A bunch of friends visiting me in Nayong, Guizhou were curious about my work of poverty relief in the countryside. I told them that the road was rugged and the condition poor, but they still joined me without hesitation.
After giving some thoughts, I decided to take them to Baixing Town, where we could enjoy the beautiful view of the Mother River, Nayong, and see the delightful progress of a family made under the help of poverty relief officials.
Departing from the county center, we drove along the winding, two-lane mountain roads between towering cliffs, with the occasional almost 360-degree turns testing your driving skills. Because of the coal mines and thermal power stations, there were often heavy trucks sharing the road, making it even more frightening for those who had been used to straight, broad avenues in cities.
Nevertheless, the road now is way better than before. What used to take four to five hours trip now takes only over an hour, a benefit of the government’s poverty relief policies: every county in Guizhou province is now reachable by highway, and every town by roads.
Baixing Town is relatively more developed in economy among the towns in Nayong. It is only 50 kilometers (31 miles) from the county center, with Nayong River running across. It has a population of Han, Miao, Yi, Hui, Buyi, Bai, Mongolian, Gelo, and Chuanqing ethnicities. An ancient fort of the Yi People, it used to be called Nuoxi, or Bainitun (meaning “white mud village”). Later it was renamed Baixing (meaning “much prosperity”), after a saying meaning the redevelopment of many tasks that have been put off.
Having parked in the town, we were attracted to the sweet osmanthus flowers on the roadside while waiting for the village official. It was a delightful surprise, encountering osmanthusflowers right in their blooming season full of fragrance.
It reminded me of the poet Li Bai’s verses, “people don’t know, on the southern mountains the sweet osmanthus trees have leaves green and fragrant all year long, with nice, leafy shades. Why not plant some in your courtyard?” It is probably because of the climate that these flowers flourish; whatever it may be, the bursting fragrance makes one admire their vitality.
The village official brought us to Nayong riverside, introducing us to the beautiful scenery around, and bits of their poverty relief work.
There’s a beautiful legend about Nayong River. It was said that in the Lazhi Family, who lived in the northern mountains for generations, there were two diligent, brave brothers, A’na and A’yong. For generations after generations, their family could only grow buckwheat in the mountains. The two brothers wanted to look for somewhere flat with water, learn to grow rice, and taste it.
So they left the mountains with but a pocket of buckwheat bread and their hound. Hunting along the way, they climbed over countless mountains for countless days, and finally arrived at a river. Here, there were mountains green and waters clear, with rippling waves. White, wild plum flowers covered the ground. Anywhere the eye could see, there were wild fruit. The brothers gladly settled there, cultivating the land. Year after year, their folks from the mountains came, as well as people from all kinds of places. Their descendents name the river that ran between two mountains “Nayong”, after the two brothers who first settled here and worked the land. When the county was established during the governance of the Republic of China, the executive department named it Nayong, after the river.
Nayong River, the mother river, witnesses the people’s longing and pursuit for a beautiful life.
Nayong River is part of the Wu River basin. Twisting and turning between two mountains, its smooth surface is almost like a mirror. What’s even more fascinating is a crevice on the cliff side that looks like an eye, with such realistic features, that it makes one amaze at Nature’s work.
For thousands of years, the eye gazes at the mountains and the river, the people laboring diligently, and every bit of change.
I named this eye “the eye of the mountain god”.
The poverty-stricken family lives right across the river, under a bridge. Because there’s no one to work in the family, and the lack of transportation in the past, the family was registered as low income.
In this family of four, the Father is 70 years old. The Mother is in her fifties and disabled. The older daughter is already working, and the younger daughter is 15, repeating ninth grade.
To help the family and improve their living conditions, the village officers helped them build and decorate their house. To save the cost, they and their families used their own spare time to transport building materials. They carried baskets and baskets of materials through mountain roads 200 meters (650 feet) from the main road. Bit by bit they built their house, at a cost of only 7,000 yuan (1,000 dollars).
Every time I hear this story, I have tremendous respect for these officers.
As the family’s conditions improved, the younger daughter, who had good grades in school, wanted to drop out of school. After much persuasion from the village officers, she finally agreed to go back to school again.
She was cooking when we got there. She showed us around their house, answering all kinds of questions.
During the delightful conversations and endless encouragements, one of my friends said, “young lady, you are the hope of this household! Keep working hard. If you get accepted into Zhuhai University in four years, we here will pay for all the costs for college!”
A beautiful promise was made, and a beautiful smile sparked on the girl’s face. The village officer also gladly said that he would continue to encourage her, looking forward to the realization of the promise.
We were stuck in traffic on our way back, but we were all joyful because of this promise, envisioning the day when it would come true.
Young people are our future. True relief from material and mental poverty relies on them. I think to help one of them is one thing I can achieve this year.
Translated by Joyce Wang
Comments