Diary of the construction of Daoming n.2 - 5
Today I returned to Zhangpojiao. This time I stayed there for 3 days to give some encouragement to the villagers and to try to solve all the problems that have arisen with the construction.
The water tank we are building seems very strong and all the walls are completely covered with large stones. In addition, we have made ourselves the explosions in the mountains and brought the stones one by one, and so we saved a lot of money.
To take advantage of the rainy season (which is about to start) and in order to have the deposit ready for that moment, all the villagers, men and women, adults and children, took part in the work. Even 3 years old children were there helping to lift the stones, so that the construction site was an odd mixture of children and adults. There were also many mothers carrying their babies on their backs working. It was a really touching scene.
Even, to show their gratitude, they have invented two songs, and now they are all capable of singing both in the Miao language and in Mandarin. It is truly touching to hear them.
Yesterday, my husband Li Shu came to pick me, but as it was raining and the road was very slippery, the wheels of our car got stucked with big pieces of mud , so we had no choice but to stop the car at the beginning of the slope. So the villagers brought their cows and carts and pulled our car to the top of the hill. Many villagers followed us and would not leave, because, as the road was so slippery, the car could barely move.
Every time we got stucked, there they were to push the car, and when the car fell sometime in ditches, there they were to lift the car and put it again on good soil. They told us that if they were not afraid to lift the stones to the water tank, they would not fear to lift the car so we could get out. And they continued to do so until we got to the next town of Yi ethnic group. Our car bumpers have been badly bruised and we did not reach the Yi village until very late at night, and from there, the inhabitants of Zhangbojiao returned to their village.
The school building is nearly complete, but the construction of the water tank will still need at least another month. The latter has been a formidable task much more difficult and that the construction of the school. But we hope to have everything ready to be opened in July.
Chenli - 陈 利