Acres of Junks created a filthy floating city in the mouth of the bay, and cargo boats and fishing vessels maneuvered around one another in the roads to get in and out of port. The harbor was crisscrossed with the wakes of ships coming and going, and out beyond the bay huge tankers and merchantmen plied the Straits of Taiwan. The General had cargo in the holds of many of the ships that were leaving port and steaming across the one hundred miles that separated China from Taiwan. Some of the cargo was human. Peasants eager to leave their homeland, on a quest to reach The Golden Mountain, America, and fortune. All such passage was arranged through the General, and he was paid a handsome fee for his service. $30,000 US. Half upon departure. The balance owed by the family that remained behind. If the peasant died in route then he or she would never be heard of again, and the family would be in his debt. If he or she reached America, or Western Europe, they would be in the service of the organization controlled by the General in those places until they made good on their obligation.
