Luokou Village and Dongqiao Village are only one kilometer apart, but one is in Min Province and the other is in Jiangnan Province.

This is the junction of the eastern coast of the two provinces.

The chickens and dogs in the two villages smell each other, and they can't talk about old and dead not getting along, but there is occasional friction and mutual help from time to time.

On this day, a convoy drove into Luokou Village, attracting the attention of the villagers.

Qi Zheng got out of the car and twisted his waist.

The road leading to this side can only be described as hehe, the bumps along the way, the car is not falling apart, and the people are almost falling apart.

"Boss, this is Luokou Village, and Dongqiao Village over there is the only two villages within a radius of dozens of kilometers. Xie Kaiji, who had been here in advance, introduced it to Qi Zheng.

Qi Zheng looked up, and along a crooked country dirt road, the village slowly appeared in sight.

Obviously, this is a typical backward village.

When you actually walk in here, the feeling is even more obvious.

In the village, the earthen walls and stone bricks, the wood doors and wooden windows, and the roadside are mostly half-human-high barren grass. Dilapidated houses, muddy roads, and the peculiar smell of pig and cow dung make for a scene of backwardness and low productivity as far as the eye can see.

Everyone walked to the door of the village committee, and the village chief stood at the door to welcome everyone.

The village chief's name is Zhang Lianfa, who is in his 50s, and his gray hair is particularly conspicuous. The bronzed skin, the obvious black and white wrinkles on the face, the protruding green tendons on the arms, and even the mud hanging from the trouser legs that have not yet dried, are just like the true portrayals of most of the villagers in this village.

Zhang Lianfa was a little wooden, and after Xie Kaiji introduced the two sides to each other, he greeted Qi Zheng and them unskillfully: "Welcome everyone to come to our side for a walk, take a look, our side is poor or poor, but the villagers are all kind-hearted people......"

After the greetings, Qi Zheng and others entered the village committee with the village chief.

The village committee is also a low mud house of only 60 square meters, the wall in front of the door falls irregularly, and the iron door is rusty and seems to be unable to withstand the hard pushing, like a decadent scene, which fully reflects the embarrassment of Luokou Village.

"Uncle Zhang, we are here to inspect the situation of the saline-alkali land here, can you tell us about it?" Sitting on the small bench, Xie Kaiji took the initiative to provoke the topic.

Zhang Lianfa sighed when he heard this, and spoke eloquently.

The saline-alkali land in the village is his sad place, as early as the time of the production team, he often worried about the salinization of the land and couldn't sleep.

At that time, some rice could still be planted in the field, although the harvest was extremely poor, but the land here was vast and sparsely populated, and it was barely able to feed more than 2,000 people in the village by planting widely and harvesting.

After the 80s, the production team disintegrated, and after years of flood irrigation, coupled with pesticides and fertilizers, salt came with water, and the salinization of the soil became more and more serious.

On average, each person in the village can be allocated four or five acres of land, and after the land is allocated, because the seedlings are burned in saline-alkali water, the villagers drain the water and plant corn on the saline-alkali land.

"There's a lot of rain here, but it can't seep into the saline ground. As the salinity became higher and higher, in winter, the land became a hard and compacted wasteland, and a large area of saline grains of white flowers bloomed in the ground. Slowly, the crops could not be planted, and the crops were 'burned'. I used to plant some corn, but the yield became lower and lower, and finally it became abandoned land. Zhang Lianfa told Qi Zheng helplessly.

After five or six years of planting, even he was completely disappointed with the saline land - he contracted out the land and his family made a living by raising poultry.

Like Zhang Lianfa, the villagers gradually became disillusioned with the saline-alkali land, and successively gave up farming and gave it to outsiders.

Unexpectedly, outsiders were soon unwilling to waste their work on saline-alkali land. Since the mid-90s, most of the fields have been completely abandoned.

Most of the villagers go out to make a living, but because of the lack of knowledge and skills, most of them do some heavy physical work, which is quite helpless.

"Sometimes it's uncomfortable to see the barren land in the village, it's too wasteful, but there is nothing I can do. Zhang Lianfa kept sighing and said.

"I see that you are close to the sea, why don't you organize the villagers to fish?" someone asked curiously.

Zhang Lianfa shook his head, "Although we are not far from the sea, the coastline terrain is harsh, which is not suitable for fishing, so our ancestors have lived on ......cultivated land for generations."

"Most of the water from the wells in the village is brackish, and it was only later that the government hired a professional hydrogeological team to dig a few wells for us, and we drank the 'sweet water' ......."

"Sweet water" is freshwater that tastes normal compared to brackish water.

"Now the young people in the village don't want to go back to the village, and when the older generation goes, the village is estimated to be completely abandoned......" Zhang Lianfa couldn't hide his depression when he spoke.

The crowd was silent.

"After a long time in the cage, return to nature" is an artistic conception, but that ignores the barrenness of the fields.

For Luokou Village, saline-alkali land can really be called thin and barren land.

However, such conditions are the support that thousands of peasants rely on to support their families, and they mainly focus on farming, pay more and return less, and a large amount of labor input only has a meager economic income.

Even the further deterioration of the geology has exacerbated the hardships, leaving them with no choice but to leave their homes, go out to work, and live with blood and sweat.

And in the barren land, generations of ordinary but not ordinary people are like this, straightening their backs and living endlessly.

......

According to Zhang Lianfa, in addition to the fields of the two nearby villages, a large area of saline-alkali land extends to the seaside, spanning the two provinces, about 200,000 mu, and no one has been cared for.

Under the leadership of the old village chief, Qi Zheng and others also went to Dongqiao Village next door to investigate.

Fan Yongheng, the village chief of Dongqiao Village, rushed to hear the news.

A chubby man in his thirties looks more amiable than Zhang Lianfa.

Hearing the intention, he enthusiastically led the way for everyone.

It is said that happiness is always similar, and unhappiness has its own misfortune.

But in the eyes of many, poverty is mostly the same.

Stepping into Dongqiao Village, walking along the serpentine path, walking on the land with simple houses and inconvenient transportation, the same low houses, broken and falling walls, old and broken doors and windows, and the villagers who have been weathered but still simple......

Dongqiao Village is similar to Luokou Village, most of the people in the village do not have any industry, and they make a living from farming, or go out to work, and the children have to walk long distances or send schools to complete their education. Most families are easily overwhelmed by basic needs such as education and medical care. The most common situation is to make ends meet.

Everyone listened very carefully to Village Chief Fan's deep explanation.

This feeling is not unfamiliar.

The land that Jiagu people have stepped on is pregnant with different scenery and different people.

The closer you get to the lives of the peasants, the more you can feel the dispersion and dispersion of this land, and the changes in the world.

It is a land of poverty and hope.

Qi Zheng hoped that what Jiagu did was not something great to be remembered, but to sow the seeds of hope in the barren fields and sprout and grow.

......

Taking advantage of the fact that everyone in Jiagu was discussing, Fan Yongheng pulled Zhang Lianfa aside and asked in a low voice, "What are these people from, and what do they want to do?"

The two villages have fought over water, scolded the streets, and fought in groups, and the two village chiefs are most familiar with each other. As soon as Fan Yongheng's words came out, Zhang Lianfa knew what he wanted to say.

Zhang Lianfa glanced at Fan Yongheng and warned lightly: "Don't mess around." I don't know their exact intentions yet, but seeing that they are very interested in this large area of saline land, maybe it will bring surprises?"

Fan Yongheng couldn't help but exclaim: "You think too much, it used to be some ill-intentioned bosses, what happened to me to make them donate some money, maybe I also accumulated good virtues for them." I'm not stupid, I can't tell who is sincere and who is deliberately causing trouble?"

Zhang Lianfa snorted, "Anyway, don't think about anything, just wait and see." ”

Fan Yongheng smiled, "That's that, or you're old-fashioned." Alas, I also hope to bring some opportunities to the village, we have been poor for many years, and we are looking forward to a chance to turn over......"

Zhang Lianfa didn't answer, but looking at Qi Zheng and the others, his eyes also flashed with hope.

......