Flip the table and divide the family property! Take his wife and daughter into the mountains and eat

"foreign currency?"

Jin Wanfu's single eye twitched slightly.

"What currency? What do you want to exchange it for?"

"Rubles. I'd like to exchange them for dollars, or gold if that's not possible."

Hearing this, Jin Wanfu's gaze finally focused. He looked at Zhao Shanhe, paused for a moment, and then asked:

How many?

"Over ten thousand."

"Over ten thousand rubles?!"

His voice involuntarily rose slightly, and his single eye stared straight at Zhao Shanhe, a hint of surprise on his face.

"Shanhe, who are you asking this for?"

"A friend."

"friend?"

Jin Wanfu looked at him for a while, and seeing that Zhao Shanhe had no intention of continuing, he didn't press him further.

He sighed, closed his one eye, and took a moment to compose himself before speaking:

"Shanhe, if it were US dollars or Hong Kong dollars, I could grit my teeth and use underground money changers in the south to launder this friend's money. But not in rubles."

Zhao Shanhe frowned slightly: "They don't recognize it from the south?"

"I don't accept it." Jin Wanfu shook his head, his tone firm. "Russian money is only hard currency on the northern border; once it crosses the Yangtze River, it's worthless. In the south, they accept US dollars. If you try to exchange these tens of thousands of rubles on the black market in the interior, they'll swallow you whole. You'll be lucky to get even half of it back."

Jin Wanfu opened his one eye and looked at Zhao Shanhe:

"If you really want to turn this money into cash that you can spend freely in China, or exchange it for large quantities of croaker, there are only two ways. Either go north to the border and find a 'middleman' who does large-scale border trade to exchange it for goods that are in short supply in China; or go to ports like Heihe and Suifenhe and find Soviet underground banks that specialize in this business. My connections are all in Guangzhou, Shenzhen, and Hong Kong, so I really can't help you with this."

After listening, Zhao Shanhe understood.

He didn't make things difficult for Lao Jin anymore, put the cigarette pack back in his pocket, and stood up.

"Alright, Lao Jin, you take good care of yourself first. I'll think of something else to deal with this. I won't bother you any longer."

Just as Zhao Shanhe finished speaking and was about to turn around, Jin Wanfu suddenly spoke up:

"Shanhe, don't leave yet."

Zhao Shanhe stopped and turned to look at him.

Jin Wanfu stared at him with his single eye, remained silent for a moment, and then lowered his voice to ask:

"How close are you to that friend of yours?"

Zhao Shanhe's eyebrows twitched slightly.

Jin Wanfu continued:

"This isn't just about running errands or passing on a message. If you really want to get involved, you'll have to invest time, connections, and everything else. The money is his, but all of this is yours."

"You need to think carefully first about whether it's worth the effort for him."

Zhao Shanhe looked at Jin Wanfu, his expression becoming more serious.

"A friendship that transcends life and death."

He answered very decisively.

"He's in trouble, and he trusts me, that's why he came to me. As long as there's a way, I'm willing to give it a try."

After listening, Jin Wanfu slowly nodded and gestured towards the chair next to the bed.

"Then please sit down first."

Zhao Shanhe pulled the chair back as instructed, sat down again, and waited quietly for him to continue.

Jin Wanfu closed his one eye and rested for a while, seemingly gathering his strength. When he opened his eye again, there was a hint of solemnity in his cloudy gaze.

"Since we've been through thick and thin together, I won't waste any more words trying to persuade you."

Jin Wanfu swallowed hard, his voice low:

"I do know someone up north who can afford to take this money."

Zhao Shanhe's gaze sharpened slightly: "Who?"

"This man's surname is Wei, and everyone in the underworld calls him Third Master Wei."

Jin Wanfu twitched the corner of his mouth. "He also came from the south in his early years, and later settled down in Harbin. Now, half of the major smuggling routes from Heihe to the Soviet Union on the other side depend on his whim. Tens of thousands of rubles are a hot potato for others, but for him, it's just a matter of a few truckloads of leather goods."

"However, things have been tense up up north lately, so I'm afraid things aren't going too well for Master Wei. Andropov, who just took over on the other side, is cracking down on corruption with an iron fist, and even the KGB and former high-ranking officials are being purged. The entire Far East border trade sector is undergoing a major upheaval, and Master Wei's various lines have certainly been affected."

Jin Wanfu stared at Zhao Shanhe, his voice extremely low:

"Your friend... is he a Soviet citizen? I guess he got caught up in Andropov's anti-corruption campaign and fled here with his money."

Zhao Shanhe did not hide anything and nodded frankly.

"Yes."

He looked at Jin Wanfu, his tone calm yet carrying immense weight:

"Even that Soviet expert from the Red Star Machinery Plant was someone who risked his life to help me make the connection back then."

Zhao Shanhe paused, his eyes showing no sign of wavering:

"He helped me a lot in the north. Now that he's in trouble, I'll help him no matter what."

Hearing him put it this way, a look of understanding flashed in Jin Wanfu's cloudy, single eye.

He didn't waste any more words, but simply sighed heavily and continued:

"Since your friend is involved in the KGB purge, Wei Laosan, who runs such a large operation in the north, naturally couldn't escape it. I can't figure out how much he was affected by this storm, or what his current situation is, even though I'm separated by most of China."

Jin Wanfu turned his head slightly and pointed to the metal wardrobe in the corner of the ward.

"My blood-stained suit is hanging in the closet. There's a small black leather notebook in the inner pocket. Take it out, turn to the last page, and there's a landline number from Harbin on it."

Zhao Shanhe got up and walked to the wardrobe. He took out the palm-sized leather notebook, quickly glanced at the number on it, memorized it, and carefully put it away.

Watching him walk back, Jin Wanfu let out a heavy breath and whispered his instructions:

"Find a safe public phone and call. Just say that 'One-Eyed Golden' from Guangzhou and Shenzhen told you to contact him. That's all I can do. With my current health, I can't personally step in to protect you."

At this point, Jin Wanfu stared intently at Zhao Shanhe, gritted his teeth, and added from the bottom of his heart, "But let me add one more thing. If things really get too complicated up north, and all else fails, go find Director Li and use the official channels."

Zhao Shanhe understood. If they went through the government channels, this huge sum of money would have to be handed over as embezzled foreign exchange.

Jin Wanfu closed his eyes, his voice utterly exhausted: "Losing money is better than losing everything. All the money is definitely gone, but at least it will save your life. You can also get out unscathed and won't get too deeply involved."

Zhao Shanhe remained silent for a moment, then slowly nodded.

"I've got it."

Jin Wanfu has already made his point so clear, which shows he has shown enough consideration.

As for whether or not to accept the murky waters of over 100,000 rubles, and how to proceed, he needed to go back and discuss it with Ivanov in person.

That's the Russians' life savings, their life-saving money. They need to make their own stance clear about the risks involved.

"You rest well first, I'll come see you later."

Zhao Shanhe gently pushed the chair back to its original position, and without lingering any longer, turned and left the ward.

When the police officers waiting outside saw him come out, they immediately went to greet him.

"Comrade Zhao, how's Boss Jin?"

"He just fell asleep, don't go in and disturb him."

Zhao Shanhe closed the door and whispered something:

"Please pass on a message to Director Zhou. Regarding Jinbao's matter, Old Jin said to handle it as it should be handled, those are his exact words."

"Okay, I'll contact the bureau in a bit."

Zhao Shanhe nodded and walked along the corridor toward the stairwell.