Trafford's Trading Club

”This lady... isn’t she going to eat?”

At the dining table, Oleg curiously looked at the girl who was sitting quietly but didn’t take any food---By the way, the fancy dinner was all prepared by this girl.

Honestly, this table of food let Oleg feel like he was staying in the Turandot restaurant---a place where the rich gather in Moscow...but actually, the house he lived was way too messy.

A bachelor was looking after a boy, busy earning a living everyday. Therefore, he didn’t have any spare time at all to clean the house. Oleg thought that besides the frequently used beds in the bedrooms and the bathroom, the cleanest space in the house was probably the dining table.

”Itʼs all right, sheʼs doing exercises now,” said Luo Qiu who placed a pickled cucumber in his mouth.

Oleg was stunned, ”But she still needs food.”

”She doesn’t eat after lunch time passes.” Boss Luo gently added.

Nobody knew why this slim girl with a perfect figure still insisted on keeping on diet. Oleg didn’t continue asking. Instead, he said, ”Antonio, eat slower, you look horrible when you’re eating.”

Chowing down the food was a compliment to the person who cooked it. But after all, it seemed impolite to the guests here.

”Dad, if you could cook half…Oh no, a quarter flavor of it, then it must mean the God hasn’t given up on me.”

Antonio spoke out such a sentence abruptly to laugh at his father, which let Oleg feel awkward then.

However, Luo Qiu didn’t really see serious anger from Oleg. What he felt was just the apology and sadness hidden deeply in Olegʼs emotion.

Oleg let out a sigh of relief, ”If you remember to pray before you eat, I think the God won’t give you up.”

Antonio was stupefied, patting his forehead and quickly dropping the fork and knife from his hands before clasping his hands together and closing his eyes, ”Our Father which art in heaven, Hallowed be thy name. Thy kingdom come, Thy will be done in earth...”

Luo Qiu didn’t know whether praying at dinner was effective but he was still asking with curiosity, ”Is Mr. Oleg also a Christian?”

Oleg shook his head, ”No, I’m not, but this kid was baptized during his birth and his mother is a Christian.”

Luo Qiu nodded and didn’t ask any further questions.

There were nothing more than two reasons that a family could be so dirty and messy without a hostess--- neither of the reasons were suitable to be mentioned on such occasions.

But perhaps it was the worst one.

Luo Qiu’s eyes fell on the small picture frame on one side of the TV cabinet in the living room which contained Oleg, the baby, and a beautiful woman with chestnut red hair in the photo.

Oleg felt that this foreign young guy great, very calm. Antonio finished praying soon and began to stuff himself with delicacies again.

Time flew as the conversation turned to local custom and cultures.

After dinner, Oleg forbid the servant girl from washing dishes. He took up the tablecloth with all the utensils, throwing them into the basin and rolling up his sleeves.

Luo Qiu began to look at the decoration of this family carefully. Antonio kept staring at Luo Qiu during this time...The naughty child seemed to relax a lot of his vigilance to this stranger after experiencing this delicious dinner..

”What do you do?” Antonio raised his head and looked at the big brother, who was much taller than him.

Boss Luo, who was looking at an animal horn product, put it down gently, smiling, ”I am a businessman.”

”Businessman? You sell something?”

From a kid’s perspective, a businessman was probably the person who sold things in the store.

”Well, I really sell things.”

”What do you sell?” Antonio curiously asked.

Luo Qiu suddenly squat down so that Antonio didn’t have to look up at him. He laughed, ”Basically, I sell everything, as long as the customers can think of it and afford it.”

Antonio tilted his head, ”Do you sell an aeroplane?”

”Yes, I do.”

”What about a train?”

”Yes, I sell it too.”

The naughty child finger acted as a gun, made an aiming action, with excitement full of his face, ”what about tanks? Rockets? Cannons? And Drakhnoff SVD?”

”Yes, I do.” Luo Qiu nodded.

However.

‘Boy, you are just ten years old. Why do you want aeroplane, tanks, rockets and cannons at this age? And Drakhnoff SVD is a sniper rifle, oh my god...’

So the child was very excited, ”Can you sell them to me? I have 8300 Rubles! Is that enough?”

Luo Qiu shook his head.

Antonio lowered his head with disappointment.

Luo Qiu stood up and reached out to pat Antonioʼs head, saying softly, ”Remember, when you need something, youʼll find me... then, you can tell me what you really want to buy and...”

Boss Luo lowered his head and whispered something at Antonioʼs ear.

Antonio opened his eyes wide, suddenly stepping back with a hint of panic. Luo Qiu finally told him, ”These can be paid as the transaction fee for what you want to purchase. Are you clear about that?”

With the words, Luo Qiu stepped back little by little in front of Antonio and You Ye also came to Luo Qiu at this time. After a few steps, they disappeared from Antonio’s sight, all of a sudden.

Antonio opened his mouth wide, rubbing his eyes hard. After a few times, he was still unable to calm himself down. He only stared at the empty carpet blankly.

…

”Antonio, where are the two guests?”

Oleg looked at his son and asked as soon as he finished washing dishes and walking out of the kitchen.

”They disappeared, disappeared!” Antonio pointed to the place they disappeared, turning around and said, ”I saw them disappearing from here!”

Oleg gave a start, walking up to Antonio, squatting down and touching his head, ”The Lord said, don’t lie. You forgot the prayer before dinner and now you’re lying to me. Tell me, what I should do to you?”

”Iʼm serious!” said Antonio loudly.

”Antonio!” Oleg took a deep breath, turning down his voice slightly, ”You skipped the class today eh? I didn’t ask you about this thing yet. Why do you want to play truant?”

Antonio clenched his small fists, keeping silent.

Oleg said, ”Do you know that only bad kids play truant? Would you like to be a bad kid?”

Antonio then answered, ”I’ve grown up! I don’t need to go to school, I want to do things that I like to do!”

”You’ve grown up?” Oleg shook his head, grabbing Antonioʼs arm and lifting him up easily with indifferent words, ”Boy, do you know? This is called ‘grow up’.”

That moment, Antonio’s feet kicked Oleg, ”Let me go! Let me go! Let me go! Let me go! Coward!”

”What did you say?” Oleg yelled at him in a low voice.

”Coward! You are a coward! Oleg is a coward !!”

Bang---!

Oleg couldn’t help holding back his temper. He slapped Antonio’s face directly. But he gaped immediately and felt regret after that.

Antonio had been put down. He covered his cheek, glaring at his father with hatred, ”Oleg, is a coward !!”

The child roared in a sobbing tone, turning and running back to his own room, and slamming the door.

Oleg stood there in daze. His lips moved, eventually made a sigh. He took a long, long breath of relief, taking up the photo frame from the TV cabinet and gently rubbing the glass of it.

A trace of coolness infiltrated Olegʼs fingers from the glass.

The giant man sat on the couch and closed his eyes--- the house regained loneliness from the past after a big dinner.

…

…

The next day, Oleg opened his eyes with headache--- he had guzzled a lot of beer here after midnight.

Oleg, accompanied with the smell of alcohol, pinched his forehead again and looked at the time.

”Oh my god, it’s late!”

Oleg patted his forehead with regret. There was no time left to wash himself, he quickly got up and shouted, ”Antonio, Antonio! Get up, let’s go to school, Antonio!”

Oleg walked toward Antonio’s room while calling him but he didn’t hear any response.

He frowned and twisted the room lock--- but turned out that it was not locked and the door was easily opened.

Nevertheless, Antonio was not in the room.

Oleg just found a note on the bedside table, ”I’ll run away from home!”