novelsite Chapter 624: T-Virus Discovered!
Chapter 624: T-Virus Discovered!
Chapter 24, the T virus was discovered!
It is about 1000 kilometers from New Delhi, the capital of India, to Bodh Gaya in Bihar, which is about half the distance from Beijing to Shanghai. If it is on a Chinese expressway, it is estimated that it will take one day and one night at most.However, on the Indian highway where all kinds of animals and vehicles ran wildly together, the luxury bus of the Buddhist pilgrimage tour group that Wang Qiu and the others drove for two and a half days had just entered the border of Bihar state.
——This is when the tour group departed from New Delhi and went straight to Bodh Gaya, without spending time visiting the Taj Mahal along the way, and the holy city of Varanasi, which is famous for floating corpses in the Ganges River... This tour group seems to be I plan to wait until the return trip to go to the above-mentioned places.
From the perspective of history and humanity, Bihar is to India what Henan is to China.This state is located in the core area of the Ganges Plain. The mother river of the Indian people - the Ganges, the incarnation of the Vedic daughter, flows the river of light, the holy river that opens the door to the cycle of life and death, and runs from the center of Bihar. However, it nourishes the land and makes the fields everywhere fertile. The crops are ripened three times or even four times a year. Green rice fields, golden wheat waves, and clear ponds can be seen everywhere.The pond is full of lotus roots and water lilies, and buffaloes are stepping on the muddy pond and chewing on lotus leaves... Patna, its capital, was once the largest city in the world and the capital of Ashoka in the Mauryan Dynasty. There were 250 people in 70 BC.Both Buddhism and Sikhism originated in this land, and Hinduism also has countless temples and holy places here.
However, despite having such a glorious history of civilization, sitting on the most fertile land along the Ganges River, and having a population of more than 1 million, Bihar today is the poorest state in India—in China From the human point of view, Indians are already poor enough, but the per capita annual income of Bihar is only a quarter of the per capita income of all India, which is only more than 400 US dollars, which is lower than that of Eritrea in Africa!
Then, Bihar’s literacy rate and life expectancy are also the lowest in India. The per capita electricity consumption is only one-sixth of India’s average level. Many towns have no electricity, and it is dark at night.Moreover, the law and order is extremely bad, with Naxal Maoist guerrillas and car bandits everywhere. Even the police chief of Bihar publicly lamented that the place he manages is "a lawless and chaotic land"...
Therefore, when the tourist bus entered Bihar, not only were there various sandbag bunkers in a mess along the way, and soldiers carrying Lee Enfield rifles carried out "anti-terrorist missions", but also the road under the wheels was full of cow dung and animals. The concrete road with hoof prints has further deteriorated into a dirt road that has not even been poured with asphalt and street lights... At first, the bumps made the buttocks of a car of passengers hurt, and in the end it was simply in a wilderness with no village in front of it or shops in the back. Unfortunately, the engine was broken and the car was lying down. Due to the interruption of the air-conditioning, the car was quickly burned into an oven by the scorching sun. In order to avoid being roasted alive, all the passengers had no choice but to get out of the car, and each took shelter in the shade of a tree. The sun was hot, but it was still as hot as a dog sticking out its tongue.
"...Hey, hey, let me say, what on earth are you thinking? How dare you drive a bus on such a poor road to organize international tours?"
While smearing cooling oil on his forehead to prevent heatstroke, Wang Qiu complained to the sweaty tour group leader, "...why don't the tour group take the train, or find a better road? Such a gravel road with potholes is just Match the tractor!"
"...We are also running this route for the first time. We didn't expect it to be like this! From the map, it should be a newly built expressway! There is also a Bihar Minister of Transport in the newspaper giving this road Photos of the ribbon-cutting after the renovation and opening of the entire line! Who would have thought it was a hoax!"
The team leader showed a mournful expression, "...Except for the first few kilometers to the toll booth, the back has not been renovated at all!"
——Wang Qiu suddenly thought that in Jules Verne's science fiction novel "Around the World in Eighty Days", the protagonist seems to have had a similar experience in India—the newspaper announced that the railway that had been in operation for a long time was actually due to embezzlement of funds It was too short, and it was not fixed at all, but the Indian side pretended to have fixed it and sold all the tickets... As a result, the protagonist had to buy an elephant and ride on the road...
"...no way, India has always been known as a great magician's paradise. Before, wayside monks made some coins disappear; now, elected MPs make some bridges, roads and dams disappear. Just like China , we also maintain our own traditions.”
The beautiful Indian tour guide in a sari also came over, muttered weakly, and then told a joke that is said to be famous in India-an Indian minister visited China and was invited to visit the Chinese minister's home. dinner party.As soon as the Indian minister arrived at the home of the Chinese minister, he looked at the luxurious house in surprise.He asked: "...how do you manage to have such luxury at home when your salary is not high."
The Chinese minister took him to the roof and asked, "...do you see the highway over there." The Indian minister nodded.
"...well, that highway was supposed to have 12 lanes. I made it 8 lanes. The remaining 4 lanes are at my house."
Indian Minister: "...wow...!"
Two years later, the Chinese minister visited India.The Indian minister invited him to his home for lunch.Seeing such a luxurious home of the Indian minister, the Chinese minister was very surprised and asked the Indian minister: "...your monthly salary is only [-] rupees, how do you build your home into a palace?"
The Indian minister was delighted and took the Chinese minister to the 18th floor of his house and asked, "...do you see highways, dams and power works there?" The Chinese minister saw nothing.He said, "...no."
"...my friends, they are all in my house," said the Indian minister.
——It’s the same corruption, in China it’s a part of corruption and you have to do something serious, in India it’s all corruption and you don’t do anything...
"...Uh, you don't need to be too depressed. In fact, similar things happen in China. For example, the country wants to revitalize the animation industry, and the central government allocates 9000 million yuan to the local governments to make cartoons; the local governments withhold 1000 million yuan and take 900 million yuan to well-known animation jobs. The well-known animation studio swallowed 100 million and subcontracted 90 million to a small animation company; but the small animation company is actually a leather bag company, withholding [-] and taking [-] to an animation professor at a certain university , the professor took the money, turned around and threw the task to the students, saying that this is your summer homework. The students who have no money and are lazy simply find an old Japanese anime with Taiwanese or Hong Kong dubbing. Once you change, you don’t even need to think about the plot, just get on with it.”
Li Wei interjected, "...After the whole process, I am satisfied from top to bottom. The only ones who are dissatisfied and even swear at the table are the audience-but Chinese cartoons are never made for audiences, just like India. The highways are not made for cars to run..."
Wang Qiu was stunned to hear that, although he also knew that the private work that many university professors took on by themselves was usually the students' final homework... But it was still a bit unbelievable to play it to such an exaggerated level - it seems that his integrity is still Too high, it is necessary to continue to learn advanced experience.
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It’s all about complaining, but the journey has to continue—it has to be said that there are quite a few capable people in this tour group. Although the air-conditioned bus can’t be repaired for a while, in order not to delay the trip, it will be soon. Got a fancy Colonial van out of nowhere as a replacement - meaning, it was nice to see that the tour van was new, but that was almost a few decades ago.
This Indian-style bus is full of colorful reliefs and fine patterns on the outside, and the interior is decorated with imitation wood-grain plastic, with carved beams and paintings everywhere, and a small iron fan is inlaid above each seat. The overall style is gorgeous It was so strange that the tourists in the tour group couldn't help but took out their cameras, mobile phones and tablets, and kept taking pictures.
However, there is a problem that there were originally passengers on this bus, and if the Chinese tourists from Wang Qiu and his group are added, it will not be able to squeeze in—but this problem is easy to solve, after some bargaining , the team leader reluctantly agreed to all Indian passengers to refund their tickets for free, and then compensate each person with a compensation plan of [-] rupees. Get on the roof to see the scenery, and the other part with good arm strength hangs directly outside the window...
Then, this bus has a car of people inside, another car of people hanging outside, and a few sheep standing on the roof. Under the condition of double the overload, at the speed of a turtle at most [-] kilometers per hour, it slowly The ground continued to creep towards Bodh Gaya...the remaining [-] kilometers, it took a full five and a half hours to walk, especially when passing through several broken bridges that seemed to have a history of hundreds of years, it was a creepy soul again and again sublimation.
But the quality of the Indian people is really extraordinary. Even the Chinese tourists sitting in the car are already screaming in fright, and they are still laughing and laughing outside the car... There are still people falling down because of lack of arm strength, but Soon, he trotted and climbed onto the car window again.
By the time the car finally arrived at Bodh Gaya, the place where the Buddha became enlightened, the passengers in the car had almost attained enlightenment amidst the heat and horror.
Although it is a famous scenic spot, Bodh Gaya is so messy and noisy that it is unimaginable. At first glance, it does not feel like a pure place of Buddhism.Just like other Indian cities I saw along the way, the Bodh Gaya Street is full of garbage, and it is common for people to stand on the street and turn around to urinate.It feels like Indians as a whole are living on one huge dump.
As soon as everyone got out of the car, crowds of little beggars rushed in like a tide, chasing the tourists at a fast speed, stretching out their hands with sparkling eyes and calling softly "10 rupees, 10 rupees, 10 rupees...", if the tourists refused Ignore it, walk straight ahead, immediately it becomes "5 rupees, 5 rupees, 5 rupees...", ignore it again, and it becomes "1 rupees 1 rupees 1 rupees".The seamlessness of the transition is truly admirable.
And behind the little beggars are all kinds of hawkers selling tourist souvenirs. The hawkers here are all quick-witted and fluent in English. It looks like they are from actual combat. They always start with "HELLO", and then they start selling with great enthusiasm—— Just as Wang Qiu and the others got rid of the entanglement of the little beggars, they were stopped by a peddler who sold watches in the shape of Buddha statues: "...HELLO! Friends, look at your watch! Look at your watch!"
Wang Qiu sighed helplessly, raised his left hand and said, "...I already have a watch."
The peddler immediately suggested cheerfully, "...change your watch! Change your watch!"
Wang Qiu with an embarrassing expression on his face: "..."
After finally getting rid of these over-enthusiastic hawkers, the next thing I saw was a street full of religious people from all over the world, including Tibetan lamas in red robes, Southeast Asian monks in yellow clothes, and Japanese monks wearing glasses... But more are local ascetic monks in India, all dirty, shirtless, and painted various colors of soil on their faces and hair. They are entangled by mosquitoes and flies under the trees on the street, posing in strange poses and motionless. .
Although this kind of practice is very similar to self-abuse performance artists, Indians obviously like it. Not only do they not despise them for being dirty, they also respect them as saints respectfully.After all, the original Buddha Sakyamuni practiced Zen to enlighten the Tao and founded Buddhism in the same way.
——According to Buddhist literature, more than 500 years ago, Prince Sakyamuni of Nepal saw through the mortal world and became a monk to practice and seek the way. At first, he was accompanied by five companions and learned from three famous scholars.But Sakyamuni felt that those scholars had no real way to escape, so he left them.In order to seek the law of liberation, Sakyamuni and five companions came to the south bank of the Ganges River, where today Bodh Gaya is a place of ascetic practice in a forest (just like modern Indian ascetics, posing various strange postures to starve themselves).He practiced penance unremittingly for six years without any results, so he felt that asceticism was not the way to escape, so he bathed in the river, and then accepted the milk offered by a gopis to restore his strength.
At this time, Shakyamuni's five companions thought that he was discouraged, so they left him and went to other places to continue their ascetic practice.Sakyamuni came to a bodhi tree alone and made great ambitions. If he did not achieve the right way, he would never leave this place.He spread auspicious grass, sat cross-legged facing east, thought hard, and finally overcome all kinds of troubles and obstacles in his heart one night, realized the right way and became a Buddha.
Regrettably, even though as early as 500 years ago, Sakyamuni lobbied barefoot from east to west and from south to north on the land of India, advocating the ideological purpose of "all beings are equal".But more than 2000 years have passed, and the deep-rooted concept of hierarchy among Indians remains unchanged.
In short, the place where the Bodhi tree is located is the birthplace of Buddhism, modern Bodh Gaya.The first of the four holy places of Indian Buddhism, also known as the United Nations of Buddhism - so after entering Bodh Gaya, you can see temples everywhere along the way, including those in China, Japan, Korea, Bhutan, Myanmar, and Vietnam Yes... almost every Asian country with Buddhist beliefs has collected donations from believers to build a temple with its own national style in Bodh Gaya, just like an embassy.Among them, the Japanese temple is the most grand.Compared with the chaos and filth on Bodh Gaya Street, every foreign temple here is clean and spotless.It's just that the unpleasant smell that can't be driven away from the street still drifts into the temple from time to time. It can be seen that it is difficult for a temple in the real society to break away from the ordinary world and become a truly pure place.
However, Wang Qiu and the others did not come to Bodh Gaya for tourism and pilgrimage, so they bid farewell to the tourists in the group as soon as they got off the bus, then found a three-wheeled motorcycle, left Bodh Gaya, and continued towards the Chandra Shu The village of Vicha where Mr. Carat lives advances.
After another difficult and ups and downs journey, they finally arrived at their destination in the evening, a small village with thatched roofs and mud brick walls that seemed to have the words "poor and backward" engraved on their foreheads. , looking like an African tribe.The children in the village are so thin that they are not commensurate with their age, and their heads are particularly big; their innocent eyes are flickering, as if they are torturing people's conscience.
And just a few feet away from this slum, the only decent house in the whole village, the small western-style house of the Shukla family, stands on a hill surrounded by green trees like the king of beggars—although it is in the middle of the king's house. In Qiu's eyes, this house looked similar to peasant houses in the southeastern countryside of China. At most, the courtyard was a bit bigger, but here it was already like a palace.
So, Wang Qiu and the others went to the door, explained the purpose of their visit to the big and round guard, and asked him to call the owner of the house.
A moment later, a middle-aged housekeeper in a khaki uniform rushed over, dragged their hands eagerly and walked in, saying incoherently as he walked, "...you are from China. The doctor?! Great! The master fell ill the night before! His forehead was so hot that he could bake a potato! Unfortunately, the quack doctors in this rural area can’t cure him, and many people are also infected..."
Hearing this, Wang Qiu and the others were shocked, and the alarm sounded immediately. When they entered the house and took a closer look, they found that there were people coughing non-stop everywhere, and there was even a guy lying in the corner vomiting blood. Even more horrifying and full of apprehension.
When they were pulled into Mr. Chandra's bedroom by the housekeeper, the female school doctor, Shizuka Ju Chuan, checked Chandra, who was bedridden and unconscious due to a high fever.Ms. Ju Chuan Shizuka, whose face turned pale in an instant, finally came up with the answer that she least expected to see:
"...God! This is really the end! It can be confirmed that it is a mutated T virus... and it has spread!!!"