My hometown is far away in Moscow.

Chapter 220 Salted Fish Xiaolinzi

"Okay. Where are you going?"

"Let's go to the Space Hotel."

"A space hotel?" Hu Yi was taken aback, then quickly shook his head and laughed, "I'm not interested in those things, so I won't go with you."

The Cosmos Hotel is a large luxury hotel built and opened in the late 1970s, not far from the market.

Unlike the matchbox-style buildings that were popular in the Soviet Union at the time, this hotel was designed by the French and has a graceful arc shape, making it very grand and beautiful.

A few months ago, on the 60th anniversary of the victory in World War II and the Great Patriotic War of Russia, leaders from many countries attended the commemorative celebrations held in Moscow. During the celebrations, guests from various countries made a special trip to the Cosmos Hotel to unveil a newly erected bronze statue of former French President Charles de Gaulle in front of the building, demonstrating the hotel's significance and status in Russia.

Due to its age, the hotel rooms are quite dilapidated, a stark contrast to its sleek and modern exterior. However, the hotel houses a luxurious casino with a full range of facilities and services, making it quite well-known among the Chinese community in Moscow.

Most Chinese people love to gamble, and casinos are filled with Chinese businessmen and tourists every day, who linger and forget their troubles. Fu Jiahui would also go and play a few rounds every now and then, but he knew that Hu Yi didn't like it, so he never invited him to go with him.

"No, we have to go today." Fu Jiahui said sternly, "Didn't you say a few days ago that sealing the warehouse was entirely your fault? Mistakes should be punished."

"Seriously?" Hu Yi said with a wry smile, "Making me go to the casino with you? What kind of punishment is that?"

Fu Jiahui laughed heartily, "Alright, I won't tease you anymore. Uncle Yu and I are going to accompany someone today. You speak Russian well, so come along and chat with him for a bit, and maybe you can get acquainted with him."

"Oh, no problem then." Hu Yi nodded. "Who are you going with?"

"He's the middleman who helped us contact the haulers a few days ago. We're treating him to a fun-filled night as a way of thanking him." Fu Jiahui stuffed a few stacks of rubles into his pocket and whispered, "He's one of Boss Aste's men. If we get on good terms with him, we'll have something to say if we run into any trouble in the future."

"Okay, I understand." Hu Yi raised his hand to check the time. "What time are we leaving?"

"I'll go urge them right away." Fu Jiahui walked out of the box with his hands behind his back.

Hu Yi quickly packed his things and had just sat down on the cargo bag to take a puff of his cigarette when Uncle Yu walked in, looking energetic, wearing a shirt and shorts tucked into his waistband, leather sandals, and a small top hat, followed by a chubby young man.

Hu Yi grinned: "Wow, Uncle Yu, what kind of weather is it? You're wearing a hat, aren't you hot?"

"Well, let's look more dignified. We can't go to a casino dressed like we usually do." Uncle Yu took off his hat and pulled it down in front of his stomach, then waved to the young man behind him: "Why are you standing so far away? Come to the front, let me introduce you."

The young man hunched his shoulders and took a few steps forward, then stood crookedly next to Uncle Yu.

Hu Yi glanced at him and saw that he was of medium height, with a round and chubby figure, a chubby face, fair skin and red lips, and a youthful appearance. He wore a pair of thick-rimmed glasses, and his eyebrows and eyes vaguely resembled Uncle Yu's.

"Oh, who is this?" Hu Yi remembered that Uncle Yu had mentioned more than once that his son would come and take over his place after graduating from university, so he quickly stood up and took a few steps forward to greet him: "Is this your son?"

"No, no, he's my own nephew, my sister's son." Uncle Yu's brows furrowed, a hint of anger flashing across his face. "My useless son, don't even mention him! He got a girlfriend in university, and after graduation, he absolutely refused to come to Moscow. He insisted on staying in China to work and live a stable life with that woman. He's utterly spineless! He's nothing like his father!"

Hu Yi laughed heartily: "Hey, everyone has their own ambitions, why are you so angry? Anyway, Moscow isn't a good place, so it's fine if you don't come. Besides, a nephew is still blood, right? Blood is thicker than water, isn't it?"

"Of course, he's my own nephew, not much different from my own son," Uncle Yu replied casually, though he didn't mean it. "But he's still young, not even twenty years old, and has no life experience. I'll have to trouble you to take care of him in the future, Xiao Hu."

"No problem." Hu Yi smiled and glanced at the young man. "May I ask how to address this...this nephew?"

"His name is Lin Xianyu." Uncle Yu straightened his expression, pointed at Hu Yi, and said to his nephew, "This is the Hu... cough, call him Brother Hu that I mentioned to you!"

"Hey." Lin Xianyu put his hands behind his back, tilted his head to the right, leaned his shoulders to the left, thrust his stomach forward, arched his back, and twisted his whole body like an unshaped fat twisted rope. He stared at Hu Yi's feet and squeezed out two words from his throat: "Brother Hu."

"Hello, Xian..." Hu Yi tossed away his cigarette butt, extended a hand to Lin Xianyu, and couldn't help but raise the corners of his mouth slightly: "Xian...Xianyu?"

"His parents weren't careful when naming him. He's been called 'Salted Fish' by his classmates since he was little, he's used to it." Uncle Yu smiled at Hu Yi, then turned and scolded, "Speak louder when you greet him! Quick, go shake hands with Brother Hu. Both hands!"

"Hello, Brother Hu." Lin Xianyu, sweating profusely from his uncle's scolding, raised his voice slightly: "Brother Hu, you can just call me Salty Fish from now on."

"That sounds awful." Hu Yi chuckled and shook his hand twice. "I'll just call you—I'll call you Little Lin!"

"Xiao Linzi is no good." Lin Xianyu twitched his nose and tilted his glasses up slightly. "Xiao Linzi is a eunuch, like Lin Pingzhi from The Smiling, Proud Wanderer."

Hu Yi laughed: "Okay, you're quite knowledgeable."

"Erudite my foot! You've learned to read, and now you're spending all your time reading useless books!" Uncle Yu glared angrily at his nephew. "You listen to what Brother Hu calls you! Remember it?"

"Yes, I've got it." Lin Xianyu lowered his voice again.

Uncle Yu seemed to realize he had been too harsh, and softened his tone slightly: "Hey, Xianyu, you're new here, there's a lot you need to learn gradually. Your uncle only requires you to do one thing right now: memorize Brother Hu's phone number perfectly, understand?"

"Memorize phone numbers?" Lin Xianyu looked bewildered. "Can't I just save them in my phone?"

"No! You must remember this!" Uncle Yu solemnly spread his hands and gestured: "Listen carefully, those people outside are all your uncles and elders. It's no problem for them to look after you normally. But this is Russia, and they can speak no more than ten sentences of Russian. If anything unexpected happens, only your brother Hu can help!"

(End of this chapter)