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墨書 Inktalez
"Hey, Misha, have you had dinner yet?"
Ivan called him, and Xu Li cheerfully asked, "Are you planning to stay for a few days?"
"No," came Ivan's voice from the other end of the line. He glanced at his silent comrade across from him, the woman beside him holding a child and the few half-grown kids behind them. He grinned and said, "I have an Old Comrade here who got into some trouble recently and has nowhere to stay. Can you arrange something on your end?"
"Has the situation been resolved?" Xu Li frowned slightly. If there were unresolved issues, it could bring unnecessary trouble to the village. Ivan chuckled, "The house was compensated, and a substantial medical fee was paid. They won't pursue it any further."
"Alright, make sure to bring him over when you have time."
After hanging up, he relayed the conversation to Andrei. The Old Russian nodded, "Then let him stay next to Popov. Let's check the utilities first; if anything needs replacing, have Ivan bring it tomorrow."
"Okay," Xu Li agreed, standing up with Andrei as they grabbed a flashlight and headed out of the yard towards Popov's house. They called out to Old Russian, informing him that neighbors would be moving in tomorrow. Old Russian nodded enthusiastically, "That's great! The more people, the better. It’ll be lively!"
The three of them arrived at a yard that had been abandoned for over ten years and inspected it inside and out. Andrei frowned deeply, "The pipes are all rusted, the electrical panel needs replacing, and I can't tell what's wrong with the wiring; it probably all needs to be redone."
Xu Li thought for a moment and suggested, "How about I head to Bratsk early tomorrow and buy some supplies? Many of our village's pipes and meters have been replaced."
"That works; just make sure they cover their share of the costs."
"Mm," he didn't refuse; after all, there were some expenses they didn't want to burden this young man with.
"Don't worry, Andreev," he continued. "There are houses available over there. If you don't like them, you can choose a spot to build your own. It's summer now; there’s plenty of timber available. It would also be good for the kids to transfer to Irkutsk; the education here is far better than what you have in that little town."
Before dawn broke the next morning, Ivan drove his family back to their hometown. Sitting in the co-driver's seat was Andreev, who was robustly built—at least two sizes larger than Ivan—with thick arms covered in hair and prominent veins.
He turned his head and spat out of the window. "That damned Vasily! I swear I’d love nothing more than to stab him."
"Forget it; at least we’re all out now. I don’t want to see you in prison."
In the back seat, a woman quietly fed a baby and began soothing him. Ivan sighed, "Old comrades are like that; it's all about who has the strongest fist and who holds power—whoever speaks gets heard. Back in the army, if you had just kept your mouth shut a bit more, you wouldn’t still be just a squad leader after all this time."
"Dad, don’t be upset; it’s all my fault," said a girl sitting in the corner of the last row softly.
Andreev tightened his fists at her words. "Katyusha, this isn’t your fault; it’s all that bastard’s doing."
"Enough, don't say anymore."
Ivan patted his shoulder. "What's done is done. There's no point in bringing it up again. You've taught that little brat a lesson and let out your frustration. Life goes on; you still have to take care of your wife and kids, right?"
Andreev glanced through the rearview mirror at the confused eyes of his wife and children, letting out a sigh. "Tell me everything in detail so I can be prepared."
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