The literary era since 1979

Two days later, Shi Tiesheng and Chen Ximi left Yanjing on a plane to the United States.

The next day, Fangyan and his sister personally sent Gong Xing to the Capital International Airport and watched her back disappear from their sight.

Fang Yan waved her hand and asked curiously, "Brother, do I have to go to the United States in the future?"

"Since you are studying computer science, it would be best for you to study in the United States. Whether you study semiconductors, microelectronics, or the Internet, it will be of great benefit to your future." Fang Yan said, "But don't stay in the United States and never come back!"

"I don't want to stay in the United States. The fried tripe, fried liver, and pea yellow that I like to eat are not available in the United States!"

Fang Yan curled her lips and said, "I'm not like some people who only pursue the American dream. If I want to do something, I want to pursue our Chinese dream."

"Oh, great! I didn't expect you to be so aware!" Fang Yan gave him a gratified look.

Fang Yan raised her chin with a proud look on her face, "Hey, who made me your sister?"

"Since you are so conscious, I will go around and buy you some pea yellow before going home."

"Brother, why don't you buy a few more so you can bring them back for mom to try?"

"You're thinking about our mom, you're craving for pea yellow, right?"

Seeing the resentful look in the little sister's eyes, Fang Yan said, "Don't look at me anymore. Hurry up and get in the car. When we get to the store, just pack as much as you can eat."

The two of them excitedly went to Wandouhuang on Chongwai Street. The snacks from this restaurant are the most authentic in the whole city!

Along the way, the topic gradually turned to the American Dream and the Chinese Dream.

Fang Yan said that in recent years there has been a craze for studying abroad on campus, not just her class, but also the seniors and juniors, a large number of top students are trying their best to go abroad. There is even a saying that washing dishes abroad is considered a promising career!
"Brother, I just can't understand, what on earth are they trying to achieve by studying computer science and washing dishes abroad?"

"It's because the moon is rounder in foreign countries."

Fang Yan teased, "Have you heard of The Travels of Marco Polo?"

"Yes, they say that China is covered in gold, and that it is a very rich, civilized, and fascinating country. In short, compared to the West in the Middle Ages, the mysterious East is simply a paradise." Fang Yan blinked her clear eyes.

"That time and that moment is just like this moment."

Fang Yan said: "Some people always regard another country as their own ideal country, and place all their beautiful fantasies and hopes in this utopia. However, where is the ideal country or paradise in this world?"

"Brother, I understand what you mean. There is no perfect utopia in the world." Fang Yan nodded.

"Yes, each has its own good and bad sides. Some people dream of getting in, while others wish they could escape."

Fangyan smacked his lips. When he thought about how Jingye, who was born in Rome, sold his courtyard house and went to the United States to work hard for 30 years, but in the end he was just a middle-class "mule" with a net worth not even as much as his original courtyard house, a bright smile unconsciously appeared on the corners of his mouth.

"Brother, you really should come to our university and give a speech."

"What's the speech?"

"Just this one, as well as 'the rise of a great power', 'the rejuvenation of China', 'the problem of genocide'..." "Haven't you heard the saying, 'Good words cannot persuade a damned person, and great compassion cannot save people who have themselves been cut off? People are difficult to persuade, and can only rely on self-awakening, and this kind of awakening often comes from painful experiences. For some things, only by experiencing them personally can you truly understand what it means to be awake in the world. This is called 'people cannot teach people, but things can teach people once, and that is enough'!"

"Well, that makes sense."

“Social practice is the only criterion for testing truth.”

Fangyan couldn't help laughing when he thought about the future reconciliation between netizens of Xiaohongshu.

"Brother, why don't you write a novel based on what you saw, heard, thought and felt in America to dispel their enchantment?"

My younger sister suggested, "They love your novel so much, they will definitely buy it when the time comes."

"Your suggestion is quite good. I'll think about it."

Fangyan raised his eyebrows and stepped on the accelerator. The car sped along the road and drove towards Nanluoguxiang unimpeded.

………………

After sending my younger sister home, I returned to the courtyard in Shichahai and went into the study first.

Fangyan thought about it carefully and felt that writing a novel about his life experience in the United States was indeed a good idea.

Of course, what he wanted to write was not "Brothers, it's time for dinner again" or "Donuts are so delicious", he had already made his choice in his mind.

For example, "Gua Sha" tells the story of a Chinese couple who have been promoted to the middle class after working in the United States for many years. Because their child accidentally caught a fever, the old father used the scraping therapy popular among the Chinese folk to treat his grandson, but was reported by his neighbors for "child abuse."

A family that should have been happy and complete fell apart and the couple and children were separated because of the huge differences and conflicts between Eastern and Western cultures!
Another one is "A Native of Beijing in New York", also directed by Zheng Xiaolong. It was a hit drama across the country that year!
The truth about America is that it is not a paradise on earth. One of the lines is particularly representative:
"If you love someone, send him to New York, because it's heaven!"

"If you hate someone, send him to New York, because that's hell!"

The plot is also completely different from "Gua Sha", which tells the story of the conflict between Eastern and Western cultures. It tells the story of Wang Qiming, a cellist of the Yenching Art Troupe, who immigrated to the United States with his wife Guo Yan, but the reality was not as good as they imagined. They originally thought that their uncle who settled in the United States would lend a hand, but unexpectedly, he drove a luxury car and took them from Manhattan to a shabby basement in the slums, threw down five hundred dollars and left.

Before leaving, he said, "When you have money, return it to him," which directly poured cold water on the couple who were looking forward to the future.

The result was that I looked for jobs everywhere, but was rejected everywhere and lived in a basement. I originally thought that even if I couldn't find a good job, I could at least play the cello in the United States. But I didn't expect that a homeless man who was begging for money by playing the cello in a New York subway station played better than me. From then on, my artistic dream was shattered.

They could only helplessly wash dishes in restaurants and suffer this "foreign punishment". The loving couple was overwhelmed by life and divorced.

What followed was Li Qiming's "struggle history". He earned his first pot of gold with the help of his lover Achun, and then established and operated a garment factory with the help of resources introduced by his ex-wife Guo Yan's second husband David. However, he took advantage of his ex-wife and David's honeymoon to poach all his clients by any means necessary.

In short, for the sake of success and money, people can do whatever it takes, be treacherous and shameless, and even sacrifice friends and loved ones.

This is the truth of the American dream, "Social Darwinism", the law of the jungle and survival of the fittest!
Fangyan plans to use "Gua Sha", "Yenching People in New York", "Shanghai People in Tokyo" and other works as blueprints to write a new novel.

New Yanjing people are in New York! (End of this chapter)