Chapter 33 When things reach their peak, they decline (Revised)

A few days later, Zhou Cheng escorted Cai Caishu back to China.

At Moscow train station, Cai Caishu had his hands cuffed behind his back and was wearing a military overcoat. On his left and right were Zhou Cheng and Xiao Zhao, a representative of the overseas students who had returned to China to testify.

In the past few days, Zhou Cheng gave him a thorough legal education, making him deeply understand what "leniency for confession and severity for resistance" means.

Cai Caishu nodded in agreement, claiming that he had deeply realized his mistake and would definitely cooperate honestly with the police officers and would not try to escape again.

However, his words were not very credible. On the way to the train station, Zhou Cheng kept a close eye on Cai Caishu, ready to take action immediately if Cai Caishu made any unusual moves.

Caught up in the tense atmosphere, Xiao Zhao's eyes widened like saucers. If any Russians appeared nearby, he would quickly block Cai Caishu's view.

Whether Cai Caishu resigned himself to his fate or had some other idea, he obediently allowed the two to take him to the train station.

In a corner of the waiting room, Zhou Cheng and Xiao Zhao flanked Cai Caishu, keeping a considerable distance from the other passengers on the train.

With the departure time drawing ever closer, Xiao Zhao couldn't help but ask Zhou Cheng:

"Brother Zhou, is Sister He still coming to the train station to see us off?"

The waiting room was quite crowded, mostly with Russians with high noses and deep-set eyes, and only a few East Asian faces. Zhou Cheng and his two companions stood out, and people kept looking at them with curious eyes.

Zhou Cheng was on edge, constantly monitoring his surroundings and Cai Caishu's movements. Upon hearing Xiao Zhao's words, he casually replied:

"Let's not come. She's so busy with her business. Do we, a bunch of grown men, really need to see her off at the station when we go back to China?"

Xiao Zhao felt a little disappointed, but then he cheered up again.

He still has a year of preparatory school and four years of university in Moscow, so there will be plenty of opportunities to meet Sister He. One or two more won't make a difference.

Cai Caishu kept his head down, glancing at Zhou Cheng out of the corner of his eye, and then quietly looking at the Russian station staff at the ticket gate.

Of the three, he spoke Emei the most fluently, so there wouldn't be another He Changyi throwing mud at him along the way...

Half an hour before departure, station staff began checking tickets, and passengers filed in one after another.

Zhou Cheng deliberately waited until the very end to have his tickets checked, handing the three train tickets to the station attendant.

While checking the train tickets, the station staff looked at Cai Caishu with curiosity.

His hands were handcuffed behind his back, and a military overcoat was draped over his shoulders with empty sleeves, making him look like a disabled person with both arms amputated.

The station attendant asked in a friendly manner:

Does he need help?

Zhou Cheng didn't understand, while Xiao Zhao only half understood, but roughly grasped the meaning, and hurriedly said in Emei:

No, no.

At this moment, Cai Caishu finally found an opportunity, suddenly raised his head, and shouted at the station attendant in Ethnic language:

"I need help! They are bad people! Help me!"

The station staff were astonished, and even though Zhou couldn't understand Emei language, he immediately realized what had happened.

"Cai Caishu, you are resisting arrest! That will be an even more serious offense!"

Cai Caishu dropped the pretense and said with a ferocious expression:

"You sneak into Mosk to arrest people? Who knows if you're a real cop? I could say I am! Besides, do you think I'm stupid? Everyone knows 'confess and you'll be imprisoned for life, resist and you'll be sent home for the New Year.' I'd be in real trouble if I went with you!"

He turned and spoke to the station attendant in Ethnic language:

"Help me!"

Zhou Cheng was both anxious and angry, and tried to control Cai Caishu. The station staff mistook him for being embarrassed and angry after being exposed, and subconsciously tried to stop him.

Xiao Zhao hurriedly explained in broken Emei language:

"He's lying, we're not bad people!"

More and more people looked over, including passengers who had already entered the station and station staff with walkie-talkies. It was like a small vortex caused by Cai Caishu that was about to grow into a tornado that would stir up the entire train station.

Just as things were getting chaotic, He Changyi's voice rang out.

"Please calm down, this is a misunderstanding."

She was wearing an extremely dignified and elegant black coat, gold-rimmed glasses, and her hair was elegantly styled up, making her look like a government official or a university professor.

Little Zhao murmured:

"...Sister He?"

He Changyi walked quickly to the station attendant, his expression distant and serious, a completely different look from his usual self.

Whether it was her expensive clothes or her aura that made her stand out from the crowd, the station staff subconsciously treated her with more politeness.

"Madam, you say this is a misunderstanding, is there any proof?"

He Changyi took a document out of her handbag and handed it to the station clerk. After looking through it, the clerk's expression changed from shock to understanding, and finally he politely returned the document to her.

"I understand, it was indeed a misunderstanding."

Cai Caishu couldn't understand why things had suddenly taken a 180-degree turn. The station staff had clearly been about to help him, so why did they suddenly change their attitude?

"She's in cahoots with them! Don't fall for their tricks! Get someone to save me!"

The station attendant gave Cai Caishu a look that was a mixture of disdain and pity, then turned to Xiao Zhao and said:

"You should have kept him under control on the train to prevent him from causing trouble for other passengers, otherwise misunderstandings like today will continue to occur!"

Xiao Zhao was confused, but seeing the station attendant's attitude change, he quickly agreed.

"Okay, okay, we promise it won't happen again."

Zhou Cheng's attention, however, was focused on the Emei police officers in the distance.

He thought to himself, "Could I be this unlucky? I'll be leaving Mosk soon, what if I get stopped by the local police now...?"

However, the Emei police did not move. They stopped not far from the group, in a blind spot, requiring them to turn around to see him.

When Cai Caishu threw a tantrum at the ticket gate, he seemed unconcerned, as if ignoring a wisp of air, his gaze eventually settling on He Changyi standing to the side.

Seeing that he didn't intend to stop him, Zhou Cheng relaxed his vigilance slightly and couldn't help but curiously examine his foreign colleague.

He had an exceptionally handsome face, but unlike most Slavs, his features were not rough and wild. Instead, they were soft and delicate, with pale skin, blue eyes, and eyebrows and eyelashes the same color as his blond hair. He looked like a prince from a fairy tale who had stepped into reality.

His temperament, however, was repressed and reserved, as if something heavy was pressing down on him, and he was powerless to escape.

Zhou Cheng couldn't help but marvel. With looks like that, becoming a movie star would be a piece of cake. Why bother with a job like being a policeman, which is mentally and physically exhausting and doesn't pay well?

Noticing Zhou Cheng's gaze, the blond policeman turned his attention away from He Changyi, looked at him coldly, and nodded slightly, as if to greet him.

Zhou Cheng felt inexplicably flattered.

He quickly nodded to the other person, and also gave a hearty laugh typical of a burly northerner.

The blond policeman didn't respond with a smile; instead, he withdrew his gaze and continued to focus on He Changyi.

Zhou Cheng couldn't help but mutter to himself, "This Russian is so unfriendly, like an iceberg, he has no warmth at all..."

After He Changyi finished negotiating with the station staff, he pulled Zhou Cheng aside and handed him the documents.

“If the guy surnamed Cai causes trouble on the train again, you should give this document to the conductor.”

Zhou Cheng flipped through it and saw that it was all written in Emei language, and there was a seal-like pattern at the signature area on the last page.

What kind of document is this?

He Changyi gave him a mysterious smile and silently said a few words. Zhou Cheng imitated her lip reading and was stunned.

"What? What? What?!"

Realizing what had happened, he immediately put the document away in his inner pocket, gave He Changyi a thumbs-up, and said admiringly:

"Sis, it has to be you! You even came up with this idea. In a word, awesome!"

He Changyi smiled without saying a word, glanced at his watch, and reminded him:

"It's almost time for departure, you should hurry up and get into the station so you don't miss your train."

Zhou Cheng responded loudly, and he and Xiao Zhao each took one of Cai Caishu's arms and walked towards the platform.

Cai Caishu was still struggling, dragging his legs on the ground like a spoiled child who rolls around on the ground when his parents don't buy him toys.

"Help me! Help me! They are bad people! Please help me!"

Upon hearing this, the crowd in the waiting room stirred slightly.

The station staff had to step forward to maintain order and explain to the crowd:

"Ignore him, he's mentally ill. It's safe here, nothing has happened!"

Cai Caishu was still shouting, and the station attendant impatiently said to Zhou Cheng and Xiao Zhao:

"Hey, couldn't you just gag him?!"

"What? Ah, ah, I understand!"

Xiao Zhao was a beat slow to react, and hurriedly crumpled up the handkerchief in his pocket and stuffed it haphazardly into Cai Caishu's mouth.

Cai Caishu made two whimpering sounds, trying to spit out the handkerchief and continue shouting. Xiao Zhao was flustered and almost got bitten by him.

He Changyi couldn't stand it and pointed to the scarf around his neck.

Use this.

Suddenly, the lightbulb in Xiao Zhao's head lit up. He immediately took off his scarf, wrapped it around Cai Caishu's head twice, and finally tied it into a tight knot.

Cai Caishu's face was mostly covered by a scarf, leaving only his eyes darting around in panic. He couldn't spit out the handkerchief from his mouth no matter what.

Zhou Cheng struggled to drag the utterly heavy Cai Caishu along, and sighed:

"This guy really put in a lot of effort. Even slaughtering a big pig for the New Year wouldn't be this difficult. When we get back, our boss will definitely give him a bonus."

He Changyi saw the group onto the train. Cai Caishu was placed in the lower berth, towards the inside, with one hand handcuffed to the railing.

He just couldn't understand how things had turned out this way.

What documents did He Changyi show the Russians that made them completely ignore his plea for help?

Xiao Zhao stood in front of Cai Caishu and said rudely:

"You cheated us out of our money, now you should go back to China and go to jail!"

Cai Caishu pretended not to hear, his eyes still fixed on the window, thinking about how to escape.

Even if He Changyi could deceive the station staff, she couldn't possibly fool the police in Oros, could she?

Police are maintaining order at all the stations along this train line. As long as he finds a chance to ask the police for help, there is definitely still a chance...

Just as Cai Caishu was pondering his escape plan, he suddenly saw a policeman from Emei standing in front of Zhou Cheng on the platform.

Eguo... police? !

Cai Caishu could hardly believe his eyes. Even with his hands cuffed to the railing, he struggled to stand up and bent over to look out the window.

Seeing this, Xiao Zhao quickly pulled him to sit down.

"Hey, hey, what are you doing? I'm warning you, behave yourself!"

Cai Caishu ignored him completely, staring intently out the window, his eyes almost popping out of their sockets.

Zhou Cheng and the Ego policeman shook hands warmly, both with smiles on their faces. After exchanging a few words, they saluted each other.

Cai Caishu was dumbfounded.

What?! It turns out the Eurasian police knew that the Chinese police were conducting investigations and making arrests in Moscow?!

impossible!

Absolutely impossible!

This must be fake!

Cai Caishu shook his arms wildly, causing the stainless steel handcuffs to clang against the railing.

He pounded on the car window, shouting incoherently at the Emei police outside:

"Help! Help me! I don't want to be taken to Zhongguo!"

But with a handkerchief stuffed in his mouth, he couldn't make a sound; it sounded like meaningless screams.

The commotion inside the car attracted the attention of those outside. However, the Eguo policeman merely glanced at him indifferently before turning his gaze away. He said something to Zhou Cheng, and after He Changyi translated, Zhou Cheng nodded repeatedly and patted his chest in assurance.

Zhou Cheng was standing close to the carriage, and his voice was loud, so his voice could be heard through the window cracks into the carriage.

"Comrade Andrei, rest assured, I will definitely not let the suspect escape in the car, otherwise I will have to trouble my local colleagues in Oros to help catch him... I have already troubled you a lot this time, and I feel really bad about it. Next time you come to China, I will treat you to a meal!"

Upon hearing Zhou Cheng's words, Cai Caishu felt as if all his strength had been drained away, and he suddenly collapsed.

Zhong'e police join forces...

It's over...it's all over this time...

Watching the train pull away from the platform, He Changyi smiled and said to Andrei:

"Thanks for your help, otherwise this guy would have been causing trouble on the way."

Andrei looked down at her, remained silent for a moment, and asked uncertainly:

"Is he a mental patient?"

He Changyi said definitively:

"Yes, he suffers from severe paranoia and schizophrenia, and always feels that someone wants to harm him."

She changed the subject and said:

"Haven't you already seen his psychiatric diagnosis?"

—Produced by the renowned Mosk mental hospital, with a serial number, official seal, and signature of the attending physician, one copy costs a whopping $300.

Andrei did not speak.

Since that day, he seemed to have given up, or perhaps surrendered to fate, and stopped deliberately avoiding He Changyi.

But he wouldn't take the initiative to get close to her.

Like a big dog that has been soaked in the rain all night, when it sees its owner again, it wants to get close but doesn't dare to. In the end, it stands far away, looking at the owner with a mixture of longing and fear.

Too much of a good thing can be bad, so He Changyi didn't press him any further.

It was only when Zhou Cheng was about to escort Cai Caishu away from Moscow that he borrowed the skin on Andrei's body.

The so-called "using someone else's skin to raise a big flag".

A mental illness diagnosis can make those around Cai Caishu ignore his incoherent ramblings, while a policeman from Emei can make Cai Caishu give up all resistance.

After all, the Chinese and Emei police are conducting cross-border operations, and even if he manages to escape, he will be arrested by the local police.

Whether you're working on a sewing machine in China or digging potatoes in Siberia, any sane person with a clear mind knows which one to choose.

Andrei was unaware of the inside story, while Zhou Cheng knew part of it. As the only translator between the two, He Changyi successfully misled the other party.

—Andrei thought Zhou Cheng was going to take the mentally ill patient back to China, while Zhou Cheng thought the Emei police were supporting the case in a private capacity.

A perfect misunderstanding leads to an even more perfect ending.

As Andrei walked out of the train station and was about to return to his post for patrol, He Changyi tilted his head to look at him.

When can we see each other again?

Andrei glanced at her quickly and said in a low voice:

"Let fate decide."

He left, his back still standing tall, but there was an inexplicable air of desolation about him.

He Changyi shook his head and said softly:

"Ha, men..."

He Changyi's business grew like a snowball, and he had already opened a second wholesale market in Eastern Europe. Goods from China kept coming in, and the profits were astonishing.

However, although the money seems like a lot, most of it just circulates in the account, and the payments received from overseas customers are immediately transferred to domestic manufacturers.

Like a never-ending gear, the invisible financial chain keeps spinning back and forth.

A temporary office and contracts signed in a private capacity were no longer sufficient to cope with the current situation. After careful consideration, He Changyi decided to transform from a guerrilla force into a regular army.

After all, she now knows many people in Mosk, and through Director Blok, she has made connections with many more officials. She doesn't have to worry about someone suddenly bursting into her small office with documents and stealing all her property.

It's time to take it a step further.

He Changyi went through the business registration process in Moscow. As a rare foreign-invested enterprise, the registration procedures were extremely complicated, almost making people suspect that the authorities did not want anyone to actually set up a company here.

Executive Committee, Council of Ministers, Ministry of Finance, Notary Office, Banks... He Changyi visited every agency in Moscow, and wrote a two-inch-thick stack of application documents. After many hardships, he finally got all the official seals affixed.

After three months of hard work, He Changyi finally succeeded in opening Zhongguo Investment International Trading Company in Moscow.

To celebrate, she hosted a dinner at a high-end restaurant on the day she received her business license, inviting government officials and important clients.

Amidst the clinking of glasses and the rustling of elegant clothes, He Changyi skillfully moved through the crowd, holding a glass of red wine.

Looking at the familiar or unfamiliar faces, she took a sip of red wine, a smug smile spreading across her face, as if she could almost see a brighter and more promising future ahead.

However, fate is unpredictable.

Like a mischievous child, he casually flicked the spindles of the three Fates, and the golden threads became a tangled mess.

As summer in Moscow draws to a close, along with the cold air comes a sudden chill in the social atmosphere.

That day, when He Changyi habitually took the elevator to her office, another resident of the same apartment building suddenly looked at her and said in a strange and gloating tone:

"You capitalists are going to be finished soon."

He Changyi was taken aback, and for a moment wondered if she hadn't learned Emei language well, how could she have heard the word "capitalist"?

After the Christmas flags were lowered, she assumed that the current consensus in Russia was to develop capitalism; otherwise, a group of "boys" economists wouldn't have been able to implement shock therapy without any obstacles, claiming they would enter a capitalist society in 100 days.

She asked her unfamiliar and hostile neighbor uncertainly:

"What did you say? Could you repeat it?"

The neighbor stopped talking and stared at her with a hateful and eerie gaze until the elevator reached the floor where the office was located. He Changyi walked out, and the neighbor's face disappeared behind the slowly closing elevator doors.

He Changyi asked the old lady at the gate, who replied vaguely:

"They're probably some remnants of the Soviet Communist Party... Don't worry, we're not what we used to be, and the Ministry of Truth will never reappear!"

However, the matter did not end there.

As He Changyi walked down the street, she saw a crudely made poster on a wall that read, "For a Bourgeois-Free Russia!"

Posters were plastered all over the street, one after another, with no end in sight.

A gust of wind blew, and the edges of the poster that wasn't properly glued on lifted up, making a rustling sound.

At this time, the social atmosphere continued to deteriorate.

When He Changyi took the taxi she had chartered home, the high school math teacher couldn't help but remind her before she got out of the car:

“Ms. He, unless it’s something very important, you’d better not appear in public during this period.”

He Changyi asked her, "Why? What exactly happened?"

The female teacher simply shook her head and said softly:

“This is our business, it has nothing to do with you foreigners. For your safety… I want you to be safe, you are not like those capitalists.”

After saying that, she stopped explaining, leaned over, closed the car door, and sped away.

When He Changyi returned to Grandma Vitalie's house, the atmosphere there was not relaxed either.

Half of the elderly men and women gathered around the fireplace were gone, and the remaining half looked very serious. When they saw He Changyi, their usually kind gazes became somewhat awkward.

It wasn't hostility, but rather embarrassment and bewilderment.

So they all turned their gaze away and stopped looking at her.

He Changyi was extremely puzzled. Grandma Vitalie came up to him, her smile looking somewhat forced.

"My child, you must be very tired. Sit down and rest for a while."

After He Changyi sat down, the old men and women, as if by prior arrangement, took their leave one after another until only she and Grandma Vitalie remained in the room.

He Changyi asked, puzzled:

"Grandma Vitalie, what exactly happened?"

Grandma Vitalie hesitated for a moment, then simply sighed.

"It happened again in 1991. I don't know if it's good or bad."

He Changyi seemed to be deep in thought, and asked:

Is there anything I can do?

Grandma Vitalie simply said:

"Make sure you're safe. If possible, go back to Jong-guk."

When He Changyi pressed for more information, Grandma Vitalie smiled wryly and remained silent.

She didn't seem to be deliberately trying to hide it from He Changyi, but rather she found it difficult to talk about, or perhaps it was a family scandal that couldn't be aired in public and she couldn't discuss it.

He Changyi stopped pressuring the kind old woman; she had experienced too much history and shouldn't have to bear any more pressure.

So He Changyi started reading newspapers and watching television, catching up on all the current events and political commentary she hadn't paid attention to before—you should know that she had only been interested in business policies and exchange rate fluctuations before.

As He Changyi looked at it, he couldn't help but frown.

She now understood the situation.

After that dark Christmas in 1991, the once-great alliance fell apart and scattered into several hostile nations.

The already strained supply of goods became even worse, with prices skyrocketing like a rocket, while people's wages barely covered their income.

The price of bread alone has increased 150,000 times, and more and more people are unable to meet even the most basic survival needs.

Originally, they couldn't stand the Alliance's terrible economic environment and chose to embrace capitalism, but now they find that capitalism is even worse. The huge gap between the rich and the poor and the bad security environment have made more and more people miss the Alliance of the past.

Even with the problems of bureaucracy and rigid systems, at least they had enough to eat back then.

But not everyone misses the Alliance. They need democracy and freedom. As long as they get through the initial difficulties, their lives will surely become as good as those of Westerners.

As a result, society began to split, with some people wanting to go back to the past, while others insisted on staying in the present.

As someone once said, "Half of the Oroqen charged forward, and half of the Oroqen retreated."

A divided society makes everyone an enemy of everyone else.

A dark October is coming.

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Author's Note: Although this is a fictional story, this event did actually happen in the history of the Goose Kingdom during the chaotic 1990s.