After finishing a hearty Chinese hot pot meal, it was already past 10 o'clock in the middle of the night.
The two pairs of men and women finally rode back to their apartments in the community. However, not long after driving, they encountered a movie theater that was still brightly lit late at night. The outer wall of the theater had posters of popular movies such as "Collision" and "The Mummy". 2", "Suicide Squad 2" and other huge posters of Hollywood blockbusters.
There was also a long queue that stretched all the way to the street.
Today is already December 19th.
Saturday.
Orthodox Christmas is generally celebrated in the former Soviet Union on January 7. However, under the strong operation of the Westeros system, Ukraine's theater market and Hollywood blockbusters are basically in sync with North America.
Seeing the queue on the street, Sergey suddenly remembered and said to others: "Hey, if I remember correctly, "Suicide Squad 2" was released yesterday?"
Before anyone else could answer, Mary behind her had already patted her boyfriend on the shoulder: "Continue, don't stop, we can't spend any more money today."
The other couple immediately laughed teasingly again.
Sergey had no choice but to continue after looking at Alexander and the two who had no intention of stopping.
Alexander noticed Sergey's expectant look as a movie fan and said: "There are many people on weekends. We have to go to the resort early tomorrow. If we get late, we will definitely have to queue up at the ski resort. We will watch the movie tomorrow night."
Sergey thought about it and had no choice but to give up.
Alexander's girlfriend Yelena couldn't help but said, "The cinemas are full of Hollywood movies. We will never want to see movies produced in our own country."
Alexander retorted: "Why not? We also watched a romance movie last month, which was invested and filmed by Rivni Media. Don't you think it's good?"
"I mean, sci-fi blockbusters like 'Collision.'"
Next to him, Sergey said: "Even without Hollywood, it would be difficult for us to make a movie like that. The production budget of "Collision" alone is 120 million US dollars. Even if someone in Ukraine can afford it, it is impossible to invest in making a movie."
Everyone laughed again.
The four of them happened to turn a corner on their bikes and entered a relatively secluded path.
Mary looked around and saw that there were no other pedestrians around. There was only a barely illuminated street lamp on this stretch of road after a long distance. She couldn't help but said: "It's really dark here. There aren't many street lamps and only one side is lit. It's so stingy." .”
“Electricity is in short supply.” Sergey, who passed the power generation test last year, was inevitably concerned about this. He responded to his girlfriend: “There are too many factories in Rivni now, and we are importing excess power from surrounding states and building power plants all the time. Plant, there is still a shortage of electricity, and I heard that the electricity from the nuclear power plant in the north is no longer sent to Kiev, and is all transferred here. For this reason, officials from both places have gone to the president."
Alexander listened with interest and asked: "Isn't there enough electricity in Kiev?"
"It's not that it's not enough, it's that it's not prepared," Sergey said: "The Rovne Nuclear Power Plant will no longer send electricity to Kiev. Kiev will have to rebuild the power plant and power grid to make up for the shortage. How can the authorities have the money to do these things now?"
Mary followed up and asked, "Did the president intervene?"
"We have intervened, but the electricity is still with us, because our price is high and the transmission loss is low, which can increase the income of the Rivne Nuclear Power Plant by 20%," Sergey said, somewhat unconsciously, substituting himself as a Rivne person. "Anyway, there must be more neighborhoods without lights in Kiev than here."
After Sergei finished speaking, Alexander and Mary felt a little more proud for no reason.
Rivni can compete with the capital for electricity, which is very impressive.
However, Yelena remained silent and said after a moment: "Actually, I occasionally think that if the Soviet Union was still there, it would definitely be better than it is now."
None of them are ignorant young people, and they have received higher education, coupled with personal experience over the years. When Yelena suddenly said this, they all fell into deep thought for a while.
After a short silence, Alexander suddenly cursed: "It's all the fault of Ge Shi's Bichi."
Sergey felt Alexander's gritted teeth, paused, and said: "The political and economic systems of the Soviet Union at that time could not continue, and reform was inevitable."
Mary said weakly: "I don't understand either, why is it like this?"
"Because what we need is reform," Yelena said, "not revolution."
Sergey nodded and said: "Revolutionary reforms will only lead to the destruction of everything, so we can only start from scratch."
Alexander echoed: "Besides, I actually don't think our system is unsustainable. Otherwise, how could the Soviet Union be as powerful as it once was? The problem is still the economy, hehe, just like the campaign slogan of US President Clinton. You know, the Soviet Union was The economic predicament of China is far less serious than the Great Depression in the United States in the 1930s. It is just an economic downturn similar to that of the West. The West has experienced so many economic cycles and has been able to recover. As long as we use the right methods, we will definitely be able to get out of the predicament. However, That idiot Gordova completely blamed the system for the economic difficulties and chose to completely overthrow everything and destroy everything."
Yelena didn't want to talk about some of her observations, but she still said: "Yes, I don't know if you have noticed that the development of Rivni where we are located in recent years obviously has the attributes of a planned economy model, and everything has strict rules. Planning is not what Western liberal economies do at all.”
“This is indeed a very absurd and magical point,” Alexander said: “Simon Westeros, the richest man in Western society, used the planned economy model to build a prosperous city on the ruins of the former Soviet Union in just a few years. "
Mary could only remain silent as she listened to the speculations of her lover and friends.
The next day is Sunday.
The discussions on the way home last night were just a sideshow after all, life goes on.
The four of them got up early, had breakfast at dawn, and took the bus to the resort 30 kilometers away from Rivni. Just looking at how crowded the four people were squeezing into two seats, you can imagine that the resort is here on Sunday. How lively.
This is not without reason.
Because it is winter, overseas tourists have decreased significantly, and the resort has strong discounts for local tourists. In order to facilitate travel, the shuttle bus for the day will last from 6 o'clock in the morning until 10 o'clock in the evening. The resort's hotel accommodation price There will also be discounts.
Of course, for the four Alexanders who still belong to the low-spending group, it is best not to stay in any hotel at a discount unless necessary.
The shuttle bus that lasts until 10 o'clock in the evening is obviously taking this into consideration. The purpose is to allow some tourists who are unable to enjoy part of the nightlife of the resort without having to stay here.
The four of them did not take the earliest bus, and when they arrived at the hot spring resort, it was still less than eight o'clock.
When everyone gets off the bus at the station, you can see various billboards erected on the surrounding walls of the station, showing various recent activities here.
Skiing is the most popular one.
The four of them patiently stopped to watch. In addition to skiing, there were also the usual stage plays, ballet, circus and other performances, usually in the afternoon and night.
However, after finally coming here, of course it cannot be wasted indoors.
There is also an amber craft exhibition.
At the request of the two girls, the four decided to leave and take a look. Rivne Oblast is a famous amber producing area. Some shops in the city also sell amber, but most of it is exported. This time they went to see the amber craft exhibition. I can only join in the fun.
After briefly confirming their schedule, the four of them hurried to the ski resort.
Came early and got in smoothly.
Tickets are 300 each, including renting ski equipment, the total cost is 400 hryvnia.
This is the price after discount.
However, for the four young people, it is still the same sentence. They can only play two or three times a year at most. Today, they have prepared half a month's salary as a budget.
The little episode was that Mary specifically used Yelena's suggestion yesterday, to pay the bill in cash instead of swiping a card.
It really hurts.
After all, I understand that even if they are better than others, they are still ordinary people at the lowest level, at least in this city.
It wasn't like that at first.
None of the four people come from the lowest families.
Yelena can clearly remember that when she was a child, almost every winter, her family could travel to a real ski resort in the Carpathian Mountains for a week at a time. Compared with those top-notch ski resorts in the mountains, this place was just a bunch of artificial piles. It's just a gentle slope.
However, even with these gentle slopes, they now need to be careful in order to visit them once.
Of course, not everyone here is like that.
There is no shortage of wealthy people in Rivne Oblast.
Not to mention the powerful and wealthy people who have made fortunes rapidly in recent years, there is another group in Rivne Oblast that is also very wealthy, that is, the private army that belongs to the Westeros system, and its welfare benefits are quite good. Family groups.
This matter is not a secret in Rivni, or the entire Ukraine, even outside Ukraine, those who pay a little attention to these things probably know it.
After all, the whole world knows that in 1994, Ukrainian private troops descended from the sky and prevented a massacre in Africa.
Then, this group of people returned to Ukraine and established a private army with a long, common and hard-to-remember name. They continued to serve the Westeros system and were active in many parts of the world.
However, enjoying the high benefits of being superior to others actually means reciprocal obligations.
Going to the battlefield will kill people.
During the Cold War, even with the long-term confrontation between the United States and the Soviet Union, most of the millions of Soviet soldiers had never been on the battlefield from service to retirement. However, even ordinary people like them in the Westerosi private army in Ukraine could often I heard some reports of casualties.
During lunch, Alexander joked with his girlfriend, saying that when they couldn't survive anymore, they would join this private army and look for opportunities to risk their lives in exchange for tens of thousands of dollars to pay for Elena and their future baby.
Just got a blank stare back.
The 24-year-old Alexander not only has no military service experience, but also has missed the best age to serve as a soldier. Coupled with slight myopia, it is impossible to be hired. Therefore, it is better to take the civil service exam as soon as possible before giving back all the things you learned in college, or always pay attention to changing to a job with a professional counterpart and a more generous salary. If not, you have to climb up in the Nokia factory. .
Regardless, it was a fun day.
It wasn't until the sunset sank into the horizon that the four of them left the ski resort and came to the core area of the resort again, had dinner, and went to the planned last stop, the amber craft exhibition.
The location is in the resort conference center that was just completed this year.
Tickets cost 30 hryvnia.
Xiaogui.
Amber is obviously unaffordable, so the money can only be used to satisfy one's eyes. It is inevitable that it is not worth it, especially Mary, who has switched to cash payment mode, and almost said forget it.
However, come here, you still have to buy a ticket and enter.
Then it felt like the trip was worthwhile.
First of all, the exquisite coated paper printed manual that comes with the ticket is worth collecting even though it is obviously suspected of advertising.
Then there are the dazzling array of amber handicrafts, amber jewelry, amber sculptures, etc. in the booths inside the conference center, which is a feast for the eyes.
It's a pity that I can't afford any.
Unknowingly, she walked to an amber jewelry stall. Yelena was attracted by a heart-shaped blood amber pendant and stopped for a while. Unfortunately, the female teller at the booth just kept a polite smile and clearly saw her intentions. There was no intention of inviting Yelena to try it on.
As her boyfriend, Alexander hesitated several times, but ultimately did not help.
No matter what, I still can't afford it.
Moreover, if they bump into each other, they will not be able to leave today. The key is that they cannot afford to lose money if they sell themselves.
In the end, she was reluctant to leave the booth. Yelena stayed beside it for a while, as if she could miss it more if she was closer to the piece of blood.
After dawdling like this for a while, I was about to leave dejectedly when I heard the crisp voice of a girl next to me: "Wow, what a beautiful pendant, it's still heart-shaped, I want this."
Then the female teller's voice was so respectful that she was almost humble: "Okay, miss, do you want to try it first?"
"The turtleneck I'm wearing, just wrap it up and try it again when you get back."
The female teller respectfully agreed again: "Yes."
Alexander and the four of them looked over together. It turned out to be a group of men and women surrounding a young girl. Although the girl was only wearing an ordinary light pink turtleneck sweater and washed jeans inside the venue, she had an overbearing aura that was either innate or later. It is better for people around her to realize that she is the center of that group of people.
Not to mention the appearance.
Just a glance from the side, even a woman like Yelena will inevitably feel a little excited.
Yelena and the others could vaguely hear that there was another group of women with very special identities in Rivni.
Simon Westeros women.
However, although the identity of a certain super-rich woman will only arouse the envy of most people, the girl next to them will not remind them of this at all. They can't help but guess what kind of family can cultivate such an enviable person. The eldest lady who makes people's hearts break just by looking at her.