African Nationhood

Jinghai Region, Xinao City (now Naguo Opuwo region)
The bustling and noisy crowd made Su Jun, who had just stepped off the carriage, feel a little uncomfortable.

It has been more than ten years since he left here, and this place is no longer what it was when he left.

He finally realized how embarrassing and awkward it was to say in an ancient poem that "the local pronunciation does not change but the hair on the temples fades".

……

He is of the Nanhua generation, and his parents are immigrants from the Qing Dynasty.

At that time, his father was just a young man who was assigned to the Jinghai Region. At that time, the Jinghai Region was very desolate.

The first mayor of Jinghai Region was Ye Shilong, Secretary-General of the National Defense Commission. He was in charge of Jinghai Region at the time, and in order to lead people to survive, he put his thoughts on the sea.

District Chief Ye heard that there was a gathering area of ​​seals on the vast Skeleton Coast. He led his men on horseback for several days to find the place, and then captured the seals and killed them for meat.

Then he led everyone to open whale oil smelting plants, whale and seal meat jerky and other factories.

With these outputs, life in Jinghai District gradually improved, and his father married his mother at that time.

Both of them are honest people and not good at expressing themselves, but their yearning for a better life has never changed.

Therefore, they actively learned literacy and arithmetic, and supported him to continue learning after he was born. At that time, he could become an official in a secondary school, so their parents always encouraged him to go to school.

After he walked out of Xinao Town, he never came back.

Now he is back, and he is also tasked with secretly investigating whether there are any problems in the urban construction department.

……

The streets here have become wider and paved with gravel. Because it doesn't rain often, you have to be careful about dust when walking on the roads here.

Moreover, the people here dress more conservatively and the colors are darker than those in Jianye, Handu.

There is no railway built here because it is too remote, and there are not many motor vehicles here. The three-wheeled motorcycles that can be seen everywhere in the Central Plains region are also rare here.

People here still use backward horse-drawn carriages and ox-carts. Although the town's residences have brick buildings, most of them are low.

In many families, only the main house of the house is built with bricks and tiles, and the courtyard walls are still made of earthen walls and wooden fences.

The architecture of homes here is different from other places, that is, every home is very large.

At the same time, many cattle and sheep are raised in the house, and animal husbandry is the mainstream here.

Because it is the regional capital, the entire town will be several times more noisy than usual on market days.

Vendors from the Tongcheng Region and merchants from the Binhai Region will come here to buy cattle, sheep and horses, and bring industrial products and fresh gadgets from the Central Plains Region to the people here.

……

Su Jun's home is in the northeast corner of the city. Because he works outside, their house is more dilapidated.

When he came back this time, he had both an undercover mission and the idea of ​​renovating the house for his parents.

Following his memory, he found his way home. The road here didn't change much. He met several familiar faces along the way, but he couldn't call them out by name.

He could only smile politely at others, but the other party recognized him.

"Ajun is back. How have you been in Handu these years? Where is your wife? Why didn't you bring her back?"

"Brother Jun, you are back. I am Sanwa, and my name is Wang Shuxue. When I was a child, I went to herd sheep with you."

"Hey, isn't this Dajun? Hey, you are a promising kid and you won't come back for more than ten years. Your parents miss you all the time."

……

Su Jun was a little embarrassed. He had been away all these years and had never thought of coming back. Most of the letters he wrote to his parents were about asking for safety.

He also has two younger siblings. The younger brother moved to a nearby residential area a few years ago. After getting married and having children, the mother went to his younger brother's house to help take care of the children.

His younger sister also got married early, so his father was left alone most of the time.

Because he worked outside, the land he was allocated followed him to the outskirts of the city where he worked. Like others, he chose to hand over the land to a state-owned farm for cultivation, and received an annual land rent.

After arriving in his hometown and listening to his neighbors' narrations, he realized his father's hardships.

……

When he arrived at the door of his house, the wooden door of his house was locked, and he was a little embarrassed.

His father was still working in the whale oil factory, and he did not contact his father before returning.

He was thinking about whether to go to the factory to find his father when he heard a boy shouting to him: "Uncle Ajun, don't worry, I'll call Uncle Su for you."

Su Jun looked over after hearing this and found a boy standing at the door of a neighbor's house not far away. He was a little confused and didn't know whose child this was from the host family. He remembered that there were several daughters in this family. Since the boy was eager to help, he accepted it and said with a smile, "Okay, thank you!"

The young man smiled and turned back to the courtyard. Not long after, he came out from the courtyard holding an elevated bicycle.

"Uncle Ajun, wait for me, I'll be back soon."

After saying that, he pedaled vigorously a few times, then quickly put his legs between the steel frames and pedaled away.

Not long after the boy left, a woman walked out of the courtyard. This woman was plump, with a round face, fashionable curly hair on her head, and bright lipstick on her lips.

She smiled at Su Jun, "Brother Ajun, you have changed so much in these years."

Su Jun looked over after hearing this and looked at it carefully.

He had an impression of the fat woman in front of him, and the memory emerged from the depths of his mind, making him quite sad.

This woman's name is Zhao Lihua, who is two years older than him.

I had a crush on her when I was a child. At that time, she was tall and beautiful, with a black braid, high breasts and a slim waist. She could attract the fiery eyes of many boys wherever she went.

Because this girl is beautiful, people often write her notes and bring her food.

Su Jun was small at that time and could not attract Zhao Lihua's attention, so he could only pay attention to her silently in his heart.

Later, this girl graduated from junior high school and did not continue to go to school. She got married early.

She married the son of the mayor of the town at that time, so he gave up.

As he stayed outside for a long time, he gradually forgot about this childhood goddess.

Now that he came back again, he met the childhood goddess unexpectedly.

"Sister Lihua."

"Well, brother Arjun, you are really from a big city. You have basically not changed much after so many years. On the contrary, I am much older."

Zhao Lihua's words made Su Jun sigh with emotion.

The figure of the goddess in front of her was extremely out of shape. Her slim waist had now turned into a bucket. Her round and tight skin had also become rough due to neglect of care, and the wrinkles around her eyes and neck had become more and more obvious.

Although she was wearing a bright cheongsam, her bloated figure made it difficult to associate her with beauty.

Comparing the two, his wife in Handu was much stronger than this woman, both in body and skin.

A faint sigh made his expression a little sad.

"Brother Arjun, what's wrong with you?"

Su Jun chuckled, "I lament the changes in my hometown. Compared with when I left, things are a little different."

Zhao Lihua clicked her tongue twice when she heard the words, "As expected of a cultured person, these words sound like they are very knowledgeable."

Su Jun hurriedly waved his hand, "No way, sister Lihua, please don't try to elevate me. By the way, is the child just now from your family?"

"Well, it's my little son, he's just eight years old this year.

Not only had I just learned to ride a bicycle, I was so addicted that I wanted to ride a bicycle every time I got the chance.

It happened that your Uncle Su was not at home, so he rushed to report the news. "

“Oh, that’s it, I see you’re living a pretty good life.

The family is happy, the life is happy, and the body is getting richer. "

The woman heard the teasing tone in his words, "Oh, I don't know what's going on. The flesh on my body just can't stop it from growing like crazy.

Everyone says that women in this big city look good in cheongsam because they are thin enough.

I am a person who loves to look pretty, and dressing like this will make you laugh. "

Although Su Jun went to school for a few more years and worked together for a few years, there was still something lacking in his way of dealing with others.

The two talked for a while, with Zhao Lihua doing most of the talking, and he could only answer passively.

As they chatted, Su Jun became more and more embarrassed.

He found that after many years in the city, his development was still not as good as the woman in front of him.

Not only does she live a happy life, her husband also has a good job. Her husband is in charge of civil affairs in Jinghai District.

After hearing what the female neighbor said so much, Su Jun couldn't help but think that his secret investigation mission this time seemed to be about the childhood goddess in front of him. (End of chapter)