Fiction: Group 3
The Pearl River Delta--The Magical Old Well
Regents Secondary School of Shenzhen, Lin, Elenore - 14, Fiction: Group 3
very long time ago, there was a magical old well in the Pearl River Delta; but now, all it is left is a
dried-up useless well. What has happened to the well? There is indeed a tale behind this:
When the Pearl River Delta had just begun to develop, people simply focused on boundless
development in their cities and industries, but they had ignored all the negative impacts they had put upon
the environment. Not long after, the surroundings of Pearl River Delta was so polluted that it was totally
outrageous.
A few years went by like a click; people finally came to realization that they had brought forth all these
pollutions to their environment and they started doing everything they could in attempt to stop or alleviate
the pollution. Some of the families even needed to abandon their homes as the condition was beginning to
get to a point that it was beginning to put negative health impacts to the villagers. There came a young
indigenous man from a small village in the Pearl River Delta. His name was Jo. Land developers had bought
his village and within a flash of time his old village was nothing like how it was. The cozy village houses
were replaced by skyscrapers and most of the farming fields were turned into shopping malls and commercial
centres. Jo did not like these changes at all. He wished everything could be like how they were in the past –
when things were simple, but beautiful.
Deep down in Jo's heart, he knew very well that these changes were inevitable if China needed to catch up
with other developed countries. He thought to himself, 'I'm not a tree. If I don't like this place, I can move
to elsewhere anytime!' Then he quickly went home and packed. Jo had always loved the countryside. He
took his holiday off to a massive country park where it was on the edge of the Pearl River Delta and the
environment was so enjoyable. Jo began to hum a cheerful tune while climbing the mountains as he felt so
happy and relaxing when he got to get away from the busy cities.
After hours of climbing, he finally came to the summit of the mountain. The air was so fresh and the view
from the top was ridiculously beautiful and pleasing that Jo was in happy tears. Whilst enjoying the beauty of
nature, Jo saw a flash of light further down the summit. 'What is that? It looks like a reflection of light from
the water. I am feeling a bit thirsty anyway. I should go and have a look!' he thought.
With a bit of effort, he finally managed to climb down the mountain to where the light came from. There
stood an old-looking well with lots of molds and the bricks around it were beginning to fall off. Jo slowly
stepped forward and took a look inside the well. It was so deep that he could not see an end to it.
Regardless, he still needed the water to soothe his thirst. He used the bucket hanging on the side to get
some water out of the well. The water was so clear and translucent that Jo could not help and quickly gurgle
it down his throat. 'Ah! The water's so nice! I've never tasted any water as fresh as this before!' he exclaimed.
He could literally feel the energy running through his body and all of his tiredness was gone. He took his
water bottle out and filled it full with the well water and walked home.
The very next morning, Jo woke up and was about to water his plants. Sadly, his plants were dying and
wilting as there was not enough sunlight and the water he used was too poor. He took out the water bottle
which was filled with well water and started watering the plants. He waited for a while but nothing
happened so he went back to work with disappointment.
Later that day when Jo came back from work, he could not believe his eyes. The plants were once again
alive and they were so lively that they were as if waving their hands towards Jo with bright smiles. Jo was so
delighted and he could not wait to spread the news to others.
People to people, village to village and soon the news were spread all over the Pearl River Delta. People
came from miles away to collect water from the well. The diseased were healed, the dead were raised back
to life, believe or not the water did do amazing things. It was not long after the news started spreading that a
property developer bought the country park and no public access was ever allowed. Jo was utterly
disappointed as this was not his initial intention. He wanted people to use the well water wisely and always
had an appreciation for the loveliness of this gift. He had a strong urge that he needed to talk to the
developer.
On arrival to the country park, Jo was too shocked to believe what he saw. There were truckers, tractors
and a huge black hose connecting a water tank and the well. It was not hard anyone to foresee what was
going to happen. He could not care less and rushed towards the fences and workers who were trying to stop
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