The plane took off again, and Zhu Xiaoqiang and more than a dozen people finally arrived at the dream city of Dubai, the largest gold sales cave in the Middle East. When Liu Handong took a bus to the Armani Hotel in Burj Khalifa, these compatriots who had exported labor were still waiting for the bus at the airport.
After waiting for an hour, a Casebauer bus from the local cooperative unit took Zhu Xiaoqiang and others to the station. The car was very air-conditioned. Looking at the exotic scenery outside the window, Zhu Xiaoqiang was extremely excited and complacent.
In addition to a dozen Chinese people, there were also more than thirty dark-skinned South Asians, chattering in unintelligible words, but everyone's excitement was the same, as if endless money was waiting for them.
The bus did not drive into the bustling city of Dubai, but drove into a huge camp on the seaside. The place was full of houses converted from containers. There was no end as far as the eye could see. There were hundreds of people wearing small hats squatting next to the drinking fountain.
South Asians in white hats washed clothes and dishes, and some squatted down to take a shower and wipe themselves. Zhu Xiaoqiang and others were stunned to see them.
"We're here, everyone." The Middle Eastern staff greeted everyone in broken English to get out of the car. They got off the air-conditioned car and onto the ground. The scorching sun was in the sky and the heat wave hit his face. Zhu Xiaoqiang's spectacle lenses were immediately covered with steam, and he couldn't see anything.
He disappeared, and other people complained, saying, "Why did you bring us here if you didn't promise hotel rooms?"
The staff explained: "There is a temporary situation. The local labor service company has closed down. There is no work for everyone now. You can stay here first and wait for two days. We will find a solution."
Some people were dissatisfied and said: "You are cheating money! I want my money back and go back to my country!"
The staff said: "Don't get excited. We are also victims. Please be patient for a while. We will contact other companies immediately. In short, we will definitely arrange a job for you."
Let's settle down as we come, no one wants to bother, so we listened to his words for the time being, and lived in a container. The conditions here are extremely difficult, the iron house is extremely hot, there are three-layer iron beds in the house, it is filthy, rats are rampant, and there is no air conditioning.
, only fans made in China blow out hot air, and you have to queue up to drink water and take a shower.
More than a dozen Chinese people were extremely disappointed. They gathered together to discuss and discuss, but no one could come up with an idea. The huge gap and the fear of being in a foreign country made them lose their courage and they could only pin their hopes on
On the conscience of the labor service company.
The people from the labor service company brought them box lunches, Indian curry rice, rice topped with yellow curry soup, and they were not even given a spoon. They just followed the Romans. Middle Easterners eat with their hands. There are tens of thousands of South Asian construction workers living in this camp.
It’s also done by hand, so Chinese people don’t need to be special.
"Keep the lunch box and wash it clean so it can be used next time," the staff said.
After Zhu Xiaoqiang and others finished their meal, they took the plastic lunch box to wash the dishes. They took a sip of tap water and spat it out. The tap water had a strange smell. People who were well-informed said that the water in Dubai was full of odor.
Desalinated seawater is still more expensive than gasoline. It’s good to be able to drink clean water, so don’t be too picky.
"What do the rich people drink?" A stuttering young man who was younger than Zhu Xiaoqiang asked stupidly.
"Nonsense, of course rich people drink mineral water imported from Europe, the kind in glass bottles, a small bottle costs several hundred yuan." Zhu Xiaoqiang showed off his knowledge at the right time.
"Qiangqiangqiang, Brother Qiang, let's let's, let's drink a few mineral water worth a few hundred yuan a bottle in the future, right?" The stuttering young man stared at the bright lights in the distance and the night view of Dubai, which was full of life and wealth, and was fascinated.
asked foolishly.
"Yes, I can definitely do it." Zhu Xiaoqiang said decisively.
It was a sleepless night. The temperature in Dubai was also extremely high at night. The sun-drenched land during the day radiated heat at night. The iron houses converted from shipping containers had no insulation ability. People tossed and turned in the heat and sweated profusely.
After waiting like this for three whole days, there was no sign of anyone from the labor service company. Fifty migrant workers, including 13 Chinese, were in dire straits. Their passports were taken away, and they were in a foreign country because of language barriers.
There are people guarding the camp, but they dare not leave the camp. They can only spend money to buy food from neighboring Bangladeshi construction workers every day.
On the fourth day, when Zhu Xiaoqiang and others were discussing going to the city to find the Chinese Consulate, people from the labor service company finally came and apologized to everyone, saying that after their emergency coordination, they finally contacted another employer.
The salary has not changed much, but the working location is not in Dubai, but in Kuwait.
When everyone thinks about it, Kuwait is not bad. It is a very rich Gulf country. You can make a lot of money by working there.
The staff gave each of them a new contract. The whole page was written in Arabic, and no one could understand it. There was nothing to worry about. They signed and fingerprinted each one and resigned themselves to fate.
Fifty laborers boarded the bus again. This time it was not a luxurious Case Bauer, but a TATA long-distance bus produced in India. It was old and broken and had no air conditioning. It was driving on the desert road like bread in the oven.
The film is almost the same.
Zhu Xiaoqiang actually fell asleep in the turbulence. In his dream, he turned into an Arabian prince, handsome and unrestrained, with fluttering white clothes, sitting on a flying carpet to marry the beautiful princess...
The sunset in the desert was accompanied by the melodious sound of camel bells. After driving for an unknown amount of time, the long-distance bus finally passed the border. It was another long journey. When we passed the border for the second time, it was already the evening of the second day. Barbed wire fences were pulled across the desert, and all the signs were on
They were all written in Arabic, and everyone was blinded and didn't recognize anything. They could only guess that after passing this pass, they would reach Kuwait.
But the situation was a bit unexpected. The long-distance bus continued to move forward. The road ahead was long, and there were actually the wreckage of blown-up tank turrets in the desert on both sides. Zhu Xiaoqiang knew that during the Gulf War, there was a famous Highway of Death, and coalition aircraft were here.
This is probably the road on which the Iraqi troops who were withdrawing from Kuwait were killed in rivers of blood. However, why do they keep going north? Isn't it the same road to the north that leads to Iraq?
His suspicion finally turned into reality. The long-distance bus entered a city, and everything he saw was a dilapidated scene. It didn't look like the luxurious city of Kuwait City. Only now did the people from the labor service company tell the truth. The one who signed the contract with you was an Iraqi company.
, this is Nasiriyah, you will work here from now on.
Everyone finally understood that they were sold, just like the Chinese workers in the last century, who were sold as piglets. They were not even guaranteed their personal freedom and were reduced to slaves. Everyone was furious and noisy, but they were carrying AK47s on their shoulders.
After the police showed up aggressively, they all calmed down.
The contract is written in black and white, and you will have to pay a fine if you breach the contract. Besides, if you are killed on someone else's territory, you will be killed. The embassy will not stand up for you, a common citizen. If you leave your hometown and become a lowly person, it is so cruel. No one would want to
He turned into a mummy in the Iraqi desert, so he went back and forth and eventually compromised.
They were sold to a construction company as workers, with a monthly salary of three hundred US dollars per person, which is less than two thousand yuan. In order to earn this little money, they traveled all the way to foreign countries and paid tens of thousands of yuan in agency fees. It was simply
Cheating.
One week passed, two weeks passed, and Zhu Xiaoqiang seemed to have become the backbone of the labor force. He quietly told his fellow workers to endure the humiliation and bear the heavy burdens and to run away and go to Baghdad to find the Chinese Embassy for help.
"Qiangqiang, Brother Qiang, I heard there's a war going on over there in Bagrana," said the stuttering young man.
Zhu Xiaoqiang was dumbfounded. ISIS was making a lot of noise in the north, and the border between Saudi Arabia and Kuwait in the south was guarded by military police. If someone tried to cross the border illegally, he would be shot. There was desert everywhere, and he didn’t know the road signs. He would die wherever he went.
…
When Zhu Xiaoqiang's dream broke in Iraq, Liu Handong was planning a big plan with the Qin brothers in the Emirate of Colin. The most critical issue now is how to get in touch with His Highness Said. It is impossible to ask for an audience with His Highness in the name of the Zhongyanhuang Office.
Although Colin is a small country, even though it is a small country, it has all the organs and departments of the government. Even if Song Jianfeng, the boss of Zhongyanhuang, comes in person, he can only meet with the foreign minister.
It is not feasible to organize activities in the name of the embassy and invite His Highness Said, because the current trend of the Colin Emirate is to get closer to Europe and the United States, and it only maintains a regular relationship with China, which is neither salty nor cold. Even if Said
His Highness himself is not pro-China. He just wants to take advantage of China's resources. Even so, it is only speculation by relevant departments. His Highness Said has never expressed his good opinion of China in public. He has never even gone to
Passed through China.
Moreover, the crown prince is a very suspicious person. He hates all conspiracies against him, even if they are well-intentioned. If he cannot be given a reasonable explanation, then Liu Handong's kindness in saving Said in Dubai will have the opposite effect and cause
Extremely bad consequences.
Liu Handong became impatient: "This won't work, that won't work either. What do you guys do for food?"
Most of the military attachés stationed abroad are intelligence officers sent by the Second Department of the General Staff. Qin Yingyang is obviously this type. It is said that this kind of person should have great hands and eyes and unlimited resources, but Qin Yingyang spread his hands and said helplessly: "You have to figure it out.
Colin's resources are very limited. Even if they take over all their oil fields, it will only be the icing on the cake for our country's energy security. Oil tankers still have to go through the Strait of Hormuz, the Indian Ocean, and Malacca. The essential difference is not big, so
The resources available to us are very few.”
Liu Handong asked: "How much is very few?"
Qin Yingyang said: "I am the only one, and now I have received strong support from the country. There are three people in total."
Liu Handong and Qin Xianyang looked at each other, they were the two who co-authored the strong support.
"This plan was proposed by me, and our minister asked me to try it. If it works, the diplomatic department will provide some help, but it mainly depends on the three of us." Qin Yingyang said dryly, obviously not believing in himself.
Qin Xianyang said firmly: "Brothers are of one mind and can defeat gold. I believe we will succeed."
Liu Handong stood up, his chair almost falling over: "Pull it down, Lao Qin, there's no chance, don't bother, there are only three of us, and we still want the crown prince to sell the oil field to Zhongyanhuang and build an oil refinery with us. Although I don't
I understand international politics well and know the depth of the water here. Not to mention the power of the Americans, even those old European and American oil companies can crush us to death with one finger."
He pointed at Qin Xianyang: "The instructor knows what level Zhang Bangxian is. He is a bureaucrat who has nothing to do but expects him to help. There is no way. In my opinion, let's just go to bed."
With that said, he picked up an Arabic dictionary and went to the toilet.
"He will take part in the action." Qin Yingyang said confidently.
"I also believe him. Although Xiao Liu is careless, he has a sincere and patriotic heart." Qin Xianyang agreed.
Qin Yingyang shook his head: "No, he will participate because... beating the children on a rainy day is leisure."