Becoming a Russian Oligarch After Rebirth

The round-trip plane ticket to Moscow alone, even with a student discount, would cost about 550 US dollars.

That means, from now until the end of June next year, Wang Ye only has 2,500 US dollars to cover his living expenses for the next eighteen months!

That's around 140 US dollars a month...

To be honest, that's a bit tight.

But Wang Ye knows that he cannot complain as his family has already done their best.

In reality, his family is not much better off economically than Song Xiaogang's family.

Both families have the hopes that their sons could change their destiny through studying abroad after overcoming financial hardships.

After buying a phone today, his available living expenses dropped to 2200 US dollars...

He must forget about the possibility of a comfortable living; the cost of living in Moscow is quite high. he must be frugal, even when buying groceries.

Of course, Wang Ye will not simply wait passively. After all, he has lived another life already, with over two decades of social experience. It would be a waste of his "rebirth" if he doesn't use it to make some money on the side!

These past few days, Wang Ye has been preparing a plan to make money. Buying a phone was the first step in his plan.

......

Carrying the phone, Wang Ye quickly returned to his dormitory where he ran into Nalan Yaqi.

Wang Ye had bundled up when he left the dorm to run errands. Within the dorm, the temperature was significantly higher than outside, so Nalan was dressed rather lightly!

She was wearing a light pink sundress, exposing her slender neck and delicate shoulders. Whenever Liu Xiaojie saw her like this, it would instantly make him blush...

Nalan Yaqi was just coming out of the convenience store, carrying a big bag of potato chips. Seeing Wang Ye, her eyes lit up.

Looking him over, she joked: "Hey Wang Ye, your puffy coat must be a relic handed down from your ancestors, it looks pretty old."

Although Wang Ye's down jacket was a bit worn out, Nalan Yaqi was indeed exaggerating.

Clearly, she was still feeling a bit annoyed because Wang Ye had ignored her a few days ago.

However, Wang Ye wasn't upset at all. He casually adjusted his coat and responded with a smile: "This coat is a branded one, it's from Duck, my dad rewarded it to me when I got into the best high school in our county."

Nalan Yaqi looked confused, she had never heard of "Duck".

But she understood at least one thing: this shabby coat was already three years old…

Just from this detail, she realized that Wang Ye's family might not be well off.

Otherwise, he wouldn't have kept a piece of clothing for so many years.

Despite this, his candid nature and his straightforwardness about his financial status made her respect him even more.

Being poor was not an issue. After all, aren't all our ancestors once poor? Except her family, of course...

As long as people work hard, they will have a bright future.

She no longer cared about his branded coat. Seeing the small transparent bag Wang Ye was carrying, the Nokia phone box inside was clearly visible. She asked, "Did you buy a phone?"

Wang Ye nodded.

"Give me your number," Nalan Yaqi demanded without hesitation.

She then pulled out a small, delicate ivory white phone.

It was a Samsung A288, one of the most popular phones in 2001!

It was a flip-phone, double-screened, and the external screen was blue!

This phone was not cheap; it's worth at least two of Wang Ye's phones.

Facing this girl, Wang Ye had no intention of currying favor with her, but he could not say he disliked her either.

After all, she was a beautiful and energetic young girl who had done nothing bad. Disliking her would mean there was something wrong with him...

Thinking for a moment, Wang Ye realized he hadn't memorized his new phone number yet.

Smiling apologetically, he took out his phone and said, "I just got this number and haven't memorized it yet. Tell me yours, and I'll call you."

"Okay, my number is 796..." Nalan Yaqi recited her number as he dialed.

Soon, the pleasant chord ringing from the Samsung A288 filled the air. Nalan Yaqi hung up the phone and added Wang Ye's number to her contacts after a quick tap-tap on her phone.

"Alright, goodbye. I'll come find you to hang out when I have time..." Nalan Yaqi waved goodbye to Wang Ye and left with her bag of chips.

Wang Ye shook his head and climbed the stairs back to his room.

Song Xiaogang was busy cooking in the dormitory. Seeing Wang Ye, he warmly said: "Brother Ye, let's have lunch together. I'm making two dishes, and the rice is almost ready."

When it came to cooking, Song Xiaogang was way better than Wang Ye.

His dad was always busy with work, so he had to learn cooking at an early age.

Apparently, his uncle was a chef, Song Xiaogang had even taken a few lessons from him.

Wang Ye didn't hesitate. He nodded in agreement and asked, "Hey Xiaogang, where's your Chinese Newspaper? I want to take a look."

Even in Russia, there are Chinese newspapers. The most famous one is "Moscow Chinese Newspaper"!

This paper is published daily. Unlike newspapers in China, it is bound like a magazine instead of being a broadsheet.

Moreover, the printing quality was much lower, almost crude…

However, for people in a foreign land, they can't be too picky. This newspaper was indeed very popular among the Chinese community.

The contents included important news from both China and Moscow. Of course, there were also many advertisements for selling products, job seeking, and recruitment, etc.

Many overseas students found part-time jobs through this newspaper.

In Moscow, there is a huge wholesale market near the Izmailovo metro station. Hence, many Chinese call it "Ant Market".

This is the largest international trade wholesale market in Eastern Europe.

Many Chinese manufacturers set up stalls here to import clothes, shoes, bags, and accessories from China through this extensive market, supplying to customers from Russia and many other Eastern European countries.

Allegedly, there are about 100,000 Chinese businessmen in this extensive market!

Perhaps, 100,000 may be a bit of an exaggeration, but there are indeed many Chinese people. More than half of the people in the market are Chinese!

A lot of Chinese students, looking for part-time jobs, usually come here to work as translators for wholesalers.

...

Wang Ye asked for the newspaper from Song Xiaogang, not because he wanted to apply to be a translator.

Though his Russian language skills are pretty good, making it easy to be a translator, he chooses not to be satisfied with the mediocre salary.

Wang Ye was planning something else, something that would bring in a lot of money!

However, the crucial person in his plan, his phone number, he couldn't remember and needed to find it through this newspaper…