Chapter 28: The Female Warrior and the Last Knight
Having some police friends can scare away street thugs, but not other police officers.
The old lady at the door reminded He Changyi:
“He, recently someone has been asking if any Chinese businessmen live in this building. If he is not your friend or client, I think you might need to be careful.”
This information is important.
He Changyi had heard from other traders that, in addition to the Baikal Hotel, some police officers would specifically search for the areas where Zhong Guo traders lived, and then forcibly collect "protection money" from them.
Some traders rent apartments in Mosk, but once discovered by the local police, they cannot continue to live there normally if they refuse to pay protection money.
Of course, paying "protection money" does not mean you will be safe and sound.
Extortion is commonplace. The corrupt police treat it as if it were their own garden, digging up cabbages. Any black marketeer who dares to resist will face fierce retaliation until they are forced to flee the area with their entire family.
Therefore, the best way to prevent this is to keep your address from being discovered by corrupt police officers.
However, He Changyi's business is currently booming, with a large number of customers coming and going every day. Her frequent appearances with Zhang Jin and Chen Yue inevitably give them away.
To thank the old lady at the door for reminding him, He Changyi gave her a variety of colorful woolen sets that he had brought from China.
The old lady stroked the soft ball of yarn, beaming with joy.
"My dear He, please rest assured, if it's not your friend who comes, I will not let him into the elevator easily, no matter who he is."
Even so, He Changyi remained vigilant.
She instructed Zhang Jin and Chen Yue to avoid appearing in the office recently and to contact each other by phone if necessary; the agreed delivery location with the client was also changed from the warehouse to the freight station, which meant that the goods were transported directly by the client as soon as they were unloaded from the train.
However, some new clients who came because of her reputation still found her office even though they didn't have her contact information.
In order not to lose orders, He Changyi chose to stay in the office alone to meet with customers who came to her office.
She hired a taxi to pick her up and drop her off every morning and evening. The driver was a former middle school math teacher who hadn't been paid by the school for six months, so she worked part-time driving a taxi outside of her regular job to earn extra money.
This middle-aged female teacher is very meticulous and never violates a single traffic rule while driving. Most importantly, she doesn't treat her passengers like lambs to the slaughter, making her car a very reassuring ride.
That day, He Changyi was receiving an old acquaintance, Bacha, who had once helped her move goods at the train station.
He came from the Stan region, was under thirty years old, but looked very weathered, with a face full of wrinkles.
Being a porter is a very hard job, requiring you to carry heavy bags weighing over 100 kilograms, and you only earn 200 rubles for each bag.
Unlike the swindler Stan who traded goods outside the Baikal Hotel, this Bachya was a diligent and honest man, which is why He Changyi hired him to move goods for a long time.
However, this guy is also a little cunning.
After finishing his work at the train station, he would change into a suit and go door-to-door selling goods. Once he had sold a certain amount of goods, he would place an order with He Changyi, making a small profit by buying low and selling high.
He Changyi admires him very much. Even if the order is small, she will not turn it away. On the contrary, she will remind the other party which products are more popular and have higher profit margins.
Bacha was very grateful to He Changyi. When he came to sign the contract and pay the deposit, he specially brought He Changyi wool felt slippers and natural honey, which were local specialties.
Just as He Changyi was adding honey to the black tea, the power suddenly went out, all the lights went out, and the room was plunged into darkness.
The power tripped?
Bacha volunteered to go out and turn on the power switch, but He Changyi stopped him.
"I think this is probably not a problem with the circuit breaker."
After a while, the landline on the desk suddenly rang.
He Changyi picked up the phone, but there was no response from the other end. Instead, there was a distant conversation, like someone had made a call and then put the phone aside to record the ambient sound.
"Officer, I told you before, there are no Chinese people here. Perhaps you've made a mistake."
That's the old lady's voice from the gatehouse.
“I am performing my official duties, and you should cooperate, not try to obstruct me! I warn you, if you continue to refuse to let me into the elevator, I will arrest you on charges of obstructing official business!”
This is... a voice that is both unfamiliar and somewhat familiar.
He Changyi listened intently, holding his breath, while signaling to Bacha beside him to remain silent.
Through the microphone, the old lady at the door muttered complaints:
“I’m just an elderly person who needs to earn money to support my family after retirement. You don’t need to threaten me like this… Okay, okay, if it’s a request from a police officer, I’ll obey your instructions… Come on, please get in the elevator…”
As the elevator doors opened with a "ding," the voice on the other end of the phone gradually faded until it disappeared completely.
He Changyi put down the microphone and walked quickly to the door. Sure enough, there were already sounds coming from outside.
"Who pulled the switch? Oh no, this will damage the apartment's electrical system..."
An unfamiliar male voice impatiently interrupted the old lady at the gatehouse, rudely ordering:
"Open the door!"
The old lady at the gate hesitated:
"But this house has already been rented out, and theoretically we can't just open the door without the tenant's permission..."
It was still an unfamiliar male voice.
"I know you have keys to every room in this building. Stop talking nonsense and open the door!"
A few more muffled sounds of arguing came from outside, followed by what seemed to be the old lady at the door being forced to give in. She took out a round key and opened the rooms one by one on the other side of the corridor.
With each click of a key opening the door and the complaints of the guests who had been abruptly disturbed, the sound of the door opening gradually approached He Changyi's room, no matter how slow or delayed it was.
There was an inexplicable tense atmosphere, like the anticipation of Japanese soldiers sweeping through a village.
With only two rooms left to be checked, another sound came from outside. It seemed that the unfamiliar policeman had taken the key and opened the door because he thought the old lady at the door was too slow.
He Changyi took a deep breath, knowing he was about to face a tough battle.
Bacha, who was standing next to her, glanced at her.
The sound grew closer, and the sound of a key being inserted into the door was like the final judgment.
Just as the door was about to be opened, Bacha suddenly pushed past He Changyi and stepped forward to open the door.
"What are you doing? Do you think I pay three hundred dollars a month in rent just so people can walk into my room?!"
The three people inside and outside the door were all stunned.
The unfamiliar policeman looked at Bachacha with suspicion and asked:
Are you the tenant of this house?
Bacha stood tall with his chest puffed out, his suit impeccably tailored, looking every bit the successful businessman.
"Of course it's me. Who else could afford such an expensive rent? If I had known this would happen, I would have preferred to stay in a luxury hotel, at least then I wouldn't have to worry about strangers suddenly barging in!"
The old lady at the gate was a beat slow to react.
"I'm sorry, but this is a check requested by the police. I hope it won't cause you too much inconvenience..."
Bacha kept complaining in his accented Ethnic language:
"This is unpleasant enough! Who is your superior? My old friend, Director Brock? I'm going to tell him about this baseless suspicion and misconduct!"
Upon hearing Chief Broke's name, the unfamiliar police officer visibly hesitated.
Bacha blocked the doorway, pressing him aggressively for answers:
"What's your name? What's your badge number? Who sent you to search the apartment? Do you have any search warrants?"
The unfamiliar policeman, overwhelmed by the questioning, awkwardly replied:
"This is official business, it has nothing to do with you... Alright, my inspection is over, I'm leaving now."
Before he finished speaking, he turned and left, even forgetting to ask the old lady at the door to open the elevator for him, which seemed to indicate that he was fleeing in panic.
Bacha chased after him, standing in the corridor and shouting:
"I've remembered what you look like. You'd better watch out!"
The old lady at the gate looked at Bacha with suspicion and uncertainty. He Changyi, who was hiding behind the door, came out and nodded silently to her.
The old lady at the door understood, and then went after the unfamiliar policeman.
"Please wait for me, you can't just leave like this—"
After everything settled down and the door was closed, He Changyi asked Bacha curiously:
How do you know the police chief's name?
Bacha proudly said:
“I’ve been working as a porter at the train station for three years now, and I know every single policeman here!”
To the police, these poor and humble porters were like indistinct NPCs in a game, not worth befriending, and not even worth glancing at.
For porters, on the stage of the train station, the police are the high and mighty law enforcers under the spotlight, who can easily change anyone's fate.
Just as sparrows on the savanna keep an eye on the lion pride's movements, porters also gossip about the police during their free time.
Who says that ordinary people are useless?
At least they know more about what's happening in every corner of the train station than the police.
Even if a police officer unfamiliar with the situation felt that Bacha looked somewhat familiar, the image of a well-dressed, successful businessman and a ragged porter was not immediately recognizable, no matter how vivid one's imagination was.
After hearing Bacha's explanation, He Changyi's eyes lit up.
She knew how to solve this problem completely.
Although this bluff, using the police chief's name to scare away the corrupt cops who came to collect protection money, there's no guarantee they won't realize their mistake and come back another day.
The unfamiliar policeman first cut off the power, trying to trick He Changyi into revealing himself; then he went door to door to check, his actions so practiced that it was hard not to suspect that this was not the first time he had done this.
The other person's huge hooked nose and vulture-like appearance reminded He Changyi of the middle-aged policeman she had met at the train station.
At that time, she was not yet fluent in Ethnic language and had to rely on Andrei to help her out.
But now, she has a better solution.
“Tell me everything about Director Brock, and I can waive your order.”
Bacha happily picked up the teacup with honey and took a big gulp.
"That will take a very long time!"
He Changyi took out sliced cake and Tula gingerbread from the refrigerator and placed them in front of Bacha.
"I have plenty of time."
After not seeing He Changyi at the train station for quite some time, Andrei was pleasantly surprised to find her while on patrol.
He Changyi did not go up to disturb him while he was on duty, but stood aside with a smile and waved.
Fortunately, it was time to change shifts soon. After handing over his shift to his colleagues, Andrei couldn't wait to walk toward He Changyi, but he slowed down when he was less than ten meters away from her.
Hi, long time no see.
He Changyi stepped forward without any hesitation, breaking the safe distance that Andrei had set for himself.
"Andrei, we need to find a quiet place to talk."
The two arrived at He Changyi's office.
"Andrei, I need your help. The police have come to my office demanding extra rent..."
After sitting down, without exchanging pleasantries, He Changyi got straight to the point and recounted what had happened some time ago.
Andrei's expression was one of resentment, making him look like an angry lion.
"This is illegal! Tell me who he is, and I will report him to my superiors. Mosk should not allow this to happen!"
He Changyi, however, said:
"No, this happens every day, to every merchant in Zhongguo, without exception. Even your superior, isn't he one of the beneficiaries?"
Andrei was stunned; he hadn't expected He Changyi to reveal the reality so bluntly.
She has never been so sharp and ruthless.
“Every day since I arrived in Oros, I have had to endure double extortion from the police and the mafia—which is why we met. You saved me twice, from the Hungarian mafia and from your colleagues.”
Andrei was silent for a moment, then said somewhat somberly:
"That's what I should do."
He paused, then said:
“I’m not trying to defend anyone, but… I know our country may be having some problems right now, but it won’t stay like this forever. It’s just sick, but it will get better someday.”
He Changyi was as hard-hearted as iron and ruthlessly exposed the bleak reality.
"This is not a minor cold; it is a cancer that has lasted for seventy years and has penetrated deep into the bone marrow. No one can cure it."
Andrei's cheeks showed signs of tension.
He Changyi, however, refused to let him off the hook and continued to administer strong medication.
“I’m just an ordinary Chinese businessman. I’m trying my best to bring high-quality and inexpensive goods to Russia and make it a win-win situation. But I can’t continue like this. If the corrupt police keep coming to harass me… I’m worried that if I refuse to pay protection money, I’ll end up in a concentration camp in Siberia one day.”
Andrei said urgently:
"That won't happen!"
He Changyi coldly replied:
“Andrei, you can save me once, twice, or three times, but you can’t save me every time, especially with those police officers who have the same power as you, whose actions can all be legal.”
"You know it, you know it perfectly well."
Andrei slumped his head, a strand of dull golden hair falling across his forehead.
He Changyi observed his reaction with cold indifference, almost like an outsider.
Andrei is an upright knight who upholds his principles, but in this sinful city, there are too many things he is powerless to do.
He Changyi laid bare the brutal reality before him, forcing him to confront it and make a decision.
She felt very sorry for all of this, but she had to do it.
In order to survive.
After a long silence, Andrei finally spoke, his voice hoarse.
"...What do you need me to do?"
He Changyi said softly:
"Could you introduce me to Director Brock?"
Andrei looked up at He Changyi as if he were seeing her for the first time.
She is not a lively forest deer, nor a cute troublemaker, nor a pitiful girl like Jong-kook.
—She is a female warrior who lives in reality and in the present moment.
"good."
After a long silence, Andrei spoke softly.
This sentence seemed to have exhausted all his strength, and he could barely look up at He Changyi anymore.
Andrei sat in a chair, the twilight streaming in from the window, outlining his profile, half in light and half in shadow, like a marble statue on the verge of collapse.
He Changyi got up and walked over, stopped beside him, paused for a moment, then leaned down and gently hugged him.
"sorry."
Her chin rested on the top of Andrei's head, and a gentle warmth emanated from where their bodies touched, along with her scent, like that of a pine forest after a snowfall.
Andrei closed his eyes.
Slowly, he reached out and wrapped his arms around He Changyi's waist.
Through Andrei's awkward introduction, He Changyi met Chief Blok of the railway station police station.
In a way, he was the king of this territory.
He Changyi learned from Bacha that Director Blok was particularly interested in Zhongguo culture and had visited Zhongguo many times under the pretext of official business, and had also bought a lot of cultural relics from the Friendship Store.
The first time He Changyi met Andrei was when he accompanied Director Blok on a business trip to Beijing as an attendant—a fig leaf for Director Blok's family trip.
It is said that to win over Director Bruck, a thick stack of green banknotes is one thing, but to satisfy him, a piece of Chinese cultural relic is another.
However, after collecting cultural relics from various dynasties in Liulichang, Director Blok's standards rose, and he no longer cared about ordinary cultural relics.
Ideally, the artifact itself should be unique, accompanied by a list of collectors who have passed it down through generations, or have a sufficiently intriguing provenance, such as a luminous pearl that a warlord pulled from the decaying mouth of an empress dowager after bombarding an imperial tomb.
He Changyi understood.
However, she doesn't actually plan to find any rare treasures in China. After all, these are treasures passed down from our ancestors. Even when faced with the Japanese invaders' swords, some people choose to hide the cultural relics rather than let them plunder them.
After returning to China, He Changyi first went to Panjiayuan, then took a business card from a pawnshop owner and took a train to a remote rural area in Zhongzhou.
This place is a mecca for counterfeiting cultural relics, with a long history of development and countless technical experts. Its rigorous craftsmanship can be described as the German factory of the counterfeiting industry.
Some seemingly simple old farmers can actually be called inheritors of the intangible cultural heritage of counterfeiting cultural relics.
Countless apprentices came seeking his guidance, bringing their own food and tuition fees, displaying the spirit of "standing in the snow outside the master's door," all hoping to be accepted into the master's fold.
Over time, this village became the "Whampoa Military Academy" of cultural relic forgery, cultivating countless high-quality forgery teams whose works shone on major treasure appraisal programs and were even once welcomed into museum collections.
Ancient unique techniques combined with modern advanced technology make it difficult for ordinary collectors to recognize, and even experts would find it hard to distinguish.
He Changyi bought an extravagantly shaped bronze ritual vessel in this village, which also came with a skull with osteoporosis.
Director Brock remained calm when he saw the bronze artifacts, but his eyes widened in surprise when he spotted the skull.
"This, this is..."
He Changyi said enthusiastically:
"Yes, you read that right, this is a bronze artifact used for sacrifices in ancient times! According to experts, this skeleton comes from a region a thousand kilometers away and was an unfortunate noble prisoner."
Cultural relics with provenance are too easy to expose, so He Changyi drew inspiration from later tomb raiding novels and created a sufficiently exciting story.
Starting with the tomb raiders of the Cao Wei dynasty, and then during World War II, a father and son used a Luoyang shovel to search for treasure, discovering a sacrificial site from 3,000 years ago amidst gunfire.
A narrow, deep tunnel, barely wide enough for one person to pass through, was lowered down. The son, with a rope tied around his waist, was lowered down, while the father was tied with the other end of the rope.
Director Brock interrupted He Changyi.
"I know, this is to prevent our companions on the surface from getting lost in the huge tomb... My God, it's unimaginable how the people of Zhongguo built such a complex and magnificent underground project during their slave society!"
He Changyi's smile remained unchanged as she flattered him, echoing his words:
"Director Blok, you are truly the most knowledgeable person I have ever met in Eurasia! You know, many people in China have never even heard of these things, yet you know them like a historian. It is truly admirable."
Andrei, standing to the side, glanced at He Changyi with mixed feelings.
It was as if he was getting to know this woman all over again.
Director Blok, pleased with the flattery, pointed to the bronze artifacts and said:
“I have many more large ones like this, but this is the first time I’ve seen one containing sacrificial offerings. I’m very curious about your ancient history. As the infancy of civilization, it was so ferocious and bloody, like any child who pours boiling water on an anthill.”
He Changyi said calmly:
"Perhaps this is another side of humanity: no matter how advanced civilization becomes, it cannot eliminate the inherent cruelty. Maybe that's why we became the victors of evolution, tasting the flavors of all living things from the Iron Throne."
Chief Bruck laughed:
"I like what you say! Yes, what a cruel yet wonderful reality! Only the ruthless can achieve ultimate victory!"
Chief Broke and Ho Chang-yi had a very pleasant conversation. When Ho Chang-yi subtly expressed his desire to pay protection money to the police station, rather than to any particular corrupt cop, Chief Broke waved his hand and agreed without hesitation.
Of course, the protection fee was also quite substantial.
In return, He Changyi and her subordinates and clients do not need to worry about being extorted at the train station.
He Changyi was a guest of honor of the king, and her vassals were also able to enjoy the glory she brought.
As the two were taking their leave, Director Blok said to Andrei meaningfully:
“Andrei, I originally thought you would stick to those useless and outdated things, but thankfully you finally came to your senses. Join us, you won't regret it.”
Andrei remained silent.
He suddenly felt a warmth in his hand; it was He Changyi holding his hand.
It was as if it was supporting him, preventing him from falling into a dark abyss.
Andrei gripped He Changyi's hand tightly, as if venting something, but just as he was about to hurt her, he loosened his grip as if giving up.
But in the end, he still held her hand.
Director Brock burst into laughter upon seeing this.
"Young people, what a beautiful love! May the Lord bless you!"
-----------------------
Author's note: He Changyi: But God will not bless you.
Andrei: I second that.
Continue read on readnovelmtl.com