“It wasn’t all like this before,” the workman continued, “I was originally a farmer in these
lands before, back in the times when the farmlands were still fertile and water was abundant – it
was only ten years ago. Then, the officials claimed that there was treasure in the Gobi desert, and
convinced me and my friends to become workers for the Party. It turned out that the ‘treasure’
they referred to was the coal hidden deep in the desert, and they soon began constructing towns
and power stations and coal rigs everywhere.”
Kelvin sighed, and helped the workman carry the wheelbarrow for a while. He knew that
China was in a huge energy crisis and in large demand for coal, but he didn’t know that coal
mining caused such toil on the people in the west.
“But surely the officials helped you construct infrastructure and import technology to improve
your standard of living? And didn’t they plant vegetation in the towns also?” Kelvin asked.
“No, vegetation doesn’t generate much money,” the workman answered, his eyes gazing into
the distance. “And the officials doesn’t care about us either, they are willing to let us suffer
as long as we produce enough energy, ‘for the greater good of the country’. Anyway, I need to
get going now. There will be consequences if I am late. See you later.” He quickly snatched the
wheelbarrow from Kelvin, probably afraid that somebody might see him idle now that they had
gone back to the town area of Chu’Meng
A soft rumbling was suddenly heard in the distance. A huge wall of dust and sand appeared
out of nowhere, approaching Chu’Meng at a tremendous speed.
“Dust storms! Dust storms! Get indoors!” the citizens shouted, all hurrying back to their
houses and slamming the doors shut. Before Kelvin realized what was going on, he was already
the only soul in the streets that had yet to find a shelter.
The dust storm approached in moments. The air was filled with a dense layer of yellow sand,
with big and small particles striking Kelvin’s torso. Kelvin was blinded and almost choked to
death by the dust, visibility dropped to zero. Kelvin tried inching towards a building to stay
covered, but the pattering sand made movement nigh impossible. This, Kelvin thought, was the
wrath of the desert on its over-cultivation by humans.
The dust storm subsided as quickly as it had started. Within minutes the dust storm had
already left Chu’Meng, unseen. Citizens opened their doors and went back into the streets, and the
workmen began their laborious work again. However, the impact on Kelvin’s mind was lasting.
Kelvin pondered on the development of the Gobi Desert: was it worth angering the desert just for
its energy resources? Kelvin recalled what was written on the geography textbook: the treasure of
the Gobi Desert was not what it contained but was the desert itself.
