One Person's Village(2)

   
For Yang and his village, the outside world is only separated from them by the mountains. Down in the foothills he can buy any brand of mineral water, and while trucks far below carrying billboards throw up dust and sand, their cheap stereos blare distorted pop songs up into the hills. 
    
Tao Niu is now just a silhouette of a Shanxi village. But it is not the only one; by June 2001, 45 Shanxi villages had been relocated, 145 saw the devastation of their homes and water resources, and 1500 villages were not receiving adequate water supplies. 
    
Yang is hopeful, however. He has five daughters who are looking over two children, and who will support him and his wife. Yang's daughters have long since moved, now residing in a town at the foothills. When asked if one day he would move in under their care, Yang hesitated for a long time. He never answered.