Night runs

Rapp the Stan as he is known was born in early sixties In Malaysia. He is of Chinese ancestry. Infact, they were able to trace their grand-fathers roots back to Guangzhou. It seems that the old man migrated to Malaysia in 30’s along with his family. During the era of great exodus of Chinese in early 20th century. The man must have been wretched, for if he was not, he would have faced America like those that has little money did then. 

According to Rapp, one of the man’s son was killed during the second world war by the Japanese and the death virtually extinguished the light in the family. They became poorer, tired, sick, and withdrawn. Before the old man joined his ancestors, he gathered his family and decreed in the name of his ancestors that in that family, Japanese made goods or even to seek their services, must not be allowed into that family intentionally. Anyone that violates that edict should get ready to join his ancestor prematurely. Since then, no Japanese made products had been used in that family since forties. As of this year, the barricade is still going on strong in accordance with the man's edict. 

In 1977, Rapp the Stan won sport scholarship to study in America. He was 17 years of age and cannot speak English, Chinese or Malay 60 percent. In what language he grew up, study and work, puzzles many. 

In America, Rap with two others that had sport scholarship too went to the school that invited then for registration. After that, Rapp and the other successful athletes was accepted and the rejected guy went back to Malaysia. He found work in the restaurant own and managed by a Hong Kong man. In class work, he was very poor.

He spent about three years in whole with the school and became a fulltime hustler. He worked as a servant in a restaurant, cook and delivery man. Along the part, he worked as a grass cutter too. Some says that traveling is part of education. As Rapp was moving around in US, he was becoming wiser too. Acquiring knowledge he did not acquire in school. along the moving around, he was making friends too. He came to know a lot of people from different background and culture. He came to realized that white people like to eat Chinese foods more than Latinos or blacks. 

He started saving money to open Chinese restaurant. At age of 25, he had saved enough to start a small restaurant and went back home to marry his school sweet heart. He brought her to America to manage the restaurant with him. After four years of running the restaurant, they bought a house, and was raising two sons God gave them.

He contacted some of his friends that were into import and export business, he was briefed and told that it was lucrative business. One was exporting paints to Colombia, another to Asia. He started acting as a middle man to most people in the US, even in China too. Old computers, rubbers and rubber based items, became his China based business. He was packing them from owners and even from some that were gathering The items and was shifting it in large quantities to China and buying what those people needed from China back to US. He was shifting up to 50 containers to and from China every three months that he was virtually living in China. 

During school break, his 14 years old son will join him in visiting his suppliers in US. It was kind of familiarizing him with the know how of the business. He was gaining reputation as trusted agent and more clients were calling him up both in US and China. Good news like that always translates to more money. He sold his house in US and bought bigger one and two new cars. One Mercedes and one Toyota for his wife. He bought four bicycles for his delivery Latino boys he employed and opened two new branches. 

How he forgot his grandfather’s edict concerning Japan and their product, no one knows. Maybe, it was a case of behaving like Romans while in Rome or maybe It was like he went to America and forgot his roots. Why he bought the Toyota for his wife and Mercedes for himself, no one knows. 

A year plus later, nothing happened and his business was progressing smoothly. He noticed that his son has mastered the trade and its tricks, at least in US. Infact, he had added some new clients into the business. The parents of his school mates.

The following year, he noticed that it will be favourable for him to open a kind of company or office in China to give him legitimacy. He called his son to table the plan.

“I think it will be good to open an office in China to give the business solid footing” he began. 

“Solid footing how?” the son enquired.

“People trust it more when you have roots” he said. “Your core customers are from here, they identify with the restaurant.” said the son. 

“I know, but one can be credit worthy if you has base” he said.

“Things you buy in China are for your clients here, you sell their goods, use the money to buy what they needed. You don’t need credit to do so”. Said the son. 

"I know, One of these days, they will be selling and buying things on their own. it makes sense to be one or two steps ahead of your competitors”. He said.

“Have you done, any ground work on laws and culture of the place?” the son enquired.

“No, but I told two of my suppliers and they promised to enquire of everything”. He said. 

The same year, he went to China and set up office in province bordering Vietnam. It happens that in between waiting for containers to arrive from US or from China to US, he uses the time to do what the locals call night runs. The runs always began around 12 midnight. Smugglers always wait with their phone around the wall bordering China and Vietnam. You transfer the money to your Vietnamese supplier or buyer, and wait at agreed time and place and while the custom officials were busy with the trucks crossing or going in and out of Vietnam, the smugglers of every kind were busy also smuggling Vietnamese through the river and Rapp and co will be busy throwing sack bags full of contra band to and from across the wall. One day, as the human traffickers were busy crossing their human Cargos into China through river, it happend that the canoe they use were no more, the remaining people were told to swim it across the river quietly under the covers of darkness. It happend that this particular girl cannot swim, and was wearing one shiny fake neckless. the traffickers forcefully pulled the neckless off her neck and pushed her into the river. After struggling for some time, she went under. The trafficker raised his head and looked toward China.  

Rapp the Stan was in the bush in China side, observing all the incident at the other side. His contraband sack bag forgotten. he rushed back to his flat, picked his phone and called his son. Wondering if he was noticed by the murderer.    

“Em, you see, I-I- has this Chinese girl working for me and you know, one thing always lead to another, and I-I-mean to tell you that the girl gave birth to a baby boy last week” Rapp stammered.  

“You mean the girl gave birth to your son?”. 

"No problem, our numbers are increasing here every day also. How are the baby and the mother?” the son asked. 

“How do you mean?” Rapp queried.

“You mean you don’t know that your wife who is our mother too gave birth to a bouncing black girl five days ago?” the son asked. 

“Ah!, What happened?" Rapp screamed. 

“Nothing, just exactly like yours. The guy was employed as a delivery boy and from there, one thing led to another and I got myself a black sister" 

The boy said.

“Ah!” 

“Yea!, you heard me black girl. I now have a black sister and Chinko brother”. He said. 

“Am coming over”, Rapp thundered.