The Adopted Cannon Fodder Made a Comeback

The next day, Gu’er went to the consulate with Li Zhi and Dingzi.

The consulate was huge. Li Zhi led the two of them through several different sections and did a lot of talking.

She also answered all the questions from the State Security Bureau one by one.

When someone asked what she was going to Russia for, she followed Li Zhi’s instructions and said she was going on vacation.

She didn’t know if they believed her answer or not, but that was the official story. She couldn’t very well say she was going to be a reseller, could she? They wouldn’t give her a visa or let her leave the country if she did.

This was actually Gu’er’s first time in a place like this across two lifetimes, and it would be a lie to say she wasn’t nervous.

However, she kept her composure, not showing any of it on the surface.

Only after they walked out the main gate did Gu’er let out a long breath. The oppressive feeling finally dissipated.

With that out of the way, Li Zhi and Dingzi took Gu’er to Dalian’s clothing wholesale market.

Although her own city wasn’t small, it couldn’t keep up with Dalian in terms of development and economy. As a result, there were things here that she couldn’t buy back home.

"I heard these kinds of pants are really popular over there. Let’s buy a batch. And these shoes, too—they’re also in demand. They should sell well."

Li Zhi told Gu’er and Dingzi what they needed to buy.

The three of them bought quite a lot.

Gu’er discovered the benefit of having Dingzi around.

The clothing market was packed with people, but few dared to jostle them. Gu’er even noticed a few shady-looking characters wandering through the crowd who didn’t dare come near them.

That was the advantage of Dingzi. His face practically screamed "keep away," which saved them a lot of trouble.

By the time they got back to the hotel, Gu’er felt completely exhausted, and that was with Dingzi and Li Zhi carrying most of the goods. She had only carried a few things herself.

After resting for a day, Li Zhi went to buy train tickets the next morning, while Gu’er and Dingzi continued shopping.

Gu’er was in charge of buying, while Dingzi was in charge of carrying everything, as well as protecting Gu’er.

Gu’er visited many places, looking for things that would sell well in Russia.

"Ma’am, I’ll take this. How many boxes do you have?"

Gu’er asked the shopkeeper, pointing at an item.

Dingzi’s eyes narrowed, and he gave Gu’er a strange look. ’Isn’t that something for kids?’

"Just two boxes. How many do you want?"

The shopkeeper glanced at Gu’er.

"I’ll take them all."

Gu’er said magnanimously.

The shopkeeper gave both boxes to Gu’er, and Gu’er paid.

Dingzi silently took them and put them in a bag without saying a word.

Gu’er found another store and kept buying.

When she had bought over a dozen boxes, Dingzi’s expressionless face finally showed a flicker of emotion.

"That’s... too much..."

Dingzi’s voice was a little hoarse, but not unpleasant.

"Brother Dingzi, are you saying this is too much bubble gum? It’s fine. It’s small, doesn’t take up much space, and it’s cheap. I want to buy a lot to sell over in Russia."

Gu’er explained to Dingzi.

That’s right, she was buying bubble gum—Dada bubble gum. It was a type of bubble gum that had just become popular in this era, the kind you could use to blow huge bubbles.

Li Zhi hadn’t told her to buy this, but Gu’er felt it would probably sell well. Even if it didn’t, she wouldn’t lose much money.

"Oh."

Hearing Gu’er’s explanation, Dingzi just said, "Oh," and fell silent again, as if he hadn’t been the one to speak just now.

Gu’er continued browsing when her eyes suddenly lit up.

After Gu’er negotiated a price and bought the item, Dingzi was left speechless.

The Dada bubble gum was one thing—it was small and cheap, so it made sense for Gu’er to buy it. But this white liquor... it was cheap, sure, but it was bulky. Gu’er had bought dozens of pounds of it. It was a good thing he was there; someone else might not have even been able to lift it.

"Brother Dingzi, Russia has Gewasi and foreign liquors, but they don’t have our white liquor. This is a high-proof, pure grain spirit. Maybe they’ll like it. Rarity makes things valuable, right? We might be able to sell it for a good price."

Gu’er proactively explained to Dingzi.

"Oh."

Dingzi grunted "oh" and said nothing more. He hoisted the other bags onto his back, then picked up the barrel of white liquor with one hand.

Gu’er clicked her tongue in amazement. That liquor weighed dozens of pounds! She would be exhausted trying to carry it with both hands, yet Dingzi made it look easy. He wasn’t even fat; in fact, he looked a little thin. She had no idea where he got all that strength.

When they returned to the hotel, Li Zhi was back too. The train tickets were for the day after tomorrow.

He was speechless when he saw what Gu’er had bought. Dada bubble gum was for kids, and white liquor was the most common drink back home, something even the poor could afford. The two items didn’t cost much, but could they even be sold?

"Li Zhi, don’t look down on my choices! What’s wrong with my bubble gum and white liquor? Maybe when we get there, these two will be our bestsellers."

Seeing Li Zhi’s expression, Gu’er acted indignant, though she wasn’t truly angry.

"Alright, alright. Maybe we *will* end up relying on your things to make money."

Li Zhi said, snickering to himself. He didn’t think her items would make much money; he’d be happy if they sold at all. 𝓯𝙧𝓮𝓮𝒘𝓮𝙗𝙣𝒐𝒗𝒆𝓵.𝓬𝓸𝒎

"Hmph. I’m ignoring you. I’m going out again tomorrow to see if there’s anything better."

Gu’er turned her head away, ignoring him.

The next day, the three of them went out again. Each bought things based on their own judgment, picking up whatever they thought would sell well.

Gu’er bought small, lightweight items she thought she could sell. Li Zhi, on the other hand, bought things he had heard about from others or that he personally thought were good.

The three of them were careful not to spend all their money. They had to keep some in reserve, just in case something unexpected happened.

That night, Gu’er lay on her hotel bed, unable to sleep.

Tomorrow. Tomorrow, she was going to Russia.

In her two lifetimes combined, this was her first time traveling so far from home—and her first trip abroad at that.

’Going to a foreign country, meeting a foreign people, and not even speaking the language...’ Thinking about it, Gu’er was both nervous and a little excited.

This mix of nervousness and excitement kept her awake until the early hours of the morning.

The next day, they woke up early, had breakfast, and checked out of the hotel with all their bags and parcels.

Nearly all the heavy items were loaded onto Dingzi, and he was also the one carrying the white liquor.

Li Zhi was also loaded down with barely any room to spare. Even Gu’er’s hands weren’t free; she had a bag on her back and was carrying things in her hands. It was clear just how much stuff they had.

When they got to the train station, they were held up at the security check for a long time before being allowed through. As they boarded, the conductor looked at them, speechless. Li Zhi said a few words to the conductor, who didn’t stop them and let them get on the train.

This time, Li Zhi had splurged on sleeper car tickets. They simply had too much stuff to fit in a regular carriage. Even with Dingzi as their escort, it would be bad if someone managed to snatch something. So, Li Zhi bought sleeper tickets. They were more expensive, but it gave them peace of mind.

Gu’er was actually still buzzing with excitement throughout the journey, but because she hadn’t slept well the previous night and had been on a frantic shopping spree for the past few days, her energy was low, and she looked a little lethargic.