Spring Breeze Twenty Years

Chapter 591 The Wave of Going Abroad

For four days in a row, the group explored all of Shanghai, even visiting the former residence of Chairman Mao and the former office of the Premier. They also took the opportunity to visit Jing'an Temple and listen to the chanting of sutras for half a day. Chairman Mao's former residence is right next to Jing'an Temple.

After walking for several days, all four of us were exhausted. On the fifth day, we didn't go anywhere and just rested in the hotel. We then discovered that the hotel's food was quite good. We could order several kinds of dishes as well as authentic Western food. Drinking a cup of coffee and listening to music in the coffee shop made us feel relaxed from the inside out.

Xiao Hong immediately liked the feeling, and the four of them sat in the coffee shop for an entire afternoon. There were quite a few foreigners there, sitting there chatting and laughing with relaxed expressions, but it was unclear which countries they were from. Xiao Wei encouraged Xiao Hong to talk to the foreigners, but Xiao Hong blushed and refused to go.

After dinner, Xiaohong asked Xiaowei, "Are we staying here for a few more days?"

Xiao Wei asked, "What's wrong? Had enough?"

Xiao Hong said, "It seems like we've seen everything we wanted to see and done. How about we leave tomorrow?"

Xiao Wei said, "Sure, it's all the same whether it's a day earlier or later. If I don't want to stay anymore, I won't." After thinking for a moment, he added, "How about we go to Chongqing for a trip?"

Xiao Hong asked, "Didn't you say you were going to Guangzhou? Did you change your mind?"

Xiao Wei shook his head and said, "No, it's not that. We still want to go to Guangzhou. It's just that when we travel, we should visit more places. Last time when we were talking about the car, we mentioned Chang'an, right? I was thinking about whether we should go there to take a look. Like the Zhazidong Concentration Camp, the Bai Mansion, and Chiang Kai-shek's headquarters."

Xiao Hong said, "If you want to go, then go. I'm just going along with you anyway. According to you, there are so many things to see in China. You couldn't see them all in a year. I haven't even been to Nanjing yet. There are also the Suzhou gardens, West Lake in Hangzhou, the Guilin landscape, the Five Sacred Mountains, Penglai. I feel like I want to go everywhere."

Xiao Liu asked, "What's the main purpose of going to Guangzhou?"

Xiao Wei said, "They opened up there the earliest, so their business is definitely more developed than ours. I just want to go and see for myself; I don't have any specific purpose."

Xiao Liu frowned and thought for a moment, saying, "I feel that Guangzhou is pretty much the same as Shanghai, but in fact, it's not as fashionable as Shanghai. I haven't been to Shenzhen so I don't know what it's like, but Guangzhou is similar to Fengtian, maybe even less so. Commercially, it started earlier than us. Originally, electronic products came from there, but that has little to do with Guangzhou itself, it's more due to Shenzhen and Hong Kong Island."

Xiao Wei said, "How about we go check out Shenzhen?"

Xiao Liu shook his head and said, "No, I can't go. I have to go back to the bureau to get a pass, because that would be considered leaving the country."

Xiao Hong asked, "So how do I go to Hong Kong Island?"

Xiao Liu said, "Same here, but that one is even worse. When you go abroad, you have to go back to get a passport and undergo a political review, and then you have to get a visa from the embassy. The procedures alone can take a month or two. Do you think going abroad is that simple? There are huge lines of people waiting for visas outside the embassy every day, and some people wait for a month or two and still can't get a visa."

Xiao Hong stuck out her tongue: "Huh? Going abroad is that hard? I thought money was all it took."

Xiao Liu said, "It depends on the country. Small neighboring countries are faster, but European and American countries are slower and more troublesome. People there are always worried that we'll go and not come back, since they're more developed. Actually, many companies have overseas study tour programs. I'll have Xiao Wei ask around. If there's an opportunity, we can go with a study tour group. It's safer that way."

Xiao Wei shook his head and said, "Forget it, I haven't even seen China yet, why would I go abroad? I can't understand the language, and I'm not used to the food. Why would I go abroad to suffer? Even if it's developed, will they pay me if I go?"

Xiao Liu laughed and said, "This is the first time I've heard of your point of view. Nowadays, everyone is desperate to go abroad, thinking that it's developed and richer there. You're saying that even if it's developed and rich, it won't give us any money. What good will it do if we go abroad? I don't understand."

My classmate went abroad, selling his house and taking out high-interest loans to go to Japan. When he left, he was full of confidence and treated us to a meal. It didn't feel like he had borrowed a ton of money to go to a place he didn't know at all, but rather like he had achieved some great success and made countless amounts of money.

I had just joined the system back then, and now four or five years have passed, and I haven't heard from my classmate at all. His parents are now renting a dilapidated house on the outskirts of the city, farming a little land. His father works tirelessly day and night to pay off debts. Have you ever seen a family living like that, eating nothing but pickled cabbage and potatoes all year round, without any oil or meat? Based on their income, it would take them thirty years to pay off that debt.”

Xiao Hong said, "I remember the wave of people going abroad was in the 1980s, right? Around 1985."

Xiao Liu chuckled and said, "From that point on, this is the real climax. A group of people have inexplicably gone crazy thinking about going abroad, willing to pay any price. Of course, most of that price will end up on their parents. They can't think of anything else except going abroad. Whether their parents are alive or how they are alive is not even on their minds."

When I first started working, I often attended these farewell banquets for people going abroad. Everyone acted like they were something special, as if going abroad made them different, superior to those who hadn't. I really couldn't understand that mentality, so I stopped going whenever someone invited me. When I had time, I'd visit my classmates who had gone abroad and help them with chores—that was the only thing I could do.

Xiao Wei asked, "So four or five years have passed, and not a single one has come back?"

Xiao Liu shook his head: "No, at least I've never seen one. Let me tell you, once you go abroad, you're an unregistered resident, understand? Do you have a household registration in that country? You have to hide and avoid getting caught. If you are caught, you'll be imprisoned, or at best, deported."

Besides, won't he make money coming back? There's money abroad, but people need to eat, wear clothes, and live in a place. Everything costs money. He can't possibly have a lower cost of living than he does in China, right? People who earn 300 yuan in China get excited when they hear they can earn 3,000 or 4,000 yuan abroad, without ever considering whether they can live on 100 yuan in China or 1,000 or 2,000 yuan abroad.

I don't believe that foreigners are surrounded by gold. There are plenty of people making money in China now, so why don't I see them making money? Most people who go abroad are not doing well. You can't make money in China, but you make money abroad?

Foreigners are all waiting for you to make money? That's a joke. Besides, what can an undocumented person like you do? Wash dishes, clean toilets, sleep in warehouses and storage rooms, living like a dog. Why don't you just be a human being in your home country?

Xiao Wei said, "I haven't had any contact with them. Everyone has their own ambitions. Who knows, maybe some people are making a lot of money. It's hard to say."

(End of this chapter)