My hometown is far away in Moscow.

Chapter 282 The Palace of Mardan

"Big news?" Hu Yi scoffed. "What, is the container market going bankrupt?"

"Hey, hey, don't talk nonsense! You're a notorious jinx." Uncle Yu hurriedly waved his hand at him, then glared at Xiao Linzi: "What news? Tell me quickly!"

"Actually, it has nothing to do with us." Xiao Lin chuckled, mysteriously keeping everyone in suspense: "But our market's big boss has really made a big splash! It's incredible, absolutely incredible!"

The nearby business owners strolled over, hands behind their backs, saying, "What's up? Tell us!"

"Let me read it to you!" Xiao Linzi cleared his throat dramatically, holding up the newspaper with both hands and reading it aloud word by word:

"The Mardan Palace, a seven-star luxury hotel built in Antalya, Turkey, by Mr. Jeliman Izmailov, a famous Russian tycoon, owner of the Cherkizovsky Market in Moscow and controller of the Aste Group, held a grand opening ceremony last Saturday."

"My goodness, fifteen billion US dollars!" Everyone exclaimed in surprise, turning to look at the shipping container beside them: "That's enough to fill this whole box!"

"It's not over yet!" Xiao Linzi raised his voice: "The Palace of Mardan is currently the most luxurious hotel in all of Europe, with over 500 rooms. The interior decoration is extremely luxurious, inlaid with a total of 100,000 square meters of gold, 500,000 crystals, and 23000 square meters of Italian marble. Next to the hotel is an outdoor swimming pool with an area of ​​16000 square meters, equivalent to two football fields. The private beach is covered with 9000 tons of white sand imported from Egypt."

Every time he uttered a number, the bosses around him gasped in astonishment. Even though they had little idea of ​​the magnitude of wealth involved, just hearing the numbers and units was enough to shock them.

"Don't rush, there's more to come!" Xiao Linzi waved his hand dramatically to quiet everyone down. "More than six hundred guests have been invited to the opening ceremony, including many international celebrities. These include Paris Hilton, heiress to the Hilton Group; Hollywood stars Sharon Stone and Richard Gere; and famous singers Mariah Carey and Tom Jones. It is said that each celebrity's appearance fee is close to one million US dollars. Moscow Mayor Luzhkov also attended in person to offer his congratulations."

"Wow! Sharon Stone!" The bosses only vaguely recognized the other names, but Sharon Stone, who had starred in "Basic Instinct," was a household name in their minds.

Several middle-aged men, as if suddenly wound up, their eyes gleaming, exclaimed: "A million dollars can get Sharon Stone? Let's pool our resources and get her to come too!"

A group of business owners burst into laughter, and someone chimed in, "Count me in! Let's pool our money!"

"Uncle Cai, stop embarrassing yourself. What are you inviting a big star to your three-bedroom apartment for? To have tea? You're not worthy! Listen to the grandeur of that big boss!" Xiao Linzi shook his hands and continued reading arrogantly, "On the day of the ceremony, 110 kilograms of precious caviar were airlifted to the hotel for the guests to enjoy. And when the celebration reached its climax, Mr. Jeliman and the guests danced together in the celebration venue, while his private jet flew over and dropped a massive amount of hundred-dollar bills, creating a spectacular 'money rain.' According to British media reports, a total of approximately $6000 million fell on the scene."

"My God!" The astonishment in people's hearts had been completely exhausted, and they could only look up at the sky with silly smiles: "If we had known there was such a good thing, we should have tried to sneak in. Even if we pretended to be sweepers and just picked things up casually, we wouldn't have to work so hard in this godforsaken place for the rest of our lives."

"Damn it, the rich feast while the poor rot!" Hu Yi couldn't help but glance up at the ceiling, imagining a dense mass of hundred-dollar bills raining down from the sky.

Xiao Linzi read several paragraphs in one go, and finally couldn't help but join the discussion around him. Hu Yi took the newspaper from him and glanced at it again, discovering that after the description of extravagance and debauchery, there was a short passage:

When asked why he didn't use the money to help his homeland, Russia, which is facing a financial crisis, Mr. Zeliman replied: "When I was struggling in Moscow, when I couldn't even support my family, Russia didn't help me, so I have no obligation to help them now. I earned the money myself, and I can spend it however I want." Sources speculate that this statement is likely to provoke discontent from both the Russian government and the public.

Hu Yi knew almost nothing about the life of the billionaire Jeliman, and was even less able to think about the issue from his perspective. However, as a Chinese person who had grown up under the influence of Confucian culture, he subconsciously felt that the statement was somewhat inappropriate, or at least not modest enough.

Soon, the government responded to Jeliman's ostentatious display of wealth and flamboyant attitude. From the Prime Minister down, officials successively issued direct or indirect accusations against the various illegal activities at the container market. By the time these rumors reached Hu Yi's ears, it was already late June.

"Things don't seem too good lately." Hu Yi called Fu Jiahui and Uncle Yu into the box and advised them with great concern, "I've already told Natasha to stop ordering more goods. You two had better be careful too."

"I don't think it's that serious, is it?" Fu Jiahui hesitated. "They've been making a lot of noise over the years, but we can't just believe everything we hear. Didn't we pull something like that at the beginning of the year? In the end, nothing happened, and we just lost money."

"That's true. Actually, I can't say for sure, it's just a precaution." Hu Yi sighed and smiled, "Of course, it's best if nothing goes wrong!"

"Xiao Hu's concerns are somewhat valid; after all, he's known for his jinxing." Uncle Yu cautiously smoothed his thinning hair. "Now that the Aste warehouse is gone, what if we happen to be caught up in it next time? We should be more careful."

Following Hu Yi's advice, Fu Jiahui and Uncle Yu once again reduced their domestic shipments. Hu Yi himself simply stopped shipping and stopped buying, even instructing Natasha to lower prices appropriately in order to reduce inventory as quickly as possible. He was getting restless from the various ups and downs of the past year and began to feel tired of this nerve-wracking life, even considering selling off all his stock and leaving the market.

A week later, on the last Sunday of June.

The past few days have been peaceful and uneventful, with nothing to worry about. The market is bustling with people as usual, and there isn't even a hint of trouble in sight.

Fu Jiahui and Uncle Yu were still hesitantly discussing the autumn clothing shipment plan with their domestic partners, and Hu Yi was also starting to doubt whether he had misjudged the situation. Back home from get off work, while changing his clothes, he asked Natasha, "How much stock do we have left?"

"There are about twenty packages in the shop, and about fifty in the warehouse." Natasha neatly arranged the food and drinks she bought into the refrigerator. "We've had a lot of shipments this week. I gave Da Liu five thousand rubles today as extra pay. There are still a few bundles of rubles locked in the safe. Take them and wire them tomorrow when you have some free time."

"Okay." Hu Yi took out a can of cola, opened it, took a sip, and hesitated before saying, "Natasha, in your opinion, wasn't my previous decision a bit hasty?"

"Hasty? What do you mean?"

"I mean, now it seems my worries were a bit excessive."

"Oh, my Anton!" Natasha leaned against the refrigerator, shaking her head and smiling slightly. "Things are always changing; who can predict the future?"

"Yes!" Hu Yi sighed with a wry smile, "Perhaps we need to change our plans."

"No rush, you can think about it for a few more days." Natasha glanced at his cheek, raising an eyebrow slightly. "Oh, right, today..."

Before he could finish speaking, Hu Yi's phone rang. It was Li Baoqing calling: "Hey, Lao Hu, have you eaten?"

"No, what's up? Are you treating me to dinner?"

"No, it's just a polite greeting." Li Baoqing's voice sounded somewhat listless. "Just letting you know, I'm going back to China for a while tomorrow."

"Huh? Where are you going?"

"My back, sigh. Ever since I spent the Spring Festival at your house last time, I've been finding it harder and harder to stand up straight, and it's been getting more and more uncomfortable. A few days ago, my family asked someone to contact a doctor, and I'm going back to get it checked out."

"Damn, the way you're putting it, it sounds like I'm the one who messed you up?" Hu Yi laughed and scolded, "What, need surgery?"

"It's not clear yet. Let's get it checked out first. If surgery is needed, it'll be good for you to rest at home for a while."

"Go ahead, your health is important. The sooner you get better, the more at ease you'll be. You can also spend some time with your parents while you're at it." Hu Yi gave Li Baoqing a few words of advice, then hung up the phone and turned to Natasha, asking, "What did you just say? What's wrong with you today?"

"Do you remember Dagana from Smolensk? I mentioned her to you before."

"Dajana...Smolensk? Oh, isn't that your driver friend from Minsk?"

"Yes, that's right, we haven't seen each other in a long time." Natasha walked over and put her arms around Hu Yi's neck. "She's still working in transportation, and she and her husband are delivering goods to Moscow tomorrow. I'm thinking of having them stay in Moscow for a few more days. What do you think?"

"Of course, no problem!" Natasha had very few friends in Moscow; the only ones she regularly saw were Anna and her uncle Maxim, making her life a bit lonely. Hu Yi was happy to have friends come and keep her company, so he confidently promised, "I'll take some time off work, and we'll show them around Moscow!"

"That's wonderful, Dagana and her husband will be very happy. But Anton," Natasha said with a smile, patting his face lightly twice, "you should tidy yourself up. Look at your beard, it makes you look ten years older than you are."

"Haha!" Hu Yi reached up and touched the nearly half-centimeter-long stubble on his cheeks and chin, grinning as he said, "My razor at home is broken. I'll go to the market tomorrow and buy a new one."

(End of this chapter)