Despite being incredibly wealthy, I want to be a prosecutor.

The Golden Triangle Special Economic Zone that Laos is preparing to establish covers most of the Dong Hoa district in Khao Pho province and a small part of the provincial capital, Hoa Tse.

Its core area is called Silver Cotton Town, which, like Hui west, is located on the east bank of the Mekong River, with the Garden Ferry of Elephant Kingdom on the opposite bank.

Silver Cotton Town is an irregular town formed on the basis of the Silver Cotton Resort.

Silver Cotton Resort, targeting Tachileik, Myanmar, is one of only two casino hotels in the Mekong River basin with a golf course.

The liaison team of the Chiang Rai Provincial Police Department was stationed in Anseong Town.

This is a comprehensive working group whose responsibilities include coordinating joint water police patrols between Laos and Elephant along the Garden Ferry (Silver Cotton Ferry) section of the river.

This includes an immigration task force that facilitates the processing of one-year work visas for Laotians through a simplified procedure.

In addition, there is an observer group monitoring local poppy cultivation alternative programs.

The recent trouble is that local residents frequently go to the liaison station to demonstrate, believing that its existence undermines Laos' sovereignty.

The bus ride from Huixi to Yinmian Town took two hours and was quite bumpy. When Zhou Hong got off the bus in Yinmian Town, his buttocks were in severe pain.

……

Yinmen Township is part of the Golden Triangle Economic New Area. The basic communication network was built by a telecommunications company from Myanmar, which is somewhat similar to the relationship between northern Myanmar, which is close to the mainland, and mainland telecommunications companies. When making a phone call, it is not considered a cross-border transaction, and the Myanmar telecommunications company settles the payment domestically.

The Lao side made very good arrangements for the dormitory and work location of the more than ten staff members of the comprehensive working group; it was a small courtyard in the center of Silver Cotton Town.

The two-story building facing the street is the office building of the working group, which is marked as the "Temporary Visa Service Center for Workers Going to Thailand".

The first floor of the building houses the visa service center, while the second floor serves as a liaison center for coordination between the two sides regarding the water police at the Silver Cotton Ferry (Garden Ferry) section of the river.

The bungalows behind the courtyard are the work group's dormitories. The courtyard wall is very high and covered with green vines. Security is handled by the Lao Khoi Province Armed Command (usually translated as the Provincial Public Security Department in China).

At this moment, Zhou Hong met the head of the working group and two deputy heads in a bungalow in the courtyard that served as a meeting room (reception room and rest room).

The team leader is Major Chulabhorn from the Chiang Rai Provincial Police Station, who is mainly responsible for coordinating matters between the two countries' marine police forces.

The deputy team leader, Captain Pan Ting, is an immigration officer. Currently, the Immigration Department of Changhua is under the police force system. For example, the Director of the Immigration Department of Chiang Rai Province also serves as the Deputy Director of the Chiang Rai Provincial Police Station.

Captain Pan Ting was primarily responsible for the work of the "Temporary Visa Service Center for Workers Going to Thailand".

Silver Cotton Ferry and Garden Ferry were historically trade ports between the two countries, and the residents on both sides of the river have a centuries-old tradition of mutual trade.

The Xiang Kingdom government does not recognize this Garden Ferry as an official port, and there is no trade data for the Garden Village Ferry in its foreign trade statistics.

In reality, quite a few Lao illegal immigrants use the Garden Ferry to smuggle themselves into Elephant Country.

Sometimes, the Elephant Kingdom government turns a blind eye to this, as the Elephant Kingdom's economy also needs undocumented immigrants as cheap labor.

The Elephant government has never intended to eradicate illegal immigration, but it also absolutely cannot allow too many illegal immigrants to flood in uncontrollably; rather, it seeks to strike a balance.

Sending a working group to Silver Cotton Town to issue temporary work visas to laborers going to Elephant Country and bringing them under legal management is a way of striking a balance.

In addition, there were staff members from the "Empress Dowager Foundation," who were observers of the "Poppy Alternative Cultivation Program."

Chiang Rai has a deep connection with the Queen Mother of the West in history. Its best university is the "Mae Mae University" and its largest official charitable organization is the "Mae Mae Foundation".

The Mae Fah Luang Foundation provided some funding for the "opium substitution program" in the Golden Triangle region, not only for the Golden Triangle area north of Chiang Rai province, but also for the Golden Triangle area within Laos, receiving its aid funds and technical support.

Tawan, the head of the foundation's working group, is an arrogant, overweight man. This is typical of people who control public funds; they create the illusion that all the money is theirs, and they don't feel bad about spending it, which is why they act so superior.

Colonel Chulabon was also very cold towards Zhou Hong.

Obviously, he would try to find out more about this "legal advisor" and learn that this young intern prosecutor actually had a certain reputation in the special circles of the Chiang Rai Police Department, seemingly someone who was deliberately going against the police.

Only Captain Pan Ting, an immigration officer, although part of the police force, was part of the immigration system, which was self-contained and had no conflict of interest with the young prosecutor in front of him. He provided a more detailed explanation of the local situation.

Moreover, it seems he also has some reservations about the foundation's head, Tawan. Recently, there have been frequent demonstrations by the public, which were triggered by Tawan and his team going to the countryside to guide poppy alternative planting, resulting in conflicts with the villagers.

Zhou Hong listened and nodded: "Actually, there is no problem with coordinating the liaison point of the water police here. The temporary worker visa point is also the result of negotiations between the foreign ministries of our country and Laos, so there will be no problem either."

"Prosecutor Hong, are you implying that this is our problem?" Before Zhou Hong could finish speaking, Tawan coldly interjected.

"Yes, although your foundation is here to help the local villagers, we are all foreigners after all. We can't adopt that kind of pointing-pointing attitude, and we can't act like benefactors. In fact, what benefactor is there? Those poor villages only have some economic benefits from growing poppies. They have a history of growing them for decades. Their soil is not suitable for other crops. Suddenly, a document ends their livelihood. If we foreigners go and point fingers, the internal conflict will directly turn into an external conflict, and your foundation will become a punching bag."

Tawan frowned: "Does Prosecutor Hong mean that we were wrong to provide funding and technology?"

Does he not understand human language?

Zhou Hong cursed inwardly, then waved his hand: "Anyway, I'll coordinate with the relevant local departments. You should stop your rural outreach activities for the time being."

"That's not up to you. You're just here to offer advice, not to manage us," Tawan said, pursing his lips and puffing on his hookah.

Zhou Hong smiled slightly at him: "Team Leader Tawan, let me remind you, the location you are in now is theoretically within the territory of our consulate, which means it is part of our country. Your current behavior is illegal. I'll let it go this time, but I don't want to see it happen again." Smoking hookah is completely prohibited within the territory of Elephant Country.

"You're just an intern, do you have any case-handling authority? No, right?" Tawan looked at Major Chulabhorn with a mocking expression. "Team leader, am I right?"

Major Chulabhorn didn't speak, but a hint of embarrassment flashed in his eyes.

Tavan, of course, didn't understand any of this; it was all mentioned in private conversations. But private discussions are one thing, Tavan's actions betrayed him.

This fatso has some approval authority in the foundation and controls a certain flow of funds; he's incredibly arrogant.

Zhou Hong frowned and looked at Tawan: "Team Leader Tawan, if there is a next time, I will record everything I saw. My prosecutor's office will prosecute you after you return to your country, unless you want to be stationed abroad permanently?"

After a pause, Zhou Hong shook his head speechlessly: "We're just temporarily working together on business. Can't we just be friends? Do we have to bring this up? What's the point? Or do you really want to experience what prison life is like?"

Tawan's face turned ashen, and he was about to retaliate when Major Chulabon waved his hand: "Alright, what's there to argue about?"

"Prosecutor Hong, are you here to solve problems or to create them?" Chulabong stared coldly at Zhou Hong.

"I have a feeling that Mr. Tawan has been smoking hookah on our territory more than once or twice. Officer Chulabhorn, have you been turning a blind eye to this illegal behavior all along?" Zhou Hong looked at him quietly.

"Meeting adjourned!" Chulabhorn stood up and left.

……

When Zhou Hong arrived at the Silver Cotton Resort to check in, he was accompanied by a lieutenant police officer named Anu, who was a member of the police team responsible for the security of the "Little White Building" where the Xiangguo working group was located.

He was in his late twenties, with a somewhat carefree attitude, whistling and smoking a cigarette the whole way.

Silver Cottons Resort covers a vast area and features a cluster of flats and villas along the Mekong River.

It's actually a huge gambling den, which attracts many tourists.

Nowadays, most tourists are from Southeast Asia. With the booming development of the mainland economy, Chinese tourists have gradually appeared, of course, they all belong to the group that got rich first.

This is clearly modeled after the Tachileik casino in Myanmar, but its scale is far from sufficient at present.

However, the Silver Cotton Tree Resort covers a vast area and has its own unique features, such as the public housing villas built on wooden piles that appear to be suspended above the Mekong River.

This so-called resort is just a cluster of large and small wooden villas along the Mekong River.

The casino is a prominent long row of wooden buildings that stands out among the cluster of wooden buildings connected by various wooden walkways.

In the "Water Villas" area, Zhou Hong is currently in Villa No. 1, which can also be considered the best villa in the resort.

The No. 1 group of houses mainly consists of two areas: a rest area, which is a combination of several large and small wooden houses, a large bedroom with a super big bed, and a bathroom with a jacuzzi and a waterbed. The doors and windows of the rest area are tightly closed with snow-white mosquito nets.

The other area is a dining and meeting area, which is also a combination of several wooden houses.

The two areas are connected by a waterway, with a fishing platform in the middle of the waterway, which is also a great place for sightseeing.

At that moment, Officer Anu stood on the fishing platform, admiring the magnificent river view, and exclaimed in amazement, "Rich people really know how to enjoy life!"

Zhou Hong smiled and suddenly asked, "Actually, the local government doesn't want the observation team to stay here either, right?"

Officer Anu shook his head: "I don't know, Mr. Hong. We shouldn't be discussing this kind of topic."

Zhou Hong nodded, his gaze also falling on the vast, flowing river that stretched from north to south.