Free Web NovelChapter 393: Chapter 391: Marina Is Here
Knowing they were coming back today, Gu’er was no longer worried, and the time seemed to fly by. Before she knew it, lunch was over and it was already afternoon.
Once afternoon arrived, Gu’er began to wait expectantly. They had said they would be back today but hadn’t specified a time. ’Still, driving all the way from there, they won’t arrive until tonight, right?’
They must have had a hard journey. ’I can’t do much, but I can at least make some delicious food to welcome them back.’
But if she made stir-fried dishes and they arrived late, the food would get cold. Hot pot was a better idea.
Gu’er had Aunt Zhao buy some large bones to make a bone broth for the base.
A seafood base would have been best for the hot pot, but there was hardly any seafood available here in the winter. It wasn’t as convenient as it would be later on, when you could buy it anytime, so they had to settle for bone broth.
Gu’er also had Aunt Zhao buy plenty of meat and vegetables. She sliced them up, washed them, and got everything neatly prepared, just waiting for them to return.
Her wait lasted until six-thirty in the evening. It got dark very early here, and the world outside was already pitch-black. Gu’er started to get anxious. There were no phones to call. ’They’re not going to arrive in the middle of the night, are they? Should we even wait for them to eat?’
"Grandma, are you hungry? Why don’t you eat first? Let’s not wait for them. Who knows when they’ll be back."
Gu’er was worried the elderly women were getting hungry.
"Let’s wait. Hot pot is always best when everyone eats together. We’re fine, we can wait a little longer."
Grandma Dingzi wanted to wait for her grandson.
Grandma Sun nodded as well. Eating a little later was no big deal.
When the clock struck seven, the sound of the door opening echoed through the house. Gu’er shot to her feet, a wide smile spreading across her face. She hurried toward the entrance, knowing it was Sun Jiaming, Li Zhi, and Dingzi, back at last.
The door opened and Sun Jiaming and Li Zhi walked in together. They paused for a moment when they saw Gu’er by the door, then broke into smiles.
"Gu’er, look who it is!" Li Zhi blurted out.
’Isn’t that just Dingzi?’
Gu’er looked toward the doorway and saw Dingzi. It had only been a few days, but he seemed to have lost weight. His eyes were bloodshot and a faint stubble was emerging on his chin. It was clear he’d had a rough time.
’Dingzi must have run into trouble. Otherwise, he wouldn’t look so worn down.’
Just as Gu’er was about to say something, she caught sight of another person out of the corner of her eye. Her eyes widened in shock. She gasped, "Ma-Marina? Y-You? What are you doing here?"
Gu’er was so surprised she started to stutter. Standing in the doorway was none other than her friend from the Soviet Union, Marina!
"Oh, Lin, it’s so good to finally see you."
Marina’s eyes reddened as she stepped forward and embraced Gu’er.
Gu’er hugged Marina back tightly. She didn’t know why Marina had come with them, but she knew something must have happened.
"It’s cold outside. Hurry, come in. We can talk inside."
Gu’er pulled Marina inside. Seeing Marina’s tears, she felt a sense of unease. Something was definitely wrong.
Once inside, everyone in the room was stunned to see Marina. However, they had all heard Gu’er and the others talk about her—about the nice girl from the Soviet Union who was Gu’er’s friend. Now that they saw her in person, even though they couldn’t communicate, they all expressed a warm welcome.
After a few brief words, no one asked why Marina had come. With so many people around, they were afraid it might be inconvenient for her to talk. They had the newcomers wash up, and then dinner began.
During the meal, Marina sat next to Gu’er. Since she wasn’t very good with chopsticks, Gu’er kept putting food on her plate and showing her how to eat it.
At the same time, Gu’er noticed that Dingzi was also putting food on Marina’s plate. When he looked at Marina, a rare flash of gentleness appeared in his eyes.
’Could something have happened between those two?’
Gu’er thought to herself, but let none of it show on her face.
Because everyone had returned safely, everyone was in high spirits, even with the addition of a foreign guest. The meal was a joyous affair.
After they finished eating and cleaning up, Grandma Dingzi pulled Dingzi into a room, apparently to ask him about what had happened these past few days. Meanwhile, Marina followed Gu’er to her bedroom.
"Marina, what’s going on? How did you end up coming to China with Dingzi?"
Gu’er asked directly. She had to know what had happened.
"Oh, Lin."
At Gu’er’s question, Marina’s eyes reddened again. Through her story, Gu’er finally understood everything.
Marina’s father was an inspector who had been forced to take part in the recent political conflict. The struggle was brutal. To get to her father, their rivals had targeted Marina and her sister. As the sisters were fleeing, their pursuers closed in. Just when they thought they couldn’t escape and were about to be killed, they happened to run into Dingzi.
The goods Dingzi had gone to pick up had also been seized. His Vietnamese contacts told him the shop couldn’t be saved, so they had already liquidated their stock beforehand. Because Gu’er had instructed them not to hold onto Rubles and to only use US Dollars, they still had some money left. However, all the goods they had previously purchased for Dingzi to transport back were gone. It was too chaotic to procure any new stock. In the process of protecting the money, one of the Vietnamese men had even died.
Dingzi was silent after hearing this. He didn’t take the US Dollars, instead dividing the money among the Vietnamese men. After all, they needed to survive, and they couldn’t do that without money. If they wanted to open a shop here again after the chaos subsided, these men would be a great help. So, Dingzi gave them the money, told them to look after their own safety, and said he would come find them once the turmoil ended and things returned to normal.
The Vietnamese men agreed and urged Dingzi to return to his country at once. They said it was too chaotic there, with daily riots, protests, and deaths on the streets from all sorts of conflicts. They were afraid something would happen to him. They even gave Dingzi a handgun to carry for protection.
Dingzi knew that weapons were prevalent in the area; it seemed many people had taken advantage of the chaos to loot them. He wasn’t surprised that these Vietnamese men had a weapon. How else could they have survived and established themselves here?
It was on his way back to his lodging after leaving the Vietnamese men that Dingzi encountered Marina and her sister.
He intervened and saved the sisters. Because he was outnumbered, Dingzi was shot once. Fortunately, the wound was in his arm and not a vital area. Even so, Marina and her sister were terrified. They knew that if it hadn’t been for Dingzi, they would not have escaped their attackers’ clutches.
Marina was incredibly grateful to Dingzi and took him to see her father.
Marina’s father found a doctor to remove the bullet from Dingzi’s arm and treat the wound. He had his own hands full and no time to look after his daughters. If the side he supported lost the conflict, he could lose his life. With all the chaos, he simply didn’t have the energy to care for his two girls. He wanted to send them to another country where he had a friend. He said that if the conflict ended, he would come get them. If something happened to him in the fighting, he wanted the sisters to use the money he gave them to make a new life in that country. He assured them that his friend was reliable and would take good care of them.
Although Marina and her sister were heartbroken, they knew there was no other choice. If they didn’t leave, something like what happened today could happen again. But the thought of leaving their father for a strange country filled them with apprehension. Yet, if they stayed, they feared they would become a burden to him. So, they had to go.
Marina’s younger sister was willing to go to another country and rely on their father’s friend, but Marina didn’t want to.
