Three ships sped through the night, the sea breeze howling and waves splashing.
On the deck, everyone stood by the ship's railing, shining headlamps or flashlights on the sea surface, searching carefully.
"Hey, where is it? We've been driving for quite a while and haven't found anything. Could we have gone the wrong way?"
"Impossible. The Dong Sheng and the Feng Shou are going in the same direction. Even if one ship is wrong, it's impossible for all three ships to be wrong, right?"
"We're definitely heading in the right direction. Don't rush, we might not be there yet. Let's keep looking patiently."
"Yes, maybe it's just ahead..."
As they searched, they comforted each other, trying to dispel their unease and disappointment.
The sea was pitch black, with only the beams of headlamps and flashlights flickering in the darkness.
Time seemed to slow down at that moment, each second filled with anticipation and anxiety.
Finally, just as everyone was about to lose patience, one of the boatmen on the port side suddenly shouted, "Found it! Found it! There's something here!"
Everyone gathered around and, sure enough, saw a large cardboard box floating on the sea not far away.
"Ah Chan, slow down and get closer."
Feng Ye excitedly shouted towards the wheelhouse, then called out to the crew, "The hook! Where's the hook?"
Seeing this large cardboard box reminded him of the several boxes of foreign cigarettes he had retrieved at the beginning of the year; the boxes were all about the same size.
Perhaps, this is also a box of cigarettes.
"Here, here..."
Luo Zhiping squeezed to the front and stuck the hook into the sea.
The distance was still a bit far, and the hook couldn't reach it, so Ah-chan slowed down the boat and slowly approached the cardboard box.
Although the contents haven't been retrieved yet, and we don't know what's inside, everyone is already overjoyed.
"Haha, we actually found it."
"I knew it! How could there be nothing at all?"
"We've made a profit this time, and we didn't waste any time."
"Even if we don't get anything else in the end, having this box of stuff will make it all worthwhile."
"Pah, you jinx! If you can't speak properly, then don't speak at all. You'll definitely get more money later."
"Yes, yes, yes, we can definitely get even more..."
In a short while, the Donglai ship had already approached the large cardboard box.
Luo Zhiping couldn't wait any longer and stretched out his hand, hooking the cardboard box and pulling it back.
"Be careful not to tear the cardboard box."
Feng Ye quickly reminded him.
Luo Zhiping chuckled: "Don't worry, I know what I'm doing."
As they were talking, the cardboard box had already been pulled to the side of the boat.
Immediately, someone used a net to hold the bottom of the cardboard box, and together they pulled the box steadily onto the deck.
The crowd gathered in a circle, all eager to get started, but no one made a move, waiting for Feng Ye to open the box first.
At that moment, Ah-Can also ran to the outside of the driver's compartment and shouted, "What did you get?"
"It hasn't been opened yet, so I don't know."
Feng Ye replied without looking up, then reached out and tore off the tape, opening the cardboard box.
The box contained many strips of items, all wrapped in thin film.
"What's this? A cigarette?"
"It looks like a cigarette, but these are all foreign characters, and I don't recognize them."
"No doubt about it, it's definitely cigarettes, the kind of cigarettes foreigners smoke..."
Everyone was chattering away.
Feng Ye took one out and examined it carefully.
The packaging was entirely in English, and the words and images were unfamiliar, but it looked rather high-end.
However, it is certain that this is indeed a cigarette, but the brand and packaging are unlike anything I've ever seen before.
To be honest, he knew quite a few foreign cigarette brands, but this was the first time he had ever seen this brand.
"That's right, it's definitely cigarette smoke."
He then tore off the outer film, revealing the cigarette packs inside, and threw one pack to everyone, including one to Ah-Can who was waiting upstairs.
Everyone took the cigarettes, excitedly unpacked them, lit one, took a deep drag, and smiled contentedly.
They were all heavy smokers.
"It tastes really good! Foreigners' cigarettes are just different, they're so good."
"Those guys were smuggling cigarettes! How much is this whole ship worth?"
"It's worth at least several hundred thousand yuan..."
Feng Ye shook his head: "The whole boat was filled with smoke. Didn't we retrieve some sacks before? They definitely didn't contain smoke. If it really was a whole boat full of smoke, that would be incredible. It could be worth millions, not just millions."
A single pack of cigarettes is small in volume, but the amount that fills a whole ship is astonishing.
If it were such a large batch, given the severity of current criminal law, they could have been executed dozens of times over.
It's important to know that taxes make up the bulk of a pack of cigarettes, sometimes as much as 70% or 80%.
He felt that cigarettes only accounted for a small part, and that the majority of the smuggled goods were other items.
After all, while the profits from smuggling cigarettes are high, they are not easy to sell.
Don't forget, tobacco is a monopoly; you need a license to sell it.
Moreover, these days the most popular items are still various electronic products and clothing fabrics, which are in short supply and easy to sell; anyone can sell them.
Think about it, who would smuggle a single product? It's always a diverse mix of goods. They'll load anything onto the ship that can make money.
"That's right, and there are also burlap sacks. They feel soft to the touch, so they might be clothing or fabric."
"Yes, there are other cardboard boxes of different sizes, which may not be cigarettes either."
"However, there should be quite a lot of cigarettes too. We've already retrieved several cardboard boxes of the same size as this one..."
Feng Ye waved his hand, signaling everyone to quiet down: "Alright, everyone stop standing here and keep looking. Let's see if we can find anything else."
"Yes, yes, let's look again..."
Everyone dispersed and continued to shine their headlamps and flashlights on the sea surface, searching carefully.
Time passed slowly, and the sea remained pitch black, with only the three of them navigating back and forth in the area.
It's unclear whether it drifted away with the waves, sank to the bottom of the sea after absorbing water, or was salvaged by other ships.
Anyway, apart from the box of cigarettes found at the beginning, no other discoveries were made in the following period.
"Alright, that's enough. I guess we can't find it anyway, so there's no need to waste any more time."
Feng Ye glanced at his watch. He had been searching for over an hour; it was already late at night, and the sea breeze was getting colder and colder.
Because they gained nothing from the end, everyone's enthusiasm had faded and they were somewhat tired.
"Yes, we've been looking for so long and haven't found it. It's probably really gone."
"What a pity, I thought we could have gotten something else out of it."
"Sigh, I didn't expect that apart from the box of cigarettes at the beginning, there was nothing left."
"Well, getting a case of cigarettes is not bad, it's better than nothing."
"That's true, contentment brings happiness."
...
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