My hometown is far away in Moscow.

Chapter 243 Indecisiveness

Since their family circumstances were so different, Zhou Dali's ideas weren't very relevant. After get off work, Hu Yi went to Building 11 to find Yu Feifei, wanting to hear her perspective.

Since starting her postgraduate studies, Yu Feifei stopped working as a tour guide, taking on small tours from travel agencies. Instead, she took a part-time job at the Moscow representative office of a large domestic company. It was through her that Hu Yi learned about the internal practices and unspoken rules of such organizations.

Yu Feifei herself was clearly not interested in those superficial things. Fortunately, she was just a part-time translator, simply doing her job and getting paid, and had nothing to do with the petty power struggles between them.

"You're very familiar with the situation in Moscow, so I don't need to elaborate," Yu Feifei said softly, being very cautious about Hu Yi's question. "If we're only considering the immediate situation, staying in the market shouldn't be bad, at least it pays much more than most jobs in China."

"But what?" Hu Yi raised his eyebrows slightly.

"But the drawbacks are obvious. Moscow is inherently unsafe, and jobs in the market are risky and unstable. Besides earning money, they offer almost nothing and aren't a long-term solution." Yu Feifei counted on her fingers as she spoke eloquently: "I've heard that reputable companies in China now provide employees with three types of insurance and one housing fund, and some better places even offer five types. These are all guarantees for your future livelihood. Moreover, starting work early allows you to accumulate seniority earlier, which helps with future promotions and benefits. The only downside is the low income, but correspondingly, the cost of living is also low."

"Huh? I didn't expect you to be so knowledgeable." Hu Yi only had a superficial understanding of the employee benefits Fei Fei mentioned, and he couldn't help but look at her with newfound respect: "So, you're planning to go back to China after graduating with your master's degree?"

"I haven't decided yet. Maybe I'll stay here and find a job to live on." Yu Feifei hesitated for a moment, then smiled at him and said, "Actually, I did some research on going back to China to work before I graduated from university last year. It was precisely because I couldn't make up my mind that I decided to stay here and continue my master's studies."

Yu Feifei did not give any specific advice, but she at least expressed some personal inclinations and provided a lot of useful information.

Hu Yi was still hesitant, and brought it up again with Natasha over dinner that evening: "Honey, I'm graduating in a few months. Would you like us to go back to China or stay in Moscow?"

"Didn't you keep saying you wanted to go back to China?" Natasha asked, slightly surprised. "What? You have new plans?"

"It's not exactly a new plan, I'm just a little...worried."

"What are you worried about?"

"I... I don't know what kind of job I can do after returning to China." Hu Yi's eyes were filled with confusion. "And I'm not sure if you can adapt to life in China."

"How will we know if we don't try?" Natasha smiled slightly. "Don't worry, Anton, we can all give it a try."

"Give it a try?" Hu Yi glanced at her uneasily. "Natasha, honestly, would you be willing to live in China?"

"Of course I would. Didn't I say that I'd go wherever you go?

"No, don't think about me yet. If... if I weren't there, would you be willing to live in China? Or would you prefer to stay in Moscow?" Hu Yi was currently in a state of indecision and hoped that Natasha's thoughts could help him make up his mind.

"Without you? Haha!" Natasha saw Hu Yi's serious expression, picked up the chopsticks in front of him, put one down, and held up the other, asking, "Anton, answer this question first: Without me, would you rather live in Minsk? Or would you prefer to stay in Moscow?"

"Me? Why would I go to Minsk? I've never..." Hu Yi chuckled halfway through his sentence, then understood what Natasha meant.

Yes, if it weren't for me, how could she have even thought of going to China? It seems only I can answer this question for her.

After talking with several people and thinking about it alone for a long time, Hu Yi basically finalized his plan to return to China to work after graduation. All that was left was to find Li Baoqing.

The two of them were the closest of friends, and Li Baoqing had introduced her to her job in the market. Since she had made up her mind to return to China, she should at least have given him a heads-up beforehand.

Li Baoqing is now rarely seen, always busy with something. Hu Yi called him twice the next day but didn't answer. It wasn't until after lunch that he strolled over to Fu Jiahui's suitcase, a cigarette dangling from his lips: "You were looking for me?"

"Pretty high and mighty, huh?" Hu Yi sat down in a chair, propping his feet up on the cargo bags. "He doesn't answer my calls, and he doesn't even bother to call back."

"Hehe, that's why I'm here in person. So, what's up?" Li Baoqing smiled and pulled a heavy, exquisite wooden box from his pocket, handing it to Hu Yi. "Have a cigar, as an apology for not answering Brother Yi's call!"

Hu Yi glanced at him sideways, casually took the heavy wooden box and fiddled with it for a moment: "Tsk tsk, Davidoff. Not bad, you've got quite the flair."

"Pshaw, what's with the showiness? I'm not going to spend money on that." Li Baoqing couldn't hide the smugness on his face. "The boss gave me two packs, might as well smoke them. Come on, light one up and try it."

"I won't try it, it smells terrible." Hu Yi handed the box back, looked up at his radiant face, and said, "Your boss is really good to you, sending you nice things every few days."

"Of course, I'm not just working for him, I'm also his client." Li Baoqing sat down smugly at Hu Yi's feet. "Now I own boxes in the Astai warehouse too, and the boss is counting on me to pay him back, haha!"

"Not bad, you're getting more and more capable." Hu Yi smiled kindly. "I'm so glad I raised you all these years. I'm very pleased."

"Go to hell." Li Baoqing kicked him and leaned forward, saying, "Hey, I'm telling you, Jia Hui's fashion pants are actually selling pretty well. You could try reselling them too."

"Me? Forget it, I don't have the inclination, nor the ability." Hu Yi raised his hand and gently brushed away the footprints on his pants: "I'd have to go out and find buyers and attract clients, it's too much trouble."

"Tsk, it's not that difficult. Aren't all the goods in the market just sold off one by one?" Li Baoqing took Hu Yi's cigarette from the package and lit it.

"I just closed a deal with a client this morning—yes, the one you were talking to when you called me. He used to get his goods from a Vietnamese boss; the products were basically the same as mine, but at a slightly higher price. I took him to the warehouse, showed him around, and then lowered my price a little. He became my client without saying a word. See? It's that simple!"

"It doesn't sound difficult to you," Hu Yi said, gesturing with his chin. "But if you try to poach someone else's talent by lowering the price, won't both of you end up losing?"

(End of this chapter)