Working with a cigarette wedged between his fingers, the staff member glanced at the near-empty pack in Lu Jiang's hand.
Seeing the cue, Lu Jiang immediately stuffed the cigarette into his pocket, whispering, "I don't smoke; it's for the comrade."
The staff member immediately smiled, spitting out the butt of the cigarette he had been smoking, "Fine, but you'll need to take apart the old furniture to take it with you. Weigh it down to the last gram, I can't be short or I'll have trouble explaining things."
"Thank you, comrade, thank you. Could you lend me a few tools? I'll take the furniture apart," Lu Jiang replied.
With cigarettes involved, everything was easier to negotiate.
The staff member knew all too well that, firstly, Lu Jiang was dressed like a cadre, and secondly, the Zhonghua cigarettes were cadre smokes, not available without a special ration coupon. Common folks, even with money, couldn't buy them, and the same went for Moutai liquor.
