above the point of the knife

Chapter 167

The little girl is called Nina.

She became the joy of Zhou Sen and Anna's entire journey.

Looking at the spring scenery outside the window on the rails of the train, my heart is longing.

At this moment, Zhou Sen didn't think about his identity or mission at all. Perhaps it would be a good choice to take the train all the way west and go directly to the terminal.

"Uncle Steven, will you have a baby with Aunt Martha?" Nina asked with innocent eyes.

"Maybe, your Aunt Martha is not in good health. If you give birth to a baby, there may be problems." Zhou Sen was stunned for a moment. After all, he reacted quickly, and he couldn't bear to lie to such an innocent child.

Anna's cheeks blushed in embarrassment.

"Dad always said that it would be great if Mom could give him another little brother." Nina Tongyan said.

Nina's mother immediately became embarrassed when she heard this, "Don't listen to Nina's nonsense."

"It's okay, with one more little brother, Nina will have one more person to protect her in the future, so that's pretty good." Zhou Sen laughed.

Patriarchy is not limited to Chinese people, foreigners also hope to have a male to inherit their surname and family business.

This is the rule of patriarchal society. If you want to change this, you must first overturn the rules of this society and make a new set of rules.

This is not based on human will, but a rule that is ultimately formed by social relations, development, and social stability.

Once it is overthrown, without a new set of rules to replace it, society will lose stability, contradictions will break out, and violent conflicts will have far-reaching effects than wars.

Digression, Zhou Sen doesn't think he can come up with any solution, because he is not a person who thinks actively.

His ideal is actually very simple, to survive and live into the next century.

There is a restaurant on the train that provides three meals a day, but the taste is not good.

Zhou Sen wanted to ask Anna to go to the dining car together, but Anna said that he had no appetite and didn't want to eat, so she let him go alone.

Can there be anything delicious on the train? Zhou Sen asked for a glass of table wine and a serving of spaghetti and ate some.

Brought Anna some bread, and four hard-boiled eggs.

It is nearly [-] kilometers from Vladivostok to Khabarovsk. According to the speed of the train and the passengers getting on and off, it will take at least one day and one night to arrive.

After handing the bread and eggs to Anna, Zhou Sen took the kettle to boil the water. There was boiling water on the train, and it was free.

Although Nina is lively, she is a girl after all, she is just talkative, not the kind of noisy boy. She is relatively quiet when she is not talking. After lunch, she was coaxed to sleep by her mother.

Zhou Sen gave the lower berth to Anna. He lay on the upper berth alone and took out the newspapers he bought at the station. Newspapers are not only a way of entertainment, but also a source of news and intelligence.

Zhou Sen mainly browses the domestic news. The news here is relatively closed and slow, so what he can see is basically many days ago.

I am tired of reading newspapers.

He got out of bed to smoke a cigarette, took a breath in the corridor, and then looked at the distant scenery. To be honest, he may not have the opportunity to come again in the future. This may be the only opportunity in this life to set foot on the land that once belonged to him. land.

"Tickets are checked, tickets are checked, take out the tickets..." A train policeman walked all the way over, yelling, asking passengers to take out the tickets for him to check.

This is a routine rule, as long as you still take the train, it is normal.

There are many Chinese living in Khabarovsk. They were actually Chinese in the past, and some of them were Chinese who fled after the Manchurian Incident, and gradually took root there.

Just like the Belarus living in the ice city, they have intermarried with the locals long ago and became locals.

The Daur ethnic group where the hunters live is a typical example. Although they still retain some culture, their living habits have basically tended to be Russified.

Therefore, Zhou Sen's yellow skin and face were not too eye-catching. After the police inspected, they returned the ticket to him.

Zhou Sen made a cup of milk for Anna, and also made a cup for little Nina by the way.

Little Nina's tutoring was very strict, and with her mother's approval, she reached out and took the glass of milk, and drank it in small sips.

Zhou Sen added some oatmeal to Anna's milk.

Anna took it and stared at Zhou Sen. In the eyes of outsiders, she and Zhou Sen were a young and loving couple.

A hint of envy flashed in Nina's mother's eyes, but she quickly restrained herself.

There are also small snacks for sale in the car.

The price was not expensive. Zhou Sen bought some melon seeds, peanuts, and some sweet and sour preserved fruits. It was really hard not to find something to do along the way, especially for women.

Moreover, Nina's mother was from Khabarovsk, so it happened to be possible to ask her some information. Of course, Zhou Sen was not easy to ask. Anna was a woman, so it was easier for them to let go of their guard and communicate with each other.

Of course, Zhou Sen is also listening and analyzing, finding the information they want to know from the small talk, which is one of the basic skills of agents.

The train is slow, but much faster than walking, and taking a car can take more than three times as long, and at a greater cost.

For a country with a vast territory, railway transportation is the most economical and affordable way to travel, not to mention that railways have great strategic significance.

Russians have a soft spot for wine, Zhou Sen is very fortunate that they are in the same carriage as a mother and daughter, if they meet a Russian man, it will be a disaster.

At night, as soon as the car door opened, the smell of alcohol wafted across the air.

Sleeping on the train is definitely not good, but as a well-trained agent, there is always time to seize all the time to rest.

……

The morning sun shone in through the car windows, and the interior of the car was filled with golden yellow, and the reflections on the faces of the people were glowing and warm.

"woke up?"

Zhou Sen got off the upper bunk and saw Anna sitting on the lower bunk, leaning on her elbows, looking out of the car window. The window was opened through a gap, and the outside wind came in, blowing her temples. At this moment, she was full of holy spirit. smell.

"I'm going to wash my face, do you want to go together?"

"No, I've already washed it."

Zhou Sen didn't say anything, took a towel, a toothbrush and a cup, opened the door and went out. Nina was still sleeping in her mother's arms. Both mother and daughter slept in the lower bunk. Sleeping alone, my mother is worried, not to mention Nina is also very clingy to her mother.

After washing up, Zhou Sen came back and asked Anna what she wanted for breakfast.

Anna asked Zhou Sen to buy her some oatmeal, Zhou Sen agreed, and went to the dining car for breakfast alone.

He wants a sandwich, fried eggs, and a cup of coffee.

When you're done, pack and bring back a bowl of oatmeal.

The rest of the journey was very calm, except for the train stopping at Ussuriysk (Shuangchengzi) and Bijin, and then went straight to Khabarovsk (Khabarovsk).

The train is coming in.

Khabarovsk is the capital of the Far East, the political and military center, although the city is not big.

But its status and geographical location are unique.

This is the junction of the HLJ and the Ussuri River, the throat of the waterway, and the station of the Amur River Fleet of the Soviet Russian Far East Navy.

This naval fleet is an inland river fleet, similar to the Jiang Shangjun of the Puppet Manchukuo, but it is still much higher in terms of strength.

"Goodbye, little Nina!" On the platform, Zhou Sen, Anna and little Nina waved goodbye.

"Uncle Steven, Aunt Martha, welcome to my house!"

"Okay, if uncle and aunt are free, they will definitely go." Although it is an unrealistic promise, it is also a good hope.

"Let's go, find a place to settle down first, we're going to stay here for a while." Zhou Sen gently held Anna's waist and said.

"It's too inconvenient to stay in a hotel, why don't we build a house?"

"Then there's no need to look for a house now, you have to settle down and meet with the hunters?" Zhou Sen said.

Khabarovsk is the capital of the Far East, the seat of the Far East Military District, many military institutions, and the special police school that Front once attended.

Soldiers in Soviet military uniforms can be seen everywhere on the streets here, almost half and half with ordinary people.

To be honest, this feeling of oppression is heavy.

Moreover, this is the seat of the Soviet Russian Far East Intelligence Department, but the intelligence and counter-espionage forces here are definitely not weak.

No one is interested here, except the Japanese.

The buildings in Khabarovsk are not very high. They are all two or three-story Russian-style buildings. The streets are very wide. Although there are many people on the streets, the wide streets look sparse when they are spread out evenly.

The climate here is good, there are green trees everywhere, and the forest is full of shade. It is not as prosperous as the ice city, but it is much more exquisite.

The city is not big, and the people's lives are relatively comfortable. Although this is a border, it is separated by a wide river. This natural barrier prevents all possible invasions.

At least there hasn't been a war here for a long time, not to mention that there are a large number of troops stationed locally, and under the protection of a strong army, it is natural to feel more at ease.

"That's the one, Amur Hotel." Zhou Sen was really struggling to drag two suitcases, one big and one small.

"We are from the United States. We are visiting relatives in Khabarovsk. Give us a room." Zhou Sen handed the documents to the front desk of the hotel.

"We have ordinary rooms and suites, which one do you two choose?"

"The suite, it's more comfortable to live in the suite." Zhou Sen made the decision directly. Anyway, he didn't spend his own money.

The check-in procedure is very simple. After registration, a waiter will come to help them carry their suitcases to the room on the second floor.

The room is very large and spacious, with a large bed, a small living room, and a separate bathroom. The condition is very good.

In Ice City, you can get a lot of money for one night, but in Khabarovsk, it is cheaper to pay in rubles.

"Steven, according to the agreed time, you must report your safety tonight," Anna said.

"Don't worry, get the house settled first, and it won't be too late for us to report safety. This is for our safety." Zhou Sen said, "I'll go and get the radio station back first. Teacher Shibuya's task for the hunters is not only to assist Outside of our work, they should stay and continue to lurk, they have to find a job, have a legitimate identity and reason to stay."

"how do you know?"

"I'm guessing, otherwise, there's no need to send so many people for a joint mission, and they should be divided into two groups." Zhou Sen said, "You and I must go back, so the hunters will naturally stay."

"Officer Shibuya said that you are very smart, but you just refuse to use this smartness to serve the empire, otherwise, you would have achieved something long ago." Anna said.

"Although Mr. Shibuya thinks highly of me, I am still a Manchurian. This cannot change the fact." Zhou Sen chuckled.

Just as Anna was about to retort, she was stopped by Zhou Sen who raised her hand, because there was a sound of footsteps outside the door.

(End of this chapter)