else. Thatâs what had made himâand not just as a general manager but as a much-propagandized representative of Chinaâs economic reform. It probably would have to be a top priority to keep up production at whatever cost for anyone in his position. But I had to do my job as an environmental engineer.â
âYou did the right thing.â
âBut that day, about a week ago, he snapped and started shouting at me in his office. People must have heard our argument.â She added softly, after a pause, âI donât want to speak ill of him now that heâs dead.â
A short silence ensued. Another fish jumped out and fell back in, splashing. The boat was probably in the middle of the lake.
âThatâs the Wuxi Number One Chemical Company,â she said abruptly, pointing to their left. âOver there, I can show you something in the water.â
âMove over there,â Chen called, rising to give the order to the sampan man.
âThere?â The sampan man looked puzzled. It was far from any scenic sights, and no tourist would be interested going there. But the sampan went there as instructed.
âLetâs stop here for a while,â Shanshan said to the sampan man. Turning to Chen, she said, âTake a close look at the water here.â
Already Chen could see a difference in the color of the water close to the chemical company. But it was more than that. An immense expanse of the water was covered in something like a heavy blackish-green shroud. It was substantial, almost solid, and stretched far into the distance. He hadnât seen anything like that in the Huangpu River in Shanghai or, for that matter, in any other river.
âDo you see something over there that looks like a dam, Chen?â
âYes, whatâs that for?â
âThis horrible green mess might be permissible here since no visitors come around, but it wouldnât be allowable near the park, and definitely not near the center. So the dam is designed to keep tourists like you from seeing this.â
She spoke less reservedly today than she had before, about the problems and about the people responsible for them. After the detention she had suffered, Chen reflected, that was understandable.
He knew that her history with the company might make her not such a reliable source for the investigation, though he chose not to believe that.
âWhat you see here is not the worst of it,â she went on. âA couple of miles up, it is even worse.â
âI just read an article in the newspaper which claimed that green algae might be a longstanding problem for the lake.â
âHow can you believe whatâs written in those Party newspapers? They would never trace back the ecological disaster to industrial pollution. In the past, you might see a small green patch here or there in the lake, and occasionally the water would be too rich with nutrients because of the weather, but it didnât affect the quality of the water for the whole lake. Nothing like this.â
She was speaking fervently, as if to justify her work. There was no need for it, certainly not for him. He knew she was doing the right thing. So he tried to say something to lighten the moment.
âIâm no expert,â he said, âbut the water reminds me of a Tang dynasty poem about the south: the spring water ripples bluer than the skies, reclining / against a painted barge, / I fall asleep, listening to the rain . The lake water turns green, more or less naturally, with the arrival of spring. In a way, you might call that poetic.â
âYou really think so?â
Then she did something totally unexpected. She shifted to the side of the boat and put her feet into the water.
He didnât know why she suddenly chose to dangle her feet here, her white ankles flashing above the darksome, smelly water. He leaned over, her long black hair straying across his cheek. Watching, he wondered whether he
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