Far away in Moscow

Chapter 50: Belt Tightening

With Li Baoqing's one hundred dollars at the bottom, the three of them have no problem eating for the time being.But roughly speaking, daily expenses per person need to be controlled within [-] rubles, and the quality in all aspects will inevitably decline like a cliff.

I can no longer buy beer and drinks, and drink tap water instead; I can’t quit smoking, but I have changed from Marlboro, which costs more than [-] rubles, to local products, which cost less than ten rubles, and the quantity has to be controlled. To carry forward the spirit of hard work and simplicity, pick up a cigarette butt from the ashtray and temporarily deal with a few puffs.

Naturally, they can’t pursue too much taste and variety in their meals. In their eyes, the high-quality and cheap school cafeteria has become a black shop that slaughters people, and they dare not bother with the frequented Arabic restaurant downstairs.Today, the three meals a day are extremely monotonous. Tasteless white bread is the staple food, sour and hard brown bread is used for seasoning, and an egg in instant noodles can improve life.

Li Baoqing complained endlessly. He started to practice track and field in elementary school, and his food was always good. Now he doesn't see any meat, his nutritional level has dropped significantly, and he has lost a lot of weight in a few days.In desperation, I can only work hard on cheap eggs. Boiled eggs, fried eggs, scrambled eggs, and fried bread wrapped in eggs are barely worthy of my stomach.

Since Hu Yi was in high school, he was used to the days when he was hungry and full, and he didn't care much about the quality of the food.But at the age of [-], when the appetite was strong, the clear soup and water that the young man ate every day was unbearable after all. He tossed and turned in bed in the middle of the night, unable to fall asleep, and his stomach growled.But when I was eating, I saw that the two kinds of bread were hard to swallow, so I bought a variety of cheap table sauces and arranged them in a row on the table to adjust the meal in turn, so that the bread and instant noodles for each meal seemed not so hard to swallow.

In contrast, Zhou Dali seemed the calmest. He pursued the policy that if you have vinegar, you are a mother. If you are tired of eating bread, you can dip it in vinegar. If you are tired of eating instant noodles, you can mix it with vinegar. , Later, he simply went to the market and bought a big can of super delicious pickles to serve with his meal. Anyway, no matter what, as long as it has a little sour taste, he can eat it with relish.Of course, even though he seemed to have no complaints on the surface, in fact he was just enjoying himself while suffering.

A week passed like this, and the three of them were so depressed that they walked listlessly and spoke weakly. When they passed by the Arabic restaurant after school every day, their eyes glowed green, and they wanted to rush in to grab a few Turkish barbecues and escape.When Hu Yi and Li Baoqing couldn't bear it anymore, they planned to go to Maji to find acquaintances to borrow some money, but they had to pay back after all, thinking that there would still be big holes to mend in the future, so they had to forcefully give up the idea and continue to live on a budget.

Fortunately, they have now recovered from the panic when they lost their money, and after reorganizing the remaining rubles, they found that it is not necessary to live so hard, at least buy some vegetables to eat together every now and then. questionable.Although it is limited to cheap things such as potatoes, carrots, onions and cabbages, no matter how you combine them, you can’t eat new tricks, but at least there are many more choices.

Yu Feifei quickly learned of their predicament, but unfortunately she was not rich enough to give much help, so she could only occasionally buy a few chicken legs and send them to the three poor people for tooth-beating sacrifices.The three of them were a little embarrassed, but their mouths were extremely honest. Ha Lazi flowed from cutting the meat to cleaning the pot, and every time they had to wipe the bottom of the pot with bread before giving up.

Although such a life of sobriety and asceticism is poor, it virtually makes them spend a lot of time on their studies.It just so happened that the weather was freezing again, the three of them lived at [-]:[-] and [-]:[-] in the dormitory and school, and kept their ears to themselves and only read Russian books.

In the final exam in late January, Li Baoqing and Zhou Dali both passed the exam smoothly, and Hu Yi scored all [-] points in the exam for the first time.He couldn't wait to call home to announce the good news, and his excitement was beyond words.The mother was overjoyed to hear that her son was so competitive, and the father even decided on the spot to prepare an extra three hundred dollars for him.

The exams are over, and the students who go home for the Chinese New Year set off one after another.Before leaving, Yu Feifei used the remaining rubles to buy two bottles of Laoganma and a few packs of mustard for Hu Yi and Li Baoqing. The excited two cheered.Li Baoqing held the old godmother with tears in his eyes and sang: "Only a godmother is good in the world~ A godmother's child is like a treasure~ Leave the chili peppers from a godmother~ Nothing tastes good!"

There is a saying in the past: It is better to give up two acres of land than to give up a cigarette butt.But at that time, the poor students who were far away from their hometowns often chanted, "I would rather give up two acres of land than Tao Huabi".In the days of a foreign country, the old godmother symbolizes the taste of hometown. It can be served with rice, noodles, bread, and stir-fried vegetables. The aunt is the most familiar stranger in the minds of the students.

After Zhou Dali returned to China, the daily expenses of the two were a little relaxed.Now there are old godmothers and mustard vegetables sitting at the dining table, Hu Yi and Li Baoqing can enjoy everything they eat, and their eating conditions have been greatly improved.The appetite was temporarily satisfied, and the two began to think about part-time jobs again.They have no concept of work, and the only way they can think of is to ask the old students.

Yan Zhiwen couldn't get through on the phone, probably because he had returned to China.But Lu Tao still stayed in Moscow. Hearing Hu Yi talk about looking for a job, Lu Tao said with a smile: "It's almost Chinese New Year, what kind of job are you looking for? It just so happens that Xu Qiang came to Maji to celebrate New Year's Eve on the evening of New Year's Eve, and you all come together Let's eat New Year's Eve dinner!"

The winter vacation of Russian universities is shorter, usually only about two to three weeks.The Lunar New Year falls in mid-February this year, and the next semester has already started for a week, and Chinese people are preparing to celebrate the New Year.Fortunately, the teachers fully understand and respect the customs and traditions of various countries, and the school also has unwritten rules that Chinese students in school do not have to go to class during the Spring Festival, and the return date of returnees can also be postponed appropriately.

At this time, Zhou Dali and Yu Feifei were still in the country. Hu and Li were counting the remaining rubles and kopecks in their hands every day. Thao readily accepted the invitation.But both of them are people who want to save face, no matter how tight they are, they can't eat empty-handed, so they went to the store to buy a bottle of the cheapest vodka, and came to Maji in the afternoon of New Year's Eve.

Both Yan Zhiwen and Peng Song had returned to China, and only Lu Tao, Xu Qiang and a few other students had the New Year's Eve dinner together.Lu Tao has been promoted to the third grade, and Xu Qiang is now working for the boss while busy with himself and the domestic foreign trade business.The big guys haven't seen each other for a long time, so there was a lively exchange of greetings.

The New Year’s Eve dinner was very rich, the table was full of chicken, beef, fish and shrimp, and there was no shortage of frying, frying, frying and deep-frying. Hu Yi and Li Baoqing tried to show some restraint, but they had to eat bread and instant noodles for a long time, and the big fish and meat in front of them would inevitably burst into water .The two ate Haisai like beggars scrambling to eat the overlord's meal. They didn't have time to talk about the theft some time ago until they hiccupped.

"There is such a thing?" Xu Qiang frowned slightly: "Is life okay now? Shall I lend you some money first?"

"No, no, Feifei will bring me money in a few days." Hu Yi repeatedly waved his hands: "For the time being, we can make do with it, but there are still a lot of holes to mend in the future, so we want to find a job and earn some money. money."

Xu Qiang and Lu Tao looked at each other and said with a smile: "Are you still in the preparatory course? How do you speak Russian? What kind of job are you going to look for?"

"Russian is barely okay, and we don't know how to do other things. I guess we can only go to the market to do chores or something. But the market is too time-dependent, and I'm afraid of delaying class." Hu Yi rubbed his ears embarrassedly: "Strong Brother Tao, you two know a lot of people, can you help us find a job?"

"That's right, the market is not suitable. If you don't want to delay the class, it's best to be a tour guide for tour groups occasionally, or a temporary translator for domestic companies participating in exhibitions. The schedule is relatively flexible." Xu Qiang said with some hesitation. : "But these jobs have certain requirements for Russian proficiency, are you two okay?"

"It's... not very clear, let's try it." Hu Yi didn't know what to do.Li Baoqing asked, "Do you make a lot of money?"

"Not a lot. Tour guides can often earn some tips. But this is a temporary job. It depends on your ability. If you do a good job, you will naturally have the opportunity to come to your door. If you don't do it well, others will I won’t be looking for you anymore. Besides, for tourism and exhibitions, summer is the peak season, and there are more opportunities. It’s freezing and snowy right now, so no one comes to this ghostly place.”

"I'm afraid that won't work." Hu Yi said with a wry smile: "It's probably not enough to find this kind of odd job in summer. It's better to be able to do it now, be more stable, and try not to delay the work in class."

"Be more stable and not delay class..." Xu Qiang crossed his arms and pondered for a while: "Not yet."

Hu Yi and Li Baoqing were slightly disappointed and nodded silently.Everyone poured wine and drank a glass, and Lu Tao suddenly said, "Old Xu, didn't you say that Huanghai Hotel wants to recruit people a few days ago?"

"Huh? Huang Hai?" Xu Qiang was stunned for a moment, then shook his head and said with a smile, "The working hours are suitable, but I'm too tired, and I don't make much money."

"We're not afraid!" Li Baoqing rushed to say, "It's fine if you can earn money, and it's nothing to be tired!"

"Yes," Hu Yi followed suit: "There are only blessings that cannot be enjoyed, and there are no sins that cannot be endured."

Xu Qiang pondered for a while: "Well, it's actually not such a hard job. When I first arrived in Moscow, I worked part-time at the Yellow Sea Restaurant. I knew the Chinese chef there very well and had a good relationship with the boss. A few days ago, the chef Ask me to help you find two chopping boards, but I haven't come across the right ones yet, so if you want to, go and have a try."

"What? What board?"

"The chopping board is the one who chops vegetables in the back kitchen, and may occasionally do other chores." Xu Qiang explained: "For hard work, you basically don't need to speak Russian. The working hours are from [-]:[-] pm to [-]:[-] pm, [-] per month. U.S. dollars. It won’t delay the class, but it’s hard work, are you interested?”

"Okay! Isn't it easy to cut vegetables?" Hu Yi raised his eyebrows happily.

"Two hundred?" Li Baoqing pursed his lips unwillingly: "Then... that's fine too."

(End of this chapter)