Zhou Mengqian was sitting next to Mo Yurou. Seeing that Mo Yurou was staring outside, she sat next to her and started to introduce the situation here.
At this time, Mo Yurou looked at the endless mountains in the distance and asked.
"Didn't anyone come here to invest in the tourism industry before? The environment here is so good."
Mo Yurou seemed to have seen the business opportunities here, but as soon as she finished speaking, the young man sitting behind them who was responsible for receiving them spoke.
"We have been here before. In order to get rid of poverty and become rich, the local government is trying its best to attract investment, but those people came here for a while and never came back. In fact, we know very well that ordinary people will not choose to invest here.
Look at this road, who would want to come to a place like this? No matter how nice the environment is, it’s of no use as it can’t transfer money.”
Having said this, the young man sighed, then pointed to a winding mountain road not far away and said.
"Miss Mo, look over there, we have been building that road for almost five years, but we have only completed less than one-tenth of it. This is a mountainous area, and the cost of building roads in the mountains is already higher than in the plains.
Our government's economy here is limited, so we can only have a little money to build a few roads."
After Mo Yurou heard this, she fell into a long silence. Obviously, the conditions here were far worse than they imagined, and the poverty alleviation plan they made at the beginning was probably just a solution to the current predicament.
At this moment, Mo Yurou suddenly thought of a question and asked again.
“Where are the Hope Primary Schools we donated this time located?”
"These places are all in the mountains more than 20 kilometers away from the county seat. The first three schools built can solve the problem of more than 100 local children having difficulty studying. Otherwise, those children would have to spend two or three dollars a day.
On my way to and from school."
After hearing what the young man said, Mo Yurou thought for a moment and continued to ask.
"What about Liuhezi Village? Is there a school there?"
When Mo Yurou said this, the young man was stunned for a moment. Even Zhou Mengqian on the side was a little surprised.
"Miss Mo, you don't know something. The places we chose this time are all suitable for construction. As for the Liuhezi Village you mentioned, it is more than fifty kilometers away from the county seat. The key village is there.
On the mountain, access is only by walking, and the construction team cannot enter at all. The final destination of the road I just mentioned, which has been built for more than five years, is that village. Given the current situation, it will be very difficult to implement it."
Hearing this, Mo Yurou frowned slightly and glanced at Zhou Mengqian beside her. Zhou Mengqian looked lonely because this village was where Zhou Mengqian had lived since she was a child. At this moment, Mo Yurou somewhat knew how successful Zhou Mengqian was.
It's not easy.
"What should we do if the children in that village go to school? Or should we say that there is a school in the village?"
"It's gone long ago. At first there were two tile-roofed houses there, but three or four years ago, we couldn't find the teachers who used to teach, so the school was closed. Now those who still go to school there can only go next door.
Village. But you have also seen the situation here. It is said to be the village next door, but you still have to walk more than ten kilometers of mountain roads. Most importantly, the school environment there is also very difficult. There are three teachers in total. Basically, each teacher has to
Taught three subjects besides Chinese and Mathematics.”
"I remember when I came back when I graduated from college, wasn't that school still there? Wasn't there a teacher at that time?"
Zhou Mengna on the side was surprised when she heard this.
"Well, you are talking about Xu Fang, Teacher Xu. Three years ago, there was a flood here. Teacher Xu was washed away by the flood while trying to save a student. His body has not been found yet."
As soon as the young man finished speaking, there was almost silence in the carriage, and you could hear a pin drop clearly.
Among the people present, Zhou Mengqian was probably the only one who could feel the poverty here. The others were both shocked and full of sympathy for all this.
The car drove for more than half an hour and finally got out of this rugged road. However, the road ahead was not good at all. It was just a road paved with washed gravel, which was much better than before.
"Miss Mo, everyone, please rest in the car for a while. It's still more than an hour's journey from here to our county. By the way, our secretary was afraid that you might be hungry on the way, so he asked me to bring you some local glutinous rice dumplings.
, I just made it this morning, I wrapped it in cotton quilt, it should still be warm."
As he spoke, the young man walked to the last row, where a large foam box was placed. He opened it and found a thick layer of cotton mattress covering it. When he opened it, the aroma of glutinous rice suddenly wafted out, filling the carriage with a sweet smell.
The faint fragrance immediately made everyone salivate.
"Come on, you're welcome. Our local people grow this glutinous rice themselves, and then add sweet-scented osmanthus and bean paste into it. There are no additives at all. Try them all and get more if you like it."
As he said this, the young people came to the crowd with foam boxes in their arms. They were used to eating elaborately cooked delicacies in the city, but now they were particularly interested in seeing such simple glutinous rice dumplings, which were basically made by hand.
two.
"Miss Mo, take one and try it too."
The young man came to Mo Yurou, picked a larger one and handed it to Mo Yurou.
Zhou Mengqian on the side saw this and was about to help Mo Yurou refuse, but Mo Yurou had already reached out to take it.
"Dr. Mo, can you eat this?"
Mo Yurou had already opened the lotus wrapped outside, put it to her nose, smelled it, and then asked.
"Is there any meat in this?"
The young man shook his head and said.
"No, just glutinous rice, sweet-scented osmanthus and bean paste. Our secretary knew that Miss Mo couldn't eat meat, so she gave us special instructions."
"That's okay."
As she said that, Mo Yurou took a bite and tasted it. She immediately felt the flavor lingering in her teeth, so she took another big bite.
This glutinous rice dumpling looks simple, but I didn't expect it to taste so rich. The fragrance of the glutinous rice itself, plus the fragrance of osmanthus, gives people an endless aftertaste, plus the bean paste inside is as delicate as quicksand, not sweet.
It's not greasy, and paired with the sweetness of the osmanthus, it's definitely a delicious dish.
Mo Yurou took a few bites, then her eyes suddenly flashed, and then she asked the other people in the car.
"What do you think of this glutinous rice dumpling?"
"It's delicious. To be honest, what we have eaten over the years has been filled with various additives, and we have long forgotten the original taste of the food. But this glutinous rice dumpling retains the original taste of the ingredients and has layers of progression. It's a pity that there are many other ingredients on the market.
You can’t buy such delicious glutinous rice dumplings.”
A slightly older man opened his mouth. He had already eaten two and was about to eat the third one.
Others also nodded.
"Yes, I remember Xu Ji also has a dessert like this, but their glutinous rice can't match the chewiness and fragrance of this one, which is much better than the pastry from Xu Ji."
After the young man on the side heard this, he took the foam box over and said.
"If you like it, you can eat more. When you go back, I will ask them to make some for you to take with you on the road."
As soon as the young man finished speaking, Mo Yurou spoke.
"Zhang Yuan, how long can these glutinous rice dumplings be kept?"
"Well, if you keep it at room temperature, it can last for three or four days, but if you have a refrigerator at home, it's okay to keep it for a few months. Of course, if you don't worry about affecting the taste, it's okay for two or three months. You can put it in the pot when you want to eat it.
Just steam it. Many people here like to use it as a staple food, but it’s too laborious to make a small amount at once, so they like to make more at once, then put it in the refrigerator and take it out when they want to eat it. By the way,
You can also make it salty or without adding anything. In short, you can make it according to your own taste."
After hearing this, Mo Yurou seemed to have seen a business opportunity, so she asked again.
"Do you sell it locally?"
When Zhang Yuan heard this, he was stunned for a moment and then said something.
"Who buys this? Almost every household can make it. We are not a tourist city and the locals won't buy it."
At this time, Zhou Mengqian on the side seemed to see Mo Yurou's intention and asked in surprise.
"Dr. Mo, do you want to open a food processing factory that produces glutinous rice dumplings?"
"No, I remember you said that you have a lot of local snacks and agricultural and sideline products here. I thought, if we open a food processing factory here to specialize in producing all kinds of snacks here, including the tea you mentioned before
, dried fruits, etc., and then create a brand with local characteristics and sell it to all parts of the country. Wouldn’t this solve a large part of the economic difficulties of the local people?”