I'm normally pretty lucky with my travelling companions. Interesting acquaintances are made, and I have heard many an engaging tale on these journeys. Such was the case on this occasion. The supplies my parents had given me for the long journey disappeared quickly, in particular the meat and cabbage pies. I generously offered them to my companions and they did not refuse.

Mid-journey -- somewhere around Krasnoyarsk -- I popped into the dining carriage for a bite to eat. I didn't have much money as I had been spending heavily during my holiday. I ordered noodle soup and a schnitzel from the waiter as well as the mandatory 150 grams of vodka.

Fifteen minutes later my food was brought to me. Chewing on my schnitzel, which was more bread than meat, I felt a sharp object in my mouth. Probably something to do with the way it's cooked, I thought as I removed a shard of glass from my mouth.

"What's this?" I asked the waiter angrily. Without missing a beat, he grabbed the plate with the remains of the schnitzel and made a dash for the kitchen. Not a minute had passed before he brought another portion with a side order of vegetables.

I ate it up gingerly. This time there was no glass. I called over the waiter to give me the bill, which should have been about 25 rubles. "The manager of the dining carriage says your meal is on the house!" the waiter said ingratiatingly. I headed back to my compartment with a grin on my face.

On the following day toward lunchtime, I again went to the restaurant carriage and again ordered the schnitzel. And when I asked for the bill, the waiter repeated what he had said the day before.

And so it continued all the way to Vladivostok. And leaving the dining carriage each time I felt the ingratiating gaze of the manager upon me.

Eventually curiosity got the better of me. After eating for the last time I approached the director, thanked him for the free lunches and asked him the reason for this display of charity.

"My bosses said one complaint from a passenger and I'm fired," he told me.

And his job was really pretty lucrative. At the stations they sold pies from the restaurant carriage. And I am sure that a good chunk of the profit from this business went straight into the director's pocket.