Chapter 934 Avocado
"What? Coke is cheaper than water? How is that possible?"
Miranda looked incredulous.
"I remember that although there are not many products here, there is still a river passing through. It is enough for daily watering of the fields. It is basically free. How can it be more expensive than Coke?"
“That was many years ago.”
The old man shook his head, took another sip of Coke and said, "Originally, there was a lot of water here, but a few years ago, the Lighthouse Country built a dam upstream, blocking the river. If you want to use water, you have to pay ten times the original water fee, and the supply is limited. But the Coca-Cola Company charges water below the market price, so Coke is much cheaper than water. People can only drink Coke, but can't afford water, let alone drinking water. Now they basically rely on collecting rainwater to grow crops. "
The old man shook his head after he finished speaking.
"What about groundwater? I remember that groundwater is very abundant here, and almost every household has a well."
Miranda demanded.
"The groundwater has been drained a long time ago," the old man said, shaking his head. "Now everyone is growing avocados, which consume a lot of water. After a few years of growing avocados, the water is getting less and less, and the land is dry. Where is the well water?"
The old man shook his head and said.
"But if it takes so much water, why grow avocados? Wouldn't it be better to grow corn?"
Miranda was puzzled. She clearly remembered that this was the hometown of corn, famous for its corn, peppers, tomatoes, and vegetables. Why did they suddenly switch to growing corn?
"Isn't it those damn politicians in City Hall and United Fruit? Avocados are in short supply in the Lighthouse Country, so they encouraged us to grow them. Anyone who dared to disobey their orders would have their fields sprayed with defoliants. Once sprayed, it would take decades to recover. The entire piece of land would be ruined, and even the groundwater would be polluted, making it undrinkable. There was no other choice, so everyone switched to growing avocados."
The old man sighed.
"Damn it."
Miranda clenched her hands into fists.
"Is there any way I can help them?"
Miranda asked Zhang Tuohai, but heard no response.
Miranda looked back and found Zhang Tuohai looking at the big screen at the airport.
At this time, the big screen was playing news from the Beacon Country. The news showed that the President of the Beacon Country was touring Latin America and paying a state visit to Latin America.
Zhang Tuohai's eyes lit up with excitement because he discovered that the commander-in-chief of the Lighthouse Country was actually Zhiye.
“So you are here!”
A smile appeared on Zhang Tuohai's lips. What he was most worried about was not being able to find Zhiye. If that happened, he would have strength but would be unable to use it.
However, now that we know where Zhiye is, it’s different. Zhiye’s position has been exposed, which is equivalent to showing his health bar, and Zhang Tuohai has the opportunity to kill him.
At least there is a direction to work towards.
"Zhang Tuohai, Zhang Tuohai." Miranda gently shook Zhang Tuohai's shoulders.
"Hmm? What's up?"
Zhang Tuohai turned around and asked.
"Is there any way I can help them?" Miranda's eyes were full of hope.
Along the way, Zhang Tuohai gave her too many surprises, making her regard Zhang Tuohai as an omnipotent being. So much so that whenever she encountered a problem, she would think of asking Zhang Tuohai if he had any solution.
"Water source, avocado , dam, Coke..." Zhang Tuohai held his chin and started thinking.
"I have some ideas, but I need to see how to do it specifically. Let's go to your uncle's farm first."
Zhang Tuohai said.
"Well, okay." Miranda nodded. She also knew that such a big thing would definitely not be solved in a day or two. If it was so easy to solve, there would be no need for them to step forward.
The two men stopped a car and drove towards Uncle Miranda's farm.
There are farms on both sides of the road, which originally planted corn and various vegetables. The fields are colorful and very beautiful.
But now, the farmlands are planted only with short avocado trees, which are gray and stretch as far as the eye can see, making people feel depressed.
Miranda's mood also fell.
After about twenty minutes, the two arrived at Uncle Miranda's farm. Like other farms, it was also planted with short avocado trees.
"uncle."
Miranda walked towards a two-story wooden house in the center of the farm.
Before they reached the cabin, the two saw several large pickup trucks parked in front of the cabin, and bursts of quarreling were heard coming from the cabin.
"Let's go and have a look."
Zhang Tuohai reached for the pistol at his waist and followed Miranda into the wooden house.
In the wooden house, there were five or six young men in leather jackets standing, surrounding a middle-aged man. The middle-aged man was wearing a plaid shirt and jeans, a straw hat, and holding a double-barreled shotgun in his hand, dressed like an old cowboy.
"Get off my farm. Old Tom won't give in to you."
The middle-aged man said coldly.
"Oh, Old Tom, I advise you to be sensible. $1,000 per acre of avocados is already a very fair price. You make so much money from selling avocados, so it's not too much for us to take a little dividend, right?"
The leading young man sneered.
"Humph, how much can an acre of avocados sell for? How much does it cost to buy water for irrigation? Doesn't it cost money to buy fertilizer? How much can I earn in a year? You want $1,000 an acre right away. Why don't you let us give you the farm?"
Old Tom said angrily.
"Give it to us? We don't want to be stupid farmers. Let me tell you, we want this $1,000. Prepare the money for me by this time tomorrow. Otherwise, you will be sprayed with defoliant."
The young men didn't bother to argue and just turned and left.
He walked straight out the door, got back into the pickup truck and drove away.
"Uncle Tom..."
Miranda stood nearby, not knowing what to say.
"It's Miranda, sit down."
When Old Tom saw Miranda coming, he sighed , hung the double-barreled shotgun on the wall, turned around, took out two bottles of Coke from the refrigerator and placed them on the table.
"I'm sorry, there's nothing else in the house but this."
Old Tom sighed.
"Uncle, who are they?"
Miranda asked curiously.
"They are from the Viper Gang. They are here to collect protection money. They are blood-sucking parasites."
Old Tom said this and slammed his fist on the table.
"But if they really spray defoliants, won't the whole farm be ruined? How about we talk to them about giving them less?"
Miranda said hesitantly.
"Even if we deal with them, there will always be another one." Old Tom shook his head and said, "There are countless gangs of all sizes around here. Every one of them will come over to get a piece of the pie. This one gets a little, that one gets a little. The whole year's harvest is gone. This year is the worst. The weather is dry today. There is already a water shortage. I still need to buy water from the water dealer at a high price. My income has already dropped a lot, and they have raised the protection fee. This is forcing us to death."
