Extremely High Income

"What? This has happened three times already!"

Gu Huai's shouts echoed throughout the reception room.

"Why didn't you report it!"

"This..." Manager Zhu was quite startled by Gu Huai's sudden shout, and for a moment he stammered, "We reported it. I don't know if other companies reported it or not, but we have already reported to the border defense detachment when we found that Zhang Zhenhua was missing."

The border defense detachment, officially known as the Pengcheng Border Defense Detachment, is an organization under the Guangdong Provincial Border Defense Corps. It is responsible for the inspection work of the Shatoujiao, Luohu, and Wenjindu border defense stations, as well as the patrol, interception, and pursuit work along the Pengcheng River, the border barbed wire, and various ports.

According to regulations, after apprehending individuals attempting to illegally cross the border, they are responsible for the initial investigation and temporary detention before transferring them to the city's border defense branch.

In his previous life, Gu Huai often dealt with border guards because of his business, so he was quite familiar with the ins and outs of the trade.

Manager Zhu's actions were basically in accordance with the regulations.

Gu Huai steadied himself and said in a gentler tone, "Then please give me a list of companies that have reported 'escaping to Hong Kong'."

"No problem, I'll go write it right away."

Rivals are enemies, and Manager Zhu couldn't be happier than for Gu Huai to cause trouble for those competitors.

Just as Manager Zhu turned to leave, Hou Hao, who had been silent all along, finally spoke up: "Something's not right. How are we going to investigate this?"

Based on their prior assessment, the taxi company was likely hiding something, and they came here to find a breakthrough.

But now, instead of finding a breakthrough, they've received some bad news.

It's very possible that Zhang Zhenhua has fled to Hong Kong.

Judging from Manager Zhu's confident demeanor just now, Hou Hao didn't believe he would dare to deceive them to their faces.

In his view, the whole situation is now in trouble once again.

"Investigate however you need to," Gu Huai said, spreading his hands. "Manager Zhu is preparing a list for us, we can just investigate them one by one."

"I know all that you're saying, but..." Hou Hao stopped mid-sentence, leaning closer to Gu Huai and lowering his voice, "Huai, don't forget, we only have a little over a day. You'll be reporting to the brigade leaders after that!"

Seeing Hou Hao's anxious expression and hearing the word "we" in his words, Gu Huai felt a warmth in his heart.

"I know what you're saying, Brother Hou. We didn't come here completely empty-handed. You may not have noticed, but Manager Zhu just revealed an important piece of information."

"What information?"

"The car," Gu Huai said decisively, "Those so-called 'escapees to Hong Kong' resold the car."

Hou Hao frowned and said, "What's the problem? They'll need money to live after they go to Hong Kong. Selling the car would be perfect."

"Doing this a few years ago would have been fine, since the situation wasn't clear back then, and some people would run back to Hong Kong after committing crimes. But doing this now is just plain stupid," Gu Huai explained patiently.

"It's only been a few years since the handover, and Hong Kong's attitude towards those who flee to Hong Kong is no longer the same as before. In the early years, Hong Kong implemented a policy of resistance, and anyone who successfully arrived in Hong Kong could directly obtain a Hong Kong identity card and become a legal Hong Kong resident."

"You can do that?" Hou Hao clearly didn't understand the intricacies of the situation. "No wonder those people were running over there like their lives depended on it."

Gu Huai nodded and said, "But this policy was abolished years ago. Now, if you escape to Hong Kong and are caught by the local police, you will be immediately deported. Even if you are lucky enough not to be caught, you can only work illegally in Hong Kong."

"But... even if you're working illegally, you earn more in Hong Kong than here..."

"Yes, they do earn more over there than here, but don't forget, it's taxi drivers who are fleeing to Hong Kong now!"

"What's wrong with taxis? Are they very profitable?" Hou Hao asked, looking puzzled.

He only vaguely knew that taxi drivers earned a good income, but that was all he knew; he had no concept of the specific figures.

Looking at Hou Hao's bewildered expression, Gu Huai felt a surge of anger.

He finally understood why Captain Wu always looked at him with such disappointment.

Just then, the door to the reception room opened, and Manager Zhu walked in from outside with a piece of paper in his hand.

Gu Huai said, "Manager Zhu, you've come at the right time. Tell us, how much do your company's drivers earn in a month?"

Manager Zhu smiled sheepishly, "Officer Gu, why are you suddenly asking about this? Drivers earn their money through hard work."

Gu Huai waved his hand, "I know it's hard-earned money. I don't mean anything by it. I just want my colleague to broaden his horizons."

"I only earn about three thousand yuan a month, and sometimes I can earn four thousand if I'm lucky," Manager Zhu said, scratching his head.

Upon hearing this, Hou Hao's mouth gaped open.

Hou Hao was already shocked enough upon hearing the number, but Gu Huai's next words turned his surprise into horror.

"Manager Zhu is too modest. Everyone knows that taxi drivers in Shenzhen earn a lot of money. I've heard that some people can earn 10,000 to 20,000 yuan a month, and I've even heard that some people can earn 2 million yuan in six years."

"What? Two million?!" Hou Hao's face flushed red. "Did I hear that right? Two million in six years!"

It's no wonder he made a fuss; you have to understand that his monthly salary is only a few hundred yuan, which is nothing compared to the salary of a taxi driver.

"Of course." Gu Huai nodded calmly. "Where do you think this is? This is Pengcheng, a city where gold is everywhere. Getting rich is easy!"

It wasn't that Hou Hao was ignorant; it was simply that in a truly profitable industry, everyone involved would go to great lengths to conceal their true income.

Gu Huai only found out about it by chance in the news many years later.

"Not that much, not that much..." Manager Zhu quickly waved his hand, "What Officer Gu said are very rare cases. Only people who own their own cars can earn that much... Most people can only earn three or four thousand."

Despite Manager Zhu's repeated explanations, Hou Hao refused to listen to a single word.

He finally understood why Gu Huai was so certain that the taxi driver could not possibly have stolen the car and fled to Hong Kong.

They could only make a little money by fleeing to Hong Kong; it wasn't worth risking so much to do such a thing.

Gu Huai ignored Hou Hao's incredulous expression and took the list from Manager Zhu. "Manager Zhu, here's a number for you, so we can contact you if anything comes up."

"Of course, of course."

Manager Zhu deftly pulled a business card from the inside pocket of his clothes and handed it to Gu Huai.

Gu Huai put the beautifully framed business card into his pocket, then gently tapped Hou Hao, who was still in shock sitting next to him, and said, "Brother Hou, let's go."

Hou Hao was brought back to his senses by Gu Huai's tap.

After the two left the taxi company, Hou Hao was still marveling, "The taxi industry is unbelievable, you can actually make so much money."

Gu Huai teased, "What? Are you interested?"

"How could that be? Becoming a police officer is my dream..."

Before Hou Hao could finish speaking, his pager went off.

He looked down and his expression immediately changed.

"What's wrong..." Gu Huai hadn't finished speaking when his pager went off.

Looking down, a look of surprise appeared on Gu Huai's originally calm face.

[Officer Gu, Zhenhua has been found!]

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Regarding the issue of taxi drivers' income, this is not something I made up. I based my description on the oral accounts of those involved in the special report, "Oral History of 40 Years of Reform and Opening Up ⑥: Shenzhen's Five-Star Gotham Jihua: I Measured This City with My Car Wheels."