"Hello...hello everyone..."
Zhuang Rui was a little stunned. He didn't expect to see outsiders, especially foreigners, in such a remote mountainous area of Tibet.
Chapter 737 Climbing the Mountain
"Hey bro, where are you from? What are you doing here?"
This time, it wasn't the foreigner who spoke, but a young man behind him who looked to be about twenty-one or twenty-two years old and seemed to be from the north, judging from his accent.
"Uh, I'm from... Hong Kong. I'm a staff member of the Foundation for the Prevention of Congenital Heart Disease in Infants and Children. I'm here to investigate and collect statistics on the incidence of diseases in infants born at high altitudes..."
Zhuang Rui almost blurted out that he was from Beijing, but luckily he reacted quickly enough, managing to speak in a Cantonese accent. Whether the other people could understand him was not Zhuang Rui's concern.
Even if Zhuang Rui said he was from Beijing, it wouldn't matter, since there are plenty of Beijingers working in Hong Kong these days.
"What...do you do?"
Upon seeing someone greet Zhuang Rui, Suo Nan immediately walked over and asked with a serious expression. His mission was confidential, and the presence of outsiders, especially foreigners, in the village immediately aroused a strong sense of enmity.
For reasons that everyone knows, the search for the reincarnation of Living Buddhas is most vulnerable to interference from foreign forces with ulterior motives.
Seeing so many people in such a remote mountain village, not only Suo Nan, but also Zhuang Rui, didn't understand where they came from, and didn't know if this was a coincidence or a chance encounter.
"Hey guys, why are you all so nervous?"
The young man who spoke first seemed somewhat bewildered by Suonan's hostility and said, "We are the mountaineering team from Tsinghua University, here to conquer Chawaduoji Zhiga Mountain." Suonan remained unmoved, extending his hand and saying, "Mountaineering team? Show us your credentials..."
Suo Nan is a government employee who has hosted many well-known mountaineering teams from home and abroad. He knows that mountaineering and expedition teams organized by schools usually have certificates from the school.
Furthermore, for safety reasons, all teams coming to Tibet for climbing and exploration must register with the local government and be accompanied by a local guide; otherwise, they are not allowed to conduct exploration activities.
The local government welcomes organized and experienced professional mountaineering teams, but student mountaineering teams are a bit of a headache. Most of these people don't have much professional skill, but they are full of enthusiasm and are prone to problems during the mountaineering process.
At least in the news reports about rescuing expedition teams, the incidents are mostly about school students getting trapped in the mountains or unable to get down after climbing up.
"Who are you? Why do you need to see our credentials?"
The young man greeted him with great enthusiasm, but was met with a cold shoulder. He couldn't help but get a little angry and asked the man in a blunt and unfriendly tone.
They are indeed the mountaineering team from Tsinghua University, but they are not the main members. The team members who climbed Mount Everest have long since graduated, as that is the limit of human climbing.
Although those who came after were eager to surpass it, they could not find a height higher than Mount Everest. In addition, they knew that their experience and skills were not very good, so they came to challenge the relatively low-altitude Chawaduojizhiga Mountain.
"Uh, I'm a staff member of the Tibet Autonomous Region government, accompanying Mr. Zhuang on this field visit. I'm qualified to request you to provide supporting documentation..."
Suo Nan took out a green ID card, flashed it quickly in front of the group before Zhuang Rui could even see it clearly, and then put it away.
"What's wrong with the government? We've reported it..."
The young man was still a bit annoyed, muttering indignantly.
"Hey Zhao Jun, shut up..."
At this moment, two more people came out of the house, a man and a woman. The man was holding a document, which he handed to Suo, saying, "This is a certificate from our school, and also documents filed with the local government..."
Just as Suonan was checking the certificate, a short Tibetan man squeezed through and started communicating with Suonan in Tibetan. Suonan's complexion gradually improved, and he nodded, handing the certificate back to the man.
"Xiao Zhuang, these people are fine. That guy named Dunzhu Ciren is their tour guide. But you'd better not say too much. Your Cantonese isn't very good. Don't let them find out..."
After the misunderstanding was cleared up, Suo Nan pulled Zhuang Rui aside and whispered a few words to him. It turned out that Zhuang Rui's proud Hong Kong-style Mandarin was full of flaws in Suo Nan's eyes.
"It's okay. Working for a foundation in Hong Kong doesn't necessarily mean you have to be from Hong Kong..."
Zhuang Rui smiled, replied to Suo Nan, and then went to greet the mountaineering team. In the past few days, apart from communicating with Peng Fei in Mandarin, he had mostly heard Tibetan. Now that he saw a few people from the mainland, Zhuang Rui felt very warm and fuzzy.
"Hi everyone, I'm actually from mainland China, but I work in Hong Kong. It's great to meet you all..."
Zhuang Rui, after all, had been out of school for four or five years and had been traveling around for the past two years, so he was quite knowledgeable. In just a few words, he started chatting with this group of young people and even managed to find out where they came from.
The mountaineering team consisted of six third-year students from Tsinghua University in Beijing—four men and two women—who came to Tibet for a climbing activity during their summer vacation before graduation.
The team leader, who was also the last student to emerge, was named Zhu Wei. The young man who spoke rather bluntly was named Zhao Jun. Another one was his classmate, Wei Zheng. As for the foreigner, he was a junior from England, named David.
The two girls, named Wen Qiuqian and Wen Qiuyu, are actually twin sisters. However, the older sister, Wen Qiuqian, has been suffering from altitude sickness since arriving here and has stayed in the wooden house without coming out.
Wen Qiuyu is very beautiful. She has short hair, which makes her look very dashing. She hasn't said a word and is leaning against Zhu Wei. The two seem to be in a romantic relationship.
The reason these people chose Chawaduojizhiga Mountain is that although it is not as famous as Meili Snow Mountain, its highest peak reaches an altitude of about 5,600 meters, and it is more precipitous and challenging than Meili Snow Mountain.
After Zhuang Rui understood the situation, he couldn't help but shake his head inwardly. These young people really didn't know their own limitations. A 5,600-meter peak is something that even professional mountaineering teams would take very seriously and develop climbing plans for, let alone amateur mountaineering teams.
These young people, with their fearless attitude, only saw the magnificent and beautiful scenery of nature, but were completely unaware of its dangers. Zhuang Rui hoped that when they reached a certain height and ran out of strength, they would understand the principle of knowing when to retreat.
"Brother Zhuang, do you have a doctor here? Could you please examine Xiaoqian?"
Young people get to know each other easily, and Zhuang Rui was older and more experienced than them. In no time, the young students were calling him "Big Brother" one after another.
Zhu Wei and his group arrived at this small mountain village yesterday and originally planned to start climbing the mountain this morning. However, Wen Qiuqian fell ill, and they were not well prepared, as they did not bring any appropriate medication. They are currently discussing whether to continue climbing or to send the patient out of the mountain first.
Seeing that Zhuang Rui and his group included a doctor was like sending charcoal in snowy weather, giving them hope that they could continue climbing the mountain.
"Dean Laba Tsering, there's a patient here, could you please examine her first..."
After agreeing to Zhu Wei's request, Zhuang Rui walked over to the hospital staff.
"Okay, wait a minute, let me get the blood pressure monitor..."
Since everyone had been walking all day, they were resting in the village. The physical examinations for the village children had not yet begun. When Laba Tsering heard Zhuang Rui's words, he immediately stood up and agreed.
After Zhuang Rui followed Laba Ciren into the wooden house, he saw a girl lying on the bamboo bed inside. She looked almost exactly like Wen Qiuyu, but her face was very pale and her lips were purple. When she saw everyone come in, she didn't even have the strength to sit up.
"Xiao Zhuang, these are symptoms of acute altitude sickness, caused by suddenly moving from the plains to the high altitude. She needs to rest for two to three days. The medicines I gave you are all for the symptoms; you can give them to her first..."
After measuring Wen Qiuyu's blood pressure and heart rate, Laba Tsering gave a diagnosis: this condition is very common among tourists who have just entered Tibet, and patients are generally those who are relatively weak or do not exercise much.
"Doctor, is my life in danger?"
Wen Qiuyu asked anxiously. This time, she had dragged her sister here. She had been crying in the house just now, and they were discussing having someone carry her out of the mountain.
"There shouldn't be any major problems. Observe her overnight after she takes the medicine, and we'll check again tomorrow..."
Laba Tsering's words relieved the young people. If something had really happened to Wen Qiuqian, they would have been in deep trouble when they returned to school.
To avoid disturbing everyone's rest, the group left the cabin. After chatting with them for a few minutes, Zhuang Rui returned to Jiacuo's side. He had a dual mission: to impersonate a foundation staff member and to search for any reincarnated children in the area.
“Xiao Zhuang, there are six babies born in this village within the last year. Three of them are older than the Living Buddha’s passing. Only three meet the criteria. When the consultation begins later, you and Lama Basang should pay close attention to them…”
When Suo Nan saw Zhuang Rui arrive, he pulled him and Basang aside and whispered instructions to them.
Zhuang Rui nodded and said, "I understand. How old are those three babies?"
"One is two months old, and the other two are around four or five months old..."
Suo Nan didn't see the children either, but he heard from the villagers that none of the children were taken to the hospital when they were born. Although they were only recently born, the confused parents couldn't remember the exact date. Suo Nan had to ask them for a long time before he finally understood.
"Two months old..."
Zhuang Rui was speechless. It seemed that all he could do on this trip was to do some statistical work. He simply couldn't imagine how a two-month-old baby could recognize things.
Chapter 738 Good Luck
"White Lion, come here..."
Zhuang Rui was sitting in front of a villager's house, drinking barley tea, when he saw a group of seven or eight children surrounding the white lion and making a fuss. He quickly called out to them, knowing that even if the white lion were to charge at them, it would be too much for those children to handle.
"Waaah..."
The white lion growled at the Tibetan mastiffs following behind it, and several of the mastiffs didn't dare to follow anymore. But the children weren't afraid; they had been playing with Zhuang Rui all day long since birth.
For Tibetans, Tibetan mastiffs are the best friends and most loyal companions. Even a nursing infant will not be afraid of a Tibetan mastiff.
Don't you go to school?
Surrounded by a group of children, Zhuang Rui was curious. He saw that the children were as young as seven or eight years old and as old as twelve or thirteen. They were all wearing dirty Tibetan robes and their hair was messy, like little wild men.
These children probably didn't speak Mandarin. After hearing Zhuang Rui's words, they just tilted their heads and looked at him. The one in the lead started babbling in Mandarin, but Zhuang Rui couldn't understand a word.
"They don't have money to go to school..."
After Laba Tsering finished arranging for the doctors to assemble the testing equipment, he walked over to Zhuang Rui, pointed to the surrounding terraced fields, and said, "This village only has this much land. The annual harvest is barely enough for them to make a living and exchange for some oil, salt, soy sauce, and vinegar. Where would they find the money to send their children to school..."
Laba Tsering was not visiting this small mountain village for the first time and was very familiar with it. This mountain village at the foot of the snow-capped mountains did not even have electric lights, and children as young as seven or eight had to go out to herd livestock.
"Doesn't the country have nine years of compulsory education?"
Zhuang Rui asked, puzzled. He remembered hearing before that many fees were waived when studying in Tibet.
“These children have to help adults with chores and herd cattle and sheep when they are six or seven years old. Besides, even if school is free, eating out still costs money…”
Laba Tsering shook his head and sighed. There was more than one small mountain village like this. Many children living at the foot of the mountain could not go to school. The villagers could not afford the hundred or so yuan for room and board each semester.
"Dean Laba Tsering, could you ask them if they want to go to school?"
Looking at these Tibetan children with rosy cheeks, Zhuang Rui felt a pang of emotion.
Zhuang Rui lost his father at a young age, which he initially thought was a very tragic thing. However, he felt that at least he had received a good education, unlike these children who had to do things that adults do as soon as they were old enough to understand.
Seven or eight years old? At that time, Zhuang Rui probably only knew how to be naughty and block other people's chimneys. How could he know the hardships of life?
After hearing Zhuang Rui's words, Laba Tsering asked the children a question in Tibetan. Zhuang Rui saw that the children's eyes lit up immediately, and they surrounded Laba Tsering, their faces full of excitement.
One child was talking while taking a stick and drawing on the ground for a while. Then he proudly raised his head, pointed to the Tibetan script on the ground, and said something loudly to Laba Tsering.
“He said it was his name…”
Laba Tsering felt a pang of emotion as he looked at Zhuang Rui and said, "The children all want to go to school, but they know their families are very poor. This child's maternal grandmother lives outside the mountains, so he can write his own name... In this village, almost everyone is illiterate. They respect educated people and want their children to be educated as well, but they simply can't afford the school fees..."
"Brother Suo Nan, could you come here for a moment..."
Upon hearing Laba Tsering's words, Zhuang Rui looked up and called out to Suo Nan. He wanted to help these children go to school, but it was a bit inappropriate for Laba Tsering, as a doctor, to say such a thing.
"Brother Suonan, could you please help me count how many children in the village are old enough to go to school? I want to sponsor all their expenses from primary school to university..."
"Elementary school to university? Xiao Zhuang, that's quite an expense..."
Suo Nan was stunned when he heard this. He didn't expect that Zhuang Rui, the person from the fake foundation, would actually do charity.
Although Tibet has various policies that make school fees very low, it still costs at least 20,000 to 30,000 yuan to go from primary school to university. There are at least a dozen children out of school in this village, which adds up to several hundred thousand yuan.
Suo Nan was unaware of Zhuang Rui's net worth; for him, several hundred thousand was already an astronomical sum.