50s: Starting with a storage ring

Chapter 425 Moscow Does Not Believe in Tears
When Sun Zhiwei arrived at the Diplomatic Building, it was already afternoon. He stayed in Xu Yimin's office for a while and discussed with him how to go north.

He needed to go to Moscow to find information. After consulting with his superiors, Xu Yimin learned that a group of colleagues were going to Moscow with the new ambassador to relieve him of his duties.

He planned to have Sun Zhiwei replace one of them, allowing them to legally cross the border. Once they arrived, he would be free to do as he pleased.

This time, time is tight. The team was originally scheduled to depart tomorrow, so Sun Zhiwei can only stay at home for one night.

With such a tight schedule, he didn't have time to ask about the situation at home. He could only raid the ghost market again overnight and replenish the family's warehouse with a lot of supplies.

The next day, he changed into a standard suit for traveling abroad and boarded a flight to Moscow with a group of colleagues.

In 1980, Russia was a world superpower with a population of 3 million, capable of influencing 25 billion people worldwide. It was militarily strong and at the height of its power.

Today, it is at the tail end of its heyday.

Economically, its total economic output is 80% of that of the United States, and its average wage is $2667, which is slightly lower than that of the United States, but still ranks among the top. It also ranks first in the world in many heavy industrial sectors.

In terms of science and technology, it is on par with the United States, with countless scientific research achievements. Especially in the field of aerospace, it has been far ahead, leaving the United States far behind.

Whether it's the Moon, Venus, or Mars, Russia's probes are always the first to arrive, with the United States following behind.

It also achieved many world firsts, such as the first artificial satellite, the first astronaut, the first space station, the first nuclear power plant, and the first nuclear-powered icebreaker.

There are many other world records, such as the most powerful nuclear bomb - Tsar Bomba, the largest transport aircraft - An-225, and the largest submarine - Typhoon-class submarine, which remain unbroken to this day.

Even its drilling capabilities were world-leading. On the Kola Peninsula, near the Norwegian border, lies the Kola Superdeep Borehole, which reached a depth of 12263 meters. This record remained unbroken until the 21st century.

Militarily, it possesses 4.5 nuclear warheads, more than 500 million troops, 6 tanks, more than 7 armored vehicles, and 1 fighter jets.

Such military power is enough to sweep across any country in the world, including the United States.

As its capital, Moscow naturally exudes the aura of a great power, and even ordinary people walking down the street possess a unique spirit and energy.

After Sun Zhiwei and his colleagues disembarked at Moscow Airport, they were picked up by a car from the embassy.

After they got into the car, it drove on a wide road. Sun Zhiwei saw leisurely women by the roadside, pushing strollers and walking in the snow.

The men were all gathered around the many pool tables set up in the park, playing pool.

He also saw women with permed hair shopping, and many bars and restaurants were open along the way.

Moscow this winter is as beautiful as a castle from a fairy tale.

This is something rarely seen in other countries; it can only occur in countries where people live in abundance, enjoy peace and prosperity, and have a stable society.

At that time, the people of the Russian bear lived very happily, and their welfare policies were extremely generous.

Housing is provided free of charge, and even utilities are free; schooling is free (including university), and the national literacy rate is close to 100%; medical care is also free.

His previous impression of the Russians was that their machines were tough and durable, but their light industry was not.

That's not actually the case at all. The main issue is that Russia viewed the entire Mutual Economic Confederation (MECC) as a single entity, focusing primarily on developing heavy industry while delegating light industry to member states. In reality, televisions, refrigerators, and other household appliances are now commonplace in ordinary Russian homes, and per capita consumption levels are quite high.

That's why, after the group disbanded, all that was left in their household was heavy industry. Their previous focus on one area led to a surge in the prices of light industrial products later on.

That's why Lao Mou was able to exchange 500 railcars of light industrial products for 4 Tu-154s in the future.

As far as I can remember, the time when the Russian family couldn't afford to eat was in their last few years, after they had squandered all their wealth.

At this time, the reason why Russia is importing large amounts of grain is not because it can't afford to eat, but because of consumption upgrading, with more grain being used for brewing.

Jimmy of the White House, unaware of the true situation, wants to launch a food war in the near future and mobilize allies to impose a food embargo on Russia.

Jimmy thought that the Russians imported so much grain every year because they didn't have enough grain in their own country, and that if they simply cut off the grain supply, they could make the Russians suffer a huge loss.

As a result, the Russians are rich and powerful. If you, the old M, won't sell me grain, I'll spend a lot of money to buy it from other places.

Capitalist alliances can fall apart in an instant if the profits are large enough.

Sure enough, after food prices rose, the United States' allies were secretly selling grain through the Soviet Union's member states, and they all made a fortune.

Only the farmers in Old M's family honestly refused to sell their grain, resulting in mountains of unsold grain and widespread complaints.

Jimmy was forced to use public funds to sell off the stockpiled grain, and then shamelessly peddled it all over the world – a classic case of trying to steal a chicken but losing the rice instead.

Sun Zhiwei and his entourage traveled by car from Sheremetyevo Alexander Pushkin International Airport, taking more than half an hour to reach the embassy in Moscow.

Our embassy is located at No. 6 Friendship Street in Ramenki district. Across the street is the large pool in Gandhi Square Park, and on both sides and behind are residential buildings.

Sun Zhiwei and his delegation, led by Leader Yang, received a warm welcome from the embassy staff. As it was the new leadership taking office, a banquet was held that evening for all the staff.

This is probably the only group dinner recently, because with the new leader taking office, there is a need to hand over responsibilities internally and make comprehensive contacts with Moscow externally, which will keep us busy for at least a few months.

Sun Zhiwei's situation was special. Only Leader Yang in the entire team knew that he had another task. So after the banquet that evening, the leader assigned him a simple task, chatted with him for a few minutes, and then let him do it on his own.

Because of his work habits, he would carefully observe the terrain whenever he arrived at a new place, and this was no exception when he entered the embassy.

The next morning, he spent half an hour walking around the house, opening up the entire space and checking every nook and cranny.

As it turned out, he actually discovered quite a few hidden ears, which were distributed in all sorts of unexpected places.

Some of these are hidden in ceramic ornaments and cannot be discovered unless they are broken.

Some are installed inside the heels of leather shoes; these were definitely installed during shoe repair.
Some were even placed inside tree branches near the window; I have no idea how they got them there.

These discoveries truly broadened his horizons and gave him a new perspective on how to put his ears. He really learned something new.

After making these discoveries, he didn't make a fuss. Instead, he spent some time recording the exact location of all the ears he found on a piece of white paper overnight.

(End of this chapter)