's go see Ye Zhiming first. Is it far? How do we get there?"

Alexei said, "I'll arrange it; it's about a two-hour drive."

After saying that, he took two trusted soldiers and went straight to the guard post next to the station. He exchanged a few words with the guard there and borrowed a phone to make a call.

The group took a short break near the station and stretched their muscles.

About twenty minutes later,

The sound of engines rose, and several military vehicles slowly drove up and parked beside the platform.

"Captain Alexei, welcome to Yekaterinburg."

The door of the lead car opened, and an officer in a dark green summer uniform stepped out, his epaulets gleaming with metallic sheen, and greeted Alexei with a broad smile.

"Long time no see, Pavel."

Alexei hugged the officer who came to greet him, then turned to Zhai Yuan and introduced him, saying, "Pavel Salmanov, lieutenant of the artillery division of the 7th Ural Front. We used to work together."

The two sides inevitably exchanged pleasantries, which need no further explanation.

Upon learning that Zhai Yuan had started a private bank in Moscow, Lieutenant Pavel looked at him with increasing astonishment. Alexei, now adorned with a gold watch, a bright silver belt, and handcrafted leather boots, and with his entourage of soldiers all dressed in impeccably tailored new uniforms, could easily guess that his old buddy had received many benefits from this Hong Kong banker.

"The Red Star newspaper praised Governor Zhai for injecting new vitality into economic reforms during his time in Moscow."

Each person boarded a motorcade vehicle, the engines started, and the convoy headed towards the outskirts west of Yekaterinburg.

Alexei rode with Pavel, raised his wrist and breathed on the Rolex dial, then wiped it with his sleeve, looking every bit the nouveau riche.

He put his arm around Pavel's shoulder affectionately and grinned at him, saying, "Why do you think I was transferred to Moscow and promoted to captain? Brother, let me give you some information. As far as I know, the Far Eastern Bank will be opening its first branch in Yekaterinburg. If you can tell General Alexander this news in advance, you will definitely make a great contribution."

Without going into Pavel's gradually stirring thoughts...
Inside a military vehicle escorted by the convoy, Zhai Yuan and his group of four Hong Kongers were alone.

Ye Yuqing showed no trace of the listless state she had displayed on the train just hours before.

"They actually made me come to see him in person, they've really grown bold, they don't even respect their little sister at all~"

"Don't worry, Brother Yuan, once you meet my boss, I'll have him protect you!"

"Zhizhi, do you know how formidable my boss is here? Let me tell you a secret..."

Ye Yuqing leaned against Zhai Yuan, rubbing her hands together excitedly, her pretty face beaming with excitement.

Zhai Yuan leaned back in his seat and exchanged a glance with Chen Jiale in the front passenger seat; both of them wore helpless expressions.

It's been a year since I last saw him, and I wonder how much of my brother-in-law's former sharp edges he still retains...

…………

The Ural Mountains stretch for more than 2,000 kilometers, with howling winds year-round. Even under the blazing sun, the distant mountain ridges are still covered with a layer of snow.

Deep within a towering, dense pine forest lies a military fortress, its surrounding barbed wire fence and mine warning signs sending a chill down one's spine.

Winding up the muddy mountain path, passing through sentry posts and heavily guarded warehouses,
Several low-rise concrete barracks came into view.

The iron gate was heavy, with only a narrow iron window letting in a faint light.

Ye Zhiming, the owner of the Xiangjiang Natural Selection ship, the casino owner of the Hong Kong Jockey Club, and a billionaire diamond tycoon, is imprisoned in this closed cell.

Right now,

Ye Zhiming lay on the only iron-framed bed in the cell, his fingers gently tapping the edge of the bed.

There was a bucket in the room serving as a makeshift toilet. The air was heavy and stuffy, filled with an unpleasant odor.

“Ah Yuan hasn’t called me for the past two months. I wonder if something happened in Hong Kong.”

Ye Zhiming lay on the bed, squinting at the ceiling covered with mottled mold, and pondered to himself: "But recently the soldiers outside have been behaving better, and it doesn't seem like something has happened."

A year in prison,

Ye Zhiming's already sparse hair became even more bald, and his unkempt stubble had grown into a thick beard.
Although he was thin, his eyes still shone brightly. In his cell, besides cultivating his mind and body, he could only pass the time by exercising. In terms of physique, Ye Zhiming was actually more robust and capable than when he was in Hong Kong, where he was depleted by alcohol and women.

"Mr. Ye, it's time for lunch."

The window of the prison cell's iron door was opened, and a young soldier approached and knocked on the door.

Ye Zhiming rolled out of the steel-framed bed, walked to the window, and saw the two cans of food that the other person was handing him. He raised an eyebrow slightly.

With a smile, he asked in fluent Russian, "Igor, any new developments lately? Two cans of food—that's not how prisoners are treated in your Ural barracks." "Even I find it strange, Mr. Igor."

Soldier Igor leaned against the door, looking even more puzzled than Ye Zhiming: "Last time you told me that Comrade Boris-Nikolaevich-Yeliqing was your relative? To be honest, I'm starting to doubt that it's true."

None of the soldiers guarding this arms dealer from Hong Kong, including Igor, knew anything about his background.

From being beaten every day when he was first arrested and subjected to interrogation and torture, to not only not being executed but also being placed in a solitary cell and gradually being guaranteed two meals a day to avoid starvation.

In the last two months, new orders came down from above, and the arms dealer was treated even better. In addition to canned food, bread and milk were occasionally delivered, which made everyone look at him with awe.

How powerful must his connections be, or how much money did his friends outside spend on his behalf?

But if things have come to this point, why is this guy still locked up in a dark and damp cell?
Based on past experience, arms dealers like him, once arrested, would either be executed or walk out of the barracks unscathed.

Detained for a year? Unheard of.

"Of course it's true, we both have the surname Ye."

Ye Zhiming chuckled, casually handing a can of food to Igor, and winked: "For Comrade Ye Liqing's sake, how about trading this for a pack of cigarettes?"

Igor's eyes lit up as he looked at the cans, and he held out his hand, bargaining, "Five cans!"

"Ten!"

"Seven branches!"

Okay, it's a deal.

Ye Zhiming pushed the can forward and handed it to Igor.

The latter immediately pulled out half a crumpled box of Butterfly Spring cigarettes from his pocket, took out a few, and handed them back to Ye Zhiming.

Leaning against the iron gate, Ye Zhiming, with a cigarette butt between his teeth, asked Igor to light it for him.
Take a deep drag, and the crackling sound of burning tobacco fills the air.

Ye Zhiming squinted and slowly exhaled a cloud of white mist, grinning as he said, "Igor, you're so good at accounting at such a young age. If I ever return to Hong Kong, I'll definitely hire you as the accountant on my gambling ship."

"Is Hong Kong as glamorous and bustling as you describe? You say it's not in America, but does that mean there's another capitalist country in the world besides America?"

The young soldier's eyes held a mixture of doubt and longing. He tapped on the window and continued, "Mr. Ye, would you like to tell me again about those women on the gambling ship who are kept in glass cases and dance naked?"

Ye Zhiming laughed heartily and told him again about the voluptuous, curvy strippers on the Natural Selection ship.

“Every time I hear you talk about your experiences under this corrupt capitalism, I can’t help but want to see for myself…and criticize it!”

As the images flashed through his mind, Igor swallowed hard, muttering to himself, "What kind of evil capitalist could come up with such a method of exploiting women to extract wealth from the people?"

"Who says it's not~"

Ye Zhiming recalled Zhai Yuan's face, took a light drag on his cigarette, and grinned.

Suddenly, the sound of engines came from outside.
Ye Zhiming's gaze followed the window to the camp outside.
Several military vehicles drove along the mountain path and stopped on the spot.

The car door opened, and in Ye Zhiming's widening eyes, several familiar figures were mixed among a group of soldiers in military uniforms.

"Are there any superiors coming to inspect today?"

Igor glanced curiously at the convoy of military vehicles, then looked away with little interest. He then noticed that Ye Zhiming's expression was strange, and the cigarette in his mouth was trembling.

He reached out and waved his hand in front of Ye Zhiming's blank face, puzzled: "Mr. Ye, what's wrong?"

Ye Zhiming stared at the military vehicle convoy in the distance.
Zhai Yuan, with his arm around Ye Yuqing, exchanged a few words with a few officers and looked toward the barracks cell where he was being held, following the direction they were pointing.

Through a narrow iron window, Zhai Yuan and Ye Zhiming's eyes met in the air.

"Don't you want to know who that evil capitalist is?"

Ye Zhiming took a deep breath to suppress his emotions, stared at Zhai Yuan who was approaching, and said to Igor, "Now, he's here."

…………

There was no need for handover procedures. After obtaining all the files related to Ye Zhiming's arms smuggling, Pavel burned them all.

Open the cell, release the person, and get them on the vehicle.

Alexei distributed over a dozen Marlboro cigarettes, and when the military convoy carrying Ye Zhiming departed, over a hundred soldiers from the Ural Barracks lined up to see him off.

"I knew all along that this Chinese man was no ordinary person!"

"The 4th Tank Division and the 7th Artillery Division came to demand my return. Luckily, I never bullied them."

"I heard he's Comrade Ye Liqing's distant cousin..."

The soldiers stationed behind him were still having a heated discussion about Ye Zhiming's background, and young Igor was still clutching the phone number Ye Zhiming had given him.

Ye Zhiming, the person involved, was already sitting in the car, and the convoy turned around and headed towards Yekaterinburg.

"Let's go to a hotel in the city and book a room for you to take a shower."

The car bumped along the road. Zhai Yuan leaned back in his seat, fanned his nose, and said to Ye Zhiming with a look of disgust, "Tsk! You smell rotten. I knew I shouldn't have let you get on."

Ye Zhiming let out a hearty laugh: "There's nothing I can do. There's no electricity or running water here, so we can only use coal to heat water. The last time I took a shower was a month ago."

"You look good. Is it because you've quit drinking and womanizing? You've been getting a massage from a White Russian woman every now and then."

"Ha! At least two are needed first..."

The reunion was uneventful; everything unfolded naturally without any sentimental moments.

Sitting in the car, Zhai Yuan chatted casually with Ye Zhiming. It was clear that although his brother-in-law was in solitary confinement, he was still full of energy.

It was only then that Ye Yuqing belatedly realized... that her boss wasn't as imposing as she had originally thought?
She glanced at her bearded boss, then looked at Zhai Yuan with a guilty look.

Ye Zhiming smiled slightly and said in a gentle voice, "Ah Qing, how have you been these past year or so since the boss left Hong Kong?"

It would have been better if he hadn't asked. As soon as he did, Ye Yuqing stared at him blankly for a moment. First, her eyes reddened slightly, and then tears rolled down her cheeks.

"Oh dear! Don't cry, don't cry, I'm fine."

Ye Zhiming and Zhai Yuan were still chatting and laughing, but as soon as they saw Ye Yuqing start crying, they immediately rushed to comfort her.

"So, boss, you've been locked up here all this time? No guns, no soldiers, and even those photos are fake?"

Ye Yuqing sobbed, tears streaming down her cheeks.

She sniffled and glanced at Zhai Yuan, remembering how she had previously acted arrogantly and domineeringly because she was "Chief Ye's sister." Feeling ashamed and embarrassed, she choked up even more, blurting out her true feelings: "Damn it! Do you know how I acted like a big shot in Hong Kong just because I'm your sister? I didn't even put Huimin and Saifeng in my eyes... I was so stupid to think I was the eldest sister. I'll be laughed to death when I go back... Boss, how could you be so useless..."

(End of this chapter)