Old Pi explained in a trembling voice, "Boss, no, I didn't mean to. This is the only way to get inland, and it's also a place where checkpoints are often set up."

I released Old Pi's collar and decided to play it by ear. His life was in my hands, and he wouldn't dare to do anything out of line.

I patted my small bag at Old Pi, reminding him that I had a gun inside.

Old Pi swallowed and nodded, "Bosses, don't worry. I've been dealing with them for many years, and I know them all. Don't make a sound during the inspection."

A young traffic policeman noticed Old Pi. Under the young traffic policeman's guidance, Old Pi slowly parked the car on the side of the road.

The young traffic policeman glanced into the car, then fixed his gaze on Old Pi. "Yo, Uncle Pi, still working so late?"

Old Pi grinned, showing his big yellow teeth, and handed the young traffic policeman a pack of cigarettes. This pack of cigarettes was one of the two packs that Huang Jie had given him this morning.

The young traffic policeman took the cigarette with a grin and slipped it into his pocket when no one was looking. After that, the young traffic policeman glanced into the car again, his gaze lingering on Dodge, Zoey, and Jennifer, who were hiding in the darkness wearing hats.

The young traffic policeman asked Old Pi, "Who are all these people in the car?"

"Hey, isn't there a big market today? I went there to pick up fares. There were quite a few people hitching rides today, so I ran late. These people are going to Ninghe Town, which is very far away, so I have to hurry up and take them there."

Old Pi wasn't nervous at all. He told the lie easily and naturally, not like he was making it up at all.

The young traffic policeman wanted to ask something else; he seemed a little interested in the identities of the few of us.

Old Pi knew that he couldn't continue to be led by the nose by the young traffic policeman, so he said to the traffic policeman, "Your mother also went to the market today. I even gave your mother a ride for a while."

In fact, having said this, the young traffic policeman shouldn't continue to ask any more questions, either emotionally or rationally. This was a matter of human relations, and also a principle that people living in this place adhered to. Everyone sees each other regularly; they are all acquaintances, and it would not be appropriate to continue asking relentlessly like this.

The young traffic policeman finally asked half-jokingly, "Uncle Pi, you haven't been drinking today, have you?"

Old Pi waved his hand and said, "Who would treat me to a drink? I've been out all day. Am I drinking the northwest wind?" (drinking nothing)

The young traffic policeman waved his hand and let us go.

After the little broken van started, Old Pi floored the accelerator and quickly left the flashing red and blue police lights behind the car. I glanced back and found that these police cars and traffic policemen showed no signs of catching up, and breathed a sigh of relief.

The Fatty, as if he had been holding his breath underwater for a long time, recovered for a while, pulled Old Pi and asked, "Do you know that young traffic policeman?"

Old Pi resolved the crisis just now, regained trust, and gradually opened the floodgates of conversation: "Of course I know him. I even took him to the train station when he went to college. I'm very familiar with his parents."

The Fatty smacked his lips, touched his chin and said, "So, you go to the market to pick up and drop off people, is that all just a disguise?"

Old Pi, reluctant to complain with me around, responded in another tone, "Yes, I only earn a few bucks sending off the villagers, it's just a small effort to build relationships."

After Old Pi said this, I felt a little awkward.

But I didn't care, and quietly closed my eyes. The Fatty and the others didn't say much either.

The car drove along the asphalt road for two hours. Finally, before the streetlights disappeared, Old Pi found a hotel.

Old Pi said to us, "Bosses, there are no streetlights ahead, and the road is not easy to walk. It's best to set off tomorrow. Let's stay at the hotel and rest now."

What Old Pi said made sense, and we couldn't say anything else. After all, he was more familiar with this place.

The hotel we were going to stay in was a privately-run hotel in a no-man's-land area on the edge of the city and countryside. The people who came to stay were mostly drivers passing by and passers-by who didn't have time to travel at night.

The owner of the hotel was a fat, middle-aged woman. Judging from the expressions of Old Pi and the middle-aged woman, the middle-aged woman seemed to be very familiar with Old Pi.

Old Pi nodded at our heads, then moved his fingers, opened his palm, and said to the middle-aged woman, "Open five rooms."

The middle-aged woman nodded, and also gave Old Pi a "five" gesture: "Five hundred yuan."

Old Pi looked at me with a bit of timidity, and then made a gesture of rubbing money with his hands.

I expressionlessly pulled out two bills from the roll of US dollars that I had confiscated earlier and handed them to Old Pi. In fact, one was enough, but the reason for drawing two was actually to calculate the travel expenses.

After I handed the money to Old Pi, I said, "After you take us to our destination, all of this will be yours."

Saying this was to prevent Old Pi from playing a war of attrition. In fact, the sooner we arrived, the sooner Old Pi could get the money.

Actually, I don't know what others think of Old Pi, but I still think this old fox is not trustworthy.

Today is New Year's Eve, I wish you all a happy New Year and a happy family reunion.