Chapter 133: The rat’s life
Translator: Lionwwang Editor: Lionwwang
After that day, our ship begins to turn north, heading northeast.
We have sailed for another four days. In these four days, the crews took a body out of the cabin and threw it into the sea again.
I learned that the dead are a frequent occurrence on such stowaway journeys. The condition under the cabin is very poor. There is not enough fresh water and food. The temperature and ventilation conditions are also very poor, and even breathing can be difficult. People with poor health can only support themselves if they get sick. Don’t expect there might be a doctor and the medicines for you on this kind of stowaway ship! But that’s not why I’m surprised. What really makes me feel cold is the attitude these crews treat stowaways.
Everyone is also human, is the same kind. They just lock people up in the cabin, not allowed to come out. All this makes me feel like selling slaves in old movies! This makes me alienate from Old Snake and his crews a little bit.
Later at dinner, Old Snake is chatting with me, and I can’t help asking him: “If the people below died, would you not be able to get the money? Why not give them more foods and water?”
He smiles. His smile is cold, and he gives me a strange look.
“You don’t know the market.” He answers lightly, then, smoking and pointing scornfully under the cabin and says, “These people are worthless.”
I ask him deliberately, and he doesn’t care, tells me a little bit about this business.
Stowaway is an unavoidable problem everywhere. From the perspective of East Asia, smuggling groups are divided into two, one is the mainland, another one is Southeast Asia.
“We are different from you.” This is Old Snake’s original words.
In the 70s and 80s, many mainland smugglers went to Southeast Asia, HK, Macao, and, of course, Japan and the United States. It can be said that it was a golden period of smuggling, mainly because the economy was underdeveloped, all aspects were relatively backward, and there were few channels of communication with the Western world. Most of the stowaways went out with the mentality of making a fortune.
In a ridiculous way, it was the “seller’s market” and the golden age of smuggling groups. The price of smuggling to the United States was very high, and not allowed to bargain, more importantly: pay first, then board!
The direct consequences of such actions were: Almost all smuggling groups at that time lacked the awareness of “after-sales service”.
When the stowaways got on board, the monies were also received. So, the smuggling groups usually took the stowaways as the slaves, using the most economical method. There were as many people in the cabin as possible. More people mean more money! Fresh waters and foods should be brought with less, because less good can bring more people! At that time, the death rate of stowaways was very high!
At this point, Old Snake is laughing, then go on saying: “Don’t look at the news that the stowaways suffocated in the ship or in the car oil tank in the past two years. The number of dead people was much less than ten or twenty years ago. Only in that era, the media was not developed, so there was not so much publicity.”
But with the economic boom of the 90s, going abroad in mainland is no longer difficult. Moreover, the increasing economic level, stowaway to foreign countries, also does not have a great attraction. During this period, the business of smuggling groups was relatively bleak.
It’s like a joke, and it’s like a confirmation of the truth that the market dominates everything. The smuggling business has gradually changed from the seller’s market to the buyer’s market. That sounds ridiculous. However, in order to attract business, smuggling groups have also taken many measures to adapt to the trend.
For example, the price changes, Old snake says that there are even several smuggling groups competing for prices and routes.
“It’s like the price wars between travel agency companies.” Old Snake says.
Secondly, improve the after-sales service. Over the past few years, there have been too many news about stowaway cause people death. Many people dare not to go now. So nowadays, smuggling groups take the method of collecting half of the money first. After arriving at the destination safely, then they take the other half. In this way, they dare not to abuse the stowaways as before until all the money has been received. Because if people die, they can’t get the final payment.
“But, how about the two men died last two days?” I frown and ask.
Old Snake’s eyebrows are raising, his thin face is with a trace of cruelty and cunning: “I’m talking about the situation in your place. We are different with you!”
Old Snake explains that many small neighboring countries still lag behind in their economic standards, and the rules of smuggling business remain the same as those of more than a decade ago. It means smuggling groups get paid before stowaways borading, so that they don’t care about the alive or death of the stowaways at all. Anyway, the money has been received!
“The people on board are all from these small countries.” Old Snake says lightly, “They all have paid first and then got on board.”
Then he casually mentions that there are some hard-hearted smuggling groups who collected money and then joined with the local gangs, at the destination, they sell the stowaways on the ship to the local gangs directly. There are also some sold to the drug plantations in South America. Since then, those people have no idea of life or death.
I’m so frightened to hear these words that I look into his eyes to feel a little more profound.
He’s laughing, patting himself on the chest and assuring: “Don’t worry. I am very trustworthy! You’re fat fellow’s friend. I won’t sell you!”
Looking at this fellow’s twinkling eyes and some obscene smiles, I say to myself that I will never believe in this bad guy’s words!
Afterwards, I’m more alert to these people in my heart. I’m also alert when I go to bed at night. Originally, I was close to the crews, but now I am completely alienating from them. These are real killers!
Every day the ship is going north. It’s getting less hot, and even cooler in the morning and evening!
I don’t know if it’s because I’m lucky. We’ve had a quiet journey without bad weather. Since the sixth day, Old Snake has been murmuring every day from the early morning and does not know what to say. It seems to be praying not to encounter a storm.
As the climate cools, there are no more dead people in the cabin. It relieved me.
Although I tell myself in my heart that it is not my business, but let me watch someone die. It’s never a pleasant thing. Although Old Snake said those were people from other countries.
One night, while I’m still sleeping, I’m awakened by the noises outside. I immediately turn down from the bed and see Old Snake opens the door and shouting at me: “Come out, you have arrived!”
I’m confused, walking out of the room to the deck in a daze and see a scene that surprised me.
The motor of the fishing ship I’m on is off, and next it is a bigger ship, which looks dark under the night, with a metal shell and a much higher side than ours.
Now the two ships are side by side, with two boards in the middle as a simple bridge.
Old Snake is standing beside me, his hand is touching his waist, with a gun pinned. Several of his crew members are also standing by with the guns.
What surprises me even more is the door of the cabin under the fishing ship has been opened! A group of people are coming out from below and moving to the big ship through the two boards!
In the darkness, I can’t see clearly how these stowaways look like. I can only see that most of them are men, few women, and they are wearing the ordinary clothes. Everyone is carrying the simple luggage, few things, no one speaking at night, and all the queues are moving quietly.
They walk alone in their feet and feebleness, and with their heads down. Even if the people around them are too weak to almost fall down. No one helps each other!
On the big ship, I see several dark figures standing on the deck, holding guns in hand, and their eyes ae twinkling like the wolves in the dim light.
“What the hell is going on, Old Snake?” I look at the fellow around me with some vigilance.
He is laughing with a little guilty, but then whispering: “I can only deliver you here. You are going to transship now. You take that ship and they will continue to take you to your destination.”
I’m slightly annoyed: “Why haven’t you mentioned this before? Ocean, does he know about your arrangements?”
Looking at his embarrassing smile, I know it in my heart immediately., it seems that fat feloow never know this guy’s arrangement!
Strictly speaking, what Old Snake is doing now is a little like what is often said in business: traffickers, but the difference is that the traffickers sell goods to the next shop, while Old Snake is selling the stowaways!
Although I am a little angry, I wisely close my mouth. I know it’s no use protesting at this time. These guys are the killers. Now, what’s more useful? If I annoy them, they would directly shoot me and throw me into the sea, there’s no place to cry out for wrongdoing!
Old Snake accompanies me boarding on the big ship, and I find that the crews are all foreigners, the first of whom is a black man, bare as a half-black iron tower, with a cigar in his mouth, a fierce face, a clear-eyed eyes and a military dagger in his hand.
Old Snake goes up and says hello to him. I notice clearly that the black man looks at Old Snake with a trace of disdain in his eyes. Then Old Snake talks a lot to him and pointing at me. The black man does not speak from beginning to end, but looking at Old Snake coldly to wait for him to finish.
Finally, Old Snake is wiping his sweat, turning to me and says: “OK, I’ve told them. You can go with them. Where are your belongings?”
I pat the bag on my back. I’ve taken my bag with me since I saw them how to deal with the dead stowaways.
The black man looks at me coldly for a moment. There’s something gloomy in them. When he looks at me, I feel like I’m stared at by some kind of monster.
Old Snake talks to him for a while, basically Old Snake is saying, and the black man occasionally gives a hum.
Finally, Old Snake comes and pats me on the shoulder, with a hypocritical smile on his face: “Have a safe journey!”
Then he is running quickly back to his own ship and removes the boards connecting the two ships.
“This bastard!” I can’t help scolding.
Then I sigh and look at the black man. He’s looking at me too. But then he turns away and seems not interested in me very much. A crew member comes over with a gun in his hand and pointing to the front, which means: go ahead.
I take a look at the dozens of stowaways who have entered through a cabin door. It seems that on this ship, they will continue to be locked in the cabin under the deck and live the same life as the rats.
The difference is that the crew around me signaling me with the gun to let me go with the the stowaways too!
I hesitate for a moment, trying to distinguish something. But the black man has gone and ignores me. And this crew member’s face is brutal, it seems that if I don’t move any more, he will not hesitate to come up and hit me with the butt!
I finally recognize the situation I’m facing, the first-class treatment along the way is over here! Next, I’m going to live with those stowaways in the cabin below.
I hold back my anger. I know the situation is pressing me. I have no room for resistance. I can only walk silently and follow the people outside the cabin slowly into the cabin leading to the lower deck. On both sides of the deck, the crew members urge me from time to time with guns.
I’m the last one to enter the cabin, probably because my movement is too slow. The bastard behind me kicks me. I stagger down and the door behind me is slammed and closed!
It’s dark in the cabin. I can feel that the place is small and narrow. It’s full of a strange stench. Dozens of people have scattered to find a place to sit down or lie down. It’s even difficult to find a place to stay on the ground. The door is occupied by three to four people. I am just about sitting down. They immediately come to push me and motion me to go inside.
It turns out that the position of the cabin door is very popular. Because the crews outside come down every other time to deliver water and foods, are casually thrown in the cabin doors, so the closer to the cabin doors, the more foods and water can be grabbed. Only strong people can get this good position! The old and the weak are squeezed into the cabin.
The innermost place is the place where the air is the least circulating, usually the stuffiest, the coldest or the hottest!
I don’t want to cause trouble. Instead of clashing with the people at the door, I choose to make a temporary concession and walk into the cabin. The space inside is not so crowded, but the air is stuffy and full of a musty odor. I’m almost suffocated. I sit down at random in an empty place, but I hear a few coughs not far from me.
Intuitively, I can tell that it’s a woman, who should be young. Her cough sounds weak, as if she is ill!