Visitors from Pengcheng

The urban area of Shanmei is very close to Pengcheng; if driving via the Shenhai Expressway, one can travel from Pengcheng to the Shanmei urban area in just over two hours.

A bus pulled off the Pubian expressway exit, headed straight for Shanmei Avenue in the city, and found an ordinary business hotel.

There were 23 people in the group, led by a scholarly middle-aged man wearing a plain white shirt; he was Li Jiye, a deputy district head from Pengcheng.

The accompanying personnel included staff from Pengcheng's sanitation, environmental protection, and commerce departments, as well as five experts in relevant fields.

After dropping off their luggage, the group left the hotel and began to walk through the Shanmei urban area; they did not stick to the main roads, inspecting small alleys, urban villages, and the fringes where the city meets the countryside.

Unlike the filth and disorder they had imagined, although the city's infrastructure was generally backward, garbage collection was very timely.

From time to time, one could see automated sweepers and sprinkler trucks shuttling back and forth on the main roads.

The areas managed by sanitation workers were the corners and small alleys that were difficult for machines to reach.

There were also many trash cans, though there were no sorting bins; however, the anti-tip design of the bins left a deep impression on Li Jiye.

What the group found even stranger were the rapid sewage suction trucks; in the two days they spent inspecting, they encountered these trucks in operation no fewer than twenty times.

As a professional in the field, Xiao Dongming, who worked on molecular infiltration membrane research, noted that these rapid sewage suction trucks did indeed possess a rapid management system capable of filtering sewage.

Li Jiye asked curiously, "Professor Xiao, can this treated water really reach drinking water standards?"

"I don't know for now. Visually, the water is quite clear, but the specific situation requires sampling and testing." Xiao Dongming did not dare to jump to conclusions.

When they tried to approach a suction truck, they were stopped by the operator, who refused to let Li Jiye and the others get closer, citing company confidentiality as the reason.

Arriving at the previously polluted Xinlou River, the garbage and debris on the riverbed had been cleaned away, and the sewage that had once flowed across the dirt roads had also disappeared.

The sludge in the riverbed had likewise been excavated by Blue Era.

Walking upstream along the Xinlou River, they discovered quite a few farms; although the smell was rather unpleasant, the phenomenon of sewage and manure being dumped everywhere was nowhere to be seen.

Several farmers were very surprised to see a group of strangers, especially ones dressed so cleanly and neatly.

Li Jiye quickly asked with a smile, "Villager, you've raised these pigs quite well."

A middle-aged man who was tending a fire replied nonchalantly while adding firewood, "It's just average. Recently, there haven't been any leftovers to collect, so they can only eat feed, vegetable leaves, and sweet potatoes."

"How come we don't see any pig manure or anything like that at your farm?" Li Jiye probed indirectly; he had worked in rural areas and knew that such small farms had no concept of pollution control.

"It's in the underground tank in the back. Someone comes to collect it every so often. They're here now."

Speak of the devil, and he shall appear.

A rapid sewage suction truck drove off the dirt road from the entrance of Shanzhi Institute and headed toward the farm, with the name and logo of "Blue Era" printed on the vehicle.

Li Jiye was not surprised by this familiar name.

Under the watchful eyes of the group, an operator opened the lid of the plastic tank buried in the ground; the lid was something like a manhole cover and was even secured with a padlock.

He inserted the suction hose into the tank to quickly extract the sewage and pig manure, while from the drainage outlet on the other side, a large amount of filtered, clear water flowed out.

The small pond the farmer had dug himself soon saw its water level rise; although they wouldn't drink this recycled water, it was very convenient for watering vegetables or flushing out the pig pens.

The middle-aged farmer handed a card similar to a bank card to the driver: "Old Wei, check how many points I have?"

The driver inserted the card into the vehicle's computer and refreshed the data: "You have 1,437 points. You can go exchange them for organic fertilizer. If you want to exchange for liquefied gas, you're still quite short."

"Thanks."

"You're welcome."

For every kilogram of dry matter compressed from the sewage tank, one point could be earned, and these points could be used to exchange for goods at Hailu Gas or Hailu Organic Fertilizer.

This boosted the farmers' enthusiasm, prompting them to take the initiative to discharge sewage and pig manure into the sewage storage tanks.

While the suction truck went to other farms, several experts squatted by the small pond; although there was some sediment, after a moment of settling, the water surface gradually became clear.

Scooping up a handful of water, Xiao Dongming smelled it; there was no serious foul odor, and even if there was a scent, it was the smell of the farm itself, not something emanating from the water.

The others reached the same conclusion.

This model of pollution control and water recycling left everyone feeling very surprised; it not only put an end to the sewage discharge problems of the farms but also reduced the farms' water consumption.

Even if the pond water evaporated or seeped away, it could still reduce water usage by at least half.

Although Pengcheng itself was a modern city, it also had urban-rural fringes and farms of various sizes.

While management was relatively strict, the sewage discharge from some small farms remained a headache.

If the Shanmei model could be introduced, it would be a good solution.

Holding his notebook and pen, Li Jiye inspected the situation while recording the parts he deemed useful.

That afternoon, the group headed straight to Guizhuling Industrial Park, and after identifying themselves, the factory manager, Huang Guotong, came out to greet them personally.

On the other side, the sewage suction truck staff had also reported to the security department over the past two days that a group of people had been observing their trucks.

Combined with Huang Guotong's recent report, the security department quickly analyzed the other party's intentions, estimating that it was an inspection delegation from the Pengcheng government.

Lin Baijie instructed Huang Guotong to treat the guests well and reported the matter to Huang Xiuyuan.

Regarding this, Huang Xiuyuan simply told Lin Baijie to play it by ear and not be overly enthusiastic, so as to maintain the upper hand.

After all, there is a difference between someone offering themselves up and someone coming to visit; things that are too easy to obtain often give people the illusion of being cheap.

Li Jiye and his group, who were visiting Guizhuling Industrial Park, were deeply shocked after entering the Phase II and Phase III factory buildings.

The five experts, led by Xiao Dongming, felt particularly conflicted; they were overwhelmed with excitement, yet also burdened by the sense of frustration that comes when the younger generation surpasses the old.

After borrowing the factory's makeshift laboratory, they conducted a rough analysis of the water processed by the facility and discovered that it was already pure water.

Testing whether water is pure is actually quite simple; even without equipment like a transmission electron microscope, one can use basic methods to verify it.

One method is to pass an electric current through it, as pure water is a poor conductor of electricity.

The other method is supercooling; still, pure water will not freeze even when cooled below zero degrees Celsius. This is known as supercooled water, and because pure water lacks condensation nuclei (impurities), it remains liquid below zero degrees when undisturbed.

Through these two methods, Xiao Dongming and his team basically confirmed that this water was indeed pure water.

However, what Li Jiye saw was something a bit different.

What he saw was rapid gas production, pure water, organic fertilizer, and the deep recovery of pollutants.

Thank you all for your support, and thanks to book friend "Shui Zai Paopao Li De Yu" for the tip (ω｀).