Becoming a Russian Oligarch After Rebirth

Chapter 33: Chapter 33: The First Subordinate_1 Chapter 33: Chapter 33: The First Subordinate_1 Ruan Xiaozhu accompanied Wang Ye to the coat check in the hotel lobby.

Wang Ye removed his own down jacket, scarf, hat, gloves, and started putting them on.

Once he finished dressing up, Ruan Xiaozhu laughed and said, “You’re a boss now, you should at least get a decent jacket. This one is too… unsightly. You’re a handsome guy but wearing this makes you look like a… like a rag-picker. Haha.”

This was the second lady who disdained Wang Ye’s shabby down jacket.

Indeed, the jacket had no style to speak of and made its wearer look remarkably bulky…

Wang Ye hadn’t been too bothered at first. If it was one person making such a comment, he might have brushed it off, but now more than one person had pointed it out, indicating that the jacket was indeed a problem.

People do say, ‘you are what you wear’, and there is some truth in that.

If Wang Ye were already a billionaire business magnate, people might see his shabby clothing as a show of indifference and individuality!

But that was not the case…

He was in Moscow, and currently contemplating starting a small venture. Thus, ‘packaging’ himself well was now becoming necessary.

Don’t assume that foreigners don’t care about their appearance. At least in Russia, that’s not the case.

Even within the school, observing the teachers, one could estimate an individual’s position and income through their dressing style.

There’s no need to mention the principals, as one hardly gets the chance to see them.

If they ever appeared on campus, they would be surrounded by a retinue, with cars to pick them up and drop them off, putting on quite a show.

The vice principals also made quite an impression.

Wang Ye had once visited the vice principal’s office, after scheduling a meeting with the vice principal’s attractive secretary. The office was a large suite, with at least a couple hundred square feet of space.

The vice principal himself was very erudite and elegant, clearly an intellectual…

People like the department heads and the Director of External Affairs, who held significant power, were always immaculately dressed in suits, and a fur coat was a must.

Professors also paid attention to their appearance, wearing suits and ties, doing their best to look presentable. Even if their suits were a bit outdated, they were still crisp and smart!

As for ordinary teachers, their dressing style was a little shabby since their salary was barely adequate to cover their living expenses…

……
Nodding, Wang Ye laughed and replied, “Yes, this jacket is a bit old. I’ll get a new one in a couple of days.”

Ruan Xiaozhu, satisfied, nodded and added, “You don’t have to go for big brands, that’s too wasteful. How about I take you shopping this weekend? I know a few malls that are quite decent, not too expensive, and okay in terms of styles and quality.”

Wang Ye, not wanting to refuse her kindness, promptly agreed with a nod.

It was too cold outside, so Ruan Xiaozhu escorted Wang Ye to the entrance of the hotel before they waved goodbye.

Wang Ye paid another hundred rubles for a cab and reached his dormitory at the university around 10 PM.

In the dorm, Xiao Hei and Song Xiaogang were still up, each sitting behind a desk, buried in their studies.

For these preparatory students, the academic workload was quite heavy.

After all, the preparatory year was just one year. Expecting to bring their Russian language competency up to par with Russian university students during this period was unrealistic.

But at the very least, they should be able to understand the lectures once they get into their freshman year, right?

Compared to them, Wang Ye was having it much easier. His Russian language skills were indeed prodigious!

After all, in his previous life, he had spent more than twenty years working and studying in Russian. If his language competency was low now, that would be abnormal!

When Wang Ye walked into the room, Song Xiaogang quickly stood up and said, smiling, “Brother Ye, you’re back. I thought you weren’t coming back tonight.”

As he hung his down jacket in the wardrobe, Wang Ye laughed and responded, “Should I sleep out on the street? I’m not that keen on freezing to death like a drunk.”

This wasn’t a joke. Every winter in Russia, a considerable number of people froze to death on the streets due to excessive drinking!

These incidents weren’t even considered newsworthy anymore because they were so commonplace…

……
Having had a drink of hot water to warm up, Wang Ye took out his wallet and began to count the money he’d made in the past few days.

Since it was a small-scale business, he didn’t keep a ledger. He’d deliver the cards to anyone who wanted them and put any money he received into his wallet.

As long as he didn’t lose his wallet, the money wouldn’t go astray.

But most of the cards had been sold, so he needed to count his profits, ready to contact Liu Jun and get the next batch of goods.

Wang Ye was certain that Ruan Xiaozhu would be able to sell her cards quickly because there were many more Chinese students at Moscow University than at Friendship University.

Moreover, Ruan Xiaozhu had many connections at the university. Coupled with the good quality and low price of the cards Wang Ye provided, there was no reason for them not to sell.

So, the few cards that Wang Ye had left might not even be enough for Ruan Xiaozhu’s next request…

After counting the remaining phone cards, he found out that he had forty-two cards worth fifty US dollars left, along with ten cards worth a hundred US dollars.

When he had gotten the cards from Liu Jun, there were eighty pieces worth fifty dollars and thirty pieces worth a hundred dollars.

This means he had sold thirty-eight cards worth fifty dollars and twenty cards worth a hundred dollars.

The cards he gave to Ruan Xiaozhu were sold at a discount price, bringing in sixteen hundred US dollars.

The remaining cards were sold at retail, at ninety percent of face value, bringing in seventeen hundred and ten US dollars.

The total came to three thousand three hundred and ten US dollars. After deducting the five hundred US dollars he had to return to Song Xiaogang, he was left with two thousand eight hundred.

But that was still not enough…

If he were to sell all the remaining cards, he could probably make another two thousand five hundred to two thousand six hundred US dollars, depending on whether they were sold individually or in bulk to Ruan Xiaozhu.

In conclusion, if Wang Ye’s first venture goes well, with an initial investment of four thousand five hundred dollars (plus the borrowed five hundred dollars), he could earn around one thousand dollars in net profit.

That’s not bad at all…

However, to Wang Ye, who had ‘reincarnated’, this amount of money was quite literally small change.

Still, Wang Ye understood the proverb ‘every beginning is tough’.

Starting a business wasn’t about being impatient for success. One had to take one step at a time…

……
Song Xiaogang sat at the edge of the desk, his mind no longer on the books in front of him.

Watching Wang Ye count cards and cash on the side was quite a sight.

As for his feelings towards Wang Ye, Song Xiaogang didn’t have a hint of envy or jealousy, but only respect!

Although they were of the same age – in fact, Song Xiaogang was a few months older than Wang Ye – when referring to Wang Ye, he called him ‘Brother Ye’…

Not only Song Xiaogang, but other students from the same batch as well all referred to him as ‘Brother Ye’.

In the north, the terms ‘Brother’ or ‘Sister’ sometimes don’t denote age – they are merely terms of respect.

Despite being of the same age, what Wang Ye had shown since arriving in Moscow was far beyond that of others…