Far away in Moscow

Chapter 5 Moscow

A week after leaving BJ, the train finally arrived in Moscow on Sunday afternoon.

"It's here, but it's over, it's been a long time!" Li Baoqing kept looking in the direction of the train through the window, whispering excitedly.

The weather is a bit gloomy, but not as cold as expected.The three of them got off the train, dragging their large and small luggage, and saw a big Chinese man wearing glasses on the platform. Received from Feifei and the other three, Ma Ji".

"Maji" is the Russian abbreviated pronunciation of Moscow Automobile Highway Institute.Yu Feifei walked forward quickly: "Hi, I'm Yu Feifei. Are you Brother Yan?"

"Yes, I'm Yan Zhiwen." The big man nodded in a friendly manner speaking Shandong-style Mandarin.

Li Baoqing stretched out his hands and moved over: "Hello, Brother Yan, my name is Li Baoqing."

Yan Zhiwen shook hands with Li Baoqing, helped them get their luggage out of the car, and then looked at Hu Yi who got out of the car with interest, and lowered his voice a few degrees: "Then you...you are Hu Yi?"

"Yes, I'm Hu Yi."

"Oh, hehe, hello." Yan Zhiwen smiled lightly.

Hu Yi was taken aback for a moment, feeling that his smile was weird, and felt a little puzzled in his heart.Yan Zhiwen didn't say anything, picked up the big suitcase next to Yu Feifei, and waved: "Let's go, the car is outside."

Like many boys of the same age, Hu Yi had a faint yearning for the Soviet Union since he was a child. In the hearts of young people of that era, the Soviet Union was a symbol of strength and strength.They may not be able to tell what kind of profound impact the upheaval in the Soviet Union and the East ten years ago had on the world, but they naturally transferred a little longing for the red Soviet Union to Russia.However, when they set foot on the land of Moscow in person, the scene in front of them was slightly different from their expectations.

"This is the urban area? It doesn't look like it's doing well." Li Baoqing pouted and looked at the dilapidated Iveco in front of him, and then looked back at the train station he had just stepped out of: "This train station is much smaller than BJ Station No, it’s not as big as the train station in our hometown.”

Yan Zhiwen helped the three of them load their luggage into the car, and replied casually: "There are a total of nine train stations in Moscow, and this one is indeed relatively small."

"What?! Nine?" Li Baoqing stared: "Is there money to burn it? Why build so many train stations?"

"Moscow's urban area is large, so it's more convenient to have more stations." Yan Zhiwen slipped into the co-pilot's seat, said something in Russian to the driver, and then turned his head and said: "In addition to the railway station, Moscow also has three airports."

Li Baoqing stuck out his tongue: "Nine train stations, three airports, be good! It's an international metropolis, isn't Moscow bigger than BJ?"

"Of course, much bigger than BJ."

At that time, the fourth ring road of BJ City had not yet been built, and there were only two subway lines. Although it was a first-class megacity in China, its urban area was indeed much smaller than that of Moscow.Li Baoqing couldn't imagine the scale of the city in his mind for a while, and he was stunned and didn't continue.

Looking back, Yu Feifei's body was stiff, her face was pale, her hands were tightly grasping the edge of the seat, Li Baoqing hurriedly asked with concern: "Feifei, what's wrong? Are you uncomfortable?"

"No." Yu Feifei forced a smile and said in a low voice, "The driver drove too hard, I'm a little scared."

When she said this, the other two immediately felt the same.The bearded driver slammed on the brakes, slammed on the floor, and slammed the horn from time to time to change lanes in an emergency. He turned the Iveco into a frightened wild donkey, screaming strangely all the way. in traffic.

"The speed of life and death? Did the driver drink too much?" Li Baoqing also became nervous.

Yan Zhiwen smiled indifferently: "Russians drive like this, and you will get used to it in the future."

Li Baoqing looked out the window, and sure enough other vehicles on the road were also of the same kind, and the scene on the whole road was like ten thousand donkeys galloping.He looked at it for a while, then said, "Brother Yan, why do the cars on Moscow streets look so old, like old movies."

"Yes, almost everyone here has a car, but most of them are old models of the 80s and [-]s. Russians are poor and can't afford new cars, and they can drive old cars after maintenance."

Hu Yi, who had been silent all this time, leaned forward: "I heard that the Moscow subway is very developed, isn't it?"

"That's right. Moscow started building subways before the Second World War. Now there are ten lines in total, more than 200 stations, extending in all directions, which is very convenient. And these subway stations are beautifully repaired. You will definitely take them often when you go out in the future." .”

The three of them had never taken the subway before, and when they heard Yan Zhiwen's introduction, they couldn't help feeling a little more yearning in their hearts.Hu Yi then asked: "Then is our school close to the subway station?"

"It's very close. The main building of the school is next to the <Airport> station on the green line of the subway, but it's still some distance away from our dormitory."

The two pestered Yan Zhiwen to ask questions, and Yan Zhiwen patiently answered them one by one.But after all, he had just sat on the train for seven days, and the excitement of arriving in a foreign country for the first time was quickly worn away by the fatigue of the journey. Li Baoqing closed his eyelids sleepily, and quickly fell asleep with his head down.

The driver turned on the stereo, and the broken horn on the car played majestic Russian songs.The male voice is thick and the drums are exciting. Although I can't understand what the lyrics are singing, the infectious melody is still very encouraging.

Hu Yi looked out of the car anxiously. Lada and Volga, who had square shells and round eyes, were scurrying all over the wide road. On both sides of the road, neat matchbox buildings passed quickly. European classical buildings and statues are scattered among them.The imprint of the rough industrial age and the elegant mid-century humanistic atmosphere are abruptly mixed together. The majestic and dilapidated scene in front of you is actually in harmony with the singing echoing in the car.

This is Moscow, where I will live for a long time.Hu Yi yawned and fell into a drowsy sleep, with a song he couldn't understand still lingering in his ears:
Experienced the baptism of war again and again

The loud bell still rings through the sky

The capital Moscow will always stand tall

The river of Russia will not stop

Moscow, the bells ring everywhere

Moscow, the dome shines with gold
Moscow, oh, countless majestic statues

Moscow, witness the dream of the times

……

"Wake up, we're here." Yu Feifei woke up Hu Yi after sleeping for some time.

The three unloaded their luggage from the car and stood in an open space waiting for Yan Zhiwen to pay the driver.The open space is surrounded by brick walls and iron fences, and inside the walls are two high-rise residential buildings, which should be their dormitories.

Li Baoqing stared at a yellow-skinned young man at the door of the building for a long time, and asked in a low voice: "Hey, look, is that Chinese?"

(End of this chapter)