Xu Biao was set to enter the border in six days. Jiang Qingbo explained every detail, and I memorized them with utmost seriousness.
Before that, I had to handle one more thing for Jiang Qingbo: go to the overseas casino and pick up some money for him.
Falling into the hands of the Vietnamese this time had dealt Jiang Qingbo a massive blow; he had really hurt his bones and muscles, coughing up quite a bit of cash.
As his partner, Xu Biao hadn't lifted a finger to save him, so he was providing a sum of money to help Jiang Qingbo operate the overseas business for now, as well as an apology gift.
Time was of the essence. After Jiang Qingbo finished his instructions, I immediately returned to the tea tower and took Li Zuo with me to cross the border.
Li Zuo was also one of Jiang Qingbo's trusted aides, a bit older, already in his early thirties.
Before I left the hospital, Jiang Qingbo made two phone calls—one across the border, one back to the tea tower.
(Landline phones in the 90s relied on pulse dialing, so connecting from Diannan to Myanmar was very simple.)
Everything that needed to be arranged was arranged.
When I got back to the tea tower, Li Zuo was already waiting for me with four men.
Our destination was Kayin State in Myanmar, a major region closest to Diannan.
Myanmar is a place of constant warfare, warlord partition, and endless conflicts between various armed factions. Whoever has a gun is the boss; the law has absolutely no effect here.
So, this place became a breeding ground for all kinds of criminal syndicates. The telecom fraud mentioned earlier would flourish here after 2014.
(If I get the chance to start a group chat, I can show you videos of what telecom fraud workers really go through over there.)
But in the late 90s, the most tragic fate for a mainlander going to Myanmar was becoming a mule, becoming livestock.
We weren't crossing the border legally, so we had to rely on our two legs. After a day and a night, we finally arrived in Kayin State.
Compared to Lincang, this was true chaos. Along the way, my hand stayed tucked in my jacket, never leaving the grip of my pistol.
It clearly wasn't Li Zuo's first time here; he led me smoothly into Jiang Qingbo's casino.
"You've been here before?" I asked Li Zuo softly.
Li Zuo was much older than me, but right now, he didn't dare act superior. "Came a few times with Liang Chuang. Second Brother, sit for a bit; the person in charge here will come shortly."
I sat in a VIP box on the second floor of the casino. Through several huge glass windows, I could see the devils dancing wild below.
I won't describe these scenes in detail, because this was the last time I crossed the border into Myanmar.
I'm a hooligan in the underworld. In a sense, I can be considered a criminal, but I didn't commit crimes continuously.
But inside this casino, crimes were happening every single day.
It has nothing to do with my story.
After withdrawing two bags of money from the casino in Kayin State, we retraced our steps and successfully returned to Lincang.
I had Li Zuo take the money back to the tea tower, while I checked into a guesthouse outside.
There was less than two days before Xu Biao would cross the border.
I sat on the bed in the guesthouse, smoked two whole packs of cigarettes, and finally went downstairs to call Sir Niu.
"Xu Biao is crossing the border soon, and I'm the one picking him up this time."
On the other end of the line, Sir Niu let out a sigh of relief. "I heard a few days ago that Jiang Qingbo was back, and I heard your reputation is skyrocketing in the underworld now. You had me worried to death."
I frowned. "Now is not the time for that. Come to my place; I have something to tell you."
I gave Sir Niu the address. Actually, I was very worried. Could a small narcotics officer who just arrived in Lincang handle such a massive case?
This didn't just involve Jiang Qingbo anymore; it involved an entire criminal syndicate.
Whether Sir Niu could handle it or not, I had to pull out. If I kept tangling with Jiang Qingbo, I'd lose my head sooner or later.
Sir Niu arrived wearing plain clothes. He didn't come directly to my room; instead, he rented a new room and even called a streetwalker—an "auntie standing by the telephone pole."
After doing the deed and sending the woman away, he finally smoked a cigarette and knocked on my door.
I had to admire Sir Niu for one thing: he was meticulous, considering almost every possible loophole.
After bringing Sir Niu inside, I didn't waste words and got straight to the point. "Sir Niu, if Jiang Qingbo and Xu Biao have an entire drug trafficking syndicate behind them, spanning the interior and the exterior, do you have the confidence to handle it?"
Sir Niu paused, then took a drag of his cigarette and laughed.
"Shanhe, do you know how many people are in this country?"
"There are 1.2 billion people in the nation, but only 31 people at my old man's level. And you're asking me if I can handle it?"
"Do you know the city of Yangnan? The trigger for the '83 Crackdown? Fighter jets diving with live ammunition. On these 9.6 million square kilometers, it's only a question of whether the Sickle and Hammer want to handle it, not if they can."
"Speak. Tell me everything."
Sir Niu's words gave me immense confidence. I recounted the events of the past few days one by one.
After listening, the expression on Sir Niu's face went from shock to uncontrollable joy.
He slapped my shoulder frantically. "Shanhe, Shanhe! You really are my lucky star. Originally, I just wanted to catch Xu Biao to add a stroke to my resume. I didn't expect you to give me a heaven-sized surprise."
"You were right about what you said earlier. You staked your life to pave a meteoric rise for me. Shanhe, as long as you don't commit murder or arson—things I can't smooth over—as long as I'm in the government, I will do my best to protect you."
Looking at the excited Sir Niu, I felt a wave of emotion.
In just two short months, that Sir Niu who hated evil as if it were his personal enemy seemed to have become his past life.
The current Sir Niu was filled with power and desire. His eyes could tolerate a piece of societal scum like me, and he would even use a piece of scum like me to work for him.
As long as I could bring him benefits.
Of countless men and women in the world, Sir Niu was the one most like me.
In the beginning, I was cowardly and insecure, afraid to fight back when slapped. Now, I handled people without a shred of mercy.
My transformation and Sir Niu's transformation... how similar they were.
For the next two hours, Sir Niu and I discussed various details. I couldn't pull out just yet. Jiang Qingbo had the air of the underworld, but he wasn't a fool.
If I disappeared now, he would crawl his way back across the border to hide.
Then Xu Biao and his friends in the interior would never let me go for the rest of my life.
Actually, I didn't care much if Xu Biao and the others were caught or not.
But Jiang Qingbo had to die!
Because he came from Liu Xiang Town and knew everything about me, Chu Lao Er. If he didn't die, I would never sleep soundly again.
Sir Niu left the guesthouse before me. By the time I left, lights were already shining in every household in Lincang.
Soon. Soon, all of this would come to an end.