Chapter 22: Into India (continued)

After gobbling up in the cafeteria, everyone finally had enough to eat, and each of them took a cup of black tea, ready to rest for a while before setting off. Pen? Interesting? Pavilion wWw. ｂiquge。 ｉｎfo

At this time, the LCD TV in the restaurant was playing the local news, and the most sensational news content in New Delhi today was obviously a massive demonstration of 200,000 people in the city to protest the price hike -- from the screen, several squares and main streets in the city were all crowded with angry Indians, holding large and small signs protesting against the skyrocketing price of onions, and opposition politicians from all walks of life vied with each other at the march, chanting slogans and fanning the flames. There are also a bunch of "Indian celebrities" pointing fingers and poking in the studio, making fallacies...... This scene was really lively.

Even in Ramlila Square, not far from the cafeteria, a group of demonstrators who can't eat onions are waving flags and shouting slogans.

“…… Just because the price of onions has risen? To make such a big movement? What an exaggeration! If it were in China, even when the price of garlic and other vegetables skyrocketed, I didn't seem to see so many people walking on the streets collectively, right? ”

Looking at the scenes on TV with excitement, loud slogans, wind and rain all over the city, and the whole country responding, Wang Qiu complained with some incomprehension, "...... It's just a vegetable that has risen in price, even if it's too expensive to eat, so what? Why don't you just eat something else? ”

“…… Hehe, onions are not an ordinary vegetable for Indians! Commissioner Bai Quanyi shook his head and commented, "...... And if an Indian is so poor that he can't even afford to eat onions, then he can't expect to eat well......"

-- According to Bai Quanyi, an "India expert", the price of onions in India is a major issue related to the daily livelihood of India's 1.1 billion people, because onions play an extremely important role on the dining table of Indians, and the shadow of onions can be seen in almost all Indian dishes, and the smell of onions can be smelled in almost all staple foods. In the words of an Indian journalist, without onions, all the dishes are overshadowed, and all the rice is tasteless. According to statistics, New Delhi alone consumes at least 400 tons of onions every day, and the whole country needs tens of thousands of tons per day.

And onion is one of the cheapest vegetables in the Indian market, just walk into any vegetable market in India, you will find that the biggest sales are always onions, potatoes, tomatoes, because these are the three main vegetables in India, and they are also the cheapest "big road vegetables". If there is a guy in India who can't even afford onions, it means that he can barely eat vegetables - and in this way, the onions, which are indispensable on the daily table of ordinary Indians, have evolved into a typical "political vegetable", a very sensitive political issue in India.

Every time the price of onions rises dramatically, it triggers mass demonstrations in the streets and even a change of political parties. But today's skyrocketing onion prices are not to blame God, but to a large extent due to the government's dereliction of duty...... As a result, he was naturally held back by the opposition party.

“…… It is estimated that on the one hand, it is to make some political achievements, and on the other hand, it is probably to accept bribes from public relations personnel, and it has ordered the promotion of the planting of Monsanto's genetically modified onions and other genetically modified vegetables in all Indian states, which are said to be able to increase production and resist pests and diseases, and it is also called the 'vegetable revolution'...... As a result, it turned out to be the ...... of his own life."

Bai Quanyi shrugged his shoulders and said mockingly, "...... Just as Russian tanks would lie in the desert of India, the genetically modified onions of American companies were not adapted to the hot and rainy climate of the Indian subcontinent at all, and soon there were large swaths of the harvest.

After the incident, the central government of India was busy shirking each other's responsibilities, and basically did not think about how to deal with the aftermath, so it dragged on until later, in the countryside, hundreds of bankrupt farmers committed suicide by drinking pesticides, and in the cities, the price of onions skyrocketed, and the supply exceeded demand. Coupled with the hoarding of some unscrupulous traders, onions are now more expensive than mangoes...... The recent price seems to be 90 rupees a kilogram......"

Hearing this, Wang Qiu lowered his head and counted his fingers, according to the exchange rate, one rupee is about one dime of RMB, and a kilogram of ninety rupees of onion is equivalent to four yuan and five jiao and one city catty...... It's a bit expensive, yes, but as for this, do you want to gather people to take a group walk on the streets?

If the Chinese do the same, it is estimated that every year around the Spring Festival, there will be a bunch of vegetable buyers besieging the local government compound!

Anyway, from Chinese point of view, it's really not easy to understand...... It seems that it can only be understood as Indian!

“…… Alas, you can't compare the income level of the country with that of India! For example, I know a police chief in New Delhi who earns only 30,000 rupees a month, and in China he goes into a sweatshop to make mobile phones, and he probably can get so much, but in India he is already considered a middle class. And the driver boy who drove us just now, the embassy gave him a monthly salary of 9,000 rupees, that is, 900 yuan, I am afraid that I can't even hire a black driver who drives without a license in China, but here it is already a good job that everyone envies.

In India, businessmen who want to get approvals, even if they bribe ministerial-level officials in the central government, are generally only 800,000 rupees -- a fraction of the money that can be put in any department in Beijing. A few days ago, someone wrote in a newspaper that the richest man in a certain district of India, whose annual income was only 2 million rupees, was already boasted by journalists as if he lived in a palace...... The average base salary for a tour guide at tourist attractions in the capital Delhi is Rs. 4,000 per month, if you don't tip it. An average cook in a small roadside restaurant can be hired for a monthly salary of 2,500 rupees. And the servants who wash clothes and wipe the dishes are the worst, because they have no skills, and their monthly salary is only a few hundred rupees......"

Bai Quanyi said so eloquently, "...... Think about it, how can they afford to eat onions at 90 rupees per kilogram at such an income level? ”

“…… Belch...... Why did you suddenly have the feeling that the overseas Chinese in the United States in the 80s looked at the mainland compatriots? Levi, who was sitting on the side, interjected.

“…… That's exactly what it feels! According to statistics, there are about 800 million people in India who earn less than 3,000 rupees a month......"

“…… In other words, most Indians have a monthly income of less than 300 yuan?! It's so poor that I can't say anything! ”

Wang Qiu shook his head and sighed, and then glanced at the dazzling array of dishes on the long table next to him, "...... So, how much does our buffet cost? ”

“…… Rs 1,200 per person, which is a relatively affordable price! Bai Quanyi Health Commissioner said very blandly.

-- At this moment, Wang Qiu couldn't help but have a feeling of "Zhumen's wine and meat stink, and there are frozen bones on the road......

It seems that any ordinary Chinese tourist who arrives in India will probably have the illusion of becoming rich in an instant.

However, in the final analysis, this is all a matter for the Indians themselves, and none of the people present here are the Holy Mother who has too much mercy, and in the face of the threat of the zombie apocalypse, they can't care about such trivial matters at all...... However, just as they were about to check out and leave, they were intrigued by the new TV images.

-- On the television screen, there was an interview with the demonstrators in Ramlila Square: I don't know who hastily built a wooden platform under the Delhi Gate, a landmark building, on which stood a trembling old man, holding a model of an onion made of styrofoam, preaching something into the microphone, and every few words he spoke, there was a burst of applause and echoes below...... Next to him, a beautiful woman in a sari was holding his arm.

“…… It's not ...... Mr. Ayu and his daughter-in-law? They seemed to be right next door to us! ”

Looking at the radiant appearance of the old man on TV, Wang Qiu couldn't help but smack his tongue and said, "...... Good boy! This old man has only been back in India for a few days? Just came out to lead a political rally? It's really damn bad...... Don't go to the embassy just yet! We went straight to the square next door to find them! ”

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After a difficult crowd of people, Wang Qiu and his wife finally found the old gentleman with the same name as Ashoka of the ancient Indian Mauryan Dynasty on the Ramlila Square before they were sunburned and suffered from heat stroke, and Karina, a daughter-in-law who was supporting him on the podium. The other party obviously also recognized Wang Qiu and others, who had just been separated for a few days, and followed them to the Chinese Embassy very cooperatively and did a comprehensive physical examination.

Then, the results of the examination made Wang Qiu and the others mixed - the good news is that Mr. Ayu and his daughter-in-law are healthy, do not have any signs of infection with the T virus, and do not have to worry about the outbreak of zombie frenzy in the Indian capital for the time being. Worriedly, I was accompanied by Ayu. His son, Chandra, with whom Mr. Shukla went to heal himself, is now not in Delhi, but has returned to his hometown in Bihar to deal with some important investment and business matters.

In this way, because they still need to keep the Indians secret, they can't tell the truth about the possible spread of the T virus, and Wang Qiu and they can't let Mr. Ayu forcibly call his son from more than 1,000 kilometers away for no reason, so they can only rush over to find someone and test him.

For this reason, the question of how to get to the destination of Bihar as quickly as possible was assigned to the head of the health commissioner of Baiquanyi......

After frowning and making a few phone calls, Bai Quanyi said: Because Wang Qiu and they were in such a hurry that they were going to leave today, they really couldn't book train tickets for a while and a half, let alone plane tickets for domestic flights in India...... Fortunately, he still found a domestic tour group that departed from New Delhi to Bihar this afternoon, and he could rub their tour bus over with a few nice words.

However, there seems to be something peculiar about the nature of this tour......

“…… Buddhist pilgrimage tours? Are there any Buddhist shrines over there? Wang Qiu blinked in surprise, as if thoughtful.

“…… Don't you know? Bihar in India is the earliest birthplace of Buddhism! The Bodhi tree where the Buddha Shakyamuni attained enlightenment grew in the place where you were going......" Bai Quanyi explained as he casually stuffed him with a tourist flyer.