Reborn in Russia as a Big Shot

52. The Warlords

Nicholas Tse was packing his bags, preparing to leave for Russia, when his manager, Mani Fok, suddenly appeared uninvited at his doorstep.

"Come in."

"I have some good news for you that you might not like," Huo Wenxi said hesitantly.

Nicholas Tse asked in confusion, "Since it's good news, how could you not like it?"

Huo Wenxi went to the refrigerator and grabbed a drink, trying to relax her tone as much as possible, and said, "China Star knows that you're going to propose to Bai Zhi."

"What are they trying to do?" Nicholas Tse turned to look at Mani Fok, his face full of vigilance.

"So you're afraid now?" Huo Wenxi sat down, took a sip of water, and said slowly, "Mrs. Xiang has agreed to recommend you for the audition of 'Mad Detective.' Didn't you want to shift your focus to the film and television industry? This is a rare opportunity."

"That's Johnnie To."

Before Nicholas Tse could interrupt, Mani Fok continued, "I don't think Mrs. Heung's request is excessive. You should go to the audition first. If Director To takes a liking to you, considering the film's shooting time, it will be at most the end of next year."

"Once the movie is finished, who you want to marry is your own business, and nobody will interfere anymore."

Huo Wenxi retorted sharply, "Can't you even wait a year? Do you lack confidence in yourself, or in Bai Zhi?"

Nicholas Tse emphasized, "This is my private matter."

Huo Wenxi revealed his trump card, saying, "Mr. Yang has already promised Mrs. Xiang. If you refuse to give me face and insist on making everyone lose face, then I will freeze you out for a year."

After the hard approach, Mani Fok started using the soft approach.

"Tingfeng, that's how it is to be an artist. You can't do whatever you want. The industry is not doing well right now, and it's not easy to get an opportunity. So many people are counting on you to make a living."

"Just one year."

"Let's think about the worst-case scenario: even if the recommendation is useless, and Director Du doesn't approve of you, it will only delay things for two or three months. If things go smoothly, casting might start next week."

"I surrender, we'll talk after the audition." In the end, Nicholas Tse couldn't resist Mani Fok's combination of persuasion and coercion.

Huo Wenxi urged, "Hurry up and cancel the tickets. Yang Sheng is waiting for my news."

-

It was past 2 a.m., and the wind was biting cold. Li Xiang, wrapped in a thin cotton coat, stood at the warehouse door.

Not far away, Galina, shivering from the cold, ran over, her legs trembling.

"Aren't you cold?"

"cold."

"It's cold, why are you wearing so little?" Li Xiang took out his keys and opened the warehouse door.

"I didn't bring any winter clothes."

Galina had thought Li Xiang would be chivalrous and take off his clothes for her, but she was wrong.

"Come in."

There was no wind in the warehouse, and the temperature was much higher than outside, but it was still cold without heating.

"Did you hide the goods here? And you have to come over in the middle of the night, are you afraid someone will see them?"

Although Galina's intuition had already ruled out the possibility that Li Xiang was a drug lord, those who could do this...

They're either in prison or in hell; it's no surprise that the rest are hidden no matter how deep.

"Over here."

Li Xiang didn't respond. He turned on the light and walked ahead until he reached the place where the cosmetics were stored, where he stopped.

"Give me a hand."

Li Xiang and Galina worked together to move the boxes of cosmetics to the side.

Suddenly, one of the boxes was the wrong weight, and I couldn't move it.

"This should be it."

Li Xiang pulled a utility knife from his back pocket, cut open the sealing tape, and opened the cardboard box. Inside, it wasn't cosmetics at all; it was full of opaque black plastic bags.

Li Xiang casually picked one out and handed it to Galina, instructing, "Open it and take a look."

"It's all money." Galina breathed a sigh of relief for no apparent reason, thankfully it wasn't the sound of a conch shell.

Li Xiang joked, "What? You're disappointed that I'm not a drug lord? This is drug money."

"Are you laundering money for Gusinski?" Galina guessed.

Li Xiang didn't answer directly, but instead smirked and said, "Find a way to exchange these rubles for US dollars and complete this joint crime, then you'll be one of us."

Galina suggested, "Why don't you get a certificate of assets and exchange it at the bank? You can exchange it now."

This year marks the full liberalization of foreign exchange controls in Russia. Before July 1st, each individual had an annual foreign exchange quota of US$150,000.

The new regulations will be fully implemented with no upper limit.

However, a fund verification process is required to prove the legality of the source of funds.

"If this money could go into the bank, would we still need you? Break it up and go to the exchange point to exchange it."

"Consecutive numbers?" Galina pulled out a stack and looked at it. It was indeed consecutive, but it wasn't all new bills; about a third of them were old.

"You dare to accept this kind of money?"

Li Xiang snapped, "Why are you spouting so much nonsense? Can you even do it?"

"Yes," Galina asked, biting her lip. "How much will I get paid for doing this for you?"

"Not a single cent." Li Xiang used his hand as a "gun" to poke Galina on the forehead. "This is called a pledge of allegiance. If you want to join us, you have to come this time."

Galina pouted and said, "I can't do this job by myself. Even if I don't want the money, someone else will."

Li Xiang: "Losses incurred when exchanging US dollars will be reimbursed based on actual costs."

"And you claim to be doing something legitimate?" Galina rolled her eyes at Li Xiang and asked, "Is this all there is?"

Li Xiang replied, "There's another box down there, totaling thirty million rubles."

"You trust me quite a bit, aren't you afraid I'll run off with the money?" Galina asked, her eyebrows dancing with excitement.

Li Xiang chuckled and said, "You'd better run now. Do you need a car? I'll have Big Foot give you one. Don't worry, I definitely won't go back on my word and ask you for it again. We're even about VKontakte; let's never see each other again in this lifetime."

Galina curled her lip. "Dream on!"

-

Investigation team.

"The Federal Drug Enforcement Administration sent people to St. Petersburg to investigate Li Xiang. Although they ultimately returned empty-handed, according to the information they provided, Li Xiang had deep connections with the Tambov gang."

"Galina Morozova, a former core member of the Tambov Gang."

"Li Xiang told her to break up the embezzled funds that were transported from Vladivostok and convert them into US dollars. This money was either for laundering or for drug money."

"Foreign exchange has been freely convertible since July 1st. The reason why Li Xiang did not use the formal exchange channels is because he could not provide proof of the source of his funds."

"Galina has called in over twenty people to help her; they should be able to exchange the money within a week. Now is the best time to act and catch her red-handed!"

Victor still felt that something was not quite right, but he couldn't quite put his finger on it.

"Boss, stop waiting!"

His men were all eagerly waiting to make a name for themselves and receive a reward. If Victor didn't give the order soon, he would miss a golden opportunity, not only incurring the hatred of others but also facing complaints.

Everyone says being a leader is easy; you just sit there and talk. That's because you have connections.

Without connections, even if you manage to climb up the ranks, you'll just be a scapegoat with a slightly higher salary.

"I agree to arrest them."

His men cheered, and it looked like they were about to take action.

"Stop right there, I haven't finished yet," Victor interrupted, continuing, "If Li Xiang really has connections with the Tambov gang, the St. Petersburg police might not be trustworthy. We're all clerical staff, are you planning to arrest him yourselves?"

"Call in the National Guard!" someone suggested.

"We have even higher authority than the Drug Enforcement Administration; if they can investigate, so can we."

Victor cursed and said, "Mobilize the army? How did you even come up with that idea? If all that commotion doesn't yield results, not only will I be fired, but you'll all be fired too."

"Let's bring some police officers from Moscow. It's safer to enforce the law in a different location."