pdf-ebookys Chapter 111.1: Undead Cultural Arts
Chapter 111.1: Undead Cultural Arts
Chapter 111.1: Undead Cultural Arts
Earth time, November 5, an ordinary Monday.
Yang Qiu returned to Earth, took a shower, changed into clean clothes, and, as usual, sat down in front of his computer to check his emails.
It had only been three days (Earth time) since he sent the deposit, and "Director Lu" had already delivered all the road construction equipment.
All of it was large-scale machinery, so it couldn't be delivered to the suburban cottage where Yang Qiu lived. "Director Lu" directly sent him the address of a civilian warehouse outside the city and had the keys delivered by local express, instructing him to pick it up himself.
After having a bowl of noodles nearby, Yang Qiu obtained the keys from a courier locker in the vicinity and immediately called a ride-hailing service to the warehouse.
Right now, he was still using the identity he had previously purchased online. "OtherWorld" had been open for a month now, and even the "beta" had completed a full month. It was impossible that the authorities hadn't uncovered the truth of this purchased identity. But since they were intentionally turning a blind eye, Yang Qiu saw no need to delve into conspiracy theories.
On arrival, Yang Qiu indeed found that the warehouse arranged by "Director Lu," which originally belonged to a certain agricultural machinery factory, was unexpectedly quiet. There wasn't any ambush nor surveillance, and when Yang Qiu scanned the area with his mental field, the largest living creatures within a kilometer radius were no bigger than mice. Even the security guards that were supposed to be watching the warehouse had been cleared out in advance.
"Cooperation is all about trust for it to go the distance!" Yang Qiu praised "Director Lu," whose true identity he still didn't yet know, and confidently entered the warehouse.
Moments after the warehouse door was closed, all signals from the wiretaps and cameras set up by professionals inside the warehouse were cut.
Half an hour later, Yang Qiu strode out from the converted civilian rental warehouse empty-handed, hailed a DiDi on the roadside, and swiftly returned to the suburbs.
Shortly after the DiDi departed, a van approached from the opposite direction and stopped outside the warehouse. Several immaculately dressed men jumped out and sprinted toward the warehouse.
In the spacious, old agricultural machinery factory building, all the road construction equipment, mining diesel generators, and Dongfeng trucks loaded with barrels of diesel had vanished without a trace.
Field agents stared blankly at the squeaky clean warehouse, where not even a coiled wire was left behind, and quickly took out their phones and reported the situation
At five in the morning, Ji Tang dragged Rex to the countryside to continue their survey. After a half-day of running about, they arrived at the final destinationBack Mountain Village, farthest away from Weisshem, located on the north side of a large mountain.
When they arrived around four in the afternoon, the most scorching period of the day had passed. The villagers had all come out of their homes and were working in the fields at the foot of the mountain.
Ji Tang and Rex, who had been on the road all day, were stunned upon seeing this typical late summer and early autumn farming scene
Although they had already heard some information about Back Mountain Village from nearby villages, seeing it in person was still shocking.
Back Mountain Village, with a population of just over two hundred, consisting of fewer than 40 households, had dozens of men and women working in the fields, all completely naked.
Listening to the nervous and incoherent Walk speak about the obscure and difficult-to-understand circumstances, Rex expressed that he wasn't here to conscript laborers, and Weisshem didn't engage in wars.
It seemed that the previous Weisshem lords had all given up considering taxing this village and wouldn't even remember there were people here unless they were conscripting commoners for war.
Having roughly understood the situation in Back Mountain Village and getting an estimate of the population, Ji Tang said to Rex while they were on their way back, "It's too difficult for this village to escape poverty right away. Water diversion projects are too costly, and I estimate we won't have the funds for such undertakings in Weisshem territory for several years, given the financial situation. The only way to solve Back Mountain Village's dilemma is to relocate the entire village."
Rex nodded silently and let out a long sigh.
"I always thought that people led difficult lives because the officials weren't upright enough. Ji Tang, it seems I was way too naive."
"Your line of thought wasn't entirely wrong," Ji Tang consoled. "It's just that poverty has different factors in different regions. It's not something that can be entirely solved by having upright officials. Integrity and morality aren't a cure-all; the ability and determination to get things done are the most important."
Rex nodded, then shook his head, letting out another sigh.
Ji Tang could very well understand Rex's reaction.
Regardless of whichever plane it was, the issue of poverty was both the "easiest" and also the most challenging problem to solve.
It was considered the "easiest" to solve because, in the eyes of some, addressing poverty seemed simpleengaging in charity work would do.
For example, on Earth, charitable organizations of developed countries delivered food, medicine, and clothing to the impoverished people of third-world countries. The grateful smiles of these poor folk receiving aid were often published in the media, which gave people a sense of spiritual satisfaction. Any ordinary citizen could fulfill their obligation to the impoverished and return home to enjoy their lives in the civilized world.
However, such charity activities, which didn't even address the root cause of poverty, weren't particularly effective. International charity organizations had been sending food and medicine to undeveloped countries for decades, yet the people there still remained hungry and sick.
Of course, this wasn't saying that such relief-oriented charity was entirely meaningless. At least, the impoverished could still benefit a little while helping certain charitable organization members or wealthy individuals legally evade taxes.
Some might argue that these charity organizations have good intentions, and there are indeed many remarkable individuals within these organizations doing great things, so it's unfair to condemn the entire sector. However, the question arises: Do those among the small portion of people in these organizations who genuinely make a difference and sincerely try to solve poverty really not understand the root causes of poverty in third-world countries?
Humanity on Earth had since moved beyond the stage of monopolizing knowledge as a resource. Anyone who bought a cheap smartphone and found a place with internet access could easily learn about the outside world. Could International humanitarian organizations, with their abundant resources, broad perspectives, and the ability to send food, drugs, and even medical teams to third-world countries, genuinely not understand what those impoverished locals needed?
In short, it was the advantage of taking the easy path rather than the difficult one; the success of Chinese-style poverty alleviation was visible globally, yet what did these international organizations, which had been doing charity for decades or even centuries, learn from such experiences?
Rex was an idealist willing to get things done. At least, as the nominal owner of this land, he genuinely wanted to improve the lives of Weisshem's people. He didn't categorize the remote rural population as burdens of civilization or society that urgently needed to be eliminated. The easiest means of "poverty alleviation," which involved sending some supplies and leaving after self-satisfaction, certainly didn't occur to him.
With this mindset, he had visited over 20 villages in Weisshem territory, deeply understood the situation, and became more and more frustrated and disheartened.