South Asia, Nepal, Kathmandu.
As the capital of Nepal, Kathmandu wasn't very prosperous. As the poorest country in the world, the capital of Nepal wasn't as prosperous as any of the third or fourth-tier cities in China.
Even though it was the capital, there were frequent power outages because of the lack of energy. Except for a few places that needed electricity, such as hospitals, power outages were common in other places. Even hospitals often had power outages.
Because Nepal didn't produce any energy itself, it relied on imports, whether it was oil or coal. There were a few hydropower plants in the country, but they were better than nothing.
Nepal, which had been strangled by India all year round, had a hard time. Nepal relied on two big countries, one was India, and the other was China.
India annexed Sikkim and Manipur in the 1970s, and India was actually eager to make a move on Nepal.
Nepal thought of relying on China, but there was the Himalayas between them. The roof of the world wasn't so easy to cross, and Nepal didn't have an outlet to the sea. The land that was suitable for the outside world was basically under India's sphere of influence.
This made Nepal's situation very awkward. It wanted to get rid of India's control, but it couldn't do without India's support in terms of materials and resources. In addition, Nepal itself was too barren, and the people were extremely poor.
Several Indian states opened up work permits for Nepalis. Although they went to India to work, most of the jobs that Nepalis could do were mountain-moving jobs. (Mountain-Moving jobs because the Indian states near Nepal were all mountainous states, similar to Nepal. It was more like Chongqing's Mountain City Bang Bang Army in the early years.)
Carrying two barrels of oil weighing 75 kilograms and walking three kilometers of mountain road could earn less than 300 rupees (about 31 yuan).
But there were still countless Nepalis who went to India to look for gold. It wasn't appropriate to use the term "looking for gold", it could only be said that they barely made a living.
Most of the Nepalis who did these jobs couldn't live past the age of 50, and most of them were already seriously ill at the age of 40. But this job could at least support their families in Nepal.
If they were lucky, they could save some money before the age of 40, maybe they could buy some land in Nepal. Although the mountains weren't suitable for farming, there would always be some output, which was much better than dying in a foreign land.
As a result, countless people went to India to work, and some of them came back alive. Every year, they could bring back tens of thousands of rupees (thousands of RMB), which was the best gift for their families.
Some of them were carried back as corpses by their countrymen. Most of them died of exhaustion in India, and some of them died of diseases caused by exhaustion.
These people could only be buried hastily.
For example, the father of Bahadur, the only novice monk in this small temple on the outskirts of Kathmandu, was like this.
When Bahadur was young, his father went to India to move mountains. He stayed there for only three years, and when he came back, he was carried back with a corpse and less than twenty thousand rupees. Bahadur's mother could not bear the blow and died within a year.
And so the seven-year-old Bahadur's family was broken. There were too many children like Bahadur in Nepal, and the country did not have enough money to build an orphanage.
Except for a few lucky ones, most children wandered the streets like this. They would either grow up strong and live on, or they would die and no one would care about them.
Bahadur was a lucky child. He was taken in by the old monk of this temple.
He did not starve to death on the streets. He could be a novice monk. Although he was sometimes hungry, at least he could live. This made him feel extremely lucky.
And now he felt that his life was even luckier, because a teacher came to the temple. Rubus-Banner.
He not only had outstanding medical skills, but also used reliable medical knowledge to treat the sick villagers in the surrounding villages, so that the temple, which was originally short of incense, began to have a lot of offerings.
More offerings meant that he did not need to starve. Bahadur was very happy.
But what made him even happier was that Mr. Banner was not only willing to treat people, but also willing to teach him and other children knowledge.
As a country where 80% of the population was illiterate, learning was a luxury. Especially when Dr. Banner was willing to teach everyone English.
Do not underestimate the role of English in Nepal, as a country whose national pillar is tourism. Because of the southern foothills of the Himalayas, a large number of mountaineers came here every year.
Most of them were Europeans and Americans who spoke fluent English. Whether it was to be a tour guide for tourists or a clerk in a mountaineering supply store, it was a decent job.
They could get an unimaginably high salary. A clerk who spoke English could get more than 6,000 rupees (less than 700 yuan) a month whether in a mountaineering supply store or a hotel!
If their English was fluent enough and they spoke well, they could become a tour guide. Even after mastering mountaineering skills, they could become a mountain guide for mountaineers.
A good mountain guide could earn millions of rupees (hundreds of thousands of yuan) a year, which was the highest-paid job in Nepal.
Bahadur's dream was to become a mountain guide. He wanted to make a lot of money. Because the old monk was old, Bahadur wanted to make money in the future and take the old monk to live in his home.
If the old monk was unwilling to go, then he would take a large sum of money to support the temple every year.
Bahadur was a determined and persevering child. He and Dr. Banner had only studied English for a year, but he was very eager to learn.
He cared more about English textbooks than Buddhist scriptures. He did not want to be a monk, but he wanted to repay the old monk's kindness. The old monk did not force Bahadur.
Therefore, apart from the morning classes every day, Bahadur spent more time holding English textbooks than Buddhism.
For these people at the bottom, a foreign language may be the step to change the whole life. It's just that the poorer the country, the more expensive knowledge is. Not everyone has the opportunity to receive formal education, especially a good teacher like Dr. Banner, which is even more difficult to find.
Although Bahadur's spelling was still not up to standard, he had mastered quite a lot of oral communication skills, which was learned in daily communication with Dr. Banner.
Today was the first time Bahadur came to Kathmandu alone. He wanted to do something. He was already thirteen years old this year. In other families, a thirteen-year-old boy was already an adult. He needed to work outside the house to help lighten the burden.
Although the temple's expenses could be supported now, Bahadur still wanted to help his teacher and the old monk. For example, going to Kathmandu as a guide for foreign tourists. As a young novice monk, it was naturally easier for him to gain the trust of European and American tourists than those oily adults.
If he took guests to visit Kathmandu, he could naturally get tips. This was what he observed from other tour guides.
For example, now, he was standing on a tourist attraction in Kathmandu, observing his potential customers.
Bahadur's eyes suddenly lit up, and a team of three people appeared in front of him.
A strong white man, an obese white man, and a man who looked like an Amerasian were walking on the street as if they were looking for something.
Bahadur immediately ran forward. He needed to get in touch with these tourists faster than other adults in order to get this business.
You've already exceeded your reading limit for today. If you want to read more, please log in.
Login
Select text and click 'Report' to let us know about any bad translation.
