2. Someone wants to lie on the tracks (2)

  The car drove for two hours, and at around 11 o'clock, we arrived at the sulfuric acid factory in Fuzhou. Dazhang parked the car in a remote and inconspicuous place far from the factory, and Zhao Bing and I got out of the car and walked straight towards the factory. This was a fairly large-scale enterprise, judging by its land area, it should be around 200 mu. We strolled around the perimeter of the factory, and on the north side of the long wall, I saw that a section of bricks had changed color, probably due to being soaked in some kind of corrosive substance. As we approached, we heard the sound of water flowing out, clearly this was an underground drainage channel, covered with yellow soil, looking very natural. Following it northward for about 200-300 meters, this hidden polluted stream emerged on the surface, revealing its true form. A yellowish-green polluted water with a pungent smell, had stained the simple drainage ditch under the bright sunlight, making it look dirty and disgusting. It flowed freely towards the front. Here was a vast expanse of fields, looking ahead, there was a river in the distance, shining brightly in the midday sun, and the polluted water was flowing rapidly towards it. At this moment, Dazhang drove up quietly in his car, he had seen tire tracks from other cars driving ahead, despite the rough road conditions, he still boldly drove the car over. We jumped into the car and followed the drainage ditch towards the riverbank, just a glance away, the car had already arrived at its destination.

  Zhao Bao told me that this river is called Fu Shui. Fushi City was named after Fu Shui. The source of Fu Shui is from a nearby ancient mountain range, flowing through Fushi City and then directly into the Yellow River. The polluted water from the acid factory flowed freely into Fu Shui. I stood on the riverbank, seeing only a layer of dark gray oil floating on the calm river surface. A boat came ashore from the opposite bank, with an old helmsman over fifty years old bringing more than ten passengers. The wooden boat cut through the oil-covered water surface, causing the murky and brownish Fu Shui to stir up opaque waves that were impossible to see through, accompanied by a strong and heavy tone that was hard to describe, and a pungent smell that was difficult to speak of. Perhaps the people here had become accustomed to this environment, as they disembarked from the boat with big bags and small packages, walking calmly down to the shore. Then, they slowly left the riverbank. The helmsman looked at us and said, "Get on board." He thought we wanted to cross over.

  I pointed to the Fuxi River and asked, "Why is there a layer of oil floating on this river?" He said, "It's all the wastewater from chemical plants that has stirred up the clear Fuxi River into this mess." A river that used to have fish and shrimp has become a stinky pool of water.

  "Will no one take care of it now that it's come to this?" I asked.

  "Who cares?! The people in charge have all moved into their fancy villas and are driving around in their luxury cars. Those who don't care just shout and scream every day, but it's all useless. Besides, this thing is not easy to manage. The bosses on both sides of the river are working themselves to death running factories, one side producing sulfuric acid and the other producing hydrochloric acid (he pointed to the opposite bank), they're all making big money, but the ordinary people are suffering! Look... look, half of the corn that should be harvested is gone!" His arm swept in a large arc, encompassing both banks of the river.

  I followed the direction of his finger and looked over, and indeed, the crops on both banks were severely damaged. Not only was a large area of corn in the cornfield withered and dry, but also a piece of land had turned grayish white, lifeless and desolate, becoming a barren land. Looking at the riverbank on the other side, there was a stream of dark yellow wastewater and a stream of white wastewater flowing continuously into the Fuxin River.

  Zhao Bao looked at my puzzled face and said, "On the other side of the river is Dabiao County's Dahong Township, which belongs to Guishan City in Q Province. Dabiao County is also one of the economically strong counties."

  I had originally planned to take a boat to the other side for a walk, but now I didn't have that interest. At this time, a very luxurious car suddenly arrived, circled around me and stopped abruptly on one side of the Audi, then three people got out of the light gray BMW sedan and walked straight towards me. A young man in his twenties said loudly, "Mayor Yu, Secretary Pan, and Mayor Hao have come to see you."

  As they spoke, they had already arrived by my side. One of them, a burly man in his fifties, smiled and said to me: "Director Yu, you've returned home without even giving us a call, we could have served you better." "Yes, indeed, we're already here, I didn't even go out to welcome you, truly sorry, truly sorry." The slender man in his thirties spoke with an even more affectionate tone. No need to ask, he must be the town mayor, and the big guy was the town party secretary.

  Next, their mutual introductions confirmed my judgment. The secretary's surname is Qian and his name is Ren, the town mayor's surname is Hao and his name is Zhong. That young man in his twenties was the director of the town office. This town is located on the west side of Fuzhou City, bordering Dongjiao Township of Q city, named Qiantown, where the surname Qian is the largest surname in the whole town.

  "Is Mayor Yu coming back to our town for the first time?" asked the thin and small Town Head Hao.