"Ah-choo!"
Song Heping suddenly sneezed.
"Boss, is it too cold?"
The driver, Samir, quickly reached out to turn up the air conditioner temperature.
"No, it's not that."
Song Heping shook his head and took a tissue to wipe his nose.
"Maybe someone is bad-mouthing me behind my back."
Samir looked puzzled.
Song Heping explained, "That's the number one superstitious belief back in our hometown, just something people say. Don't take it seriously."
Samir laughed, "Boss, you believe that too?"
Song Heping said, "No, I am an atheist."
Offhandedly, he asked Samir, "Does that make me a heretic?"
Samir quickly shook his head, "In some people's eyes, yes, but not in mine."
Song Heping knew he was speaking truthfully; such things were entirely a matter of personal perspective. He suddenly remembered something and asked Samir, "You got quite a bit of money this time, but I need to warn you, don't rush to spend the money in your overseas account. It's better to use the commission and salary from your previous missions here.
Wait a couple of years before you start spending it, and don't be too extravagant either. Showing off wealth is very dangerous in places like yours."
"I understand, Boss," Samir said. "I already have plans of my own."
"Oh?" Song Heping was curious about what kind of plans Samir had, so he asked, "Can you share them with me?"
"There's no hope for Illinois in the short term. Look at the situation now: factions everywhere, who cares about the lives of the people?"
His complexion grew somber.
"I plan to send my family away, to a foreign country."
"To a foreign country?"
Song Heping was somewhat surprised by Samir's response.
If it were Yusuf telling him this, he would not be the least bit surprised.
Yusuf was more about taking care of his immediate family; his purpose in making money was so they could have a better life.
Samir was different.
To Song Heping, Samir seemed to possess a certain national sentiment and did not regard money as highly as Yusuf did.
This time he too had received tens of millions of US dollars.
He was set for life.
If Samir wanted, he could leave Illinois right away and choose to live in another country.
But Samir hadn't done so.
He stayed in the company as his platoon leader.
Everyone else found it strange, but Song Heping didn't think there was anything odd about it.
He even thought Samir was a man of greater ambition.
Staying in Illinois was almost inevitable.
Yet today, he was talking about sending his family away.
"Do you mean to immigrate?" Song Heping couldn't help but ask.
Samir said, "No, Boss, I'm just sending my children and family away; I myself won't go. My uncle is in Turkey, and I plan to send them there and have them live there."
"So, you plan to stay here?" Song Heping pointed to himself. "Continue to work in the company? Don't forget, you're a millionaire now; you could completely stop doing this kind of work."
Samir smiled and said, "Boss, there's nothing wrong with following you. If this operation were led by someone else, not to mention not getting a share of the profits, I might even have lost my life."
Song Heping asked, "You mean, someone else would have killed you?"
Samir nodded, "That's right. Ten million US dollars isn't a small amount, and since I'm an Illinois man, killing me would mean each of you could have shared an extra million or more."
Song Heping sighed and said, "Do you really think your life is worth so little?"
Samir replied with self-deprecating laughter, "It's not that I think my life is cheap; it's that in others' eyes, the lives of people from Illinois are cheap. Look at the current state of Illinois; do the lives of the locals matter?
The US Army compensates for the accidental killing of a civilian with just a few thousand dollars, and those local mercenaries, ignored if they die, don't even have insurance. It's only you who's bought insurance for us."
Song Heping had to admit that Samir was telling the truth.
Samir continued in the same self-deprecating tone, "Citizens of a country without sovereignty have no rights to speak of, and their lives are worth even less. That's why I was actually quite worried that you would kill me. But unexpectedly, you didn't, and you even gave me a share of the profits."
Song Heping said, "Indiscriminate killing is not a tradition of us Chinese; I would definitely kill those who must be killed, but I don't kill without reason. For example, if you betrayed me, I would hunt you down to the ends of the earth, but I wouldn't do this kind of thing."
Samir said, "That's why you're a good boss."
The two of them chatted idly on their way back to Baghdad.
Once they reached the Green Zone, Song Heping received a phone call from Colonel Curtis.
On the phone, Curtis asked Song Heping to come to the headquarters immediately, saying the Deputy Commander of the US Army stationed in Illinois wanted to see him.
The Deputy Commander?
Song Heping was somewhat surprised.
This was a big shot in the Illinois US Army.
He never expected to be actively sought out for a meeting.
Strange.
A sense of unease faintly arose in Song Heping's heart.
However, since Curtis had personally called, he still had to go and see.
After all, he was currently under contract with the military.
If he wanted to get more military contracts in the future, building good relationships with these Americans was a topic that could not be avoided.
So he told Samir to go back to the company first, while he himself drove to the Republic Palace.
At the headquarters, after registering downstairs and having his identity and appointment confirmed by the guards, he was allowed upstairs.
The Deputy Commander was named Peter.
His office was on the third floor.
Song Heping first stopped at Curtis's office.
The latter was very enthusiastic upon seeing Song Heping.
"Song! You did a great job with the water station," Curtis said, beaming radiantly, a complete change from the first time Song Heping saw him with that frustrated, sullen expression.