Thanks to all the publicity back home over the years, he had certainly heard of these things, but...
Had they really become this brazen now?
Wen Tianyi said nothing more. He simply pulled Zhou You away, then led him through another bewildering series of twists and turns. Who knew what was going on with this country's infrastructure? Everything seemed designed with the express purpose of making people lose their way.
Finally, he stopped outside a restaurant.
Wen Tianyi went in first and deftly ordered a few dishes. Only after the owner—who apparently doubled as the cook—went into the kitchen did he speak.
"That wasn't a place to talk. Those cops might not understand much Chinese, but they're still sensitive to certain words... I might have exaggerated a little earlier, but human trafficking really is a hugely profitable business here."
He spoke as though making casual conversation, with a touch of ruefulness.
"Tell me, Zhou, do you know what the average salary is around here?"
"About... three thousand yuan a month?"
Wen Tianyi laughed despite himself.
"Don't go by the government statistics. A lot of those are made up. Besides, this is a little border town. How could it compare to the capital? Guess lower."
"Over two thousand?" "Still too high."
"Don't tell me it's only a little over a thousand?"
"Exactly. A little over a thousand, and plenty of elderly people don't even get that much. Don't ask how they survive. Eating meat and fish every day is one way to live; scraping by on bran and vegetables is another... Anyway, wages here are lower than you imagine, and life is harder than you think."
He paused, then continued.
"So, Zhou, do you know how much you get for selling someone to one of those compounds to work in telecom