He walked down the escalator.
Immigration Bureau agents occasionally stopped so individuals, taking them into a small room on the side.
Seeing that He Liang and his group were clearly organized and possibly wealthy or influential, the agents preferred to avoid potential trouble, so they pretended not to notice them, selectively targeting those who seed more ’vulnerable’ instead.
Taken into the small room, the purpose was well known to all – money was demanded during the passport examination.
They had not gone far.
He Liang and his subordinates reached the health and quarantine area.
With few passengers around, only two lanes were open. He Liang randomly chose a lane to queue up, and the others followed behind, quiet and orderly, not speaking or looking around too much, in order not to offend anyone.
Looking at this line of Chinese, all dressed uniformly.
Others regarded them with curious glances.
Such attire was rare in this place – all wearing camouflage backpacks and standing upright, indicating these people were well trained. Even if not currently in service, they were likely ex-soldiers.
In front of He Liang was a young Chinese man.
He was in his twenties.
His appearance was bookish, with glasses that suggested he might be a university student.
Catching sight of He Liang’s attire, the Chinese man was very enthusiastic.
"Hello, big brother. My na is Wang Bai. I’m here for work. Are you here for work too?" Given that the Chinese community is quite small in foreign lands and recognizing the possibility of future encounters with He Liang, Wang Bai took the initiative to greet him.
"Hello, He Liang, here for work," He Liang replied with a polite smile.
"I’m an accountant for a mining company. What brings so many of you here?" Wang Bai looked at He Liang’s array of team mbers behind him with curiosity, even entertaining the wild thought that these Chinese people might be here as rcenaries.
"Security guard," He Liang answered succinctly.
"Oh, in Kinshasa?" Wang Bai asked further.
"No, in other provinces. But due to work reasons, it’s inconvenient to disclose," He Liang shook his head. This was certainly not any secret, he simply preferred not to say too much – his profession dictated that he didn’t enjoy chatting with just anyone.
Seeing He Liang’s response,
Wang Bai sensed that He Liang was disinclined to talk more, so he tactfully refrained from asking further and turned his attention to the slowly moving line ahead.
Soon,
it was Wang Bai’s turn.
The staff asked him to show his ’yellow fever vaccination certificate.’ Wang Bai hurriedly handed it over. His suitcase and personal items also underwent inspection. After a cursory check of his belongings, the quarantine officials started to rummage through his suitcase.
Wang Bai frowned.
To look is one thing, but why the need to rummage?
Moreover, the black police officer checking the ’yellow fever vaccination certificate’ flipped through it repeatedly, as if he could discover sothing new each ti, muttering in a language Wang Bai couldn’t understand.
"Brother Wang, is this your first ti here?" He Liang suddenly asked from behind.
Wang Bai turned around and smiled, nodding, "Yes, it’s my first ti. The company has sent here; they said soone will et outside the airport. I can speak English, but my French is not so good. Fortunately, my work doesn’t involve much French."
He Liang understood.
This place wasn’t very peaceful, and it wasn’t easy to recruit people; as long as soone was roughly suitable, those companies would offer high wages to attract them. Although the salaries were several tis higher than in China, for the major companies that managed to survive here,
it was just the cost of one person’s wages.
It was nothing more than paying for a few extra shovelfuls of minerals to be dug up – a cost as inconsequential as it could get.
"No wonder," two words popped out of He Liang’s mouth.
While Wang Bai was still puzzled,
He Liang pulled out a fifty RMB note from his wallet and handed it to the black quarantine officer, speaking in fluent French, "We are in a hurry, please speed it up."
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Being compatriots,
He Liang had no interest in taking fifty yuan from Wang Bai’s pocket. If it were soone else, the money might have to be in dollars. However, He Liang, being a frequent visitor, knew that the officers would accept this amount.
The quarantine officer pocketed the money without any hesitation. Though it was less than usual, it was better than nothing, and seeing that He Liang and the line of Chinese behind him looked like trouble, it was safer to take the money and leave well enough alone.
The officials quickly re-packed the suitcase and returned the docunts to Wang Bai, smiling broadly, and said in barely recognizable Chinese, "Welco."
Wang Bai was taken aback.
He Liang smiled and asked, "Didn’t anyone from your company tell you before coming here?"
"Tell what?" Wang Bai asked, confused.
"It seems your popularity isn’t that great, huh? But it’s not a big deal, even if you don’t give them money, they’ll only waste your ti. You go ahead and leave first." He Liang wouldn’t have paid if he didn’t want to avoid further delay.
It’s not like he had money to burn.
As he spoke,
He Liang handed over his bag. This ti, he was returning to bring people over, so he didn’t have many clothes with him, just a carry-on bag. As for Huaxia’s food, there was no need to bring it personally; whatever he wanted to eat, he could report it to the Company.
The Company would collect the dostic purchase cost at its original price.
At the sa ti, it would assu all shipping fees and deliver it right to your hands. There was a comprehensive bulk materials procurent every month; the approach was quite humane. The reason it wasn’t entirely free was that everyone’s needs were different.
So people just wanted a few boxes of biscuits.
But so wanted a few boxes of Erguotou and Stewed Pork Trotters, thus outside housing and als, the Company waived all shipping fees, but employees had to pay according to the purchase price, which was the fairest approach.
Seeing how ’generous’ He Liang was,
They rely glanced at his quarantine docunts a few tis before letting him pass through.
Then, He Liang handed over five hundred RMB notes, saying, "Everyone from our company behind , make it quick." After speaking, He Liang placed the money in the black man’s hand, took his bag, and walked forward.
He didn’t give them any ti to haggle.
If one were to go by the local ’standard fees’, the total cost for an individual to pass through Immigration, Quarantine Bureau, and Customs would be around one hundred US dollars. But that also depended on the person; those who appeared ’easy to bully’ just had to accept it.
But He Liang was not one of those ’easy to bully’.
The Company had said,
The clearance fee at Kinshasa Airport was only reimbursable once, up to a thousand RMB. If anyone wanted more, they should call the Company, and it would intervene. He Liang had encountered such a situation once before.
The locals demanded a hundred US dollars per person.
That ti there were fifty people, amounting to five thousand US dollars, or forty thousand RMB.
In the end, a single phone call from the Company solved the issue.
He Liang later heard about the thod used.
Apparently, the Company had good relations with the local Immigration Bureau. It was actually a high-level official from the Immigration Bureau that greeted them and negotiated with the other departnts. In the end, a small amount of money facilitated their passage.
It was then that the Company’s policy beca to give only to Quarantine and Customs, Immigration need not be bothered.
As for not giving anything at all,
He Liang thought that was impossible.
When in Ro, do as the Romans do.
In African countries,
Especially in so of the more unstable countries in Central Africa, the wages of black public officials are low, just a few tens of dollars, and often the Governnt even fails to pay them on ti, so they have to sche elsewhere to earn so extra money.
Over ti,
Corruption has indeed beco the norm.
Money talks.
That’s the norm here.
Without paying money, it’s basically difficult to get things done, it’s just that they take less than others.
Looking at the money in their pockets,
The quarantine officers didn’t say much and quickly got down to work. These were non-profiting individuals who couldn’t collect money, thus their efficiency was astonishingly fast. Eventually, they didn’t even bother opening the bags and simply stamped the docunts and left.
For the Customs examination, He Liang also gave five hundred RMB, and he didn’t even have to open his bags.
Walking out of the Airport,
"Team Leader, it works like that?" A young team mber approached, asking in astonishnt. An international entry inspection was just breezed through like this? Weren’t these police officers too brazen?
Broad daylight,
The clear light of day,
Such overt corruption, these African police officers were truly audacious. The most crucial point was, the money was proactively offered by He Liang. Would they have denied entry if he didn’t pay?
He Liang replied in an annoyed tone, "Why wouldn’t it work? When in Ro, do as the Romans do. In this land, when you go out, you should always carry so money; mainly because robbery is rampant. However, near the mining area, it’s a bit safer; no one cos to extort there. If you’re too far away and there are few people, it still can be dangerous."
"I know, I don’t like to wander around aimlessly. Just strolling around the mining area is fine. But I’m still a bit worried. Is the mine really as good as you’ve told ?" The young man asked doubtfully.
Back in the country, he had heard He Liang praise how fun and harmonious the mine was, and he had believed it initially. But the experience at the Capital Airport of Congo Gold had caused him to waver.
"You’ll see when you get there," He Liang said with a mysterious smile.
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