from previous--

-a  suspecting  wife  visiting  her  parents  rang  up  home  to  check on her  flirting  husband, the  ma  answered  her  call faithfully  answering  her  queries, to  assure  herself  she  asked  him to  start  the  grinder  which  had  a  peculiar  sound,  he  obediently  did  so  , hearing  the   home  grinder  sound  in action she  was satisfied  , when a  couple  of days  later  she  returned  home  she  was   surprised  to  find her  son alone  in the  house  as  the  father  was  gone  somewhere  with  the  grinder  for  days

gloria--

--he  stood  right  outside  the  closed  door  and  could  imagine  the  couple  was  involved  in a  hollywood  scene   though  there  was not  a  chink  anywhere  to take  a  peek , he  was  two  years  ago  appointed  security  guard  by  dominic  , who  was  a  restaurant  and  strip club chain owner,  they  had  met  in the  club  office  behind  the  club  , there  was  no  window  in the  office  ,it  smelt  of  sweat  and  talcum powder,  for  furniture  just  one  ancient  metal  chair  and  equally  old  table  , dominic had  wanted  him to  get  rid  of  his  fourth wife  gloria  who  was  cheating  on him and  over  stayed  her  five  years  of  marriage, she  was  dominic"s  fourth wife, the  first  was  his  school  sweet  heart  who  bore  him four  children, second  was  his  club dancer  who  lived  five  years  with him , third  was  also  divorced  within five  years  of  their  marriage  but  gloria  was   different , dominic  took  a  swig  of  his  favourite  wine  and  a  pinch  of  cocaine  as  he  continued   that  she  was  using  south side safe  house  

page 243--

-both  dang  and   yong  stopped  to  eat  their  meal  in one  place  from where  they  could  see  the  camp,  some  tents   were  visible  and  a   wooden   store  house ,  the  workers  and  mainly  ming   shared  their  views  , that  the  old  were  left  to  die  in the  harsh  climate, the  young  men and  women were  separated  and  sold  separately, the  ones  who  fetched  more  were auctioned  , others  were  married  to  the  local  landlords,  the  strong  men   became  slaves  in the  fields  and  menial  jobs were  allotted  them,   children  were  priced  commodity  , the  old  and  childless  bought  them   for  their   old  age  comfort,  girls  were  again  divided  in two  , some  sold  and  others  kept, boys  were  the  main attraction and  there  yong  knew  the  role  and  importance  of  the  nurse  came  in,  he  speculated  silently  why  the  nurse  was  abducted,   there  was  a  ray  of  hope  she  was  alive  and  will be  kept  alive 

page 143--

--nani  bi  was  awake,  for  past  one  month she  had  been  becoming  more  and  more   feeble  and  weak,  she  could   earlier   get  up  by herself  and  get  ready  on her  own  but  now  she  needed   harim around  to  help her, assist  her  to  the  bathroom, to  rub her  soap  on her back, to  shampoo her  hair  , to  support  her  weak  shaking  body  and  to  comb  her  , dry  her  and  walk her  back  to  her  bed  , age  related  problems  depress  not  just  the  old  but   sometimes  test  the   patience  of  their  helpers, 

page 27--

--he  was  asked  by  the  police  cop  the  details  of  the  robbery, he  invented  he  carried  a  leather  wallet,  there  were  driving licence,  national  identity  card,  office  card,  and  a  cell phone  with  his  fifty  thousand  , the  wallet  was  sent  from saudi  by his  uncle  as  a  gift,  he  gave  numbers  of  his  cards  and  licences,  then  the  description of  the  robber  that  he  wore  salwar  suit  and  was  healthy  man  with  moustaches, he  spoke  little  and  his  dialect  was  not  definable

page 241--

--dan knew  exactly  where  to  go  , it  was  somewhere  in the  north eastern chinese  town , the  old  fashioned  cottage   was  built   in the  traditional  chinese  style, the  wooden gate  was  opened  by  them dan  announced  himself  , the  walls  and  ceiling  had  tiles  on them, someone  from inside  asked  them to  step in,  a  young woman in traditional  robes  asked  them to  pay  four  hundred  yens,  entering  their  names  and  giving  them the  receipt  she  allowed  them to  go  to  another  room,where  in a  brass   pot   something  aromatic  was  boiling  , smoke   was  rising   filling  their  nostrils, a  small old  man  sat  on the  floor  on a  mat  leaning  against  a  large  long pillow , in front  of  him   burning  candles  were  placed  in rows,   he  asked  them to  sit  down before  him on the  floor  like  him, the  old  astrologer  asked  yong if  he  was  a  chinese,  but  he  was  a  korean, he  wanted  to  know  where  could  they  look for  the  nurse   abducted  by  someone  whose  charm  they  had  brought, taking  the  metal  stringed   token the  old  man"s  hands  trembled, then he  threw  it  away  angrily, how  dare  they  gave  him such  a  thing,  both dang  and  yong  looked  at  each other,  they  told  the  astrologer  how  they  had  found  it  and  wanted  to  know  the  where  abouts  of  the  owner, it  belonged  to  a  manchurian white  bear  --the  head  of  a  tribe  , not  even police  or  army  or  anyone  could  enter  there  without   his  permission, it  was  his  domain and  if  the  nurse  was  abducted  there  was  a  reason behind  that,  then calling  to his  grand  daughter  he  asked her  to  return their  four  hundred  yens for  they  might  need  it -in his  opinion dang  was  no  fool  and  too  brave  to  be  with yong  on the  journey

page 137--

--mother  was  worried  her daughter  rahela  was  seventeen , she  had  begun searching  for  suitable  life  partners  for  her, speaking  about  selecting  someone  right  for  her  one  day  she  stopped  her  son , so many  pictures  of  so many  suitors  were  coming, but  rahela  was  too  small for  marriage  , let  her  enjoy  , education was  a  must  and  let  her  understand  properly  the  responsibilities  of  married  life   said  he, but  mother  later  overheard  to  hurt  her  sensibilities  what  her  daughter  in law  ariba  was   instructing  rahela"s  brother  that  mothers  were  always  so particular  about  their  daughters, what  if  the  old  woman died  tomorrow  he  would  have  to  shoulder  all the  burden of  entire   marriage  and  his  family  so  it  was  better  he  shpuld  agree  and  give  his  consent  to  his  mother  and  select  one  of  the  grooms  she  wanted  for  rahela  and  quickly  get  rid  of  her , they  could  have  the  entire  space  to  themselves  and  be  burden free