Chapter 129 - A marginal man

Chapter 129: A marginal man

Fat fellow takes me away immediately and leave the doctor’s place.

When we come out, I find that this place is behind a small courtyard. In front of it is a pet hospital. That doctor is indeed a veterinarian!

Now that Jim has let me go, he will not repent what he said with his personality, so he will not do anything to me. But fat fellow can’t trust Juan.

In his words, Juan is not Jim. Since he can kill me with all his heart, he probably won’t let me go! After all, for him, unless I die, he just can be completely reassured!

“He didn’t believe in you at the beginning. He wanted you to die to reassure himself. Now, if Jim couldn’t kill you, it means that the relationship between you two has broken. Then he will not believe you any more. Since he has tried to kill you before, nor to mention now!”

His words are reasonable. I don’t say anything, just obeyhis arrangement. He drives me away with the gray van.

This place is strange to me anyway. I’m injuried without good position, so I am just lying behind the van and being bumped for half a day. I don’t know where fat fellow is driving me to. The original van was still driving on the road, but with the increase of the bumping, it seems that the road condition is getting worse and worse.

At last he gets out of the van and pulls the door behind open. Then he lifts me out and laughing: “OK, kid, you’ll live here these days.”

My whole upper body is injured, but fortunately my legs can still move. I feel dizzy after losing so many bloods so I can’t do strenuous exercise. I can only walk barely few steps with the van slowly.

Here’s obviously far away from the city. It’s like a countryside. The air around is full of local flavors.

This is the southern countryside, with paddy fields in patches. The smell of heavy fertilizer is coming from the farmland, which is almost fumigated me to faint again.

There is a village on the side, but it doesn’t look too shabby. Cement poles all the way to the village, there are all typical southern spire style tile houses.

When we reach the end of the village, fat fellow points to a small courtyard and laughing: “Here it is. Don’t worry, it’s safe here.”

Cement wall, iron anti-theft door. Fat man takes out the key and opens the door. Then I see that there is a lot of dust on the ground and some charcoal on the other side. There is a kitchen and two big rooms in the house.

Fat fellow helps me into the house and locks the door carefully.

The interior room was well decorated. But it looks like nobody has lived for a long time and it’s a little humid. There’s a big bed in one of the rooms and a living room outside. Fat fellow helps me to lie down on the bed. I feel some musty smell on the quilt.

Fat fellow goes out for a moment and drives the van behind the house to avoid it to be seen. Then he comes to me, wiping my face first, and smiling: “You’re a lucky boy! Do you know where here is?”

I am grinning bitterly: “I don’t know.”

“This is the place where many famous runners have lived!” He is saying with the smile, “There have been many people lived in this place before.”

I pick up a little spirit: “Oh?”

He has driven for half a day, seemingly tired, leaning on the bed at will, sitting beside me, and saying slowly: “You know, everyone has a bad time. After all, this is the southern coastal area, which is very close to the border. Some of the bosses in HK’s associations made things to escape, either to Thailand, Vietnam, or to the mainland. Usually these two major ways.”

He is smacking his lips, taking out the cigarettes and lighting for each of us. Then he continues: “The reason why they go to SouthEast Asia is that the consumption level there is low. For example, Vietnam, an ordinary family of three in the city, earns tens of dollars a month. When they arrive there, they can stay a long time with a sum of money! Escape to mainland, however, takes into account that mainland is too big, the population is too large, the place is too big, and you can find a place to hide at will. As long as you do not come out and contact people, you will not be able to be found in general.”

Suddenly he is slapping the bed, blinking, and laughing loudly: “You know what? One year ago, a head of HK’s association made some noices and then escaping. I took him to hide here. He lived in this house for a whole month!”

I listen to him, then suddenly my heart moves. I ask: “Man, what on earth are you doing?” After that, I take a deep look at him, “Don’t tell me you’re just a normal cook. A cook can’t help people to arrange escaping.”

Fat fellow squints his eyes and grins: “I’m really a cook, but some old friends are out to make livings. I am too lazy to move, and I don’t want to have that kind of scary days on the tip of the knife, but just be a marginal person here. Do you understand the marginal people? This is a connecting point, a safe house. If any brother is in trouble and escaping, I’ll take care of them. After taking care of them, they would somehow repay me.”

He is laughing again: “For example, as I just told you, the brother who hid here for a month a year ago came back. Now he is the top three in the gang!”

I’m not surprised at all. I’m ready to know that he’s not an ordinary people.

“Do you make money on this?” I’m laughing.

“No, money is not the most important thing.” He says lazily, “I’m almost fifty years old. I’ve spent most of my life. What’s the use of money? Hmm… I climbed out of the dead and I’m sort of dead once. I can see everything better than others. If some brothers are in trouble, they could come here and I can help them. If they make the fortune in the future. These newriches will be willing to give me money. I won’t refuse it. That’s the way it is…” At this moment, his face is showing a faint smile, “For example, the HK brother I have mentioned, he said. If I have anything need his help in the future, he would be able to break through the knives moutains or the sea of fire for me!”

I am silent.

After a while, I look at him again and ask: “That… How long have you been doing this?”

“Nearly ten years already.” He breaths a sigh of relief.

I take a long breath!

Ten years!

That is to say, do not know how many people were helped to escape by him! After all, many great people have bad luck. Don’t know how many big names owe him the favors!

After these days, I have fully felt that when people are escaping. That kind of panic and despair, like a lost dog’s nest panic! And at this time. If someone can stand out to help. Undoubtedly, he will be grateful for a lifetime!

How many people have he helped in last ten years?

Even among the people he helped, one third of them, no, even if only one tenth or one in twentieth, after running back, make a rapid advance. So, the human debts that fat fellow is holding in his hands are amazing enough! Those people who have owed him the favors, even if they don’t give him money, in the future, if he has any trouble to ask for help, as long as it’s not too much, that would be absolutely no problem!

“What’s wrong? Surprised?” He’s smiling.

I say nothing.

We eat the bacon and rice for dinner that night.

Obviously, this place is one of the places where he helps people escape. Obviously, he does this very professionally. A lot of food has been stored in this nest for a long time.

In his words, escaping requires the awareness of escaping, and should go out as little as possible. Try not to contact with the outside world. Only in this way can let the risk of exposure be avoided to the greatest extent!

With food and water at home, it’s best not to go out of the door at any time! In short, safety comes first!

The bacon has been stored for a long time, and the entrance smells bad. But I eat it very carefully. Fat fellow tells me that my body needs nutrition to recover faster!

Although the taste is not very delicious, the combination of vegetables and meat can also meet the normal nutritional needs of the body.

Over the next few days, he has been here with me. He doesn’t seem to have to go back to work. What worries me more is that whether this matter would affect him!

But for my concern, he just smiles lightly: “Don’t worry, Juan dare not to provoke me.” Although it is only a understatement, but the implied weight is full of the self-evident.

“You’d better worry about yourself, boy.” He looks at me and sighs, “Jim won’t kill you, but Juan won’t stop. Don’t think this thing has over. Jim might find a body back for the misson, but Juan might still find the truth and keeping killing you. You are alone now. You have no power or money. I say, you’re almost a dead man!”

I don’t respond to that.

These days, instinctively, I don’t want to touch any topic of Juan. I seem to not to think anything about him carefully!

Sometimes in the middle of the night, I can’t fall asleep. I listen to fat fellow snoring like thunder, but I just quietly looking at the ceiling.

I dream often. And the dreamiest scene is that Juan used to smile and say to me in a thick tone: “Little 5, you are my man, I will cover you!”

But in a flash, Jim is using a gun pointing at me and saying: “Little 5, I’m sorry…”