Era: Starting from divorce from female college student

Moscow, September 1990.

After traveling all the way from Sam, Joe Thompson finally found a suitable arsenal after half a month.

"Joe, you mean you want to buy our arms factory?"

Hugh Graf looked at Joe Thompson in front of him and asked with a look of surprise.

His arsenal is a manufacturer that specializes in producing air-to-air missiles. All the technical engineers and other personnel are not privately owned, but collectively owned.

How could this man from Sam possibly know that Hugh Graf wanted to sell the air-to-air missiles in the arsenal warehouse?
Therefore, Hugh Graf was both surprised and secretly on guard.

Seeing this, Joe Thompson said:

"Well, it's like this, Hugraf, I know about your arsenal. I learned about it through an introduction."

"I won't interfere with your situation; I just want the missiles in your warehouse."

"Don't worry, I've already contacted other people on your side regarding the shipping arrangements, and I guarantee it won't affect you in any way."

"As for who got this batch of missiles, if someone asks you, that's easy."

How to sell, how to sell, and who will pave the way for it—Joe Thompson had already explained everything clearly to Hugh Graf.

This greatly appealed to the latter.

"Are you telling the truth? Can I meet these people?"

"Hugraf, you should know that if you really see this, I'm afraid the others will be very uneasy."

Joe Thompson shook his head and said:
"I don't recommend you meet with anyone else. You just need to know that I can handle all of this for you. All you need to do is sell me the missiles in the warehouse."

"Of course, if you're not willing to sell, that's fine too. I'll just find another arms factory. As far as I know, there are at least eight similar arms factories in Moscow."

Hearing this, Hugh Graf no longer doubted Joe Thompson.

Because this number is indeed very accurate.

There might be other hidden arms factories, but if there really are, and even Hugh Graf didn't know about them, then it's even less likely that Joe Thompson would know.

Thus, his collaboration with Joe Thompson was essentially finalized.

Next, we'll discuss the price and payment options.

"Hugraf, what do you want? I can provide you with gold, food, clothing, and even US dollars, pounds sterling, and other cash—no problem at all. It all depends on your own wishes."

Upon hearing this, Hugraf took a deep breath:

"Are you really capable of procuring food, clothing, shoes, and other supplies?"

Modern Moscow has no shortage of heavy industrial products such as missiles, steel, and machine tools.

However, factories producing light industrial goods such as bread and clothing were extremely scarce.

Especially in the last year or two, due to Gorbachev's mismanagement.

This has made the situation throughout Moscow even worse.

Those Moscow nobles could take the opportunity to make a fortune.

However, ordinary people live a very difficult life, mainly because they have no way to resist.

This has led many people to yearn for the outside world.

The result of this is that the current bizarre situation in Moscow is causing more and more people to take risks for food and water.

Cases like Hugraf's are not uncommon.

Therefore, compared to currencies such as cash and gold, Hugh Graf clearly cared more about food and bread.

And clothes to keep warm.

"Of course, no problem. We've prepared plenty. However, customs inspections in Moscow are very strict. We can't ship more over, so if you want bread or similar items, you'll probably have to wait more than a week."

Joe Thompson said so.

This is a form of psychological suggestion.

The man before me, Khugraf, is considered one of the Moscow nobility.

However, this person was only the head of the arsenal and could not easily leave Moscow, which meant he was unaware of the situation abroad.

So Joe Thompson took advantage of the fact that the other party didn't have this information in order to lower the price.

Anyway, for Joe Thompson...

Making money is the most important thing; everything else is secondary.

"Okay, no problem. We'll exchange some of it for food, clothing, and other items, and pay the rest in US dollars, rubles, and gold."

Hugh Graf finally succumbed to greed, and reason gradually faded from his mind.

Ten days later, the transaction was successfully completed.

Joe Thompson left Moscow with the air-to-air missiles from the arsenal warehouse.

Hugh Graf also received the food, clothes, shoes, gold, US dollars, rubles, and other items he had been longing for.

These are all equivalent exchanges.

In reality, it was bought by Joe Thompson for a very low price.

Of course, Joe Thompson took a huge risk, so it's normal for him to gain some benefits.

A few days later, the entire batch of missiles was sold in the Middle East.

At this very moment, the Date Empire is poised for war.

They had been fighting a war with the neighboring Persian Empire for several years, suffering considerable losses and incurring debts of tens of billions of US dollars.

Unfortunately, they are unable to repay this debt immediately, so for now, they can only eliminate it through war.

Because the creditor is Kuwait, the neighboring country.

It is a small country, but it has a large number of oil fields.

After dealing with Kuwait and turning it into a province, they encountered a huge problem: Sam was trying to interfere.

This forced the Date Empire to purchase large quantities of ammunition from abroad in preparation for a potential war.

The air-to-air missiles that Joe Thompson shipped from Moscow were bought by the empire of the date palm.

The Date Empire primarily financed these missiles with oil.

After all, Kuwait itself has a large amount of oil, and the Date Empire itself also has a large amount of oil.

Such deals cannot last long, but Joe Thompson was simply carrying out orders.

The real decision-maker is the boss at the top.

To be precise, it was Zhao Mancang who issued the order.

Yes, Joe Thompson was just an employee of one of Zhao Mancang's companies.

Others may not know that Moscow is terminally ill, but does Zhao Mancang not know?

Regardless of other matters, let's just look at the current situation in Moscow.

Then, just like in the original timeline, they will inevitably disperse.

However, nothing that happens to Moscow will affect Yunlan City, which is about to become a nation.

Logically speaking, Yunlan City is about to become a nation, so Zhao Mancang shouldn't still be fixated on Beijiang City. He should be focusing on developing Yunlan City instead.

However, some things are hard to give up.

In Zhao Mancang's heart, Beijiang City actually held a more important place than Yunlan City.

This is not just about sentimentality; it's about longing and concern.

Beijiang City, Limidong Villa.

"Dad, there's another match next week, right?"

During dinner, Zhao Jinshi suddenly asked a question.

The first National City Football League has suddenly become incredibly popular in the past month or so.

Media outlets across the country were reporting on this extensively. As the online buzz grew, various topics related to football also exploded in popularity.

With state media joining forces, their influence is terrifying.

As a result, Zhao Jinshi and the other children all knew about this.

And they are quite supportive of this kind of football league.

Because such a league is purely competitive sports, not some kind of friendly match, and there is no possibility of any behind-the-scenes manipulation.

"Correct!"

Zhao Mancang smiled and nodded, saying:
"You want to go see it too?"

"Of course! I used to play football a lot, and I really love the sport."

Upon hearing Zhao Jinshi mention these things, Zhao Mancang suddenly felt a mix of emotions.

From childhood to adulthood, his interactions with his children as a father seem numerous, but in reality, they are not that many.

Especially after the children grew up, Zhao Mancang interacted with them even less.

However, Zhao Jinshi and the other kids all have their own lives now, and everyone has different habits, so there's not much to say.

Although they seem like a family, after getting married they have their own little family, and things are different.

During holidays such as Spring Festival, Mid-Autumn Festival, and Qingming Festival, it's already quite a treat to be able to get together for a meal.

Who told Zhao Mancang to have so many children?

Time flies like an arrow.

Time flies, and we've arrived at the home stadium of Beijiang City for a match today, against Hong Kong Island.

The football stadium at Beijiang City's home stadium is a large stadium that was built five or six years ago and can accommodate 20,000 people.

It was around the same time as the sports plaza in Baiyun City.

The football field was not used very often after it was built.

Because such a football field is most suitable for hosting large-scale events such as football matches, as well as concerts and the like.

However, the sports field in Baiyun City's sports plaza has a higher utilization rate than that in Beijiang City.

Who can blame Beijiang City for its seemingly rapid development, when in reality it is far less well-established than Baiyun City?

There's nothing we can do about these things.

"I'll go, there are so many people?"

Many people arrived at Beijiang City Stadium by bus and were already greeted by a sea of ​​people before even getting off the bus.

A large number of people traveled from all over the country to watch the game.

Especially those coming from Hong Kong Island, there are even more.

Although there are fewer people on Hong Kong Island, the football atmosphere is just as strong.

Moreover, with the development of Beijiang City, there are quite a few Hong Kong Island residents living in Beijiang City.

Therefore, even though they have all lived in Beijiang City for many years, they came together to support Hong Kong Island.

This is competitive sports, not a friendly match.

Everyone was very excited.

Many people got off the bus, took their tickets, and went through the ticket check to enter the stadium.

The more people there are, the more lively the game becomes.

There were also many police officers maintaining order at the scene, as well as college student volunteers who came from the university town.

Judging from the scene, there were a huge number of people, definitely more than 20,000.

Outside the football stadium, several large screens were also hung.

These large screens are for the majority of people who can't afford tickets to watch the game inside the stadium.

Many people came just to watch the spectacle, and Zhao Mancang didn't stop them; in fact, he was happy for more and more people to come to the game.

These are all good things.

Zhao Mancang's children all came.

This football league is very different from those abroad.

Moreover, with no official intervention and very low ticket prices, it attracted a lot of people to come and watch.

This outdoor soccer field is located in the Jiangbei area of ​​Beijiang City, a place near the Beijiang River.

The venue was already packed with people even before we entered.

This was even more true once you entered the scene.

Almost everyone was full of anticipation for this match.

Soon, as all the spectators lined up to enter, at 2:30 p.m., the players began to enter the stadium.

The teams from Beijiang City wore white jerseys, while the teams from Hong Kong Island wore light blue jerseys.

After both teams entered the field, the audience erupted in cheers; everyone was quite happy.

Shortly after entering the venue, the announcement began over the loudspeaker:
"Please all stand up, play the national anthem and raise the national flag!"

The entire audience stood up; many of them were experiencing such a scene for the first time.

Zhao Mancang remained quite calm.

Almost everyone stared ahead, and the entire venue fell silent the moment the broadcast ended, as the honor guard began to appear.

This honor guard was invited by Beijiang University.

Their honor guard is arguably the only one in Beijiang City that can be considered presentable.

They train every day, and it's ingrained in their very being.

So when everyone saw this honor guard, many viewers were filled with excitement.

When the national anthem played and everyone hummed along, many people felt their hair stand on end and goosebumps rise.

Some people were even moved to tears because they had never seen such a scene in their ordinary lives before.

But in the 1950s and 60s, they could still often see such a scene.

After the flag-raising ceremony, the competition officially began.

There's not much more to say after that.

Zhao Mancang and the others sat down and watched the game with great interest.

The team from Beijiang City must have been hastily assembled, undergoing less than three months of emergency training before being sent to the battlefield.

While the teams on Hong Kong Island are similar, their competitive level is quite high.

Players who can play football regularly on Hong Kong Island and have decent football skills usually come from well-off families.

They are being invited to play football now not for the prize money, but more for the honor.

Bang!
Less than five minutes into the game, the Hong Kong team scored a goal.

The entire audience was incredibly excited.

This is a bit funny, because the goal was scored by a Hong Kong Island team, but today is the home ground of the North River City, and yet so many people are cheering?

It's a bit funny, though. These viewers probably don't really understand who they should support.

They probably just came to watch the game and relax.

To be honest, Zhao Mancang also found it quite interesting.

This kind of competition is the most authentic.

The Beijiang City team looked dejected, but they still gritted their teeth and launched a counterattack. (End of Chapter)