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

Importing goods from Israel…

This actually greatly shocked Boss Chen as well!

I thought we were enemies, but who knew, hehehe.

This is equivalent to... a mouse asking a cat to sell it a trap...

Upon hearing Adnan's words, Chen Zheng's eyes flickered slightly, and he said with a smile, "Your business is quite large."

Adnan chuckled twice, his facial muscles twitching slightly, and his small eyes narrowed.

He pulled a pack of Marlboro cigarettes from his pocket and handed them to everyone, saying, "When you're doing business, everyone likes to stick together."

"Does forming groups depend on race?"

"How much money can one person make? It's a group of people who can make big money. If you help me and I help you, everyone will have food to eat."

He lit a cigarette, took a puff, and exhaled smoke from his nose, which drifted and dispersed in the tent.

"We have a grudge against the Israelis, not against money."

Who doesn't like Franklin's idiotic face?

He flicked his cigarette ash. "Jews love doing business. If you ask me, why fight? The Middle Easterners are rich. They can crowdfund hundreds of billions of dollars, and the Holy City isn't out of the question."

Upon hearing this, Sheikh Abdullah sat bolt upright.

The old man's face looked as if someone had splashed a basin of pig's blood on it; it was red from the base of his neck all the way to his forehead, and the veins on his temples were bulging and throbbing.

It looked like his blood vessels were about to burst!

He lowered his voice: "Those thieves stole our holy city!"

"The Israelites are robbers! They are thieves! They are butchers! The Holy City is...it is ours!"

Adnan leaned back against the cushion, took the cigarette from his mouth, and looked at his trembling cousin: "Then why didn't you just kill the thief?"

He tilted his head. "Isn't it because I can't beat them?"

"If you can beat me, why are you wasting your breath talking to me?"

The tent fell silent.

Sheikh's mouth was agape, his expression frozen, and his lips were trembling.

Oh shit!

Directly made of tulle!

Ultimately, it's because they can't win. They were exhausted from the five Middle East wars and almost lost several times, but with their American daddy around, how could their son be bullied?

Chen Zheng sat down beside them, holding a teacup. His eyes darted back and forth between the two of them before he lowered his head and took a sip of tea.

This is none of my business. Just watch the show and don't offer any opinions!

Adnan looked at Sheikh's ashen face, took a deep breath, put the cigarette back in his mouth, and softened his tone, carrying a hint of helplessness:

"Times have changed, cousin."

"There are many reasons why peace cannot be achieved in the Middle East. For the poor, it is the continuation of hatred. For businessmen, it is the proliferation of money. For politicians, it is the proliferation of political achievements."

"No one in the world truly loves peace. If there's peace, what will those generals sell? If there's peace, what slogans will those politicians shout? If there's peace, what will those arms dealers profit from?"

"Nobody really wants peace in the Middle East, cousin."

Is that true?

Maybe...

They have all sorts of twisted logic.

Sheikh sat opposite him, the redness on his face slowly fading, replaced by a grayish-white.

His eyes were fixed on a non-existent stain on the carpet, his lips stopped trembling, but he looked ten years older all of a sudden.

Before Sheikh could speak again, Adnan took out a business card from his pocket, turned around, and handed it to Chen Zheng, who was watching the commotion.

The business card was simple, a white cardstock with only a name and a phone number printed on it, without even an address.

"I'll arrange the goods right now."

Adnan stood up, patted the wrinkles on his robe, and said, "I'll contact you by phone this afternoon."

Chen Zheng took the business card, glanced at it, and nodded: "Okay."

Adnan bent down and crawled out of the tent.

When the curtain fell, the noise from outside rushed in for a moment, but was quickly shut out again.

The tent was so quiet you could hear the tea leaves sinking in the teapot.

Khalid glanced at Chen Zheng, who nodded slightly.

Khalid stood up, dusted off his trousers, and bowed slightly to Sheikh: "Sheikh, we'll be leaving now, so as not to disturb your rest any longer."

Sheikh remained seated on the cushion, motionless.

His eyes were still fixed on the non-existent stain on the carpet, his lips were tightly pressed together, and the wrinkles on his face were as deep as if they had been carved by a knife.

Upon hearing Khalid's words, he raised his eyelids to glance at him, then lowered his eyes again, without saying a word or even getting up.

This is the most serious breach of etiquette in Arab hospitality.

But Khalid showed no displeasure. He turned around, lifted the curtain, bent down, and slipped out.

This old man's resolve has been shattered.

Chen Zheng followed behind, and Li Yang was the last. When Li Yang was bending over and trying to squeeze out, he almost tripped over the curtain and stumbled. He quickly reached out to support himself on the ground, got up, and followed.

"Be careful, make sure you have a firm footing before you walk down," Chen Zheng said from the side.

Li Yang didn't understand the deeper meaning, so he just nodded.

The three of them stepped out of the tent, and the sunlight outside shone down directly, making Chen Zheng squint.

The market was almost closed.

The old clothes, secondhand shoes, pots and pans that were laid out on the ground were gone, leaving only some rotten vegetable leaves and waste paper on the ground, blown around by the wind.

Several children and several adults were rummaging through the garbage.

This scene was heartbreaking to watch.

The Yamuq River flows in the distance, its waters gurgling gently, neither fast nor slow.

"That chief seems very unhappy," Li Yang whispered from the side.

Chen Zheng glanced at him and blew smoke through his nose: "You'd be unhappy if your own family members said your lifelong beliefs were worthless."

Think about it, if someone contradicts your "airplane pilot" and says you have no "vision", wouldn't you get angry?

He paused, took another drag of his cigarette, and said, "Forget it, it's none of our business anyway. We're also one of the beneficiaries Adnan mentioned. If they stop fighting, what will we sell?"

He took the cigarette from his mouth, flicked off the ash, and added, "Are you selling condoms?"

Li Yang paused for a moment, then chuckled twice and scratched the back of his head: "That makes sense."

Khalid stood to the side, his hands in his jacket pockets, watching the group of children chasing and playing in the distance.

"Let's find a place to sit down."

Chen Zheng put the cigarette back in his mouth, looked around, and asked, "Is there any quiet place around here?"

There's a teahouse up ahead.

Khalid gestured eastward with his lip. "After you cross that olive grove, there's a small house by the roadside, run by the Sheikhs, specifically for entertaining guests."

"Let's go."

The three of them walked eastward along the compacted dirt path in the middle of the tent area. On both sides of the path were crooked olive trees, their gray-green leaves shimmering with a silvery-white light in the afternoon sun.

Several old men sat under the shade of a tree, wearing long robes and headscarves, holding prayer beads in their hands, turning the beads one by one. When they saw Chen Zheng and his group walk by, they looked up at them, then lowered their heads again to continue turning the beads.

The teahouse was small, a stone building with whitewashed exterior walls that had peeled off in some places, revealing the gray stones underneath.

Several plastic tables and chairs were placed at the entrance, and a large parasol was open, with the red Coca-Cola logo printed on it, which had faded to an ambiguous pink.

A young man sitting on a stool by the door saw Chen Zheng and his group approaching, stood up, and said "Welcome" in Arabic.

The three people sat down under the parasol.

Chen Zheng ordered three cups of black tea.

Khalid picked up his cup, took a sip, wiped his mouth, and took his phone out of his pocket and placed it on the table.

"We've already contacted a middleman in Lebanon about the passports," he said in a low voice. "They're asking for $600 per person."

Chen Zheng's eyebrows twitched: "600 US dollars?"

"It's a bit expensive."

Khalid nodded. "But he has a good reputation. Sheikh recommended him. That guy specializes in making fake passports. I heard from Sheikh that the broker seems to have connections in Europe, and European airlines can get people into the country."

oooooooo!

It dawned on me!

Many industries are actually attended by professionals.

I'm talking about betting on football!!! Don't get the wrong idea.

"As long as I can get on the plane, I don't want to end up sitting in the cargo hold with a dog."

Chen Zheng picked up his teacup and took a sip. The tea was at the perfect temperature. "Tell him that it's $600 per person for four people, $2400 in total."

"Probably not."

Chen Zheng nodded, put down his teacup, thought for a moment, and then suddenly chuckled.

"Sheikh is quite a cute old man."

"Everyone he knew went into shady dealings, but he was still doing legitimate work. Raising sheep, herding livestock, taking in refugees—all honest jobs. And what was the result?"

He flicked his cigarette ash. "In the end, the money he earned from his honest work wasn't even enough to pay protection money to the Israelis. His relatives who did shady business were all living a life of luxury."

Khalid, holding his teacup, said, "Everyone has different choices. When I was a child, I even dreamed of becoming a Caliph (religious leader). The problem is, I don't have the surname Muhammad."

Who says foreigners lack social skills?

Li Yang sat to the side, holding half a pita bread in his hand, dipping it in hummus sauce, and eating it bite by bite, his eyes darting back and forth between Chen Zheng and Khalid.

Just then, Khalid's phone, which was on the table, vibrated.

Khalid put down his teacup, picked up his phone, answered it, and held it to his ear.

The voice on the other end of the phone was soft and I couldn't make out what it said.

Khalid's expression changed within seconds.

"Okay," he said in a low voice, "Okay, I understand."

He hung up the phone and placed it on the table, screen down.

Then he looked up at Chen Zheng.

"Abu was killed by government forces."

? ? ? ? ? ! !

The cigarette in Chen Zheng's hand stopped in mid-air, and his eyes were somewhat blank.

The customer died…

"Damn it! My final payment!!!"

Chen Zheng stood up angrily and dumped the bowl of food on the table, leaving Li Yang, who was standing next to him, dumbfounded.

Khalid's lips twitched. "Boss, we haven't delivered the goods yet..."

Chen Zheng was taken aback, then chuckled awkwardly, "Right, the goods weren't delivered either." He then flipped the bowl back over and said to Li Yang, "Eat."

"How did he die?"

Khalid took a deep breath and lowered his voice: "The government forces launched a raid on Dera City, targeting a Muslim Brotherhood stronghold in the south of the city. Abu was talking to someone in that stronghold when the security forces stormed in. He fired back and was killed on the spot."

He paused, then lowered his voice further: "Five others died with him, all from the Mu Brotherhood."

Chen Zheng sighed, then made a prayer gesture, and suddenly asked Khalid, "How do you pray in the Middle East? Never mind, we will always remember him."

He clasped his hands together, closed his eyes, and muttered a few words, his expression as devout as a priest in a church.

After finishing reading, she opened her eyes, the sorrow on her face vanishing instantly. She turned to Khalid and asked, "Who called you just now?"

"A minor leader of the Syriza Brotherhood."

Khalid said, "I had done business with Abu Ali a few times before, so we were acquaintances."

Chen Zheng nodded, tapping his fingers lightly on the table twice: "Did he say what to do with Abu Ali's order?"

Khalid shook his head: "Abu Ali is dead. His men are in complete chaos now, and it's hard to say who's in charge. As for the orders, I doubt anyone's going to care."

Chen Zheng frowned slightly, picked up his teacup, and took a sip.

He put down the cup and sighed.

"The thing I want most is to be a businessman who keeps his word."

He shook his head, his expression as serious as if he were swearing an oath to God. "Whatever the customer wants, I'll give them, guaranteeing quality and quantity, and delivering on time. But now the customer is dead. Isn't this forcing me to sell the goods to someone else?"

He took the cigarette from his mouth, flicked off the ash, and suddenly changed the subject: "Do you guys think that Adnan is reliable?"

Khalid's lips twitched upon hearing this.

What utter nonsense about feeling unwell...

Chen Zheng was practically laughing to death inside!

You sold your goods to two different people, aren't you happy?

"That guy's methods are a bit unconventional."

Li Yang chimed in, "Aren't there a lot of armed men here? Are we worried about not finding buyers?"

"Larger armed groups have their own production bases; handguns aren't worth much there. Would your small armed organization dare to sell them?" Chen Zheng retorted. "What if they double-cross you and just dump them on the street? Who's going to care?"

"We are the manufacturers; we just need to sell to a larger distributor."

Li Yang nodded, seemingly understanding but not quite.

"This guy is too glib..." Khalid said, frowning. As a Middle Easterner, although he did business with the other party, there were some things he didn't like.

"We're not going to have sex with him. What's wrong with being smooth-talking? As long as he can pay, that's fine. But we need to change our approach; we want full payment from this kind of distributor!"

Seeing that the boss had said that, Khalid understood that he couldn't change his mind, so he could only nod.

"Should I give him a call?"

Chen Zheng shook his head and said with a smile, "No rush, let's see if he delivers the goods this afternoon, and see if he's reliable."

Khalid nodded, then took a sip of black tea, his mood not very good.

After all, Abu had a good relationship with him.

can only say…

In the Middle East, anyone can die.

May you rest in the embrace of God!

Khalid silently prayed in his heart.

……