My hometown is far away in Moscow.

Chapter 68 Mobile Phone

Chapter 68 Mobile Phone

"Steamed buns? Sure. What kind of filling?" Xia Yan's expression was calm: "I don't like fennel sprouts."

"Why are you being picky when there are steamed buns to eat?" Hu Yi took one, took a bite, chewed it a few times with satisfaction, and then realized, "That's right, you've just arrived and haven't started craving food from back home yet."

"Right. I ate soup dumplings before boarding the plane." Xia Yan smiled shyly. "Did your apartment search go smoothly?"

"The manager gave me an empty room," Hu Yi said while peeling garlic. "It would have been a good thing, but it's fucking awful, practically uninhabitable. Help me clean it up tomorrow, and I'll move in once it's spotless."

"Okay then, I'll go with you." Xia Yan ate a few steamed buns, wiped her hands, walked to the closet, pulled out her suitcase, rummaged through it for a while, took out a cardboard box, and handed it to Hu Yi: "You're moving out, so this is for you."

"What? A gift for me?" Hu Yi wiped his mouth, took it and saw that it was a mobile phone box with "Siemens 3568i" printed on it.

"This is for me? Did you bring it from China?" Hu Yi was slightly excited; he had never owned a cell phone before.

Xia Yan nodded honestly and said, "Yes, it's for you. My mom originally asked me to bring it to the person who picked me up, hoping he would take good care of me here, but he didn't show up."

Hu Yi held the packaging box and examined it carefully from top to bottom, then casually asked, "Yeah, what's the deal with that person?"

"My dad asked an agent and heard that the person went back to China in the summer and was refused a visa when he came back a few days ago. He doesn't know the specific reason. I told my mom that you've been very kind to me and that I'm very grateful to you for helping me with the procedures after I got here, so she asked me to give you my phone."

"Oh." Hu Yi carefully placed the box on the table. "I'm so sorry, it was just a small favor, not trouble at all."

"Take it." Xia Yan smiled sincerely. "My mom said you're a kind-hearted person. I'm giving you this phone firstly to express my gratitude, and secondly so it'll be convenient to contact you if I need any help in the future."

"This—..." Hu Yi looked at him awkwardly, "This is really—really—thank you so much, Mom."

Xia Yan seemed to realize he had said too much and hurriedly explained, "Don't misunderstand, even if she hadn't said anything, I originally intended to give it to you anyway, purely as a token of my gratitude."

"Okay, thank you too." Hu Yi carefully unpacked the package, took out the small, lightweight phone, and played with it in his hand with it for a while. "Then I won't be polite."

They slept until the sun was high in the sky the next morning. The two of them took a dustpan and broom and went downstairs. They first went to a nearby supermarket to buy a SIM card, a bottle of air freshener, and two pairs of rubber gloves. After paying and leaving the store, Hu Yi suddenly felt that cleaning the house by himself would be exhausting, and it would be best to ask a friend for help.

Who should I call? Yu Feifei lives closest to Building 10, but asking her to clean up that garbage dump is too cruel; she might faint inside. Hu Yi thought for a moment, then picked up his phone and called Zhou Dali. Luckily, Zhou Dali didn't know his number yet, so he could tease him.

The phone rang a few times, and someone answered groggily: "Feeding?" It was Li Baoqing's voice.

Hu Yi was slightly surprised, but then a thought struck him. He spoke in a deep voice in Russian, "Hello, I'm looking for Baoqing, Li Baoqing."

Li Baoqing didn't recognize Hu Yi's accent and seemed surprised: "Ah? I—I am him."

"Are you Li Baoqing? Is this your phone number?"

"No, no." Although Li Baoqing's Russian had improved significantly, he still spoke haltingly and somewhat awkwardly: "The owner of the phone is in the restroom. I'm his friend. Who are you?"

"I'm a police officer." Xia Yan, who was standing next to Hu Yichong looking bewildered, made a face and said sternly, "Do you know why we're looking for you?"

"Police?" Li Baoqing paused for a long time, his tone somewhat flustered: "No, I don't know."

"Think about it carefully." Hu Yi almost laughed out loud, but quickly coughed twice to cover it up: "Tell me everything you know."

"I don't know anything! I don't know anything! Really!" Li Baoqing became somewhat agitated and shouted, "I'm just helping out! I'm a student, just working for him!"

"What the hell?" Hu Yi was utterly confused, unconsciously reverting to his normal tone and asking in Chinese, "Who do you work for? What do you do?"

Li Baoqing froze, completely bewildered, and stammered, "Y-you, who are you?"

"It's me! Old Hu!" Hu Yi laughed loudly, "You'd better confess, what shady business have you been up to?"

"So it was you, you little rascal!" Li Baoqing was both angry and delighted. "I knew it! Police don't call to ask for statements!"

"A confession?!" Hu Yi couldn't stop laughing. "Tell me the truth, what did you do wrong? Why didn't you go to work?"

"What could I possibly have done? Sigh, don't even mention it!" Li Baoqing sighed sullenly. "Are you looking for Dali? He's taking a dump, I'll give him my phone."

"No need, it'll be the same if I ask you. Just don't bother him, he stinks." Hu Yi briefly explained the situation of the room in Building 10: "You two come and help me with the work, and I'll treat you to dinner."

Twenty minutes later, Li Baoqing and Zhou Dali arrived at Building 10 from their homes with various cleaning supplies. Hu Yi first introduced them to Xia Yan, then grinned and stared into Li Baoqing's eyes: "Tell me, what happened to you?"

"Ugh! What bad luck!" Li Baoqing said with a gloomy expression. He started working for a clothing store owner in the south two months ago. He was always busy and dedicated, helping out with everything, both his own and others, and was well-liked by the owner.

The boss had only been in Moscow for a short time when a friend helped him find a stall in the market, but he couldn't find a suitable warehouse right away.

The goods had already arrived in Moscow, and the boss, desperate for a solution, found a warehouse near the market through a roundabout route to temporarily store them.

The warehouse was originally an abandoned factory workshop, which was later rented by several Armenian merchants to store goods. There was little security. His friend advised him to transfer the goods to a legitimate warehouse under the name of a well-connected market management company as soon as possible to avoid any accidents. However, the boss was greedy for the cheap rent and did not take his friend's advice. Instead, he stored the later batches of goods there one after another.

Things sometimes happen by chance. Just when the boss was full of confidence and ready to make a fortune, the Armenian merchants and the Vietnamese in the market got into a conflict, and the Vietnamese secretly reported the warehouse to the police.

At the time, Russia was experiencing a period of rampant gray customs clearance, with the vast majority of goods on the market lacking proper and complete customs declaration procedures. Some bureaucrats took advantage of this opportunity to line their own pockets, so they generally turned a blind eye to such practices, only conducting investigations when various government departments took coordinated action.

However, since someone came to report it, and the reported location was a small warehouse without any protection, the police did not hesitate to go and seal off the warehouse and all the illegal goods inside. Coincidentally, Li Baoqing was picking up goods at the warehouse when the police arrested him. Upon checking his passport, they found that he was a student, and without saying a word, they locked him in the police van.

>