By chance, I met Meng Weiguang and his wife, Professor Shu, who had returned from Argentina. Lao Meng was once a division-level cadre at the Economic Research Institute of the S City Academy of Social Sciences, and his wife Shu Liping was originally an associate professor in the Piano Department of the S City Conservatory of Music. The couple are now in their sixties.
Lao Meng has an elegant face and a bald head. He watches CCTV's " News Network " and " Focus Interview " on time every night, and makes comments from time to time. After getting to know each other, Lao Meng recounted their tortuous experiences:
In March 1990, our family immigrated to Argentina. Argentina 23 years ago was not as miserable as it is now. Although it was hit by the disastrous defeat in the Falklands War in 1982, it was still a developed country with a good economy. Is a skinny camel bigger than a horse? At that time, Afghanistan embraced neoliberalism and its economy grew by more than 6%. Seeing that many people around us went abroad to seek gold and make a fortune, we were tempted.
Chinatown in Buenos Aires, Argentina
After much hesitation, Liping and I resigned from our jobs and immigrated to Argentina with our 9-year-old son Meng Zheyu. Relying on the help of his second brother, who has been in business for more than 6 years in Buenos Aires (the capital and largest city of Algeria, Buenos Aires, often referred to as this by the Chinese), he started a jewelry business that was completely unrelated to his previous career.
In the early 1990s, Algeria’s national income increased and its purchasing power was strong. Customers visiting jewelry stores were generous. The store's profits are considerable, its storefronts have expanded from one to five, and its number of counter sales staff has increased to more than 20. The money we earn in a year is several times higher than the combined income from all wages in China, which we could never have imagined before going abroad.
Zheyu also adapted to the local environment. At the age of 17, he was admitted to Argentina's top Bueno University with excellent results. It is an Algerian public university with a status and reputation equivalent to China's Tsinghua University and Peking University, and is also one of the best universities in the world.
No one expected that Argentina would become involved in the Latin American and global economic crises and turn into a country of poverty and civil strife. My son is studying finance and trade at the University of Buenos Aires. When I heard that the professors were worried about the country’s economic prospects in class, I didn’t take it seriously. I study economics in China, and I am optimistic about this South American country's unique natural resources, highly educated people, open-door policy, diversified economy, universal welfare, universal medical care, and a huge middle class. There is no reason for such a country to decline. However, Argentina is an export-oriented economy and is easily affected by the international situation in the era of globalization. Coupled with prominent problems of government corruption and corporate inefficiency, illogical things have become a reality. After the Mexican financial crisis in 1994 and the Brazilian currency crisis in 1999, Argentina fell into a serious debt crisis. It owed huge foreign debt and was unable to repay it. It was infamous internationally and was even more turbulent domestically.
"Now it seems like a dream. After waking up from the dream, I returned to China, to the S city where I have lived for more than 30 years. We are still overseas Chinese, and we are applying for the restoration of Chinese nationality. It is very helpless and bitter to return to our roots." In the intermittent conversation, Lao Meng often interspersed flashbacks, keeping the logic coherent.
After 2000, Argentina's economy became worse and worse, and the developed countries in the past became developing countries. There is a Chinese proverb, "When the big river swells, the small river fills up." When the big river dries up, the small river also lacks water. The number of customers visiting jewelry stores has dropped significantly, and few of them come to buy high-end goods. We had to reduce the five storefronts to two, leaving only six people at the counter.
We walked from the backstage to the front desk, trying our best to attract every customer who came into the store, and tried every means to get them to buy more jewelry. No matter whether it's cheap or expensive, just buy it. Profits continued to shrink, but we still persisted. We never thought about closing down, let alone leaving the country and returning to S city. First, there is the concept that a good horse never turns back, and because Buenos Aires has a foundation built over many years, and has the customs and customs that it has become accustomed to and integrated into. We have earned more wealth than we can spend in a lifetime, so it doesn’t matter if we earn less now. If we can endure it, we can endure it. Maybe God will favor Argentina again and bring good luck and blessings to this country, its people, and to us all.
The economic downturn is bearable, but social unrest is too frightening. Newspapers, TV and Chinese circles often read about shops being robbed and people being shot. When things happen to others, they seem very far away, but we have stepped up our vigilance and surveillance of our stores. In Argentina, it is legal for civilians to hold guns. My second brother, Zheyu, and I have all obtained gun qualifications.
After Zheyu graduated from university, he worked as a financial analyst in a financial company in Buenos. One night in 2003, he found several dark figures shaking in front of his car on the parking lot below my house, which was very suspicious. He took out his rifle and was about to shoot. I saw him and stopped him immediately.
Zheyu said: "I fired two shots as a warning. I will not aim at people."
I said no. It's okay if they are ordinary car thieves, but it would be terrible if a criminal gang with guns shoots at you. It’s not worth hurting us, and they will retaliate if they hurt us. The police also blame us for causing trouble and causing trouble for them.
We watched helplessly as the car was driven away, and nothing happened after we called the police. There is no other way, just think of it as a way to avoid disaster. It’s useless to buy a car if it’s gone, and no matter how much money you make, it’s useless if your life is lost. Zheyu was 23 years old at the time and full of energy. He was annoyed for a while. It wasn't until I bought him a car of the same brand with high configuration and he fell in love with an Afghan girl in the company that he forgot about it.
Lao Meng talked sadly about his son's love and marriage.
Zheyu's first love girl Emma (Emma) was 21 years old, and she fell in love with this quiet and honest oriental young man at first sight. Unlike her active and passionate pursuit, Zheyu is a slow-warming type and cannot keep up with the rhythm of love in South America. Emma likes dancing, drinking, and socializing, but he is neither good at nor enthusiastic about it. The relationship between the two of them shows a state of hotness and coldness.
Argentine beauty fan
Emma graduated from Argentina Southern University, which is also a famous university in Argentina. She has long, slightly curly chestnut hair, a tall figure, blue eyes and a pretty nose. His father is in the liquor business, his mother is a hospital doctor, and his brother works for the Córdoba provincial government. Mr. and Mrs. Lao Meng believed that the two of them were a good match for their families. Every time Emma came to their home, they warmly welcomed her and hosted a banquet at the "Wei Longchang" Chinese restaurant opened by her second brother. Emma was full of praise for the delicious Chinese delicacies on the table, and took many pictures with her mobile phone to show to her friends and family. They were attracted to taste it at "Weilongchang" and recommended it to other relatives and friends after returning home.
Zheyu went to Emma's house as a guest. Her parents always held a family dinner to entertain the prospective son-in-law they recognized. The long dining table on the outdoor lawn is filled with local favorites such as roast beef, fried chicken, fried fish, red shrimp and other meats and vegetable salads, fried noodles, as well as high-end wines produced by the country. However, Zheyu, who couldn't change his appetite for Chinese food, couldn't get used to eating these and ate less. Saying it was delicious was just polite.
Argentine Barbeque Food
Argentine Frozen Red Shrimp
Over time, Emma couldn't stand Zheyu's indifference. When he became enthusiastic and consciously catered to his girlfriend, Emma unexpectedly broke up with her. Zheyu was shocked by her hardened change and determination to break off the relationship. He also realized that their culture, customs, and personalities were too incompatible, and finally gave up on the relationship.
In 2008, Beijing hosted the Olympic Games, and Lao Meng and his family returned to their long-lost motherland.
Beijing Olympic National Stadium
Lao Meng and his wife were busy visiting relatives and friends, and returned to Argentina 20 days later. Zheyu came here to watch the Olympic Games. After the Olympic Games, he visited Beijing and surrounding scenic spots and stayed at his uncle's house in S City. My uncle Shu Youguo is a professor at the Medical College of Jiaotong University in S City. He is 75 years old and has retired from his teaching and medical position. However, he is still retired and works as a consultant in many medical research institutes and private hospitals in S city. He leaves early and returns late. He often flies to and from provinces and cities across the country to participate in various meetings and activities. He walks with a healthy pace and doesn't look old at all.
With his solid financial and trade knowledge and foreign business background, Zheyu successfully applied for a job at Shanghai Pudong Development Bank in S City. He told his uncle the news and received his support and affirmation.After Lao Meng and his wife found out, they felt that there were more and better development opportunities in China, so they did not oppose their son's decision. As for themselves, they still don't want to leave Argentina.
An emergency broke the superficial calm: "Wei Longchang" was robbed late at night. When Lao Meng's second brother resisted, he was shot in the abdomen by the robber. After being rescued by the hospital, he saved his life, but the whole family was in shock. My sister-in-law was so frightened that she suffered severe neurasthenia and had insomnia all night long. Not long after, "Weilongchang" closed down.
Lao Meng and his second brother put it all together, A country is not a safe place to live. To protect my life and property, it is best to return to China. The two families quickly sold off all their real estate and business assets, bid farewell to the country that had hosted their years of struggle and dreams, and returned to settle in S city.
The big clock on the Bund Customs Building still tells time accurately, ringing a rich bell every half hour. The Huangpu River is still surging, faithfully witnessing the vicissitudes of history in Pudong and Puxi and the rise of new buildings and buildings such as the Oriental Pearl TV Tower.
Oriental Pearl TV Tower
Changes are everywhere, and the most profound changes are people's ideas. Soon after Lao Meng and his wife moved into their new home in Lujiazui, Zheyu brought his girlfriend, who worked as a secretary at Shanghai Pudong Development Bank, to meet her parents. Only then did they realize that the two young people were not only talking about marriage, but Xiaolian was already pregnant.
It is difficult for Lao Meng and his wife to agree with this marriage. Although Xiaolian has a bachelor's degree, her family does not belong to the same family. She was born in a remote village in M City, Sichuan Province. Her father is the deputy director of a village. My mother makes a living by farming and doesn’t know a few Chinese characters. The family background is far from being prosperous, and cannot be compared with the old Meng family at all.
Seeing that his parents were firmly opposed, Zheyu simply got a marriage certificate from Xiaolian. Xiaolian resigned from Shanghai Pudong Development Bank and returned to her hometown to give birth to her children. Zheyu then quit his job and followed her. In the village, Xiaolian's family held dozens of wedding banquets in a lively manner.
Country Wedding Banquet
Lao Meng and his wife were extremely annoyed and unable to vent their son's blatant disobedience to his son's "walking to a lower place", so they could only feel angry secretly and did not talk to Zheyu for more than a year. They had never lost contact in the past, and they often had video calls with their son in City S before returning home. After falling into a state of continuous cold war , Lao Meng let go, and being a mother was different. Shu Liping was already sentimental, but now she couldn't think about food or food and couldn't sleep at night, which made Lao Meng worried that she would become depressed and ill.
In the end, time resolved the grievances and barriers, and the bonds of family affection connected them with their sons, daughter-in-law and in-laws. When Shu Liping saw the half-year-old photo of her grandson Keke from Zheyu's MMS, she immediately called. When she heard her son's voice, she was choked and speechless. Lao Meng grabbed the phone and asked anxiously whether his son was used to living there and whether the child was developing well...
Zheyu said that Xiaolian and her family were very good, and they were also very good to him. Behind Xiaolian's house there is a large fish pond of more than 5 acres, as well as a mountain of citrus, peach, pear and other fruit trees. When he is not engaged in e-commerce and online trading, he often goes fishing in fish ponds. He loves the green mountains and green waters here and cannot live without Sichuan to enjoy such a comfortable life.
More than a year later, my granddaughter Xinxin was born. Lao Meng and his wife saw the cute appearance of the two little guys in the video and heard them calling grandpa and grandma at the screen. They could not restrain their thoughts and concerns. They took a flight from S city directly to Chengdu, and then took a train from the airport to M city. They spent a lot of money to buy a three-story independent villa with an area of more than 600 square meters for Zheyu's family in the high-end "Jiangshan Meidi" community overlooking the Minjiang River. After decoration, it was equipped with a full set of furniture, appliances and living facilities.
From now on, they come to M city every year to celebrate the Spring Festival and stay for two months. This is my third time coming to M city this year, and I plan to stay longer. When the company where Xiaolian works is on holiday during the National Day holiday, the whole family will go to S city for fun. Lao Meng was very pleased to see his son and daughter-in-law being extra dedicated to them.
Postscript: I have been away from my hometown for twenty years, and now I wake up from my dream and return home.Gold mining is hard in troubled times, but it is sweet to whomever you work hard for!
In the article, Lao Meng Yeluo returned to his motherland, but said that he was helpless and bitter. This was the inner torment and entanglement during the hesitation before and after returning to the country. To this day (his self-report was a few years ago), he and his family, Lao Meng, who were expatriates, have become Argentinian nationals. However, they believe that Argentina recognizes dual nationality (China does not recognize dual nationality). They have both Argentinian nationality and are Chinese, so they stubbornly call themselves overseas Chinese. However, in order to restore Chinese nationality after returning to China, one must give up Argentinian nationality and go through the application approval process - has given up Argentine nationality and restored Chinese nationality. After years of wasted time, Lao Meng is even more grateful for the warmth of his motherland and the preciousness of his family. The most beautiful color in the world is the touch of Chinese red.
This is exactly what it is: The peacock flies southeast, but it finally returns to its heart. Family love is hard to leave, and the motherland has risen!
About the author: Lin Zhongchang Xiao, male, a member of the Sichuan Provincial Writers Association (pen name Lin Xiao), a creator in the cultural field of "Today's Toutiao". The novel "Transmutation" was published by Ningxia People's Publishing House in December 2012. It won the first prize of the Sixth Su Dongpo Literary and Art Award Hundred Flowers Award and was widely praised by readers. Many literary works have been published in "Reader", "Sichuan Literature", "Prose Poetry World", "Chinese and Foreign Literature and Art", " Sichuan Daily " and other newspapers and periodicals. He currently lives in Sichuan. If readers want to have in-depth exchanges or purchase "Evolution" (signed by the author), please add my WeChat ID DPWLLX123456 and indicate Toutiao readers to add friends (or follow "Today's Toutiao" Lin Zhongchangxiao and contact me via private message).
The changes of the times, the ups and downs of life, the various situations in the workplace, the flavor of marriage - The contemporary reality-themed novel "Transformation" Summary: When Cheng Haiping graduated from the piano department of Southwest Conservatory of Music, he resolutely declined the invitation of his mentor, Professor Zou Yitian, to stay at the school and teach, and returned to his hometown to become a middle school music teacher. His career suffered a setback and his first love failed. In the midst of the tortured soul and depression, he worked as a dance hall owner and spent a ridiculous period of time in which he was romantically decadent and like a walking corpse. A dramatic twist of fate led him to an official career. Leveraging on the wind and going through ups and downs, Cheng Haiping achieved an unusual leap from a township cadre to a member of the Standing Committee of the Municipal Party Committee and secretary-general.
With the ups and downs of the identities and positions of Cheng Haiping and other surrounding figures, the political ecology and social life of urban and rural areas in Southwest China from the 1960s to the present is vividly displayed before our eyes like a broad historical picture. The novel is based on the regional background of Sichuan, Chongqing, Guizhou, Yunnan, Hubei and other provinces and cities where Sichuan Opera is popular. In a strong cultural atmosphere with strong local characteristics, the novel depicts the fate of characters from different classes and their marriages and families, and creates many complex and vivid characters such as Cheng Haiping, Zheng Jiang, Tao Lan, Wu Xiaoqin, Zhang Yalong, Hong Afa, etc. The rich and colorful themes, the ups and downs of the plot, and the skillful and delicate writing style are the remarkable features of this work. The book has a total of about 400,000 words.
"A Hundred Ways of Life (Part 1)" The self-statement of a Chinese who returned from Argentina: Returning to one's roots is very helpless and bitter...
"A Hundred Ways of Life (Part 2)" The remarried old man "Jiang Tank": all his savings were given to his step-wife, and only his daughter took care of him when he was seriously ill... ("Today's Headlines" has been released)
"A Hundred Ways of Life (Part 3)" My husband doesn't make money and thinks I am embarrassed to be a caregiver! Sister Hu bluntly said: It is very miserable for an old man to have no money, and your children and grandchildren will not kiss you... ("Today's Headlines" has been published)
"A Hundred Lifestyles (4)" The hospital is out of control! The nurse failed in her duty! The hospitalized man disappeared mysteriously! "Deaf-mute old man" unexpectedly appeared... ("Today's Toutiao" has been released)
"Variety of Life (5)"... (To be continued)
