Chapter 579: Chinese people have great ambitions

Chapter 579: Chinese people have great ambitions

In the Gobi plain with a little green, a new energy military off-road vehicle is speeding along a winding dirt road. There is no one around and no modern buildings are seen.

Ahead is a large, slightly sparse forest. The further you go in, the denser the forest becomes.

The camera turned to the interior of the jeep. Shi Qiang was driving and Evans was sitting next to him.

Faced with Shi Qiang who dragged him here without any reason, although Evans didn't know where he was at the moment, he didn't ask. After all, he just wanted to practice non-violent non-cooperation.

The ETO organization may have failed, but so what? Ideals will always fail.

But he didn't ask Shi Qiang, but Shi Qiang spoke.

"I saw the new information. You also came to China when you were young?"

Faced with Shi Qiang's questioning, Evans became more alert in his heart, but his face remained calm.

"Yes, for a few years."

There is no point in lying. Although it happened a long time ago, almost thirty years have passed, but Evans understands that with the power of the Chinese government and the assistance of other countries' intelligence agencies, it would be easy to find out his past.

"I heard that you were rescuing a kind of bird at that time?"

Evans recalled and nodded.

"Yes, a kind of swallow. I think it's a subspecies of the Northwestern Brown Swallow. The scientific name is so long that I can hardly remember it."

The atmosphere in the carriage became relaxed because of the chatting.

"Every spring, the swallows return from the south to the north of China along the fixed migration routes formed in ancient times.

But because of the disappearance of vegetation, they can no longer find trees to build nests and live in.

So when I found them in China, the population was less than 10,000, and there was a high probability that they would be extinct within five years.”

"So you have been in China for several years, planting trees just to protect those swallows?"

Shi Qiang nodded when he heard this and expressed his approval of Evans' behavior.

At this time, they had already entered the woods along the dirt road. The poplars and larch trees on both sides of the road were scattered in different heights, and the wormwood and willows were sparse and dense. From time to time, a group of black and gray birds flew over the jeep, making crisp calls.

"Having so much wealth, and still being able to do such hard work in a remote place and persist for so many years is really not easy."

As Shi Qiang spoke, he also recited a sentence from "In Memory of Norman Bethune".

"A noble person, a pure person, a moral person, a person who is free from vulgarity."

"You don't understand. The feeling of being a savior is beautiful and wonderful, but sometimes relying on ideals alone is just..."

When Evans got to this point, he suddenly lost interest, looked at the increasingly dense woods outside the car window, and fell into silence.

It's just that he didn't want to talk anymore, but Shi Qiang didn't stop talking.

"To be honest, when I read about your experience in China, I was still surprised and impressed."

He turned the steering wheel and the car turned a corner, and the surrounding vegetation became more lush.

"Of course, I'm also very sorry for what happened to you in China."

Shi Qiang paused, and seeing that Evans continued to look out the window in silence, he knew that he was not interested in this topic, so he changed the subject.

However, the audience is still very interested in what Evans experienced in China that led to the change in his mentality.

So the movie scene switched to the special affairs department command center thousands of miles away, and the events of that year were narrated through the mouth of Qin Feng, who was being remotely monitored.

"In order to protect a species of bird, Evans planted trees in a town in northern my country for three years, and the effect was very significant.

However, after the trees had grown up, the local villagers cut them down due to incomplete procedures and dragged them back home..."

Qin Feng recounted the situation of his recent personal visit and investigation. At the same time, a split screen next to the surveillance screen also gave his investigation data in a timely manner.

Included are photos of a young Evans planting trees in the village, newspaper news about him being named a "model afforestation worker" by the local county, and the devastating scenes after large tracts of forest had been cut down.

In this regard, whether it is Qin Feng and others in the movie or the audience outside the movie, after seeing those rather absurd and even somewhat outrageous video materials, they suddenly understood why Evans became what he is now.

Of course, Wang Hao made the movie "The Three-Body Problem 1" not to make everyone empathize with Evans, the leader of a terrorist organization, nor to promote the idea of ​​going to extremes when encountering setbacks and problems.

So soon, another story came out of Shi Qiang's mouth while he was driving.

“Seeing you planting trees reminded me of someone.

That was more than ten years ago. I had just started working and followed my master to hunt down a fugitive across provinces.

We chased and fled, and finally caught the person, but we were trapped in the desert.

Fortunately, before the water and food ran out, I met an old man who took me back to my residence and saved my life."

Shi Qiang's voice was neither hurried nor slow, and his lines were clear and emotional, with a strong appeal that made Evans and the audience in front of the big screen unable to help but immerse themselves in the story he described.

“After we were rescued, we just felt that we were blessed by God.

Because when I asked the old man why he appeared in this desert, do you know what he said? "

Shi Qiang asked himself and answered: "It turns out that he is also a tree planter like you."

"It's just that his life was much more miserable than yours. More than 20 years ago, this large area near northern Shaanxi was all yellow desert, without even water.

The old man planted 2000 trees at that time, and 1999 of them died the following year.

However, he did not leave. Instead, he drove a donkey cart, took his family and all his belongings, walked into the desert, and began to compete with God.

At that time, the environment in this place was very bad. They were the only family within a few kilometers. As there was no water source, they could only use a bunch of beer bottles to bring back water from a long distance and then use it sparingly. The situation was so serious that they even used sand to wash dishes.

But even so, the old man did not give up. Even if only 0.05% of the trees survived in a year, he still planted trees every year. "

Shi Qiang's voice stopped abruptly, and the jeep they were riding in also stopped.

“Come down and take a look!”

Evans got out of the car with him and the camera switched to outside the car.

In front of them was a small farm with a small courtyard for living, vegetable fields, warehouses, sheep pens, chicken sheds, etc. Surrounding them was a dense forest. The sky was blue and the air was fresh. There was no noise from the big city, only the sound of birds singing and the cries of cattle and sheep, just like a paradise.

Looking closely, although the Rain Water solar term has passed, all things have not yet truly awakened, and the scene is still one of "grass appears green at a distance but is not there when near". But just from this scene, it is hard to believe that this is the southern edge of the Mu Us Desert, one of the four major deserts in China.

"Look over there!"

Shi Qiang pointed to the tallest and straightest tree behind the farm.

"More than 20 years have passed, and the only surviving sapling that the old man planted has grown into a towering tree.

Look around, there are still living trees planted by him, his son, and his wife.

And this entire desert has been transformed from a barren wasteland into a sparse forest by four generations of their family and descendants.

This desert is called Maowusu, and this old man is called Guo Chengwang. He is 91 years old this year, but he is still planting trees. "

He took Evans into the farmyard. In front of the yard, the bright five-star red flag fluttered in the wind on the flagpole, looking very dazzling.

"Captain Shi, you're here!"

A man in his forties heard the noise outside and came out of the house. When he saw Shi Qiang, he shouted:

"The old man was just talking about you, saying that you were going to bring a friend over."

"This is Mr. Guo Chengwang's grandson, and this is Evans from Italy."

Shi Qiang introduced the two of them, and then walked into the house under the guidance of Mr. Guo’s grandson.

In the room, the old man in his nineties was in good spirits. After seeing Shi Qiang, he could still remember what happened in the past and asked about how his master was doing now.

After they sat and chatted for a while, the old man's grandson took Shi Qiang and Evans to visit the farm.

One of the dilapidated and collapsed brick houses left a deep impression on them and the audience in front of the big screen.

This was the old house where they used to live. According to Mr. Guo’s grandson’s recollection, it took the entire family more than two years just to transport the bricks for building the house by donkey cart.

Today, this old house has withdrawn from the stage of history, but the pile of beer bottles next to the house, which were used to transport water in the past, still bear witness to the hardships of Mr. Guo’s family and the hard-earned nature of this forest.

It is like an altar, a monument.

"What do you think?"

Shi Qiang took Evans back to the gate of the courtyard, facing the forest outside, and asked this.

Evans looked at the lush forests, the birds flying freely among them, and the occasional shadow of some small animals. He opened his mouth, but it seemed as if something was stuck in his throat, and he couldn't utter a word for a long time.

Shi Qiang didn't really care about Evans' feelings. He took out a pack of cigarettes from his pocket, took out a cigarette and put it in his mouth, then lit it with a lighter and took a deep breath.

This puff was deep and long, with the bright orange-red light burning until it reached the middle of the cigarette body before dimming.

"call!"

He let out a long breath, and became completely relaxed. He ignored the silent Evans and said to himself:
"You must be thinking that I brought you here to impress you with the experience of Mr. Guo Chengwang, to prove to you that we humans are not all hopeless, and to hope that you can change your mind and cooperate with us honestly?

No, you are wrong!
Because I never expected you to be of any use from the beginning to the end, just like your failure in saving Yan Zi in China, your failure after inheriting the family business, and the failure of the ETO organization today.

You are a complete loser, Evans!
If you compare yourself with Mr. Guo and hope that his experience will make you empathize with him and help you turn back from your mistakes and make meritorious contributions, it would be an insult to him.

Yes, you have made a lot of efforts to protect the environment, and your "species communism" is also interesting.

But in my opinion, your soul is neither noble nor pure enough, and you still have the arrogance and prejudice from the upper class.

You said something about human inferiority and the unstoppable destruction of civilization, but I always thought you were talking nonsense.

You have a shitty civilization!

Still talking about the destructive tendencies of civilization? Are you worthy?
He said, "History is created by the working people." This civilization can only be the civilization of the working people!
Look at Mr. Guo's life, then look around you, and look at yourself!"

Shi Qiang poked Evans' chest with his finger holding a cigarette, and then pointed at Mr. Guo's grandson who was cooking in front of the stove in the distance.

“Working people never talk about big principles; they just bend down, work hard, and create miracles.

So Mr. Guo persisted back then, but you gave up, so he harvested a forest, but you ended up in complete failure.

And it's not just Mr. Guo. When he entered the desert, he was already in his 60s and knew that he would not see the day when the desert turned into an oasis.

But he has a son and a grandson, and four generations of his family have been planting trees here, passing it on from generation to generation.

What about you? What about your group of "comrades"? Where are they? What do they want to do? Are they on the same page with you?
It's not even just Mr. Guo's family.

You told me that even if humans invested 450 billion to save the deteriorating ecological environment, it would be useless, and you said that humans would eventually go crazy.

Let me tell you, Evans, I may not know or understand other countries, but in contemporary China, a "super project" that has lasted for half a century is being carried out, and that is the "Three North Shelterbelt Project" in front of you.

This project has been under construction for nearly 1978 years, since 35, the year you left China.

The entire project covers 406.9 million square kilometers and is divided into eight phases:

The first phase, which began in 1978, was to stabilize areas that had not yet been desertified and ensure stable agricultural and animal husbandry production in the north.

The second phase, which began in 1986, was to build a comprehensive ecological and economic shelterbelt system to help local residents get rid of poverty and become rich, and to control sand by first controlling poverty.

In the third phase, which began in 1996, China invested 78.57 billion yuan, more than double the amount of the previous 15 years. It effectively combated desertification through afforestation and grassland restoration. The Mu Us Desert in front of you is one of the key points in the construction of the regional shelterbelt system.

The fourth stage began at the advent of the new century, focusing on sand prevention and control to reduce the impact of sandstorms on the northern region.

The fifth phase of the project was officially launched a few years ago. The sixth phase of the project is expected to start in 2021 and will last until 2030, followed by the seventh and eighth phases. The "Three North Shelterbelt Project" will be fully completed by 2050, completely solving the problem of soil erosion and desertification in my country, a disaster that has plagued the Chinese nation for thousands of years!
The entire plan will take 73 years from start to finish, and not only here, the Taklamakan Desert border locking project in the west is also being carried out simultaneously.

You ETO will neither pay attention to nor understand these things, but they are actually happening on this land of China.

No matter how hard and tiring it was, no matter how many hardships and difficulties there were, even if it mobilized hundreds of thousands of people and consumed the time of several generations, it was turned from an ideal into reality in the hands of the working people.

For the sake of sacrifice, dare to teach the sun and the moon to change the sky.

I like to see thousands of waves of rice paddies, and heroes everywhere are setting off the sunset smoke.

People like you who crawl in the dust and pray for the arrival of a savior when you encounter difficulties simply cannot understand a civilization full of heroes, let alone speculate on its future! "

(End of this chapter)