ryethenovel 16. One armory was transported in.
16. One armory was transported in.
Dalia, with her son Roman, traveled by Trans-Siberian Railway, making their way to St. Petersburg.
Oleg drove a van to pick him up, his luggage filling half the van, like he was moving house.
The car was parked at the entrance of the courtyard.
Upon arriving home, Dalia first exchanged a few warm greetings with Natasha, and then introduced a "porter" who looked like a bear to Li Xiang.
"Bigfoot, come here."
Dalia looked at Li Xiang with a big smile, "Nephew-in-law, Natasha said Oleg will be going to Vietnam with her and Roman. I was worried that you wouldn't have anyone to help you, so I brought one for you."
Li Xiang politely declined, saying, "I don't need it."
Dalia took a half step forward and whispered, "Don't worry, he's not one of my men."
Li Xiang turned to look at Big Foot, scanned his basic information, and didn't see anything unusual.
What are your skills?
"If you can't reason with a rude person, just break their neck." Bigfoot's expression was strange as he tried to keep smiling and look more amiable.
Dalia chimed in, "He's clean, has no criminal record, and has never been a gang member."
Li Xiang said, "I do the proper thing, I can't just throw punches around."
"Dalia already told me to follow orders and not to do anything reckless." Bigfoot tried to find his strengths, "I'm a very good driver, and I can even drive a tank."
Li Xiang nodded and said, "You've been accepted."
Based on the information from the system feedback, BigFoot's core need is to support his family.
Dalia instructed, "Go and fetch Roman's gift, and that red leather suitcase."
Big Foot stood there motionless as if he hadn't heard a thing.
Li Xiang smiled and said, "Go ahead."
Dalia muttered under her breath, "What kind of brain does he have? I told him to only listen to you, and he really does only listen to you."
Li Xiang responded softly, "Stop acting. Even if you do, I won't believe you."
"Roman, you even brought us gifts." Natasha patted her nephew's head.
Dalia interjected, "Don't flatter yourself, it's not a gift for you."
"He can't take those treasures with him when he goes to Vietnam. He said Li Xiang would like them, so I had them shipped over."
Bigfoot and Oleg worked together to carry in three large wooden crates, the crates covered in a dark, blackened surface, as if they had just been dug out of a coal pile.
Li Xiang was also quite curious about what was inside. But when he pried it open, he was dumbfounded; three large boxes were full of various weapons and equipment.
Russian boys' toys are truly amazing; it's like an arsenal has been brought here.
"Were all shipped from Vladivostok?"
"You could call it a shipment, it's been buried in the coal truck," Dalia continued. "St. Petersburg is very strict, it's hard to buy these things even if you want to, so it's better to keep them just in case."
"I didn't bring any ammunition for you; you can buy it on the black market." Dalia pointed at Bigfoot. "Let him go."
Li Xiang joked, "Illegal possession of weapons, how many years would I be sentenced to if I got caught?"
Natasha took Li Xiang's arm and suggested, "Let's find a place to bury him in the pine forest behind the mountain."
Bigfoot brought in the red leather suitcase as well.
"Natasha and Roman need money for their immigration, so I brought some with me." Dalia opened her suitcase, which was stuffed full of rubles. She closed it and pushed it toward Li Xiang. "Nephew-in-law, this is thirty million rubles. Here you go."
Based on the current exchange rate, it's approximately US$105 million.
"Did you bury this box of money in the coal cart and bring it over?" The suitcase was clean; it didn't look like it.
Dalia laughed and said, "What if it gets lost in the coal truck? I brought it with me."
Li Xiang was speechless.
-
After dinner, Dalia and Natasha took a Finnish sauna together.
"Once you arrive in Vietnam, just relax and prepare for childbirth. I'll take care of Li Xiang for you."
"No need, we never had any feelings for each other anyway." Natasha sounded a little disappointed.
"I'm not talking about keeping an eye on him. At his age, he can go a few months without a woman, but can you really keep an eye on him for long? Unless you throw him in jail and cut off all contact with women. If you've decided to leave, you should be prepared for that."
Dalia wiped her sweat with an ice-cold towel and continued, "I'm talking about the money. I'll keep an eye on him and make sure he gets the job done."
"I'm not worried about that," Natasha grinned, rubbing her stomach. "I have hostages."
"He was just dabbling in small-scale activities before, and nobody paid attention to him. But once he's been targeted and treated like a fat sheep, it's hard to say what will happen. St. Petersburg is a very dangerous place."
Dalia turned to Natasha and asked seriously, "If it really comes down to a choice, should we save the person or the money?"
Natasha was silent for a moment, then said, "Both people and money must be protected."
Dalia chuckled and tapped her niece on the head. "You're really smitten."
"He's the child's father, after all."
Old-school mafia places great importance on blood ties, which are fundamental to maintaining the family's power structure.
"Although our family is now like rats in the street, and everyone avoids us, as long as your father and the others keep their mouths shut while they're in jail, no one will really dare to drive us to the brink of despair."
Natasha's father, Andrei, lived in a solitary cell in prison, ate steak, and could occasionally visit a prostitute. The reason he was able to enjoy such special treatment was because of the "law of silence."
Taking secrets to the grave is a reputation the Ivanov family has built up over three generations.
There was no need to silence them.
If they actually take action, it might detonate a nuclear bomb, bringing those buried secrets to the light of day again.
This creates a terrifying balance.
-
Pavel successfully smuggled 50,000 jerseys to Latvia, and with this one transaction alone, he paid off all the high-interest loans he owed Galina.
Having tasted success, Pavel planned a big one, shipping another 300,000 pieces before stopping.
The plan was flawless.
Selling goods into the EU requires customs clearance, but transit is less strict. However, the boxes cannot be opened along the way; they must be sealed and locked, and the vehicle must be equipped with a GPS tracker.
However, no one was watching over the transportation process.
Pavel prepared to open the seals and change the trucks as soon as the goods entered Latvia.
What happened to the original car?
Who cares? The truck belongs to the freight company, not him.
Each car has one driver and one escort, just two people, so dealing with them isn't difficult.
But raising the money for 300,000 units was not easy; it cost over a million US dollars. In addition to bank loans, Pavel gritted his teeth and borrowed another sum from Galina.
With a foundation of cooperation established, the interest on this loan is not high, at the level of normal private lending, and can be considered as an advance payment for goods.
The concept of usury does not exist in Russia at present. Interest rates can be set as high as they want, but violent debt collection is not allowed.
-
SnowFlying's shipments bypassed St. Petersburg and began using the Vladivostok and Belarus routes.
Pavel was a major customer of the high-quality replica jerseys, and Sergei also had many individual customers. Word spread quickly, and the store's business began to boom thanks to the World Cup.
All individual orders are cash transactions.
The money was deposited daily and not kept overnight. Large amounts of cash were deposited into Deutsche Bank every day. They would add 10% to 15% of the cash to inflate the turnover, which would go undetected.
The shipment of SnowFlying goods stuck at St. Petersburg customs has not been released yet because the paperwork is incomplete. They have tried to complete the paperwork several times, but it is still incomplete, and each time there are new problems.
Seeing that SnowFlying had managed to build up its business by bypassing St. Petersburg, but failing to make any profit, the mysterious figure lurking in the shadows seemed to be getting anxious.
Sergei furtively called Li Xiang, "Brother Xiang, I got that call again. He wants to meet you."