Chapter 120 The former paradise has changed dramatically

Xiao Peng stopped the boat and stood at the bow to observe Lampedusa Island. No matter how he looked at it, it seemed weird.

Lampedusa, as Pascal had said, was incredibly beautiful. Although it's Italian, the architecture is distinctly different, with distinct Middle Eastern influences. The buildings are two or three stories high, with flat roofs and walls painted in shades of pale yellow. It looks quite exotic. The harbor is mainly occupied by fishing boats, though there aren't many of them. It seems a bit empty, with only a flock of seagulls flitting about.

At first glance, this place is very beautiful, but if you look closely, it is very shabby. There are not many people here. Many people saw Xiao Peng's boat and stared at this side. If there were many tourists, they would not behave like this.

"What's going on?" Xiao Peng asked in confusion.

Pascal scratched his head. "I don't know either. This place has changed a lot from the Lampedusa I remember."

While the two were still parking the boat, a white man in a suit came over and mumbled a bunch of Italian.

Pascal tried to translate for Xiao Peng, but Xiao Peng started chatting with the man in the suit in Italian. Then he turned and said, "Pascal, this is Mario, a staff member at the Lampedusa Refugee Reception Center. We need to go over there and report what happened to the relevant personnel."

Pascal's eyes widened as he said, "I can understand. The question is, how do you understand Italian?"

Xiao Peng shrugged and said, "I told you I've been learning languages for the past few months!"

Pascal frowned and said, "I thought you studied English!"

They used English at sea, including when using VHF communications. Xiao Peng used English.

Xiao Peng nodded and said, "I did study English."

"Then this is Italian!" said Pascal.

Xiao Peng counted on his fingers: "I just learned German, Italian, Spanish, Greek and Portuguese on the side. I also learned to speak Russian, but my tongue is not good enough to pronounce their retroflex sounds. Maybe I need surgery on the ligaments of my tongue to make it work. But don't worry about these details. Comrade Lenin couldn't pronounce retroflex sounds either!"

"You've learned so many languages in such a short time?" Pascal's eyes widened.

Xiao Peng nodded. "Actually, I wasted time learning Russian. Russian grammar... I want to curse when I think about it! In the beginning, I started learning grammar like I did with other languages, but I ended up getting so confused that my progress was very slow. Later, I realized, forget about grammar. Russian is all about memorizing words and then familiarizing yourself with grammar. Damn, why am I telling you this?"

Pascal murmured, "You said I was a 'real genius' when we were drinking that night. Why do I feel like you're scolding me now?"

"Everyone is good at different things." Xiao Peng patted Pascal's shoulder and said, "Let's go. Let's finish our business here and leave!"

Mario was driving a small car, and Xiao Peng was a little confused looking at it: This is a Fiat 126P. This was one of the first private cars in China.

In the 1980s, Poland used a batch of small cars to offset its trade deficit. These cars were the Fiat 126P, but they were too small for public transport. This marked the first public sale of private cars in China. Owning one at the time was as exciting as owning a Bugatti Veyron today! Chen Baoguo even starred in a TV series called "Hey, Fiat," about this "little potato."

The problem is that this car was discontinued more than 20 years ago, yet you can still see it here!

Awesome! Did I travel through time?

Xiao Peng sat in the passenger seat and pointed at the hill next to the dock where clothes and sheets were hung. He asked Mario, "Mario, I noticed that hill when I got here. Why are there so many rags hanging there? Is this your tourist attraction?"

Mario glanced at Xiao Peng, confirmed that he was not joking, and shook his head: "Welcome to Lampedusa Island, and thank you for noticing our 'Mount of Shame'!"

"Mountain of Shame?" Xiao Peng was confused.

Mario started the car and drove away, saying, "In February 2011, chaos broke out in Tunisia. Starting in March, boatloads of people began arriving here from Tunisia. We generously helped them, with people cooking from morning till night, providing them with food, clothing, and shelter. But in just a few days, nearly 20,000 refugees arrived, and we only have a population of 6,000 on the island. How could we help them all? So the refugees set up camps everywhere, with people lining the beaches and streets! Many people ended up living on that 'Mount of Shame,' and these refugees had no toilets or place to wash. You can imagine what happened next."

Pascal muttered from the back seat, "You local government officials must take responsibility."

Xiao Peng shook his head after hearing this. "Xiao Pa, what you said is wrong. No one can handle this situation properly! It's like you live in La Ciotat, where the permanent population is less than 800 people. Suddenly 3,000 people come and ask you to feed and clothe them. How would you handle this?"

After hearing what Xiao Peng said, Mario nodded. "Xiao, you're right. We are all God's people and kind people. We want to help them, but there are simply too many of them! The entire central area of Lampedusa is overcrowded, littered with garbage and people, not to mention the crime that comes with it! How can we cope with all this? The situation was only alleviated after a reception center was established with specialized staff to accommodate them. We're here!"

Xiao Peng got out of the car and saw the Lampedusa Island Refugee Reception Center, a large courtyard built in a valley, with rows of red-roofed, white-walled bungalows.

Pascal took one look and asked, "Has there been a fire here?"

Xiao Peng also wanted to ask this question, because there were traces of fire and smoke on the white walls of many houses.

Mario got out of the car, closed the door, and nodded. "Yeah, there were fires, four times!"

Pascal frowned and said, "The staff management here is too careless!"

Xiao Peng coughed twice, signaling Pascal to be quiet. Pascal was indeed a genius, but his emotional intelligence needed work. "You're badmouthing the reception center staff in front of them?" He really wanted to crack open Pascal's head to see what he was thinking.

Sure enough, Mario was furious after hearing this: "The four fires here were deliberately set by refugees! They want us to send them away, send them to mainland Italy and let them start their new lives! French, will your country allow people without identity to live freely in your country? Brains are a good thing, but you have to have talent!"