My hometown is far away in Moscow.

017 2 rubles

Hu Yi was taken aback and stood obediently in place. The short policeman hesitated for a moment, then turned to look at his tall colleague beside him. Seeing that the colleague was also looking at him encouragingly, he mustered his courage and gave Hu Yi a shy smile: "Could you... give me twenty rubles?"

"What? What did you say?" Hu Yi blinked, thinking he had misheard. The policeman in front of him looked young, with a clean-shaven square face and a hint of boyishness in his eyes. At about 1.75 meters tall, he wasn't too short, but he appeared rather small among the generally tall Russians. The peaked cap of Russian policemen was already exceptionally large, and it looked rather incongruous and comical on his head.

"I mean, could you give me twenty rubles? I'd like to buy a bottle of beer," the short policeman repeated slowly, enunciating each word.

Hu Yi still couldn't believe his ears. He had heard Yan Zhiwen mention before that Russian police would ask foreigners for money, but he always thought it was just a way to extort bribes after finding something to hold against them. He never expected that in broad daylight, in the middle of a bustling tourist street called Arbat, a policeman would actually reach out to him for money, and so directly, so blatantly, so without any reason.

Hu Yi grew up in a traditional family that placed great emphasis on moral character, and most of his elders were strict self-disciplined revolutionary soldiers. Although he had become somewhat irresponsible and cynical during his rebellious and restless adolescence, the earnest teachings he received in his childhood were deeply ingrained in his heart.

Therefore, in his naive mind, the police were trustworthy and respectable; they were supposed to be guardians of the citizens, protecting the innocent and helping the needy; upright and fearless enforcers of the law. From childhood to adulthood, he was the only one who had ever found money and handed it over to the police; he had never heard of a policeman shamelessly asking someone for money.

Hu Yi's lips twitched slightly as he looked directly into the short policeman's eyes, a disdainful smile on his face. Although twenty rubles didn't seem like much to him, this behavior, which tarnished the reputation of the police, made him feel extremely uncomfortable, very annoyed, and utterly contemptible.

However, this was, after all, a foreign land. Perhaps the customs were different, or maybe the police weren't that perceptive? Besides, it's always a little embarrassing to refuse someone to their face. Hu Yi put away his smile, pointed to his ear with a cold face, and deliberately stammered, "I, I, don't, understand."

Li Baoqing quickly leaned close to his ear and said, "He said to give him twenty rubles, and I understood everything."

"I know. Are you an idiot?!" Hu Yi rolled his eyes at him, then walked past the policeman and continued walking forward.

The short policeman, however, refused to give up easily. Maintaining a half-meter distance from Hu Yi with a forced smile, he backed away, muttering incessantly, "Friend, don't be like that. I only need twenty rubles, not much. You see, I just want a beer, I'm so thirsty..."

Hu Yi could only barely understand those few sentences; the rest he truly didn't comprehend. Seeing him pestering him like a persistent salesman, he felt both annoyed and helpless, unsure how to deal with him. He stopped and said in English, "What are you talking about? I've only been in Moscow a short time and don't understand Russian, okay?"

"OK, OK!" The policeman blinked, straightened his back, took a moment to gather his breath, and tried to squeeze out a few English words: "I... um... you... ruble..."

"What?" Hu Yi feigned ignorance and frowned. The policeman looked slightly embarrassed, then turned and saw a souvenir stall a few meters away. He gestured for Hu Yi to wait, then jogged over and whispered a few words to the female stall owner.

The woman selling souvenirs, clearly acquainted with the police, chuckled a few times and called out to Hu Yi from afar in heavily accented Russian English, "He said, please give him twenty rubles to buy beer!"

Hu Yi hadn't expected him to be so persistent, going so far as to hire a translator for twenty rubles, not even caring if the woman laughed at him. Now he couldn't pretend he didn't understand English anymore, so he could only smile and shrug, "I have no money."

The short policeman understood what he meant and immediately looked disappointed. He tilted his head to the side indignantly and said, "Tch, you're really not good enough." His tone suggested that he was complaining about Hu Yi's stinginess, and also seemed to be dissatisfied with not getting the money.

Seeing the policeman constantly begging and pleading, Hu Yi's initial dislike for him lessened somewhat. Turning his head to look behind him, he saw Peng Song still holding a magazine at the bookstall, his head almost buried in it, while the bookstall owner rested his chin on his hand, looking helpless.

Hu Yi grinned mischievously, put his arm around the short policeman's shoulder, and gestured towards Peng Song with his chin: "Look, that fat guy has money. Go ask him for it, he'll definitely give it to you."

The shorter man looked at him with a skeptical expression, hesitating to move. Just then, Lu Tao strode over from behind and patted Hu Yi on the back: "What's wrong? Are you alright?"

"It's nothing, this policeman just asked me for money to buy alcohol." Hu Yi smiled and briefly recounted what had just happened.

Lu Tao glanced at the policeman sideways and asked, "Really? How much does he want?"

"Twenty rubles."

The short policeman couldn't understand what the two were saying, but judging from their expressions, he guessed that Hu Yi hadn't said anything nice, so he awkwardly turned to leave. Lu Tao, however, called out to him, took twenty rubles from his pocket, and stuffed them into his hand.

The policeman, clutching the money, stood frozen in place, glancing furtively at Hu Yi, then smiling awkwardly at Lu Tao. Lu Tao patted his arm and said casually, "Friend, don't be shy. You've had a hard day on duty, go grab a beer and relax."

The short policeman was overjoyed, shaking Lu Tao's hand and thanking him repeatedly. He then glanced gratefully at Hu Yi before jogging towards his taller partner. Hu Yi and Li Baoqing were quite surprised: "Brother Tao, what are you doing? Why are you giving him money?"

As Lu Tao watched the two policemen rush into the roadside shop, he turned back and replied, "Russians still have some of the social traditions from the former Soviet Union in their minds. Everyone is a comrade-in-arms, so it's common to ask strangers for cigarettes or alcohol on the street. Twenty rubles is just the price of a bottle of beer, not much."

"Comrade" is Russian for "comrade." Hu Yichong rolled his eyes: "It's not much, and I don't care about the twenty rubles. I just can't stand this kind of behavior. I'm not their comrade, I can't tolerate their bad habits."

Lu Tao smiled tolerantly: "These policemen aren't greedy, they're just forced by life to earn some extra money. Judging from his age, he's not much older than you, he's probably a junior officer who just started working. His basic monthly salary is only about fifty dollars, which is really not enough to live on."

"Fifty US dollars?!" Hu Yi and Li Baoqing exclaimed in unison, "No way, that's less than 1,400 rubles... 400 yuan? That's too little!"

Lu Tao nodded: "The salary level in Moscow in recent years has not kept pace with the price level. Your preparatory Russian language teachers are paid less than these junior police officers, only nine hundred rubles a month."

"My God, nine hundred rubles." Li Baoqing muttered, looking at Hu Yi's forehead. "What can you do with that little bit of money? A haircut and a watermelon, and it'll be gone in no time. How are we supposed to live?"

"It is indeed too little. Fortunately, the government will guarantee the prices of basic necessities such as bread and milk, so residents will not have a problem with food and clothing. However, your Russian language teachers still have to teach part-time at several schools at the same time in order to live a relatively decent life. As for the police, those with authority can make a living through illicit means, while these low-ranking patrol officers can only resort to extortion on the streets."

Hearing this, Hu Yi felt a little uncomfortable, realizing that his behavior just now seemed a bit stingy. Lu Tao saw through his thoughts and chuckled, "You're right not to give him money. They're all poor students; where would they get spare money to help others? I never paid any attention to them before, but now I've earned some money from part-time jobs, and I'm not as tight on money as before. Seeing him patrolling in this cold weather, it must be tough for him, so consider it a treat for him to have a drink."

Hu Yi felt slightly relieved. He saw from afar that two policemen, one tall and one short, had already walked out of the store, taken off their peaked caps, and were standing at a high table outside the store, sipping beer and enjoying their short break.

The short policeman glanced over and his eyes met Hu Yi's. He quickly smiled and waved the bottle in his hand. The afternoon sun shone directly on his face, making him squint slightly. His bright smile appeared simple and shy in the sunlight, making him look exactly like a young boy who hadn't quite lost his childishness.

A big boy? Hu Yi was taken aback, realizing that this was the first time he had treated a policeman as someone his own age. Perhaps it was because the other person was indeed too young, or perhaps it was because he himself had unknowingly grown up.

He gave the shorter policeman a slight smirk, lit a cigarette, and listened thoughtfully as Lu Tao recounted his fascinating experiences at the market to Li Baoqing. The three men stood there chatting idly until Yan Zhiwen and the others gradually gathered, then they regrouped and continued on their way.

We wandered around the city center until after 4 p.m. before starting to head back. It was already dark when we got off the subway. Everyone had a great time and was exhausted, so we dragged our scattered group back to the dormitory one by one.

Li Baoqing, his steps heavy, lagged behind and weakly complained to Hu Yi, "Oh my god, I'm so cold and hungry, what should we eat when we get back?"

"I'm not hungry. I haven't even digested what I ate in Albat this morning," Hu Yi said casually. "Who told you not to eat?"

"I wasn't hungry then," Li Baoqing muttered with a long face. "Now I'm hungry, let's go downstairs and buy something to eat."

The two bought some instant noodles, eggs, and milk downstairs in the dormitory. Just as they stepped out of the store, they suddenly saw the thick windproof curtain at the dormitory entrance lifted, and two men with bloodied heads stumbled in.