Chapter 76

Five minutes later, Xie Luofu walked out of the room with a debt-collecting look on his face while brushing his teeth. After rinsing his mouth, he directly threw the toothbrush into the trash can. This wasn't Xie Luofu being wasteful; the toothbrush was a disposable product made in Kazan. The toothbrush container was only slightly sturdier than a plastic bag, and the brush head and handle could fold 360 degrees, making it too soft to hold. It was mainly issued to prisoners to prevent them from using the toothbrush as a weapon.

"Farmer's market? To understand the private economy or for some other reason? To meet ordinary Soviet people? Does this guy think we monitor every Soviet citizen, making them slaves to communism?" Xie Luofu, sitting in the car, closed his eyes to think, trying to calm the bloodshot in his eyes. He believed the KGB was powerful but didn't have such unrealistic thoughts. What was there to monitor about workers going to work or farmers tending their fields? To monitor all Soviet intellectuals, they would at least need to be renowned university professors or scientists who frequently accessed research results. Even if the KGB were expanded fivefold, it wouldn't be enough to monitor all Soviet citizens. Who would pay for such an endeavor?

"It must have been the American embassy that informed Nixon. Otherwise, he wouldn't know that the farmer's market is a place for the private economy!" Yisemotni analyzed. "Nixon probably thinks our tour plans are all arranged, so he wants to see the lives of ordinary Soviet people!"

The American embassy? Xie Luofu didn't even want to think about those incompetent people. The headquarters of the Second Chief Directorate's Seventh Department was less than 200 meters from the American embassy. Xie Luofu had known this for at least four years, but the group of bumbling fools at the American embassy still hadn't discovered it. Where else could he find such foolish opponents? The Technical Management Directorate had developed a new surveillance device, the only side effect being that people frequently under surveillance were more likely to develop cancer! It had been buried in the American embassy for over three months.

It didn't take long for Xie Luofu to arrive at the farmer's market. He didn't need to look to know where Nixon was; over a hundred people were surrounding him. Wasn't it said that only Chinese people liked to gather in crowds? This didn't match what Xie Luofu saw. He pushed through the crowd, and a few Soviet guards, seeing their boss, immediately came to report, "Mr. Nixon came to visit the farmer's market, and we called you as soon as we followed him. A woman answered the phone!"

There was no need to emphasize that a woman answered the phone, right? Xie Luofu almost wanted to ask this person, "Whose side are you on?" With so many people around, he could only pretend not to hear and asked about the current situation.

"Yes, the head of the Soviet secret police, the Caspian Tiger, has arrived!" Xie Luofu stared at Nixon's interpreter and said in a moderate tone in English, "I understand English and can lip-read! Could you please find a more professional interpreter? An unskilled one can be embarrassing!" As he spoke, Xie Luofu walked to Nixon's front, adopting a tour guide's tone, "Respected guest, although this is not part of the tour plan, I believe you have gained some understanding of the lives of ordinary Soviet people! For the remaining time, I would be happy to show you around."

Xie Luofu's appearance caused a stir. In recent months, his photo had frequently appeared in newspapers, making him more recognizable than Nixon. The men and women around him whispered to each other. "Comrades, our country teaches us to be hospitable to guests, so even if we are gathered, let's just be quiet observers!" Xie Luofu turned and smiled at the crowd, his voice and words making people feel very comfortable.

Xie Luofu's decision not to disperse the surrounding Soviet people surprised Nixon, but he quickly smiled and said, "I have gained an understanding of the lives of ordinary Soviet people. I visited the vegetable and fruit stalls and found that the variety of vegetables is quite limited, and the variety of fruits is not much. It seems that the lives of Soviet people are not very prosperous!"

Yisemotni translated Nixon's words, but not for Xie Luofu, but for the surrounding crowd, immediately causing a stir. Although people didn't say anything, Nixon's condescending tone made them very uncomfortable.

Nixon pointed out the problems he saw, and Xie Luofu thought for a moment before responding, "Most of the Soviet territory is in the tundra, and apart from vast coniferous forests, most economic crops cannot survive there. Moreover, most of our brother countries are also at the same latitude, so it's not easy to get a wide variety of tropical fruits! What you see is real. After all, we don't have our own United Fruit Company, which can control a small country as a puppet, destroy its economy, and provide a single type of fruit to its own country. First, congratulations to the United Fruit Company for entering the oil industry, but isn't a company controlling 60% of U.S. fruit imports a violation of antitrust laws?"

Yisemotni translated Xie Luofu's response, and the Soviet people, who had just been reminded of their manners, couldn't express their approval in words, so they applauded collectively.

"Mr. Xie Luofu seems to know a lot about our United States, but our issue is the scarcity of fruits and vegetables in this market, not other problems!" Nixon was surprised by Xie Luofu's knowledge of some U.S. situations but quickly dismissed it, considering Xie Luofu's profession. For intelligence organizations, the size of a company was not significant; they could still investigate the real data.

"Some types of fruits cannot survive in the Soviet environment, but the production of vegetables and fruits can be increased. We will address these issues. As for my knowledge of your country, I actually don't know much, especially not your complex laws. Under such complex laws, ordinary people are all legal ignoramuses! And to be frank, many of your laws are simply absurd!" Xie Luofu walked and talked with Nixon, with a group of Soviet people following behind.

"I want to chat with an ordinary Soviet person!" Nixon said before leaving the farmer's market.

"Sure, Nixon can chat with anyone. After all, you are all equal!" Xie Luofu gestured invitingly. What's wrong with Nixon? I can still chat with him easily.

Nixon chose a man in a blue work uniform, walked over, and said through the interpreter, "Hello, I am Nixon!"

Xie Luofu watched from behind as the Soviet man pretended to be busy and tried to leave. He shook his head, walked up, asked his name, and patted the worker's shoulder, saying, "Comrade Sverigkin, this is the Vice President of the United States. Just chat casually, don't be nervous, it's like your neighbor inviting you for a drink!"

Xie Luofu's demeanor greatly relieved Sverigkin's nervousness. Nixon then asked a few simple questions, like his age and occupation. "My life is good, no housing problems, and I don't lack anything..."

Xie Luofu, looking down, was speechless. There were still some issues. This comrade's first thought was not to lose face in front of imperialism and to maintain the dignity of the Soviet Union. This was in public; in a quiet night, it was hard to say whether he wouldn't have attacked the U.S. Vice President on the spot. In any case, the problem of face being more important than anything in socialist countries was a common issue...

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