On the roadside in front of the store, Wei Ran opened the car door and was about to put the suitcase full of clothes he bought at a high price into the back seat, but then he discovered that this old guy Gorman was actually in the back seat. Sitting in the car!
"Why are you here?" Wei Ran, who almost took out his gun from his book, was really startled by the other party.
"I've been waiting for you here for a long time. It's too cold outside so I can only sit in the car."
Gorman explained in a matter-of-fact tone, " As for what I'm here to do, let's get in the car first."
After hesitating for a moment, Wei Ran put the suitcase into the trunk containing a lot of sundries and reluctantly got into the cab.
It wasn't until the car started that Gorman said slowly, "Don't be nervous, I came to see you for a private matter."
"Private matter?" Wei Ran relaxed slightly. tone, followed by a worried question, "What private matter?"
Gorman hesitated for a moment and then asked, "How about taking a trip to Odessa for me when you have time?"
"Odessa? Ukraine? What are you going there for? Killing people?" A series of questions popped out of Wei Ran's wrinkled mouth, but his tone made it clear that he was unhappy.
"No, no, no, it's not Odessa in Ukraine, it's Odessa in the United States, in Texas." Gorman paused and continued, "You don't need to kill anyone. As long as you help me find someone to see how she is doing, just take a few photos from a distance."
"Her?"
Wei Ran caught her immediately. When he came to the key words in the other party's words, he deliberately looked at the old guy sitting in the rear car through the rearview mirror with a playful look on his face.
"My wife, ex-wife." Gorman shook his head helplessly, "Let's get out of here first."
"Where to go?" Wei Ran simply stepped on the accelerator. .
“Go forward, turn right at the second intersection, there is a cafe on the left, go there.”
“No problem,” Wei Ran responded. After asking more questions, he followed the other party's instructions and drove the car to the destination.
It could be seen that Gorman was very familiar with this place. After leading him into the coffee shop, he found a corner farthest from the window and sat down.
When the waiter brought the coffee to the table, Gorman just slowly stirred the coffee in the cup, seemingly not knowing what to say.
Sighing, Wei Ran lost his curiosity, "Tell me what I can do for you."
"No...you don't have to do too much, just Just see how her life is going."
Gorman showed a rare hint of panic, "And...and my son, see if he is married, yes. No children, that’s all.”
Seeing the other party looking at him with hope, Wei Ran finally nodded after a moment of hesitation, “That’s all?”
"That's all"
Gorman took out a folded Ace from his pocket4. He opened the paper and pushed it to Wei Ran. He tapped the two pictures printed on it with his calloused fingers and said, "The top one is what her house looks like when I found it using the street view map. The bottom one is her photo." "
At this point, Gorman took out an old-looking pen and wrote a series of words on this A4 paper in English that Wei Ran could not understand. Address in detail down to the house number.
"Gorman...why don't you go by yourself?" Wei Ran finally couldn't help asking his inner doubts.
"I am already dead, otherwise I would not be alive until now."
Gorman said something that Wei Ran understood but could not understand, and then put away the gun Pen continued in a calm tone, "And for some reasons that I can't tell you, I'm worried that if I go, I might bring trouble to her."
After a moment of silence, Wei Ran asked again "How long have you... last seen her?"
"The last time we met was two months before the collapse of the Soviet Union"
Gorman showed a sad smile. He took out a roll of U.S. dollars from his pocket and handed it to Wei Ran, "Let's find a reasonable excuse to give her the money. It's less than 10,000 U.S. dollars. You don't even need to declare it when you enter the country."
Looking at the roll of old banknotes handed over by the other party, Wei Ran thought for a while and said, "You know, my aunt runs a travel agency. In addition, my parents also run a travel agency, so I have the means to bring more Some money goes over, if..."
"Then just wait for me." Gorman stood up before he finished speaking, almost jogging and left the cafe.
Less than ten minutes later, this old guy who usually frightened Wei Ran came in carrying a computer bag that was not too big and asked in a slightly lowered voice, "There are 5 in it." More than 10,000 U.S. dollars, plus the 60,000 that I just received, can you bring it over?"
"It's not a big problem." Wei Ran took the computer bag and finally asked the last question, "Why? Shall I go?"
"Or do you have a better candidate?"
Gorman asked. When Wei Ran didn't speak, the old guy sighed, "At least you He is trustworthy, and his identity is relatively clean. Unlike us, we will attract attention wherever we go, and we have to worry about whether there will be old friends knocking on the door."
"What time?" Wei Ran asked simply. .
“There’s no rush.” Gorman paused and then added, “Of course, the sooner the better.”
Isn’t that just impatient?
Wei Ran muttered to himself, but did not break the window paper after all, "I will make arrangements and set off immediately after returning to Volgograd."
"Okay. ..I'm waiting for your news."
Gorman rubbed his face hard and said, "I remember that your English is not very good. You can hire a local translator when the time comes. Also, if possible, you'd better do it. It’s better to start from China, which will be safer for you and her.”
“Don’t worry about this kind of thing”
Wei Ran threw the roll of cash on the table into his computer bag, "Don't you need me to bring her something?"
Gorman opened his mouth, but then simply said Shaking his head, "Forget it, no need, there is no need for the dead to disturb the living."
Before Wei Ran could say anything else, the old guy simply stood up and left the cafe.
Watching the other party go away, Wei Ran was not in a hurry to leave. From the ordinary life of the old man in the tailor shop not far away with his children and grandchildren around his knees, to the things that Gorman had just asked him to help when he was getting further and further away, to the experience of old man Nicholas and even Gorman a few months ago. The lesson that Suisui taught him in Intali.
These things hit Wei Ran's heart like waves one after another, making him more wary of the things he learned at the Hongqi Forest Farm and more aware of what he should do in the future. , what not to do.
"Confucianism disrupts the law with literature, while chivalry violates the law with martial arts..."
Wei Ran muttered to himself an ancient Chinese saying that Gorman gave to him. , finally stood up and left the cafe carrying a worn-out computer bag.
While driving to the airport, he began to think about the preparations needed for this trip to the lighthouse country.
If nothing else, the first and most important thing is a reliable translator. Otherwise, with my poor English, it may be unknown whether I can find the destination.
After thinking about it, apart from Suisui, whose English seems to be barely adequate, the only reliable translator left is his employee Kajianka.
But neither of the two seemed to be a good match. Needless to say, Suisui didn't want his family to know about his affair with Hongqi Forestry Farm.
As for Katenka, her background is also not clean. It will be troublesome to be caught if she lands, and she may even have to be spared. And the most important thing is that since Gorman secretly chose this time to find him, he made it clear that he didn't want others to know about it.
You can’t really borrow a tour guide from home? After thinking about it all the way, he finally decided to go back to the studio first.
On the same day's flight, after a long and boring flight and a smooth landing in Volgograd, Wei Ran drove an off-road vehicle back to the studio, only to find that the travel agency next door was particularly lively.
Curious, he opened the door and walked in. What made him dumbfounded was that except for a few people who were busy working in the spacious office, the rest had already set up a Great Wall on the mahjong table in the conference room.
As Wei Ran entered the door, Mao Zi, who was playing mahjong, also reacted very quickly and stopped what he was doing. It wasn't until they saw who was coming that the idiots who had been led astray by Professor Alexey relaxed.
"My aunt is on a business trip again?" Wei Ran asked as usual. It has long been an open secret to take advantage of the boss's absence to fish and play mahjong.
Don’t talk about him, even my aunt actuallyWe all know it clearly, but the nature of the work of a travel agency is actually like that. As long as the work that needs to be done is done, and as long as you don't drink during work, it is common to play mahjong, games or even have a small barbecue at the door.
"Not on a business trip"
The girl at the front desk with her face painted with little tortoises explained while drawing cards, "She went to Finland to see the professor and make a movie, half a month I went there before. I won’t be back until after Christmas. Victor, come here and help me play for a while. I’ve lost six games in a row.”
“Why don’t you take a holiday? "Wei Ran helped the little girl play a card and continued to ask.
“Can’t take a vacation”
The little girl at the front desk simply gave up her position to Wei Ran, and while wiping the amphibians in various postures on her face with a wet wipe, she explained, “Recently There are many tourists, most of them are going to Inta. There are two groups coming to Volgograd tonight, and there will be a group returning to China tomorrow..."
"Stop, stop, stop."
Wei Ran quickly stopped the other party from continuing, otherwise according to his usual experience, he might be raped.
"Hooray!"
Mao Zizhuang, who was sitting next to Wei Ran, shouted in a straight Chinese character, and then grabbed the card that Wei Ran had just thrown out.
"Victor, do you want to go to Finland?" Hupai's stupid tour guide asked in Chinese, "The boss said that the professor's acting was very good."
"I'll forget it, I have something to do these two days."
Wei Ran, who lost the card as soon as he sat down, no longer wanted to continue playing, so he simply gave up his position to Mao at the front desk again. Girl, "You guys keep playing, is anyone looking for me this month?"
The girl at the front desk who had just wiped her face seemed to have just remembered, and said while shuffling the cards, "About half Months ago, Mr. Nicholas and a man took away a wooden box from your studio. The door was opened by the boss."
"I know this, and there are other things. "
Wei Ranhun replied nonchalantly. The wooden box that was taken away contained the things that he had sent him back to the Rzhev battlefield before going to Hongqi Forest Farm for class. Liya said hello to herself.
"No, no, yes!"
The little girl stopped what she was doing, "A week ago, less than a week ago, there was a Hua Xia in a wheelchair. The girl came to see you."
"In a wheelchair?"
"The girl said her name was Sui Xin"
The one from before spoke Chinese. The male tour guide reminded, "I was there at the time, but the boss was not there either, so she left without saying anything."
"Is it her?"
Wei Ran finally The number is right. Isn't this Sui Xin the girl who was introduced to him by his aunt when Dalia and Teacher Culp forcibly sold the Guqin Youquan bed to him? At that time, I even visited the small supermarket owned by his family.
But why did she come to find me? Wei Ran suppressed the doubts in his heart and continued to ask, "Is there any more?"
The little girl at the front desk thought for a while and then shook her head, "No more."
"You guys can continue playing." Wei Ran didn't give others a chance to ask for help, and simply turned around and left the travel agency.
Back in the studio, Wei Ran took out his cell phone that had been turned off for a long time and charged it up. After searching in his address book, he dialed the number of Sui Xin, whom he had met once before.
"I'm Wei Ran, I'm sorry I just came back. Just now the front desk of the travel agency said you came here to see me?"
"I thought you changed your number" on the other end of the phone Sui Xin smiled and replied, "I did look for you before."
"What?" Wei Ran asked curiously, "Is something wrong?"
"There is something indeed. "
The girl on the other end of the phone hesitated for a moment and asked, "Are you at the travel agency? I'll go find you if it's convenient?"
"I'll go find you, there's just a car. The engine hasn't turned off yet," Wei Ran said quickly. It wasn't that he didn't want the other party to come, but it was just that the other party's physical condition made it difficult to come over.
"That's okay, thank you."
Sui Xin on the other end of the phone obviously heard Wei Ran's kindness. After thanking him, he hesitated for a moment and said, "Well... can Can’t you bring your guqin? I want to borrow it.”
“Borrow the guqin?” Wei Ran was stunned, and then replied simply, “Okay, no problem.” /p>
Sui Xin breathed a sigh of relief and said quickly, "Thank you then. I'll treat you to hot pot tonight."
"I'll leave now"
said After that, Wei Ran hung up the phone. Although he didn't understand why the other party suddenly borrowed the guqin, at least he had helped him in the first place, so he naturally wouldn't refuse.
As for the Guqin Youquan that the other party wants to borrow, it is still in the country. It is not a problem. There is also a bed of Yaoguang in the metal book.
Picked up the barely charged mobile phone, dug out two bottles of gin purchased last time as souvenirs, and finally took out the piano case from the metal book, Wei Ran Lock He opened the rolling shutter door, restarted the off-road vehicle with the engine still warm, and followed his memory to find the small supermarket owned by Sui Xin's family in the city of Volgograd.
Before he could park the car, Sui Xin's father was already waiting at the door, and it was obvious that the other party had recognized the ostentatious off-road vehicle, and in this uncle's Behind him, there was a wealthy middle-aged woman standing behind the wheelchair where Sui Xin was sitting.
The other party's family was waiting for him so grandly, which actually made Wei Ran feel a little embarrassed. He quickly parked the car on the side of the road, picked up the souvenirs and piano case and went to greet her.
"Why are you here carrying wine again? This time, our girl is asking for your help." Sui Xin's old father refused.
"Didn't you say you'd like to treat me to hot pot? You have to drink some wine?" Wei Ran asked pretending to be confused, but he also gave up invisibly.The only things on both sides were unfamiliarity and restraint.
"Okay, if you say that, I won't be polite. Let's have a bottle tonight!"
Sui Xin's father simply took Wei Ran's bag Holding the wine in his hand, he pulled him inside and introduced, "This is your aunt. The last time you came here, she went back to China and you didn't see her."
"Hello, aunt"
p>Wei Ran greeted the other party politely, and the latter responded gently. But Sui Xin, who had been pushed by her, since Wei Ran got out of the car, looked straight at the piano case with dots of reflections in his hand, and a look of surprise appeared on his chubby bun face. .
The two parties walked into the supermarket politely. Wei Ran immediately discovered that an elevator was installed near the original stairs in the supermarket. Obviously, this was prepared for Sui Xin, who was in a wheelchair.
Take the elevator to the second floor. When the elevator door opens, you will go directly to the classroom where Wei Ran has been.
It’s just that compared with last time, there are not a single student in the classroom today. At the same time, there are a few more air purifiers produced by China near the glass window, and on the side of the elevator On a small table, a stick of incense stick as thick as a toothpick was burning.
"After your kid came last time, I brought back several air purifiers."
Dad Sui Xin introduced with a proud look, "Even this elevator is At that time, I also bought a lot of cloth shoes with thousand-layer soles from China for those idiots to wear. This time, even if there are a hundred idiots sitting in this room, they won’t smell the smell of smelly feet or body odor. ."
"This incense smells pretty good,"
Wei Ran complimented sincerely. It can be seen that this father loves his daughter enough, otherwise he would not have made so many changes just because of his casual words at that time.
Waiting for Sui Xin’s mother to bring a pot of jasmine tea, Wei Ran accompanied the family of three and continued to be polite until Sui Xin’s mother and father excused themselves to prepare the ingredients for hot pot and left. In the classroom, he and Sui Xin brought the topic down to business.
"Are you planning to open a Guqin training class?" Wei Ran asked in surprise after hearing what Sui Xin said in a wheelchair.
“After you came last time, there were several idiots clamoring to learn, and then more and more people wanted to learn. Those idiots insisted that the guqin had fewer strings than the guzheng, so it was easy to learn. "
Sui Xin said with a headache, "Because of this, I practiced for almost half a year before picking up what I had learned before."
" Then you..."
"I actually want to borrow your piano to record some teaching videos."
Sui Xin glanced at the piano case that had been placed at Wei Ran's feet. Then he raised his finger and pointed at the beds of guqin hanging on the wall not far away, and explained with a distressed look, "Guqin is too expensive, especially when it is mailed here from China. Those amateur guqins are used for novices. It's barely ok for practice, but when used to record teaching videos, the sound quality is too poor.. ”
“Did you buy so many guqins? "Wei Ran asked in surprise. From the moment he entered the door, he noticed that the twenty guqins hanging on the wall were guqins.
"I don't have that much money"
p>Sui Xin's Baozi face showed a hint of pride, "I actually bought only five beds myself, and the rest were bought by students who wanted to learn piano. I paid for them. "
"These idiots are really everywhere..."
Wei Ran couldn't help but muttered, and then he happily picked up the piano case at his feet and put it on He put it on the table and said, "Then you can try this piano bed. I sent the Youquan bed back to China last year. This bed is called Yaoguang. I bought it not long ago." "
"This piano case alone doesn't look cheap. It seems to be...is it really Babao gray paint? What kind of idiot tycoon is this who is not short of money? Actually using Babao gray paint to make the piano case? ! "
Sui Xin's eyes widened. She had noticed the piano case from the moment they met, but she did not expect that the craftsmanship of the piano case was actually as expected.
"Who knows who is this idiot rich man who is not short of money?" Wei Ran held back a smile and glanced at the tattoo on the left tiger's mouth, but he felt a lot more comfortable. It has been so long, and finally someone is helping him. I cursed myself.
“You can buy this, I suspect you are a tomb robber. "
"Maybe I accidentally stabbed Qinwo," Wei Ran said nonsense and brushed off the topic.
Sui Xin swallowed, but did not Without touching the piano case on the table, he took out two wet wipes and wiped his hands carefully. After drying, he carefully opened the buckle on the piano case.
It was quite a bit. After struggling to take out the frighteningly heavy Guqin Yaoguang, Sui Xin looked at the silk strings on it, then looked at Wei Ran with a strange expression and asked, "Have you learned how to play the piano? "
"Why do you ask? "Wei Ran asked curiously as he helped move the piano case aside.
"They all use silk strings. Novices can't play well with these strings. "
"Just a few pulls," Wei Ran said modestly.
"How about you play a song first? Sui Xin seemed to be aroused, "Let me see how you're doing." ”
“I’ll forget it”
When he came back from Moscow, Wei Ran, who had already decided to keep a low profile and not pretend to be bad, quickly excused himself, although the metal book only taught He played Guangling San, but he knew how difficult it was. If he really wanted to play it, he might be regarded as a monster.
But if he really played that song, it would be a waste. How long has she known "Xianweng Cao"? Maybe this girl has to scold people for being stupid and spending too much money. In short, Wei Ran, who thinks he doesn't care about being stupid, doesn't do it. >Sui Xin didn't force herself when she saw this. She took out two paper towels and wiped her hands carefully, then gently placed them on the strings of Gu Qin Yaoguang.
For a moment, this warm space filled the air.In the empty classroom, a piece of piano music that Wei Ran had never heard rang out, and the look of surprise on Sui Xin's face became more and more serious.
Although Sui Xin can play the guzheng and the piano, her skill in playing the piano is far inferior to that of Chen Guangling. Even Wei Ran can tell that this girl is the same as Chen Guangling's son Chen Luoxiang. There are quite a few gaps between them. Of course, even so, it is definitely enough to fool Maozi.
But for Sui Xin, even though her skills are not good, she can still feel that this bed of guqin is still above the bed of Youquan that she saw before!
"Where on earth did this stupid rich guy find all these good pianos? Not to mention a novice, even I was wasting my money using this piano..."
Sui Xin secretly glanced at Wei Ran, who was sitting cross-legged drinking tea, and finally secretly made a comment that the latter thought would not appear as long as he did not touch the strings.
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