Just after this day, our ship began to turn north, heading northeast.
Another four days later, during these four days, the crew lifted another body from the cabin and threw it into the sea.
I later learned that death is a common occurrence during this kind of smuggling journey. The living conditions in the cabin are very poor, there is not enough fresh water and food, and the temperature and ventilation conditions are bad, and even breathing is difficult. Those who are in poor health can only hold on if they get sick at sea.
On this kind of smuggling boat, don't expect them to prepare doctors and medicines for you! But this is not the reason why I feel cold... What really makes me feel a little bit cold is the attitude of the crew of these stowaways who treat people with smugglers!
The same people, the same kind, just locked in the cabin and not allowed to come out... All this makes me feel like the slave trade in those old movies!
Such knowledge made me alienate Old Snake and his men.
But then during the dinner, the old snake pulled me to chat, and I couldn't help but ask him unintentionally: "If the people below are dead, won't you be able to receive money? Why don't you give them more food and water? "
The old snake smiled, his smile was indifferent, and he gave me a weird look.
"You are Chinese, and you don't understand the market." Old Snake replied lightly. Then, while smoking a cigarette, he pointed at the bottom of the cabin with contempt, and said, "These people are dead and worthless."
I deliberately tricked him into saying something, but the old snake didn't care, and casually told me a little about the situation in this business.
Smuggling is an unavoidable problem in any place. At present, from the perspective of East Asia, the smuggling gangs are divided into two waves. The first wave is from the coastal areas of China, mainly from the Fujian generation.
The other wave is some scattered smugglers in Southeast Asia.
"We are different from you Chinese." These are the original words of the old snake.
In the 1970s and 1980s, the Fujian generation of smugglers smuggled many mainland smugglers to Southeast Asia, Hong Kong, Macau, and of course Japan, and the Americas.
It can be said that it was a golden age of smuggling... It's ridiculous to say, mainly because the country's economy was not developed and open at that time, it was relatively backward in all aspects, and there were few communication channels with the Western world. Most of the smugglers went out with the intention of going to the west to make a fortune.
To put it in a ridiculous way, it was a "seller's market" at that time, and it was also the golden age of smugglers. The price of smuggling to America was very high, and most of them were not negotiable... More importantly, pay first, then board the ship ! !
The direct consequence of such actions was that almost all human-snake groups at that time lacked awareness of "after-sales service".
The people boarded the boat, and the money was received. The human-snake group usually transports the stowaways as slaves, using the most frugal method... Try to fill the cabin with as many people as possible, and if you put one more person, you will get an extra sum of money! Bring as little water and food as possible, because you can bring more people with less goods! !
At that time, the death rate of stowaways was very high!
Speaking of this, the old snake seemed to smile, and said: "Don't look at the people who were suffocated in the smuggling boat or the fuel tank of the car mentioned two years ago, these news are so noisy... In fact, it was ten or twenty years ago. Years ago, the number of dead people was many times higher! It's just that the media was underdeveloped in that era, so there was not so much publicity."
However, as China's economy took off in the 1990s and its national strength became stronger and stronger, the communication between China and the Western world became more and more smooth, and it was no longer difficult to go abroad. Moreover, the country's economic level is increasing day by day, especially the improvement of people's living standards in the southeast coastal areas, and smuggling abroad is not very attractive. And during this period, the business of the smuggling human-snake group was relatively bleak.
It seems to be a joke, and it seems to confirm the truth that "the market dominates everything". The smuggling business has gradually changed from a seller's market to a buyer's market... This sounds ridiculous.
However, in order to attract business, the Human Snake Group has also taken many measures to adapt to the trend.
For example, changes in prices... Lao Snake said that there is even a situation where several companies on the road compete for prices and routes... "It's like a price war between your domestic travel companies."
The second is after-sales service!
Over the past few years, there has been too much publicity about smuggling dead people, so many people are afraid to smuggle out of the country, so now the smuggling gangs take half of the money first, and then charge the other half after they reach the destination safely!
In this way, before the money is confiscated, they dare not abuse the stowaways as before. Because the person is dead, they will not receive the final payment!
"But... those two people who died in the past two days..." I asked with a frown.
The old snake raised his eyebrows, and there was a trace of cruelty and cunning on his thin face: "I'm talking about your situation in China. We are different from you!"
Then he explained that in many small countries in Southeast Asia, the national economic level is still very backward, and the rules for the smuggling business are still the same as those in China ten or twenty years ago.
That is to collect all the money first, and then board the boat!
This kind of situation also makes these smuggling groups in Southeast Asia not care about the life and death of the smugglers... Anyway, the money has been received!
"The people who put it on include Vietnamese, Indonesian, and Malaysian." The old snake said indifferently: "They all paid first before boarding the boat."
Then he casually mentioned one more thing as if casually: there are some ruthless human-snake syndicates... After collecting the money, they will join forces with the local gangsters to engage in gang-eating crimes when they arrive at the destination! Sell the people who wear them directly to the local gangsters. I heard that some people have been sold to drug plantations in South America! I don't know if I live or die...
Hearing these words, my heart skipped a beat, and I couldn't help but look at the old snake with more meaning in his eyes.
The old snake laughed, patted his chest, and assured him: "Don't worry, I'm very trustworthy! You are Fatty Fang's friend, and I won't betray you!"
Looking at this guy's flickering eyes and somewhat wretched smile, I thought to myself, only if I believe in you!
But then I became a little bit more jealous and vigilant towards these people, and I became more vigilant when I went to bed at night. I used to be close to the crew, but now I try to distance myself from these people... These are real things The guy who kills without blinking an eye!
As the boat went north day by day, the weather gradually became less hot, and it was even cooler in the morning and evening!
I don't know if it was because I was lucky that we had a smooth ride and no bad weather. Since the sixth day, the old snake has been muttering to himself every morning without knowing what to say, as if praying that there will be no storm.
As the weather turned colder, I was relieved that there were no more dead people in the cabin.
Although I told myself in my heart that this was not my business, it was never a pleasant thing for me to watch someone die in front of me like this.
Although the old snake said that those are Vietnamese and Indonesians.
That night, while I was still asleep, I was woken up by the noise outside, and I immediately rolled over from the bed, just in time to see the old snake open the door and call out to me: "Come out, you're here. "
I was a little puzzled, and walked out of the cabin to the deck in a daze, but saw a scene that surprised me!
The fishing boat I was in had lowered the sails and the motors were dead. And next to it, there is a big ship that is one size bigger! That big boat looked dark under the night, its shell was made of metal, and its side was much higher than ours.
Now the two boats are juxtaposed together, and two wooden boards are built in the middle as a simple bridge.
Old Snake was standing beside me, with one hand touching his waist...it was a gun. And several of his crew members also stood aside with guns.
What surprised me even more... the door of the cabin below the fishing boat opened! A group of people is coming out from below, and then transferred to the big ship through those two planks on the ship!
In the dark, I couldn’t see the appearance of these smugglers. I only saw that most of them were men, and there were very few women. They were dressed in ordinary clothes. Everyone was carrying simple luggage. They didn’t have many things. Under the night, no one spoke. They all lined up quietly to transfer from the ship board.
Most people's footsteps are weak and weak. Most people walk alone, rarely in groups, and everyone walks with their heads down. Even if they or the people around them are weak and almost fall down, no one will help each other!
And on that big ship, I saw a few dark figures standing on the deck of the ship, holding black guns in their hands. Under the dim light, the eyes of those people gleamed like wolves.
"What's going on? Old snake?" I looked at the guy next to me with some vigilance.
The old snake laughed a little guilty, but then said in a low voice: "I can only send it here, you are going to change the ship now, you take that ship, and they will continue to drive you to your destination."
I was a little annoyed: "Why didn't you mention this before? Fang... Does he know about your arrangements?"
Seeing the old snake's embarrassed smile, my heart immediately became clear... It seems that the fat man doesn't even know about this guy's arrangement!
Strictly speaking, what Old Snake is doing now is a bit like the kind of "second-hand dealers" that are often said in business, but the difference is that second-hand dealers resell the goods to the next family, while Old Snake sells stowaways!
Although I was a little angry, I still wisely kept my mouth shut. I know it's useless to ask the old snake to protest at this time... These people are all murderers without blinking an eye. Is it any more useful if I say it now? He said that he was annoyed, so he just shot me and threw it into the sea, there is no place to shout for injustice!
The old snake accompanied me on that big boat, only then did I realize that the crew on this boat were all ghosts, and the leader was a black man, like half of a black iron tower, with a bare upper body and a cigar in his mouth. With a ferocious face and sharp eyes, he was playing with a military dagger in his hand.
The old snake went up to say hello to him, and I could clearly see a trace of disdain in the eyes of the black man looking at the old snake, and then the old snake chatted with him a lot, and then pointed at me. The black man didn't speak from the beginning to the end, but just looked at the old snake coldly and waited for him to finish.
In the end, the old snake wiped off his sweat, turned to me and said, "Okay, I've told you, you can go with them, where are your belongings?"
I patted the bag on my back. I've had my bag with me since I saw the dead on board.
The black man looked at me coldly for a while, and I could feel that his eyes were cold, and there was something sinister in them. When he looked at me, I felt as if I was being stared at by some kind of beast!
Then the old snake talked to him for a few more words, basically the old snake said, and the black man hummed occasionally.
In the end, the old snake patted me on the shoulder with a hypocritical smile on his face: "Best trip!"
Then he ran quickly back to his own boat, and removed the planks connecting the two boats.
The bastard! ! I couldn't help cursing.
Being a snake is actually changing hands! !
Then I sighed and took a look at the black man, who was also looking at me, but then he turned and walked away, not seeming to be very interested in me. A crew member beside him came over with a gun in his hand and pointed to the front.
That means: in the past!
I took a look, and it turned out that dozens of stowaways had already entered through the door of a cabin. It seems that on this ship, they will continue to be locked in the cabin below the deck, and continue to live like gophers. .
The difference is that the crew member next to me gestured to me with a gun, which meant that I should go with them too!
I hesitated for a while, trying to tell what to tell, but the black man had gone away and ignored me at all. And this crew member has a murderous look on his face. It seems that if I don't move the place again, he might come up and give me the butt of the gun without hesitation!
I finally recognized the situation I was facing: my first-class treatment along the way ended here! From now on, I will survive in the cabin below with those stowaways...
I endured the anger in my heart. I knew that the situation was pressing at this time, and I had no room for resistance, so I could only walk over in silence, followed the people outside the cabin and slowly lined up into the corridor leading to the deck below. In the cabin and on the decks on both sides, there are crew members urging them from time to time with guns in hand.
Probably because I thought I was moving too slowly, when I was the last one to enter the cabin, the bastard behind kicked me, I staggered and rushed down, and the rear cabin door slammed shut immediately!
It was dark in the cabin, I could feel that the place was small, and it was full of a strange stench. The dozens of people who came in first had already dispersed to find a place to sit and lie down, even on the ground. It's hard to find where the pins are.
And the cabin door was occupied by three or four people. As soon as I was about to sit down, they immediately came over and pushed me, beckoning me to go inside.
It turns out that the position of the cabin door is very "popular"! Because the crew members outside come down to deliver water and food every once in a while, they throw them at the cabin door randomly, so the closer to the cabin door, the more food and water they can grab... and only the strong and strong can grab this good Location!
The old and the weak are squeezed in the innermost.
The innermost place is the place with the least air circulation, and is usually the stuffiest, coldest or hottest place!
I didn't want to cause trouble, so I didn't conflict with those people at the door, but chose to avoid it temporarily and walked to the innermost part of the cabin. The space inside was indeed not so crowded, but the air was stuffy, filled with a musty and rotten smell. It made me almost suffocate, so I randomly found an empty place and sat down, but I heard a few coughing sounds not far from me.
Intuitively, I heard that it was a woman, who should be young. Also, her coughing business sounded weak and seemed ill!