Ashraf was only surprised by one thing—that Gao Guang had actually pulled out a stack of banknotes from his bag, each stack containing ten thousand US dollars, and handed them over to his child.
Ten thousand US dollars could pay the annual salary of the two armed guards outside; fifty thousand US dollars would be enough to buy the best house in Kabul city; with fifty thousand US dollars, one could buy several people's lives.
In Afghanistan, there's no tradition of giving red envelopes to children.
As an intelligence broker, exposing one's children and own vulnerabilities isn't the first time Ashraf has done this—for the clients with status and power, it is something he must do. Otherwise, his business wouldn't be so smooth.
But it is a helpless move to expose one's vulnerabilities; it's unlikely to make anyone feel pleased. However, when a client gives a large red envelope to the children, the feeling seems to be different.
