Shuangling: Braving the Rapids

"Young man, thank you!" The refined old man smiled and thanked Yue Chuan, then took out an exquisite fountain pen from his briefcase. "I'm so old, I can't just take your money for nothing. Here's a pen I have, you can have it."

Although he felt a little reluctant to spend the five cents, Yue Chuan couldn't possibly accept such an expensive gift. After hesitating for a second, he waved his hand and refused, "Sir, please don't be so polite. I heard you were going to Qin Family Village in Songyue Town? I'm from that village too!"

"Really!" The refined old man's eyes lit up, and he continued, "I'm going there to find one of my students. It would be wonderful if you could show me the way!"

"Who are you looking for?" Yue Chuan asked with interest.

"He's a middle school teacher now, his name is Qin Aimin..."

Before the old man could finish speaking, Yue Chuan's eyes widened instantly. "Qin Aimin, that's my uncle!"

Upon hearing this, the refined old man smiled so much that his eyes narrowed into slits. He talked to the boy about loving the people, and soon the two became acquainted.

Fate is truly wondrous. This refined old man was none other than Professor Meng, his mentor from his time at Aimin University. He came here partly to reminisce with his beloved student, and partly to fulfill a request—otherwise, a dignified professor like himself would never have ventured alone into such a remote mountain valley.

"I always heard my uncle praise your scholarship, and he even said that you studied in the Soviet Union. Could you tell me some of your legendary experiences?" Yue Chuan's eyes revealed a hint of envy.

"Your uncle flatters me. When I was your uncle's age, I was still weeding in the fields!" Professor Meng smoothed his hair, a humble smile on his face.

"Really? You don't look like a farmer at all?" Yue Chuan said with great surprise.

"A few years ago, 'stinking intellectuals' like me were sent down to the countryside. I was practically a farmer myself. Life was tough back then, but now that I'm old, I start to miss it. Isn't that funny? Hehehe..."

Professor Meng recounted his past experiences living in the countryside with great enthusiasm, even bursting into laughter at amusing parts, which surprised Yue Chuan. Despite being a highly educated scholar, he was incredibly approachable, which greatly increased Yue Chuan's positive impression of him. He secretly observed the man, wondering how he could possess such a strong "rural complex."

Yue Chuan grew up in the countryside, but he was determined to leave the mountain village through education since he was a child. This idea was further strengthened after studying in the county town for more than a year.

This isn't to say the boy is materialistic or snobbish, but rather that he has gained a direct understanding of the urban-rural divide: for example, city children can commute to school, while it takes him most of the day to get home. In his subconscious, the countryside has long been synonymous with poverty and backwardness.

The boy's mind flashed with images of Li Baihui and Kong Tao. He didn't dare dwell on it too much, but instead sighed to the old man, "Professor Meng, I think... the villagers are different now than you were back then. There are more and more people with ulterior motives. Otherwise, Uncle Min's chrysanthemum fields would have been widespread long ago!"

Yue Chuan's words were pointed. When the other party asked for the reason, he told Professor Meng everything about Ah Huang's murder, Kikuta's destruction, and the conflict between Aimin and the mining group.

After listening to the boy's description, Professor Meng frowned. Although he knew some of the things from Aimin's letters, none of them were as detailed as Yue Chuan's account. He knew his beloved student was only reporting good news and not bad, while the boy's account was very likely the truth.

"The kind of virtuous gentry who used to pass down their knowledge and skills and serve their communities have largely been driven out by corrupt gentry today. Grassroots elites are gradually becoming corrupt gentry and troublemakers. It seems that this is indeed a problem."

A thought suddenly flashed through Professor Meng's mind. He didn't say it directly, but instead patted Yue Chuan's shoulder meaningfully and encouraged him, "Hmm, your observation is very insightful. In the context of the industrial age, almost everyone is pursuing personal wealth, which has led to many tragic events. To solve these problems, we must first understand the basic national conditions—our current main goal is to achieve full industrialization, and in this process, there will be a series of problems such as the gap between rich and poor and environmental pollution..."

Professor Meng's words were insightful and immediately touched upon the essence of the matter. Yue Chuan, standing to the side, was dumbfounded; he hadn't expected a mere complaint to provoke such a grand topic.

Seeing the boy staring at him with a confused look in his eyes, Professor Meng smiled and explained, "Why was modern China completely crushed by Western countries? On the surface, it was because they had powerful ships and cannons, but the fundamental reason was that they industrialized before us. You must understand that there is a world of difference between industrialized countries and agricultural countries. In short, if we don't develop an equipment manufacturing industry centered on large-scale machine production, they could come back to attack us at any time."

"Increasing investment in equipment manufacturing requires acquiring massive amounts of raw materials and cheap labor. In this process, we will inevitably make huge sacrifices—in order to obtain resources, we will not hesitate to damage the environment, and so many farmers will have to leave their homes to work in big cities. These are all very thorny issues, but I firmly believe that as long as we get through this stage of development, the problems will most likely be solved."

Professor Meng, a scholar of both Chinese and Western learning, explained complex issues in a simple and clear way. The boy suddenly felt enlightened. However, Yue Chuan then frowned again after a moment's thought. "Uncle Aimin has always wanted to engage in joint planting with the villagers, but they don't understand. Even my uncle says he's foolish. But I know that what he's doing is simply to protect the forests while creating economic value. If everyone thought that way, wouldn't the problem be solved immediately?"

The old professor pondered for a moment, nodding and then shaking his head, unable to answer the boy's question for a moment. He was concerned with macro-strategy, while the high school student in front of him was preoccupied with his Uncle Aimin. The old man and the young man were not on the same wavelength at all, and he didn't know how they had ended up talking for so long.

Seeing the old professor remain noncommittal, Yue Chuan sighed and continued, "I believe the problem can be solved, but I'm worried that Uncle Aimin will offend those miners, and in the end, won't he face retaliation?"

At this point, Yue Chuan paused for a moment. For some reason, several annoying faces appeared in his mind—the "Five Tiger Brothers," Zheng Xiong, and the scarred man. Perhaps these people had left a shadow in the depths of his heart.

The boy's concerns were also Professor Meng's worries. He knew that no matter how good the theoretical analysis was, it was not as good as actually solving the problem. He firmly believed that Aimin was the person who could solve the problem, but it was precisely because of this that he was even more worried about his beloved student's personal safety.

In real life, where are there so many selfless people? Very few people truly respond to the idea of ​​"letting the rich get rich first to help the poor get rich later." This is not a theoretical issue, nor is it an ideological issue; it reflects the essence of human nature. It may not be difficult for wealthy people to give alms to the poor, but it is probably as difficult as climbing to heaven to make them stand on equal footing with those behind them.

The boy's question stirred up a storm in the professor's mind. He was somewhat perplexed, wondering why the seemingly gentle boy possessed such fierceness. After a long pause, he countered, "I won't answer you yet; I'll ask you first: Do you think Aimin has considered these questions you've raised?"

Seeing the boy nod, Professor Meng said, "If Aimin were truly afraid of retaliation, he wouldn't have faced the challenge head-on. He's my student, and I know his resilience. Being crushed by this difficulty is simply not his style!"

Professor Meng's praise for his beloved student greatly boosted Yue Chuan's confidence. The two wanted to chat a little longer, but unexpectedly, the minibus had already arrived at the entrance of Qinjiazhuang Village.