“Comrade, can’t you hurry it up a little?”
Zhou Shengnan took out two packs of Changbai Ginseng cigarettes and handed them over. At two yuan a pack, they were considered pretty good cigarettes these days.
The staff member glanced at them, his eyes lighting up. He quickly slipped them into his pocket, and his smile grew noticeably more genuine.
“Miss, we’ll do our best to get it back to you quickly, but there’s no way we can rush the people handling the review.
“Here’s what I can do: I’ll check on your passport every day. As soon as it’s ready, I’ll bring it right back.”
The staff member also told her that although they said fifteen days, it usually came through after ten.
Zhou Shengnan nodded helplessly. There really wasn’t much she could do to hurry things along.
But every extra day she stayed here meant another day’s expenses.
She figured the food she’d brought would be enough, so aside from the room, she shouldn’t have to spend much over the next few days.
More importantly, the extra time gave her a chance to think about what else she could take to the Soviet Union.
Passing a newsstand, Zhou Shengnan called home to let them know she was safe. Zhou Jihong happened to be there and answered, telling her everything was fine at home.
Song Qiaozhen’s condition had stabilized. The doctor said she could be discharged after another half month.
Zhou Shengnan filled him in on how things were going where she was. Hearing that his younger sister sounded fine, Zhou Jihong finally relaxed a little.
If he hadn’t still had to pay for the call, he probably would have kept her on the phone nagging for quite a while.
After letting her family know she was safe, Zhou Shengnan headed back to the guesthouse to eat.
There was a communal kitchen, bathroom, and washroom, all free to use unless you wanted to buy food.
As soon as she got back, a short, chubby man came sidling over.
“Hey, miss, are you going to Russia too?
“Want me to take you along? I’ve been over there more than ten times. I know the place like the back of my hand.”
Zhang Zhongyi squinted as he looked Zhou Shengnan up and down, taking in her tall, curvy figure. A sleazy, greedy look flashed in his eyes.
A pretty girl like that—just imagining getting her into bed was enough to make him grin.
Zhou Shengnan had seen too many men like this in her previous life, sidling up with an agenda. She snorted and walked on as if she hadn’t heard him.
If she didn’t want to end this life with blood on her hands, those two glances he’d cast at her chest would have been enough to make her gouge his eyes out.
Still, if she couldn’t deal with him openly, she could do it on the sly. Tonight, she’d shove his head in a chamber pot and give his eyes a good wash.
At the thought, Zhou Shengnan smiled to herself and went back to her room to eat.
Earlier, afraid she might go hungry, Zhou Jihong had stuffed her bag with sticky rice cakes, steamed buns, red bean buns, and sugar-filled triangular buns.
He’d even packed two big jars of pickles.
Zhou Shengnan took out two red bean buns and began to eat. Their filling was sweet and smooth, with little bits of red bean still in it.
Eating one was like having a soft, fluffy kitten blink its big, pretty eyes, meow, and roll around, playfully begging for attention inside her mouth.
The perfect combination of fermented dough and red bean paste made Zhou Shengnan reluctant to swallow. She had to admit, her brother could cook like nobody’s business.
She was so absorbed in eating that the middle-aged woman who’d just come in kept swallowing hungrily, her stomach growling along with her.
Zhou Shengnan knew someone had come in, of course, but she had no intention of sharing. Her brother had stayed up all night making these for her.
Besides, the woman didn’t look like she was down to her last penny or unable to afford a meal.
The woman stood there for a while. When Zhou Shengnan didn’t even look up, she rolled her eyes and muttered that Zhou Shengnan was stingy.
Then she plopped down on the bed beside her, making a noisy fuss.
Now that she was closer, Zhou Shengnan could smell the woman’s body odor. Who knew how long it had been since she’d bathed?
Frowning, Zhou Shengnan locked away her things in the cabinet, took her bun, and left the room.
She’d rather eat in the hallway than have the stench ruin her appetite.
As she ate, Zhou Shengnan saw the sleazy Zhang Zhongyi from earlier swagger out.
She was going to beat him up, so she quickly stuffed the rest of her bun into her mouth and quietly followed him.
Along the way, whenever Zhang Zhongyi spotted a pretty girl, he practically glued his eyes to her. Sometimes he even walked crookedly just to brush against a girl passing by. It made Zhou Shengnan feel even more disgusted.
She found a few broken bricks on the road and picked them up, ready to break Zhang Zhongyi’s filthy hands somewhere out of sight.
But just as she reached a corner, she caught a glimpse of a familiar figure disappearing around it.
She would recognize that hypocritical face even if it had been burned to ashes. It was Chen Weihua, the bastard.
She hadn’t expected him to be here too. Was he planning to become a shuttle trader as well?
At that point, Zhang Zhongyi didn’t matter anymore. She could beat him up any time.
But when it came to making Chen Weihua suffer, Zhou Shengnan had plenty of strength and plenty of ways to do it.
Her back no longer hurt, her legs felt strong, and she could have climbed six flights of stairs without breaking a sweat.
She followed Chen Weihua through a winding route to another guesthouse, where Zhao Hongying came rushing up to him coquettishly.
“Damn, didn’t Zhao Hongying’s dad get so angry he fainted? How can she still be following Chen Weihua around?
“Tsk, tsk. Another damn love-struck idiot.”
Zhou Shengnan covered her face with her scarf and went into the guesthouse, pretending to look for someone as she followed them upstairs.
“Weihua, I took all the money from home and gave it to you to do business. You’d better not cheat me!
“My dad’s still in the hospital. I don’t even know if he’s angry with me.”
In the hallway, Zhao Hongying clung to Chen Weihua’s arm and swung it back and forth.
A flicker of impatience crossed Chen Weihua’s eyes, but he hid it well. He gave her a tender, affectionate smile.
“Silly girl, we’re married now—we’ve got our marriage certificate. We’re one. How could I cheat you?
“I’ve already looked into it. Doing business in the Soviet Union is really easy right now. I even found a shuttle trader who goes there regularly. It’ll be fine.
“Besides, since we ran off together, we have to come back with a fortune. Otherwise, how could we face your dad?”
Zhao Hongying gazed at Chen Weihua with adoration as she listened.
She praised how capable and thoughtful he was, as if even his farts smelled sweet.
Zhou Shengnan found out which room they were in, then leaned by the door and listened for a while. When she decided there was nothing useful to hear, she went downstairs.
She crouched in a corner near the guesthouse, hands tucked into her sleeves as she watched to see whether Chen Weihua would come out.
“Damn it, that pretty-boy wants to go to the Soviet Union and make money too?
“Hmph. We’ll see if I let him!”
As Zhou Shengnan’s mind raced through all the ways she could get back at Chen Weihua, she spotted Zhang Zhongyi gripping the hand of a wonton-stall owner and refusing to let go.
Looking at Zhang Zhongyi’s revolting face, Zhou Shengnan suddenly smiled.
Heh. Now there was a ready-made way to kill two birds with one stone.
Excited, Zhou Shengnan scratched her butt and kept her big eyes fixed on Zhang Zhongyi.
After he’d had his way and wandered into a secluded alley, he suddenly felt a blow to the back of his head. Then he lost consciousness.
Zhang Zhongyi’s heavy body slammed into the ground, sending the snow beside him flying.
Zhou Shengnan tossed aside the brick and kicked him in the butt.
“You like being a hooligan, don’t you? I’ll find you a nice place to go today!”
After beating Zhang Zhongyi up, Zhou Shengnan pulled out a woven pig-feed sack, stuffed him inside, and carried him back to where she’d been waiting.
She stayed there until after eight, when the lights in the guesthouse had all gone out. Then she carried Zhang Zhongyi inside.
Zhang Zhongyi woke once on the way, but Zhou Shengnan kicked him unconscious again.
Once inside, Zhou Shengnan rented a single room right beside Chen Weihua’s.
The guesthouse receptionist barely reacted to the huge sack Zhou Shengnan was carrying. He assumed she was just another shuttle trader who’d arrived late that night.
It was nothing out of the ordinary.
As soon as Zhou Shengnan got into her room, she pressed a cup against the wall adjoining Chen Weihua’s room.
The walls in Northeast guesthouses were thick, but if anyone spoke or moved around, there was always some sound.
Zhou Shengnan listened intently for a long time. Only after Chen Weihua and Zhao Hongying had fallen asleep did she open the door and carry Zhang Zhongyi out.
The locks on doors in the 1980s were child’s play for Zhou Shengnan. She popped it open with a black hairpin.
Those two were idiots. They hadn’t even put the chain on. She’d gotten in so easily that it hardly felt like a challenge.
She tiptoed inside. In the dim light, she looked at the two of them sleeping in bed and let a wicked smile curl her lips.
She pressed the acupuncture points at the backs of Zhao Hongying and Chen Weihua’s necks, making them sleep even more deeply.
“Heh heh heh. You two must be lonely sleeping by yourselves. Let me liven things up a little.”
Zhou Shengnan dumped Zhao Hongying on the floor, stripped Zhang Zhongyi naked, and stuffed him into Chen Weihua’s bed.
“Chen Weihua, since you love showing off that face of yours, I’ll make sure you get your money’s worth!”
Zhou Shengnan slapped Chen Weihua hard across the face twice and took all the money from his pockets.
She was just about to search Zhao Hongying’s pockets when thunder rumbled overhead.
Thunder in the middle of winter—now that was strange.
For some reason, Zhou Shengnan had the feeling the thunder was aimed at her.
Her body tingled in a way that made her uncomfortable.
Trusting her animal instinct to survive, Zhou Shengnan sensed something was wrong. She didn’t bother taking Zhao Hongying’s money; instead, she quickly wiped away the traces of her entry and made her escape.
Since she’d paid for the single room, she wasn’t about to waste it. Zhou Shengnan went back to her room and happily went to sleep, looking forward to the show tomorrow.
Sure enough, at around five, Zhou Shengnan heard Zhao Hongying scream in the next room.
Her eyes flew open. She threw on a coat and ran out, kicked open the adjoining door, and shrieked in an affected voice,
“Oh my God! Someone come quick! There’s a pervert in this room!”