Becoming a Russian Oligarch After Rebirth
Chapter 555: Twists and Turns_1

Chapter 555: Chapter 555: Twists and Turns_1

Hearing the group leader’s words, some people started to panic.

The middle-aged woman immediately began to grumble, "What’s going on! Can’t we bring money to spend? You, the group leader, didn’t say anything earlier, just told us to declare 500 US dollars. Now we have to be taken aside for a personal inspection? If they find something, what’s going to happen? Who’s going to compensate for the money confiscated?"

Once she kicked off, several others joined in on the clamor.

"That’s right! I heard that gold is cheap here, so I brought extra money intending to buy some gold jewelry. What are we supposed to do now, they’re really going to confiscate it?"

"Are they after some tips? You, the leader, should ask how much they want. If it’s not too much, we’ll pay up."

"Man, we’ve just disembarked, and we’re already dealing with this crap!"...

Zhang Xiaoxi didn’t say anything, just watched with wide, anxious eyes as everyone discussed.

As a college student with no real-world experience, this sudden predicament in a foreign land left her clueless.

Fortunately, she only had 500 US dollars on her.

After all, she was on a tour, and had already paid the travel agency, so there was no need to bring a lot of money as both food and accommodations were already taken care of.

However, even if she didn’t face any personal issues, if others got into trouble, she was not going to pass through customs alone...

She definitely had to stick with the group.

...

Again, the group leader went over to an official-looking staff member, whispered something, then returned.

With a helpless look on his face, he said: "I tried negotiating with them, but it’s no use. We have to submit to the inspection. Everyone, don’t panic. Even if they find out someone has brought more cash than allowed, take note of the amount, and I’ll call the company to discuss what we can do."

Panic spread within the group. Were they really going to have to go into an isolation room for personal inspection?

After all, this type of inspection wouldn’t take place in the public hall but in private rooms at the beck...

The middle-aged woman who had been friendly with Zhang Xiaoxi on the plane was livid. "This is outrageous! I’m calling my son. He works at the Embassy. We are here to travel, and this is how we’re being treated!"

The group leader gave a wry smile, about to say something, but ultimately just said: "Well, make that call. If it could resolve this issue, that would be great."

The tour route was new, and their company, which was a decent size back home, had tied up with a Russian company called Xiao Ying Group.

Xiao Ying Group ran the ads, managed the accommodations, food, and transportation here.

Their role was to attract customers, handle paperwork, and lead the groups.

So, he had to contact his company back home to ask what to do.

The middle-aged woman pulled out her phone and started to make a call.

Zhang Xiaoxi was standing close enough to hear it clearly.

Once the call connected, the middle-aged woman aired her grievances, then requested her son to smooth things over with the airport and resolve the issue.

However, her son failed to deliver...

Instead, he advised her to cooperate with the airport staff’s inspection, and even if the extra money got confiscated, it would just be unlucky...

After ending the call, the middle-aged woman was somewhat dejected and stopped talking.

By now, some uniformed staff were approaching, directing the group to move inward.

It was evident that the personal inspections were about to start.

Just as Zhang Xiaoxi was nervously following the queue to move in, her phone rang.

She stopped for a moment, then pulled out her phone to check. The screen displayed "Wang Ye"!

Before leaving the country, Zhang Xiaoxi had enabled global roaming on her mobile, so she could contact him when need be, despite the high charges.

If she didn’t bring her phone, she would have had a hard time reaching Wang Ye.

However, she hadn’t told Wang Ye about her arrival in Moscow today. Why was he calling now?

Without considering it too much, she picked up the call.

"Xiao Xi, you should have disembarked, so why haven’t I seen you exit yet?" came Wang Ye’s voice on the other end.

Zhang Xiaoxi suddenly wanted to cry, her eyes watering.

Choking back a sob, she replied, "Wang Ye, there’s a little trouble here."

"What happened? I’m in the pick-up hall. Don’t panic, take your time explaining." Wang Ye responded in a deep voice.

"We ... we are being harassed by airport staff. They want to personally inspect us..." Zhang Xiaoxi gave a brief recap of what had just happened.

After a pregnancy pause, Wang Ye chuckled and said, "I see, you wait there. It’ll be settled soon."

After that, the call ended abruptly.

Zhang Xiaoxi was dumbstruck. She didn’t understand what Wang Ye meant.

What did he mean by ’it’ll be settled soon’...

Or was Wang Ye just trying to appease her, given the circumstances?

...

But Zhang Xiaoxi had no time to ponder. Their group was already being escorted to a row of isolated rooms at the back by the staff.

Several uniformed personnel, both men and women, were present. The one leading them held a stack of passports, which belonged to Zhang Xiaoxi and the rest of the tour group.

After a long tirade, the group leader acted as a translator and told everyone, "They will call names one by one. Whoever they call will be inspected in the room. Please, don’t overreact and make sure to cooperate with their work, or you’ll face the consequences on your own."

The expressions on everyone’s faces were grim.

They had come here in high spirits for a vacation. And now, immediately after landing, they were facing this mess.

Many people were anticipating losing a large amount of money - no wonder everyone was in such a sour mood!

The leading staff member was about to pick up the stack of passports to start calling out names for inspection when another rotund staff member rushed over.

The one holding the passports immediately broke out in a smile upon seeing him, and they whispered together for a moment.

Zhang Xiaoxi could clearly see the staff member holding the passports change expressions several times – it was quite a sight!

After their discussion, the staff member holding the passports looked at the group of tourists, seeming a little perplexed.

He hesitated for a moment, then quickly walked up to the group leader, said something in Russian, and handed him the stack of passports.

Then he patted the group leader on the shoulder, saying something with a smile on his face.

Clearly, the group leader was also completely bewildered by what the staff member had done.

It took him quite a while to recover, and then he cheerfully announced to Zhang Xiaoxi and the others, "Good news, everyone! They said we don’t need to be inspected because they realized we’re tourists, so they’ve decided to stop the inspection. Also, they wished us a pleasant journey..."

Everyone was stupefied. This was utterly bizarre.

It was like a rollercoaster of events, and no one knew what was happening.