Far away in Moscow

Chapter 106
The Xiang family lives in a large residential area built in the 80s, with three bedrooms and one living room, and each room is not too big, just enough for a family of four to live in.The ample space in the home is used to store tobacco and alcohol, so the interior appears cramped.

Xiangdong's parents have average education levels, but they attach great importance to children's education, and they also have relatively open-minded attitudes and ideas.After the two were laid off from the state-owned non-staple food factory, they began to save money on food and expenses, and they wanted to save money for their son to go to college.

Because of this, the family has not renovated the house since they moved in.The electrical appliances and furniture are also very old. The only big purchase in recent years is the computer that Xiangdong bought for him when he was in high school.

Later, Xiangdong failed the college entrance examination, and after half a year of studying at a private university, he dropped out of school to find his own way out. Although it made his parents feel worried, it also slightly eased the family's financial situation.

The couple used to worry about the family's financial situation and the difficulty of ensuring that their children went to school at the same time, but now that their son's tuition fees have been saved, and they have made some money in the tobacco and alcohol business in the past two years, they made up their minds to send Xiangnan abroad.

As one of Xiangdong's few good friends in high school, Hu Yi used to come to Xiang's house to play on weekends and holidays.Back then, Hu Yi was an unscrupulous and cold-faced bad boy. Every time he came to the house, he just yelled "Uncle and Aunt" expressionlessly, and then went into Xiangdong's room to play computer games with him.

At that time, Xiangjia's Tobacco Hotel had just opened, and the couple were new to this industry. They were exhausted by all kinds of trivial matters all day long, and often had no time to take care of their children.If Xiang's mother had free time, she would come back and cook a sumptuous lunch for the three children, and if she really couldn't take care of it, she had to save some money for them to settle on their own.

The young Hu Yi didn't realize Xiang's family's financial difficulties, but felt that his uncles and aunts were very kind and warm to him, and they were much easier to get along with than his parents, so he often stayed at Xiang's family for a whole day.

Tired of playing on the computer, the two brothers took Xiang Nan, who had just entered junior high school, out to play wildly.Climbing the walls of the houses in the community, riding bicycles around the streets and alleys, exploring untouched mountains, rolling up their trousers to fight water by the reservoir, sitting under the elevated road that has not yet been opened to traffic, and talking about topics that they think are profound. The three of them talked about everything during those days, and their relationship was once very close.

Later, in the third year of high school, Xiangdong's parents began to worry about their son's studies, and gradually became stricter with him. Since then, Hu Yi has never been to their house again.Afterwards, at school, he could occasionally hang out with Xiang Dong, but rarely saw Xiang Nan.

A few years passed, and now they came again. The two elderly people looked a little rich, with some wrinkles on their foreheads and eyes, but they were as friendly and easy-going as ever when they saw Hu Yi, just like treating their own children.

Thinking of his own ignorance and rudeness in the past, Hu Yi felt that he owed the elders a lot, and held their hands to ask for their warmth.The five people sat around the living room talking and laughing happily, passing cigarettes one by one to the east, pouring cups of tea to Nan, treating Hu Yi like an elder brother who had been away from home for many years.

"I've grown up, I've grown up at first sight, I'm much more mature than when I was a child." Xiang Dong's father sighed, "Living in a foreign country is quite a training, isn't it?"

"Yes, when you are away from home, you have to learn to face some things by yourself." Hu Yi smiled and glanced at Xiang Nan: "But don't worry, if Nan Nan goes, I will try my best to take good care of her."

"With your words, we can feel at ease. But we can't trouble you all the time, kid, you have to practice while you are young, and it's okay to suffer a little bit and stumble."

Xiang father waved his hand lightly, then added after a pause: "Big and important things, you should help me out. Let her beat and beat more for insignificant things. She sings well and doesn't go through wind and rain. Why do you see a rainbow?"

Xiang Nan made a face at his father, and everyone laughed, and then began to discuss choosing a school for Xiang Nan.

Although the Xiang family's tobacco and alcohol business has improved greatly compared with before, it is still a small business after all.Moreover, a large amount of funds was spent on inventory turnover, and the actual amount of money that could be spent was not too much. It was still a bit difficult for Xiang Nan to go to a world-renowned university like Moscow University.

In this way, there is actually not much room for choice.The two elders tended to let their daughter go to Friendship University with Hu Yi, and Hu Yi also agreed. Firstly, Youda’s reputation and conditions are not bad, and secondly, they are in the same school, so it is more convenient to take care of them.What's more, going to other schools requires another agency, but going to Youda is relatively simple, and I can find a way to help her with it.

The plan has been decided, and Hu Yi explained the various precautions in detail, and told them to start applying for passports, purchasing items, and exchanging US dollars.Xiang Nan stared at her round eyes and asked, "Brother Hu Yi, when did you start teaching me Russian?"

"Learn Russian?" Hu Yi was a little taken aback: "I said it's okay, but I'm not very good at teaching others. Don't worry, wait until I find you a good teacher."

The good teacher Hu Yi found for Xiang Nan was Yu Feifei.She returned to China a few days later than Hu Yi. Now she just met a group of relatives and friends. She has a lot of free time every day. After receiving the invitation, she readily agreed. The next day, she went to Xinhua Bookstore to help Xiang Nan choose a set of elementary Russian textbooks. She was meticulous. taught students.

Hu Yi was not idle either. When he got home that day, he contacted Wang Shen and asked him to make an invitation letter for Xiang Nan.Wang Shen used to help Sixth Brother with intermediary business in the past, and he was very familiar with the people in charge of recruiting students at the school, and he was already familiar with the whole process, so he sent a list of materials.

For a period of time thereafter, Hu Yi helped Xiang Nan sort out the application materials, and Yu Feifei taught Xiang Nan the basics of Russian. The three of them often met and occasionally went shopping together.Xiang Nan is a very polite child. He had a cheerful personality when he was a child, but after entering middle school, he was a little dull due to heavy schoolwork, so he became very bookish.

Now that she is about to leave her hometown to start a new life, the innocence in the little girl's bones is revealed again. While learning Russian, she often pesters Yu Feifei to ask anecdotes about Moscow, and she calls her "Sister Feifei" very kindly.The two quickly became good friends, getting along like sisters together.

After all the materials were prepared and Wang Shen completed all the admission procedures in Moscow, Yu Feifei's introductory Russian teaching also came to an end.Like his elder brother, Xiang Nan is not very smart, but he studies very seriously. In a few weeks, he has basically mastered the Russian alphabet, and also learned a few daily words and phrases.

The following courses are still more efficient to learn in class.Hu Yi asked Xiang Nan to use the rest of the holiday to spend time with his family and to consolidate what he had learned.At this moment, Li Baoqing finally came back from Moscow.

(End of this chapter)