My Realistic Simulation Game

Chapter 154 Interview
Back at the hotel, Qin Yuan had just stepped inside when Binzi approached, pointed inside, and whispered;
"Brother, there's a reporter inside who's been waiting for you for a while."

"A reporter?" Qin Yuan frowned and walked inside. "Which newspaper's reporter?"

Binzi followed beside him, saying as they walked, "According to his introduction, he said it was the 'News Daily,' and he had taken on an interview assignment from the newspaper."

Instead of going to the Jeanswest flagship store on Pushkin Square, the reporter from Izvestia came here.

interesting.

Qin Yuan walked along the corridor and arrived at the backyard.

The reporter Binzi mentioned was currently taking pictures of something in the courtyard, looking at a room.

Rimonov was very curious about Qin Yuan and about trade in the Far East.

According to the information he received from the newspaper, Far East Trading was a trading company that was no less successful than Far East Foods; on the contrary, its total revenue might even exceed that of Far East Foods.

But this import and export company, with total revenue exceeding 100 million, actually has its office located here.

In his view, the place wasn't very big.

There is a small courtyard of about 30 square meters, and next to the courtyard are several buildings. One of them, which is obviously a warehouse, is now furnished with tables and chairs and has become an office.

Is this the office location of Far East Trading?

In a hotel warehouse?
He could hardly believe it, but what he saw before him forced him to believe it.

He was used to the extravagance and debauchery of factory directors of large state-owned enterprises across the Soviet Union, who loved to show off and flaunt their wealth.

When reporters visit, they always go to either a guesthouse or the best restaurant.

Many of the machines in those factories haven't been updated in years, and they're all rusted.

But those office buildings, the factory director's office, were all built in a magnificent and opulent style.

It is completely different from what he sees here now.

Private business owners really know how to save money; they understand that every penny is hard-earned!

With this in mind, Rimonov began taking photos everywhere, using the scenes before him as source material.

He had a gut feeling that this interview could be written in a fresh and innovative way.

However, just as he was taking the picture, he heard a voice in his ear.

"This is our company's conference room. When we first came to Moscow, this used to be a warehouse."

It really is a warehouse.

Rimonov turned around and looked at the young man who had spoken.

He has a typical Chinese appearance, but is fairer-skinned and has more defined features than the Central Asians in Stan.

Even by European standards, the man in front of him was handsome.

"Hello, I am Rimonov, the chief reporter of Izvestia. I am here to interview about the advanced achievements of Far Eastern trade and Far Eastern food. You must be Mr. Qin?"

Rimonov immediately began introducing himself.

"Hello." Qin Yuan pushed open the door, led him inside, and asked, "Reporter Rimonov, these are the conditions here, please don't mind."

Rimonov shook his head and smiled: "Why would I mind?"

His gaze swept over the simple, even somewhat shabby, "office".

The walls were bare red bricks, only painted with a thin layer of white plaster, and some bundled file boxes were piled up in the corner. The only "decoration" was a huge Soviet map hanging on the wall, with routes and cities densely marked on it with thumbtacks of different colors.

Besides an old-fashioned telephone, there were several thick stacks of documents on the desk.

This place is less like the headquarters of a multinational corporation that controls hundreds of millions of rubles in trade, and more like a front-line command post.

“Mr. Qin,” Rimonov picked up his coffee cup, trying to dispel a chill, his voice filled with genuine confusion, “to be honest, I’m quite surprised. With the current scale and influence of Far East Trade, you are perfectly capable of renting the most luxurious office building in the city center and having the most impressive office. Yet you chose… to stay here?”

He pointed to the surrounding environment.

"The environment is simple, isn't it?" Qin Yuan picked up his coffee, gently blew on it to cool it down, and wore a calm smile.

“Reporter Rimonov, Far East Trade is a company that deals in import and export trade. For us, the most important thing is not how grand our office is, but how close we are to the market and how quickly we can respond.”

He put down his cup and glanced at the map on the wall: "The Chekhov Hotel may not be large, but it is right next to the Yaroslavl Railway Station—the starting and ending point for our goods."

"This is our initial foothold in Moscow, and it's also the place most of our partners are familiar with. Here, we can hear the market's voice firsthand and handle unexpected problems immediately. As for the skyscrapers in the city center..."

He paused, his tone tinged with nonchalance, "That's for others to see. What we value more is real efficiency."

Rimonov nodded thoughtfully, feeling a sense of admiration for Qin Yuan's pragmatic approach.

This stands in stark contrast to the Soviet state-owned enterprise leaders he had encountered who were keen on pomp and privilege.

He continued, "Then what about other Chinese doing business in Moscow? Those compatriots known as 'middlemen,' are they also willing to struggle in this environment like you?"

"Scalpers?" Qin Yuan smiled, a complex expression on his face. "This term carries a hint of mockery, but also a touch of bitterness. They leave their homes and toil in the freezing cold of foreign lands. What are they doing it for? Just like us, they are all striving for a better future."

There is an old Chinese saying: "No pain, no gain." This does not mean that people are born to suffer, but rather that a good life never falls from the sky.

"It requires sweat, wisdom, and... working silently where others cannot see. The hardships we face now are for the sake of a long-term stable and dignified future."

“A better future.” Rimonov murmured, repeating the phrase, a complex and indescribable emotion flashing across his face.

These five words were like a key, instantly unlocking the heavy door in his heart.

In the early days of the Soviet Union, countless idealists sacrificed their lives for this "better future," didn't they?

But now... the gap between ideals and reality is so vast and cold.

He took a deep breath, his eyes filled with genuine respect: "Mr. Qin truly deserves to be the man who discovered kvass and created the two major brands, Jeanswest."

"Speaking of kvass, I'd like to ask how you improved the kvass recipe. In my childhood memories, kvass tasted sour and astringent, but your company's product is sweet and delicious, with a hint of fermented bread aroma. This really piques my curiosity."

"Because I've drunk it before. In Northeast China, we have a factory called Qiulin, which produces a beverage called Qiulin Kvass."

Qin Yuan did not hide anything; he wanted to use Izvestia to let the Soviets know the story behind the kvass.

"Ordinary Soviet citizens, especially the older generation and rural residents, generally possessed the 'technique' of making basic kvass through simple, natural lactic acid fermentation using breadcrumbs. This was a life skill passed down from generation to generation, requiring no complicated tools or specialized knowledge."

"It's almost like pickling vegetables or making soybean paste in China—it's common sense and a family tradition. Many housewives or elderly people know how to make it."

"However, there is a huge technological gap between home-based production and industrialized production. The former relies on experience to produce unstable crops, while the latter involves specialized microbiological knowledge, precise process control, modern equipment, and large-scale production management."

"Our Far East Kvass is built on the foundation of upgrading the traditional national beverage of the Slavs into a 'modern production technology' that is efficient, high-quality, and large-scale commercial product."

“After I came to the Soviet Union, I discovered that what you lacked was not ‘how to make kvass,’ but how to mass-produce kvass quickly and efficiently in factories.”

Rimonov was utterly shocked after hearing these words.

(End of this chapter)