Chapter 8 If you don't rob, you're not a true Russian (Revised)...

"What should I do?"

He Changyi said coldly:

"Cash on delivery is a matter of course. What, you have a problem with that?"

Xie Shirong said indignantly:

"I haven't finished counting the money yet!"

He Changyi scoffed.

"Just these few bills? I bet you couldn't count them all even if you went all the way to Moscow!"

Xie Shirong said angrily:

"you!"

Xie Xun quickly stepped forward and pulled Xie Shirong between the two.

"Alright, alright, we've already got the money, so let's just give them the clothes..."

Xie Shirong went down the steps, still muttering complaints under his breath.

"That's not how business is done... Besides, how can she be like this? Helping the Russians instead of the Chinese..."

Xie Shirong grew angrier the more he thought about it, so he deliberately turned his face away from He Changyi and raised his voice.

"Hmph, traitor! Mind your own business!"

He Changyi glanced at him, and Xie Shirong shut his mouth, angrily lay down on his bunk, and ordered Xie Xun to fetch water and make him tea.

Xie Xun gave He Changyi an awkward smile, then took the kettle and went out.

He Changyi looked out at the snow scene.

There are no truly innocent people on this special train for smugglers; the identities of victims and perpetrators are constantly shifting.

In the evening, the train arrived in Perm, the last major station before reaching Mosk.

We'll be arriving in Mosk tomorrow. The traders on the train are having a crazy sale, and the Oroqen people below are buying like crazy.

The Oroqen people are not picky about anything; they buy whatever they see. The middlemen, who originally had some substandard goods that had been rejected by people from the previous stops, also dumped them all out.

This time, He Changyi didn't help the Xie family uncle and nephew sell their goods; instead, he stood aside with his pockets in hand, watching the spectacle.

A familiar-looking reseller saw He Changyi idling around and called out to her, "Are you still selling your Adidas set? If you are, sell it quickly, or it'll really become a rag!"

He was referring to the overpriced, low-quality goods that He Changyi bought at the Holejin Railway Station.

She repaired and pieced together two of the three salvageable outfits, leaving behind a pair of pants with legs of different lengths and a top with sleeves of different colors.

When Xie Shirong was chatting in the private rooms, he told others about this incident as a joke.

The journey was monotonous, and there were limited entertainment options on the train. Everyone was extremely bored, so they looked around for people to chat and joke with, and that's how the news got out.

This middleman had a fairly good impression of He Changyi, and he came over specifically to remind her not to waste the goods she bought with her money, but to make a profit by selling them.

He Changyi smiled and shook his head.

She felt that selling this junk to the Oroqen people was a disgrace to her homeland.

While it's true that all merchants are unscrupulous, they should at least have some conscience.

However, it's clear that not everyone on the bus thought that way.

The train only stopped at Perm station for twenty minutes. When the train started moving, a blonde Oros girl chased after it, banging on the window.

He Changyi's attention was drawn to the commotion outside the window. She saw the blonde girl holding an Adidas shirt with a missing sleeve, pointing at it and talking to herself.

The people on the bus looked at her indifferently, and someone said with a grin:

"Hey, what bad luck!"

The blonde girl was so anxious that she burst into tears, but the people on the bus remained unmoved.

Whether it was the middleman who sold her clothes that were clearly counterfeit or inferior, or the other onlookers, no one showed her a shred of sympathy.

The train sped up, leaving the blonde girl far behind.

She couldn't run anymore, bent over and supported herself on her knees, crying angrily, regretting that she hadn't looked carefully when she bought the clothes, wasting a month's salary.

Just then, a piece of clothing fell in front of her.

The blonde girl picked up the clothes with teary eyes. She first saw the Adidas logo, and when she unfolded it, she saw that it was a sweatshirt with one blue and one black sleeve.

She was overjoyed. No matter where the dress came from, the sleeves could be detached and sewn onto the sleeveless dress she had bought!

God Father, bless us!

"Now we're even out of dishcloths."

Xie Shirong scoffed, "Kindness, you're really too kind. If you had been born twenty years earlier, communism would have already been realized."

Xie Xun tugged at him, signaling him to stop talking.

He Changyi asked him, "Did you sell those clothes?"

Xie Shirong looked like an old cat whose tail had been stepped on.

"How could I possibly buy such trashy clothes in Holejin!"

He Changyi said, "That's settled then. If you didn't sell it, what's there to be ashamed of?"

Xie Shirong was speechless.

"I, I, I have nothing to be ashamed of! I've done nothing wrong, I'm not afraid of ghosts knocking on my door in the middle of the night, what do I have to be afraid of!"

He Changyi only replied with one word.

"Oh."

Xie Shirong felt greatly insulted, but considering He Changyi's violence was unlike that of a woman, he maintained a commendable level of forbearance.

With most of the goods sold, the traders had some free time. They gathered in twos and threes, either eating in the dining car or counting their money in their berths.

The Xie family uncle and nephew closed the door, checked the goods and counted the money, and kept talking in their hometown dialect.

Xie Shirong held a stack of rubles as thick as a dictionary, glancing hesitantly at He Changyi every now and then, as if he wanted to do something but couldn't because of her presence.

He Changyi got up and went out, clearly hearing Xie Shirong breathe a sigh of relief behind her.

She had already left the private room when she suddenly turned back and said to Xie Shirong, who was startled:

"Be careful when hiding your money. The ceiling panels are loose, and if you put too many rubles in, they will fall down. I suggest you find another place."

After speaking, He Changyi turned and walked away leisurely, while Xie Shirong angrily asked Xie Xun behind him:

"How did she know I hid the money in the ceiling?!"

He Changyi went to the dining car, and unlike the previous days, there were quite a few people eating there today.

Perhaps because all the goods were sold out, the traders no longer needed to stay by the goods all the time, and could finally come to the dining car to have some hot food.

He Changyi ordered fried eggs, bread, and soup, which cost a total of 130 rubles, equivalent to 6.5 yuan.

It doesn't seem expensive, but I've heard that the average monthly salary for a Russian is only around 1,000 rubles, and such a simple meal would cost one-tenth of that salary.

Inflation is terrifying.

When He Changyi returned after finishing her meal, she saw the middle-aged man she had met on the first day she boarded the bus.

After failing to secure a seat and being kicked out of the private room, the guy didn't dare come back and disappeared somewhere.

However, it seems that he had a pretty good six days. He looked radiant and was leading a group of people in a gambling session.

At this time, the traders are at their most financially secure, and money is the last thing they lack.

The middle-aged man's call was met with enthusiastic responses; a group of gambling scalpers gathered around and started playing.

Stacks of rubles were piled on the ground like waste paper. Some traders imitated American movies, taking out a ruble, lighting it, and using it to light their cigarettes.

The train attendant smelled the smoke and rushed over, pointing at the no-smoking sign on the wall and talking incoherently.

The traders didn't take it seriously and burst into laughter:

"So what if it's a fine? I have plenty of money! Here, keep the change, consider it a tip!"

When the middle-aged reseller saw He Changyi passing by, his facial muscles twitched involuntarily, as if recalling the excruciating pain of having his liver destroyed by her.

He Changyi met his gaze without flinching, while the middle-aged man looked away first, calling out as if to cover his tracks:

"Are you still playing or not? Hurry up, or we'll switch players!"

"Let's play! Anyone who doesn't dare to play is a coward!"

"It's here, let's open the pot!"

Tomorrow we'll reach the final stop of this train journey. As the lights were about to go out, the Xie family uncle and nephew looked a little nervous.

Xie Shirong nervously kept testing whether the gadget on the door bolt was working and whether the box door could be opened from the outside.

Xie Xun piled up the unsold goods by the door to block the view.

Feeling uneasy, Xie Shirong had Xie Xun set an alarm so they could take turns on night duty every two hours.

He Changyi was infected by the tense atmosphere between the two, but he didn't have any suitable tools at hand, so he took the bed sheet off the bed, soaked it in water, twisted it into a rope shape, put it outside the window to freeze for a while, and it turned into a hard ice whip.

He Changyi took it back and tried it out. It felt quite easy to handle, so he put it outside the window to freeze again.

Then she placed the thermos filled with boiling water in the most convenient position, so she could easily uncork it and pour it out.

The Xie family uncle and nephew were dumbfounded. He Changyi said somewhat embarrassedly:

"The conditions are basic, but we'll have to make do."

Xie Xun firmly placed the thermos under the table.

"Leave the rough work of fighting to us."

He silently added in his mind: If she really makes a move, I'm afraid everyone in the private room except her will be turned into a scalded, dead pig.

That night, no one on the bus slept well.

In the middle of the night, He Changyi keenly heard faint footsteps, the sound of doors opening and closing, and a half-finished scream coming from the corridor outside the private room.

The Xie uncle and nephew failed to take turns according to the pre-arranged night watch schedule, and both of them stared intently at the doorknob.

However, whether it was because they failed to open the door during their previous scouting trip, or because the people in this private room weren't the ones making the most money, they somehow managed to get through the night safely despite the many dangers.

The next morning, as the noise outside gradually increased, Xie Shirong instructed Xie Xun to open the door to the private room.

He went outside to inquire about the situation and returned shortly afterward, saying with lingering fear:

"Several private rooms around here were robbed! Luckily we locked the doors so they couldn't get in, otherwise they would have been robbed too!"

He Changyi walked out of the private room and saw someone slumped on the ground in a sorry state, his face covered in bruises.

"Waaaaah, they stole all my money! I borrowed money to buy these goods, how am I going to pay them back now?!"

"You're robbing me, so why are you hitting me... I already gave you money, why are you still hitting me..."

"Damn Oros, I'm never coming back here again!"

The others who escaped unharmed couldn't help but feel relieved:

"Luckily I didn't earn much money, otherwise I would have been robbed too!"

"How did these robbers know who made more and who made less? Could there be a mole among them?"

"Why are you looking at me like that? I almost got robbed too! I didn't dare sleep all night, I kept watch at the door, afraid someone would break in..."

"Damn it, all the money I worked so hard to earn has been given to thieves and robbers!"

The wheels rolled forward, and after a five-hour delay, the train finally arrived at its final destination—Mosk.

It is a temporary end, but also a brand new beginning.

A note from the author:

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