Chapter 14

Some scum always think that food safety issues only occur in socialist countries. These brain-damaged patients who should be in mental hospitals usually subconsciously ignore a very basic common sense: things like Sudan Red and gutter oil generally do not exist when state-owned enterprises dominate food production. The source of these problems is precisely those seemingly bright and beautiful capitalist countries.

You can criticize the astonishing waste in the production process of state-owned enterprises, and you can criticize their poor attitude and rigid system. These reasons are all valid, but it's not easy for a state-owned enterprise to abandon its principles and produce something that they know is harmful to the people. Even if they succeed, don't underestimate the competition from other manufacturers who won't let you off easily.

In Shefov's view, the primary condition for food safety issues is when manufacturers start pursuing profit. To pursue profit, they begin to cut costs, leading to the use of chemical knowledge to synthesize artificial materials to replace natural ones. This kind of problem does not currently exist in the Soviet Union. State-owned enterprises in the 1950s and 1960s were not that unscrupulous.

However, these state-owned enterprises, lacking competition, cannot survive on state support alone. These Soviet state-owned enterprises will eventually face competition from American capital. "If you can't sell to your own people, can you sell to foreigners? A group of enemy country's people, why should they be treated the same as your own people?" Shefov stroked his chin and thought.

It's not that there are no conscientious capitalists in this era. At least, the Gilbert U-238 Atomic Energy Laboratory toy set issued by the United States can be considered a conscientious work. It includes: a Geiger-Müller counter for measuring radioactivity; an electroscope for measuring the charge of objects; a scintillation viewer for observing radioactive decay; a Wilson cloud chamber for observing particle tracks; radioactive sources of lead-210 and polonium-210, ruthenium-106, and zinc-65; four uranium ore samples; particle models; a uranium ore exploration manual; three dry cell batteries; and an instruction manual. This toy, made entirely based on atomic experiments, is completely realistic, including the nuclear radiation. Children who played with this toy, if they didn't die, would definitely feel fortunate to have survived.

"Cold..." After finishing her ice cream, Valya looked pitiful, her pale cheeks tucked into her coat. Yelena beside her also had a delicate and charming appearance, but this was not what moved Shefov.

Why didn't you think about the cold when you were eating? Now you think about it after you're done? Shefov raised his head, indifferent, but this high-and-mighty attitude lasted only a second before he quickly knelt down. "I told you to wear more clothes. You have to pay the price for your greed! Wait over there!" He skillfully took out a gasoline torch from the trunk, telling the two women to find a store to wait, and started roasting the car in public. At this moment, Shefov was grateful for the KGB's secrecy, as no one could recognize him in the temperature where even the gun bolt wouldn't move.

Bending over, Shefov lowered his head, treating the people walking around as if they were air. He panted heavily while roasting the fuel tank to get the car back to a drivable state.

"Valya, this man is so good to us. I wish I had met him earlier!" Yelena, watching Shefov roasting the car from a distance, her voice changed.

"Yes, Yuri is incredibly good to women, he doesn't seem like a Soviet man at all!" Valya's voice was filled with happiness, speaking from the heart, "This guy is sometimes too good-tempered, nothing like the Caspian Tiger in the rumors..."

Just as she finished speaking, Shefov outside thought it was done, started the car, and waved to the two women waiting in the store. When the two women came out shivering, they sat in the back seat.

"Once we get home, you won't be cold anymore, Yuri!" Valya said gently, looking at the man who was already huddled up.

"What's the big deal? I'm a man, should I let you women do this dirty work?" Shefov shivered, rubbing his hands, his face slightly red but still smiling, "I wouldn't let you do it..."

This man! Valya shook her head inwardly. In contrast, Yelena in the back seat was more practical, directly extending her warm little hand to cover Shefov's ears, comforting him with her actions, "I'll give you a gift in a few days!" Shefov chuckled, making promises to the beauty without any reservations.

"What gift? We are living well, no need to spend so much!" Valya said considerately while driving.

"Money is nothing. How can it be a waste when it's for my women? I haven't embezzled anything!" As the car drove, Shefov recovered from his stiff state, his words full of pride, "As long as I act, I can bankrupt capitalist countries completely..."

"We believe you!" Valya winked at him in the rearview mirror. Shefov once said that when a person is boasting, no matter how unreliable their words are, the listeners should act convinced to satisfy their vanity. Valya clearly took this to heart and now put it into practice with her man.

For Shefov, in the Soviet Union, where supply and demand are not well developed, earning a high salary is a big problem in how to spend it. Personally, he has no desires, neither picky about food and clothing nor having an environment for entertainment. His only pursuit, besides socialism, is to make his women happy.

Sable fur is the most expensive type of mink fur, but the name "sable" does not mean the fur is purple. Shefov is no stranger to mink fur, as he lives in the coldest part of China, where he often sees people wearing mink coats in winter. Unlike China, most of the Soviet Union is the habitat of sables, so they are not as rare as they are today.

Early in the year, Shefov sent a telegram to the Interior Ministry in Siberia, hoping to obtain a batch of sable furs to be made into coats for his women in Italy. They are now ready and have been sent to the Military Administration. Since they were made in Italy, the cost skyrocketed, but it doesn't matter! Shefov is quite open-minded about this. Rubles are no different from waste paper to him. Spending half a year's salary doesn't hurt; it's just four sable coats.

When Shefov picked up the sable coats two days later and personally draped them over the two women, he received far more than just their gratitude, "Why didn't you buy one for yourself! Don't freeze yourself..." Valya, snuggling up to Shefov, said sweetly.

"What would a spy need a fancy coat for? It's not very military!" Shefov sat down with a sense of righteousness, his heart already in tears. To put it bluntly, he just didn't have the money...

[Suddenly remembered that today is Christmas Eve, wishing all my readers a happy Christmas Eve. This chapter is a temporary write to repay, revenge, and society. Wishing all the single dogs out there to be married by this time next year...]

Page AD starts

Page AD ends