The term "profiteer" came into prominence only recently. It's a label that carries both honor and disgrace. Originally, in our country, the earliest profiteers were simply individuals who would buy eggs in rural areas and exchange them for food stamps in the cities.
Later, with the advent of the dual-track system, they gradually turned to whatever was scarce. Hence, speculation and profiteering was born. After such activities were suppressed domestically, these profiteers turned their attention to the Soviet Union in the north.
By this time, it was already April of '87. The early spring was well underway in the northeast - the residual snow was slowly melting and the spring chill was apparent. In the key border town between China and the Soviet Union, Manzhouli.
