I said, "You've been drinking today. How about I send you back to rest first? I'll have Wen Siqiang pick you up later?"
The senior said, "This little bit of alcohol is nothing. If it weren't for Xie Jiabao messing up, I'd still have another bottle! Don't delay, hurry back to the office to talk business."
I said, "Alright then, you can take a nap in the car. I'll wake you up when we arrive."
This time the senior didn't object and closed his eyes obediently.
The car drove on the highway. Compared to last year when we drove a beat-up minivan to the island, it was much easier this year. The roads were wider and resurfaced, not only making for a smoother ride but also much faster.
There was another important indicator: the car had upgraded not just one level, but several notches.
On the way, I asked them if they had plans for lunch. Wen Siqiang said they did, and they ate with their employees. Afterward, Xie Jiakuen didn't make things difficult for them and even gave each of them a pack of cigarettes.
I thought to myself, what a bunch of snobs who judge people by their appearance. The moment they saw their boss fawning over us, their attitude changed immediately.
Qian Fugui fiddled with the cigarette pack in his hand. It was a well-known brand from the mainland, quite expensive, costing over ten yuan a pack.
To put it this way, back then, the most expensive Yunyan cigarettes cost only four yuan a pack. This pack was equivalent to two and a half packs of Yunyan.
He looked at it from every angle. I asked, "What, haven't you seen this brand before?"
Qian Fugui said, "No, boss. I think there's something wrong with it."
I said, "It's just a pack of cigarettes, what's the problem?"
He handed it to me and said, "The seal has been tampered with."
Wen Siqiang startled when he heard this. He took out his own pack and said, "Check mine."
Qian Fugui took it, looked at it, and said, "Yours has been tampered with too."
I had already guessed what was going on. It was indeed a wolf paying a new year's visit to a chicken, with ill intentions. They hadn't made things difficult for the two of them, but were waiting for this. If they finished this pack of cigarettes, they would definitely be infected.
Wen Siqiang said, "Good thing I held back and didn't smoke there."
Qian Fugui said, "In our place, there are two prices for the same brand of cigarettes. The expensive ones are laced with something, but not much. It's just for the thrill, not enough to get addicted. But you can't increase the dosage, or you won't escape."
I thought Xie Lao Er definitely wouldn't give them the amount Qian Fugui mentioned. He wouldn't let them smoke for fun; he would definitely make them addicted.
That was his real goal.
How damn malicious. I dared say this kid actually didn't think highly of us from the start, and only didn't go all out against us out of respect for his older brother.
It seems I need to be wary of this Xie Lao Er.
We returned to the raw stone base. I woke the senior up and went upstairs with him.
When the senior left the island, he had made a phone call to someone, asking them to send a network system engineer and a set of computer equipment as quickly as possible.
I suspected the senior might be a university professor. Why did he know so much more than us?
If he were an intellectual, I wouldn't be surprised. But the problem is, he's an old man living deep in the mountains, and the things he said were things people wouldn't understand until twenty years later. Don't you feel like you've time-traveled?
It's quite sci-fi, isn't it?
I was also completely bewildered.
I came from an intellectual family, yet I couldn't understand what he was saying at all.
Network engineers, satellite positioning systems, network tracking – what were all these things?
Even though I couldn't understand, it didn't matter. Xie Jiabao was completely confused and hooked. He was obsessed with the senior's network marketing system, which was like a net covering the entire world, connecting every corner of the globe.
I didn't know who he called. When we arrived, several young people were setting up computers in my office. They connected telephone lines to the computers, and one of them was intently typing on the keyboard.
When they saw us enter, one of them stood up and greeted the senior. He introduced himself as Hu Feng, a network engineer sent from a higher authority, and the others were his assistants.
I was surprised. In less than two hours, how did they get here? Not only people but also so much equipment.
Seeing my confusion, the senior said, "They're from the provincial capital. Some things you just need to know, no need to pry."
I nodded. From the provincial capital to here, it's an hour by plane. If they were pressed, they could make it.
At this point, the young man sitting at the computer stood up and said, "Director Hu, the computers are debugged, and the network is set up. We can proceed to the next step."
Hu Feng said, "Okay, Xiao Wang, you start building the satellite positioning system."
Another young man standing nearby responded and took his place, sitting down at the computer.
Hu Feng said, "Senior, you can introduce us to the other party's situation and the results they want. Then we can create a simulation system as needed."
The senior said, "Alright, I'll tell you about the target client's situation."
Hu Feng quickly brought a chair and asked the senior to sit down and explain.
The senior told them about Xie Jiabao's situation. Because they previously relied on sea transport, they needed to unload ships in a third country and separate the main cargo. This process had many variables. Not only would we intercept the cargo ships, but the third country would also send maritime police to crack down on them. This not only resulted in a low success rate but also carried constant risks of being wanted. Therefore, they urgently needed a safe and effective transportation channel. What I provided them with was such a closed and complete transportation chain, delivering the goods to the customer without any external contact.
Principal Sun and Brother Hui were now using a model of land and sea transport. Because they had to go through many checkpoints, they needed to process the goods in a special way, encapsulating them within handicrafts. They would declare them as handicrafts for export, then unpack the boxes in a third country to separate the drugs. The international transport team they hired would then transport the drugs.
Although this method was relatively reliable, it had too many steps and was difficult to control. Any problem in any step would be devastating.
Furthermore, they had been targeted by Interpol. Although there was no evidence to prove their cargo was problematic, their repeated deviations from designated routes and encountering unexpected diversions at a fixed location had aroused suspicion. Therefore, they urgently needed a replacement channel like ours.
The senior's appearance perfectly met their needs.
After the senior finished explaining, Hu Feng nodded and said, "Understood. This afternoon at six o'clock, we will have the system ready and connect it to the internet. You will be able to see the entire system's operation. Of course, without cargo injection, the data for the entire system will be zero. Once they get the goods and inject them into the platform, they will clearly see the location of the goods, where they stop, and until they reach the customer, all will be displayed on the screen through the internet terminal."