dognovel 32. Immigrate to the United States
32. Immigrate to the United States
Galina's father, Kumarin Sr., was a legendary figure in the Russian mafia. When he started in the late 1980s, he had only a small team of a dozen people. By the mid-1990s, he had already controlled about 60% of St. Petersburg's import and export trade.
It also acquired a controlling stake in the St. Petersburg Oil Company, thus penetrating the energy market.
In 1999, Kumarin Sr. was arrested and imprisoned, and the Kumarin family was purged.
But just two years later, the Tambov gang, led by its second-generation successor Kumarin Jr., defeated its biggest rival, the Malyshev gang, and reclaimed its throne in the St. Petersburg underworld.
But things are different now.
In the rough-and-tumble era of old Kumar, gang forces filled the power vacuum left by the collapse of the Soviet Union, and could openly control industries.
Nowadays, no matter how powerful a gang is, it can only hide in the shadows.
"Congratulations, the National Guard raided the Malyshev gang's fake liquor den last night, and you have one less competitor."
Kumarin Jr. invited his half-sister to his home.
"Really? I haven't heard of that." Galina lowered her head to cut her steak, her smile already barely concealed.
Old Kumarin had a lot of illegitimate children outside, and not everyone was entitled to come home for dinner. This was the first time Galina had been invited since Old Kumarin went to prison.
Kumarin Jr. wasn't going to beat around the bush. "I'll only ask once: Does this have anything to do with you?"
Galina replied, "A little, a friend helped me."
Kumarin Jr. pressed further, "Which friend?"
"Li Xiang." Galina, having been warned by her brother, quickly added, "I didn't provoke him. I did him a favor, and he's repaying me."
Kumarin Jr. asked with a serious expression, "You mean, the National Guard was mobilized by Li Xiang? Gusinsky has that much power?"
Galina took a sip of her red wine and said, "Maybe it was a tip-off."
"Go ahead and report it. You're in the fake liquor business yourself, don't you know who's in charge of this?" Little Kumarin said irritably, cutting off a large piece of steak and stuffing it into his mouth, only to find it getting stuck in his teeth the more he chewed.
The Tambov Gang was able to become the only underground force in the St. Petersburg metropolitan area, with no rivals of the same caliber. It's obvious to anyone with a brain which side they chose in this purge battle between the Great Emperor and the old world oligarchs.
Galina said proactively, "I won't cause you any trouble; I'll stay away from them."
Kumarin Jr. took a deep breath and said resolutely, "Don't you want to do something for the family? I'll give you a chance now."
"Hand over your illegal business, break away from the Tambov gang, and stand with Gusinsky."
Galina put down her knife and fork and said warily, "I want to do something for my family, but I can't just hand over the business for nothing. It's all my hard work."
"I'll pay for it." Little Kumarin solemnly instructed, "Remember, don't let anyone know you're from the Kumarin family."
Kumarin Jr. was able to lead the Tambov gang to rise again because, after the transition between the old and new Russia two thousand years later, he, like his father Kumarin Sr., seized the power vacuum during the transition period and filled it with the power of the mafia.
There is always market demand first, followed by product supply.
However, with the defeat of the old forces and the stabilization of the new forces, mega-gangs like the Tambov Gang, which controlled a region, have changed from being "tolerable in the short term" to becoming social cancers that urgently need to be eradicated.
Kumarin Jr. sensed the approaching winter; having more options meant having more paths to take.
-
Li Xiang went to Vietnam to visit Natasha, who was pregnant with a son.
"How about I immigrate to the US with my son? The Russian-speaking community there is quite nice."
Li Xiang had seen a Hollywood movie called "Little Odessa," which told a story about gangsters in the Russian immigrant community in New York.
Since the Soviet era, the United States has had a large number of Russian immigrants.
"Why do you suddenly want to go to the United States?" Li Xiang asked, lying on Natasha's belly to listen to the baby's movements.
"Your dad suggested I go, saying he knows people there who can take care of us." Natasha stroked Li Xiang's hair and asked, "Isn't it safe?"
"No problem for now." Li Xiang sat up straight and accused me in a serious tone, "This little rascal rebelled before he was even born, he kicked me."
"What do you mean by 'temporary'?" Natasha asked, frowning.
Li Xiang explained, "When your father is released from prison, it won't be so convenient for him to see the children in the United States. He might not be able to enter the country."
"We'll see when the time comes," Natasha said, linking her arm with Li Xiang's. "Your dad has talked to me about it several times, and I've agreed to it each time. I don't want to go back on my word."
"Roman also wants to go. He wants to study in the United States, grow up, and then go to Silicon Valley to research robots."
"Don't listen to my dad, make your own decisions." Li Xiang took out his phone and sent a text message to his cousin Han Jiayin, inviting her to his house.
Natasha asked with some concern, "Isn't it difficult to immigrate to the United States? Does it involve a long waiting list of many years?"
"You don't need to worry about these things. Just think it through," Li Xiang said casually while still texting. "You can invest in immigration to Türkiye first."
"Then, through the E-2 treaty between Turkey and the United States, you can apply for an E-2 visa. The threshold is very low. You can meet the requirements by starting a small business in the United States that can provide two or three jobs."
"As long as the business is still operating normally, the E-2 visa can be renewed indefinitely, and there will be no problem with residence or children's schooling. The green card can be processed slowly."
Natasha muttered, "How do you know everything?"
"Who told you to know nothing? Only I know." Li Xiang looked at Natasha with a smile and asked, "My cousin is coming. What would you like to eat? I'll have her buy it for me."
Natasha thought for a moment, swallowed, and said, "Bear meat dumplings."
"Eating bears is illegal in Vietnam."
Vietnam just banned bear hunting this year, so you can still buy them if you want to. However, in Li Xiang's eyes, these are all unnecessary risks.
-
After dinner, Natasha went to rest early.
"Donkey meat dumplings dipped in sour cream, is that delicious? You can really swallow that?" Han Jiayin forced herself not to laugh.
Sour cream, dill, and black pepper—that's how you eat bear meat dumplings.
Li Xiang stubbornly retorted, "They don't know how to appreciate it."
"Spend some time with your wife, I'm leaving." Han Jiayin got up to leave.
"We haven't even started talking business yet." Li Xiang gestured for Han Jiayin to sit down and continued, "Hand over the work in Vietnam, book a plane ticket to Suzhou, go to Bosideng headquarters and give them a quote, buy Snow Flyer."
"You're a pirate, and you want to turn around and eat up the original? How much are you going to pay?" Han Jiayin had no concept of the brand value of Xuezhongfei.
"I saw the list of China's most valuable brands published in a mainland newspaper a few days ago. Snowflake's brand valuation is 35 billion RMB. How much should we offer?" Li Xiang couldn't help but chuckle.
"What exactly do you want?" Han Jiayin asked, speechless.
"I'm using this opportunity to hand over our information to Bosideng, hoping they'll notice us and then try to acquire us," Li Xiang said with a smile, arms crossed, looking at his cousin. "How about selling our business to Bosideng for ten million?"
"There's no future in the clothing business. Let's upgrade our industry and find something that makes money."
"Ten million? I doubt even a million would be enough. Why would anyone buy your pirated goods?" Han Jiayin advised. "My uncle is right. You have to be down-to-earth in business. If we could be acquired by Bosideng and become their OEM manufacturer, that wouldn't be bad. We might earn less, but it would be more sustainable."
Li Xiang looked displeased and retorted, "SnowFlying is a European brand, and Russia is also part of Europe, so there's no problem, right?"
"We are imported goods, targeting the high-end market. If we were to actually enter the mainland market, it would be hard to say who would be genuine and who would be fake."
"Bosideng is about to go public. If you're not afraid of problems with the IPO, let's give it a try. I don't even want ten million. I want more, twelve million."