Han Yu took a deep breath, staring at him earnestly and sincerely, "You've studied marine engineering for two years, you have the foundation. As long as you're willing, after the New Year, we'll send you for training, and once you get your certificate, we'll send you onboard. For others, making a coback is tough, but for us who studied shipping, as long as we are willing to endure hardship and loneliness, we can turn things around in two to three years at most."
After all, they were schoolmates. Han Xiangning didn't want to see Xu Chenhui sent to a shelter and added with a smile, "Chenhui, I know a CEO of a shipping managent company, I can ask them to arrange for you to board a foreign vessel. During the internship year, you can earn forty thousand, and after the internship, you can make seventy or eighty thousand a year!"
"You guys don't believe ."
"We believe in your abilities, believe that you can endure hardship and loneliness."
"That's not what I'm talking about, I'm saying you don't believe in the Great thod I practice."
"Chenhui, after the New Year, you'll be twenty-nine. I'm two years younger than you, and my daughter can already go buy soy sauce. You can't keep going on like this, you should think about the future, you should start a family and a career!"
"Let's not talk about this, I know I'm causing you trouble, you'd better just send to the shelter."
"Chenhui, we're really thinking about what's best for you."
"I know, I appreciate your kindness."
Xu Chenhui turned around, packing his luggage casually as he said, "Going to the shelter is fine. It spares you from worrying about . Besides, there are many people in the shelter where I can go and spread the teachings."
Han Yu asked half-laughing, half-crying, "Have you been to a shelter before?"
"Yes, I've been there many tis."
"Many tis?"
"After dropping out, I was very lost, didn't dare go ho, didn't know where to go, so I wandered aimlessly."
Xu Chenhui spoke as if it were a trivial matter, slowly and steadily, "Upon entering society, I had no one to turn to, and eating was a big problem. Sotis I would pick up leftovers, other tis I'd grab a sweet potato from a field, but I could never fill my stomach, always hungry, sleeping by the roadside on big rocks at night.
Just wandering like that, I made my way to Guangzhou. Luckily, I found a broken bicycle on the road and rode it towards Shenzhen, wanting to see what the special economic zone looked like.
But as I was going, the police station caught , saying I stole the bicycle. Say what you will. First, I was sent to a shelter, stayed a few days, then was sent to Dajianshan Tea Farm in Paitan Farm, where I had to work unpaid labor for three months, and then let my family co for ."
Han Yu didn't expect he had such experiences, quietly asked, "What happened later?"
Xu Chenhui expressionlessly replied, "I didn't tell them where my family lived, so of course no one ca for . The instructors took us up the mountain to pick tea every day, with tasks to complete. If you didn't, you'd be punished. At first, I was slow at picking, but I got better and could pick 28 pounds of tea leaves a day.
In the morning, it was pickled vegetables and rice, at noon and night, it was greens and rice, with at once a week, the fatty kind. I wasn't big then, yet I could get full. Eventually, when no one ca for , they let go."
When I asked him last ti about what he'd been through all these years over dinner, he avoided the topic and didn't say anything.
Han Xiangning, curious, pressed on, "And then?"
"After being detained for a few months, I didn't want to go to Shenzhen anymore and headed north. The second ti I entered a shelter was in Jianfu Province at a place called Jingxi outside Sanming. There, we didn't have to work, just plain tea and simple food, never really full.
It was annoying being cooped up everyday. If there was so work, the days would pass quicker. I heard they wait until there are enough people from one direction to send them back ho. So stayed there for almost half a year."
Xu Chenhui, as if it was no big deal, chuckled and continued, "I didn't tell them where my hotown was, so even if there were enough people heading in the sa direction, they wouldn't know where to send . I figured this wasn't sustainable, I couldn't be detained forever.
I asked those being held if there was a way to get out, and an old man secretly told that if you don't eat for a day, they would let you go because the head of the station wouldn't want soone starving to death under his watch.
I followed his plan, and sure enough, it worked. I didn't eat for a day, and they got scared, made sign so self-return ho guarantee, gave five bucks, and let go."
Turns out he's an old hand!
No wonder he's not afraid of being detained.
Han Yu didn't quite know what to say, and Xu Chenhui continued, "Later I ended up at the Tan Ying shelter, where the pickled vegetables were delicious. After a week, I didn't want to stay anymore, so when we went out to water the vegetables, I sneaked away when the instructor wasn't looking."
Han Xiangning asked in shock, "You escaped from a shelter?"
"A shelter isn't a prison, or a detention center for that matter, escaping is normal. Besides, I didn't kill anyone or commit any serious cri. Even if caught, at most I'd get beaten, so long as I escape, I'm free."
Seeing the shock on the school beauty's face, Xu Chenhui chuckled again, "Afterwards, I went to quite a few shelters, and always sneaked away. The more I learned this ga, the more refined I got. Having entered shelters so many tis, going in actually felt like going ho, I didn't care about it anymore."
Faced with such an old classmate, Han Yu found himself suddenly speechless.
Han Xiangning, however, remained skeptical and asked, "You escaped, and they didn't investigate?"
"It's not a serious offense, I left, that's it, who's going to investigate? As long as I wasn't caught on the spot, it was fine. Salted Fish is police, if you don't believe , you can ask Salted Fish."
"Have you ever been detained in Binjiang's shelter?"
"No, just could check it out."
"Once you enter, are you planning to escape again?"
"Not this ti." Xu Chenhui lifted a book on cultivation techniques, eagerly saying, "I was lost before, but things are different now. As long as I can practice the Great thod, as long as I can spread and promote the teachings, it's no problem to even go to prison."
It was as if he had "If I don't go to hell, who will?" written all over his face, even sowhat looking forward to being detained.
Han Yu realized that no matter what he said, it was like playing music to a cow, and left the guesthouse without looking back, taking the school beauty with him.
He made a phone call from the car, and after about twenty minutes, Zhao Hongxing, the Deputy Director of the Water Police Station, and Captain Wang of the Chonggang Branch's Security Team arrived with a few police officers.
Captain Wang went inside to bring out Xu Chenhui, who had already packed, and placed him in the police car. After greeting Han Yu, he first took Xu Chenhui to the nearest Police Station, intending to process the detention transfer paperwork before sending him to the shelter.
Zhao Hongxing opened the back door of the Santana, got into the back seat and joked with a smile, "Salted Fish, that guy is your classmate, isn't it a bit much to send your classmate to a shelter? It's not too late to regret now, are you having second thoughts?"
"No need to reconsider, at least he'll have food in the shelter, he won't starve or freeze."
"I called the shelter, they said they can't arrange for transfer until March next year at the earliest."
"Let him stay for now, he's been there many tis, entering the shelter for him is like returning ho."
"Been there many tis!"
Han Yu briefly explained Xu Chenhui's situation and thoughtfully reminded, "Director Zhao, please help tell the shelter's head again. That guy's mind is full of heretical nonsense, he must not be allowed to mislead others."
Zhao Hongxing couldn't believe it was true, instinctively asked, "It's one thing if he's obsessed with Qigong himself, but does he really intend to mislead others into practicing it?"
"That's why we need to watch him closely. Those detained often have empty spirits, they might actually believe his nonsense."
"Understood, I'll help you pass the ssage."
"Director Zhao, please don't forget, make sure to explain it clearly to the watch police officers."
"Rest assured when I handle things, besides, Binjiang is different from other places, our superiors are already quite wary of such individuals, and the shelter's instructors will certainly monitor closely."
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