I'm a Master in India

Ron and Leon still met at the Mondica Cafe, a place they were both familiar with.

When Ron stepped into the cafe, Leon was still in the window seat, but his expression was far from as relaxed as last time.

"Looks like you've had a rough few days?" Ron said, sitting down opposite him.

"You should be glad I'm still sitting here safe and sound," Leon said with a complicated look.

"What happened?"

"I was robbed, robbed by the Indian police. It sounds ridiculous, but I was completely cleaned out by a national law enforcement agency."

Leon still felt a sense of disbelief. He would bet that if he told his friends back home in Europe about this, they would think he was joking, a clumsy, absurd joke.

"Ron, can you believe this kind of thing happened in Mumbai, India's largest city?"

"Honestly, I'm not that surprised. Tell me what happened."

Ron called the waiter and ordered two coffees, noticing that Leon's table was empty.

"Thank goodness, I should have had a coffee already," he said, holding the cup reverently.

"Buddy, don't tell me you don't even have money for the coffee?"

"What else? Have you ever seen a foreigner sit motionless in a coffee shop for more than half an hour without ordering anything?"

"I smell the beginning of a sad story," Ron shrugged.

"Things happened so fast you couldn't react," Leon said, taking a sip of coffee, his expression gradually relaxing. "Just two days ago, after our first meeting.

I went back to the private hotel where I had been staying for a few days, and the owner handed me a cigarette, saying it was a very famous Indian cigarette.

You know, we had been getting along for a few days, I trusted him, so I took the cigarette. Then, in that instant, two fully armed Indian policemen rushed out from the corner.

They told me in broken English that I was suspected of violating the local anti-drug laws. Then it became obvious, they took all my belongings. Wallet, cash, camera, watch, and several leather-bound notebooks."

"Sounds like a trap," Ron commented.

"One hundred percent!" Leon cursed angrily, "That hotel owner, I even gave him a generous tip. And the local who introduced me to that hotel, they were all in on it!"

Leon finally understood why the person he met on the street was so enthusiastic. He even helped carry his luggage and bargained with the vendors for Leon.

In the end, Leon accepted his suggestion and stayed at that hotel. Looking back now, it all makes sense.

"Then how did you get away?" Ron asked.

"They implied that I could either plead guilty and be deported back home, or they would let me go if I didn't pursue the stolen items. What could I do? I couldn't even contact the German embassy."

"Aha, they took you away on the spot, preventing you from contacting the outside world."

"Exactly!" Leon cursed again.

"Buddy, when traveling in India, don't go alone, especially if you're a foreigner," Ron advised him.

"I bet they figured that out before they made their move."

"I'm sorry I didn't accept your offer of employment last time, otherwise..."

"No, I should have called you sooner, I was too confident. I thought I knew enough about this place. I lived alone in Mumbai for more than a week without any guides, I was even proud of it."

"Where are you staying now? I mean, since you were cleaned out."

"A youth hostel, 100 rupees a night," Leon shrugged.

The place was barely habitable, but it was cheap. Leon pawned his beloved Pelican pen to pay for a few nights' lodging.

"So what are your plans now?" Ron asked casually.

"I want to go to Delhi, I have a colleague there. But I'm out of money, you know," Leon's face was very embarrassed, he knew such a request was a bit rude.

"Why don't you call him? It doesn't cost a few rupees."

"All my business cards were taken, I can't remember the number. Only a pen was spared because I hid it under my tie."

"A plane ticket to Delhi costs about a thousand rupees, a train ticket about two hundred."

"I choose the train ticket! A train ticket will do!" Leon said quickly.

"Buddy, you have to give me a reason," Ron looked at him amusedly, "I'm in the business of serving tourists, but now I have to pay for a tourist, it doesn't make sense."

"I know, it's hard to explain. After all, we just met, and I'm making such a request..." Leon was a little embarrassed, but quickly perked up again, "But don't worry, I'll definitely give you a generous reward when I get to Delhi. I have money, I'm the market director sent by Siemens to India for inspection."

"Siemens?" Ron raised an eyebrow, "How can you prove it?"

"Uh... all my business cards were taken, I can't prove myself now. But do you know Cipla Pharmaceuticals? Its headquarters are in Mumbai."

"Of course, everyone in India knows Cipla."

Cipla is the second largest pharmaceutical company in India, ranked first is Ranbaxy. They are India's star companies, and the public is proud of these two generic drug manufacturers.

"Siemens has a medical imaging business, and the laboratories of Cipla and Ranbaxy happen to need this equipment. That's my mission here, and if it goes well, Siemens might even invest in India."

"I know that, the government has relaxed investment restrictions in most industries this year, which has attracted many foreign investors to India."

"Yes, that's it!" Leon was glad that Ron understood him.

"Have you visited Cipla? They should be very interested in you."

"Uh, I went, but they didn't believe me, I didn't have anything to prove myself. I shouldn't have dragged it out so long, I originally wanted to investigate the local customs first, to assess whether it was suitable for Siemens to invest in, but..."

Ron probably understood what was going on, Leon didn't want to alarm Cipla early. He still had other tasks of investigating India on his body, he wanted to understand the most authentic India, but he didn't want to encounter what happened later.

"Now, after this personal experience, what do you think of India?" Ron asked.

"It's hard to say..." Leon's expression was tangled.

"Haha, alright! I'll arrange your train ticket to Delhi, is tomorrow okay?"

"No problem, the sooner the better! See, there are still good people in India!"

"Don't be discouraged, buddy, there are good people and bad people everywhere in the world. Victoria Train Station tomorrow morning, we'll meet there."

Whether what he said was true or not, the two hundred odd rupees for the ticket were insignificant to Ron. Just treat it as listening to a story, and the ticket is the reward.

Besides, with his relationship with the train station, getting a free ticket was easy.

"Oh, right, the two hundred odd rupees buys an ordinary seat ticket, are you ready to experience India's famous human-packed train?"

"What?" Leon suddenly had a bad feeling.