Lanzhou Railway Station (Photo: M. Griffiths)
Read Under Development - (Part 1) Frustration here.
Read Under Development - (Part 2) Distraction here.
Under Development
(Part 3)
Elation
“Hello.”
“Justin
Greenwood?”
“Yes.”
“Hi,
it’s Stacey Hendricks from M.A.C. We talked last month and you came in to the
office see Mr Taggart about getting some project work.
“Oh,
yes of course. How are you?”
“Good.
Well actually not so good. It was ok until yesterday. Mr Taggart is not here,
as you know, and now one of the projects is going off the rails. And the team
leader just, ummm, went out of commission”
“Really,
what happened?”
The
line went silent for several moments.
“Ah,
well, it’s not for me to say.”
“Oh,
sure, I understand.”
“Yes.
Well, anyway, we have replaced him with a team leader from another project, and
replaced that one with another guy. It’s a crazy game of musical chairs…” her voice
rose slightly in pitch, “...but it still leaves us one person short.” He heard
her exhale and the line went silent. “Where are you now?”
“I’m
in Yunnan working on a volunteer project.”
“How
soon can you get to Gansu?”
“Gansu?”
“Yes.
Gansu province in north west China. Do you know it?
“A
little, I passed through a few weeks ago when I was travelling.”
“Good.
We have a small pilot project there and we think...I think you would be
suitable for the job. The project plan is already mostly drafted, but there is
still some work to do to finalise the details. It’s kind of urgent. Are you interested?
If you are I can send you some information.”
A
grin spread across his face. “Yes, definitely. That’d be great.”
After
a wearying forty hours and thirty seven minutes on a train Justin arrived in
Lanzhou, the capital city of Gansu province. In his laptop he had a project
plan, the half completed preliminary project report and his notes from a long
phone call with Stacey and the project coordinator in Beijing. And a name.
“Justin
Greenwood?”
“Yes.
Wang Xiaoping?”
“Very
pleased to meet you.” She extended her hand.
“And
you.” said Justin shaking it.
“You
can call me Lily." She held his hand a few seconds longer and smiled. “You are
very handsome Mr Justin.” She slowly let his hand drop. “Come with me. I will
take you to your accommodation. Tomorrow a car will take us to the county where
the project is located.”
“I’m
looking forward to it. And thank you for meeting me. I speak some Chinese but
it will be very useful to have an interpreter.”
“You are welcome Mr Justin.
It is my job.”
The
next morning they rode a Landrover to a medium sized country town which was the
centre of the project. The local government had selected five of the
surrounding villages for the pilot project.
In
the first villages Wang ordered the driver to stop outside a house . A man came
out. “This is Zhao Rusheng. He is the local teacher. His father is the village
head but he is not well so Mr Zhao is helping us. He is a teacher but he has
summer holiday now.”
“Welcome
Mr Justin. It am very pleased to meet you. The previous project manager, Mr
Lucas, was very good man. I hope we can cooperate very well together to benefit
the village.”
“Thank
you. You speak very good English.”
Zhao
Rusheng indicated a young woman in the garden tending a small vegetable plot by
the kitchen door. He noticed fruit trees in the garden too. “This is my sister
Zhao Shuhui.”
She
stood up and smiled at him from beneath a head of long black hair tied up- in
pony tail “Ni hao, huan ying ni lai women
jia.” she said in slow clear Chinese. Hello and welcome to our home. She
wore black pants and a loose pink shirt. She was slightly shorter than Zhao
Rusheng and carried herself with a compact grace.
“Xie xie. Renshi ni hen gaoxing.” Justin
replied. Thank you, it’s very nice to meet you.
“Ni de zhong wen hen hao.” she said
smiling. Your Chinese is very good.
“Na li, na li.” he said blushing. Not at
all.
Zhao
Rusheng motioned them inside. An older woman sat on the sofa. “This is my Mother.”
“Nin hao.” Hello. Justin nodded
respectfully
“Please
come in for some tea and we can talk.” He motioned toward the front door. They
drank tea and Zhao Rusheng discussed the aspects of the project. Hill sides
areas were to be planted with trees to prevent erosion, and to replace the lost
income from the extra land area the lower slopes would be planted with tree
crops and the local agricultural crops would be processed to get higher prices.
But there were still lots of details to be worked out as Stacey had said. What
crops, what machinery was needed, where it should be located and who would
control it were still to be decided. Plus who and how it was going to be paid
for. Justin’s initial research had cast some doubts on the choice for tree
species. He thought using something local would be more likely to survive, and be
better ecologically, rather than planting an introduced species which seemed to
be the plan.
After
their discussion Lily insisted they leave and drive back to town. “The mayor
wants to meet you this afternoon. He supports this project very much and he has
made an office for you in his building.”
The
mayor was a dapper fifty year old, with his hair slicked back. He wore a simple
open necked shirt and dark slacks over black slip-on shoes. Justin noticed an
expensive-looking watch on his wrist, and nicotine stains on his fingers. He
turned and indicated the official responsible for economic development in the
country, a Mr Liu.
After
the initial introductions he immediately invited Justin for lunch. They drove
to a restaurant a few minutes away and commandeered a large private room. The
mayor quickly gave instructions to the staff and food and drinks began to
appear. A waitress opened a bottle of bai
jiu, Chinese spirits, and filled the small ceramic cups placed in front of
each guest. Justin braced himself. He had heard about Chinese officials’ drinking
habits.
The
mayor stood to make a toast “We look forward to our cooperating with our
international partners on this project to make our county more self-reliant, richer
and more sustainable. Gan bei!”
Cheers. He drained his cup and then they began to eat.
After
several dishes the mayor rose to make another toast. Justin demurred, saying he
had to work in the afternoon. The mayor insisted.
“In Gansu the tradition is the guest must
drink four cups for each cup we drink. To cement our friendship.”
Justin
shuddered inwardly. Each of the accompanying officials rose in turn to make a
toast and emptied one cup. Justin dutifully drank four each time. He lost count
after twenty cups. Mr Liu took pity on him when his turn came and only gave him
one cup to drink. The languid effects seeped into his veins and fogged his
brain.
The
mayor continued his discussion of the project. Lily sat beside him and
translated. “Trees are very good for environment. The county government fully
supports this project.”
Justin
tried in vain to shake the cotton wool out of his head.
“Yes
about that.” He could hear himself slurring slightly, “The draft report says
that you plan to plant poplar, but my research tells me that there are some
risks.”
“No
problem. Poplar is very good tree for this area. After lunch I will personally
take you to the nursery and show you the trees we will plant.”
When
the government SUVs pulled into the yard of the nursery a large red banner hung
over the front the building, with large words printed in Chinese and English “Welcome New Manager For Gansu
Forestry-Agriculture Pilot Project.”
Justin
blinked. What the...? How did they know
we were coming?”
They
hopped out of the vehicles and the mayor introduced him to the owner who bobbed
his head and shook hands enthusiastically. Outside Justin could see several
staff working among the rows of greenery. His head pounded and he walked slowly
behind the group. The mayor and his entourage showed him around the nursery,
proudly waving at the long rows of green seedlings.
“We
plant these poplar seedlings along the road sides all around the county.
That’s true,
thought Justin, and not just here, they’re
all over China. Damn, I need to pee again.
“They
grow quickly and straight and they are very attractive.” The mayor continued. Beside
him Mr Liu smiled a gap toothed grin and nodded. Lily spoke rapidly to keep up
with the spiel. When they reached the building again the mayor smiled broadly
at Justin. “The quality of the trees will be excellent. I personally guarantee
it.” He nodded confidently. “The manager is my brother-in-law.”
********
The find
out more about the ‘out of commission’ Team Leader see my story Arrested Development.
Tell me what you think. Constructive comments welcome.
If you like the story share with it with your friends.
If you like the story share with it with your friends.
********
Read Under Development - (Part 1) Frustration here.
Read Under Development - (Part 2) Distraction here.
Read Under Development - (Part 4) Deflation here.
Merry Christmas to all !!!
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Tell me what you think. Constructive comments welcome.
If you like the story share with it with your friends.
If you like the story share with it with your friends.
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