The Sea Queen of 1985

Chapter 534: Chapter 534: Everyone Might Have a Special Identity

Ye Feng had just returned from Beijing and immediately began discussions with some foreign experts.

Three days later, the discussions concluded, and Ye Feng decided to follow Professor Xu’s advice to apply for an international patent.

He had already asked his uncle about the specific rules.

If he wanted to get it approved quickly, it was best to spend some money and hire a professional agency to help with the application.

Doing so would save time and reduce risk.

When Ye Feng finally had a moment of free time, he saw Alyosha approaching and went to greet him personally.

”Alyosha, you don’t seem very happy! If something is wrong, just say the word. I’ll help you.”

Alyosha’s father was a top expert in the field of semiconductors.

Thanks to his father’s arrival, the entire project had progressed much faster, much to Ye Feng’s satisfaction.

Consequently, Ye Feng also held Alyosha in high regard.

Originally, it was Alyosha who had scouted the place out on his father’s behalf. He had been very impressed, which was why he persuaded his father to come.

Seeing how warm Ye Feng was, Alyosha breathed a sigh of relief. ”Ye, my friends and I want to start a business, but we’re finding it a bit difficult. We can’t find the right products. Can you give us some advice?”

Ye Feng smiled faintly upon hearing this. ”Ah, so that’s what this is about! Well, tell me, what does Russia need most right now? Then all you have to do is pick out some good-quality products from Hua Country.”

”Of course, the most important part of any business is getting paid. Are you sure you can collect the money? If you can’t get cash, you can take goods instead—barter. But of course, you’ll have to calculate your costs carefully. You can’t afford to take a loss.”

Alyosha quickly replied, ”We’re short on light industrial products, but they have no money over there, so they can only trade with goods. Any deal would have to be a barter. But the merchants here don’t need anything from our country, so we can’t make a trade.”

Ye Feng asked, ”What can you offer?”

Alyosha thought for a moment, then said, ”Motorcycles, tanks... even airplanes are possible.”

”Huh?” Ye Feng was stunned for a moment before a brilliant idea struck him. ”Alyosha, how about this? I’ll lend you a sum of money to buy light industrial products here first.”

”You can do a trial run first, see if they’re willing to sell some things that we don’t have in Hua Country. I’ll also have a few friends of mine go with you to select some things we need here and establish a partnership.”

”Alyosha, don’t you think this would be more persuasive than going to your friends back home with nothing but empty words? Isn’t that right?”

Alyosha was stunned. ”Ye, you’d really lend me money?”

Ye Feng nodded. ”Of course. And consider it my way of thanking you for putting me in touch with so many experts. No interest for three years.”

Alyosha rubbed his hands together. His grades in university hadn’t been the best, but he had gotten to know a lot of very capable classmates and was on excellent terms with them.

Now, their parents’ generation was coming into power, but with a shortage of light industrial products, life was tough.

As long as he could get his hands on light industrial goods to bring back, he wouldn’t have to worry about finding buyers.

One of them, a man named Andre, had found out Alyosha was in Hua Country and had written him a letter, hoping he could ship some goods back. He said the price was negotiable.

Initially, Alyosha didn’t know what to choose, largely because he had no money.

If Ye Feng was willing to lend him the money, Alyosha was more than happy to accept.

”Thank you, Ye!” Alyosha replied. ”I’ll definitely be able to make a profit. My good friend Andre can take charge of this shipment and sell it. We’ll be long-term partners; he’ll definitely pay up.”

Ye Feng nodded. ”Good. And like I said, it’s not just about getting things Hua Country doesn’t have. If you can introduce us to talented people that Hua Country needs, that would be even better. The relevant domestic departments will, in turn, help you get in touch with more suppliers of light industrial goods.”

Alyosha remarked with emotion, ”Many scientists aren’t properly utilized and have no choice but to leave. But here in Hua Country, you respect talent. We’ve felt that since we arrived. Ye, you all will definitely become very powerful in the future.”

Ye Feng shook his head and sighed. ”Who knows? Science is difficult; it’s not something you can master in a year or two. We can only take it one step at a time. But making the development of our scientific and technological capabilities a national policy—that will not change.”

In reality, Ye Feng didn’t want to appear too confident and make Alyosha and the others wary.

Alyosha nodded. ”Ye Feng, you don’t need to overthink it! We’re both just getting what we need. Even if these scientists didn’t come to Hua Country, they would have gone to other countries.”

”That being the case, they might as well come to Hua Country! As long as our hearts are both red! Who knows, maybe one day our two countries will join forces to stand against the United States.”

Ye Feng was surprised. He had once heard a military strategist discuss this issue.

The strategist had analyzed the issue from various angles—economics, culture, political systems, geostrategy, and the games played by great powers—and had come to the exact same conclusion.

That in the eventual struggle for hegemony between Hua Country and the United States, Hua Country’s most likely partner would be its neighbor to the north.

’I can’t believe it. There’s more to this seemingly spoiled playboy, Alyosha, than meets the eye.’

’Perhaps Alyosha, just like him, had other identities as well.’

’But that didn’t matter. As long as they could both get what they needed, that was good enough.’

Through Ye Feng’s introduction, Alyosha found a partner in Qu Gang.

Qu Gang would be the one to receive the goods Alyosha procured from Russia, but he insisted on tagging along to see things for himself.

Accompanying them were dozens of freight cars loaded with industrial products.

These industrial products had been purchased with the money Ye Feng lent to Alyosha.

They had chosen durable light industrial products with a long shelf life.

There were various thick fabrics, thermoses, and, most surprisingly, a massive quantity of instant noodles.

The instant noodles were originally all spicy, but at Han Xiaorui’s suggestion, they were all swapped for a tomato-based flavor.

Two months later, Alyosha returned, his face beaming. ”My dear Ye, my dear Han, I love you guys!”

Ye Feng and Han Xiaorui were sitting in the courtyard drinking tea.

Hearing Alyosha’s effusive greeting, the two of them exchanged a glance.

”Alyosha, you look thrilled. I take it the trip was a great success?” Ye Feng asked, curious.

He had tried to find out what Alyosha had brought back in the trade, but Qu Gang had told him it wasn’t his place to say.

’If even I’m not allowed to know, it must be something Hua Country doesn’t have and desperately wants.’

Alyosha grinned and nodded. ”Yes, Ye! I’m ready to pay you back half the money now. I plan to use the other half to buy all the instant noodles. The tomato-based one is great, but it’s the only flavor. It gets monotonous!”

Hearing this, Ye Feng paused. ”Will you have enough money for that?”

Alyosha nodded. ”More than enough! After shipping everything over and deducting all expenses, my profits were three times my initial investment!”

Hearing this, Ye Feng gasped. ”That much?”

Alyosha replied, ”Yes, at least for now! Want to take a guess at what I got in return?”

Ye Feng shook his head. ”I’d never be able to guess! I tried asking before, but they wouldn’t tell me!”