Transmigrated as My Aunt in the 70s

Chapter 653: Chapter 646: Guiyu Town

After some preparations, Sisi went to D City at the end of April, accompanied by Zhang Jie and Shi Lei. Shi Lei had long graduated from university, and like Xiao Zhang, he became a full-time reporter for Green Home after graduation. Through the years of experience, Shi Lei had already become a capable workplace elite.

To save time, Sisi paid for a flight to D City out of her own pocket, and Shi Lei laughed, saying he was benefiting from Sisi’s kindness.

"Mr. He, no wonder Brother Zhang said that going on a business trip must be with you, eating, wearing, living, and traveling are all high-end, much better than going out on public funds."

Sisi smiled, Green Home’s funding was still too little, and many expenses were subsidized by her privately. Last year, the government’s subsidies increased from ten thousand to twenty thousand, which was not even enough to pay wages.

It looks like we need to find a way to get sponsorship. We can’t always subsidize money ourselves!

"Once I bring in a few major sponsors, you all can fly and stay in luxury hotels when on business trips." Sisi generously promised.

Zhang Jie poured cold water on her: "Come on, what we’re doing offends people, which company would sponsor us? It’s good enough that they don’t curse us."

Sisi was silent for a while, then firmly said: "This is just a transitional period. I believe in the future many will thank us and rush to give us money."

"Dream on!" Zhang Jie mocked.

Shi Lei also clearly didn’t believe it, but he still smiled politely.

The three arrived at G City, where Tian Xinhua sent Xiao Zheng to pick them up. D City is a two-hour drive from T City, and Sisi planned to return to T City first, rest for a night, then head to D City.

Xiao Zheng was very familiar with Sisi as well. Seeing her, he smiled widely, "Mr. He, what actions are you taking this time?"

"We’re going to take a look around D City," Sisi simply said, and Xiao Zheng didn’t ask more. This was his cleverness, as Sisi didn’t want to discuss in detail; he naturally remained silent.

The government allocated Tian Xinhua a three-bedroom, one-living-room apartment, which Sisi arranged very warmly, with a master bedroom, a children’s room, plus a guest room, just enough for Zhang Jie and Shi Lei.

Tian Xinhua finished work early to welcome his wife. At thirty-five, Tian Xinhua hadn’t changed much in appearance, but his temperament was more stable, increasingly bearing an official demeanor.

Knowing Sisi’s purpose for the trip, Tian Xinhua specially reminded the three to remember to wear gas masks.

"I just heard about that place; it seems to be a town called Guiyu Town. The people there do this kind of business, and as long as you reach the outskirts, you can smell the foul odor, which most people can’t stand. I was about to call you about this." Tian Xinhua said.

"These people are really too ignorant. For minor profits, they destroy their living environment and may even get sick from those pollutants, harming others and themselves. Why bother?" Shi Lei was really puzzled.

Tian Xinhua sneered: "It’s not minor profits. I heard those bosses, if lucky, can earn millions a year! Even if it’s not good, earning a hundred thousand a year is no problem. Driven by such huge profits, why would they care about pollution? If worse comes to worst, after earning enough, they move somewhere else to live."

"Old Ma is right, with three hundred percent or higher profits, is there anything they wouldn’t dare to do?" Sisi said softly.

"Too selfish, ancient people planted trees for future generations to enjoy shade, but they don’t even leave a way for future generations!" Zhang Jie was also very angry.

Arriving in Guiyu Town, Sisi and the others realized that those blinded by interests didn’t leave a way for future generations, as there was already no way now.

Guiyu people have always had a tradition of buying old goods, determined by local geographical factors, as Guiyu Town is in a low-lying area, a severe floodplain, where crops are basically unreliable.

So, Guiyu people started walking from village to village, collecting chicken feathers, duck feathers, old copper and iron, and gradually began buying old hardware appliances, then foreign electronic waste. As the profits from this business increased, dismantling electronic waste became the main industry in Guiyu, with the majority engaged in this field.

Sisi drove to the town entrance, and indeed, as Tian Xinhua said, a foul odor wafted in with the breeze. Sisi smelled it for a while and felt her throat hurt and dizzy, quickly putting on a gas mask.

"Sisi, can’t stand standing here for a while, how do they live in such a place every day?"

Zhang Jie also quickly put on a mask, greatly admiring these locals’ robust survival abilities.

"It’s like living in a room full of orchids without smelling the fragrance, or living in a room full of salted fish without smelling the stench. Over time, they get used to it." Sisi said.

"But this is chronic suicide! I bet the lifespan of people living here won’t be long." Zhang Jie said confidently.

"That’s why we have to come here! Not only to save these locals but also ourselves. These toxic air won’t dissipate, accumulating to a certain extent, it will slowly spread around. Who knows when it will reach Capital City?"

After saying this, Sisi opened the car door, getting out to take some photos. Although it’s just the town entrance, it’s clear the environment here has severely deteriorated; roadside trees looked wilted, some even dead.

It goes to show how toxic the air here is!

The car continued into the town, at first glance everywhere were new buildings, quite a few cars as well, indicating town people earned quite a bit, yet starkly contrasting were the stinky black roadside rivers.

Underneath each building were piles of electronic waste, old computers, old televisions, old refrigerators, etc.

Also, roadside electronic waste disassembly workshops were everywhere, all household workshops, not large in scale, with workers gathered in twos and threes.

Moreover, Sisi noticed many sorting electronic waste at workshop entrances were teenagers or women, some women carrying sleeping infants, working in these electronic waste without any protection.

They roasted circuit boards at hot air blowers for about two seconds, softening the plastic board, then skillfully and quickly using tweezers to take off chips, capacitors, electrodes, and other electronic components, placing them in different ceramic jars, like herb stores’ medicine compartments.

A burnt plastic smell emanated, spreading all over the town.

This is just the first step in handling electronic waste, the most primitive step; those removed components will be sold to electronic factories, refurbished into new parts. As Sisi later learned, this step isn’t the most profitable but relatively doesn’t damage the environment the most.