Gai Hyosung: Batuu who lives quietly in Osaka

The fifth new footprint of studying in Japan

In the age of the pandemic, personal stories are being downplayed. In the form of interviews, the column focuses on the struggle of each "individual" in a foreign land, sour, sweet and bitter.

Batuu: An international student living in Osaka

Chinese Herald Literary Garden

Author: Gai Xiaoxing

Batuu, a Manchu from Beijing, did not speak Japanese, but chose to come to Japan to "live a life." When I met my student Jun Chiba through Hello Talk, he pushed batu's business card to me when I asked Jun Chiba to introduce me to another person with a story, and later added irresponsibly: "I don't know if he has a story." The two of them were just a pair of partners learning each other's languages, and they had never met. Batuu lives in Osaka, and on March 14, 2022, at 8 p.m., we had a very sudden interview via WeChat voice. Fortunately, Batuu is very talkative and has a lot of trust in me. Soon, I walked into his "story."

-When did you come to Japan?

Coming in 2019. Because of my work, I have also been to many places before. After the comparison, I felt that the land was smoky and miasma, and the environment was not good. I also thought about moving to the United States, and in 2012, I first went with a tour group, and I felt uncomfortable. The field was so big that no one could be seen, and in the morning they ate cold meals and drank cold milk.

— What do you do? Where did they go?

I do my own business and do everything. Insurance, travel, mainly to do sales. The kind that helps the company run a single, that is not a fast money. When I had enough time in Beijing and wanted to change places, I went to Hong Kong from 12 to 15 years, and I also ran business in Macau and Shenzhen. Mainly insurance, I am also half a lecturer, but also responsible for lecturing to the salesman, pulling them to sell orders or something. By the end of the year, there is a tourism project to be promoted, that is, the major insurance companies to promote the order. We have a "five-step sales method", the first step is called invitation, that is, to meet the customer first, and then send him a travel product or something. In 15 years, I began to run this side of Japan, and I applied for a work visa through a friend's travel company to bring customers to travel.

Photo: Batu

-How did you come up with the idea of settling in Japan?

Because I socialize a lot at work, drink a lot of alcohol, sleep is not normal, 19 years, high blood pressure, high blood lipids are serious. Went to Beijing's Anzhen Hospital to see a doctor, the doctor said that you are in danger of life at any time, you must take medicine, prescribed me 3 kinds of medicine, said to eat for a lifetime. I wasn't even 40 years old at the time, so I couldn't accept it. I would like to hear the opinions of Japanese doctors. Came to see two large hospitals, the conclusion is the same, that is, do not eat high blood pressure medicine, let me take lipid-lowering drugs, first lower blood lipids. Then you have to quit drinking, lose salt, and exercise. As long as you lose weight, your blood pressure is normal. No, under the supervision of my daughter-in-law, half a year is fine. This has changed a lot for me. Also, my daughter-in-law is now pregnant, belongs to the elderly motherhood, we go to the hospital, the doctors and nurses are very good. They don't care which country you are from, whether you speak Japanese or not, they don't discriminate. Do things very seriously, and will not see whether you have money or not.

- Did your daughter-in-law become pregnant after coming to Japan?

Yes, she has not been pregnant at home. After going to The Union Hospital for examination, the doctor said that there were fibroids in the uterus, and it was recommended to remove them, or if they were pregnant, it would also affect the development of the fetus. I think I'm not too young, I have to wait another two years to get pregnant, I am very hesitant. After coming to Japan, I also saw two hospitals, and the results given were not affecting the development of the fetus, and it was not long before I became pregnant. She didn't fit in when she first arrived, didn't speak the language, and had no friends. Later, by going to the hospital for pregnancy tests, the doctors and nurses were particularly good. She is particularly touched by the fact that she cares about all aspects of you and tries to help you and provide you with the best service, but these are not linked to interests.

-Did you go to Osaka when you first arrived?

No, I went to Tokyo first. I rented a house at Mejiro Station and lived there for less than a month. My daughter-in-law thinks that the pace of Tokyo is too fast, and the Yamanote line where we live is very crowded, very mixed, similar to Beijing now, chaotic, and quite distant. This is not to come to Osaka, Osaka is quite like the old Beijing, next to Kyoto, Nara. I feel that this side of Kansai is relatively quiet, which is quite suitable for life, because I came to Japan to live. There are always all kinds of worries in China, food safety, fakes and so on. Japan's service is good and has a contractual spirit. They are business-oriented, they don't have so complicated interpersonal relationships, and they don't have to take their brains when dealing with them. And I don't know Japanese, and I don't have much of a problem.

— Are you a second generation official or a rich second generation?

No, my parents were ordinary workers. When I first graduated from college, I also gave others a miscellaneous job. In 2004, very poor, hungry, not yet married, and my daughter-in-law went to the Hutongkou restaurant to order a plate of dishes, 8 or 9 yuan. Then buy two steamed buns at a street stall. The restaurant owner looked at us pitifully and gave me a copy of fried chili oil every time we went. When I was the poorest, I only had 5 yuan on me, bought a bowl of instant noodles, and the fare was gone. Like me, I feel hungry all day. When it comes time to eat, my daughter-in-law will eat as much as she can. I thought she wasn't hungry, so I ate all the instant noodles, and she looked at her and said, "Can you leave me a mouthful of soup?"

— Is it? They all struggled out of hard times. So what did you study in college?

Learning business management is useless. When I first entered the society, I was a fool or two, didn't understand anything, and was very stunned. Relying on the guidance of seniors, you can learn a lot of things with one meal. At that time, money was easier to earn, and everyone didn't care, and they would share their experience with you without reservation.

— Slowly breaking out?

It's not broken out, forced out. When I went to school, my face was relatively thin, and I had a good face and vanity. After entering the society and finding that those are useless, I don't want to face it. Ha ha. No way, parents can't help. Doing this work of sales, the market is very cruel, you have to rely on lip service, or you can't do this job.

— Are you still doing it?

During the epidemic, it was resting and eating old books. I bought two houses in Osaka, one for myself and one for rent. At first, when I was still unsure of the situation, I first bought a small apartment with cash. Later, I heard from my colleagues that after working in Japan for more than 5 years, you can apply for a mortgage from a large bank such as Mitsui and Mitsubishi, and the interest rate is only 0.525% (5% in China). So I took out a loan to buy a three-bedroom and one-bedroom apartment.

—So when your young couple goes to live abroad, didn't your parents or in-laws object?

Most of the people of my age, including the original families of the classmates around me, are short-tempered fathers and mothers. Therefore, we still hope to live our own, different lives from them, and create a more satisfactory living environment for children. Parents on both sides do not interfere with us, people like me, there are quite a few in Beijing, many immigrants to the United States and Canada, and those who come to Japan are relatively poor.

— Haruki Murakami has a dialogue in "Norwegian Forest" that says that the biggest advantage of rich people is that they can say that they have no money.

Haha, I'll be honest, we can't compare with those local tycoons.

—Look at your circle of friends, now also do some purchasing business?

It is to help friends, there are many friends in the mainland, and there are some customers. If they have anything they need, they will buy it from me and make a difference in the middle. I can't lose these relationships, in case I am poor again in the future, leave myself a back hand. During the epidemic period, the general environment is not good, and it is easy to lose money for investment. Now I'm fine and I'm going to wander around. Not long ago went to Kyushu, I feel that the place is more suitable for the elderly, infrastructure and big cities are no different, but the place is big, there are few people, the house is also large, and the air is particularly fresh. And wherever you go to eat something, you will not encounter such a thing as "ripping off customers", the Japanese have special rules.

— Have you made Japanese friends?

A big sister in her 50s in Hiroshima also met on Hello Talk. Although I have never met, I can talk very well, like an old friend. There is little communication with the Japanese people around her, and she is also affected by the epidemic, and her daughter-in-law is pregnant and afraid of infection. I met two Chinese friends at the language school, they also came to live, a buddy sold his house in Beijing, and came here to live with a dead heart. I think there are many places in Japan that are worth learning, some people in China like to scold Japan, that's because Japan is better than us, people generally don't scold people who are inferior to themselves, right? In my daughter-in-law's words, we should learn from the Japanese to restrain themselves with moral standards of behavior, not to restrain others.

Postscript: Mankind has entered the era of globalization, and capable people can freely choose their own living environment. I also have Japanese friends around me who like China very much and choose to work and live in China. Probably because of his personality, he feels stressed in Japan, and living in China as a foreigner can make him feel relatively relaxed.

Although Batuu is a man who has been in the business field, he is over forty years old, and he still retains a very childish innocence. For some of the more sensitive topics, there is no reservation and bluntness. He also told me that he was a Fan of Jin Yong (which reminded me of what a Japanese teacher who studied classical Chinese literature said when I was studying abroad, and he said that "people who don't like to read Jin Yong are I think they can't be trusted"). Later, when he talked about the piano music he had just learned from the video, he couldn't wait to record a passage and send it to me. I think his unpretentious "purity" may be the reason why he can attract customers and gain trust. I wish the Batu family a smoother day in Osaka and slowly make more friends.