South America, Peru, Serro de Pasco.

It is a city that thrived out of silver, which at one point accounted for 50 percent of the world's silver production in the Middle Ages.

The Spanish crown seized a lot of wealth from here, silver and gold.

The carriages of the princes and nobles were bustling on the road, with gilded carriages and carriages covered with gold leaf, and the family crest glittered in the sunlight with jewel-encrusted family crests. It shows the strong financial resources of the royal nobles, and also indicates the rich family foundation of the silver city in this world.

At 4,338 meters above sea level, Serro de Pasco is the highest city in the world. At its most active, it was the second largest city in Peru and one of the top 15 largest cities in all of South America.

Looking down at the Silver City from the sky, the most striking thing about the city is not any buildings, but a huge pit and a huge lake.

The pit is a pit where the Spaniards have been mining silver since 400 years ago. Because of the wealth and wealth brought by the rich silver mines, this place has changed hands several times. Until the silver in this pit was exhausted.......

The pit spirals down in a funnel shape, and it is an open-pit mine with no shafts. It is also the deepest open-pit mine in the world, reaching hundreds of meters from surface to surface.

The pit was huge, big enough to fit an entire city. Or, to be more precise, the entire Cerro de Pasco was built around this huge pit.

The huge pit is like a black hole of ore, pulling the miners who come to seek the gold rush and countless chaebol groups that have swarmed.

The scale of this huge pit is the result of 400 years of uninterrupted mining. Even though the silver has been exhausted, the pits of Serro de Pasco still produce a large amount of lead ore. It is also a metal with considerable market value, even if it is highly toxic.

To the southeast of the pit, there is a huge lake in Cerro de Pasco, a large lake formed by underground springs.

In the plateau of Cerro de Pasco, the lake is like a jewel set in the city.

The underground springs gushed out to bring the groundwater, and three springs were formed in the lake, and the water flowed so rapidly that it was as if the water had been boiled.

Of course, all the beauty of everything is only felt when it is knocked from afar.

When Zhang Moxuan's love for all the goodness of Cerro de Pasco only stopped at three kilometers away, when he really brought people into this land, he turned all the goodness into disgust.

There was an indescribable stench in the air, and although Cerro de Pasco had the highland blue sky and bright sunshine unique to the highland city, there was no half-difference and joy on the faces of the citizens of this city of only 72,000 people.

Even though the sun was shining, Zhang Moxuan still felt a strong sense of gloom that could not be dissolved. He felt the land, the water, the trees, the living beings, they were weeping and wailing in an inaudible way.

Sitting in the jeep driven by the guide, Zhang Moxuan looked out of the car, and there was a woman collecting something from the roof.

If you look closely, it's a collection device of rows of plastic bottles, which looks like it's collecting rainwater?

"What is that woman doing?" Zhang Moxuan asked his guide.

The dark-skinned, rotten mouth of South American Bud knew what Zhang Moxuan was curious about just by a glance.

"Rainwater is being collected, sir. She's collecting rainwater. ”

"Collecting rainwater, is there a drought and lack of water here?" The road was full of greenery, and Zhang Moxuan couldn't see that this was a city with extreme water shortage.

"No, no, sir. There is no shortage of water in Cerro de Pasco, we have one of the best highland lakes in the world, and water here is always abundant. Bard barked a mouthful of rotten teeth and called out loudly, as if he had some ears behind his ears, so he spoke loudly.

"Then why is she collecting rainwater?"

"Because of lead, sir. ”

"Lead?"

"Yes, lead. That's what the scientists say, anyway. It was also said on TV that we had a protest march here. Protest against mining conglomerates discharging lead-treated effluent directly into drinking water sources. We don't have a sewage treatment plant here, and no group wants to build one. ”

"So the mining conglomerates are dumping the sewage directly into the rivers and lakes. Did you see the happy little cub who just ran past the front of our car, I bet, she won't live to be twenty years old. Bard laughed wildly, and his mouth was particularly eye-catching.

"Why?" Zhang Moxuan, who was sitting in the back seat, looked at the child who had just run in front of the car, and it looked like she was only three or four years old.

"Because of lead poisoning, sir. Mining groups don't treat the effluent from the lead mines, and a lot of the lead sewage flows into the rivers and then into our drinking water system. Drink a lot of water that contains excessive lead, so lead poisoning. Oh, sir, don't look at that little cub with that kind of pity. Half of the people in the city are suffering from lead poisoning. Tens of thousands. You can't have mercy. I give you a word of advice, sir. Don't drink any suspicious water here, a noble person like you. Only bottled water can be bought. Don't try a roadside restaurant lightly, maybe after a few meals, your blood lead level will be exceeded. ”

"So that lady was collecting rainwater just now to get a pure source of water?"

"That's Mr. Useless Work. There is no clean water source here, and all the water is polluted. Including rainwater. It makes no sense for her to do all this with all her might. Maybe she wants to get some clean rain for her children. Well, just what she thinks is clean. But in reality, it is meaningless, and the rain is also excessive in lead. ”

"Let me tell you, sir, what happens when you have too much lead, it slows down your child's bone development. The little cub just now looked like he was only three or four years old. But I bet she should have been seven years old, she was wearing a school uniform, and she should have just come back from school. ”

"But if you want me to say, there is no point in letting these people study. Because of lead poisoning, her brain and memory are constantly declining, in fact, she can't remember anything in school, she can't learn anything. Maybe the addition and subtraction of ten digits will not be. In addition, his temper will become irritable due to lead poisoning, and he is likely to get into fights with his classmates at school. ”

"And lead poisoning is irreversible. There will be red, swollen and bleeding gums, blue blood lines on the gums, involuntary nosebleeds, unexplained bleeding and pain in internal organs, intestinal colic, etc. It will torture you to the point of dying, and then it will kill you. So that little cub will taste all the suffering of the world, and then lie in bed and die in pain when she is twenty or thirty years old. Haha!" Bard's smile was piercing.

Zhang Moxuan, who was sitting in the back seat of the car, inexplicably felt uncomfortable in his stomach. Through the back window, he saw the little girl who had just run past the car running in front of the lady collecting rainwater. The lady hugged her, and both mother and daughter giggled happily.

"Don't they know?"

"They? Oh, do you mean the inhabitants of here? No, of course they do. Hazards of lead. But what can be done? The mining group ignores us. They don't want to spend money on it. We protested, it was useless. Violent protests? No, that's a terrible idea, because the security guards here have guns in their hands. ”

"Especially the security guards of the Ors Group, they are all mercenaries. If someone dares to make trouble, they dare to kill. They will make you die without a sound. No one will find out. Maybe in a few days your body will be under the pit. They will say: Look, this drunkard is drunk and has fallen into the mine. You deserve to die!"

"And the people here have to make money in the mines to support their families. How dare you get too stiff with your boss. What? You said leave here? Of course, there are experts who have suggested that. But think about it, why are so many people still living here? Isn't it just because they can't afford to leave?"

"Do you know how much it costs to go to a new city? Even if you go to a new city to find a job and live, how much does it cost to leave here, and you have to go to a new city without a job, and you have to prepare for only a month or two of food and accommodation. How much does it cost? A family would have to prepare at least $2,000. But two thousand dollars, thank you, do you know how much it is?"

"Even people I know can't afford to pay $200 for the journey. Hahaha, it's sad. Bard laughed loudly, exaggeratedly.

Zhang Moxuan stopped talking along the way, and he didn't want to discuss the issue of Seropasque with Bard anymore. He looked at this polluted land and inexplicably thought of Song Renjie tens of thousands of kilometers away. The man who turned many of the Gobi Deserts in the west into steppe green areas, is he good now. I miss him a little.

At the end of the journey, Bard couldn't help but ask, "Sir, what are you doing here?"

"Visiting relatives and friends. Zhang Moxuan said lightly.

The car stopped in front of the only Chinese restaurant in the city of Cerro de Pasco. It's hard to believe that there are still Chinese running Chinese restaurants in such a place.

After getting out of the car and taking his luggage, Zhang Moxuan took out two hundred dollars and gave it to Bard.

"Thank you, sir, for your generosity!" Bard smiled brightly, and his rotten teeth stood out. Zhang Moxuan noticed that his gums were also covered with blue blood lines.

Bud got in the car and was about to leave, Zhang Moxuan turned back to him and asked, "Why haven't you left here yet?"

Bud waved the two hundred dollars he had just gotten: "I still need money to support my family in Lima, where I don't have a job." With that, Bud drove away.

In this city, some people choose to leave, some people are forced to stay, and some people leave but choose to come back because of practical problems.

So what did Zhang Moxuan choose to do?

He pushed open the door of Liu Kee Hotel, jingle the bell, and the doorbell rang.

More than a dozen Chinese workers in the hotel turned their heads to look at him.

He said lightly: "I'm here to find Boss Liu." ”

ps: Monday, the beginning of the month, ask for a ticket ~ ang ~