6. Cloudy mountains, foggy seas, and deep valleys
In the morning, he went to the stone pool to wash up, but he saw the mountains under his feet covered in clouds and mist. In front of him was a sea of clouds.
There was a large valley in the southeast direction behind the hill we were on. The valley and the mountains on the other side of the valley were all hidden in the sea of fog. Some of the peaks were like islands floating in the sea, appearing and disappearing in the flowing clouds. The horizon to the east of the sea of clouds was red. In a flash, a huge red sun appeared in the clouds, dyeing the surrounding clouds red and coating the mountains floating on the sea of clouds with a layer of red. The sun was unprecedentedly large, and it was as red as a red balloon covered in gauze. After a while, the sun jumped out of the clouds and shone on the mountains.
The sunrise of the Wa Mountains in northern Myanmar was so spectacular that it was unimaginable if one did not come here.
The slope we were on was surrounded by mountains and patches of primeval rainforest. Other than olives, water melons, banyan trees, and wild banana trees, he didn't know much about them. The hillside we live on is flat and there are few trees. We chose a place to build the shed on the mountainside facing the east. We borrowed two hoes from Boss Zhang and used the machetes we bought to clean the foundation.
Guan Yunwu and Shen Qiyou went to the mine, leaving only Luo Ruhui, Zhou Xingzong, Chen Hui, Cousin, Bi Min, and me. Clearing the foundation was a very tiring job. Weeds and thorns would easily pull out their hands and feet if they were not careful. It was easy to cut down the miscellaneous trees, but it was very laborious to clean up the stumps. After working for a long time, Zhou Zongxing said he wanted to go to the mining department to take a look and left. Chen Hui was a dandy and had never done this kind of work before. He only pretended to pluck a few clumps of grass in the morning, but for most of the day, he was joking with Bi Min and simply disappeared during the day. Luo Ruhui was fat. After swinging the machete twice, he sat down and panted as he smoked. Bi Min could only fill in the numbers symbolically. Only my cousin Shi Tianlin and I can work. I was sweating all over, so Cousin had to follow suit. But he scolded Chen Hui and Zhou Xingzong while doing it. Luo Ruhui only scolded Chen Hui, saying,"Zhou Xingzong went to do business, but that little bastard slipped away to hide in the shade. Da Bao, I don't think we can do it alone. We have to get some work." I'll discuss it with Mr. Giant Panda tonight!”
In the evening, Luo Ruhui told Guan Yunwu about hiring a worker, and Guan Yunwu agreed.
Cousin stared at Chen Hui and said,"Originally, when everyone came out together, we had to put in the effort and pay the money." But today, a little bastard disappeared after mixing around for a while. He doesn't look like he's here to mine, but more like he's here to sightsee…"
"What right do you, a small handyman, have to make irresponsible remarks?”Chen Hui stood up immediately." Little bastard, you're rebelling! If you say another word, I'll slap you!"
Cousin still wanted to cause trouble for no reason. Hearing his scolding, he didn't say anything and jumped up to pounce on Chen Hui. However, before he could get close, Chen Hui kicked him in the chest. Cousin was kicked to the ground. When he got up, he had already pulled out the Type 65 paratrooper knife from his waist and pounced on Chen Hui again. Chen Hui sneered. When he got close, he quickly moved sideways and tripped his cousin, causing him to fall to the ground. When he got up, I had already hugged him and shouted sternly,"Forget it, what are you doing? Why would he brandish his knife so casually? Was he trying to kill someone?”
Cousin looked at me. I glared at him." Put it away. You're not his opponent. Don't embarrass yourself."”
Cousin was probably afraid of Chen Hui as well. He hesitated for a moment before putting away his knife.
"Da Bao, you have to control this little bastard. If you can't manage it, tell me, and I'll help you manage it! Hmph, that Japanese Ronin's three-legged cat martial arts, and he still dared to show it off!”Chen Hui looked at Bi Min proudly and said with a smile.
" You…" I didn't expect his words to be so unpleasant, but I tried my best to suppress my anger. No matter what, I have no enmity with him. He was the one who introduced me to Myanmar, so I shouldn't fight with him.
Cousin's temper will definitely cause trouble one day, but it seems that Chen Hui is not a good person. In the future, there will inevitably be conflicts between us. This was not a good sign.
"Xiao Shi, why did you use a knife and a gun just because of a disagreement? I have to change it in the future!" Guan Yunwu frowned.
"Guan Gong, don't worry. I will teach him!”Chen Hui smiled. Cousin stood up again and I pressed him down.
"Chen Hui. Let's not talk about this." I said," We still have to work together!”
"Hmph, who will cooperate with you? Can you reach it? What do you have? Money or power?"
" You..." I stood up abruptly, but then I woke up and slowly sat down. I glared at him. I didn't expect him to be such a person. I didn't know before.
I looked at Bi Min, and she was looking at me. When their eyes met, she quickly looked away.
The next day, we continued cleaning the foundation. Chen Hui disappeared after a while. Cousin looked depressed and dispirited. He didn't have the energy from yesterday.
At noon, Zhou Xingzong suddenly brought two men over. He pointed at a skinny man and introduced him as the Wa headman.
The leader looked to be in his forties. His face was yellow and black, and he wore a checkered short-sleeved shirt. There were tattoos on his thin arms. He did not look like a man, but he looked like a problematic youth in China. The other man was dressed in plain clothes with a Burmese knife on his waist. He was obviously a Wa.
It turned out that they were here to demand compensation. The headman said that we cut down the Wa man's bamboo and asked us to compensate him in RMB.
We didn't know what bamboo we had cut, but when they pointed it out, it turned out to be a clump of thin bamboo that was only two to three centimeters thick. There were huge bamboos all over the mountains and plains. Some were as thick as a bucket and were more than 30 meters tall. They called them dragon bamboos, and each one cost only five yuan. This clump of bamboo is insignificant. I thought it was a clump of wild bamboo. However, the headman said that it belonged to that man and actually charged a hundred yuan. This was clearly blackmail.
"This is his bamboo. Or they'll bleed you!……”The headman's voice was as sharp as a woman's.
The money was temporarily managed by Chen Hui. Zhou Xingzong pulled Guan Yunwu aside for a discussion and asked Chen Hui to give them 100 yuan.
"Is it enough?" Zhou Xingzong smiled at his opponent.
"Too many." the headman said.
"Not much, not much. You have to compensate for the damage!”Guan Yunwu smiled." This is our glorious tradition.”
"If I say it's too much, it's too much!" said the headman unhappily.
Guan Yunwu was startled. Zhou Xingzong narrowed his eyes and made a funny face at us. He smiled at the enemy and said,"Then 50 yuan, no less. If it's any less, it won't be presentable!"
"It's too much. Just give him five yuan! Little Ma, thank me!" The leader took the cigarette from me and said in an unquestionable tone.
Little Ma immediately smiled and nodded at us, looking very happy.
The two of them sat for a while, drinking water and smoking. Zhou Xingzong took the opportunity to talk about hiring. The headman asked Xiao Ma to lead us to the stockade tomorrow to look for him.
After they left, everyone started talking about the Wa region's history.
The Burmese Party was founded in 1939 and established a base in the Bago Mountains in southern Myanmar in the 1950s. However, under the attack of the government forces, the troops scattered, and some armed forces gathered in the northern part of Myanmar along the China-Myanmar border. Until the end of the 1960s, the armed forces of northern Myanmar made contact with the central government of the Burmese Party and established the People's Liberation Army of the Burmese Party. Armed with advanced weapons, the people's army won many battles and became the king of the mountain. Their power grew stronger and stronger. The vast area of the upper reaches of the Salween River in Shan State of Myanmar, where we are, is controlled by the Burmese government. Among the several military regions of the Burmese government, the armed forces in the central military region were mainly Wa people. They were very hardworking and had strong combat effectiveness.
In 1989, various local forces in northern Myanmar broke away from the Burmese Party. The Wa also formed a coalition party and a coalition army. Through negotiations with the Myanmar government, the Myanmar government established it as the "Second Special Zone of Shan State". However, the Wa people called themselves the Wa State. The Wa leaders were very smart and would not admit that they were a special zone on any occasion. The Wa State had its own political organization and program, and it was not a grass-roots armed force that occupied the mountains.
"Wa State has friendly relations with China. We welcome the boss of China to invest in mining here. We have to respect them and get along well with the Wa people!”Zhou Xingzong said.
No one expressed any objections and felt that he was right.
This book comes from：m.funovel.com。