"Have you set out?" I replied to Du Jianguo and looked at Jin Jingxiu and Qiu Tong who were watching the remains of the floating bridge by the river.
"Let''s go, let''s get on the Danxing Expressway! The old man got out of the car and went to buy water. I took the time to send you a short message! " Du Jianguo replied.
"I see. You can send me a message at any time when it''s convenient!" I said.
"Yes," Du Jianguo replied.
I put away my cell phone and stood by the sculpture for a long time
Drive on to a ferry. There are few tourists in this season, but there are still some. There are several cars parked there. The license plate numbers are all from other places.
When a stranger comes to Dandong, he always takes a cruise ship to Yalu River to get close to that country. Of course, although it can be approached infinitely, it can never reach the destination, that is to say, the ship can not reach the shore, otherwise it will violate the boundary law.
"Take a cruise to the river?" I said.
"Good," said Jin Jingxiu.
I''ll stop. Everybody get out.
I used to pack a small cruise ship. When I came back, Jin Jingxiu and Qiu Tong were shopping in a small supermarket nearby. They bought two big packages, mainly food and cigarettes.
"Why? What are you doing? " I said, look at the cigarettes, they are all made in North Korea, not our cigarettes.
The boss of the supermarket said quickly: "later, your cruise ship will be close to the Bank of the river near North Korea. There are soldiers on duty and local people on the bank. They are very poor. You say hello to them. They all hope to get what you give them. They don''t need any valuable good things. As long as they are biscuits, chocolate cigarettes and so on, there''s nothing there Lack. Our humble snacks are rare and good things on their side. "
"What are you doing with cigarettes? Why are they all Korean cigarettes? " I said.
"Soldiers like Korean cigarettes in strips. They can go back and sell them. The money they sell subsidizes their families If you give them boxes, you can smoke them directly. If you give them strips, you are not willing to open them. You have to sell them for money. "
"Oh..." I nodded. I didn''t know what it was like for a moment. Looking at Jin Jingxiu and Qiu Tong, I also looked uncomfortable.
I didn''t speak any more. I mentioned that two big bags of food were put on the boat. Everyone put on life jackets, and then the boss set sail.
After the ship got off the shore, it didn''t go straight to the middle of the river. Instead, it went close to us and went upstream.
We sat in the cabin, quietly looking at the bare mountains and low square on the other side
Not far away, there is an island in front of the river. There are rows of Korean style villas on the island.
"This island is called shark fin island. The houses on the island are North Korea''s general villas. They live in North Korea''s general level figures and their families." The boatman said, "the reason why they live here is to prevent their families from retreating in case of war. They can come to us after crossing the river for a few minutes What''s more, it''s built here, close to the border, and the enemy''s planes dare not bomb it. If the Bomb doesn''t fall on our side, it will cause disputes. "
After hearing this, I remember that the Yongbyon nuclear base of North Korea is not far from the border. It seems that it is also out of this idea. Isn''t it tantamount to kidnapping us?
There were twos and threes of people walking around the island, women and children, and people''s Army soldiers patrolling with guns on their backs. What''s more, I can see clearly that there are several dark castles.
Damn, they''re all friendly countries, they''re all blood clotted friendships. Is that so wrong?
Of course, I know that they are so defensive that they want to see their own people dead and prevent them from running to our side. Our people will not run there.
The boat went up against the current to the end of the island, then turned left and went down.
In this way, it is equivalent to sailing between the island and the land of North Korea, and it is equivalent to entering the inland river of North Korea. One side is the land of North Korea, the other side is the island of North Korea.
I know that according to the agreement between China and North Korea, the Yalu River has no central line. As long as the ship sails on the river and does not touch each other''s land, no matter how it is driven, the two countries share the river.
The boatman slowed down the speed of the boat. On our left is the land of North Korea, less than 30 meters away. On our right is the shark fin island full of general villas, less than 30 meters away. North Korea is on both sides.
Jin Jingxiu and Qiu Tong look at the mainland by the river in silence. Jin Jingxiu''s eyes are a little dazed, and Qiu Tong''s eyes are a little straight.
At this time, two people''s Army soldiers with guns on their backs waved to us, and I waved to them, saying: "look, how friendly they are to us -"
Jin Jingxiu and Qiu Tong looked up at the people''s Army soldiers on the shore.
The boatman said, "what''s friendly? They want something."
I looked at them, they were coming towards the shore, and the boatman looked at us: "do you want to get close?"
I look at Jin Jingxiu and Qiu Tong. Jin Jingxiu nods.
"Get the cigarettes ready for them!" Said the boatman.
Qiutong took out all the strips of cigarettes he had bought, five of them. He handed them to me and I handed them to the boatman. Then he quietly took out the camera and opened the lens coverSlowly, the boat came to a stop about 1 meter away from the shore.
Two North Korean soldiers came up and stood there saying something in Korean.
I don''t understand. Look at Qiu Tong and Jin Jingxiu.
"They''re asking if there''s a cigarette? Ask the boatman Qiutong told me softly.
Jin Jingxiu, on the other hand, does not look at the shore. Her face seems to be a little nervous. It seems that she can''t help but be afraid of the people''s Army soldiers in military uniform. It seems that she suffered some stimulation many years ago, which has something to do with the soldiers in military uniform.
It is understandable to think that since she left the north, she must escape the pursuit of the people''s Army soldiers. When she crossed the 38th line, she must try her best to avoid the people''s Army soldiers. She must have been extremely frightened at that time, because she knew that once she was caught back, she would be dead. All those who leave the north or cross the border to China and are taken back will die without exception.
At this time, Jin Jingxiu, as a traitor of this country, is only one meter away from the violent machine of this country. This country is her motherland, and the people''s army soldier is his compatriot. Her mood at this time must be extremely complex, with involuntary fear, subconscious closeness, and indescribable sadness and sorrow.
I laughed at the two young soldiers, and they also gave me a friendly smile. Then they fixed their eyes on the cigarette in the hands of the boatman.
The boatman threw five cigarettes directly to the shore. The young soldiers put down their guns and looked down to check the cigarettes, with happy smiles on their faces.
Jin Jingxiu then looked up at them, looking a little stunned, lips bite tightly.
At this time, I quietly raised the camera in my hand -
suddenly, a soldier gave a loud drink, dropped the cigarette in his hand, and then picked up the submachine gun on the ground at a high speed and pointed it directly at me.
When I was stunned, the camera was raised in half.
The boatman signaled to me to put away the camera, and then said something to them in Korean, so they gradually eliminated the hostility, put down the gun, picked up the cigarette, nodded at us and went straight up the mountain.
I was relieved, and so was Qiutong.
"Man, how dare you take a picture if you want to die?" The boatman scolded me.
"Shit, five cigarettes can''t get a picture." I said a little unconvinced.
"Cigarettes come back to cigarettes. Cigarettes are given by you on your own initiative, which can be regarded as friendly gifts. What''s not nice is charity. Just look at them up close. Taking photos is absolutely not allowed. They will worry that once you take photos and send them back to the Internet, and once they are found by their superiors, they will be ruined. Their own death is certain, and their families will be implicated. North Korea''s policy of collusion is very terrifying. If one person commits a crime, the whole family will suffer. " Said the boatman.
Hearing the words of the boatman, Jin Jingxiu suddenly trembled and turned pale.
It seemed that she thought of something, it seemed that she was frightened by the thought of something.
"Auntie king, what''s the matter with you?" Qiu Tong looks at Jin Jingxiu.
Jin Jingxiu''s body shuddered for a moment. Then she quickly recovered her calm. She looked at me and Qiutong, and tried to smile: "it''s OK. I''m ok. I''m just scared by the boss''s words!"
Qiu Tong nodded: "it sounds very scary!"
I looked at Jin Jingxiu and didn''t speak.
The boatman continued to sail forward and said, "it''s not to scare people. It''s true. You think I made it up to scare you? "
Jin Jingxiu said: "I know what you said is true, I believe it!"
The cruise ship continued to keep close to the Korean land and drove slowly forward. As the captain sailed, he introduced to us: "look, there is a fort on the top of the mountain in front, which was built by the Japanese in those years Look at the broken Wharf in front. This is the so-called military port of North Korea. It was also built by the Japanese in those years Also, look at this row of white houses. This is the women''s barracks in North Korea
"By the way, do you see those bunkers? The muzzle of the gun is facing us, but they won''t shoot at us. Although we are sailing in their inland river, as long as our boat doesn''t land, there''s nothing wrong. Besides, the orange life jackets you wear, they will know that they are tourists."
The boatman is a qualified part-time tour guide, and the two films begin to talk.
Jin Jingxiu and Qiu Tong did not speak. They looked at the depressed country on the other side and the gray yellow mountains in winter.
The ship continued to sail and crossed the river between shark fin island and Korean land. The river in front of the ship opened up. For a moment, we could not see the people''s Army soldiers carrying guns.
There is a boat with awning in the middle of the river ahead.
"What''s this boat for?" I asked the boatman.
"North Korean, rural collective boats come out to fish, and they sell special products with tourists on the river at the same time. The money for fishing and selling special products should go back to the collective:" the boatman said, "do you want to go and have a look?"
I nodded.
The boatman slowly drove to the boat and approached. I saw the people on the boat, one big and one small, one male and one female. The big one was a man, and the small one was a teenage girl. They all wear Korean national costume.It looks like father and daughter.