Wrench looked at me puzzled, then at the bag on the table, not understanding my intention.
"Brother, take this money and use it for your sister's treatment. If you feel too sad to stay in your hometown, move your whole family to Hunan and be our neighbors. We at the Taiji School will look after you. I'll teach your sister Tai Chi to strengthen her body. If you think I'm not capable enough, my master will teach her, or my senior uncles and brothers will. Don't worry, my mom always wanted a daughter and she will love her very much.
I miss my mom…"
As I spoke, I squatted on the ground, holding my head and crying.
"Ping An, stop crying. You're really setting the mood here, so it's all on you!" Chen Weiqiang put out his cigarette and pulled me up. "This money, can it even be sent home?"
"How would I know? I'm not a tech expert like you," I wiped my tears and pushed the bag towards Wrench, genuinely wanting to give it all to him.
Wrench shook his head. "I don't want it. You keep it. Besides, my mom and sister…"
I cut him off. "Don't talk like that. They're alive, they must be alive."
"... I hope so. Thank you, Little Bottle. I feel much better now that I've talked about it," Wrench said with a bitter smile, always so calm and mature. His painful experiences and responsibilities had shaped his steady and composed personality, unlike me, who was spoiled and naive.
"Don't refuse. A gentleman's word is his bond. I said the money is for your sister's treatment, and it will be for her treatment. Strong, you handle the money transfer and figure out how to send it to his mom's account."
I turned to Chen Weiqiang, leaving the problem to him, because he's my good brother.
"You're such a great brother, thank you!" Chen Weiqiang was a bit stuck.
"Little Bottle, don't force Assistant Chen. If we get caught, we're all dead. No need to risk your lives for me," Wrench pulled me down to sit, not wanting to trouble Chen Weiqiang. They were old employees in the camp and knew the dangers. Sending money home was too difficult. If caught, we would lose both money and lives.
"This is the bonus Professor Ace gave me. No one will take it from me. When I was hospitalized, I secretly issued him a $4 million bill, and he rewarded me with this..."
I pointed to the things in the room, speaking softly.
"!!!"
They were stunned, then realized. Four million dollars could fill this dormitory.
"Ping An, my biggest problem now is how to deposit the cash into a bank," Chen Weiqiang said, voicing our common concern. Even with his top-notch skills, it was hard to handle cash. This was Myawaddy, not China! A foreigner depositing money could get robbed or kidnapped and sold.
Kidnapping was common, where locals kidnapped Chinese people off the streets, no matter who they were, and sold them to the camp. Men could fetch five to six thousand each, and women, especially pretty ones, even more. Local farmers earned only 300 to a thousand yuan a month, often unemployed. No wonder kidnapping was tempting—Chinese people were like walking ATMs!
Many captives thought escaping the camp meant safety, not realizing the outside was equally dangerous. Police, passersby, warlords, and residents all might capture and sell you again. A captive could be bought and sold repeatedly, driven to mental collapse.
"Brother, we can only trust a local to deposit the money in their account. It's the safest way," I thought about finding a local or getting some guns for protection. Then no one would dare mess with us.
"Locals are cunning and can't be trusted. The money might disappear," Wrench and Chen Weiqiang both rejected my idea.
"We'll have to wait for the right opportunity. Wrench, you've been a guard for years, you must know some locals!"
"I know some, but none I can trust. They all want to stab me," Wrench shook his head, feeling a sense of failure.
"Never mind, they're not worth it. From now on, the four of us are brothers. We'll share our fortunes and misfortunes, and escape together!" I declared, though Chen Weiqiang looked like he wanted to slap me, thinking: Stupid pig, didn't you learn from being deceived last time?
But I chose to trust Wrench and Bayi. Bayi was the most excited, swearing, "I'll be a sworn brother. No matter life or death, I won't betray any of you! Or may lightning strike me!"
"Escape..." Wrench hesitated, "is not impossible."
"Do you have a plan?" we asked in unison.
"Not exactly a plan, but there's hope. We all have some freedom to move around. If we can go out together sometime, we could kill some guards, steal a car and guns, and escape. But it's too risky; we'd be hunted down..." Wrench shook his head, feeling it was impractical.
"A revolt seems unlikely. We'll have to wait for the right moment. I'll keep thinking about finding a reliable local to deposit the money," I said, suddenly thinking of someone but not able to contact them yet.
We put the escape plan on hold and decided to become sworn brothers first. After showering and changing into clean clothes, we gathered in my dormitory. Without incense, we lit cigarettes, poured wine, and offered snacks. We introduced ourselves in age order: Wrench as the eldest brother, Chen Weiqiang as the second, me as the third, and Bayi as the fourth.
After swearing our brotherhood, we smiled at each other, feeling a sense of relief. Our chances of escape seemed stronger now, no longer alone.
"Master, I'm sorry. To survive, I've broken the rules. I'll seek your forgiveness when I return to the mountain!" I held three cigarettes, bowed three times towards home, feeling heartbroken.
"Ping An, you broke Miao Dinglun's rib. Be careful; he's a local with some influence and might seek revenge after leaving the hospital," Chen Weiqiang warned, and rightly so. Anyone trusted by Liu Shiyi was dangerous, including that Thai Phaitun.
One day, I'll show him real Chinese kung fu.
"Because Liu Shiyi is part of the Liu family, he's untouchable in the camp. KK Camp is complex, with many hidden guards and protected by warlords, making it hard to escape. The area we work in is called the scam area, surrounded by a crocodile pond, and further in the mountains are zones for executions and shooting ranges..."