My hometown is far away in Moscow.

Chapter 292 A Foreign Land Once Been in Moscow (The Finale)

Two days later, Li Baoqing hurriedly returned. He had his lumbar spine examined at a hospital in China, and the doctor recommended a period of treatment. However, he keenly sensed a golden opportunity before him and resolutely refused.

Upon returning to Moscow, Li Baoqing immediately began a massive search for stalls in several markets, including Lyublino, and intended to transfer his best spot to Hu Yi at the original price.

Hu Yi did not accept his offer, but left a key: "I'll lend you the stall for a bit, and I'll return it to you after I've dealt with these goods. As for the rent, you can decide."

"You're leaving?" Li Baoqing had vaguely sensed Hu Yi's thoughts over the past few days, and hearing him say it himself now, he felt a pang of reluctance. "Jia Hui and Uncle Yu have both decided to move the business to Lyublino. You should stay too. Container shipping is no longer viable, but Lyublino is bound to become a hit. We can still make big money together, how wonderful!"

"Yes, how wonderful it would be to make money happily together!" Hu Yi sighed and smiled sadly, "But if everyone can only rely on gray customs clearance to do business in the future, then this Lyublino... will just be the next container market."

Li Baoqing nodded dejectedly. After a long pause, he coughed lightly and said, "So...you kid...are you planning to go back to China again?"

"That's right."

"Hey, fine. Anyway, you two are people who robbed bandits, so it's good for you to go back to China and hide for a while." Li Baoqing lowered his eyelids sullenly: "Go back and get all angry, then come back sheepishly a few months later?"

"Haha, who knows? Who knows what the future holds? At least... I'll come back to visit." Hu Yi stood by the window, gazing at the distant scenery, and slowly revealed a calm smile: "Moscow has many things that I will never forget, but for me... this place will always just be a foreign land."

"A foreign land...a foreign land..." Li Baoqing repeated to himself several times, frowning and saying disdainfully, "You've gone back to your hometown, but does that mean Natasha has to leave her home with you?"

"She wasn't originally from here either." Hu Yi turned to Natasha: "Darling, tell Baoqing, where is your hometown?"

"My hometown? Minsk."

"So... what does Moscow mean to you?"

"Moscow?" Natasha paused for a moment, then smiled faintly. "I've lived here for many years and have many... memories. After all, this is our home now, so Moscow... could be considered my second home."

"A second hometown?" Li Baoqing pressed, "Then are you willing to leave here?"

"If Anton wants to leave, I'll leave with him." Natasha nodded firmly. "Home is wherever he is."

Li Baoqing chuckled: "Damn, you two really are a couple, a perfect match."

"Of course!" Hu Yi said smugly, pulling Natasha into his arms. "Darling, wherever I go, you'll be with me, right?"

"Of course." Natasha nestled happily in his arms. "I told you, even if you go to the Arctic, I'll stay with you."

"What if I wanted to go to the moon?"

"I'll go with you."

"What if we were going to Mars?"

"Even if we have to go to the sun, we'll be together."

"Ugh! It's so sour!" Li Baoqing grimaced and shrank back. "You two can go wherever you want! Find a secluded spot to be all lovey-dovey!"

Hu Yi laughed heartily. Natasha blinked twice and said seriously, "But Anton, I have a wish when I return to China this time."

"What is your wish?"

"I want to take the train back." Natasha smiled at Hu Yi and Li Baoqing, who looked slightly surprised. "I've often heard you and Feifei talk about taking a six-day train ride. I'd like to experience it myself."

"That's a great suggestion." Hu Yi squinted, his eyes filled with longing. "I heard that train has been upgraded, and the facilities are much better than before. Perfect, let's take a romantic journey across Eurasia."

With Anna's help, Hu Yi and Natasha sold out their seventy-odd bags of trousers in no time. Since the container market had just been closed, all sorts of goods were in high demand. Although Natasha didn't deliberately pursue high prices, they still managed to make a net profit of over one million rubles.

Hu Yi settled Fu Jia Hui's payment in full, leaving enough cash for his journey back to China, and then managed to remit the rest back to the country.

Fu Jiahui and Uncle Yu transferred a total of 300,000 RMB to Hu Yi's domestic account as a reward for helping them avoid significant losses. This time, Hu Yi accepted the money without hesitation or politeness.

As for Yuri's $260,000, Hu Yi had already made proper arrangements. Although it was ill-gotten gains, this money indirectly caused them a lot of suffering, so it was reasonable to give them some as compensation.

He left 30,000 for himself and Natasha, and divided the remainder into several portions. The largest portion was used to thank those who had helped him in the past few days, especially Dajana and her husband, and Lu Tao. He also gave gifts to the tall black man, Yabalov, Tanya, and Da Liu.

The smallest portion was given to Li Baoqing. He had been robbed of his goods by bandits, injuring his back and still owing a mountain of debt, constantly being harassed by creditors over the past two years. Since Yuri was most likely behind his actions, giving him some money to help cover his losses was perfectly reasonable.

In the last copy, Hu Yi entrusted Anna to give it to the town as a gift from "Friends of Abalensk" after he left, along with his greetings from a friend.

With everything arranged, the day of final farewell finally arrived.

Hu Yi shaved his beard clean and regained his former youthful appearance, but his face now bore the marks of time and was no longer the naive boy who stepped off the train nine years ago.

He and Natasha embraced everyone who came to see them off with heartfelt farewells. As the train pulled away and slowly disappeared into the distance, they continued to wave from the window, watching every familiar figure on the platform disappear into the night.

a few days later.

The initial excitement and novelty of boarding the train had long since faded. After finishing his meal in the dining car, Hu Yi stared blankly out the window at the vast wilderness.

"My dear." Natasha returned from the private room, smiled gently at Hu Yi, and held up a photo album in her hand: "These past few days I've carefully selected some photos of you on the train, some brought back from your home in China, and some taken over the years, they're all in here. Perhaps you can see from this album... the path you've walked in Moscow over the years."

"Really? You're so thoughtful." Hu Yi smiled and took the photo album, slowly turning the pages from the first page.

A youthful group photo in a small town in Zabaikalsk; the school gate in Madi; a silly memento of my first subway ride; in front of the church on Red Square; the Pushkin and his wife statue on Arbat Street; the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier next to the Kremlin; a cruise ship on the Moscow River; an old tank at the Military Museum; the woods behind Friendship University; a Christmas Eve dinner in dormitory building number 6; celebrations on Victory Square; standing side by side with Lao Wei at the Huanghai Hotel; a restaurant that never opened; my first photo with Natasha; arm in arm with Fu Jiahui in a suitcase; a graduation ceremony wearing a sash; my newly decorated little home; posing coolly next to an old Opel; a cheerful photo of Xiang Nan at the opening of the half-suitcase; and a group photo taken a few days ago with all my friends still in Moscow.

I felt familiar with myself in every photo, yet also slightly unfamiliar. Or rather, it was a distant sense of familiarity.

Each photo showed a different version of himself than the previous one, making it easy for him to recall the events that had occurred back then.

Hu Yi's eyes welled up with tears. He squeezed his eyes shut and looked up to survey the other passengers in the car. Everyone was busy with their own things, and no one noticed the complex expression on the man's face.

Hu Yi turned his gaze out the window again, smiling as he looked at the winding railway tracks ahead. The train's loudspeaker played a melodious accordion accompaniment, the rugged vocals unconsciously intertwining with his thoughts.

The wheels clattered.

Train flying close to the ground

Some people were laughing and joking.

Some people sit there bored.

Someone sang softly

Some are already in their dreams.

The train travels along this path

Passing through this beautiful place

Passing through this beautiful place

Little path, little path

You understand my unusual life.

But there's not much of the journey left.

I will be returning to my hometown soon.

Little path, little path

You have witnessed so many extraordinary years.

But our journey is almost over.

Because what lies ahead is...

My hometown

(Finish)

--postscript

On July 22, 2009, a delegation from the Chinese Ministry of Commerce departed for Moscow to negotiate the closure of the Cherkizovsky Market by Russia.

TASS reported on October 26 that the Moscow city government has removed the Cherkizovsky Market from the list of local retail markets, which has been legally dissolved.

A year later, the former mayor of Moscow, who had close ties with Jeliman, the owner of the Cherkizovsky Market, was dismissed, ending his 18-year term.

In 2017, Sputnik News reported that the Moscow Region Arbitration Court confirmed that the once-powerful billionaire Jeliman Izmailov had gone bankrupt. His ultra-luxury hotel, Mardan Palace, located in Antalya, Turkey, was acquired in 2018.

After the container market closed, the Lyublino market quickly rose to prominence and became the main gathering place for Chinese merchants in Moscow, causing shop rents and other expenses to skyrocket.

However, just as Hu Yi had predicted, the many problems plaguing the container market persisted. In the years that followed, familiar scenarios continued to unfold repeatedly in the Lyublino market.

Li Baoqing amassed a fortune during the booming period of the Lyublino market, and later partnered with others to open a travel agency and hotel in Moscow, which became very successful.

However, he missed the best time for treatment, and the two injured lumbar intervertebral discs continued to wear down. Several years later, he returned to China and underwent artificial intervertebral disc replacement surgery.

After returning to China, Yu Feifei, whom Li Baoqing had been infatuated with for many years, married her Malaysian boyfriend and later moved to Kuala Lumpur.

Meanwhile, Hu Yi started a new career and life in China. He and Natasha registered their marriage at the end of the year, and the following year they had twin daughters, named Hu Na and Hu Sha.

End of article

(End of this chapter)