"What? Coke is cheaper than water? How is this possible?"
Miranda looked in disbelief.
"I remember that although the products here are not rich, there is still a river passing by. It is enough to collect water for daily irrigation of the fields. It basically costs no money. How can it be more expensive than Coke?"
"That was many years ago."
The old man shook his head and took another sip of Coke before saying: "Originally, there was a lot of water here, but a few years ago, the Lighthouse Country built a dam on the upper reaches, blocking the river. If you want to use water, you need to pay the original fee.
Times the water fee, and the supply is limited. However, the Coke company wants water at a price lower than the market price, so that Coke is much cheaper than water. People can only drink Coke, but cannot afford water, let alone water. Now farming,
Basically, we rely on collecting rainwater."
After the old man finished speaking, he shook his head.
"What about groundwater? I remember that groundwater is abundant here, and almost every house has a well."
Miranda asked.
"The groundwater has been drained long ago." The old man shook his head and said, "Now everyone grows avocados, which consume a lot of water. After several years of planting, the water is getting less and less, and the land is dry.
There is also well water."
The old man shook his head and said.
"But if it's so water-consuming, why grow avocados? Wouldn't it be great to grow corn?"
Miranda is puzzled. She clearly remembers that this is the land of corn, famous for corn, peppers, tomatoes, vegetables, etc. Why did everyone suddenly switch to corn planting?
"Aren't they those damn politicians in the city hall and United Fruit? Avocados are in short supply in the lighthouse countries, so they encourage us to plant them. If anyone dares to disobey the order, they will sprinkle defoliants on their fields. Once it is sprayed,
After decades of being unable to recover, the entire land was abandoned, and even the groundwater was polluted, making it impossible to drink. With no other option, everyone switched to avocado planting."
The old man sighed.
"Damn."
Miranda clenched her fists with both hands.
"Is there any way to help them?"
Miranda asked Zhang Tuohai, but there was no reply.
Miranda looked back and found Zhang Tuohai looking at the big screen at the airport.
At this time, the big screen was playing news about the Lighthouse Country. The news showed that the leader of the Lighthouse Country was touring Latin America and paying a state visit to Latin America.
Zhang Tuohai's eyes shone with excitement because he discovered that the leader of the Lighthouse Country was actually Zhi Ye.
"So you are here!"
A smile appeared on Zhang Tuohai's lips. What he was most worried about was that he would not be able to find Zhiye. In that case, he would not be able to do it even with all his strength.
However, now that we know where Zhi Ye is, it's different. Exposing Zhi Ye's location is equivalent to showing up his health bar, and Zhang Tuohai has a chance to kill.
At least we have a direction to work towards.
"Zhang Tuohai, Zhang Tuohai." Miranda gently shook Zhang Tuohai's shoulders.
"Huh? What's the matter?"
Zhang Tuohai turned around and asked.
"Is there any way you can help them?" Miranda's eyes were full of hope.
Along the way, Zhang Tuohai gave her too many surprises, which made her completely regard Zhang Tuohai as an omnipotent existence, so that when she encountered a problem, she would want to ask Zhang Tuohai if he had a solution.
p>
"Water source, avocado, dam, Coke..." Zhang Tuohai held his chin and thought about it.
"I have some ideas, but we need to see how to operate it in detail. Let's go to your uncle's farm first."
Zhang Tuohai said.
"Well, okay." Miranda nodded. She also knew that such a big matter would definitely not be solved in a day or two. If it were that easy to solve, there would be no need for them to step forward.
The two people stopped a car and drove towards Uncle Miranda's farm.
There are farms on both sides of the road, which originally grew corn and various vegetables. The fields are colorful and very beautiful.
But now, all the farmland is planted with low avocado trees, which are gray and endless as far as the eye can see, making people feel depressed.
Miranda's mood also dropped.
In about twenty minutes, the two arrived at Uncle Miranda's farm. Like other farms, it was also full of low avocado trees.
"Uncle."
Miranda walked towards a double-story wooden house in the center of the farm.
Before arriving at the wooden house, the two saw several large pickup trucks parked in front of the wooden house, and there were bursts of quarrels in the house.
"Go over and have a look."
Zhang Tuohai reached for the pistol at his waist and followed Miranda into the wooden house.
In the wooden house, there were five or six young people wearing leather jackets, surrounding a middle-aged man. The middle-aged man was wearing a plaid shirt, jeans, and a straw hat. He held a double-barreled shotgun in his hand and looked like an old man.
Cowboy dress.
"Get out of my farm, Old Tom will not give in to you."
The middle-aged man said coldly.
"Oh, Old Tom, I advise you to realize that $1,000 per acre of avocados is already a very fair price. You have made so much selling avocados. Isn't it too much for us to charge a little dividend?"
The young man at the head said with a sneer.
"Huh, how much can an acre of avocado cost? How much does it cost to buy water for irrigation? Doesn't it cost money to buy fertilizer? How much can I earn in a year? You asked for 1,000 dollars per acre. Why don't we give away the farm?
For you?"
Old Tom said angrily.
"Give it to us? We are too lazy to be stupid farmers. Let me tell you, we have to order this 1,000 dollars. At this time tomorrow, prepare the money for me, otherwise, we will wait to be sprayed with defoliant."
Several young people did not bother and turned around to leave.
He walked straight out the door, got back in the pickup truck and drove away.
"Uncle Tom..."
Miranda stood nearby, not knowing what to say.
"It's Miranda, sit down."
When Old Tom saw Miranda coming, he sighed, hung the double-barreled shotgun on the wall, turned around and took out two bottles of Coke from the refrigerator and placed them on the table.
"I'm sorry, there is nothing else at home, only this."
Old Tom sighed.
"Uncle, who are they?"
Miranda asked curiously.
"They are members of the Viper Gang, they came here to ask for protection money, these blood-sucking borers."
Old Tom said and punched the table.
"But if they really spray defoliants, wouldn't the entire farm be destroyed? Or, why don't we discuss with them and give them less?"
Miranda said hesitantly.
"Even if we deal with them, there will be another one." Old Tom shook his head and said, "There are countless gangs, big and small, around here, and each of them will come to share a piece of the pie, a little bit from this one, a little bit from that one,
All the harvest for the whole year has been lost, and this year is the worst. The weather is dry today, and I am already short of water. I still need to buy water at a high price from the water dealer. My income has been reduced a lot, and they have increased the protection fee. This
It is forcing us to die."
This chapter has been completed!