Chapter 203 202. An Unusual Neighbor (2)

After walking around the wasteland, Li Du found that the area is very large, estimated to be half of a small farm, more than 20 hectares.

"How much is the rent?" he asked.

"Twenty thousand yuan a year."

Li Du exclaimed, "Wow, you can't even use 2,000 yuan a month? That is to say, if we rent one hectare of land every month, it won't cost you 100 yuan? Is this Alaska?"

The purchase of Alaska by the United States is considered to be a lucrative business. The Tsarist Russian government sold this land of 1.7 million square kilometers to Uncle Sam for only 7 million U.S. dollars.

"It's new state government development, it can't be used to grow crops, it can't be used to set up factories, so if it's not cheap enough to rent out, who will?" Hans said.

Li Du asked: "Then is it okay for us to store garbage?"

"It's okay to clean up the garbage after the expiration date." Hans said, "And don't pollute the land. I don't think there's any problem with that, right?"

Li Du said: "Of course!"

He immediately decided to rent the land, the price was cheap, and it was very close to the Hirschman's flea market, which was convenient for them to dispose of the garbage and second-hand goods they got.

But next door to them is the gathering place of the Amish people. Li Du had heard of this place when he was in school, and it was very famous in Flagstaff City.

To be precise, the Amish are not a nation, but a religious sect that originated during the European Reformation in the 16th century.

They abide by ancient costumes and traditional lifestyles. They travel without cars, live without electrical appliances, and farm without chemical fertilizers.

Although they have entered the North American continent for hundreds of years, they have always adhered to their own religious beliefs and value systems, which have not been changed by the rapidly developing mainstream American society.

Li Du is very curious about them, and many Americans and foreign tourists are also very curious about them, but the Amish people do not want to be small animals to be visited, nor do they want to be disturbed by outsiders, so it is difficult for outsiders to get in touch with them.

They rode their motorcycles on the road, and as soon as they came out of the grove, a middle-aged man got off a carriage parked by the side of the road and waved to them.

Hans drove over and asked, "Hi, sir, can I help you?"

This is a white man in his forties, wearing a white short-sleeved shirt and black trousers, straw sandals on his feet, and a black sun hat on his head. He looks a bit nondescript.

Li Du knew that this was a kind of attire of the Amish people, but the first time he came into close contact with it, he looked it up curiously.

When he first heard about these people, someone introduced that no matter where you are, you can recognize the Amish at a glance because their clothes are different.

Whether it is men's clothing hats or women's dresses, the coats are all black.

Men usually wear black suits with white shirts, and women usually wear black home skirts. Only at festivals or weddings, women add a pure white shawl to change some simple tones.

Looking at this man, Li Du felt that he seemed to have come out of medieval Europe, not only in his clothes, but also in his temperament, which was very pure and down-to-earth.

After they parked, the middle-aged man took off his hat and saluted, and said, "Hello, my name is Thomason. I would like to ask, are you planning to rent the jungle clearing?"

"Jungle clearing? You mean the wasteland behind?" Hans asked.

Thomason smiled, "Yes."

Hans said: "Yes, we have this plan, do you have any advice?"

Thomason waved his hand and said, "No, no, I'm just curious, because we will become neighbors, and my house is right next door."

He pointed to a wooden house in front of the side. The house was hidden behind trees and grass, and a row of small wooden houses were connected together.

Hans said: "Nice to meet you, Thomason. I'm Hans, Hans-Fox. This is my brother, Li Du. Just call him Li."

"Hello, Hans, hello, Li." The middle-aged man smiled and saluted.

He put the hat on his chest, then nodded, this kind of etiquette Li Du had only seen on TV about life in the Middle Ages.

Hans said: "I understand what you mean, Thomason, the purpose of our leasing this land is to accommodate some purchased second-hand items. We will not build a holiday estate here, hold a party, or bring tourists. It will not affect your life."

Thomason laughed, and said a little embarrassedly: "It seems that you have guessed my purpose, so I am relieved, but I still want to ask, you will not pull the electricity over?"

Hans shook his head and said, "Of course, how could the government allow us to do this?"

After getting this reply, Thomason left happily.

Li Du couldn't believe it, and said, "Aren't they willing to make life more comfortable and simpler?"

"Obviously, they're not happy to do that," Hans said.

Later they drove on the road, Hans took the side road, and then saw more Amish people.

Instead of cars, they go out in one-horse carts, and the farmers don't use tractors or any new machinery, they use horse-drawn plows.

Li Du was an eye-opener. In his impression, the rural communities in the United States are colorful and prosperous places, but the colors of the places where the Amish gather are very simple, black and white.

"How many Amish are there?" he asked enthusiastically.

Hans said: "The number of people is very small, maybe there are six to seven thousand people in more than a thousand households? The largest is in Pennsylvania, and it is said that there are 356,000 people."

"What else do you know about them? I'm curious."

Hans laughed and said: "That's a lot, what do you want to know? They are one of the early immigrants in the United States. They regard themselves as a clean stream in a troubled world, aloof from the world, advocating thrift and virtue."

"They are the most strict group of Puritans. They pursue peace of mind all their lives, reject modern life, speak High German, and insist on educating future generations by themselves."

"..."

Listening to Hans' eloquent introduction, Li Du was surprised and said, "You really know these people well, do I say you know everything?"

Hans laughed and said, "I know them because I once wanted to join the Amish people. For a while, I wanted to find the meaning of life and the true meaning of life."

"Then why didn't you join in?"

"Because I can't drink alcohol, go to bars, pick up girls, or play video games, and I think the meaning of life lies in tobacco, alcohol and women!"

Li Du could only give him the middle finger, but according to his understanding, Hans should have been a literary youth when he was young, and then something happened that stimulated him and changed his behavior.

The motorcycle drove all the way, passed through the village where the Amish people gathered, and went straight to the urban area.