Because of the lack of a ship, and carrying a huge amount of two million dollars, any regular transportation can not be used, to return to Hong Kong City, the only way is to take a stowaway ship.
Nowadays, Vietnam war, smuggling this business can be said to be booming, coupled with the Zhi family early years is smuggling to Hong Kong City, these years and often travel between Vietnam and Hong Kong to earn money, this line is very familiar with.
A few people took a boat to the nearest port out to sea, and within half a day, they had inquired about a stowaway boat to the harbor city tonight, and had successfully bought four places.
In the evening, the four mingled with the ranks of refugees and boarded the ship.
The boat was a barely seaworthy cargo ship, with only one cabin filled with seventy to eighty stowaways of all shapes and sizes, ranging from fifty to sixty year olds to toddlers waiting to be fed.
As the old saying goes, a golden nest is better than one's own doghouse, and if life were not so unbearable, no one would be willing to stake their future on an unpredictable foreign land, on this old ship with an uncertain future.
For these stowaway refugees, Hong Kong City was a prosperous metropolis free of war and famine. As for the four Qiao Wen who were squeezed in, it was simply to go home.
This short little half-month experience of coming back from the dead had indeed made people fed up, even Qiaowen, at this time, was incredibly nostalgic for the humble and narrow little house in Kowloon Walled City, and missed the breakfasts made by Granny and the old man.
Certainly misses the peaceful times he used to live in even more.
Although the cabin has windows, but dozens of people crowded together, the taste is really sour very much, hot and humid since it goes without saying, there are also intertwined with a variety of body odor sweat, in such a harsh environment for a few days, but also really is not a simple thing.
Over the past ten days, Qiao Wen was afraid that this body of his would fall off the chain and drag everyone down, and had been carrying a breath of air, relying on his strong willpower to not let his body collapse.
At this moment on the boat home, leaving the war-torn place of right and wrong, the whole person gradually relaxed, and all kinds of uncomfortable feelings also came.
He was afraid that other people would worry, and was ready to raise his righteousness again to endure, at least until he arrived at the harbor city and then collapsed. However, his physical condition was too poor in the end, and it was already a miracle for him to hold on until now. At this moment, he reached his limit and couldn't bear it any longer, and on the first night, he started to feel dizzy and lightheaded.
"Little Joe! Little Joe!"
The shaking of his body and the urgent voice in his ears woke up Qiao Wen, who had fallen into a stupor for an unknown period of time. He slowly opened his eyes, saw the shimmering morning light outside the window, and mumbled, "What time is it? Want to get up?"
"You have a fever! Is it somewhere uncomfortable?" Chen Canaan's palm was pressed against his forehead, anxiety written all over his face.
Because he had managed to escape with his life, he had slept through the night last night, even though the cramped cabin and hard deck were not comfortable.
Which know this morning just confused turn awake, suddenly feel the person leaning against his body hot, scared him a jolt on the completely awake.
Jovian breathlessly returned, "Probably too tired."
On the side of Jiang Yu Feng because always keep in mind the banknote, dare not sleep too dead, at this time heard the movement, naturally also woke up, stretched his head to ask: "Ah Wen fever?"
Chen Canaan nodded his head and said urgently, "Yes, it's so hot! Xiao Qiao, do you still have medicine in your bag?"
Earlier he had been shot and he remembered that Jovan had brought him fever-reducing pills.
Yet Jovian shook his head, "No more."
Jiang Yu Feng said, "Ah Nan, help him up and drink some water first."
Chen Canaan carefully lifted the weak and limp person up to lean on his lap and opened the water bottle to his mouth, "Xiao Qiao, drink some water."
Jovian wanted so much to look normal, but at this point he really couldn't muster any strength at all, his mouth opened with difficulty, but he struggled to even swallow.
A few stowaway refugees were woken up next to them, and a mother with two children suddenly took out a small white bottle and handed it to Chen Canaan.
Because it was in English, Chen Canaan didn't recognize it and could only shake Qiao Wen awake and ask, "Xiao Qiao, do you think this medicine can be taken?"
Jovian barely opened his eyes, saw the English writing on the pill bottle, nodded, and gasped, "It's aspirin, just take one."
Aspirin can be considered a miracle drug in this era, Chen Canaan naturally knew that, and immediately showed joy, empty a capsule and then sent it into Qiao Wen's mouth, then turned his head to return the bottle of medicine to the woman, thanking her again and again.
After taking his medicine, he set Jovian flat on his back just as two snakeheads came in to check out the cabin.
Chen Canaan thought that there must be a kerosene stove on the ship, and he had to burn some hot water for Qiao Wen to do so, so he peacefully opened his mouth and asked, "Big brother, can I borrow your kerosene stove to burn some water?"
One of the men glanced at him and said in a nonchalant voice, "No!"
Chen Canaan immediately jumped up a fire, ready to raise his sleeve to beat people, or half-conscious Qiao Wen pulled him back, said weakly: "Forget it, I'm fine, just sleep more, don't get into trouble, endure two days to go home."
Chen Canaan also knew that this was not the time to cause trouble, and could only reluctantly give up.
The two snakeheads paced around the cabin and came back to stop next to Jovian. Of course, the two hadn't come out of the blue to care about him as a sick man, but they had seen a girl sitting next to him who had just woken up from a nap.
That girl is just that give Qiaowen aspirin woman's eldest daughter, but the age of thirteen or fourteen years old, although dressed in plain, gray, but still hard to hide the natural beauty, a small face, embedded with a pair of watery big eyes, the body is also vaguely undulating curves, a very beautiful Southeast Asian girls.
One of the men came forward and pinched the girl's chin, causing her to shriek and hide behind her mother.
The two men exchanged unspoken glances and left the cabin for the back cockpit.
The girl was so frightened that she was practically crying when the men left. The mother was holding her daughter tightly to pacify her, as she didn't know what the two men were up to just now, and was also in a state of shock at the moment.
There was no man beside him, except for this daughter, and only a sleeping son next to him, no more than four or five years old.
In this chaotic stowaway ship, this is a family that can be slaughtered.
After a while, the two men who had just come back, and there was also an additional man in his thirties or less than forty years old, who was the boss of their group of snakeheads.
This boss was born with a very rough appearance, two muscular arms, pierced with a dragon tattoo, at a glance is a not to be messed with social brother.
In fact, those who are in this business are by no means good, even if they are not outlaws.
The snakehead boss, led by the horseman, came over and looked at the mother and daughter who were hugging each other with a smirk, and under the dim light, those eyes were glittering with a lustful light.
The mother, probably guessing what was going on, hugged her daughter tightly and pressed that pretty face into her chest.
Chen Canaan, who was sitting on the side with his head down peeling a piece of candy, wordlessly moved over and sat in front of the mother and daughter to block the people, then reached out to feed the peeled candy into Qiao Wen's mouth, "Xiao Qiao, are you feeling better?"
Jovian, groggy but not completely unconscious, contained a sudden extra touch of sweetness in his mouth and nodded, "I'm fine."
"What are you doing?" The horseman, seeing that there was an obstacle in the way, said in an evil voice.
Chen Canaan was unmoved and continued to ask Qiao Wen, "You sleep well, don't worry about it."
The horseman probably hadn't seen such a colorless person before, and simply shot out and slapped him on the top of the head, "Talking to you? Get lost!"
It was only when he went up to his hand that Chen Canaan lightly inclined his head, and that hand only managed to brush through the ends of his hair.
He raised his head to look at the three people across the room and said expressionlessly, "What if I don't roll?"
"You're fucking looking for death, right?" The one who spoke was the snakehead boss, and as he said this, he also raised his foot in a smooth manner and kicked it directly up towards Chen Canaan's handsome face.
Five minutes later.
In the aft cockpit, Chen Canaan found a kerosene stove, lit a fire, set up a small pot of water, and fished out a few packets of noodles and vegetables from a paper box, he snorted, "These bastards are pretty well-stocked. Xiao Qiao, I'll cook you some hot noodle soup."
With that, he fished out another pack of cigarettes and threw them to Jiang Yufeng and Chi at the helm, "Still fucking smoking American cigarettes."
Jiang met the wind leaning against the driver's side, pulling out a cigarette and lighting it, looking toward the deck outside, where seven or eight were tied up, all bruised and swollen and in a state of disarray, apparently having just experienced a brutal beating.
Originally did not intend to cause trouble, not afraid, but physically and mentally exhausted, just want to go home calmly. Unable to help this group of people do not do personnel, they had to roll up their sleeves to do justice to heaven.
Lying on his bunk, Qiaowen lifted his heavy eyelids and couldn't help but laugh a little at the sight of the three chipper people.
Just now because of the daze, what exactly happened, he actually did not have much clarity, only heard a burst of crackling, as well as a variety of screams, the snake head and his entourage under the force of the three people kneeled down and begged for forgiveness, and then they were tied up into a string and thrown to the deck, to accept the sunshine and sea breeze of the baptism of the sea.
After that again, he was carried to the cockpit by Chen Canaan.
To put it simply, the three men used force to directly seize the ship, which was loaded with dozens of stowaways.
Hooligans meet hooligans, it's all about who has the harder fist.
Chen Canaan cooked the noodles, put them on a stool along with the pot, and brought them to Qianwen, "Xiao Qiao, I'll help you up to eat the noodles."
"No, I can get up by myself." Qiaowen struggled to sit up, and perhaps because of the medicine, it did seem to be a little more comfortable.
Don't look at Chen Canaan is a brown little man, but the poor child early to be a family, handicraft is not bad, in the limited ingredients, but also made a pot of colorful and fragrant seafood noodles.
Jovan picked up his chopsticks and ate slowly.
Chi walked over and sat down on the floor to rest, casually fumbling under his pillow, first for a couple of American bills, which he stuffed into his pocket with a smile, and then for two fancy magazines.
"Ah Nan, good stuff!" He laughed and tossed a copy to the nearby Chen Canaan.
Chen Canaan picked it up and looked at it, tossing it back to him in disgust, "It's meaningless."
Chi lifted up the magazine and looked at the hot and sexy big boobs on the cover with glowing eyes, saying, "What a decent body this foreign girl has! Look at the big boobs, do you know how to appreciate them?"
Chen Canaan waved his hand and said, "I'm not going to lie, I'm dizzy with milk."
Not to mention Chi, even Qiao Wen, who was eating noodles, couldn't help but laugh out loud.
Chi came up to him, took him by the shoulders and laughed, "I say Nan, you're not still a virgin, are you?"
Jiang Yu Feng interjected with a smile, "Nan is only nineteen."
Ah Zhi said, "Nineteen is not young, being a father is enough." He laughed evilly, "Nan, you don't look like you're shy, you don't even sleep with women when you're this old, honestly tell Zhi, do you have a problem?"
Chen Canaan said, "What's wrong with me?"
Ah Zhi think about it, against the wind can pee two or three feet of the teenage boy, which can have what problem? And it's not like he hasn't seen this guy's stuff, it's simply enviable he laughed, "That's not right, I'm nineteen years old and think about women every day, I can drool when I see the beautiful women in the magazines, and how is it that you're not even interested in pornographic magazines?"
Chen Canaan thought seriously for a moment and returned, "Because I don't like vulgarity."
Several people were amused by him, and Chi said, "So what kind of girl do you like? Go back to Brother Ah Zhi and keep an eye out for you." He also looked at Qiao Wen, "By the way, Wen has never dated anyone either, right?"
Jovian laughed and said, "Not yet."
Ah Zhi said, "You are also eighteen years old, it's time to find a girlfriend. But Ah Wen reads a lot and looks pretty, as long as you have this mind, I'm afraid the girls will fight for you."
Jovian shook his head in amusement.
Chen Canaan looked at him, the image of Floating Qiao Wen being fought over by a few girls in his mind, the alarm bells went off, and he said in a serious manner, "Brother Zhi, don't say such nonsense, teach my brother a bad lesson."
Chi looked at the protector of his younger brother with a speechless face, thinking that with your brother's ability, he is able to be taught by me?
After drifting on the sea for four whole days, this stowaway ship, finally arrived at the old dock near the harbor city fortress.
Several people, because they lived in the cab of the snake head and ate the rich food stocked by the snake head, not to mention those three young and strong men, even Qiao Wen, a sickly man with a delicate body, quickly recovered as usual.
Just suffer the seven or eight tied all the way guys, every day do not eat and sleep well, but also have to accept the baptism of the sea wind and sun. When the ship docked and was released, it was almost become a few pieces of thin and black charcoal, not even the strength to curse.
When disembarking, Jiang Yu Feng was quite kind, in order not to let a few of them suffer in vain, very frankly self-reported his identity: "Injustice has a head and a debt has a master, want to take revenge, directly look for my Nine Dragons Walled City over the mountain wind."
These snakeheads come and go between Hong Kong and Vietnam, since they know the infamous reputation of the Wo Hing Society, and have heard of the famous Crosswind. Where is the courage to think of revenge, to be able to recover a life has been considered a great fortune.
At eleven o'clock at night, the road back to the Walled City was empty. Because Chi was not all the way with them, at the fork in the road, Jiang Youfeng stopped and placed on the ground one of the handbags that he had looted from Snakehead's ship, which contained exactly the two million dollars that they had exchanged for their lives.
He fished out several stacks of banknotes from inside and handed them to each of the three, "The commission for this job is half a million dollars, each of the ten of us will get 30,000, this is yours. A few brothers who are missing, I'll give them to their families."
At the mention of the brothers whose lives were buried in a foreign land, the atmosphere suddenly became gloomy. Chi took the money, hesitated for a moment, and said, "Brother Feng, I won't take this one, let's distribute it to those brothers' families."
Jiang Yu Feng laughed softly and patted him on the shoulder, "A few brothers' family members can make up for it from me. Don't you have your eye on an apartment and are short of money? Take this money to buy the apartment, bring your woman back to live a good life, in the future, this kind of dangerous work will not find you to do, don't be like the old days when you earn money to eat, drink and have fun."
"Brother Feng--"
Jiang Yu Feng interrupted him, "I'm a loner who eats alone and my whole family isn't hungry, besides I make money more often than not."
Qiao Wen looked at the money in his hand and said, "Brother Feng, I went to Vietnam with you guys just to accompany Brother Nan, not to work for you, I can't take this money."
Jiang Yu Feng closed the handbag zipper, stood up and smiled: "Ah Wen, if not you followed this trip, I'm afraid that we have been folded in Vietnam, for the sake of this favor I should also pay you well. I know you don't want to get involved with the society's affairs, but this trip is not considered to be harmless, that batch of arms also went to the place where it should go, this money you must take." He paused and then said, "Brother Feng knows that you are a capable person, but without money in hand, even if you are capable, it is difficult to move forward, you take this money I think it should be of great use."
Qiao Wen didn't make any more pretense, smiled, withdrew his hand, and said, "Brother Xingfeng, since you put it that way, I won't be polite to you."
Jiang Youfeng patted his shoulder and laughed, "That's right."
Chen Canaan is the beginning of no intention to be polite, it is not easy to pick up a life back, do not take the money that is a fool, took the money will be happy stuffed into the bag.
Jiang Youfeng thought for a moment and said, "Ah Nan, this time we get the money and come back smoothly, I'll say good things for you on Master Leopard's side, and you and Fei's matter will be considered settled."
Chen Canaan smiled, "Thank you, Brother Feng."
Jiang Yu Feng also smiled, "No need to thank me, it's your own ability." Said waving his hand, "Alright, all go back early and have a good rest."
The four of them said their goodbyes, Chi went back to the nearby Mistletoe District, Jiang Yu Feng went to the East District of the Walled City, and Qiao Wen and Chen Canaan went back to their West District.
It turned out that every time he stepped into this dark slum, Qiaowen had an indescribable feeling of depression and resistance, a feeling that came both from the memories of his original body and from his own discomfort.
But tonight, returning here after half a month, even though he could still hear the rustling of rats and cockroaches in the darkness in his ears, and he could still smell the odor of filth and decay, he felt a rare sense of groundedness and peace of mind.
So much so that it seemed as if this past half-month had suddenly become unreal, as if it had only been a dream, a dream big enough to be called a nightmare.
Because of the unpleasantness, everything in the Walled City looks lovely on its face.
The two walked side by side in the darkness, neither speaking.
It was only when they reached the tenement building that Chen Canaan spoke, "Xiao Qiao, you go back home and get a good night's sleep, I'll come back for you in the morning."
Qiaowen nodded, "You too, keep the money, don't let the family see it so they don't worry."
"I understand."
Going up to the door of the second floor, after Qiao Wen took the key to open the door and was about to push the door in, Chen Canaan suddenly held him in his arms and let out a long sigh, "Xiao Qiao, we're home."
Jovian froze and backhanded him with a hug as well, laughing, "Yeah, home."
Chen Canaan also do not know why, a little reluctant to release the person, hard to hold the person for two minutes, before reluctantly scattered.
Jovian: "You hurry upstairs."
"I'll see that you get inside."
Jovian lost his smile and pushed through the door, closing it behind him and hearing footsteps outside stomping up the stairs before continuing to tiptoe inside.
By this time Granny had naturally gone to sleep, the house still tidied up, and the quilt on her own little bed neatly arranged.
Qiao Wen looked at everything familiar, and his heart was inexplicably a little touched. He casually wiped his body with water and returned to his crib, but in just three seconds, he fell into a deep sleep.
This sleep was extremely peaceful and sweet, and it wasn't until he heard Granny's voice calling him that Qiao Wen woke up in a daze, and seeing the old man beside his bed, he revealed a big smiling face, "Granny, good morning!"
Granny Qiao looked at her grandson on the bed, whom she hadn't seen for half a month, and was simply a bit unbelievable, "Ah Wen, when did you come back?"
Jovian sat up and rubbed his eyes, "Last night."
Granny Joe said, "Why didn't you wake me up when you came back?"
Jovian laughed and said, "I didn't call you when it was too late."
Granny Qiao sat down next to him and reached out to hold his face and looked left and right: "It seems to have darkened a bit."
When Qiao Wen left, he told his grandmother that it was because of his work that he was going abroad to investigate the market, and that it would take as little as ten days or as much as half a month. This is the grandson so big head for the first time out of town, or out of the country, although I know that the child grows up always want to fly, but as a grandmother, Qiao Granny these days or worry about a lot of fear, and now see Qiao Wen properly lying in bed, mentioning a dozen days of the heart before finally let go.
Jovian laughed, "It's better for a boy to be dark."
Grandma Qiao smiled back and asked, "Have you suffered anything these days?"
Qiaowen said, "That's not true, it's just that I haven't eaten Granny's cooking for so long and I miss it."
Grandma Qiao lovingly stroked his head and said, "Grandma will go and cook you a bowl of lard noodles."
Qiao Wen said this is not to please the old man happy, this ten days to eat this thing is completely to save energy to live, simply do not have the heart to consider whether it is delicious or not. At this moment back home, suppressed for a long time the cravings can not help but all run out.
A bowl of steaming lard noodles went down, completely bringing him back to earth.
Granny hadn't seen her grandson for so long, and stared to see him finish his noodles before slowing down to go to the stall.
When Jovian was the only one left in the room, he took the thirty thousand dollars out from under his pillow. It was undoubtedly a huge amount of money for him right now, and in fact for any ordinary person. Because it was fast enough to buy a small apartment of forty or fifty square meters in an ordinary location.
Although he came back last night with a sense of solidity that the dust had settled, he woke up back to reality and wanted to move out of the Walled City as quickly as possible and live a life with running water and flush toilets and water heaters and gas, and a TV and air-conditioning and a washing machine.
The nature of man is nothing but the pursuit of a better life.
But more than making that money money money, there's no need to rush about buying a house and moving.
He was just thinking about it when there was a knock on the door, "Little Joe!"
It's Chen Canaan.
Jovian put the money down casually and got up to open the door.
Chen Canaan held a newspaper in his hands, exaggerated excitement written all over his handsome face.
Qiao Wen laughed, "Brother Nan, you're reading the newspaper as soon as you're back here, it seems like you're planning to read and learn."
Chen Canaan choked for a moment and hurriedly said again, "No, this is the newspaper my uncle bought, I glanced at it and glanced at this." He walked in and spread the newspaper out, pointing to the stock quotes on it, "I compared it, the stock we bought went up so much, ten thousand dollars became thirty thousand, should I go sell it?"
Qiao Wen glanced at the newspaper and said, "There's no need to rush, it will continue to rise." He returned to the bedside and handed him three piles of banknotes, "By the way, the money given by Brother Feng yesterday, if you're not doing anything today, help me go to the bank and cash it in as Hong Kong paper, and buy all of it into these two stocks."