I had imagined Qingyun Town to be poor, but I never expected it to be this poor, and on such a small scale.
When the vehicle arrived at Qingyun Town, all that could be seen was a dirt road. At the entrance of the town stood an ancient tree with lush foliage. On both sides of the road were mud houses with mud walls and blue tile roofs. Some of the houses had roofs made of bamboo strips woven together and then covered with a layer of mud.
This village is located on the edge of a basin halfway up the mountain. Inside the basin is a large area of paddy fields, while the higher areas are planted with corn and sorghum.
Looking around, there are only four colors here.
The yellow of the earth, the green of the plants, and the blue sky and white clouds overhead.
As our car continued into the village, some children started chasing after it. Director Zhang explained that this was because charitable organizations often came to the area to distribute school supplies to the children, but the children were chasing the car mainly to get snacks and drinks.
As we walked along, the whole town appeared dilapidated. There was no trace of reinforced concrete in any of the buildings; they were all constructed using local materials. There were even very few pedestrians, creating a desolate scene.
Seeing this, the monkey clicked its tongue in amazement and said, "These people are really strange. Society is developing so well now, and you can't even make a living anywhere else. Why do they insist on living in this remote mountain village?"
Director Zhang explained, "The residents here are all miners who moved here during the Great Leap Forward in 1958. Now, the able-bodied young people have all left the town to work in big cities. The residents who remain are all old, and many of them can't even speak Mandarin, so they can only farm here."
"miner?"
When I heard those words, my heart sank.
If Qingyun Town has a mining area, then the mountains and fields should be full of mine pits. If they still couldn't dig out the Miao Jiang Immortal Palace, it means that the place we are looking for is probably not here.
"Yes, Qingyun Town didn't exist originally. It's because of the high altitude here. Back then, the county's old Party Secretary waved his hand and said he would support the steelmaking industry and send satellites into space. So, eight thousand miners marched into the mountains in a grand procession, taking the meaning of 'reaching for the moon in the clouds,' hence the name Qingyun Mining Area."
Director Zhang sighed: "It's easy to get into this mountain, but it's hard to get out! The older generation dedicated their youth to this place, and their children and grandchildren have stayed to become farmers! It is said that there were dozens of mines of all sizes in this mountain range back then. Later, when the mineral resources were exhausted, some of these workers who left their homes returned to their hometowns, while others developed feelings for this place and settled down in small villages."
Originally, this area consisted of natural villages, not a town. Then, a major flood in the 1980s destroyed one village—I was still in elementary school then! Because of this, the county began to pay attention to these villages, which were originally made up of miners, and integrated them to form the present-day Qingyun Town! So many years have passed in the blink of an eye!
"You mean, Qingyun Town was only established around the 1980s?"
Upon hearing Director Zhang's words, I immediately frowned.
According to Miao Xiaoxian, Qingyun Town should be one of the entrances to the Miao Jiang Immortal Palace.
I originally thought that Qingyun Town should be one of the branches of Ping'an Village, but Director Zhang said that it was only established in the 1980s. Doesn't that mean that this place used to be a mountain?
If the purpose of Ping'an Village is to guard the entrance to the Immortal Palace, why do they live more than 100 kilometers away?
With this question in mind, we quickly arrived at the Qingyun Town government.
The person in charge of receiving us was Niu Degeng, the former Party Secretary of Qingyun Town.
Although Qingyun Town is underdeveloped, it is still a grassroots government. The town not only has schools, but also all the necessary basic departments such as forestry stations, animal husbandry stations, power supply stations, and police stations.
In the courtyard of the town government, Niu Degeng met us and began to complain: "Sirs, you must have seen what Qingyun Town looks like on your way here. If the town center is like this, the five remote mountain villages are even more miserable! Although the county says it will merge villages and towns, everyone knows that the policy is difficult to implement in a short time. But the living environment of more than 1,400 people in Qingyun Town really needs to be improved. So if you can really lend a helping hand, I will thank you on behalf of all the people in the town!"
Jiang Man waved her hand and directly offered the money: "Secretary Niu, we did see the situation in the town on our way here. Jintu Mining has always been committed to charity and has been giving back to society to the best of its ability. I have decided to donate one million yuan to improve people's livelihoods. As for how to spend the money and where to spend it, it is entirely up to the town government to decide, because you know the situation in the town better than we do and know how to spend the money wisely."
Although I am not extremely wealthy now, I am still a multi-millionaire. Thinking of the school we saw when we came here, I said, "Add another million, but this money must be used specifically for school construction. The remaining money will be used as a maintenance fund for the school. I will also donate an ambulance so that if villagers encounter an emergency, they can be taken to the county town for medical treatment more quickly."
Upon hearing what I said, the monkey nudged me with his elbow and muttered, "Young Master Duan, I know you have a good relationship with Jiang Man, but you're not a son-in-law of the Jiang family yet. Isn't it inappropriate to spend their money like this?"
"I'll pay for this myself."
I shook my head slightly: "We usually do grave robbing and tomb digging, so we should also do some good deeds to accumulate good karma for ourselves."
Niu Degeng originally thought we were just going through the motions and providing some symbolic aid, but he was shocked to see us donate two million. He was speechless for a long time.
Our purpose in coming here to alleviate poverty was just a pretext. After discussing the money, I added, "Secretary Niu, as the saying goes, 'Give a man a fish and you feed him for a day; teach a man to fish and you feed him for a lifetime.' While our donations can change the living environment of the residents, they are unlikely to improve their family conditions. Therefore, we want to invest locally to build some farms and orchards, which will not only increase fiscal revenue but also create employment opportunities for the residents who remain in the area."
"Great news! This is fantastic news!"
Niu Degeng clapped his hands excitedly: "I'll go talk to the heads of the land and resources bureau and the forestry station right away. As long as you're willing to invest in Qingyun Town, we'll give you the green light and approve the best land for you!"
“Secretary Niu, we have to handle the site selection ourselves.”
I pointed to the monkeys and sparrows beside me and said, "These are the agricultural and construction experts we have hired. If it's convenient, I would like to conduct an on-site inspection with them."
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