War Photographer's Notebook

Chapter 1909 Dirty Jokes
Calling Wulanbatou city a giant rural area would be an understatement, but even if Wei Ran and Sui Sui in the car were to be as objective as they could be, they could only say that with further development, this city might be able to catch up with the county town of Baiyangdian.

Or, to put it less arrogantly and annoyingly, and more poetically, the city outside the window is far less romantic than the song about it portrays.

Escorted by those dump trucks, the convoy did not stop after entering the city; instead, it simply drove through the city and headed straight southeast.

When vast shantytowns appeared outside the window amidst the swirling yellow sand, Wei Ran and Sui Sui lost all interest in appreciating the view.

"Yana, let's have an open and honest talk."

Sui Sui, sitting directly behind the driver, said, "About the copper mine under your name."

"Please go ahead," Yana, who was driving, said with an unconscious nervousness.

"If I return this copper mine, which rightfully belongs to your family, to you, do you think you can keep it?"

Sui Sui asked a question that directly addressed the most fundamental issues.

After a brief silence, Yana, who was driving, sighed, "I can't hold on. The law doesn't work here, and money isn't always so useful."

Even if I hire a large number of armed security personnel, I still can't defend myself. In fact, I might be taken hostage and sidelined by the security team I've hired.

"It's a good thing you're so clear-headed."

Sui Sui breathed a slight sigh of relief and said, "Now for the new question: what kind of life do you want to live?"

“Miss Aurora, you might as well ask me if I want to continue speaking.”

Yana's tone carried a hint of despondency and paleness. "My father was a soldier stationed in Mongolia during the Soviet era. He came from faraway Kaliningrad."

My mother was a Russian-language radio host in Mongolia at the time, and my father decided to stay for her sake, and I was born shortly afterward.

Doesn't that sound wonderful? In a country like this, our family is practically royalty.

After I came of age, my parents decided to send me to France to study business administration, hoping that I could inherit the family mine and expand the business.

I had excellent grades in France and even met Lenard's daughter; we became good friends.

It wasn't until I returned home one day that I discovered her father had seized our family business and was using my life as leverage.

Taking a deep breath, Yana continued, "My parents were also imprisoned by them, and I became Lenard's wife."

"Are they... I mean, your mom and dad still alive?" Sui Sui asked after a moment of silence.

“They’re dead. Lenat told me they died of anthrax in the pastoral area.”

Yana sighed, “My children died shortly after they were born.”

"Feel sorry"

"It's nothing, it's none of your business."

Yana wiped her eyes. "Miss Aurora, I know what you're worried about."

Don't worry, I'm already very satisfied to be alive and see their family punished.

I am also very clear that I cannot defend that copper mine on my own, so I will not try to take back what is supposed to be mine.

You've left me speechless.

Sui Sui sighed, then said, "Let's go back to the question we just discussed, Yana, what kind of life do you want to live?"

"Do I have a choice?"

"Now is the time to choose."

The man in the passenger seat reminded him, "This might be your last chance to choose freely."

"I"

Yana gave a self-deprecating laugh. "I didn't know, my life has been ruined."

"Do you need to take your daughter back?" Wei Ran asked.

"never mind"

Yana shook her head. "That child has only spent less than an hour with me since she was born. She probably doesn't even know I exist."

Aside from knowing she was sent abroad to study, I really didn't have any feelings for her.

"In that case, you will be in charge of managing this mine from now on."

Sui Sui said something surprising: "I hope you haven't wasted the knowledge you've learned."

"You're handing it over to me to manage?" Yana looked at Sui Sui in surprise through the rearview mirror.

Sui Sui's reminder to "keep your eyes on the road" made Yana quickly look away.

"Although the mining business here is very attractive, I probably won't have much time to come here."

Sui Sui and Wei Ran exchanged a glance and then said, "So if you're interested, why don't we put it in your management? I'll offer you a high enough salary and help you find buyers from China, but you'll be responsible for everything else."

"Can I...?" Yana asked in a panic.

“If you lack confidence, I can send you to France, give you a house, and provide you with a monthly allowance,” Sui Sui said nonchalantly.

“I… I want to try managing that mine,” Yana said, gripping the steering wheel tightly.

“Then it’s decided!” Sui Sui said immediately.

"What do you mean by this?" Wei Ran asked with a smile, switching to Chinese. "Saving a courtesan?"

"Save my ass!"

Sui Sui rolled her eyes and switched back to her native language, saying, "Unless we control her like Lenard does, if she harbors any resentment, it will become an excuse for others to cause us trouble in the future."

Instead of doing that, we might as well bring her onto our ship and have her work for us wholeheartedly.

Besides, why would I send Lola or Hinda here when I have such a skilled worker familiar with the local market?

“That’s true,” Wei Ran nodded hastily.

"You should contact your scumbag friend later."

Sui Sui switched back to Russian and said, "Have some more people from Gleva come over. Since the law isn't very effective here, we need to prepare some legal means that are more effective than the law in advance."

“Miss Aurora, please don’t worry. The people Mr. Greva sent arrived here this morning ahead of schedule.”

The man in the passenger seat said, "They've already joined the mine's security team."

"Yana, tell me about Lenard's French wife," Wei Ran started a new conversation.

"Lenata's French wife was also a classmate of my second daughter and I."

Unlike me, however, she truly fell in love with Lenard. No, it should be said that she truly fell in love with Lenard's money.

Yana gave a self-deprecating laugh for some reason and continued, "Even in order to get more money, Lenard's second wife, that utterly despicable woman, was sent to prison by my French classmate."

This family is really lively.

Sui Sui exclaimed in surprise, "Lenat didn't kill her?"

"His wife, Wu Kelan, falsified accounts in an attempt to get more money for her sons and daughters. Even his eldest son, Xi Du, was bewitched by this wife."

"My French classmate, with the help of Lenard's two eldest daughters, exposed the secret of that rotten woman," Yana said.

She succeeded, even gaining the right to raise that utterly despicable woman's daughter, and somehow, she secretly won over that utterly despicable woman's brother.

However, Lenat's two eldest daughters thought she was too shrewd, so they used various methods to send her away to recruit talent.

"You seem to know a lot about all this?" Sui Sui, who had been watching the drama unfold, asked with a hint of doubt.

"She came to see me specifically before she went to recruit nuclear engineers."

Yana sighed, “She said she originally planned to send Lenard’s two eldest daughters to prison as well, and then as long as she could find a way to kill Lenard, his wealth would be hers.”

She hoped I could help her and promised to return the mine to me if things went smoothly.

"you"

“I failed,” Yana shook her head. “I’m not as smart as that woman, Wartsawa.”

"Tsk! It's Warta again!"

Wei Ran sighed strangely, while subtly waving to the Kajenka sisters sitting behind him by stroking the back of his head.

Having received the hint, Anfia immediately took out her phone and authentication device. Without needing to be told explicitly, she knew that Wei Ran had become suspicious of the French woman who had been controlled by Hela.

These flies are everywhere.

Sui Sui complained in her native language, "I'm even starting to suspect that maybe the earth is a rotten egg with a crack."

"That's a great description."

Wei Ran gave a thumbs-up to the Queen sitting beside him in agreement, then switched back to Russian and asked, "Yana, continue telling us things we don't know. Is there anything else outrageous about his family?"

"The death of Lenard's first wife was actually an accident."

While Yana, who was driving, was sharing all sorts of outrageous family matters about the Lenat family with great candor, an unusual trial was taking place in the Aurora Tavern in the town of Tula.

"I am Old Ivan, who once served at the Wildfire Rescue Station."

On the first floor of the Aurora Tavern, Apoli, standing on a solid wood dining table, said into a microphone, "Comrades, or ladies and gentlemen, let's get straight to the point."

As you've all guessed recently, Aurora, the snow maiden who brought us tourists and good days, was indeed kidnapped after Easter and nearly fell into the hands of those bastards who deserve to drown in the cesspool.

Before the drivers who had been invited through the rescue radio channel could begin to whisper among themselves, the mechanic who had tampered with Wei Ran and the others' monster truck was pushed forward by two gang members with red and black thorn tattoos on their wrists.

"Confess your crimes yourself."

Apoli squatted on the table, handed the microphone to the repairman, and said, "The merciful Miss Aurora is willing to forgive your foolish mistake, but on the condition that you confess the whole process without missing a single letter."

The maintenance worker, who appeared to be unharmed, instinctively turned his head to look at the stairwell leading to the second floor. Behind the heavy iron door were his wife and children.

Without much hesitation, he trembled as he reached for the microphone, then stepped onto a chair, knelt on the table, and held the microphone up, saying regretfully, "I was too greedy. I was bribed to tamper with Miss Aurora's car. I—" "You bastard, you almost ruined everyone's good life!"

With a roar, the two truck drivers who had been rescued by Wei Ran and others at the Liehuo Rescue Station threw their salmon pie and a plate of hot and sour shredded potatoes, which they had learned from Chinese tourists and popularized, at him.

In that instant, all sorts of delicacies, including a bottle of Lao Gan Ma chili sauce left as a gift by a Chinese tourist, flew towards the maintenance worker on the table.

But the anger was quickly suppressed by the well-dressed gang members who swarmed around them.

"Ladies and gentlemen, comrades."

Apolit, holding another microphone, said, "The kind Miss Aurora has already forgiven his mistake; all he needs to do is let him tell the story."

Miss Aurora also promised that this incident would not reduce business investment and tourist transport along the Tunguska River.

So let's keep quiet now and let him finish his story of greed.

Under Apoli's reassurance, the drivers, who were filling the tavern, quieted down again, filled their enamel mugs with the free vodka they were given that day, and took the empty bottles with them.

"That idiot is finished."

At the bar counter on the edge of the tavern, Su Lie held a glass of juice and spoke softly.

"Hasn't Miss Aurora already forgiven him?"

His girlfriend, Sasha, asked in a low voice, puzzled. She hadn't even finished college yet, so it was no wonder she still retained her precious innocence and naivety.

"forgive?"

Su Lie chuckled and shook his head. "He has already sentenced himself to death. He is already socially dead in the Tunguska River, in the town of Tula, and even in Turuhansk."

In the future, no one will hire him, no one will be his friend, and no one will pity him or take him in.

And look at all those gentlemen in suits. I bet that idiot wouldn't be able to find a job even if he moved to the faraway Kamchatka Peninsula; he'd probably be begging for a living.

Upon hearing this, the little girl named Sasha shuddered, and an unconcealable fear appeared in her eyes.

She was naive, but definitely not stupid, and that's why she knew perfectly well that what her boyfriend Su Lie said was true.

Not only was Sui Sui unaware of what was happening in Tula Town, but even Wei Ran was oblivious.

Of course, even if he knew, he probably wouldn't say anything. We're all adults, and we all have to be responsible for our actions.

repent?

If repentance were useful, what would be the point of having police? Do you expect the police to baptize you with holy water?

If holy water can wash away sins, then the cruciforms who led the Eastern Expedition were just wasting their time.

Regardless of the final outcome of the Aurora Tavern in Tula Town, before nightfall, Wei Ran and the others successfully arrived at Saiyinshanda, which is only 200 kilometers away from China.

Although it is known as the fourth largest city in the Sheepfold Kingdom, in reality it is only at the level of a poor county town in China—perhaps even far worse.

However, as the car slowed down along the way, Wei Ran and Sui Sui noticed that there were quite a few Chinese people outside the car window.

Of course, there are even more Koreans than Chinese people, and all sorts of Korean-made cars.

"I can understand that there are so many Chinese people here."

Sui Sui said, "After all, this place is right next to the Erlian Pass, but why are there still so many Koreans here?"

Do you know another name for Ulanbato?

Yana, who was driving, answered her own question, "Another name for it is Eastern Chicken Tofu."

"The seqing industry?" Sui Sui immediately realized.

"That's right"

Yana responded, "The entire Mongolian population is only 300 million, but those who go to Mongolia to work or study make up 2% of the population."

Before Sui Sui or Wei Ran could say anything, she added, "In addition, there are just as many women working in the sex industry, almost entirely serving the sex industry for men from South Korea."

"The direct flight from Seoul to Ulanbakh is only three hours."

The man in the passenger seat added, "Many people jokingly refer to those flights as Durex flights."

"That's a great description," Wei Ran couldn't help but laugh.

There's a really horrible joke circulating locally.

The man in the passenger seat stopped there, then smiled apologetically, "Never mind what I said, that joke was too rude."

Clearly, the hellish joke he had just subconsciously wanted to tell was not suitable for a lady to hear.

"Tell me about it," Wei Ran asked with a smile when he saw Sui Sui secretly kicking him with the tip of her shoe.

"There were four men in front of the Mongolian girl, from Russia, China, China, and South Korea."

The man in the passenger seat said, "Smart Mongolian girls will prioritize serving men who are good-looking."

"Why?" Wei Ran asked with a smile.

"Because Russian men are mostly poor, and the men who recruit nuclear weapons are mostly stingy and perverted. Although Chinese men are very rich, it takes too long and is not conducive to overthrowing the regime."

The man in the passenger seat said gleefully, "Only men from South Korea can save time, don't get too tired, and still earn a lot of money."

The joke told by the man in the passenger seat immediately made Wei Ran and the other three girls in the car burst into laughter.

It was amidst this truly absurd joke that Yana's car pulled up in front of a hotel in a bustling area of ​​the small town.

Let's rest here for the night.

As Yana pulled the handbrake, she said, "This hotel is also an affiliated property of the mine. It's usually used to receive clients, and I also stay here regularly."

"In that case, we won't stand on ceremony and bother you."

Speaking from the guests' perspective, Sui Sui said, "Yana, could you arrange some local specialties for us?"

"sure"

As Yana opened the electric door to the back of the car, she said gratefully. She wasn't stupid; she could tell that Sui Sui's words had left her with enough dignity.

At the same time, the man sitting in the passenger seat had already pushed open the door and gotten out of the car.

Under his guidance, Wei Ran and Sui Sui led a group of girls into the lobby on the first floor of the hotel, while the dump trucks that had followed them either stopped at the intersection blocking the hotel entrance or drove into the courtyard behind the hotel.

"Greeves, what are you doing here?" Wei Ran asked with a smile.

"I flew from Vladivostok to Ulan Batur only a few hours earlier than you."

Greva explained to Wei Ran and Sui Sui, "But we flew here by helicopter, so it was much faster."

"Explain the situation."

As Wei Ran spoke, he and Sui Sui sat down on the sofa in the lounge area on the first floor.

"After the business meetings and recruitment in Tula town were over, all the employees came here."

Greta used exceptionally precise language: “These people have all joined the security department of Ms. Yana’s mining company and have obtained the legal right to carry firearms.”

"I'll leave the work of protecting Ms. Yana and the mining company to you from now on," Sui Sui said.

"Please rest assured"

Greta readily agreed and then led them into the hotel's banquet hall, where a sumptuous dinner had been prepared, along with a local song and dance performance.

However, throughout the entire process, neither the man sent by Big-Eared Chabu to receive them, nor the rescued Yana, nor the early arrival of Greva, nor even Wei Ran and Sui Sui, mentioned visiting the actual copper mine.

In fact, there was really no need to go see it. The journey from Ulan Bate to this temporarily closed hotel was enough.

For this reason, Yana also extended an invitation to Wei Ran and Sui Sui to go hunting together the next day during the dinner.

"What's good to eat here? I mean, what are some unique game?" Sui Sui asked, clutching a roasted lamb leg in her hand.

"This is the season for hunting argali and gazelles."

As Yana poured wine for Sui Sui and Wei Ran, she introduced, "The horns of the argali sheep are very beautiful decorations, and the meat of the yellow sheep is very delicious."

"If we go hunting, would that be considered poaching?" Sui Sui asked, quite intrigued.

“Of course not.”

Yana explained with a smile, "Spring is coming soon, and the argali sheep will graze on the roots of the grass. If the population gets too big, they will turn the grassland into a desert."

Therefore, the government allocates a certain number of hunting quotas each year for legal hunting.

"Is the gazelle also one?" Sui Sui asked.

"That's right"

Yana nodded. "Although they are not as destructive as argali sheep, they steal food from the flock, so they are actually considered harmful animals here."

At this point, Yana added, "In addition, the gazelle is very fast and extremely alert."

If you're just using a shotgun, it's actually quite difficult to hit them without hunting them in a group.

If you have time, I can take you to try it tomorrow.

"Want to go?"

Sui Sui looked at Wei Ran sitting next to her, then kicked the dog Belial, who was lying between them, busy gnawing on a lamb bone. "Let it move around a bit, look how fat it's become."

"Then let's go."

Wei Ran said nonchalantly that they were here to make their presence felt. Although they didn't have to suffer in the sand-filled mining area, they couldn't just drive for hours like some kind of innocent victim and then immediately go back.

While they were enjoying their meal and planning their hunting trip on the sparsely grassed grasslands, the two Wartstai squads, captured by Hela, Niner, and Uncle Chab with big ears, were finally "imported" as cargo to Dezor, a region that was almost invisible but united.

No matter how desperately the Warta Revenge Organization searched for the two missing teams, at this very moment, all the members of both teams, including the spy assistant's friend, had been taken to a secret hospital hidden in an air-raid shelter to begin a daring and avant-garde surgical weight loss and body shaping program.