I manufacture weapons in the Middle East and am wanted globally?

Chen Zheng had no idea what this number meant.

But after eight years in the military, I can't exactly raise pigs, can I?

Gao Fei lowered his voice, "Ah Zheng, tell me honestly... is your business in Syria shady?"

Chen Zheng leaned back in his chair, took the cigarette that had been extinguished for a long time from his mouth, and twirled it between his fingers.

"Under the sun, what business can't be done in the light? Ah Fei, what's shameful is having no money, begging, and feeling inferior, not the smell of money."

Chen Zheng could hear heavy breathing coming from the receiver, like someone hesitating about something.

"The work I do here is a bit risky," Chen Zheng continued, his tone as nonchalant as if he were commenting on the weather, "but the money comes quickly. You served in the army for eight years, honing your skills, and now you're only making 1,800 a month back home? Are you content with that?"

Gao Fei remained silent.

There was a few seconds of silence on the other end of the phone.

Then Gao Fei said something that Chen Zheng didn't expect.

"Ah Zheng, I'll find a way to cross the border into Myanmar."

Chen Zheng was taken aback.

Myanmar?

"Then fly from Myanmar to the Middle East."

Gao Fei lowered his voice, so low it was almost inaudible, "I can't fly directly from China. In case... I mean in case, if anything happens in the future, I can't let it affect you or our family."

Chen Zheng tightened his grip on his phone.

He got it.

Gao Fei was leaving himself a way out, and also leaving Chen Zheng a way out.

If something happens one day, Gao Fei is from Myanmar and has no direct connection with Chen Zheng.

They think about things differently.

"Okay, call me when you get to Myanmar, and I'll buy you a plane ticket!"

"it is good."

"Oh, right—"

Chen Zheng paused for a moment, then said, "Dafei, in all your years in the army, do you have any trustworthy comrades? People with good character, who can endure hardship, and who dare to fight. If so, could you ask them if they'd be willing to come? I'm offering $2500 a month, including room and board, and there are bonuses for good performance."

$2500.

That's close to 1.7 RMB!

How many people can earn this salary?

That's equivalent to at least three months' salary, right?

"Ah Zheng, are you serious?" Gao Fei's voice was a little tense.

When have I ever lied to you?

Chen Zheng chuckled, "But let me make this clear from the start: the people who come must be reliable and trustworthy. Ideally, they should also have some connection with us, someone we know well. Not just anyone can do the work here."

"I see."

Gao Fei's tone became serious as he said, "I'll go back and look through my contacts. There are a few people from our village who joined the army with me. I'll contact them!"

Chinese society is, after all, a society based on "hometown ties." Many people from Guangdong, Guangxi, Fujian, Jiangsu, and Zhejiang still like to use their kinship, clan, or even village ties when they are abroad.

Why?

Besides knowing everyone inside and out, if you betray everyone, how can you face going home? Won't your parents' backs be broken by people pointing fingers at them?

The Chinese have always valued "returning home in glory," but that doesn't mean you should bring shame upon your hometown.

"Okay. I'll tell you about your salary when you arrive. Don't worry, I won't treat my brother unfairly."

Gao Fei responded with a soft "hmm," his voice slightly choked, but he quickly regained his composure.

"Ah Zheng, my life, Gao Fei's life, is yours from now on."

"Don't fucking say things like that," Chen Zheng cursed, but a smirk involuntarily crept onto his lips. "Your life is your own. Live well, make money, get your mother treated, get married, have a baby, and live a good life. I'm just giving you a chance; whether you can seize it depends on your own abilities."

"I know."

"Alright, you take care of the hospital matters first. I'll arrange your passport and plane ticket. Call me when you arrive in Myanmar."

"it is good."

It's over.

After hanging up the phone, Chen Zheng put his phone in his pocket, opened the Cairo seller's drawings, and glanced at them...

Ok…

The Book of Wonders! It made me dizzy.

It was getting dark.

Evening comes quickly in Della. As soon as the sun sets, the light dims abruptly, as if a switch has been flipped.

Black smoke was rising in the distance; I wondered where another fire had broken out.

The faint sound of gunfire could be heard in the air. It was too far away to hear the direction, but the sound was very real, like someone was knocking on a broken bell.

Chen Zheng stood by the window, lit a cigarette, took a drag, and exhaled the smoke.

The smoke rose in wisps in the dim light and quickly dissipated.

He was thinking about many things.

He went downstairs, stood on the stairs, and shouted at the bald man.

The bald man jogged over from the workshop, stood at the bottom of the stairs, and looked up at him: "Goo?"

"Are you going to rush out that batch of APS orders in the next couple of days?"

The bald man nodded: "Gulp!"

"Okay, you lead them," he said. "I'm going to take a nap first."

The bald man put his feet together, gave a military salute, and exclaimed, "Gulp!"

Then he turned around and ran back to the workshop, uttering a series of "coo coo coo" commands. The six laborers immediately adjusted the process, and the machines started roaring again.

Chen Zheng lay on the sofa, covered himself with his coat, and closed his eyes.

My mind is still a mess, but my body is exhausted to the limit.

He turned over, buried his face in his coat, and drifted off to sleep amidst the smell of engine oil and cigarette smoke.

……

The next morning, Chen Zheng was woken up by his phone alarm just as dawn was breaking.

He sat up from the sofa, his back aching and his neck stiff as if it had been twisted all night.

He stood up and went into the workshop to take a look.

Stechkin APS pistols were neatly stacked on the ground, lined up in rows, their silver-gray metal gleaming coldly under the fluorescent lights.

The bald man followed behind him, pointed at the guns, and gestured a number.

Chen Zheng squatted down, picked up a gun at random, pulled back the slide to take a look, and then pulled the trigger.

Click.

Crisp, clean, and evenly repositioned.

He put down his gun, stood up, and patted the bald man on the shoulder.

"Thanks for your hard work."

The bald man tilted his head back and looked at him, blinking his big eyes and making a muffled "gurgle" sound, as if to say "It's not hard work".

Chen Zheng walked to his desk, picked up his phone, and made a call to Khalid.

I answered the phone after it rang twice.

"Are you up yet?" Chen Zheng asked.

"I got up a long time ago." Khalid's voice was a little hoarse, as if he hadn't slept well. "I'm on my way, I'll be there in ten minutes."

"it is good."

After hanging up the phone, Chen Zheng took out some loose US dollars from the safe, divided them into two piles, stuffed one pile into his black backpack, and put the other pile into his pocket.

Then he picked up two AKMs, wrapped them in an old canvas, tucked them under his arm, and walked out of the factory.

Khalid's car was already parked at the door.

A white Toyota Corolla, covered in dust, with a crack on the windshield that was a little longer than yesterday.

Chen Zheng opened the car door and got in, placing two AKMs on the back seat.

"Is this a sample for the client?" Khalid glanced at the back seat.

"Yes." Chen Zheng fastened his seatbelt. "And I'll bring a couple for self-defense."

Khalid started the engine, and the car slowly drove out of the alley and onto the main road.

The straight-line distance from Daraa to the Bekaa Valley in Lebanon is less than 100 kilometers, but driving involves a detour, passing through border checkpoints, and crossing mountains, taking at least three hours in total.

Chen Zheng adjusted his seat back a little, leaned against the backrest, and looked out at the gray sky.

"Khalid, have you been to the Bekaa Valley before?"

"I've been there a few times."

Khalid gripped the steering wheel with both hands, his eyes fixed on the road ahead. "That place is different from Delaware. At least Delaware is under the control of the government forces. Beka Valley... that place is the territory of the bubble tea shop. Even the government forces have to be polite when they go in."

Are the people at the bubble tea shop easy to talk to?

Khalid chuckled, a laugh that carried an indescribable meaning.

"Easy to talk to?"

He shook his head. "That depends on how you talk to them. If you go with sincerity, with goods, and with respect, they'll be more accommodating. If you go empty-handed, hoping to take advantage, they'll tear you apart and use you as firewood."

"Anywhere, as long as you don't clash with them, they won't bother you!"

Chen Zheng nodded without saying anything.

The car drove out of Dera city and onto the highway leading to the border.

The scenery on both sides of the road began to change.

The gray buildings have turned into gray hills, barren and devoid of vegetation. Occasionally, a few olive trees can be seen, growing crookedly by the roadside, their leaves covered in dust.

"Chen," Khalid suddenly spoke up, "any news about your friend's situation?"

"Not yet." Chen Zheng took out a cigarette from his pocket, put one in his mouth, but didn't light it. "Abu said he'd give us an answer within three days, and today is only the second day."

"Who do you think did it?"

Chen Zheng took the cigarette out of his mouth, held it between his fingers, and thought for a moment.

"have no idea."

He said, "Uncle Qiao has been doing business here for so many years, he knows a lot of people, and he's offended a lot of people too. It could be a business dispute, or it could be something else."

"You think it's related to the Free Army?"

Chen Zheng glanced at Khalid.

"How do you know Abdullah is part of the Free Army?"

Khalid shrugged. "Just guessing. Given the current situation in Daraa, the only ones capable of kidnapping are either the government forces or the Free Army. If the government forces wanted to kidnap someone, they wouldn't do it stealthily; they'd just go straight to the door and arrest them. That leaves only the Free Army."

Chen Zheng didn't reply, but put the cigarette back in his mouth and lit it.

Smoke filled the carriage, and Khalid rolled down the window halfway to let the smoke out.

“If it was the Free Army who kidnapped them,” Khalid continued, lowering his voice, “then things will be troublesome. Those guys aren’t powerful yet, but they’re ruthless and capable of anything. If they want money, that’s manageable, but if they want something else… well, that’s another story.”

"Let's wait for news," Chen Zheng said, flicking his cigarette ash out the window. "We'll talk when we have news."

The car drove for about an hour and arrived at the border checkpoint.

It was called a checkpoint, but it was really just two dilapidated bungalows with a red and white striped railing running across the middle.

Several soldiers in camouflage uniforms stood by the railing, holding AKMs in their hands, their faces expressionless.

Khalid stopped the car and rolled down the window.

A soldier walked over, bent down, and glanced into the vehicle.

"Where are you from?" he asked in Arabic.

"A Syrian," Khalid said, pointing to Chen Zheng. "He's Chinese, my friend."

The soldier glanced at Chen Zheng, then at the two canvas bags on the back seat.

"What is that?"

Chen Zheng smiled, took out two packs of cigarettes from his pocket, and handed them over, "Agricultural machinery parts, for the customer to see."

The soldier waved his hand to indicate that he did not smoke.

"Sir, you'll enjoy smoking!" Chen Zheng said with a smile. The other man raised an eyebrow, then opened the cigarette pack and saw a rolled-up $100 bill inside!

The soldier's expression softened. "Thank you, I really like this cigarette."

Then he waved his hand, signaling his comrades to raise the railing.

Just as Khalid was about to drive off, he suddenly saw a major emerge from the guard post and call out, "Wait."

The soldier hurried over and stood to the side, muttering something under his breath.

The major nodded, walked over expressionlessly, and pointed to the canvas bag, saying, "Open it!"

Chen Zheng and Khalid tensed up.

"Sir, these are agricultural machinery parts."

"I said open it!!" the major shouted.

Chen Zheng, in the passenger seat, cursed, then took out a wad of US dollars from his pocket and stuffed it into the other man's hand, saying, "Sir, agricultural machinery parts are afraid of the sun."

The major felt the banknotes in his hand and nodded in satisfaction, but then suddenly reached out and opened the canvas bag, revealing two AKMs!

Everyone was taken aback.

The soldier was also taken aback and instinctively reached for the bolt.

The major nodded and shouted, "Open the door! It's agricultural machinery parts!"

The soldier was surprised…

You're blatantly lying! No wonder you can be a leader!

But Chen Zheng cursed inwardly, "Damn it... this is the behavior of the GMD!"

The $100 was clearly not enough to satisfy the other party.

Chen Zheng still had to swallow his pride and say thank you.

Khalid stepped on the gas, and the car passed through the checkpoint and continued forward.

Chen Zheng glanced at the checkpoint in the rearview mirror; it grew smaller and smaller until it disappeared behind the hills.

He spat a mouthful of phlegm out the window while cursing.

"Damn it! This kind of army will be wiped out sooner or later."

"Everyone in this world can like money, except soldiers. Otherwise, they can take money today and sell out their country tomorrow, just like Iran."

Khalid thought for a moment and nodded.

That makes sense.

After entering Lebanon, the road conditions improved considerably.

The highway was newly built, with an asphalt surface, and olive trees and some vineyards planted on both sides, a lush green expanse that contrasted sharply with the grayish-yellow landscape of Syria.

"The Bekaa Valley is Lebanon's largest agricultural region," Khalid said, pointing to the vineyards outside the window. "The wines produced here are very famous in the Middle East."

"Have you had it?"

Khalid said, "The people in the bubble tea shops don't drink alcohol, but they sell it. There are many wineries in the Bekaa Valley, all run by bubble tea shops, and the money they make is used to buy weapons."

"Selling alcohol with my left hand and buying guns with my right," Chen Zheng said. "Good business."

"Good business," Khalid nodded. "That's why they've been able to grow it so big."

"By the way, where should we go to find a factory site first?"

Chen Zheng waited a moment, then nodded, "Let's go! It would be best if we could find some natural cave, then we wouldn't have to be so cautious anymore."

"Doing business in Delaware, I'm terrified that if I come here, my house will be raided tomorrow!"

Khalid asked in astonishment, "Aren't you afraid in the border region?"

"Soon, we'll have our own security chief too!" Chen Zheng patted him on the shoulder and said with a smile.

……