My hometown is far away in Moscow.

Chapter 264 Our Home

"Abba?" Hu Yi turned around in response.

"It really is you! Anton!" Yabalov pushed through the crowd, staring at Hu Yi in disbelief. "You're not... I thought... When did you get back?!"

"I just arrived yesterday! Today is my first day at the market! I was just looking for you in the parking lot!" Hu Yi warmly hugged his muscular body: "Old buddy, we meet again!"

"Yes! That's wonderful! You know what? I've missed you so much these past few days!" Yabalov exclaimed joyfully, turning around and waving vigorously behind him. "Tanya! Come here! Come quickly! This is the Chinese man I've often told you about, my good friend Anton!"

A robust woman with long, curly black hair approached them and nodded slightly to Hu Yi: "Hello, Mr. Anton, it's an honor."

Yabalov grinned widely, satisfied. "Anton, she's the Tanya I was talking about, remember? We're living together now."

"Really? That's great, congratulations." Hu Yi smiled slightly. "It's a pleasure to meet you, Tanya."

Tanya had broad shoulders and a thick back, with large hands and feet, and her physique seemed even stronger than Li Baoqing's. She had a rather rugged appearance, with a long, slightly protruding chin, high and slightly prominent cheekbones, a hooked nose, and deep-set eyes. Her features alone made her look somewhat fierce, but her eyes and expression were very gentle and simple, and she looked like a kind middle-aged woman.

"My Yabalov often talks about you, saying you were the best person in the market. He misses the days when you were in the market, always saying that it was because of your care that he was able to earn enough money to live with me. And since you left, he's been bringing back less and less money every day. I advised him to try to find his own way, but he always hoped you would come back, and now, I never expected you would actually come back..."

Tanya rambled on for a while, then, probably realizing she'd been a bit long-winded, she stopped abruptly, saying, "Mr. Anton, I run a snack shop not far from the parking lot. My cheese pies are delicious; please try them when you have time."

"I'll take him." Yabalov, who had been holding back for a while, finally waited until Tanya shut up before eagerly asking, "Anton, are you still doing your old job?"

"Yes, still in the same old place." Hu Yi chuckled and patted his broad shoulder. "From today onwards, I'm restoring you to your original position. Wait for me to pick up the goods this afternoon!"

Although Hu Yi is back in the market and doing the same things every day, his mindset is very different from when he was in school.

Now he no longer needs to worry about scheduling classes, nor does he have to spend an hour commuting to and from get off work each morning and evening. He sleeps until nine o'clock every morning before getting up to go to work, and after picking up the goods, he can walk back to Fu Jiahui's home in ten minutes. His life is much more comfortable now.

In the entire New Sun District 8, he was the longest-serving employee and also the Chinese person with the best Russian. Many of his compatriots would come to him for help with anything, big or small, and the new boss would especially seek out him to learn about the various rules and inside stories of the market.

For the past two years, Hu Yi has been a regular at the market, treating people with kindness and generosity, which has earned him many good relationships. The security guards in the neighborhood politely call him "Mr. Anton," while his acquaintance, Bacha, affectionately calls him "Boss Anton." Whenever he encounters any minor trouble, a simple call is enough to ensure someone will come to his aid. In short, Hu Yi now moves freely in the market, living a fulfilling and comfortable life, just like he's at home.

A few days later, Natasha finally found a satisfactory place to stay with Anna's help. It was an old residential building in the eastern part of Moscow, in a rather remote and somewhat desolate location, but with reasonably complete living facilities. Most importantly, there was a minibus nearby that went directly to the market, a journey of about twenty minutes, which was very convenient for Hu Yi.

The house was old and contained only basic furniture and appliances such as a bed, table, chairs, and a refrigerator. The two-bedroom apartment wasn't large, but it was sufficient for the daily needs of two people, and the monthly rent was only $450, which was very reasonable.

"What do you think? Are you satisfied with this house?" Natasha stood in the somewhat empty living room, unable to hide the joy on her face: "There are a few things missing, but we can add them gradually in the future."

Hu Yi walked around the room, checking all the switches, then went to the bathroom to test the toilet and the hot and cold water pipes. He then opened the window, looked at the view outside, and sighed with relief: "Good, very good, I'm very satisfied. Let's stay here."

"Okay, I'll go find the landlord to sign the contract." Natasha walked slowly to the window, turned her head and smiled slightly at Hu Yi: "Anton, the two of us... can finally live together in peace."

"Yes, finally... we have a home that belongs only to us." Hu Yi recalled the scenes of their life together in the dormitory at Yuda University, and couldn't help but hug Natasha and gently kiss her head: "Thanks to Anna for helping us find such a good place."

"Anna highly recommended this place because it's not far from her home." Natasha smiled and looked into the distance, her face revealing an overwhelming sense of longing. "We've been back for many days now, we should go see Anna and Misha as soon as possible."

"You're right." Hu Yi took out his phone. "I'll call her. Let's go to Lyublino now."

Lyublino is located in the southeastern part of Moscow and features a large indoor shopping mall. While it is considered the main distribution center for goods in the surrounding area, its scale cannot compare with the large container market in the northeast.

At the time, the monthly rent for a single container in the market was at least several thousand dollars, and in better locations, it could be tens of thousands. Anna's stall in the Lyublino market, however, only cost five hundred dollars a month.

The mall was also far less crowded than the container market. Hu Yi and Natasha arrived around 4 PM, and there were very few customers; many shops had already turned off their lights. Following the address, they searched for the mall, and while they were still some distance away, they suddenly heard several dogs barking ahead: "Woof! Woof woof!"

"It's Misha! She knows we're here!" Natasha hurriedly took a few steps and saw Misha dash out of a room like an arrow. She stopped abruptly in the corridor, swung her tail, and pounced on her while barking.

"Misha! My child!" Natasha knelt down and embraced Misha, shouting excitedly, "I'm back! We're back!"

Misha nudged Natasha with her head to express her longing and affection, and occasionally tilted her head to call out to Hu Yi, so as not to neglect him.

"Anton? Natasha!" Anna ran out of the house with Misha, opening her arms and smiling as she walked towards them. "My dear brothers and sisters, welcome back to Moscow!"

(End of this chapter)