I'm a Profiteer in Cold War Germany

Chapter 169: Chapter 79: The List

"Moving goods," Werner said. "Large quantities, from West Berlin to East Berlin. Cigarettes, coffee, chocolate, jeans—hundreds of items."

Matthias whistled. "Hundreds of items? That’s no small amount."

"That’s why I need your help planning the route," Werner said. "Over at the checkpoints, what are the safest times? Which guards can be bought? The goods have to be moved in batches—not too much at once, but we can’t take too long, either."

Matthias lit a cigarette and thought for a moment. "With this much cargo, the checkpoints will be tough. We could use the railway. I have a former colleague who works on a rail loading crew, and his brother is at the railway bureau. If they work together, they can get the goods to East Berlin by train."

"Is it safe?"

"Safer than the checkpoints," Matthias said. "The controls there are looser, and it’s harder to get noticed shipping by rail. The freight cost is just a bit higher."

"Money is no object," Werner said. "Safety is what’s most important."

"I’ll make the arrangements then," Matthias said. "But Werner, with such a large shipment, if something goes wrong—"

"Nothing will go wrong," Werner interrupted him. "This time is different. This is legitimate business. The country is pushing for economic reform, the factories need a large amount of consumer goods, and we’re in the perfect position to supply them. You could even say we’re helping the state solve a problem."

Matthias was skeptical. "Really?"

"Really," Werner said. "So just focus on getting it done. This isn’t some back-alley smuggling operation; it’s an open and aboveboard supply run. Of course, we still need to be careful with the transport, since the paperwork might not be entirely complete."

Matthias laughed. "I get it. So what’s in it for me?"

"You get five percent of each shipment’s value for handling the transport," Werner said.

"Deal." Matthias raised his beer mug. "Werner, with you, we’ll always eat well."

The two of them clinked their mugs.

***********

The next morning, Werner called Keller into his office.

"Use the method I told you about before to contact Reynard. I need him to help me find a supplier."

"What kind of goods?"

"Coffee, cigarettes, jeans, chocolate," Werner said. "Place an initial order for five hundred cases of coffee, two hundred cases of cigarettes, one thousand pairs of jeans, and one hundred cases of chocolate."

Keller sucked in a sharp breath. "Boss, how much is that going to cost?"

"Around thirty thousand West German Marks," Werner said calmly. "Tell Reynard this is a long-term order, so the price is negotiable. We’ll pay a thirty percent deposit up front, and the rest on delivery."

"Thirty thousand West German Marks?" Keller swallowed hard. "Do we have that much foreign currency?"

"I’ll figure something out," Werner said. "You just focus on contacting the supplier. I’ll handle the rest."

Keller nodded and took the address. "When do you need it?"

"The sooner the better," Werner said. "I need an update by next week at the latest."

"Understood."

After Keller left, Werner sat back in his chair and lit a cigarette.

’Now there’s only one last piece of the puzzle—Klein.’

He needed to get the list of pilot factories from Klein. This was the key to the entire plan. Without that list, it was all just talk.

Werner exhaled a cloud of smoke, picked up the phone, and dialed a number.

"Hello?"

"Comrade Klein, it’s me, Betelich," Werner said. "Are you free? I’d like to treat you to a meal. There’s something I’d like to ask your advice on."

「Three days later.」

Werner was sitting in a secluded little restaurant, a plate of stewed beef and sauerkraut in front of him.

East German stewed beef was always cooked for too long, making the meat soft as cotton, but the sauce wasn’t bad. It paired perfectly with black bread.

Klein walked in, wearing a dark suit. He glanced around before sitting down across from Werner.

"This place is remote enough," he said, taking off his hat. "Weren’t you afraid of being followed?"

"I checked. We’re clear," Werner said, pushing a glass of beer toward him. "Try this. The beer here isn’t bad."

Klein took a sip and put the glass down. "What did you want to see me about?"

"The New Economic System," Werner said. "Have you heard about it?"

Klein’s hand paused. "How do you know about that?"

"I have my sources," Werner smiled. "Comrade Klein, we’ve known each other for a long time. You should know by now that my information is always reliable."

Klein didn’t say anything, just stared at Werner.

"I don’t care about the policy itself," Werner continued. "I only care about one thing—which factories will be part of the pilot program?"

"That’s classified."

"I know it’s classified." Werner pulled an envelope from his pocket and placed it on the table. "That’s why I’m prepared to pay for this classified information."

Klein looked at the envelope but didn’t move.

"One thousand West German Marks," Werner said. "Just for a list."

"What do you want it for?"

"Business," Werner said. "The pilot factories will have purchasing needs, and I want to prepare the goods in advance. There’s no downside for you in this, is there? I make my money, you get your fee, and the factories get the things they want. It’s a win-win-win."

Klein was silent for a long time.

"The list isn’t finalized yet," he finally said. "This is just the preliminary screening. There are about twenty factories."

"That’s enough," Werner said. "Twenty is plenty."

Klein reached out, picked up the envelope, weighed it in his hand, and tucked it into his inner pocket.

"I can only tell you the ones that are confirmed," he said, lowering his voice. "The Treptow Machine Tool Plant, the chemical plant in Weissensee, and the electronics factory in Lichtenberg. Those three are basically set, because their production value exceeded targets last year. They’re model units."

Werner took out a small notebook and quickly jotted them down.

"Any others?"

"There might be a few light industry enterprises, but that’s still under discussion," Klein said. "The Planning Commission wants to include textile and food factories, but the Ministry of Industry doesn’t think they’re qualified."

"What about heavy industry? Steel mills, shipyards?"

"No," Klein shook his head. "Heavy industry involves national defense; they’d never be given autonomy. This pilot program is mainly for civilian enterprises. The goal is to boost worker morale, to make them feel that you can have a good life under socialism too."

Werner nodded. "When does it officially begin?"

"This fall at the earliest, next spring at the latest," Klein said. "It’s still going through the approval process, but Ublis is taking it very seriously, so it shouldn’t be delayed for too long."

"Good." Werner closed his notebook. "Thank you, Comrade Klein."

Klein stood up and put on his hat. "Betelich, I’d advise you to be careful. The waters run deep when you’re doing business on the back of major policies like this."

"I know," Werner said. "But I never get into business I’m not sure of."

Klein gave him a deep look, then turned and left.

Werner remained seated and lit another cigarette.

’Three factories, three lines of business. That’s enough.’

’In his previous life, when he read about this period in history, he didn’t remember the details of the reform, only the broad strokes—the NES introduced market mechanisms and profit incentives in pilot factories. The factories could direct resources to the most profitable areas, which immediately unleashed long-suppressed consumer demand.’

’But the problem was that East Germany as a whole remained a centrally planned economy. This localized liberalization would quickly expose problems: planning targets clashed with market signals, and the allocation of key materials became a mess. The moment price controls were slightly loosened, the government would lose its grip, fearing both inflation and worker unrest. In the end, the reform couldn’t be sustained and was replaced by an even more rigid central plan.’

’But before the reform failed, there would be a period of chaos—the pilot factories had money and were desperate to buy consumer goods to reward their workers. The state-run stores couldn’t keep up with supply, and Black Market prices skyrocketed.’

’That period was a gold mine.’

******************

For the next two weeks, Werner operated like a tightly wound machine.

Word came from Reynard’s side: he had found a supplier. A West German company specializing in export trade was willing to provide the goods at wholesale prices but required a thirty percent deposit.

Werner agreed without hesitation. He used all the foreign currency reserves he could muster and, through Anna’s channels, obtained a batch of "special permits" to cash out thirty thousand West German Marks.

There was progress on Matthias’s end as well. He had settled things with his contact at the railway bureau. They could move the goods from West Berlin to East Berlin by train. The cost was high, but it was secure.

Eva’s intelligence was the most valuable. She had learned from the wife of an official in the Ministry of Light Industry that the ministry was preparing "production material incentives" and had already held three internal meetings. She also heard that the director of the Treptow Machine Tool Plant had been frequently visiting the Planning Commission, supposedly to fight for a larger procurement quota.

"What’s the director’s name?" Werner asked.

"Kurt Meyer," Eva said. "I hear he’s an old Party member, very well-respected."

"Good." Werner wrote down the name. "I need to go see him."

"How are you going to see him?"

"The simplest way," Werner said. "With a gift."