My hometown is far away in Moscow.

Chapter 72 The Russian Miracle

Chapter 72 The Russian Miracle

"No, that's not right either. As I just said, it's not architecture." Sergei smiled kindly. "The miracle of Russia is—"

"Miracle Milk!" Hu Yi shouted. Miracle Milk is a very common type of carton-packaged milk in Moscow, available in almost every store, and it's also the brand Hu Yi has drunk the most during his two years in Russia.

A burst of laughter filled the classroom. This was a typical example of someone making up nonsense, and although it made everyone laugh, Hu Yi's intention wasn't to attract attention. He was just a little indignant after the professor said that the Great Wall wasn't a world wonder, and now that Russia had one, he blurted out that comment.

Sergei was slightly displeased, but maintained his gentlemanly demeanor as a professor: "No, no. A true miracle should be known worldwide. I don't think miracle milk qualifies as a real miracle. The miracle I'm referring to is—"

Hu Yi had just been spouting nonsense, but seeing Sergei give such a serious explanation, he found the old man quite amusing and blurted out, "AK-47 automatic rifle! Known worldwide, it's practically a miracle, isn't it?"

Another burst of laughter erupted. Uga and a few Russian boys turned to Hu Yi with a joking thumbs-up: "Awesome! Spicy shredded chicken!"

"No. I think you've misunderstood the concept of 'miracle.'" Sergei's face turned ashen, and before Hu Yi could speak again, he raised his voice and said, "Russia's miracle is Lake Baikal!"

"Oh! Right!" The foreign students nodded in agreement.

A smile returned to Sergei's face: "Lake Baikal, oh my! How beautiful, how magnificent!"

Like a pearl embedded in the Siberian landscape. Although it lies within Russian territory, it can awe and delight everyone in the world who sees it. Isn't that the very meaning of a miracle?" He then looked at Hu Yi: "Sir, only things that bring people joy can be called miracles, so guns cannot be called miracles. What do you think?"

"Yes." Hu Yi nodded, expressing his heartfelt agreement.

Sergei breathed a slight sigh of relief, realizing he'd been led astray by this kid several times in such a short time, and quickly changed the subject, saying, "Then let's continue—"

Before he could finish speaking, Hu Yi suddenly interjected, "Professor, I've got it! There's another miracle in Russia!"

Sergei was surprised: "Hmm? Tell me about it?"

Tetris!

The room erupted in laughter. Hu Yi raised his voice, mimicking Sergei's tone, and explained earnestly, "Tetris, a household name. Although it's a game program developed by Russians, it brings joy and wonderful feelings to everyone in the world who has played it. Isn't that the meaning of a miracle?"

"That's right!" a few curious Russian students chimed in. "Tetris should be considered our miracle!"

"Quiet! Quiet!" Sergei's long face was taut as he stared helplessly at Hu Yi. "You, you—sigh, please don't take up too much class time. This class is almost over." He glanced at his watch and sighed dejectedly, "Oh dear, get out of class is over. Look at what I just talked about with you—sigh."

The students began packing up their books. Sergei picked up his things, shaking his head as he walked out of the classroom. Uga leaned over, grinning, and asked, "AK-47! Haha, well done, Anton! Don't you really hate this old man?"

"Dislike? Of course not, I think Sergei is quite good."

"Really?! But I think he'll really hate you."

"Really?" Hu Yi scratched his head. "It can't be that bad, the other teachers all love to chat."

"I heard from the Azerbaijani people at school that Sergei is a very traditional person, unlike the other teachers," Uga advised earnestly. "Listen, you'd better not upset him again, or you'll have a hard time passing your exams."

"Exams? I think you should worry more about yourself!" Hu Yi didn't take Wu Ga's advice to heart. After all, the new semester had just begun, and exams were still a long way off. Besides, he didn't believe that Sergei would make things difficult for himself during the exam just because a student said a few nonsense in class. Right now, he was thinking about how to lead Yu Feifei's tour group tomorrow.

After listening to Yu Feifei's explanation of the itinerary and precautions that evening, Hu Yi had a good night's sleep. The next morning, he was full of energy and rushed to the hotel where the tour group was staying. He first met Sister Sun, the tour guide who had come from China with the group, in the lobby.

"Everyone's still eating breakfast, let's wait a bit." Sister Sun, around twenty-seven or twenty-eight years old, with an ordinary appearance, seemed somewhat distrustful of Hu Yi. She stared at him with a worried expression and asked, "Little Hu, how long have you been here? Are you familiar with Moscow?"

Hu Yi replied seriously, "Yu Feifei and I came on the same train. Although I've never led a tour group before, I've been to all the attractions in the city and I know them quite well, so don't worry."

"Oh, that's good." Sister Sun breathed a sigh of relief and explained with a smile, "Don't misunderstand, I didn't mean anything by it. It's just that I've only ever been to South Korea and Southeast Asia before, this is my first time in Russia, and I've heard it's quite chaotic here. A few days ago in St. Petersburg and Nizhny Novgorod, every local tour guide emphasized safety, and Director Yu has been giving me the same advice these past two days, which has made me a little nervous."

"I understand, I understand." Hu Yi nodded repeatedly. "Russia is indeed not very safe, but there's absolutely no need to worry about traveling by bus. Besides, today's itinerary is mainly near the city center, where there are police everywhere, so it's very safe. As long as the guests don't wander off on their own, there definitely won't be any problems."

"Okay! I'll emphasize this again after we gather in a bit." Sister Sun's expression was solemn: "The most important thing for us when leading a tour group is to ensure that we bring our guests back safely. There can't be any mishaps."

"I understand." Hu Yi wanted to reassure Sister Sun, but then he saw her wave behind him: "Over here, Uncle and Aunt, are you done eating?"

Hu Yi turned around and saw an elderly couple with gray hair walking over slowly. They looked to be in their fifties, but not quite sixty. The man had a face full of wrinkles, wearing a light blue synthetic fiber shirt tucked into his waistband, with his trousers pulled up high, and a faded gray jacket over it. He was also carrying an old black handbag with simple gold-embossed patterns and words that were already worn out and could only be barely made out as the words "County Travel Agency".

The elderly woman beside her was dressed similarly and followed closely behind her husband, her brows furrowed and not a smile on her face. The two elderly people spoke with a Shandong accent and were very friendly, but Hu Yi felt that they didn't seem to be tourists, but rather township officials going to a meeting somewhere.