I worked in prisons for more than 20 years, educating and rehabilitatinginmates. I worked every day with ghosts, demons, and gods, and listened to their stories of past SINS, joys and sorrows.
Everyone is a complex polyhedron, especially the person serving a sentence. One of my main tasks is to open their hearts and listen patiently to their ramblings, to capture the track of their psychological changes, and to grasp the circumstances, motivations, conditions and inducements that lead to the crime.
I have chatted many times with an inmate surnamed Shang, who spent nearly six years in a detention center because of his complicated case and long litigation time. In addition to introspecting their own past, the old man also gave me a long rambling about their own in the detention house of a lot of things.
Usually, in detention centers, which are more restrictive than prisons, new inmates — especially those who have held high positions in society — are warned sternly that whatever life you had before, once you get through the door, you have nothing.
All the dignity, all the dignity, will be here, even want to go to the toilet to shout a report, let alone smoke a cigarette. This is the price of wrongdoing.
1
The old man was once in the screw gang detention house room, only less than 20 square meters.
Just in a few places, with 26 large living, eat and drink pull scatter sleep and work, all is in this life in place, the winter cold, still better, wait for summer, sweat, body odor, smoke, bad breath, body odor, fart smells, shit smelling of urine, sour food, diffuse, meanwhile, all blunt nose through the brain to drift to pour, not to sleep.
Physical contact between turns is hard to avoid here, and often leads to a fistfight, or a one-on-one one-on-one hit, or a one-to-many brawl.
Everyone who stayed here was a tinderbox where a spark could set fire to the sky. Endless curses, unending name-calling, pussy bickering, casino gambler fights are the norm. It’s not normal for a cell to be safe and quiet all day.
Of course, if there is a lot of fighting all day, the detention center is also definitely not allowed – to maintain the daily order of the cell, each cell has a “head” designated by the police officer of the cell, officially called “sanitary duty day”. The responsibility of the head of the room is very simple, ostensibly responsible for the room’s environmental hygiene, but actually responsible for the maintenance and management of the room’s daily order.
There will always be an Ashram in a screw housing, and once given the right to run things, there will always be people who can pull off tricks even in this very narrow space.
Of course, it is not easy to take the lead in a number room, or to have some managerial skills, or social connections, or whatever. And once as a leader, not only can not be bullied by other prisoners, but also enjoy others’ “filial piety” and “wait on”.
Old man is in the room of the trumpeter, is a nickname called “ah mix” veteran. When he came to this room, he had entered the palace for three times. It is said that A mix grandfather is the old leadership of the detention center, when the detention center was built, is the “founding patriarch”, in the future several leaders are his grandfather’s subordinate. Not looking at the face of the Buddha, although his grandfather retired for many years, but people walk the tea is not cool, so ah blend in, how much up and down will take care of him.
As with all rooms, there are a few well – mixed rollers below. The so-called “drum”, is the relationship between hard, way wild, old qualifications, long prisoners. These were either former friends who were with the leader on the outside, or kindred spirits who would soon become the leader’s “die-hard brothers”. With the support of these brothers, the bugle head maintained the “harmony and stability” of the bugle room.
Usually, these rollers have a distinctive feature — they like to take a long, naked step, showing off or showing off their “talismans” — the tattoos of a dragon, a wolfhound, a hungry tiger, or a carp. These men followed the bugle, and had more room to sleep in at night than any other, except that they did no work during the day.
In fact, there was only one thing they needed to do, and that was to act as the trumpeters, to help the trumpeters control the disobedient, and to put a new man in his place. Now to the new man xiama wei of kill awesome stick, is no longer the water liangshan era wild and unrestrained style, but ten thousand change from its zong, kill awesome stick through time and space, its spiritual essence and a thousand years ago or maintain a high level of consistency.
Objectively speaking, the trumpet and the little brothers in the number of the actions, many are under the banner of the police, self-assertion. For a long time in the past, the modern facilities of the rooms were not complete, there was no video surveillance without corners, and the police could not fully grasp the problems that occurred in the extremely closed rooms.
And that’s where the story comes in.
2
During the day, with the exception of a few “well-muddling through” tasks that are lighter or almost nonexistent, everyone else is pushing the envelope. Under the strenuous Labour, the prisoners were racing against the clock, with less conflict between themselves.
Old man told me, in those days the screw gang detention house once had a “fast hand”, every day can wear 10,000 light bulbs: “Do you know what is this concept?”
Wear bulb, it is to thread the filament of general thickness, wear in the lamp cap with general needle eye, compose the neon bulb that glows after electrification. According to the requirements of the detention center, each prisoner needs to wear 15 products per minute. If he wants to complete 10,000 products, he needs to work from 6:00 in the morning to 18:00 in the evening, and drive for 12 hours. It is really unimaginable.
And the occasional moment of relaxation in a stressful life is when three meals a day and three or four people have a cigarette.
In every room, there is what is called “producing cigarettes”. “Production of cigarettes” is not produced, but some heavy smoking prisoners, let the family to find someone to send in, but, the cigarettes sent in is not who sent to who to smoke, the owner can smoke about 1/2 to 3/5. The rest were “processed centrally” by the head of the guard. As an incentive to motivate the prisoners to produce, they were distributed daily to the prisoners who did not send cigarettes at home, did a good job and were obedient. Therefore, they were called “producing cigarettes”.
To make room for more “smoke-producing”, room officials sometimes swap the better-quality cigarettes some inmates send home for cheaper ones, as much as possible, to satisfy the insects’ pressing needs.
Still, there is always a shortage of cigarettes. Mobsters have not miss any one could get the opportunity, the questioning of cigarettes, no source remand prisoners out of the room, the smoke in the room from the examination room just back and forth on the way, two eyes kept on the ground search, if can find half butt, would take advantage of the policemen do not pay attention to, pick up quickly, it’s a large color; Encountered some greaseball, several palace to remand the case unit, will say “I’m sorry, cigarettes” directly, or have been confused, or random individual, remand or skirt around him, so, sometimes also can get a bag of half a pack of cigarettes that taking the get cigarettes, are generally not good smoke, into the room is to supply the first first, the first happy, give you leave several smoke – not for is surely not, generally speaking, a room can be obtained from the policemen, one, two lighter on the first unified custody there, even if the mobsters to yourself selfishly, machine control in the first hand, How do you smoke?
The place that smokes “production smoke”, fix in toilet commonly. A few people smoke a cigarette together, the sequence is also exquisite. Room number qualification old row in the first, first take a first mouthful clean smoke, take out about 1/3 when, again call 1: “next.” The second, who had long been waiting for it, trotted straight ahead, inhaled two inhales and shouted: “The wind is strong, come on!” The last one to smoke is basically a heavy smoker — they all say that the butt is strong enough to smoke a lot.
But smoking a cigarette is not easy to control, but most of the prisoners don’t care, people are down in this field, but also care about a smoke or two, it is a bit too much.
But the woods are big, always what people have, room, really there is that kind of care about the smoke figure.
3
One day, the old man is in the number room came to a young man of daliang Mountain, on suspicion of theft, drug trafficking crime was arrested.
On the first day the young man entered the room, the guard called to the room and said, “Pay attention to this man.” But exactly what to pay attention to, also did not say explicitly. Only the sophisticates in the room knew that the young man was, in all likelihood, hiv-positive.
Just come in, young people like frost dozen eggplant, full of listlessness and listlessness, a look is a drug addict. He was always slumped in a corner of the toilet, his head in his hands, in agony. As soon as the prisoners smoked their “production cigarettes,” his eyes would straighten and he would stare fixedly at the smoke in the mouths of others. He saw some good-natured prisoners, and begged pitifully for a bite.
According to the “local rules” in the number room, newcomers are not allowed to smoke, and no one else is allowed to offer cigarettes to the new person. Otherwise, the number head will regard you as an “accomplice” and you will be punished. Sometimes, the last one smoking buttocks, really can not see the greedy appearance of this young man, deliberately take a little, and then put the butt on the toilet ground. He would immediately reach out and pick it up, puffing on the butt — no, puffing on the filter tip. Soon, a strange smell of burnt paste mixed with the smell of the toilet floated out.
A priceless cigarette butt
After surviving the first week, the young man was finally qualified to smoke cigarettes. The group that took him to smoke placed him last — no one wanted to spit on him. As a smoker, he never waited for anyone to call him. Every time he saw his group start smoking, he would lean aside for fear that someone would take an extra puff. He would even cry out in advance: “Ok, ok!” This made the group of prisoners very helpless.
Later, the prisoners took pens and drew three lines on the cigarette before smoking. Every time it was the young man’s turn to smoke, if he could see the line, he would not say anything. Once he could not see the line, he would go to the head of the trumpeter to “complain”, saying that others took advantage of him and insisted that he supply him with a smoke.
It is the policy of these prisoners to give a special account. He would not, therefore, let his little brothers clench their fists, as they usually do with prisoners, but he always had a good time.
It was summer when the young man came in, and two large blocks of ice were brought in every day from the cell to cool the temperature. One day, with a cigarette in his mouth, he shook his head at the young man slumped by the toilet and asked, “Would you like to smoke?”
“Think!” “Said the young man thoughtlessly.
“You can smoke if you want. We play a game, you play well, the Lord reward you one. Well?”
“Well, play as you say.” When the young man heard about the smoking, he got up and stared at Him with eager eyes.
A mix turn round to the room all person say: “everybody see good, as long as he pull out xx, put on ice cube, put 5 minutes, ye give him a cigarette, ok?”
“Good!” Everyone joined in.
In this way, the young man finally had a cigarette.
4
One night in the summer of 2014, another suspect arrived from room number.
According to custom, new appointee enters room is to want “pass through hall”. So-called appear, in addition to search check whether carrying illegal products, contraband, dangerous goods, it is more important, be mentally leave new SongJu trepidation’s shadow, so that the good in the future “to strengthen management” – that is, the legendary play a “killed”.
This new comer looked very different from the ordinary suspect, and, in form, appearance, and dress, it was evident that he was a man who had a good life outside.
Sure enough, a mix a “trial”, know the new detainee named Tang Wu, over 50, arrested on suspicion of bribery and embezzlement. Before the incident, Tang Wu served as the head of the district key engineering bureau listed by the municipal construction Committee of a provincial capital. Although his level was not high, he was also a man with a car (bus), a house (villa), a diet (health), and a mistress (mistress). He is good at dancing in his work and lively in his life. He is also a semi-individual with more than one face than the other.
Shang Old man and Tang Wu age is equal, also had worked in the government department before, later go out to do business, the experience and Tang Wu is quite similar. He also spent a lot of time in the cell, with the aim of “not bullying others, not being bullied by others”, and never took the initiative to meddle in the cell. But others need him, they will do their best to help. old man is familiar with Tang Wu, Tang Wu often chat with him, talk about their own “brilliant” experience outside.
According to His own account, Tang served for three years as mayor and secretary of an ancient town along the Yangtze River before becoming the top official. When ruling ancient towns, we should take the lead in urbanization reform. Relying on the industrial foundation of ancient towns, we should vigorously promote the establishment of industry, prosperity of commerce, fine farming and development of characteristic towns. A set of combined measures has brought vitality to the surface of an ancient town with a history of a thousand years. Although the successor is left with a lot of debt, but the image of Tang Wu is good, there are political achievements, the call for promotion wave after wave. He, too, was smug and had the air of someone who had been promoted in this round.
Can let Tang Wu unexpectedly is, in the critical period of waiting for promotion, a about The tongwu comrade “rough style of work, erosion of life, corruption and bribery,” the tide of the prosecution also surging. As a result of a strong response, even the usual quite appreciate tang Wu work of the leadership, also can not help.
Leadership seriously criticized its impatient floating work style, in order to help him “light”, finally decided to transfer him to the district key engineering bureau, as the director.
In the level, although the director of the key engineering bureau and the town party secretary level, but the power can be much. Tang Wu, who had been in the official circles for decades, was also a wise man and soon took office in the new unit.
New officials took office three fire, in order to highlight the new authority, show new atmosphere, to create new political achievements, Tang Wu put the previous planning all into a ghost story, on their own jurisdiction of the city municipal planning scheme and projects, again open up the bid.
Tang Wu often said to the old man is very regrets, is because of this municipal project, just let himself exposed, finally fell in his own woman’s hands:
At that time, when municipal planning schemes and engineering projects were being called for bids, one of Tang’s lovers wanted to take on the big project.
A Hong Kong planning, design and engineering company is bidding. After three months of field investigation, consulting a large number of archives, and conducting a large number of comprehensive analysis on history, humanity, environment, geography, etc., this company came up with a set of 50-year urban planning and design and engineering scheme to participate in the bidding.
Tang wu, who presided over the tender, has been quiet, until the end of the speech of Hong Kong company, he led the applause, and high-profile thumb up, repeatedly said good. It’s time for the judges to vote. According to the bidding rules, as the owner unit person in charge, Tang Wu is not to participate in the final vote — of course, everyone knows, these judges are also arranged by the owner unit — the director of the judge without coincidence, no later no earlier before the vote, “just” in the toilet met Director of Tang Wu…
Finally, after the unanimous vote of the seven judges, Tang wu’s lover actually controlled an out-of-town planning, design and engineering company and won the bid with the closest price to the budget. In order to make sure that she won the bid, the woman also found five companies to circle the bid, making the most competitive Company in Hong Kong a complete fool’s errand player.
After Tang Wu’s lover got the project, he sold it to his new owner at 3% of the project cost and collected 10 million yuan in profit. The project is subcontracted layer by layer, finally the person that does a project truly almost have no profit graph, have to cut corners, shoddy, new bean curd slag, rotten tail building project everywhere.
Even if nominally has nothing to do with himself, but the problem is too big, Tang Wu finally unable to return, had to surrender.
5
On the night of the incident, Tang Wu was dragged to the detention center in a daze from the first wave of the wine field. People are still in shock, was crammed into this cramped small cage, open eyes a look, full of naked, naked body are colorful dazzling tattoo. Tang Wu immediately scared out of his wits, a soft knees on the ground, hands clenched fist, kowtow such as garlic, desperately loudly beg for mercy: “Eldest brother, uncle, please forgive me, I have money, as long as not to hit me, I do what can.”
Seeing this, I was delighted.
With a jerk of his head, Al, his die-hard brother, waddled past. Al, a tall man in his 30s, had been working as a pony behind a real estate owner. He was 1.9 meters tall, had a naked dragon in front of him and a tiger behind him, and his face was fierce.
When Al comes, Tang shivers, his head in his hands, curled up in the corner of the doorway. Al doesn’t do anything, but lights a cigarette, takes a deep drag, and puffs out a puff of smoke at Tangwu — the old trick begins again.
“Do you want one?” Al crossed his legs and sat down on the edge of the board, glancing with a look of utter disdain at Tang Wu, who was already a puddle of mud.
“Can’t… Just give me half of it.” With more than 30 years of smoking age, tang chief, although the mouth always said to “health”, but for many years addicted to smoking such as life, in the outside every day to smoke three or four packs of 95, cordyceps sinensis, never thought to quit smoking. His old cigarette habit is lifted by a puff of smoke from Al. Tang looks up timidly at Al, not daring, but unable to resist the urge to take a puff.
“How can such a powerful boss only smoke half a pipe? Come here, uncle give you a reward.” With that, Al pulled out a bag of soft Chinese and held one in the air. “You know what? How much is this cigarette worth?”
Tang Wu is in a trance. Before he can speak, Al stands up, his voice louder.
“I tell you it’s not worth much out in the market,” al said, squeezing his hand as if it were a big man’s speech. “But! Here is different – here is the same as you often take a girl in the outside of the five-star hotel, characteristics, is what the fuck is expensive! A rotten apple at 50 cents a kilo in the vegetable market immediately becomes a golden apple at 50 yuan in a five-star hotel. So how do you get five-star quality without an aristocracy price?”
Looking at Tang Wu, who still looks confused, Al lowers his head and whispers mysteriously, “At such a high price, Uncle Ben is not trying to take advantage of you. Cigarettes are contraband here. You’ve seen enough of them to know that it’s not easy to smoke them here.”
Tang Wu could not help nodding his head and said in succession, “Yes, yes, yes…”
“You’re no more born to go to prison than I am, and you don’t think of making friends in prison, and then when something goes wrong, you spend all your money at the last minute, do you? So brother, do the math and figure out how much this cigarette is worth!”
Al’s sermon makes Tang wu even more confused. He can only nod his head obediently and say, “Grandpa, I don’t know the rules inside. Everything follows your instructions.”
“Ha ha ha… It seems that you still stand on the road!” Lying on the first big board, with a cigarette in his mouth and legs crossed, a mixed finally sat up and waved to Tang Wu, saying: “Come here, you want to smoke, ok!” Then he gave tang Wu the butt of 2/3 of the cigarettes he had smoked.
Tang Wu first leng, and with the edge of his eyes quickly took a look at al’s hand out of the smoke, the whole room of a public atmosphere did not dare to go out. At the moment of Tang Wu’s hesitation, Ah Mix suddenly became angry and threw his cigarette butt on the ground, swearing loudly: “What the hell are you doing? You still dislike Lao Tzu? Can take out Lao Tze’s cigarette buttock, that is you in the previous life accumulated great virtue!”
Tang Wu this just hurriedly bend down to apologize, a pair of beholden appearance, imploring a mix adult not to villain, on the mouth chanting what “the future must be good to wait on master”. Say that finish, then lie prone on the ground to throw away cigarette butt picked up, taste with relish to suck, show very intoxicated appearance.
Before this, the room has never come to tang Wu, in the words of a mix, “I do not know the heaven and earth is thick, really dare to smoke!” A furious Asshole gives Al a look. Al rushes forward, raises his hand in a loud palm, and slaps the puffing Tang to the ground. “Fuck, who told you to smoke? You’re kicking your fucking nose? !”
a look at al began, the other several drum as hungry tiger, happened to strike together, a burst of fists and feet on Tang Wu, I do not know so Tang Wu was beaten howling, bruised and bruised.
Perhaps the noise in the room was so loud that it attracted the attention of the police. Heard the sound of an iron door opened in the corridor, a tattoo brother in charge of the lookout a signal, everyone immediately stopped hand, two roller will Be Tang Wu “bag clip” in the middle, the room in a moment to present a peaceful scene of peace.
Policemen from the window of the 2nd floor extend a head to hope, ask a way: “just like the voice that someone fights, how return a responsibility? Have you had too many good days? Or is the new guy dishonest?”
A mix stood up, respectfully loudly way: “report cadre, the room all is normal. There’s a new boy here today. He doesn’t know any rules. He’s having a lesson.”
“To talk about civilization, give priority to education, don’t mess around.” The policeman said that and turned around and walked away.
6
As soon as the policemen went away, ah Mix was so powerful that he began to make an issue of it and claimed his unshakable sacred position: “See! Cadres are laozi’s backstage, you cowards, if you want to have a good life here, you must obediently listen to Laozi’s words, not with Laozi seven three eight four.”
Al followed up with a shout of encouragement and reiterated to the group, “Did you hear the boss? Please be honest with me. Don’t be unhappy.” Then he picked up the collar and took Tang Wu to the toilet. He also handed him a complete cigarette.
After a flurry of blood, Tang was too hesitant to answer. Al glared and said, “I gave it to you. If you want to stay in this room, you must stand in a good line and follow the right people. I tell you the truth, follow the leader master to have meat to eat!”
“Yes, yes, yes…” Tang Wu quietly agreed, and asked carefully, “Then what should I do? Give me some more.”
“You are a wise man, mix in the society so many years, still want me to teach you?” Al looked at Tangwu meaningfully and said, “If I had money like you, I’d have my family give the boss ten cents a month. Hey, hey, don’t you have all that milk and bread? Lean on this big tree, who still dare to bully you?”
“1 hair?” Tang Wu looks incredulous.
“Ha ha ha, this 10 cents, is not your previous 10 cents, the back of the 1 is connected with four 0’s!”
“What? 10000?”
“How? The more? You also don’t want to, you go to toss, to cost how much not to say, can find the right person, or a problem. How much do you think your family has to suffer for you? Take hot face all day stick somebody else cold buttock, somebody else still not sure cock you! You’ve had an accident. You’re not the man you used to be. Who will help you? You fuck, 10 cents a month, you think that’s too much? What a compliment!”
Al got up to go. Tang grabs Al as if by a straw, imploringly: “Just listen to your uncle. Tomorrow I’ll get a message and make sure that the fees are paid to you on time. Give me another cigarette to smoke!”
No matter how familiar the two later, the old man still can’t forget tang Wu just came that night. That day, Tang Wu huddled in the corner of the room, tossing and turning, should be a night without sleep.
the second day, while the happy time, Tang Wu quickly posted up, took out the past to flatter, flattery of the unique, to younger his more than 20 years old together table loyalty, determination, two people quickly talk to each other very happy, it seems to have a sense of meeting late.
After a few days, Tang Wu took advantage of the opportunity of the lawyer’s meeting, with his family, the detention house will not look for people everywhere, every month to the head of a mixed dozen 10,000 yuan, and give yourself a little living expenses on the line. Tang Wu discussed with the lawyer, or to ask someone to look for discipline cadres, to set up the channel to send cigarettes and tea, so as to suffer less.
Just one night, Tang Wu changed. In the past, Tang Wu, who was arrogant, arrogant and uncompromising, was completely dead. What was alive was just a submissive, submissive and servile walking dead. That a cigarette butt worth a million dollars, really became the soup director of the turning point in life of the shameful symbol.
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