Chapter 528 - 542: Arrival
An Ning had not expected this was what the woman’s presence meant. She had assumed she was just a simple contact.
"You mentioned close-quarters protection. How close are we talking, exactly?"
An Ning, who was quickly changing her clothes, earned a raised eyebrow from the woman.
"Very close. So please, don’t even think about trying to shake me."
"Don’t worry, I won’t. I could probably use a hand anyway."
The woman, already dressed, took a palm-sized packet from her waist. She unfolded it to reveal a simple charcoal pencil and a small, tailed brush.
An Ning watched her make a few simple strokes on her own face. Her features changed, yet they also seemed the same.
But her whole demeanor changed drastically. She went from a confident, independent woman to a simple, rustic farm woman who hadn’t quite resigned herself to her fate.
"Your turn."
"I need you to remember everything I’m about to say."
An Ning, buttoning her last button, nodded. "Don’t worry, I have a good memory."
"My name is Zhao Pandi. Your name is Zhao Laodi. I’m your second-oldest sister, and you’re my mute little sister. We’re not valued at home. When we found out our family was going to sell us off for a bride price, we secretly ran away to take a chance on our own. Got it?"
"Understood. But do I have to be mute?"
"Can you speak the local dialect?"
An Ning shook her head.
"Can you teach me?"
"Hm?"
Across from her, Zhao Pandi began applying makeup to An Ning’s face. She explained, "I know you’re very smart, but a dialect isn’t something you can learn in a short amount of time."
An Ning understood. Besides, time was short.
"Don’t worry. You only have to pretend to be mute on the boat. You won’t have to once we’re off."
"Alright. But I have another question. Since we’re crossing illegally, the person piloting the boat can’t be doing it for free out of the goodness of his heart, right? According to the backstory you gave me, we shouldn’t have any money."
Zhao Pandi didn’t get angry at An Ning’s question. Instead, she said with appreciation, "You’re right. That’s because we’ve sold ourselves into servitude."
This time, it was An Ning’s turn to gape.
’What does that mean?’
"Don’t be scared. Hong Kong may be small, but there are a lot of menial jobs that need doing. These people are all smuggled over to work off their debt."
"Don’t they run away?"
"Run where? If they actually ran, they’d lose any chance of surviving in Hong Kong. Let me tell you, the boss here has a few connections in Hong Kong. The fact that he can get you a job is something most people would kill for."
An Ning understood the gist of it, but she still couldn’t quite comprehend the logic behind it.
’Why did they have to cross illegally?’
"Who knows? I guess when life is bad enough, you’ll take any chance you can get."
After their makeup was done, the two were transformed into a pair of sisters with ordinary temperaments but decent looks.
According to Zhao Pandi, being too ugly would make it hard to get by.
An Ning followed Zhao Pandi to a patch of grass where they found two small cloth bundles. They crept along on tiptoe, arriving at the riverbank around one or two in the morning.
"Hurry up!"
"Don’t talk!"
"Get on the boat! Let’s move!"
An Ning glanced at the leader on the bank, who was constantly urging people onto the boat, then looked at the boat itself.
Calling it a fishing boat would be a compliment.
The entire vessel was perhaps two or three times the size of a canoe, yet it was loaded with more people than it could safely carry.
"Don’t worry, I’m an excellent swimmer. Even with you in tow, I could swim across."
If Zhao Pandi had said that to an ordinary person, they would have probably given up. But this was An Ning. Forget a river like this; even if she were thrown into the open sea, she could make it back safely.
An Ning just nodded without speaking. For now, she was a mute.
The mute An Ning followed behind Zhao Pandi, was shoved, stumbled, and got on the boat.
An Ning watched Zhao Pandi awkwardly press a handful of loose change into the hand of the man at the bow who was shouting nonstop. In the end, the two of them were assigned to the "VIP section"—a spot that was probably best for recovering their bodies if the boat capsized.
After the last person was aboard, the small fishing boat set off.
The south at this time of year was muggy and hot.
Inside the small boat cabin, the air was thin. Noses were assaulted by the stench of sweat mixed with all kinds of body odors. It smelled as if a sweaty athlete’s socks had been marinating in kitchen swill for days, now reeking of black water and white foam.
Yet no one complained. Not a single person spoke. Everyone was unbelievably tense.
After all, if they were unlucky enough to run into a police patrol, they would be sent back.
And not a single person who had boarded this boat wanted to be sent back.
There were probably only two people on the boat who weren’t truly afraid. One was Zhao Pandi, because she knew that the Huaxia side would definitely be clear today. As for the Hong Kong side, there was a more than ninety percent chance no one would show up.
After all, Director Zhao was not about to let An Ning get caught.
The other person who wasn’t afraid was An Ning, because she was confident in her ability to escape.
She had even already planned for it: if something went wrong, she would just dive in and swim the rest of the way herself.
Right now, however, both of them had their heads buried in their cloth bundles, looking terrified.
The width of the river wasn’t actually that great, which was why some of the bolder people, confident in their swimming skills, would just swim across.
The theory of relativity played an important role once again. After a period of time that seemed to stretch on infinitely, a single shout—"We’re here"—became a salvation for many.
They had arrived.
Arrived in this land where the streets were supposedly paved with gold.
Brother Hu, at the bow of the boat, lowered his voice.
"Get off the boat, quickly!"
"Keep your voices down."
"Don’t talk. Follow me."
The man called Brother Hu walked ahead, his back hunched over. The people disembarking all followed behind him in the same manner.
These were the ones who had chosen to work under Brother Hu.
Zhao Pandi and Zhao Laodi also chose to follow Brother Hu at the first opportunity.
The two of them hadn’t come over with legitimate identities. An Ning had no idea where to go, so she decided to observe for now.
The group made their way to a spot by the river and climbed over a barbed-wire fence.
The moment they were over the barbed wire, some people could no longer hold back and were about to cry out loud.
Because of Hong Kong’s special status, as long as you were physically in Hong Kong, you wouldn’t be deported.
SMACK!
The sound of a slap suppressed the person’s urge to wail uncontrollably.
"If you want to die, go die somewhere else! I’m telling you, now that you’re here, the only thing you need to do is obey. Otherwise—"
Brother Hu, his eyes wide with fury, snorted coldly and continued to lead the way, his voice chilling as he called out, "Keep up!"
The group didn’t dare act up. They were in a strange new place where they didn’t know a soul. They had no food, no water, no place to stay, and no idea how to find work. Following the man in front was their only choice.
They walked from dusk till dawn, arriving haggard and disheveled at a tall building.
Most had never seen a high-rise building before. They followed Brother Hu, who was now being greeted respectfully, into a place they would probably never be able to leave for the rest of their lives.