Chapter 408: The Real Climber
The sound echoed in the valley again and again.
Bifang narrowed his eyes and quietly asked Tais who was standing beside him: "Is your chairman a Sherpa?"
Thayes shook his head, "No, but his grandmother was. There was a big commotion in the association last year, and the government replaced her with Mr. Sherpa in order to appease the people."
Looking around, Thaïs hesitated for a moment, then pulled Bifang out of the crowd and whispered, "Mr. Bi, I will only talk to you about this matter, so please don't tell anyone else."
Bifang raised his eyebrows and nodded.
Thayes put his hand on one side of his face and whispered, "I heard that the association was planning to compromise yesterday and decided to only close half of it."
"Only half closed? What does that mean?" Bifang was confused. What was this operation?
"That is, no more mountaineering certificates will be issued for this season, but those who have already been issued can still climb the mountain."
Bifang: “…”
To put it bluntly, you don't want to return the money but you also want to keep the matter quiet?
We don’t want the Sherpas to make trouble, so we have to give a face-saving explanation, but we don’t want to cause too much loss.
It's already May, who would choose to get a certificate and climb mountains at this time?
“Then he…” Bifang pointed at Shilpa who was still speaking righteously.
“I don’t know what happened, but the news leaked out. That night, Chairman Sherpa was blocked at the door by villagers. The leader was Puba again, the same one he led last time. Later, all he could do was…” Thais quietly pointed at Sherpa who was “giving a speech” on the boulder.
Phurba is one of the most famous Sherpa guides of our time . He has climbed Mount Everest 21 times since his first ascent in 1999. If he reaches the summit again in 2014, he will break the world record and become the person who has climbed the most Mount Everest in the world.
The result is not hard to guess, everyone has the opportunity to become a hero.
“So I won’t climb again,” Phurba told the camera in 2014. He sacrificed his fame and fortune and refused to climb again to protest against what was happening to the Sherpas.
In his profile , the number of summits he has reached has always remained at 21. This world record has long been broken by other Sherpas.
No wonder.
Bifang understood it completely.
It seems that this decision has been blocked at the doorstep, stifling any little thoughts of the Mountaineering Association and the Nepalese government. Only then can Sherpa stand here and speak for the Sherpas with righteous indignation.
Unfortunately, this has nothing to do with me anymore.
"etc!"
Just as Bifang was thinking this, a familiar voice sounded in his ears. He looked up and saw a young figure.
It’s Tenzin!
"Tenzin! Tenzin, where have you been? We have been looking for you for a long time, did you know that?" Attenborough also saw the young man he admired very much, the child who carried him on his back and ran away at the first opportunity. Seeing that he was fine, he was suddenly surprised.
"I'm sorry, Mr. Attenborough, for making you worry." Tenzin panted and waved the paper in his hand, on which was densely written something.
Bifang also ran over, but Tenzin waved the paper in his hand and said, "I'm sorry to make you worry, but I want to talk to Mr. Sherba about something. It's very important."
After saying that, without waiting for Bifang and the others to react, Tenzin came to Sherpa and handed him the paper in his hand.
Sherpa's heart skipped a beat. He knew this young man, a Sherpa mountaineering guide. His father died in an avalanche ten years ago, and his uncle was the famous guide Puba. What was a Sherpa doing here at this time?
Although he wanted to kick this man out, Sherpa was very uncomfortable under the watchful eyes of the crowd. He could only look at the first line of the paper in his hand, which had Puba's name on it. The rest were all Sherpa names, including several famous guides, both active and inactive.
Damn, what does this guy want to do, is this some kind of petition?
Isn't canceling the climbing season enough? What else do you want to do?
Sherpa cursed inwardly, but looking at Tenzin's red face, he asked with a fake smile, "So, what is this? Can you tell me about it?"
“Petition…Chairman Sherpa, this is a petition from all our villagers.”
"What is the reason, then?"
Danzeng took a deep breath. He did not answer immediately. Instead, he calmed his breath, turned to look at Bifang, and shouted, "Mr. Bifang, I said I would repay you. I said so."
In an instant, everyone in the base camp looked at Bifang. Countless pairs of eyes were staring at him, with good intentions, with bad intentions, all staring at him.
"I remember that guy, that Chinese guy. He was very capable and he even helped the rescue team save people! He really wasn't afraid of death."
"What does this guy want? I just want my money back. Can you please do it faster? It's very troublesome, okay?"
"Damn it, I just want to get my money and go home right now!"
"I will never come to this damn place again. There are avalanches! They should detonate bombs before every climbing season and be aware of this threat!"
Faced with the whispers of the crowd and Tenzin's gaze, Bifang was stunned.
Tenzin turned to look at Sherpa. "The climbing season has been cancelled, but we want to allow Mr. Bifang to climb the mountain, and only him! All of us villagers have agreed. Mr. Sherpa, Mr. Bifang can climb the mountain!"
Wow!
This news was like a depth charge dropped into a lake, instantly causing an uproar!
"Why! Why can he climb the mountain alone? "
"That's why he can do it but we can't!"
“We want to climb the mountain too!”
"Yes, we want to climb the mountain too! If you can't do it, we'll give you our money back!"
“That’s not fair!”
Bifang was confused by this sudden change. Not only him, but Sherpa too. Looking at the excited people in front of him, his head was about to explode.
Please, why are you giving me this kind of problem now?
Allowing someone to climb the mountain is far more likely to be disliked than not allowing everyone to climb the mountain. It’s a privilege!
What everyone here hates most is privilege!
"Unfair? No, this is fair!"
As everyone was arguing, a powerful roar drowned out all the voices that were no longer able to argue fiercely due to altitude sickness.
Everyone couldn't help but look back.
He was an old man, but he didn't look like an old man. His appearance was aged by wind and sun, and his back was straight, like a straight hiking pole.
"Pubba?" Sherpa recognized the man, the man who almost set a mountaineering record. It was also him who led the strike ten years ago, causing both the association and the official to be extremely unhappy with him.
"Mr. Bifang, he is a hero."
Purba said as he moved closer to Sherpa.
"When the avalanche happened, no one went up to rescue except him! He went up and down the mountain three times and saved my nephew Tenzing and six Sherpas! When crossing a crevasse, he would not let a Sherpa be the first one to go, and when walking on the snowy mountain, he would not let a Sherpa be the last one to go! He wanted to reach the summit without oxygen, and as the first Chinese who might... no, must succeed, he never said or explained that he wanted not fame or fortune, but a proof!"
"Fair? Tell me what is fair? You? Or you? Who can tell me?" Puba sneered, and his sharp eyes swept across everyone, stinging everyone. He held the trekking pole in his hand, and the sharp tip of the pole scratched everyone's chest, forcing everyone present to step back.
"A bunch of cowards!"
The crowd pushed aside like Moses parting the sea, making way for a smooth path, and Purba walked straight to Sherpa with a bright look in his eyes.
"Mr. Bifang is a true climber!"
“And we Sherpas will not stop real climbers!”
