I had Da Kui drive to the long-distance bus station first to pick up the person and head to Nong Dao.
Da Kui grunted, shifted into gear, and stepped on the accelerator, taking us to the station.
I sat in the passenger seat, with Senior in the back.
I watched Da Kui drive, his eyes fixed straight ahead as if only the road ahead existed and nothing else.
I heard Senior on the phone, saying he understood, then hanging up.
Senior: "Brother Hui is on the move!"
I said "oh," not understanding what "on the move" meant.
Senior: "They have three shipping containers leaving the provincial capital, taking the land route, via the national highway to the eastern port."
I said: "Did they pass the checkpoint?"
Senior: "Yes, the checkpoint report found no issues."
Currently, the drug enforcement police's detection methods are the most advanced in the world, using X-ray透视 (tòushì - fluoroscopy/penetration), coupled with well-trained drug-sniffing dogs, achieving an accuracy rate of ninety percent.
This leaves only a ten percent chance of error.
So, where is the flaw in this ten percent? What method did they use to successfully find this ten percent?
My father taught mathematics and physics in school. Did he research X-ray detectors? Could he identify the blind spots of the detectors?
Speaking of which, to deceive both the detectors and the drug-sniffing dogs, there must be high technology involved. Otherwise, just the dogs sniffing around the vehicle would be enough to tell if there were drugs without even boarding.
Yet, all three of his shipping containers passed.
I asked Senior: "Do you know what they're carrying?"
Senior: "Our informant says it's a type of ethnic minority silver jewelry. During random checks and on-site drug dog detection, there were no anomalies."
This is strange. They are clearly transporting drugs, so why are there no flaws?
I have another question. Since they are doing such a perfect job, why is Xie Jiabao so interested in our closed network channels?
This indicates they still have a vulnerability, a time bomb that could explode at any moment.
As it stands, only they know what this bomb is; we are all in the dark.
I told Senior: "You and Brother Da Kui wait here. I'll go back. My father is a physics teacher, and I want to hear him explain the principles of X-ray detectors."
Senior: "Alright, I'll wait for you. Then we can continue our discussion."
I asked Da Kui to pull the car over, and I flagged down a taxi at the roadside, asking him to take me to Jing Lei's family department store.
I hadn't been back in a long time, and going back empty-handed felt inappropriate.
I usually had Jing Lei and Wen Siqiang carry the money, and I didn't carry it myself.
On the way, I called Jing Lei, asking her to come downstairs to wait for me so we could go home together.
Jing Lei said: "Why the sudden urge to go home?"
I said: "It's been a while, and it's time to visit. Also, I have a question I want to ask my father about physics."
She said: "I understand. I'll go downstairs first, buy some fruit from the store next door, and then see what else we should get. You can come and we'll buy together."
I said: "Some fruit is enough. When we leave, we'll leave them some pocket money. If they need anything, they can buy it themselves."
Jing Lei: "That works. I'll just buy some fruit then."
I said okay, and that I'd be there shortly.
When I saw Jing Lei, I was startled. This wasn't just "some fruit"; it was practically a whole counter's worth.
When I arrived, she was having the staff pack it up. She had bought almost all the fruit from the store.
I said: "What are you doing? Don't you want them to stay in business? This is fruit; it won't last. Even if they don't cook, they'll eat it for days. It'll just go bad."
Jing Lei: "Who says only the two of them won't eat and will only eat fruit? If they can't eat it all, they can give it away. I've already packaged it for the elderly and lonely in the community and the children in the orphanage. They can just take the packages directly."
I was truly impressed by Jing Lei's ability to make a visit to parents so meaningful.
I said alright, they'll have something to do tomorrow.
Jing Lei: "It's good for them to get out more. Hurry up, carry these to the parking lot."
I picked up the heavier packages, leaving Jing Lei the relatively lighter ones.
This amount of stuff completely filled the trunk of Jing Lei's sports car; any more would have to go in the back seat.
Jing Lei said: "Let's go. Oh, right, how long are you planning to stay at home?"
I said: "Ten minutes at most. Once I get my answer, I'll leave."
Jing Lei: "You know, it's better not to go back if you're going to leave so soon. They see you, and before you can say two words, you're gone. Isn't that cruel?"
I said I had to go to Nong Dao tonight, and my time was very tight. If this issue wasn't so troublesome, I wouldn't have been able to make time to come back today.
Jing Lei shook her head helplessly and started the car to drive away.
Our new home wasn't far from the department store, only a few minutes away.
We got out with our bags and went to the stairwell to climb the stairs.
It was around six in the afternoon, and most households were preparing dinner. The aroma of food wafted from the hallways.
We drove to the entrance and, without knocking, I nudged the door hard with my elbow.
My father's voice came from inside, asking who it was.
I said, "Dad, open the door. Jing Lei and I are back."
The door opened, and my father happily ushered us in, even helping Jing Lei with her bags.
My mother was probably in the kitchen and didn't hear us arrive.
I placed the items on the coffee table, and my father invited us to sit. Tasked as I was, I didn't have time for pleasantries and went straight to asking my father my question.
I said: "Do you understand the properties of rays? I've encountered a problem."
Father: "Rays are classified broadly. Currently applied rays include gamma rays and X-rays, which differ in penetration and application."
I said: "I want to ask you what X-rays can penetrate, and what substances they cannot penetrate?"
My father lowered his head in thought and then said: "X-rays can penetrate almost all substances, including metal, which is why they are widely used in fields like flaw detection in structural components. In medicine, they are mainly used for fluoroscoping human body abnormalities, similar to the principle of mechanical flaw detection, only with different dosages. Although X-rays are all-powerful, there is one metal that they cannot penetrate, not even a very thin layer. That substance is lead."
Lead? I couldn't believe my ears. There really was such a substance that could block the intrusion of rays.
That's it! If they can check if my lead is in their car, the problem can be solved easily!
I stood up and ran into the kitchen to say goodbye to my mother. Jing Lei was there, chatting animatedly with my mother. Seeing me, my mother quickly said, "Dinner will be ready soon. You two go wait in the living room. I'll be done shortly."
I said sheepishly, "Mom, I have to rush back. I have other things to do."
My mother's face fell, and she looked at me unhappily: "You haven't even warmed the seat, and you're already leaving. Are you playing games with us?"