My hometown is far away in Moscow.

Chapter 262 Undercurrents

Fu Jiahui's home is in the 16th Park neighborhood near the market. Hu Yi and Natasha currently have no dormitory to stay in, so they plan to stay at his house for a few days until they find suitable accommodation.

"If you ask me, you might as well just stay at my place," Fu Jiahui advised in the car. "My place is pretty good, isn't it? It's close to the market, so it's very convenient to come and go. Don't worry about the rent, just give me five hundred US dollars a month."

Houses around the market are very expensive. Fu Jiahui lives in an ordinary two-bedroom apartment, with a monthly rent of $1,200. He lives in the large bedroom, while the other small bedroom is empty and is sometimes used by company employees who come from China. Sun Shoutian and Fu's fourth uncle had both stayed here before.

Hu Yi had been to his house a few times and knew that it was fully equipped and in good condition. If he were single, living with Fu Jiahui would undoubtedly be the best choice, but for now he still had Natasha.

Many people in the market share apartments and live together. To save money, sometimes four or five couples can be crammed into a two-bedroom apartment. Apart from the inconvenience of going to the toilet and taking a shower, they usually just pull a curtain in the living room to separate themselves and live their own lives in silence. Even though there are many inconveniences in life, they get used to it after a while.

But Hu Yi didn't want Natasha to experience that feeling. Even if she only shared a living space with Fu Jia Hui, he could imagine all the awkwardness Natasha would face.

So he didn't even consider this option, politely declining, "No need, Natasha's lifestyle is a bit different from ours, and it might cause you trouble in the long run."

"Alright. It's a bit unfair for you two to live with a bachelor like me." Fu Jiahui laughed heartily. "Then you should take some time to look around and try to find a place that's close by and safe."

The group returned to Fu Jia Hui's house, chatting and laughing. Li Bao Qing, shirtless, was cooking enthusiastically in the kitchen. Hearing them enter, he rushed out waving his spatula: "Ha! Lao Hu, I knew you'd be back sooner or later! How's it going? Can't make it outside of here? Can't even find a job back in China. You should have stayed in the market and made money honestly! You really didn't think things through."

Hu Yi blushed slightly, looking down intently at the scar on his chest: "Hey, what kind of gun shot you got that?"

"It's a handgun. You want to know the model? I don't know."

"What a crappy pistol, so weak." Hu Yi sighed with regret. "If only you could have stayed in bed for a few more months, you wouldn't have to talk so much nonsense."

"Damn it! You just wait! I'll add a few extra spoonfuls of salt to the dish later, and it'll make you sick of it, you heartless beast!" Li Baoqing roared.

The room erupted in laughter. Hu Yi and Natasha went to their room to pack their things and rest for a while. Fu Jiahui and Xiao Linzi arranged the tables and chairs and set out the dishes. Uncle Yu went into the kitchen and cooked with Li Baoqing.

Dinner was very lavish, with large bowls and plates filling the table. Everyone was in high spirits, partly because Hu Yi had returned to Moscow, and partly because business had been good in the market lately.

"You're so glad you came back! Our container market has been developing a lot in the past few years, especially in the last six months. It's been booming and thriving." Fu Jiahui patted Hu Yi on the shoulder with great joy. "You've been away from the market for three or four months, haven't you? You've kept me very busy. If you hadn't called to say you were coming back, I probably would have had to hire someone else to do the work."

"Jia Hui is absolutely right. Take your Meng Xuanna for example, she's split up the family business several times over the years, and it's actually doing better than before. Of course, the businesses that were split off are doing a bit worse." Uncle Yu took a sip of his drink with a happy smile. "Even someone as cautious as me is now starting to expand production in China and send more goods here."

"That's because you were too conservative before," Xiao Linzi muttered under his breath. "You were really stupid to leave money unearned. I'm worried about you."

Everyone burst into laughter. Li Baoqing, slightly drunk, put his arm around Hu Yi's neck: "Hey, don't even mention you bosses, even I, your brother, have made a small fortune thanks to the booming market. You should learn from me, get some goods from Jia Hui, and start your own business!"

"I think it's a good idea." Fu Jiahui nodded. "Business is good now, you can consider Baoqing's suggestion."

"Sure, but no rush." ​​Hu Yi pondered for a moment, then shook his head and smiled, "This is quite a worry. I just got back, let's wait until everything is arranged before we talk about it."

After a whirlwind of activity, everyone was full and satisfied. Considering that Hu Yi and Natasha were tired from just getting off the plane, Li Baoqing and the others helped them tidy up before heading home early.

Hu Yi told Natasha to take a shower first, then lay on the bed in a daze for a while before taking out his phone and calling Lu Tao.

"Huh? Hu Yi?" Lu Tao's voice sounded somewhat surprised. "Didn't you go back to China? I was just thinking of deleting your number a while ago."

"Ha, I'm back again. I just arrived today." Hu Yi briefly recounted his return to China, then asked, "I heard that several shipping companies in the market were robbed of their freight rates today. Is your family alright?"

"Ugh, don't even mention it. We were robbed of over ten thousand yuan, and the man we sent to the market was even injured by bandits, thankfully not seriously." Lu Tao sighed, "There's nothing we can do, we just have to accept our bad luck."

"Sigh, I never expected something like this to happen. You'd better be more careful from now on."

"No need to worry about that. Anyway, whatever amount of money is lost belongs to the boss and has nothing to do with us. Besides, I mainly manage the company's warehouses and rarely go out to collect money." Lu Tao paused for a moment, then asked with a puzzled look, "But it's not very common for bandits to rob the market in broad daylight."

"Really?" Hu Yi's heart stirred slightly. "I also think it's quite rare."

After a moment of silence, Lu Tao chuckled softly, "It's alright. As long as we keep a low profile, the bandits won't bother with small fry like us. Besides, they caused quite a commotion today, so the market will definitely strengthen its security measures in the future."

These unusual, accidental events often conceal extremely complex and deep-seated reasons, but most people find it difficult to discern them in time. Even if they manage to guess some clues, they have no way to verify them.

The main owner of the container market was a fifty-year-old Jewish businessman. With his remarkable business acumen and keen political sense, he quickly gained a prominent position and power in the decade or so following the collapse of the Soviet Union. He was a prominent figure on the list of Russia's richest people at the time and maintained close and friendly relations with many high-ranking political figures at home and abroad for many years.

However, with the unpredictable political and economic climate, the big boss failed to make accurate judgments about the development of the situation. Several inappropriate remarks in private caused a rift in his relationship with some government officials. Some of his later business decisions further angered those in power and laid the groundwork for the fate of the entire container market.

However, compared to this high-level power struggle, foreign workers like Hu Yi and Lu Tao were merely insignificant ants. They were completely unaware of what was happening both inside and outside the government, and remained immersed in their optimistic visions of the future.

(End of this chapter)