December 22, 2026, Jade Khanate
The car had already stopped, and the gear handle had been pushed to the parking position. Madan held the steering wheel tightly with both hands and kept his right foot firmly on the brake pedal.
He was too nervous. After all, this was his first contact. He knew what would happen if a spy from the country of Chi was caught in the Jade Khanate.
Madan meditated on the details of the mission: at 5:30 in the afternoon, park the car in the alley, next to the telephone pole opposite the grocery store, and don't turn off the engine.
There will be a Jade Khanate man walking out of the grocery store. He is wearing blue-gray overalls and a light brown cotton jacket.
Take the transparent plastic bag containing the lunch box from him without saying a word, and then drive away.
The target man walked over from the grocery store, dressed appropriately. The man was carrying a black cloth bag and a transparent plastic bag.
Madan took a deep breath, pressed the button, and lowered the window.
The man came from the side and rear and had obviously seen Ma Dan's license plate number clearly.
When he walked to the car, the man casually handed the black bag to his left hand, stuffed the plastic bag into the car window with his right hand, and walked forward without stopping.
Madan reversed the car and drove back to the main road. After driving normally for a while, he stopped.
He took his black backpack from the back seat, opened it, moved the paper bag containing pomegranates, put the empty lunch box into the bag, zipped it up, and let out a long breath.
Madan stepped on the accelerator, gradually increased his speed, and drove towards Camilla's farm where he worked and stayed in the Jade Khanate.
Today is the Winter Solstice, also the Dawn Festival of the Jade Khanate, also called Gubo Winter Solstice Night.
After this long night, the days will become longer and longer. In ancient Bo culture, the winter solstice night is a turning point, symbolizing the victory of Mithras, the god of light, over darkness and his rebirth.
Madan returned to his residence, and after briefly tidying up, he came to Bashir and Camilla's large living room.
Dinner was already set. In order to take care of Madan's habit, the couple used the dining table and chairs. The three of them sat around and enjoyed the table full of delicious food.
"I just went out and bought pomegranates on the way. Now I break them and put them on the plate?" Madan asked, looking at Camilla with a smile.
Camilla also smiled and said: "Madan, my friend, in the Jade Khanate, the dinner of the Dawn Festival is not the highlight. Fruits are not eaten during the meal. Fruits and dried fruits are only put out during the vigil after the meal."
Bashir invited Madan to taste the barbecue and said enthusiastically:
"Madan, you are really our noble person. The water-retaining agent you developed has allowed us to successfully produce high-quality watermelons in the high-altitude sand greenhouses of the Jade Khanate. Today is the day when our watermelons will be put on the market in large quantities. Happy cooperation!" "
Madan said with a bit of shyness and pride: "It's a pleasure to cooperate. I found out when I went to the street today that almost every housewife buying watermelons bought watermelons. It's winter! The Jade Khanate is indeed a major producer and consumer of watermelons. .”
"Because watermelon and pomegranate are red, representing the warmth of the sun, they are the foods that the Yuhan people think are most suitable for the Dawn Festival," Camilla explained.
The three of them chatted and ate, toasting to each other. The cups contained fragrant saffron fruit tea.
When he was eating to his heart's content, Bashir said to Camilla: "Camilla, take out the most precious food and give it to our most distinguished guest."
Camilla stood up with a smile, walked to the large refrigerator on the wall, carefully took out a palm-sized flat glass jar from the refrigerator, and placed it on the dining table.
"Seahorse, sea sturgeon, caviar, distinguished guests, please enjoy!"
"Wow! I know this. The caviar of the Jade Khanate is the best and most expensive food in the world." Madan happily followed the couple's example and picked up a thin piece of biscuit-shaped naan and put it on the plate. Use a special spoon made from specially prepared shells to scoop up a small spoonful of fish roe and spread it on top.
Put one mouthful into your mouth and pinch it with your palate and tongue. In an instant, the fish roe bursts and fills your mouth with its unique fragrance.
"It's great, it's really delicious!" Madan exclaimed.
"I knew you would like it. I have an uncle who works at the Haima sturgeon farm. His specialty is grading caviar and determining the proportion of salt. This morning he asked someone to bring me some." Mira said with a little pride:
"There are three small cans in total. Eat one tonight and we will keep one. You can take one with you when you return to country F tomorrow and share it with your family."
"I don't know what to say, thank you so much. For my mother, caviar is the best Christmas gift!" Madan thanked him flattered.
Madan stared at the caviar and asked with some embarrassment: "The caviar I have eaten before was all branded canned and black in color. Why is this one a bit white?"
Camilla seemed stunned by the question and immediately explained:
"I don't really understand. Maybe the proportion of salt is different. Anyway, I will eat whatever my uncle gives me. Doesn't this taste good?"
"Not only is it good, it's so delicious!" Madan said.
Bashir asked the guests to finish the last few fish roe and signaled Camilla to clear the table. Then the three of them put the fruits on the table one by one. The red-skinned pomegranate bought by Madan was broken into two, revealing the red pomegranate seeds inside.
Camila carefully selected a watermelon grown on the farm, cut it and placed it in the center of the table.
Camilla adjusted her headscarf, made a prayer gesture towards the red watermelon unnoticeably, and said silently in her heart:
"Mithras, the God of Light, from today on, you will be reborn!"
Bashir took out a book of Hafez's poems and said to Madan: "As the Romans do, we take turns reciting Hafez's poems."
The three of them started an ancient game while laughing.
Perhaps because he slept a little late, Madan didn't get up until after eight o'clock the next morning. After waking up, he immediately became nervous.
Don't make a mistake! Pack your luggage according to the mission requirements. Today you have to go through customs and security inspection! Madan recited silently:
"When entering the country, bring in an empty transparent plastic lunch box, which is smaller than the sample lunch box, so that there will be no confusion. Do not check the two lunch boxes, put them in your backpack, and put some food in the small lunch box. If so, During the inspection, the prosecutor will open the small lunch box containing the contents, and the possibility of being asked to open the transparent and empty sample lunch box is very small."
Madan took out the dry ice pack and caviar jar from the refrigerator and put them in a small lunch box. After packing up the luggage, saying goodbye to the couple, they headed to the airport.
"Sir, please open this lunch box." The border inspector wearing a thick uniform and a beard said majestically.
Madan looked calm as he opened the lunch box containing caviar. The bearded man called another official who looked like a supervisor, unscrewed the lid of the caviar jar, looked at it carefully for a while, and took Madan and his hand luggage to a small room.
"Sir, in the Jade Khanate, sturgeon caviar is a government exclusive, and smuggling caviar is illegal. What's more, what you are smuggling is top-quality caviar." The official stared at Madan and said.
Madan slumped down in his chair and said, "I'm sorry, I really didn't know that I couldn't bring caviar. Besides, how do I know that this is top-quality caviar? Even my friends who gave it to me don't know?"
"It is indeed top-quality caviar. Look, these roes are not black, but rather whitish. Only sturgeons that have been wild in the Haima Sea for more than 60 years can have such roes. This small jar you brought, The market price is over thirty thousand dollars!”
Ma Dan was struck by thunder and begged, "I really don't know. Then you can confiscate the caviar. I still have to go to country F to go home for the holidays."
The official said solemnly:
"Mr. Madan, you have been detained on suspicion of smuggling!"
Madan watched helplessly as the bearded man put his luggage and items back into his backpack one by one, including the lunch box containing the air sample that had never been noticed or opened.
