A bumpy bus ride marked the start of today’s activities, arguably one of the most memorable ones. The bus ride led us into a remote village, which was built on mountainous terrain. We were greeted by the friendly and approachable village chief, who was eager to show us around the village. Our first stop was to look at an ancient-looking grinder that was used to grind wheat. It consisted of a huge slab of rock with a groove cut into it to put the wheat, and another huge slab of rock cut into a circle shape. The circular rock was then rolled over the wheat to crush it. It was surprisingly easy to move the grinder.
The next stop was to see a gigantic reservoir that was built by Life Link China. It was built by blasting through the mountain rocks using dynamite, and the rocks had to be removed manually due to the difficulty in moving machinery up the mountain. However, it was most significant as it enabled the village people to be able to plant crops all year round, without fear that rain would not fall in time. This enabled the village to triple their income in the past year.
The breathtaking view from the reservoir also allowed us to overlook the fields in the village. The village chief took this opportunity to explain to us that wheat was planted from November to June, while corn was planted from July to October. We also learnt from him that the villagers are still leading a very hard life, as their children had to walk 3 kilometers daily just to get to school. The village chief also kindly introduced us to different kinds of vegetables, and even took the effort to pluck cotton and persimmon fruits for us. Later on, we visited his house and were welcomed by his wife who served us some fresh and unprocessed walnuts. They were so kind as to let us take the walnuts home. Just remember not to eat those “hairy” ones! The visit to the villager chief’s house allowed us to see up close the living standards of the people living in the mountain area. They may lead a simple life, but they are contended and happy.
On to the favourite part of the day, the sumptuous Mutton Soup meal! It was really delicious! (Or is it because we have been deprived of meat?) Most of us asked for seconds, and for the guys, thirds. It got to be one of the most satisfying meals we had there. After that, we left the mountain area to shop at the teashop and the shopping mall back in Zao Zhuang.
Shuo Yan and Zhiyong