69novels Chapter 67 brings another unexpected twist.
Chapter 67 brings another unexpected twist.
Chapter 67 brings another unexpected twist.
The empty room that Brother Ma assigned to him was on the ninth floor. Hu Yi hummed a little tune as he stepped out of the elevator and immediately smelled a familiar and long-lost aroma. He followed the scent, turning two corners, and arrived at the communal kitchen next to the elevator.
The communal kitchen was spacious, with two sinks, two metal tables, and four electric stoves against the four walls. Each stove had four burners, and a large steamer sat on one of the burners, from which the aroma emanated.
Hu Yi strode over to the pot, which was covered with a lid. Steam rose from the gaps around it. Although he couldn't see what was inside, he could tell from the smell that it was meat buns.
It was past dinner time, and he stretched his neck and sniffed hard. His stomach was rumbling, and he suddenly felt his stomach was empty and he was very hungry.
Just as Hu Yi was staring at the pot, drooling, someone shuffled into the kitchen in slippers. Hu Yi turned around and saw a tall, burly man with fair skin and delicate features. His long hair was neatly combed and tied into a loose ponytail at the back of his head. It was Fang Qing, the senior pastry chef who had sung Peking Opera at the embassy's welcome party.
"Hello, Mr. Fang!"
"Hey! You—you're not that, that, that, Hu Yi? Little Hu! Right?" Fang Qing smiled broadly. "Long time no see. Are you here to buy food? Hey, you've come at the right time. The steamed buns are selling especially fast today. This is the last batch left."
"Did you wrap this?"
"Isn't that right? Who else in this building can make steamed buns besides me? And who can make them this delicious?" Brother Fang shook his head slightly, confidently smoothing his hair on his forehead with his delicate fingers. "Celery and pork buns, eight in a pot. How many do you want?"
"I'll take them all!" Hu Yi's eyes lit up, and he swallowed hard. Suddenly remembering that he was there to clean the room, he quickly said, "Please keep them for me, I'll come back to you later."
"Sure, no problem." Fang Qing nodded with a smile. "Are you here to visit your friends?"
"No, I've graduated from preparatory school and am planning to move here. I'm just tidying up today." Hu Yi glanced out of the kitchen and pointed: "Look, that's the room, 901."
"That's great!" Fang Qing exclaimed with delight. "I live in 902! We'll be neighbors from now on!"
For some reason, whether it's due to strange architectural aesthetics or unique planning and design, the high-rise dormitory at Friendship University has a somewhat awkward shape. The central area of the building contains the elevator lobby, stairwell, and communal kitchen. Two sections of the building are attached to the north and south sides of the central area, one extending eastward and the other westward. When viewed from directly above, the entire building resembles an extremely flat and elongated letter "Z," like a distorted image caused by a torn monitor screen, or an X-ray of a broken leg.
The rooms in the building are distributed according to odd and even numbers. Odd-numbered rooms are on the south side of the building, and even-numbered rooms are on the north side. Therefore, rooms 901 and 902 are separated by the elevator lobby and the kitchen and are not on the same corridor.
Hu Yi smiled slightly: "That's great, I hope you'll take good care of me in the future, Brother Fang."
"Don't be so polite! We're neighbors, just let us know if you need anything." Fang Qing leaned forward slightly, a look of disgust on her face: "A few Vietnamese people used to live in your room, oh my god, it was such a mess! A bunch of men and women would drink and party all night long, they were the noisiest people on the whole ninth floor. I heard the school expelled them a while ago, and that's when things quieted down for a bit."
"Really?" Hu Yi nodded blankly. "Then I'll go tidy up first."
I walked briskly into room 901. Inside was a small hall of about four or five square meters. Directly opposite was a small double room, to the left was a large triple room, and to the right were two doors side by side, leading to the toilet and bathroom respectively.
He turned on the overhead light and glanced into the bathroom. The bathroom wasn't large, but it was very clean; the toilet seat was gleaming white and odorless. Hu Yi was quite satisfied. Then, glancing down casually, he noticed a two-liter plastic Coke bottle standing in the corner, its walls covered in marks from repeated pressing, and about half-full of water inside.
Hu Yi had already heard Yan Zhiwen explain the uses of such bottles, and after using the public restrooms in Building 6 for a year, he was used to them. However, he still felt a little disgusted and quickly looked away from the bottles, leaning over to look at the bathroom.
Like the toilet, the bathroom walls and floors were quite old, but the bathtub and sink were very clean, indicating that the neighbors of the cottage were very hygienic.
Since he was new to the place, he should greet his neighbors first. Hu Yi gently knocked on the door of the small house, but there was no response, so he took out his key and opened his own door.
The door opened a crack, seemingly blocked by something. Hu Yi exerted a little force, and with a sound of something moving, the door was pushed open more than halfway. Standing outside, Hu Yi's eyes nearly popped out of their sockets, and he exclaimed in shock, "I! I—good heavens!!!"
The room was similar in size to the room in Building 6, with three closets side by side on one wall. Inside, there were three wire beds and two writing desks. To his shock, the floor was piled high with all sorts of garbage. The weather in Moscow was still very hot at the time, and the room reeked of a sour stench, with many flies buzzing around it.
Hu Yi stood dumbfounded at the door for a few seconds. The scene and smell reminded him of the common garbage bins and two-story garbage buildings that used to be common on the streets of China. However, the garbage in this room was not piled up, but spread out and covered the entire room, completely covering the floor. The highest point was almost level with the edge of the wire bed, making it impossible to even step inside.
He reached in and pressed the light switch on the wall, but the light bulb was broken. Hu Yi glanced around quickly in the light of the hallway and saw a jumble of trash by the door: broken umbrellas, tattered long underwear, crumpled socks, empty bottles stuck upside down in the trash, and half a Turkish kebab.
"Damn it! What the hell is this?!" Hu Yi muttered to himself, frowning. This was definitely the dirtiest house he had ever seen in his life. Even the pigsties he had seen when he went to the countryside with his parents were cleaner than this place. Moreover, he was certain that even a pig would be driven crazy after staying in this house for a few days.
Hu Yi angrily slammed the door shut, retreated to the hallway to get some fresh air, and considered changing rooms. However, recalling the three rooms he had seen yesterday, he immediately dismissed the idea.
After all, it's an empty room. Wouldn't it be more comfortable to clean it up and live alone? It's much better than squeezing in with those people.
Thinking of this, he calmed himself down a bit, asked Fang Qing to buy eight large meat buns, and hurriedly returned to Building 6. As soon as he entered, he excitedly said to Xia Yan, "Come on, I'll treat you to buns today!"