Not enough? Li Ling: In the real world, gold is worth more than $1,300 per ounce. Even though it's 1983 now, the appreciation of gold isn't that much, okay?
Li Ling did not argue; given his situation, arguing would be pointless.
He rummaged through the bag again and found a gold ring, which was probably the wealthiest possession of one of the floating corpses. He handed it to the long-tailed man, saying, "This gold ring is for you too. Together with the necklace, you'll definitely get a good deal!"
Li Ling was determined to hitch a ride. He had specifically researched this period and knew that swimming alone to the mainland or Hong Kong would pose significant risks. The original owner of this body was unaware of these risks, which is why he swam alone to smuggle himself across the border. However, he himself could not afford to be careless about these things. Since the long-tailed man had bought the way, he had to take advantage of this relationship.
The long-tailed man tossed the ring in his hand, acknowledging its value. Perhaps the gold necklace had already exceeded the fare. He waved his hand dismissively, "Money talks, get on board!"
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Chapter 72 Arrival in Hong Kong
Whoosh!
Li Ling flipped over and jumped onto the deck.
The weather is hot now, probably around May or June. Once on the ship, Li Ling didn't hold back and immediately wiped himself down and changed his clothes.
There were five men and three women among the passengers, all quite young. The three young women blushed deeply upon seeing him shirtless. Although it was dark and they couldn't see his flesh clearly, they were still extremely rude and began to berate him.
"rogue!"
"shameless!"
"Pooh!"
Li Ling quickly took out a piece of clothing from his leather bag to cover himself. These women looked fiery and passionate; if he were too unrestrained, he might get ganged up on. He managed to hide his good figure in time.
After he finished tidying up and dried his hair, he took out a box of Marlboro cigarettes, which was also money from the dead, and distributed them one by one.
The young men all politely accepted the cigarettes, but the boy politely declined, saying, "Brother Tall, I'm too young, and my elders don't allow me to smoke!"
The young man saw that Li Ling was tall, but dared not ask his name, so he called him "Brother Tall Guy".
“Baozai, you’re only thirteen and just starting junior high. Even if you manage to escape to Hong Kong, you won’t be able to find a job, will you?” Li Ling took out another piece of candy and handed it to the boy. He didn’t know that this group of people had brought so many random things with them when they smuggled themselves in.
When Li Ling was changing clothes, he asked the boy's surname, Lin, and his name, Baozai. This name was the same as his cousin's nickname, which made him feel very close to him.
"I don't need to work, I have my dad and mom to support me!" Lin Baozai unwrapped the candy and ate it with relish.
Then he thanked him, saying, "Thank you, Brother Tall, this candy is really sweet! Brother Tall, my parents have been in Hong Kong for seven or eight years, and they will arrange for me to attend secondary school on Hong Kong Island. Everything has already been arranged."
"As far as I know, the Hong Kong government abolished the 'stop-work' policy a few years ago and is now implementing an 'arrest and deportation' policy. If mainlanders try to cross the border illegally, they will be caught and deported directly. The chances of them staying in Hong Kong are very low."
"Baozai, you need to get an ID card to go to middle school. Can your family handle that?"
Li Ling tried to get information out of him.
“Brother Gao, it seems you’re not very familiar with the laws of Hong Kong Island. Although the Hong Kong government stopped issuing identity cards to mainlanders in October 1980, I am a minor and can get a special pardon from the Immigration Department. They will invoke humanitarian provisions to grant me residency rights.”
"So once I arrive in Hong Kong, as long as I avoid being caught by the police at the border, I'm sure I can get my ID card." Lin Baozai said with a hint of pride, looking at the other passengers on the ship.
“You are all adults and cannot get a pardon. After you arrive in Hong Kong, you must not go out on the streets, otherwise you will be arrested by the police and will definitely be deported.”
Li Ling said "Oh," indicating that he had learned something new. He then asked a few more common-sense questions, even though Li Ling had looked up information in the real world, he was still not entirely clear on the answers.
Through the conversation, Li Ling learned that all the people on the boat came from the same county in Guangdong Province. They were a group that had gathered in their hometown and did not know each other, but each of them was from the same hometown as the smuggler. The boat fare for their smuggling was two thousand yuan.
This is an extremely expensive sea voyage.
It's only been a few years since the reform and opening up began, and prices on the mainland are ridiculously low. The average annual income per person is no more than 400 yuan. In provincial capitals like Guangzhou, a pound of rice costs only two or three mao (0.2-0.3 yuan), pork costs only seven or eight mao (0.7-0.8 yuan), and you can buy ten eggs for one yuan. Two thousand yuan is enough to support a working-class family to live comfortably for two years.
Why could these eight stowaways afford the 2,000 yuan boat fare? Because it was all money arranged by relatives in Hong Kong. The eight of them paid a total of 16,000 yuan to the smuggler. One deal turned the smuggler into a millionaire. However, this money also had to be used to bribe the Hong Kong border police. Li Ling couldn't guess how much the smuggler actually earned.
The snakehead, also known as Longtail Man or "Brother Longtail," was at the bow of the boat, controlling the course. Overhearing Li Ling and Lin Baozai's conversation, he turned and interjected:
“Baozai, your parents went to Hong Kong a few years ago. I remember you also have an older brother who works in Hong Kong. Why did they leave you on the mainland?”
"Here's the thing, Brother Long Tail. When my dad was a child, he went to Singapore and Malaysia with my grandpa to make a living. That was during the Republic of China era. After the founding of the People's Republic of China, he returned to settle down and married my mom. Our family were returned overseas Chinese. Later, during the Cultural Revolution, my family's situation became difficult, so my dad had the idea of going abroad again."
At that time, the government had a policy that allowed entire families of overseas Chinese to move to Hong Kong, but one person had to stay behind, otherwise no one could leave the mainland. He left me behind; I was only five or six years old that year.
Lin Baozai spoke frankly, emphasizing that the smuggler was the boss and must be treated with utmost respect—this was the stern instruction he received from his elders before leaving home.
“Actually, I could have applied for a family visit visa and crossed the border directly into Hong Kong through customs, but my family left me behind as a guarantor, and the local government wouldn’t let me go, so I had to smuggle myself across the border.”
As they spoke, the coastline of Hong Kong Island came into view in the distance.
A hundred meters away is a pointed nose.
Tsim Nok Tsui is located on the northwest coast of Tin Shui Wai Village in Yuen Long District, Hong Kong Island.
This is a triangular beach, shaped like a human nose, hence its name. Standing on the 'tip of the nose', one can gaze upon the magnificent land of the Chinese mainland.
The waters off Tsim Nam Tsui are called "Sham Bay" by mainlanders and "Hau Wan Bay" by Hong Kongers. Given that the sea is not rough year-round and is not teeming with sharks like Dapeng Bay in Hong Kong, swimming across the bay is safe. Therefore, since the 1960s, Tsim Nam Tsui has been the preferred landing point for mainlanders fleeing to Hong Kong by sea.
Because many people use this route, the management is strict.
There were sentry posts in Tsim Nok Tsui, where border police recruited by the British Empire were stationed to monitor and arrest mainland refugees. Two miles away from Tsim Nok Tsui, at the foot of Lau Fau Shan, there was a street called Shan Tung Street. Number 1 was Lau Fau Shan Police Station, which was the headquarters for apprehending those who fled to Hong Kong.
Police officers, guard dogs, searchlights, and non-lethal firearms were deployed. During the exodus to Hong Kong before 1980, helicopters and warships were even used to tightly seal off the coastal area of Tin Shui Wai.
The difficulty of escaping to Hong Kong is self-evident.
As they were about to land, Lin Baozai became too nervous and huddled behind Li Ling, clutching his clothes. Li Ling was a big guy, which made him feel safe.
Seeing his reaction, Li Ling encouraged him: "Bao Zai, this is our land. It was forcibly rented by the shameless bullies, the British. The laws they made are illegal, and they have no right to stop us from landing. Even though we are smuggling ourselves in, you don't need to feel guilty at all!"