Commissioner Joffe thought Comrade Lenin was worried about China's growing strength and was considering how to discuss the matter, when a report was delivered. Comrade Lenin's eyes scanned the document back and forth, and soon, his usual confident and composed expression returned.

His gaze swept over the final line, and Comrade Lenin handed the document to Commissioner Joffe. With curiosity, Commissioner Joffe read it earnestly. The document was short; He Rui proposed that the Northeast Government and Soviet Russia exchange trade delegations, or hold a commodity trade exhibition in a certain city, or simply have their respective trade delegations directly visit cities where the other side could provide goods.

He Rui also stated that if there were urgent needs in the short term, they could contact each other directly via telegraph.

Joffe paused his reading here. Recalling the current state of destitution in Russia, Commissioner Joffe did not know what a Russia in such a state of scarcity could offer to trade with Northeast China.

Just as he hesitated, Comrade Lenin spoke in that confident tone: "Comrade Joffe, I hope this is the means by which He Rui communicates with us."

Commissioner Joffe was even more confused. However, there was still a section he hadn't finished, so he continued reading.

In the second half of the letter, He Rui wrote: "Based on the Northeast's experience, the Northeast Government has not made any profit from foreign trade over the past few years. However, by fully participating in international trade, through normal trade exchanges, the Northeast has greatly improved its productivity levels, expanded industrial capacity, increased people's income, and improved their standard of living. Both China and Russia are large countries with their own different industrial and product advantages. Establishing extensive trade can promote faster economic development for both countries."

Reading this, Commissioner Joffe was somewhat astonished. Judging by Comrade Lenin's reaction, he was already inclined to establish foreign trade relations. Would this lead to more problems for Russia? After all, Russia was currently in a state of scarcity and really couldn't bring out anything tradeable.

However, Comrade Lenin seemed to have already made up his mind, and asked, "Comrade Joffe, if you were to participate in drawing up the trade list, what do you think we need to import in the near future?"

Commissioner Joffe thought for a moment, and a thought suddenly popped out: "Can we import vodka?"

Comrade Lenin was stunned for a moment, sighed, but said nothing.

Three days later, at a provisional meeting of the Bolshevik Central Committee, Comrade Lenin put forward his views on comprehensive trade with the Northeast Government. The reaction of the committee members was beyond Commissioner Joffe's expectations; no one opposed it fiercely. Most members were either hesitant or at a loss.

It was Comrade Trotsky who broke the silence: "Comrade Lenin, what do we export to the Northeast?"

Commissioner Joffe listened earnestly, wanting to know the answer to this question that also troubled him. He heard Comrade Lenin reply: "If comrades do not oppose this decision, we can dispatch a trade delegation to the Northeast to see what Russian products the Northeast Government needs."

With neither opposition nor support, a Soviet Russian trade delegation was formed and arranged to negotiate with the Northeast Government at the border.

The negotiation process was very unfriendly. The head of the delegation, Shevaryov, was of worker background and responsible for logistics. Entrusted with a heavy responsibility by the Party organization, Comrade Shevaryov decided to negotiate a list that would be absolutely worthy of the Party organization.

The Northeast side was very polite at first, but once they got to the specific details, the atmosphere of the negotiation quickly became tense. Finally, the other side dropped a sentence: "Let's exchange the negotiation records and end this round of talks."

Comrade Shevaryov was enraged by these words. especially the other side's direct demand for the negotiation records made Comrade Shevaryov feel that his efforts had been treated with immense contempt.

Isn't this just filing a complaint?! Who's afraid of whom!

After hastily exchanging negotiation records, Comrade Shevaryov ordered the trade delegation to return to Moscow to report. The train had traveled until the next day when they received a telegram from Moscow ordering Comrade Shevaryov to take the negotiation records signed by the other party to the Novosibirsk region and await a comrade sent by the Central Committee.

Now Comrade Shevaryov was a bit confused. Why did they need the negotiation records signed by the other party? Was that necessary?

However, the Party organization's orders must be obeyed. Comrade Shevaryov had to get off the train. Since the train was not a special train, it could not wait for Comrade Shevaryov. He could only take two delegation members, ride a horse-drawn sleigh, and brave the wind and snow for three days before returning to the border.

Comrade Shevaryov thought it would require a lot of formalities to get the other party's signature. Comrade Shevaryov had made up his mind that even if he had to chase them to the ends of the earth, he would get the meeting records with the other party's signature.

A telegram was sent to the opposite bank, and the other side actually responded immediately. The Chinese negotiator who crossed the river handed over a document with a cold face. Comrade Shevaryov finished reading it; the negotiation records were all signed by Chinese personnel. Especially in some parts where the two sides had differences, the Chinese personnel had also made annotations. Either 'language translation issue' or 'recorded angry words', done very carefully.

At the end of the document, there were the signatures of the Chinese personnel.

Comrade Shevaryov could understand that the Chinese personnel were waiting and hadn't left. This sentiment was not bad. However, those annotations made Shevaryov greatly unhappy. Writing in such detail was definitely for the convenience of filing a complaint and accusing Shevaryov of being at fault.

And the Chinese personnel did not give Comrade Shevaryov a pleasant look either. After completing the document receipt, he took the signed receipt and turned to leave. Not a single extra word was spoken.

Watching the back of the Chinese personnel, Shevaryov couldn't help but curse in a low voice.

The Chinese personnel did not hear the curse, because Han Haitao, the Director of the Price Bureau responsible for this matter, was also cursing in his heart.

As a former teahouse owner and now Director of the Price Bureau, the Party organization felt that Comrade Han Haitao understood prices very well and had rich experience in dealing with people, making him suitable to be responsible for this negotiation. Han Haitao himself felt that the Party organization's trust made sense, so he reluctantly accepted the appointment.

All along the way, Director Han Haitao was fuming, feeling like a frog. Upon returning to Harbin and seeing He Rui, who was inspecting work in Harbin, even Director Han Haitao exploded directly.

The Russians were just as domineering, rude, and savage as the rumors said. Especially lacking in manners. After angrily denouncing the Russians' various behaviors, Director Han Haitao gave a direct evaluation: "Chairman, the Russians are unreliable!"

He Rui listened to Director Han's accusations with a smile, unable to help being amused several times in the process. Especially regarding the exchange of 'negotiation records' at the end, He Rui was amused to the point of laughing out loud.

Director Han thought He Rui would be very angry after laughing, but heard He Rui evaluate: "Comrade Han Haitao, if our own comrades haven't received training, they might not necessarily do any better than the Russians. In the process of industrialization and modernization, we are all young students."

Han Haitao was stunned, not knowing how to respond for a moment. He Rui's words didn't sound like they were blaming anyone, nor could they be called agreement. Just like He Rui's usual speeches, there was a healthy and upward feeling. For a moment, Han Haitao's anger also dissipated a lot. But Director Han Haitao still mentioned one thing: "Chairman, after the head of the Russian negotiation delegation heard us talk about the actual value of full employment, he said we were threatening them. I'm very concerned about this."

Seeing He Rui's interest in this, Han Haitao continued to recount the sequence of events and flipped to that part of the meeting records, "...Chairman, when the Russian negotiation representatives stated that ordinary trade was not as important as we thought, we told them about the impact of full employment on the national economy. The head of the Russian delegation immediately stated that we were threatening them. I don't know what that person was thinking."

He Rui chuckled lightly, not thinking it was anything big. Since the name of this Russian trade delegation head was very unfamiliar, He Rui didn't think he could mix into any significant high-level position. That is to say, this member of the Communist Party of the Soviet Union (Bolsheviks) likely had a view of the commodity economy that had not stepped out of the scope of an agricultural society.

In an agricultural society, commodities that are large in quantity relative to the number of small-scale peasant producers, but also cannot find buyers, often appear. This is normal in a production environment where commodity information is very undeveloped. In an agricultural society, the way people dispose of this portion of commodities is very intriguing.

Precisely because the value of this portion of commodities is unknown, two extreme handling methods easily appear. Either sell extremely cheaply, or insist on selling at a high price. Anyone who is serious, facing products into which they have already put labor, tends to want a high price.

Since the other party was not a high-ranking official, nor would be in the future, his understanding of the economy was likely like this.

The clearer the use value of a commodity, the easier it is to reach a consensus on price. This was also the reason for choosing Price Bureau Director Han Haitao as the negotiation representative. If He Rui were responsible for this matter, even if He Rui could speak with a lotus tongue in theory, he really didn't know what price a commodity would actually sell for in the market.

He Rui hadn't spent much money for himself in this era either. In another timeline, due to online payments, he hadn't touched cash for a very, very long time.

The few large and small supermarkets nearby with good supply channels and prices completely determined He Rui's cognition of ordinary prices.

He Rui sighed: "Thank you for your hard work, Comrade Han Haitao. Cool down. Next time Russia changes its negotiation representative, we'll still need an experienced comrade like you to talk to them."

Han Haitao's anger was half due to the Russians' attitude, and half due to worry about being held accountable for the failure of the talks. Since even He Rui wasn't pursuing it, Han Haitao felt relieved. Another question naturally popped up: "Chairman, will the Russian side really change people? Will they replace him with someone even worse?"

"Comrade Han Haitao. The Russian nation was born very late, the concept of a Russian nation probably only began to appear during the Kangxi reign, and it has only been about 200 years until now. This is a young nation, and its external reactions are naturally similar to those of young people—there's a kind of 'stunned youth' foolishness where they feel uncomfortable all over if they aren't the big brother. Given such national characteristics, how do you think they will choose when they want to accomplish something?"

Hearing He Rui's words, Han Haitao understood what would happen with a little thought. Stunned youths would not choose to bow their heads. If some force had to suppress them and force them to submit, the stunned youth would either wilt, go through the motions, and be completely trapped in inner loss, or pretend to bow their head and admit their mistake, while doing their best to push things toward a solution.

Whichever it was, the former teahouse owner Han Haitao felt he could deal with it. After all, the former self was just a small teahouse owner, but now Price Bureau Director and negotiation representative Han Haitao represented the powerful organization of the Northeast Government. There was no reason to be afraid of those bastards.

Comrade Shevaryov did not know Chinese negotiation representative Han Haitao's opinion of him. After getting the signed negotiation records, he braved the temperature of minus six or seven degrees and traveled on a horse-drawn sleigh. neither the cold wind of the day nor the freezing nights could stop Comrade Shevaryov's steps.

To deliver the news to the organization as soon as possible and inform the Party organization of the ill intentions shown by the Chinese Northeast Government in the negotiations—this was the duty of a member of the Communist Party of the Soviet Union (Bolsheviks).

Comrade Shevaryov had good luck. Just as he rushed back to the small town where he had gotten off the train, a train transporting wounded soldiers happened to be passing through. Everyone squeezed onto the train and hurried toward the small city in Siberia with the wounded.

The wounded were really miserable. Everyone not only had to endure the pain of injuries but also face the suffering brought by infection. Many people's wounds were festering, and they ran high fevers. Comrade Shevaryov, coming from Moscow, immediately remembered the miracle drug rumored in Moscow, so he asked the accompanying military doctors and nurses if they knew of the new drug 'Sulfa'.

After listening to Shevaryov's question, the military doctors and nurses puzzledly tried to pronounce the two syllables 'Sulfa' with Russian rolling tongues. But obviously, they had never even heard of it, and the sounds they made were extremely strange.

Shevaryov immediately sent a telegram to Moscow at the next station, requesting that Sulfa be mobilized to the station. The situation of many Red Army officers and soldiers was already very critical. If this dragged on, they would probably sacrifice their lives on the train halfway.

The first telegram sent out was almost like a stone dropped into the sea. The second telegram was sent to Comrade Shevaryov's direct leader, and finally, there was a response. The leader only said two sentences in the telegram: "Sulfa is a drug imported from China. Since you are negotiating with China, you can make an urgent request to the Chinese side as appropriate."

Shevaryov read the return telegram twice, and his whole person was stunned. He had always thought that the Sulfa that had saved so many patients in Moscow hospitals was developed by medical scientists within the Communist Party of the Soviet Union (Bolsheviks). He completely hadn't expected it to be a product of Northeast China.

His superior would not lie, especially on this matter. So the precise knowledge of the news put Comrade Shevaryov in a dilemma. Going back to negotiate with the Chinese side now was almost impossible, while the Red Army officers and soldiers around him were helplessly suffering from the torment and threat of injuries and illness.

What exactly should be done?

After being in a dilemma for a long time, Shevaryov had to decide to first go to Omsk, where the organization wanted him to go.

The train started moving again. This time Shevaryov remained silent, while those military doctors and nurses, whose expectations had been aroused by the news that 'the comrade from Moscow said there is a miracle drug', looked at Comrade Shevaryov with expectant eyes.

'The comrade from Moscow'—this identity alone was enough to give Shevaryov a completely different status in the eyes of ordinary Red Army soldiers. Not to mention, Comrade Shevaryov was also a cadre. What he said must be true.

But no one forced Comrade Shevaryov. Everyone knew the current situation of the Russian Soviet regime. If there really were such a drug, it wouldn't be in such large quantities that it could be given to ordinary officers and soldiers at any time. Especially since this drug was so effective.

Almost every day, wounded soldiers' conditions worsened due to festering infections, and every day dying wounded were carried off the train. Even so, Comrade Shevaryov found that the military doctors and nurses still had hope. Even if the comrades who had already sacrificed could not be saved, there were more comrades struggling on the line of death. As long as there was the miracle drug said to be named 'Sulfa', they could still be saved.

The train finally arrived at Omsk. This was a major station in the rear and also had the largest military hospital. As soon as the train stopped, a group of military doctors and nurses meeting the train came up. They briefly checked the condition of the wounded. For anyone who started to have a fever, regardless of the cause, they first administered a slightly grayish-yellow tablet. For those Red Army wounded who were already delirious from high fever, they pried open their clenched jaws and forced it down.

The accompanying military doctors and nurses watched such vigorous medical treatment and immediately asked if this medicine was 'Sulfa'. The military doctor meeting the train was somewhat surprised: "How did you know?"

The military doctors and nurses, as well as the wounded who got the news, immediately pointed to Comrade Shevaryov: "It was this comrade from Moscow who told us."

The military doctor meeting the train just looked at Comrade Shevaryov, nodded to him, and didn't say much more. Instead, he continued to administer medicine to the wounded with fevers and festering wounds.

Shevaryov felt that he had finally done something for the comrades on the front line, and a big stone fell from his heart. Just then, someone outside the carriage shouted: "Is Comrade Shevaryov here? Which one is Comrade Shevaryov?"

Hearing this shout, Shevaryov knew they were looking for him, and immediately remembered the failure of the negotiation. His responsibility was unavoidable, and next, he should accept severe criticism from his superiors.

Taking another look at those wounded, Comrade Shevaryov walked off the train and walked towards the reception personnel looking for him: "I am Shevaryov."

As expected, Shevaryov was subjected to severe criticism. Facing the severe criticism, Shevaryov frankly admitted: "I did not notice the imported drugs."

The superior was not Shevaryov's direct superior. Facing Shevaryov's answer, this cadre looked even more unhappy, slapping the table and speaking loudly: "This is not about drugs. The Party organization sent you to conduct commercial negotiations with the Northeast. You did not complete the mission!"

Shevaryov was not prepared to be obedient. He had his own views: "Comrade Leader, the list proposed by the Chinese side contains materials we also need at this stage. Wood, ore. Shouldn't these be used in our own factory production? We don't even have a surplus ourselves, why export to the Chinese side?"

This answer was not only Shevaryov's true feeling, he had also discussed it with the comrades of the negotiation delegation, and no one could refute these words. Because this was the fact.

The only one who expressed a different opinion on this matter was a Northeast Government negotiation representative named Han Haitao. Even now, Shevaryov could still remember the look of helpless ridicule on that guy's face—at least Comrade Shevaryov thought it was a look of ridicule.

Because Han Haitao said a sentence that Shevaryov absolutely could not accept: "Comrade Shevaryov, in this transaction, the price we give is higher than if you sold it yourselves. This is good for enlivening Soviet Russia's economy."

Comrade Shevaryov absolutely did not agree with such a view. If the Soviet had inexhaustible wood and ore, Shevaryov would of course be willing to bring it out to trade with the Northeast Government. However, there was none now. Shevaryov would absolutely not accept letting the Soviet people starve and freeze while providing products to other countries.

Thus, facing the leader's reprimand, Shevaryov told this conversation to the leader.

It was visible that the leader's expression also wavered. Shevaryov was willing to bear the responsibility for the failure of the negotiation, but on the matter of priority supply, Comrade Shevaryov would not back down.