novelraw Chapter 56 Parting Words
Chapter 56 Parting Words
Chapter 56 Parting Words
The bald man on the other side also shouted back aggressively, but the roar of the vehicles drowned out their voices, and neither side could hear what the other was yelling.
They exchanged a few insults across the wide road. The skinheads, perhaps tired of shouting, looked around furiously. Hu Yi frowned and asked, "What are they doing? Looking for an underpass?"
The two men hurriedly looked around, only to see riot police flanking them from both sides of the opposite sidewalk. The bald men turned to run back, but their escape route was blocked by police wielding shields. One fat bald man tried to break through the encirclement, but a nearby policeman struck him in the face with a shield, sending him tumbling to the ground, followed by a barrage of batons. The remaining dozen or so men, seeing this, dared not move, obediently covering their heads and lying prone on the ground, thus becoming surrounded by the police.
"Good! Well done!" Li Baoqing laughed heartily, feeling extremely pleased. Hu Yi slumped to the ground with a thud: "Damn! Today was really close, I'm exhausted."
Li Baoqing pulled up his trouser leg and squatted down beside him: "Absolutely! It was just like being chased in a movie. Earning those thousand-plus rubles was incredibly difficult!"
Hu Yi retorted angrily, "Nonsense! Isn't it all because of you? We could have left long ago, why did you have to beat up that tall bald guy? Do you even know him?"
"Hmm." Li Baoqing subconsciously touched the scar on his face: "Back when Brother Tao and I encountered the skinheads, he was the one who hit me in the face with a stick."
Hu Yi stared at him for a long time, then murmured, "Oh, that's quite a coincidence. You have a good memory."
"Yes, it was quite a coincidence. He has very distinctive features, and he was dressed exactly the same as that day, otherwise I might not have recognized him." Li Baoqing nodded silently: "I wonder how your classmate is doing."
Hu Yi struggled to his feet, dusted himself off, and glanced across the street for a moment: "With so many police officers here, he should be fine. Let's go, this is a dangerous place, we can't stay here any longer."
Although the police had cleared the battlefield, there were still many skinheads scattered around. The two dared not take the subway, so they took a taxi home to change their clothes and rest for a while before rushing to the Huanghai Hotel.
The restaurant's occupancy rate has increased in the past few days, and the kitchen staff have been busy until after nine o'clock. After dinner, both of them felt exhausted, staring at the clock until the end of the workday, and then went back to the dormitory and fell asleep as soon as they got off work.
Hu Yi and Li Baoqing slept so soundly that they didn't hear their alarms the next morning. It was only thanks to Zhou Dali that they were dragged out of bed. Hu Yi, yawning, ran out of the dormitory, still vaguely worried about whether Wu Ga was safe and sound.
Hu Yi arrived at the teaching building just in time for class. As soon as he entered the corridor, he heard Wu Ga's hoarse voice shouting loudly in the classroom. Hu Yi felt relieved. When he entered the classroom, he saw Wu Ga with two band-aids on his face, a slight bruise near his nose, and his right hand wrapped in thick gauze. He was surrounded by several classmates, looking very proud of himself.
"Anton! Guess what?" The Sri Lankan girl's face was full of admiration: "Uga participated in the conflict in Izmailovan yesterday, and he single-handedly took down twelve skinheads!"
Hu Yi glanced at Wu Ga with a half-smile: "Is that so? Heh."
The Israeli girl beside him seemed somewhat skeptical of Uga's impressive record. Seeing Hu Yi's indifferent expression, she asked, "Anton, were you there yesterday too?"
"He didn't participate!" Wuga blurted out, "Chinese people love peace and don't like fighting." As he spoke, he secretly winked at Hu Yi, putting on a world-weary expression: "Unfortunately, you can't understand the thrill that fighting brings to men."
"Yeah, the thrill." Hu Yi nodded, then, seeing the teacher enter the classroom, he threw down his schoolbag and sat down next to Wu Ga, whispering, "You really took down twelve people all by yourself?"
"Of course, it's a pity you weren't here to see it in person."
"Oh, what a pity." Hu Yi looked at him calmly. "Are your clothes alright?"
Uga was taken aback: "Clothes? What clothes?"
"Mom bought you new clothes!"
Uga immediately became alert, and hesitated with a doubtful expression, saying, "You—you? What—what do you mean?"
"I was just passing by! Please let me go!" Hu Yi mimicked Wu Ga's sobbing voice, his voice hoarse. "My new clothes that Mom bought me are dirty!"
Uga looked extremely embarrassed, staring at Hu Yi for a long time: "How...how did you know? Where...were you at the time?"
Hu Yi smiled but remained silent. Wu Ga turned and saw the teacher chatting with other students, so he quickly leaned close to Hu Yi's ear and whispered, "Please, whatever you do, don't tell anyone else!"
Hu Yi remained silent. Wu Ga, fidgeting, said, "I'll treat you to barbecue tonight! And to that friend, Li, okay?"
"Forget it, we have work tonight." Hu Yi glanced at him with a smile. "Don't worry, I didn't go anywhere yesterday. I stayed in the dorm all day and don't know anything."
As the weather gradually warms up, the Chinese restaurant business at Huanghai Hotel has suddenly become booming. Not only has the number of individual customers increased significantly, but many tour groups, inspection teams, and business groups from across the country have also come to dine, making the kitchen extremely busy.
The workload suddenly increased, and Hu Yi and Li Baoqing's previously easy working life became much more difficult. The group meals were relatively inexpensive, and the dishes were naturally made with a lot of cheap ingredients. Every day, the two of them handled countless potatoes, carrots, green peppers, and cabbages. After get off work, the rhythmic sound of the cleaver hitting the cutting board still echoed in their ears. Even in their dreams, they were constantly chopping: chopping in the dormitory, in the classroom, at home, on the train, in the toilet, and while doing homework. Sometimes they would change locations three or four times a night. Every time they woke up, they were exhausted, and everything looked like potatoes and carrots to them.
Not getting enough rest at night naturally led to listlessness and drowsiness during the day in class. Hu Yi felt a constant burning sensation in his right shoulder socket, which ached and hurt with the slightest exertion. His wrists were also limp and weak, making it difficult to even hold a pen, and the Russian letters he wrote looked like dog scratches.
The right arm suffered, and the left hand wasn't spared either. Fatigue during work inevitably leads to mistakes, and a mishap with the cutting board can easily result in a cut. Both of their fingers were constantly in cuts; several bandages were always kept by the table, and often a new one would be needed before the old one was even removed.
These things were manageable, but Hu Yi and Li Baoqing were both over 1.8 meters tall, and it was already strenuous for them to bend over and chop vegetables, let alone maintain the same posture for a long time. Now, as soon as they picked up a cleaver, they felt their lower backs tighten, and when they stood in front of the cutting board, it felt as if a millstone was pressing on their backs, leaving their entire upper body feeling uncomfortable.
After finishing another batch of chopped potatoes, Hu Yi, supporting his back, went outside, lit a cigarette, and squatted down with his legs spread apart, his arms resting on his knees, stretching his stiff back to the fullest. This squatting posture was later named the "Asian squat," and it became the kitchen's favorite way to relax during breaks from working on the cutting board.
Li Baoqing also walked over and squatted down to the side. He no longer had the energy to help others with their work. When he had a break, he would huddle with Hu Yi and complain: "Damn it, I've chopped up all the potatoes I've ever eaten in my life. I was never this tired when I was training in track and field."
"You're tired too?" Hu Yi listlessly exhaled a smoke ring. "Aren't you a javelin thrower? Didn't you boast about your superior upper body strength? How can these two be compared? Chopping vegetables is just one arm repetitive mechanical movement, while javelin throwing relies on explosive power from the whole body—legs, hips, waist, abdomen, chest, shoulders, and arms—conducting power to the hand in sequence. They're completely different things." Li Baoqing rarely had the chance to educate Hu Yi, and didn't forget to add, "You're really uncultured."
Hu Yi smiled lazily, too exhausted to even argue with him. Li Baoqing continued, "Actually, my arm is a minor issue; the main problem is my back. I have to sleep on my stomach at night."
"Same here, me too." Hu Yi stretched his back and turned to look at him. "I'm a little exhausted. Let's finish this month and then leave."
"You're quitting?" Li Baoqing was taken aback. "Well—you've only worked for three months in total, and you've only earned six hundred dollars. I'm afraid that...isn't enough?"
"It's not quite enough. But I've been slacking off in class lately, and my homework hasn't been great either. We need to set aside some time to work on it. Exams are in June, and we at least need to make a good impression on the teachers." Hu Yi stubbed out his cigarette and threw it in the trash can. "The money problem isn't hard to solve. We can figure something out after we graduate from preparatory school."
After a moment's thought, Li Baoqing nodded and said, "That works too. Maybe I can find a job that pays better, at least I won't be as tired as I am now."
"That's right! It's settled then." Hu Yi propped himself up on his knees with difficulty. "I'll call Brother Qiang tomorrow and let him know, and I'll also give the head chef a heads-up in advance."
"What do you want with the head chef? Just complaining?" Old Wei happened to push open the kitchen door, munching on a carrot and laughing, "Look how tired you two are, your backs are aching. You look pretty strong, what's wrong? You can't even chop vegetables?"
"It's definitely not going to work out anymore," Hu Yi said with a smile. "Brother Wei, I was just about to tell you. We're planning to quit at the end of the month."
"Quitted? You're quitting?" Old Wei crunched on a carrot for a while, then crossed his arms and said, "Fine, go ahead. What's the point of staying in the kitchen all day at such a young age? You'll have a bright future if you study hard."
"No, actually this place is quite interesting." Li Baoqing stood up, leaning against the wall. "The main thing is that we have exams coming up soon, so we need to study hard for a few days."
"Yes, yes. Studying is important." Old Wei said seriously, then grinned and said, "If you happen to be passing by in the area, come back and visit. I can cook you whatever you want to eat."
"Okay, we'll definitely come." Hu Yi felt a warmth in his heart and put his hand on Lao Wei's shoulder: "Brother Wei, we've received a lot of care from you these past few months, and we're truly grateful to you from the bottom of our hearts. Now that we're leaving soon, I want to tell you something from the bottom of my heart, please—please don't take offense."
Old Wei glared at him: "What are you thanking me for? Don't be so polite. Just say what you want to say, there's nothing I'm surprised about!"
"I'd like to give you some advice," Hu Yi hesitated slightly, then lowered his voice, "You should stop eating the restaurant's food so often. Doesn't the head chef give you the side-eye all the time? Haven't you noticed?"
Old Wei, holding the half-eaten carrot, paused, his expression turning somewhat awkward: "What's wrong with eating some vegetables? It's not like it's anything valuable. I just eat it casually at work; those cutting boards and dishwashing utensils even secretly bring some home!"
"We're all from Shandong, we don't know the others well, so we can't bring ourselves to say anything." Hu Yi's smile was a little awkward. "Besides, those people are just doing odd jobs like us. You're a master craftsman, after all. It's not dignified for people to talk behind your back, is it?"