Police officer Chen Shu

Chapter 823 Next

customs.

Zhang Yang, Xiao Zhao, and Li Xia entered the service hall.

The hall wasn't large, but there were several queues with quite a few people waiting in an orderly fashion.

"Tourism? What's fun across the street?"

A middle-aged immigration officer in uniform, sitting behind a platform, held a photo of his ID in his hand, looking as if he had heard the biggest joke in the world.

Standing in front of him was a young couple, both wearing glasses and dragging an old black suitcase. They looked like students who had just graduated from a third-tier college or vocational school in China.

The boy, hunched over and looking a little guilty, said, "This is our graduation trip; we want to go out and see the scenery."

“Yes, yes, officer, we don’t have much money and can’t go far, so we chose this place.” The girl standing on the yellow line at the back explained. Because she was a little distance away from the police, her voice was loud, which attracted the attention of the people queuing next to her.

Presumably because the young couple seemed quite young, the middle-aged policeman was rather friendly and said slowly, "If you're really going on a trip, I'll get you a small pass. You two can go to the border bridge, take some photos, and then buy some things at the duty-free shop. Listen to your uncle, it's best not to go to the other side."

The boy, forcing a smile, said, "We just want to travel there and experience different cultures. Is that not okay?"

The middle-aged policeman placed his identification on the table and pushed it back towards the young man: "Heh, I think it probably won't work. I see from the records that you flew here from Hebei Province, right?"

The boy was a little confused as to how the topic had suddenly shifted to airplanes, so he could only nod blankly and say, "Yes, yes, we came by plane."

The middle-aged policeman smiled slyly and suddenly asked, "Show me your plane tickets back to Hebei Province, the app on your phone, or text message notifications are all fine."

The boy looked conflicted and hesitated for a long time before finally being unable to speak.

It was obvious they had no intention of buying return tickets. In front of the experienced immigration officers, the two kids were practically invisible. If it weren't for their youth, they probably would have already been taken to a small room for questioning.

“When you booked your plane tickets, your local police station should have called you, right? They’ve already explained everything, so I won’t repeat it.” The middle-aged policeman pointed to the documents still on the table and patiently advised, “Our country is so big, there are plenty of beautiful sights to see. Why come here for your graduation trip when there are so many other places to go? Young man, listen to me, go back.”

The boy slowly lowered his head and fell silent.

Seeing this, the girl who had been standing outside the yellow line became anxious. She took two steps to the front of the platform, braced herself with her hands, and leaned half her body onto the table.

She spoke quickly, "Officer, we have a senior classmate who works there and earns a high salary. He's the one who introduced us to this job."

The middle-aged policeman raised an eyebrow and asked, "Going to work? Where are you going to work?"

The girl pursed her lips, paused for a few seconds, and then simply said, "Northern Myanmar."

As soon as the girl said this, before the police could say anything, the crowd in line behind her suddenly erupted in an uproar. The people who had been standing quietly listening were now talking all at once, saying all sorts of things.

"A country that's so poor it's practically bankrupt, offering high salaries? That's going to kill you!"

"It is indeed a high salary, that's right, but those two silly kids are definitely not the ones who get high salaries."

"Silly kids, why would you two believe that such a poor place could pay you such a high salary?"

Among them, a large, fat man with a thick gold necklace around his neck, wearing a brightly colored floral shirt, and carrying a black wallet under his arm walked out of the line. His demeanor clearly indicated that he was a nouveau riche businessman.

Although the nouveau riche's face jiggled quite frighteningly when he smiled, he still earnestly advised, "Young man, the Burmese all know they are poor and can't earn much money, so they scramble to come to China to work in factories tightening screws. You, on the other hand, don't stay in China, you insist on going to that godforsaken place to work. Don't get scammed."

At this moment, Xiao Zhao, who was listening with great interest, turned to Li Xia and asked, "Really? People in Myanmar think our factories are so desirable? My mother has been wearing shoelaces in a shoe factory for decades, working from morning till night, and she's exhausted but doesn't earn much money. I'm scared."

Li Xia chuckled: "That guy's exaggerating a bit. Burmese people are pretty lazy. Once they've earned enough for three meals a day plus a bottle of liquor, you can't whip them back to work." "My mom used to get off work from 7:30 in the morning until 9:00 at night!" Xiao Zhao exclaimed incredulously, "So lazy, the factory owners must be crying their eyes out."

At this moment, an uncle who was also watching the drama unfold on the sidelines chimed in quietly, "It's easy. Just make them work on screws all day. They'll only get enough for two meals and a drink. Won't they work honestly then?"

Li Xia, who wasn't a businessman, thought about it and realized it made perfect sense. He couldn't help but laugh and say, "Goodness, you've grasped the essence perfectly."

"I admit it, I admit it." The uncle clasped his hands in a fist salute, quite modestly.

The boy kept his head down and didn't say anything, but he seemed to be listening.

The girl, however, remained defiant and refused to back down: "We're penniless and have nothing. What could they possibly be trying to scam me out of?"

The nouveau riche, sharing the same sentiment as the middle-aged policeman, felt sorry for the two clueless children who had stumbled into the lion's den, and patiently began to explain.

He pointed south, swallowed hard, and said, "Over there, men are resources. As long as you're honest, obedient, and don't run away, you're generally not in any danger. At most, you'll just fail to produce results, get a beating, and go hungry for a few meals."

The boy pricked up his ears and tilted his head slightly toward the nouveau riche.

The other people in line also watched with curiosity. The nouveau riche enjoyed the feeling of being the center of attention and continued to show off his knowledge.

"The woman is in a worse situation. Because over there, women are considered assets. Do you two know what assets are? They're things like cars, houses, and machinery that can be sold for money!"

"What money do you want from selling it!" The girl's voice suddenly rose, sounding somewhat imposing, but everyone knew that the girl was probably a little scared.

At this moment, the middle-aged policeman sitting behind the platform didn't say anything, just sat there silently.

"It's for sale," the nouveau riche said, glancing at the policeman across from him. He then swallowed the obviously unpleasant words that followed and instead said more tactfully, "Besides selling, we can also rent."

"One minute you're renting, the next you're selling, what do you mean?" Seeing that the other person didn't dare to speak, the girl immediately put her hands on her hips and retorted, "Who are you? Do you even know anything? If you don't know, don't talk nonsense! Nobody here will think you're mute! You're so old, and you have absolutely no manners! Do I even know you?"

The girl launched into a barrage of criticisms of the nouveau riche, while the boy standing beside her felt a little embarrassed and tugged at her sleeve, telling her to stop talking.

The nouveau riche, who had initially offered well-intentioned advice, now disregarded the presence of police and opened his mouth wide, speaking in a loud voice: "Sell, I mean sell meat for money! You know what kind of meat you're selling! But with your looks, I doubt you'll even sell."

After a pause, the nouveau riche crossed his arms and said sarcastically, "You know, buying would be a loss, so you can only rent. The park company and the butcher shop owner split the profits 50/50, and the newcomer can easily make a hundred thousand a month, but you yourself won't get a single penny!"

The girl blushed and pointed at the nouveau riche, ready to start cursing.

"enough!"

The middle-aged policeman who had been sitting at the back stood up, first pointing at the nouveau riche, then gesturing to the back of the line: "Go to the back of the line."

The nouveau riche obediently returned to the back of the line.

After the nouveau riche left, the middle-aged policeman said quite formally, "Tourist visas are not available in northern Myanmar. If you're legally leaving the country, you can't go there. Don't waste your time."

"At worst, I'll just go to Thailand. I can just leave my passport with customs there. It's not that complicated." The girl turned her head to look at the other side, but the muttering under her breath was clearly meant for the middle-aged policeman to hear.

"Young man, I'm sorry, you can't go." The middle-aged policeman picked up the ID on the table, stuffed it into the boy's arms, then turned to the line behind him, "Next."

The girl angrily dragged the boy away.

(End of this chapter)