Chapter 29 Going South
After the two of them finished discussing it, they went their separate ways.

Wang Guibing went to the train station to buy a train ticket to Shenzhen for tomorrow's trip. Zhang Yunqi found a store nearby and called Ji Zhong on a public phone to ask about the status of the border pass application.

Ji Zhong didn't say much on the phone and asked Zhang Yunqi to go to his office.

When he arrived at the Municipal Public Security Bureau, Zhang Yunqi met the policewoman who had received him when he first came here. The policewoman obviously remembered him. Before he could speak, she stood up and said with a smile: "Are you here to see Director Ji?"

Zhang Yunqi nodded and said yes.

The female police officer immediately took him to Ji Zhong’s office.

Ji Zhong had finished his official duties and was sitting in his office chair waiting for Zhang Yunqi. When he saw Zhang Yunqi coming in, he asked him to sit on the sofa opposite him and asked, "You want to go to Shenzhen at such a young age?"

Zhang Yunqi gave the same answer as he did on the phone, and said with a smile that he was going to Shenzhen for some fun.

Ji Zhong threw the border pass to Zhang Yunqi and said with a smile: "I would rather believe that there are ghosts in the world than trust your words."

Zhang Yunqi didn't want to say too much on this topic. He came to Ji Zhong's office today just to ask about his father Zhang Liushun. He said, "Uncle Ji, you should know the reason why my father was in jail. Do you think there is any room for maneuver in this matter?"

Ji Zhong knew very well what Zhang Yunqi was thinking. Originally, he didn't know much about this case. But more than half a month ago, Zhang Yunqi came to visit him in prison and asked him to say hello to the leaders of Guiping County Prison. At that time, out of curiosity about this young but capable guy, he carefully looked into the Zhang Liushun case, but there was nothing unusual about it. It was just an ordinary theft case.

Ji Zhong said, "Your father's crime is theft of state property at the most serious level, and at the least it is just stealing some cables. Let me be clear, Xiao Zhang, if the case had not been finalized, there would still be room for maneuver. Now he has been sentenced to more than half a year in prison, and there is nothing your uncle can do to help you."

Zhang Yunqi nodded. Actually, he really wanted to ask if he could arrange for medical parole for his father, but he knew very well that although Ji Zhong treated him very well after the rape and murder incident and was willing to help him with anything, which was quite humane, he was not important enough to help Ji Zhong with this matter.

Zhang Yunqi stood up and said, "Uncle Ji, I have nothing else to do, so I will go back first."

Ji Zhong said, "Your school is closed today. How about coming to my house for dinner tonight? Ji Ling is at home."

Zhang Yunqi smiled and said, "Let's do it another day. I'm going to my sister's house tonight."

Ji Zhong said that’s fine.

Zhang Yunqi left the Municipal Public Security Bureau and went directly to his sister's house. Jiangchuan No. 1 Middle School had three days off after military training, which was just enough for him to go to Shenzhen and back. It was too late to go home, so he stayed at his sister's house for one night. Early the next morning, he and Wang Guibing rushed to the train station.

Wang Guibing bought the ticket for the 92 o'clock train. He bought it in a hurry and added a ticket to the train. The original eight-hour train would now take twelve hours. This was not a big deal. After boarding the train, Zhang Yunqi truly experienced the hustle and bustle of the train. Not only were the seats packed, but the aisles were also packed with people.

Because it was an extra train, it stopped at all small stations. After the train stopped, the migrant workers outside the window threw their luggage and children in through the window, and then squeezed into the tightly blocked door. The aisles and toilets were crowded with people, and urinating and defecating were very luxurious. During the whole journey, Zhang Yunqi dared not move except for stepping on someone's shoulder to go to the toilet once.

When passing through Shaoguan East, two border guards came to the carriage to check the border pass. Wang Guibing's border pass had not expired before he came to Shenzhen last time, so there was no problem. However, Zhang Yunqi's sixteen-year-old age surprised the border guards and they asked, "You are so young, why did you come all the way to Shenzhen?"

"Sir, this is my cousin. His parents work in Shenzhen. I'm taking him to see them." Wang Guibing was a big, strong man with a smart mind. He found a reason that the border guard had nothing to say. The border guard threw the ID to Zhang Yunqi and walked to the back.

Zhang Yunqi and Wang Guibing continued to doze off in the carriage filled with the smell of sweat and feet until nine o'clock in the evening, when the train finally arrived at Shenzhen Railway Station. The two were swept by the surging crowd to the crowded street. Under the suffocating heat and noise, the dark crowd was crowding, shouting, and bumping.

This was Shenzhen in 1992, like a huge construction site, with bricks and tiles all over the ground, mud flying, and the weather was as hot as fermented rotten grass. It was not pleasant at all. Zhang Yunqi, starving, squeezed out of the surging crowd and finally found a small stall near the train station to eat.

Wang Guibing ordered two bottles of beer and beef offal with radish, and said with a smile: "This is a specialty food in Shenzhen, eat more."

Zhang Yunqi had eaten beef and radish in his previous life, and the taste was just so-so. As a native of southern Hunan, he had never been fond of Cantonese cuisine.

It was already ten o'clock in the evening when they finished dinner. The two of them decided to find a place to spend the night and talk about buying the Tetris handheld game console tomorrow.

Wang Guibing took Zhang Yunqi to Luohu Qingyuan where he used to live, a noisy, crowded and stuffy cheap hotel. Pants and bras of various colors were hung in the corridors, and dialects from all over the country rang in his ears. In the middle of the night, there was smoke and dust everywhere, and the whole building seemed to be floating.

After booking a room with the proprietress at the hotel, Wang Guibing handed the door key to Zhang Yunqi and said with a smile, "Xiao Zhang, go upstairs and take a shower first. I'll find something fun for you later."

Zhang Yunqi felt that Wang Guibing was a little strange, so he waved his hand and said, "I'm exhausted after sitting in the car all day. If you have anything to say, let's talk tomorrow morning. I'm going to go upstairs to take a shower and rest first."

Wang Guibing thought Zhang Yunqi was embarrassed and chuckled.

Zhang Yunqi parted ways with Wang Guibing. He went up the dim stairs to the fifth floor, opened the green-painted wooden door with his key and entered the room. The room was quite small and simple, with nothing in it except a bed. He threw the bag on the bed, took a shower in the bathroom, and returned to bed to settle the bill.

During the military training, he made a total of 3800 yuan from selling handheld computer games, plus interest. In addition, he received a deposit of 160 yuan from the pre-sale of 3200 handheld computer games, and minus the 800 yuan owed to Wang Guibing, the total was 6400 yuan.

After deducting the expenses of the past few days and the car fare, he still had more than 6000 yuan in his pocket. In addition, he had to save some money for travel expenses and living expenses. He estimated that he could buy two or three hundred handheld game consoles this time. Of course, the specific amount would depend on the purchase price at that time.

At around eleven o'clock in the evening, Zhang Yunqi felt tired, so he put all the money he brought under his pillow, turned off the lights and prepared to go to bed.

"Duoduoduo..."

Zhang Yunqi slept for a while in a daze, and suddenly heard a knock on the door. He thought it was Wang Guibing, so he got up and went to open the door.

There was a "click".

He opened the wooden door, and a ray of hazy moonlight came in first, followed by the sound of high heels. Zhang Yunqi squinted his eyes and looked, and saw a girl wearing only a bra and exuding a strong fragrance rushing towards him.

******
(End of this chapter)