Chapter 1660 The Pearl in the Rain Forest (third update, please subscribe)
The tires of the Land Rover Off-Road Vehicle made a dull crushing sound on the muddy road, and the rain poured down the windshield, and the rain brushed The instrument swung left and right desperately.
What the hell is this?
For Fang Jingren, who had been used to the SEA highway and was the worst paving road, he could not even imagine that there would be such a road in this world - muddy without any hardening The road surface is sometimes a mud in front of it. If it weren't for the good performance of the Land Rover Off-road Vehicle and the light body, it would have been stuck in the mud and spinning.
Such a path. In China, it may only be encountered in the rainforest. Even between those plantations, there are paved hardened roads. Although it is simple, it is at least hardened highways.
A such a ghost place is simply... the army's off-road training ground.
Holding the steering wheel tightly, Fang Jingren's finger joints turned slightly white due to the force. The car body was bumpy on the potholes, as if it would fall apart at any time. "This ghost place doesn't even have a decent road!" Fang Jingren couldn't help complaining, with a depressed irritability in his voice. His shirt was soaked in sweat, sticky to his back, and the air inside the car was stuffy and humid, mixed with the smell of soil and rotten plants.
Lu Chujie sat in the passenger seat, holding his hands in his chest, looking straight ahead, without a trace of expression on his face. His silence made Fang Jingren even more uneasy. They have been driving in this rainforest for nearly five hours, and they can't see anything around except tall trees and vines. Fang Jingren didn't know where they were going, nor did he know the specific content of the task, but just left the highway as the section chief told him and headed north along the dirt road. "Section Chief, where are we going?" Fang Jingren finally couldn't help speaking again, with a hint of anxiety in his voice, "This road will continue like this again." , the car has to be scrapped. "
"Then just change another one..."
Lu Chujie said casually, turning his head slightly and glanced at him.
Fang Jingren knew that Lu Chujie had always spoken little, but every word was full of weight.
The atmosphere in the car became more depressing, with only the sound of raindrops hitting the roof and the low roar of the engine. Echoing in my ears. Fang Jingren was becoming more and more confused. But Lu Chujie's silence was like a wall, blocking all his questions outside.
"You will know when you get to the place."
Lu Chujie finally spoke, but there was still no answer
Fang Jingren didn't ask again, but just nodded silently. His eyes refocused on the road ahead, holding the steering wheel tightly with both hands, but his mind began to think about various possibilities.
Where is the destination of their trip?
In the past half month, Fang Jingren and the section chief left Bangkok together, headed north all the way, and then entered Shan State, which is a special area.
Although it belongs to Myanmar nominally and Myanmar also claims sovereignty over it, it declared "independence", and after its independence it was recognized by the SEA and some of its allies, and it even had a representative office in Chang'an , and a passport is issued.
Since its independence, with the help of development assistance loans, Shan State has not only built railways, highways and hydropower stations, but its economy has also developed accordingly, and economic crops such as oil palm and coffee have been replaced. Opium was also established in the Xin'an area of the capital.
Before coming here, Fang Jingren's understanding of Shan State was mostly about the apples from Shan State - this kind of fruit is very common in the domestic market.
And Shan State Apple is also a development assistance project.
A few hours later, in the sunset, the car drove into a small town. Although it was a small town, Fang Jingren was somewhat surprised to find that the city was more prosperous than he imagined.
There are even several high-rise buildings of about ten stories in the city, spacious streets and vehicles passing by. Look at it, the prosperity is not inferior to the capital Xin'an. "Section Chief, it looks very prosperous here."
But why no road passes?
"This place mainly takes the Mekong River waterway, and the highway is not necessarily faster than water transportation."
After observing in the city for a while, Fang Jingren realized something and said:
"Section Chief, is this a border?"
"Yes."
Lu Chujie nodded and said, "After entering the city, follow the main road to the other end of the city, find a place to park the car, um... put on a horse clip and put on a hat." >
The horse clip is a blue breathable horse clip with an International Development badge on the chest and the English abbreviation of the International Development "AID" written on the back.
Working in other places, they will wear it to show their identity.
Cities are like most Southeast Asian cities - SEA is full of shadows, cars, motorcycles, TVs, etc., and are basically SEA products.
When people on the street see them, they always smile kindly and greet them actively. In the past days, UNDP has really helped here, helping them get out of poverty. This also won them respect in Shan State.
Where near the border, a continuous barbed wire fence isolates the two countries, and a flag is flying at the post office - the Shan State flag.
The Shan State flag is a blue background, with the golden Shan State territory below, and the above are seven white stars, representing the local ethnic diversity.
"Section Chief, why are we here?"
Fang Jingren looked at the other side of the barbed wire with curiosity. Although it was a hundred meters apart, he could still hear the excitement from the tweeter. After getting closer, you can see the soldiers on both sides confronting each other vigilantly across the border.
This is...
The eyes were slightly open, and Fang Jingren could feel his heart beating violently. Just as they approached, about 50 meters away from the border checkpoint, the soldiers at the checkpoint stopped him. "Sir, this is a restricted area, no access is allowed."
Although they are from the UNDP, they are also prohibited from entering.
Lu Chujie also stopped, he took out the cigarette box from the cigarette box and said:
"This border city is actually a kind of window, a display cabinet..."
After a brief pause, Lu Chujie added:
"It is also a kind of thing for us to ensure our own safety. Show that we need to curb external threats and infiltration. It is not enough to rely solely on barbed wire and guns. We must change people's lives. This is what we work here, saying that we are providing help, but in fact, it is also helping us. "
The so-called "international development" is purposeful. In the past half month, Fang Jingren finally understood that what so-called help and development are essentially for himself The interests of "helping mankind get rid of poverty" are simply nonsense.
It's a thing to deceive people.
But it does not prevent them from taking this as a banner, but this is the truest side of the world.
"After more than ten years ago, the people here were extremely poor, and the mountain people could even make a living by growing opium. Now, we have promoted tropical cash crops such as oil palm here, which are poor and poor The mountain people not only moved into new houses, but also rode motorcycles and used some home appliances. At the same time, we also helped them build modern power stations and cities, including the city behind us... "
Lu Chujie, holding a cigarette in his mouth, pointed his finger at the other side of the wire mesh, then turned around and looked at the city and said:
No mistakes, one song, one text, one content One in one in one 6 in nine in one book one bar one read!
"Sometimes prosperity is the most effective containment..."
As his voice fell, it seemed as if in response to his words, the small border town behind him suddenly lit up lights, not just street lights, but also colorful neon lights.
When the lights were on, the small town in the rainforest was dazzling, and even the flowing Mekong River was lit up by neon lights.
In the dark night in the rain forest, the neon lights are so dazzling that they even dispel the twilight of the rain forest, allowing people to see the pearl of this rain forest dozens of miles apart.
In the dense rain forest, a group of figures struggled to move forward in this lush tropical rain forest. Their clothes were scratched by thorns, and the clothes of the rain wet by sweat and rain were stuck to their bodies.
The leading guide chopped the vines with a machete. There was no starlight in the black rain forest. Most of these people were young people, including men and women, with different accents.
The eyes of these people revealed anxiety and uneasiness. They either frown and glanced back and forth into the deep forest, cautiously afraid of being discovered by others; or they were panting quickly and clenching their hands into fists to show their inner tension and panic.
Among these people, the women seemed even more nervous. Their eyes were erratic and their fingers were tightly grasping the branches beside them, for fear that they would be lost in this boundless forest if they were not careful. A woman with messy hair, her eyes were flashing with anxiety and fear, and beads of sweat were hanging on her face, reflecting her pale face.
Although this group of people were ragged, each of them showed a tenacious will to survive. Their rapid breathing and accelerated footsteps were particularly clear in this heavy green. Despite the harsh environment and uncertain future, their eyes still retain a glimmer of hope.
They just walked in the dark rainforest, crossing mountains and ridges. Their steps were hurry and heavy, and each step seemed to be racing against time.
When crossing a mountain, the air was filled with the smell of soil and rotten leaves, which faded a lot under the blow of the river wind. They had already heard the surging sound of the river water.
Standing on the hillside, a man pointed to the distance and said, "Look, there..." In the darkness, they saw dazzling The bright light, red, blue, green, yellow, colorful neon lights are so eye-catching in the rain forest that people are fascinated by the sight. They just stood there stupidly, and some women are even excited. Tears shed.
"Then, that's the neon light..."
"It must be, it's colorful, like, like..."
For a moment, they didn't even know how to describe it, but that was exactly what they longed for,
"We're here!"
Soon, they arrived at the foot of the mountain, which was surging. The river water flows southward in the darkness, and the river water in the darkness is like a bottomless abyss among the mountains.
They are separated from the road ahead by a deep abyss, which seems to remind people that anyone who wants to cross this abyss must pay the price of their lives.
But these people did not stop. Under the guidance of the guide, they cut down bamboo one after another! There are large natural bamboo forests by the river.
Bamboo is not cut casually, it has to be followed by the rules: 6-section bamboo tubes, each section is 40 cm long and 10 cm thick, with 3 sections tied in the front and 3 sections on the back. Such buoyancy is enough, and it will neither float completely nor sink in the river.
And after tied it with a rope, people looked at the surging river water and encouraged each other. Before going into the water, they would prepare some fried rice cakes as dry food and carry them with them to prevent an accident. At least there was something to satisfy their hunger.
"Okay, let's see you in the south!"
After saying that, people jumped without hesitation, men guarded the beginning and the end, women were in the middle, and then they followed the river water like this. Swim away.
When the Shunjiang River was going straight down, a man's eyes flashed with a firm light, and he turned around frequently to confirm everyone's safety.
They swam like this under the cover of the night, occasionally eating rice cakes to satisfy their hunger. Under the flow of the river, the woman swam hard. Although the distance was very far, she encouraged herself while paddling.
"Make up your mind..."
A wave would flood her, causing her to stop encouraging. While she continued to fight with the river, she saw a searchlight on the river surface. So she took a deep breath, plunged into the river, and continued swimming under the water. Whenever she saw a searchlight coming, she and others would sneak into the river...
( This chapter is over)