Double-Cut During the War of Resistance: My Wife Came from 1937

"Buzz!"

With a loud roar, an Airbus A330 took off from Beijing Capital International Airport and flew westward.

A direct flight from Beijing to Islamabad costs over 7000 yuan.

If you transfer in Xinjiang from Beijing, the price will be less than 5000 yuan.

However, the layover time can take more than 14 hours.

Ma Hongwei was in a hurry and didn't need the 2000 yuan, so he didn't go for a connecting flight.

After a 6-hour and 25-minute flight, we finally arrived in the capital of Pakistan.

Ma Hongwei glanced at the time on his phone and asked, "Brother Zhong, it's only a little past 6 o'clock. Are we going straight to Peshawar?"

Xiao Zhong shook his head and said, "Boss Ma, this place is not as safe as our country. There are many armed groups around the country, as well as some terrorists who are very hostile to China."

"In the three years from 21 to 24, 19 people died, including some engineers who were part of our aid projects. In the past two years, we have worked with the local community to fight terrorism, and the number of terrorist attacks has decreased."

At this point, he specifically added, "So, for your safety, boss, let's wait until tomorrow during the day!"

"Okay, whatever you say."

Ma Hongwei nodded.

Since he chose the other person as his guide, he wouldn't act on his own initiative.

Especially abroad, when you're unfamiliar with the place and the people, there's really no need to put yourself in danger.

Xiao Zhong said, "Boss, I've already booked the hotel. Let's go to the hotel now!"

Ma Hongwei said, "Brother Zhong, you don't need to call me 'boss.' Just treat me as your friend. You can call me Xiao Ma or Hongwei, it's fine."

Some people in Pakistan understand Chinese. If they hear Xiao Zhong calling them "boss" all the time, they might try to take advantage of them.

On the way to the hotel, Xiao Zhong asked with a smile, "Old... Hongwei, would you like to try the local roasted lamb? Their way of cooking it is completely different from what we have back home."

"Never mind!"

Ma Hongwei refused outright.

He already had a sensitive stomach, so naturally he wanted to be careful in everything he did to avoid getting an upset stomach and delaying his trip.

Ma Hongwei certainly doesn't want to become a jetpack fighter.

Upon arriving at the hotel, Ma Hongwei rummaged through his belongings and found the universal adapter and the power strip with voltage stabilization that he had purchased.

The voltage here is 230V, while in China it is 220V.

Most importantly, the mainstream plugs here are type D (Indian three round pins) and type C (European two round pins), which cannot be directly plugged into domestic power strips.

Ma Hongwei took out a small electric kettle, poured in purified water, and started boiling it.

He planned to make some instant noodles.

This instant noodle is very strange. You want to eat more after eating one pack, but you can't eat two packs. You also miss it if you don't eat it for a long time.

While the water was boiling, Ma Hongwei took out his phone and connected to the internet.

The eSIM card that Xiao Zhong bought for him at the airport was the one he was using.

You can buy the package online and activate it by scanning the code. There is no need to exchange for a physical card or queue at the airport to apply for a card.

Anyway, he's just traveling alone for a short period of time, so he doesn't need to use much data.

Ma Hongwei opened the VPN that Xiao Zhong had downloaded for him and bypassed the Great Firewall to access the domestic internet.

Then I started a video call with Xia Weiwei.

Xia Weiwei lay on the bed, resting her chin on one hand, and asked, "Hongwei, have you arrived?"

Ma Hongwei replied, "I'm currently in Pakistan's capital, Peshawar, and I won't be heading there until tomorrow!"

Xia Weiwei asked again, "Have you eaten?"

"I didn't want to eat out, so I just boiled water and made instant noodles in the hotel."

Ma Hongwei said, "Anyway, we have bought sesame seed cakes, flatbreads, and cooked meats, so we're not worried about not having anything to eat."

He looked at the other person and asked, "What do you want to eat tonight?"

Xia Weiwei said, "There's a little leftover rice from lunch, let's go fry some rice later!"

Because their internet connection to the circumvention site was unreliable, the two chatted for a while before hanging up.

Anyway, Ma Hongwei's video call was just to let the other party know he was safe and that they didn't need to worry about him.

……

the next day.

Xiao Zhong knocked on the door early in the morning.

Ma Hongwei put on his clothes and opened the door.

Xiao Zhong said, "Hongwei, how about we hire a car to Peshawar?"

"Charter a car?"

Ma Hongwei asked curiously, "I remember in your last video, you seemed to have taken the train, right?"

"OK!"

Xiao Zhong nodded and said, "If we take the train, we need to go to Rawalpindi, a satellite city near the capital, first."

"There are few train services here, and many stops. It takes at least three and a half to four hours to take a train, not even counting train delays."

"Oh, I remember now!"

Ma Hongwei couldn't help but say, "I remember last time, your train was delayed by more than an hour, right? And it was raining that day?"

"It wasn't just an hour; I waited at the train station for two hours before I arrived."

Xiao Zhong nodded and said, "Besides taking the train, there are chartered cars, long-distance buses, and airplanes."

"Chartering a car takes one hour and fifty minutes, at most two and a half hours; taking a long-distance bus takes about three hours; flying only takes thirty or forty minutes, but with security checks and waiting time, it actually takes two and a half to three hours."

At this point, he continued, "So, the fastest way is actually to hire a car, which is over 180 kilometers."

"What?! It takes three or four hours by train to travel 180 kilometers?"

Ma Hongwei was stunned.

The journey from Ancheng East Station to Jingcheng West Station is 516 kilometers.

He arrived in just two and a half hours.

I have to say, it's really great to be able to ride the high-speed rail!

Even if you take a slow train in China, it only takes four hours and forty minutes to travel from Ancheng to Beijing.

The two journeys took about the same amount of time, but the distance was nearly three times that of Pakistan.

Ma Hongwei said, "Then I'll do as you say, let's charter a car!"

Afterwards, Ma Hongwei gave Xiao Zhong some money so that he could hire a car.

Not long after, Xiao Zhong knocked on the door again and said, "Let's go, the car has arrived."

The two quickly went downstairs to check out and then left the hotel.

This place truly lives up to its reputation as their capital; it appears very modern. While it may not have the same abundance of skyscrapers as Beijing, there are still quite a few.

The only problem is that there are a lot of motorcycles on the road, more than cars.

As you leave the capital region, the buildings along the roads suddenly become shorter, and the countryside is all dirt roads, with no paved roads.

After getting on the highway, Ma Hongwei learned that the M1 highway, which is completely enclosed from the capital to Peshawar, is only 155 kilometers long.

Two hours and twenty minutes later, they finally arrived in Peshawar.

It has to be said that this place truly deserves its place as one of the world's ten most dangerous cities.

Looking out the car window, Ma Hongwei saw that many people on the road were carrying "truth" and that armored vehicles were patrolling the road.

The roads here are full of potholes and there is standing water. The buildings on both sides of the street look similar to those in China in the 1990s.

As we passed an intersection, there was a Bofors 40mm anti-aircraft gun.