aircannonsinc 049 Difficult to talk about
049 Difficult to talk about
"Can he not scold me? My dad says I'm a good-for-nothing. He's raised me to this age and I've never given him a moment's peace. I'm twenty years old and I can't make money, I just lose it. I'm completely useless." Zhou Dali said with lingering fear, "Luckily we were far apart, otherwise he would have wanted to crawl out of the phone line and kick me."
Li Baoqing stuck out his tongue: "Your dad is pretty impressive too."
"That's just how my dad is, he has absolutely no manners." Zhou Dali made a face in annoyance: "It's one thing for him to scold me, but he also scolded the school. He said this place is too chaotic and told me to bring more money back from China so I can rent a better place to live."
Hu Yi interjected, "Rent a decent place? It'd cost at least... three hundred dollars a month, right?"
Zhou Dali shook his head: "Hey, who cares? It's not like I'm paying for it myself. As long as he doesn't think it's expensive, that's fine."
"Wow, three hundred a month for rent!" Li Baoqing grinned at Zhou Dali. "Dali, your family must be pretty rich, right? Is your dad a big boss?"
"Pah, he doesn't have that ability. He's just an office worker in a public institution. A few years ago, he partnered with a friend to run a coal washing plant, which earned him some extra money, but he wouldn't dare say he's rich." Zhou Dali waved his hands repeatedly: "Those who are really rich send their children to the United States and Canada. Why would they come to a lousy place like this?"
「那也不赖，那也不赖。丢了三千多美元，反而要多给你钱让你出去租房。」李宝庆啧啧连声：「换成我肯定要被老爸揍个半死。」
"The money was stolen by a thief, not something we lost ourselves, so how can you blame us? The adults will just scold us a bit to vent their anger. What father doesn't love his son?" Zhou Dali encouraged with a smile, "Hurry up and make a call, otherwise your family will be going to bed soon. I'll go buy some instant noodles, and we can have a simple meal for tonight."
Li Baoqing hesitated for a moment, took off the receiver and held it in his hand, then hung it back up. He did this several times before finally handing the receiver to Hu Yi: "You go first, I'm not mentally prepared yet."
Hu Yi was also quite uneasy. Eighteen hundred US dollars was a huge sum of money for his family. If his parents found out about the theft, they would be worried and sad. But they probably wouldn't get angry at him like Zhou Dali's father did. Instead, they would sit at home thousands of miles away and worry silently. His parents had already worried too much about him over the years. Did he want to add to their worries now?
A surge of frustration welled up inside Hu Yi. Holding the receiver, he pondered for a long time before deciding not to tell his parents the truth for the time being. So he dialed the number, chatted with his mother for a few minutes, and then casually said, "By the way, Mom, could you prepare some more US dollars for me?"
"Prepare some more?" The mother was quite surprised, pausing for a moment. "Have you spent all the money you brought?"
"No, of course not, there's still 1,800 left!" Hu Yi frowned, but his tone was deliberately relaxed: "It's almost the New Year, and I've had some new ideas. This summer I plan to stay in Moscow to work and earn some money instead of going back to China, so I wanted you to help me prepare my tuition for next year in advance."
"Oh, stay in Moscow to work? That's fine. But—" Her mother hesitated, "The tuition isn't due until August. Are you in such a hurry now? We can give it to you during the summer vacation, right?"
"It's best to do it as soon as possible." Hu Yi felt a slight itch from the sweat on his body and explained along the lines he had made up: "My classmate Yu Feifei is going home for the Chinese New Year during winter break, so I can ask her to bring the money to me. None of us will be going back to China during the summer vacation, and we won't be able to find anyone to help. Sending money is slow and inconvenient, and both sides charge high fees, so it's more cost-effective to have her bring it over this time."
"Oh, that makes sense." The mother moved away from the microphone and whispered a few words to the father, then tentatively asked, "How much more money do we need?"
Hu Yi gritted his teeth: "Three thousand should be enough."
"Three thousand? You just said you had eighteen thousand left, so that's four thousand eight. Didn't you plan to work during the summer vacation to earn money?" The mother said in a worried low voice, "Hu Yi, did something happen to you over there?"
"No! What could possibly happen to me! Don't worry, nothing will happen." Hu Yi forced a smile and said, "This year is the preparatory course, so the tuition is only 1,200. It will go up to 1,900 next year after you enter the department! And after graduating from the preparatory course, you have to move to another dormitory, and the accommodation fee will be higher."
These were all true, and her mother hummed in agreement, seemingly still a little worried. Hu Yi continued, "The coursework will probably be quite difficult after I enter the department, so I don't plan to go back next winter break. I'll wait until the summer after I graduate from my first year. Most of this $4,800 will go towards tuition and accommodation, and the rest will be for living expenses for a year and a half. As for the money I earn from part-time jobs, I plan to buy a computer, firstly to make it easier to look up information while studying, and secondly so I can contact you all online more often."
Hearing her son explain his expenses in detail, the mother seemed to have somewhat reassured herself. After a brief discussion with her husband, she agreed, "Okay, your dad and I both did quite well at our workplaces last year, so we should get some extra bonuses before the new year. We'll take some money from our savings account first, and if that's not enough, we'll ask your grandpa and maternal grandpa for help. We'll find someone to exchange some for US dollars as soon as possible. You focus on your studies over there, and if you need money, just ask us. Don't let working interfere with your studies, understand?"
"Okay, I understand." Hu Yi had no choice but to make up a story to deceive his parents. At this moment, he felt deeply sorry for them, his eyes were hot and swollen, and his voice was a little choked up.
There was a moment of silence on the other end of the line, then the father's earnest voice came through: "Hu Yi, our family's financial situation is limited, but since we've sent you abroad to study, we'll do our best to cover your expenses. But you must remember, young people living alone abroad may face many temptations. Some things are bottomless pits; once you're trapped, it's hard to get out. You must control yourself and never touch anything you shouldn't. Can you do that?"
Hu Yi knew that his far-fetched reason and awkward tone had aroused his father's suspicion, and he felt a pang of sadness. He forced a smile and said, "I can do it, Dad. Don't worry. I'm not the same Hu Yi I was in high school anymore. I definitely won't let you down."
Hanging up the phone, Hu Yi let out a long sigh, but didn't feel relieved. Turning around, he saw that Li Baoqing was nowhere to be seen. Hu Yi dragged his heavy steps upstairs to his room and found him lying on the bed with his legs crossed, his head resting on his hands, staring blankly at the ceiling.
"Didn't you call home?" Hu Yi took off his coat and lit a cigarette.
"I'm not fighting anymore." Li Baoqing's tone was firm: "My parents can't know about this."
"Why not tell them?"
Li Baoqing sighed softly, "My dad has liver disease and can't get angry or upset. He already has a bad temper, and hearing about this will definitely make him even angrier. Besides, I didn't graduate from preparatory school last year, which already wasted a lot of money. My family isn't as wealthy as Dali's family. Where can we raise so much money in such a short time? I can't add this trouble to my parents."
Hu Yi's face flushed slightly as he stroked his chin and pondered, "But keeping it from them all the time isn't a solution. How will you survive without money?"
Li Baoqing sat up abruptly: "I've made up my mind. After the exam, I'll go out to work and earn money. If I'm frugal with my food and expenses for the next six months, I should be able to get through the summer vacation. Then my family will give me my living expenses for next year."
"Great! I need to earn some money too, we can team up." Hu Yi stubbed out his cigarette, tilted his head back, and pondered for a moment: "What kind of job should we look for?"
Li Baoqing said, "What else can we do? Let's go to the market and sell goods!"
"All you know is selling goods," Hu Yi scolded. "Selling goods at the market requires you to be at your stall from morning till night every day. Don't you want to go to class? Don't you want to graduate? Do you want to repeat a year?"
Li Baoqing blinked blankly: "Then I'll work for three months during the summer and winter vacations, and I should be able to earn a thousand or eight hundred."
"Summer vacation is about right, but winter vacation is too short; it's hard to find work. Besides, it's so cold in winter; standing outside is just too miserable."
"I want to make money but I'm afraid of suffering," Li Baoqing muttered dejectedly. "Then what do you suggest I do?"
Hu Yi paced back and forth a few steps, then said in a deep voice, "I think we must prioritize our studies now. We need to graduate from preparatory courses this year, no matter what. We can only work in the market during the summer vacation. If there are suitable jobs during the school term, we can consider them, as long as they don't interfere with our classes."
Li Baoqing frowned and muttered, "Today is New Year's Day, summer vacation is still a long way off. Besides, how many rubles can I earn from a job that doesn't interfere with my classes? What will we eat if we don't earn any money?"
"No problem," Hu Yi said. "Feifei will send me three thousand dollars from home when she goes back for vacation. If you don't have enough money, we can share it."
"You lost 1,800, and your family gave you 3,000?" Li Baoqing was slightly taken aback: "Your parents are really... really generous to you."
"You're overthinking it. This has nothing to do with the stolen money." Hu Yi said with a wry smile, "I didn't tell my family the truth. They thought I still had money. Actually, this three thousand is all the money I need from now until next summer vacation."
"How can that possibly be enough?" Li Baoqing frowned at Hu Yi. "After paying tuition and accommodation fees in September, there won't be much left. How are you going to live?"
"That's why I have to make money," Hu Yi said, spreading his hands. "Anyway, you'll have money in August. If I can't pay my tuition and accommodation fees then, you can cover them for me first. Once I successfully enroll in my department and become a freshman, it will be much easier for us to find part-time jobs. I'll pay you back when I earn the money. How about it?"
"Of course, no problem! We brothers share the good times and the bad." Li Baoqing grinned and said, "Even if we both fall into a pit, we can always ask Dali for help."
As soon as he finished speaking, Zhou Dali kicked open the door with his buttocks, placed a large pot of steaming instant noodles on the table, and said with a wry smile, "Let's eat, brothers. From today onwards, we'll have to tighten our belts and live a tough life."