Go back in time and be a chaebol

Chapter 2523 Showing Passport (Second Update, Requesting Monthly Tickets)
On the eve of the storm, everyone is making choices.

This storm from the Persian Plateau not only swept through Derryland, but also affected almost all the cities there.

Almost every city in Iran is in turmoil and upheaval. Mashhad is no exception.

Lei Xinghan, who had lived here for several years, also felt the changes here. He realized almost immediately that he had to leave!

Because his life experience taught him that in such a storm, almost no one can remain unscathed.

What ultimately forced him to make this decision was the SEA evacuation notice. After the notice was issued, SEA employees in the company began to prepare for evacuation. However, before evacuating, they still settled the salaries of all employees.

Of course, Lei Xinghan was among them. He had just returned home from the company when he said to Amina, who was holding the child:

"Amina, hurry up and pack your things, we need to leave here immediately."

"what?"

Amina looked at Lei Xinghan with a puzzled expression, her eyes filled with confusion. She said:

"What did you say? Leave? Go where?"

“SEA has announced the evacuation of its citizens, and Malaysia will definitely announce it too. We need to leave quickly, while there's still time. Oh, and also, make sure your brother and the others leave here too, to France, to Europe, to any country…”

Lei Xinghan's tone was tense. At this moment, what came to mind was the earth-shattering change that happened when he was in elementary school.

We absolutely cannot put ourselves in danger; it's time to leave!
Although Lei Xinghan didn't know if he could find a job after arriving in Malaysia, the safety of his family was the most important thing.

And so, Lei Xinghan embarked on his journey home with his wife and three children.

When he arrived in Tehran, he was somewhat surprised to find that there were no more planes running!

Or rather, there weren't enough planes for the evacuation of overseas Chinese.

“We have more than 12 expatriates in Iran, and we don’t have enough transport capacity to evacuate everyone from the country in just a few days!”

Faced with this situation, Chang'an quickly made a decision.

"Let's go by land!"

Then, the radio began broadcasting evacuation notices, instructing SEA citizens to drive themselves or take buses prepared by the representative office to evacuate to Iraq along the highway.

This is the last resort, and also the safest option, since the SEA has troops stationed in Iraq.

In January, the cold wind blows across the Zagros Mountains in Iran. On the desert highway at the southern foot of the mountains, a convoy stretching for nearly four kilometers resembles a lurking steel dragon, slowly inching towards the Iraqi border—the double-star flags hanging on the front of the vehicles fluttering in the biting wind.

This is a convoy organized by the SEA representative office in Derryland to evacuate its expatriates. Nearly 20,000 vehicles carried more than 70,000 SEA expatriates. However, the convoy did not only contain them, but also some Iranians, including pro-royal Iranians and family members of SEA expatriates. Many SEA employees have married in Iran. Although SEA does not offer dependent visas, preventing their wives' families from entering SEA, some sensitive individuals realized the danger during the evacuation and chose to leave.

Now, as King Pahlavi flees Tehran, this massive convoy is also speeding towards the border.

The convoy, consisting of 20,000 cars, SUVs, buses, and trucks, was quite large. Although it was on a highway, the vehicles were traveling at a slow speed, as any unexpected event could affect the overall speed of the convoy.

"Push the wrecked vehicle to the side and let the passengers board other vehicles so as not to delay their journey!"

Wang Yunhao, who was sitting in the lead car, immediately issued orders via walkie-talkie after learning that a car accident had occurred. He was a captain in the SEA Marine Corps and also the guide for this evacuation operation.

Wearing a military uniform, he held an AR-15 carbine in his arms, his right hand gripping the handle tightly. In the rearview mirror, one could see cars, SUVs, and even temporarily requisitioned buses lined up one after another, and behind the windows were faces filled with anxiety.

Among them were engineers from various fields, ordinary workers, and of course, women and children who used to live peaceful lives in foreign communities in big cities.

Meanwhile, the children receive an education at the "SEA School" that is indistinguishable from that of the local population. They not only study at the school, but also go camping and training in the mountains and deserts of Iran while wearing scout uniforms.

For them, this was originally their life: peaceful and prosperous.

But now, their peaceful life has been disrupted.

The men mostly had furrowed brows; they were used to working overseas. The women held their children tightly in their arms, while the boys looked around with curious eyes.

More often than not, the men would scan both sides of the road with wary eyes. Most of them had military experience and were armed with weapons—hunting rifles or pistols for self-defense.

The situation in Tehran is becoming increasingly serious. Although Chang'an has decided to evacuate its citizens, the number of military transport aircraft that can be mobilized is very limited and far from sufficient to evacuate all its citizens in the short term.

This land route to Iraq became the most convenient passage.

On the other side of the border, Iraqi troops had arrived at the border area and were ready. "Maintain a safe distance, and do not exceed 50 kilometers per hour!"

Wang Yunhao repeated the orders over the vehicle radio, his voice hoarse and strained. Meanwhile, around the perimeter of the convoy, more than twenty plainclothes Marines in over a dozen Warrior off-road vehicles were patrolling and securing the perimeter; their tactical vests were full of magazines.

However, they were not the only ones. Thanks to the efforts of the representatives, the military agreed to send several hundred soldiers to protect these expatriates. In addition to infantry, the military even sent two M48 tanks to cover the rear, their 105mm main guns pointing to the sky, the roar of the tracks rolling over the highway intertwining with the muffled groans of the convoy's engines.

However, most of these Iranian soldiers were half-hearted and had no intention of protecting these foreigners at this time.

In fact, they are well aware that Iran is on the eve of a major upheaval.

What does the future hold?
No one knows.

The convoy encountered a sandstorm in the afternoon.

A fierce wind swept in, carrying yellow sand, and visibility plummeted to less than ten meters.

Wang Yunhao immediately issued an order via radio:

"Turn on your fog lights, close your windows, and all vehicles should follow closely behind the car in front and slow down!"

The yellow sand lashed against the vehicle, making a crackling sound. Some of the older vehicles began to break down. A bus carrying overseas Chinese suddenly stalled. At that moment, two employees of the car company quickly got out of the vehicle, braved the sandstorm, opened the hood, and quickly repaired the engine with the tools they carried.

A dozen minutes later, the bus restarted, and the convoy continued moving forward.

And so the convoy continued along the highway, needing to find a way to refuel along the way. This added a day to the journey.

The convoy finally arrived at the border crossing between Iran and Iraq the following evening.

Searchlights swept across the darkness at an Iraqi border post, while on the other side of the barbed wire, heavily armed Iraqi soldiers stood behind roadblocks, their AR-15 rifles held high, watching the convoy warily.

Wang Yunhao and the officials from the representative office got out of the car together and showed the Iraqi border guards the SEA representative office's evacuation certificate and the Iraqi Ministry of Foreign Affairs' special passage document. At this point, it was obviously impossible to check all the passports of the expatriates.

The Iraqi border guards, under orders from Baghdad, did not inspect the convoy; after a brief inquiry, the Iraqi officers waved it through.

You don't even need to show your passport or the American flag.

Meanwhile, within Iraq, the SEA forces stationed there have prepared camps for them at the border, with food, water, and of course, doctors, and military helicopters circling overhead.

All the overseas Chinese cheered when they saw their own army.

No matter when or under what circumstances, they believed that the country would never abandon them.

This was true in the past, and it is true now!
As the last vehicle passed the checkpoint and its wheels rolled over the paved road in Iraq, a long-suppressed cheer erupted from inside.

Wang Yunhao, who had been standing by the roadside waiting for the convoy to pass, looked at the border markers and breathed a sigh of relief. In the distance, the field camps on the Iraqi border were already lit up.

Despite the cold wind, the double-star flag still flutters on the flagpole, while on the other side of the border, no one knows what the future holds for Iran.

By this time, the country was completely shrouded in twilight.

As dusk fell, Lei Xinghan looked at the double-star flag on the flagpole. Although he was Malaysian, like many others, he had an inexplicable feeling about this flag.

No, he's not Malaysian.

At this moment, Lei Xinghan, who was in a temporary desert camp, thought of many things. He thought of his experience studying at university in the mainland, and of course, he also thought of the various things that happened when he was assigned to the Western Regions.

Naturally, I thought of everything that happened after I fled to the Soviet Union.

Another thing is the changes in my life after crossing the border into Iran and meeting the SEA people there.

Lei Xinghan thought of many things at this moment. His entire life seemed to be flashing through his mind. Finally, he turned his gaze to his wife beside him. She was there with the children in the tent watching TV. Although it was a temporary camp, the military had actually prepared a TV for the children so they could watch cartoons to cope with the sudden change in the situation.

This unexpected turn of events seemed to have no effect on them. Just then, Lei Xinghan saw his wife, Amina, who walked to his side and asked softly:
"Xinghan, what do we do next?"

"Go to Malaysia."

Lei Xinghan said:
"There's nothing to worry about. I'll find a job there. It's just a job..."

(End of this chapter)