"The station just received two new colleagues, and I feel something is fishy about it!"
"If there's indeed something fishy, you must ensure the safe passage of our goods tomorrow. Both our boss and their boss have already set the delivery date, and we've received one-third of the payment upfront. If they don't receive the goods, you should know what the consequences will be!"
"Understood... I'll figure out a way."
Flower Yan and Wu Lin woke up at six in the morning and began to wait at the first checkpoint. As the station chief had described, there was a constant flow of people at this border station. Flower Yan kept a close eye on Zhang Bing, who remained much like yesterday, speaking with his head down and rarely making eye contact. Often, he would appear in front of them without notice.
Zhang Bing seemed like a busy bee, helping the station chief with tea one moment, buying cigarettes for a male colleague the next, and keeping an eye on the shift for a female colleague. One moment he was at the first checkpoint, the next, his lean figure was busy at the fifth. He seemed never to stop, finding joy in helping others!
"This boy dropped out of junior high and never returned. When Zhang Guangcheng was still around, he didn't work at the station. At that time, he was a warehouse manager at a small supermarket. It wasn't until his father passed away that he had to support his mother, who often needed medical attention, and his two younger brothers' education expenses."
"We saw him struggling too much, and when the old Wang, who used to run errands, retired, he was transferred here. He also took on the role of my secretary as the station chief. The pay from both jobs was slightly higher than that of a warehouse manager, and the workload was lighter, giving him more time to take care of his family." The station chief noticed Flower Yan's gaze on Zhang Bing and explained.
"It's quite costly to have a sick family member." Flower Yan sighed deeply. She vividly remembered that when she was an orphan, the last thing the orphanage director wanted to see was the children falling ill. In reality, due to poor living conditions and inadequate nutrition, sick children in the orphanage were a constant occurrence. However, every time they went to the hospital, between the registration, tests, and medication costs, their food expenses for over ten days would be depleted.
Zhang Bing not only had a sick mother but also had to support his two young brothers. The hardships they faced were unimaginable. Thinking of this, Flower Yan couldn't help but hope that Zhang Bing wouldn't be involved with drug traffickers.
At this point, it was 7:15 AM, and someone rushed in to report that a Burmese fabric merchant was ready to pass through the third checkpoint. Upon stepping out, Flower Yan saw four or five well-dressed Burmese individuals being stopped by station personnel at the third checkpoint. Time was running short, so Flower Yan and Wu Lin were escorted by the station chief to the room where they would inspect the goods.
Upon entering, they saw over thirty pieces of fabric of various colors and sizes scattered on the ground, emptied from bags by station personnel before the inspection began. The station chief had already taken the other staff outside before Flower Yan and Wu Lin started their work.
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"Let's begin, Flower Yan!" Wu Lin was clueless about jade fabrics, so he relied entirely on Flower Yan.
Flower Yan nodded, focusing her energy and gradually extending her perception to the pile of fabrics on the ground. From five pieces of fabric, she clearly sensed the aura of jade. She then instructed Wu Lin to move those pieces aside while she began to scrutinize the remaining fabrics one by one. Out of over twenty pieces, she confirmed over ten as genuine jade fabrics with just a superficial scan. The sensation she received from the stones was a century-old power, incredibly uniform and flawless. If they were fake fabrics, there would be a sense of fragmentation. She didn't speak but instead pointed at the ten or so fabrics, and Wu Lin quickly started moving them. It was like ants moving their nest, except this ant was much larger.
With Flower Yan's experience gained from the trip to Burma, she could easily and quickly discern between different fabrics using her minimal perception ability. In less than ten minutes, she had inspected over twenty pieces, and the remaining ten were fully scrutinized using her perception ability.
After a busy moment, Wu Lin looked at Flower Yan, who had completed all the inspections, and asked, "Did you find any problematic fabrics?"
Flower Yan shook her head and replied, "All these fabrics are genuine. They can be released."
With that, the nerves of Wu Lin and Flower Yan tightened once again. They couldn't allow the massive five kilograms of drugs to flow into the mainland. Side by side, they opened the door, and the station chief cast them an eager gaze. It wasn't until Wu Lin allowed the Burmese merchant to pass that the station chief's expression turned disappointed, like a wilted eggplant.
Using a method similar to the first time, Flower Yan and Wu Lin had already allowed fifteen Burmese fabric merchants to pass. Meanwhile, Zhang Bing continued to display his diligent qualities at various checkpoints, occasionally leaving for no more than three minutes before returning. Flower Yan began to doubt her initial judgment of him being a good person. As time passed, Wu Lin's expression grew increasingly solemn, while the station chief paced back and forth, eagerly anticipating each checkpoint as if to say, "The next one, if you're a drug dealer, I'll catch you immediately."
Despite nearing noon, there was still no progress. Flower Yan was growing increasingly anxious as she watched the bustling crowd at the checkpoint. Emptying her mind, she stared at the checkpoint without any thoughts. After a few seconds, Flower Yan suddenly asked the station chief, "Do you only have five checkpoints at this border station? Don't you have any emergency checkpoints?"
Wu Lin's eyes also lit up suddenly, and he urgently asked the somewhat bewildered station chief, "Do you have emergency checkpoints?"
"Yes, we do!" The station chief realized they did have an emergency checkpoint, although it had only been used once during his tenure.
At that moment, a sound of a small trash can being knocked over outside caught their attention. Wu Lin immediately reacted and rushed out, followed by Flower Yan and the station chief.
However, when Flower Yan emerged, all she saw was scattered trash, with the trash can lying on the ground, still wobbling, but no sign of anyone. "Wu Lin, did you see who was outside just now? Wu Lin? What's wrong?" Flower Yan called out several times, but Wu Lin seemed lost in thought, staring blankly in one direction.
"Perhaps he recognized someone?" the station chief suggested slowly. Flower Yan agreed with a glance before firmly pinching Wu Lin's thigh.
Wu Lin didn't feel any pain. In his mind, only two words flashed repeatedly. After a few seconds, he seemed to be speaking to Flower Yan and then to himself, "The person outside the door was Zhang... Bing! But why would it be him? Why..." Flower Yan didn't know what Wu Lin had seen in Zhang Bing, but it surely wasn't something good.