Preamble:
Cai Zhuxiang was born in Shenzhen in the 50s of the 20th century, a small fishing village surrounded by mountains and seas. At that time, it was not wealthy, and the villagers mostly made a living from farming. The land is barren, and life is very poor.
Cai Zhuxiang's family is not well-off, his father is an ordinary farmer, relying on the small piece of thin land behind the village to support the livelihood of the family of five. However, the harvest was always bleak, and they did not have enough food and clothing. Cai Zhuxiang has undertaken a lot of labor since he was a child, and after school, he always carries his immature shoulders on his back, goes to the mountains to collect firewood, and goes to the fields to water and weed.
He should have had a carefree childhood, but he had to take on the burden of the family early. This kind of life made him introverted and shy, but he was also very down-to-earth and hardworking, and the people in the village praised him as a good seedling.
When he was 18 years old, a group of educated youths went to the countryside to come to this small village like an old forest in the mountains, bringing some waves to the ordinary rural life. These young people who grew up in the city talk and behave with a bookish air and elegant temperament.
Their very different appearances and manners caused a lot of commotion among the rustic villagers. Especially Zhang Lianhao, a city girl with sweet looks and generous manners. Her bright eyes are always a little playful, and her graceful demeanor deeply attracts Cai Zhuxiang.
He had never seen such a woman, and in his eyes she was as touching as a princess in a fairy tale. It didn't take long for the two to enter the palace of marriage amid the whispers of everyone. The people in the village shook their heads and sighed, saying that Lianhao, a beautiful girl from a big city, married a poor bastard with no interest, is really a tyrannical thing.
The sweetness of first marriage is soon crushed by the weight of life. As soon as I entered the door, Lianhao obviously felt the constraints of this family. The dilapidated tiled house was so simple that she could even stand alone. All I ate was rice and pickles, and I wore coarse cloth clothes. She couldn't help but miss the affluent life of her family in the city, and began to complain about Cai Zhuxiang's incompetence.
The family is so poor that Cai Zhuxiang earns a few dollars from odd jobs is far from filling the family's stomach. Zhang Lianhao gave birth to two babies one after another, and she gradually ceased to be the brightly dressed young girl she used to be. She toiled and worked to support the family on her own. She also learned to do farm work and to do heavy work like men. Her once delicate jade hands also had thick calluses, and her beautiful face was covered with traces of wind and frost.
Cai Zhuxiang wandered around all day long, struggling in the quagmire of livelihood. He often dragged his tired body back to the dilapidated and damp tiled house in the middle of the night. He will also blame himself and helpless in his heart, and he also wants to give his family a better life, but he is burdened by his short-sighted livelihood all day long, and he has no time to take care of anything else.
He also had the dream of building a spacious bungalow for his family, so that his gray-haired old mother would no longer have to work hard, so that the children could go to the best school, and no longer suffer from hunger and cold like himself. But the weight of reality is overwhelming, he can't even be busy with the food in front of him, and those beautiful imaginations are even more extravagant.
For the first time, I ran away from home and wandered in a foreign land
One day, Cai Zhuxiang heard that the fishermen were plotting to smuggle their way to Hong Kong, where they could find better jobs. This stirred up a wave in his heart, and he also wanted to try to see if he could change his current life of nothing. Before dawn the next day, he confirmed his thoughts.
Before leaving, he stared at his wife and children sleeping soundly on the dilapidated wooden bed, and his heart was full of conflicting joys and sorrows. Although they have been blaming themselves for their incompetence, after all, they have been dependent on each other for all these years of hardship and hardship. However, it was the current situation that the family was becoming more and more stretched that made Cai Zhuxiang determined to go out.
He wanted to change his fate and give his family new hope, so he chose to leave his hometown alone and face unknown risks. From the moment he embarked on the road of smuggling, he was ready to break with this barren homeland and find his own sky.
After coming to Hong Kong, Cai Zhuxiang realized how indifferent it was to outsiders. Displaced from the streets and homeless, he barely fed his stomach with his hands and feet, carrying cement and masonry on construction sites, cleaning, and any heavy and dirty work. He slept under the bridge and cave, and lived with rats, worse than in his hometown in the mountains and wilderness, and spent every day in fear.
In order to save more money and send it home, he lived like a fairy. finally got through the Hong Kong ID card, Cai Zhuxiang was overjoyed. This means that he can legally settle and work here, and he can slowly establish himself in this strange city. He no longer has to worry about being sent home one day and living with nothing. He can finally hold his head high, find a decent job, and live a peaceful life.
However, the reality still fooled Cai Zhuxiang. Even with an identity card, he is still the lowest level of labor. The boss will not increase your salary and benefits just because you have an ID card, and life is still repeating those boring steps. Cai Zhuxiang only then knew that the change in his life was not as simple as a paper certificate, and in this strange city, he was destined to be only worthy of being the lowest and lowly worker.
This realization made him desperate. He came with the dream of changing his fate and bringing hope to his family, but the truth is that he will always be in the same place, always struggling at the bottom of survival. This was unacceptable to him. Only now did I understand something called self-worth and dignity. Is he really willing to live in such a gloomy way? Does he still want to live such a life that is inferior to a chicken and a dog in this wandering foreign land?
The second time ruthlessly abandoned his family and children
That's when he heard someone smuggling into the United States. Life there will be better than in Hong Kong. As soon as this idea was born, it took root in Cai Zhuxiang's heart. He was determined to continue his journey, and he must not be willing to stop there. He believes that the shark-covered Pacific Ocean will not stop him from longing for a new life.
However, accidents at sea frequented him, and he was sold to Ecuador and became a slave to a black-hearted miner. Every day, I repeat the mechanical work in the mine, and live a life of animal life that is inferior to that of a human being. In these long years, Cai Zhuxiang has repeatedly fallen into despair and self-doubt about his fate. Maybe I was born a loser, and fate destined me to live at the bottom...... I can't change my humble fate!
The good times did not last long, and Cai Zhuxiang finally regained his freedom a few years later. He started his own business in Ecuador and opened a Chinese restaurant. Gradually the business prospered, and he married a beautiful and gentle girl. At this moment, he felt like a bird constantly trying to escape from its cage, finally flying out of the dark and damp underground and back into the sunlight. He has his own business and a happy family. At this moment, he had a real sense of success in life. He naively thought that he would settle down in a foreign country and live a stable and happy life.
Until one day, a fellow showed up in his restaurant and told the story of the changes in his hometown over the years. This long-lost name reminded him of too many past events in an instant. The name could cross thousands of mountains and rivers to the softest places in the depths of his heart. It turned out that his hometown of Shenzhen was already a different look. It's already a new city with high-rise buildings and endless opportunities.
At this moment, the feelings of the homeland swept all of Cai Zhuxiang's mind. The overwhelming emotions hit him, making him almost breathless. He suddenly missed his mother's kindness very much, and those wrinkled hands had touched his forehead; He misses the meandering stream, the scenery of his hometown with its mountain peaks and vast fields.
At that moment, the wandering life of more than ten years was eclipsed in his eyes - he just wanted to go home. The distant term home suddenly shocked him deeply, and he had been chasing something in a daze for so many years, but in fact, the original, most authentic thing was in that place!
Early the next morning, amid his wife's grief-stricken cry, Cai Zhuxiang chose to leave ruthlessly. He just wanted to rush home immediately, even if it burned to the ground. He turned a deaf ear to the retention and cries of the young wife behind him. He has no nostalgia for everything she has worked hard in a foreign country for more than ten years. The love between his wife and his wife is like a flash in the day, and Cai Zhuxiang will not stop for anything. He resolutely left behind everything he had worked hard in a foreign land for more than ten years, and embarked on the road back to his hometown alone, so he abandoned his wife and children again.
reunited in his homeland, and his ex-wife looked at him coldly
Like a moth to a fire, Cai Zhuxiang came to his hometown. When he got off the plane, the moment he walked out of the airport gate in the sea breeze, a joy of lost and regained filled his whole heart. He breathed deeply into the familiar air, almost tears of emotion. The exhaustion of so many years of wandering life disappeared at this moment.
However, when he got into a taxi and shuttled through the bustling high-rise canyon, confusion and panic also came to his heart. When did the city become so prosperous? Where did all the humble mud houses in his memory go? He wandered around this strange and prosperous city, always feeling like an outsider, and the fireworks and lights had nothing to do with him. He searched desperately, but he couldn't find the place he knew best.
Until one day, he found a small dilapidated residential area at the end of a street. These small buildings still bear some traces of childhood memories. Cai Zhuxiang was almost trembling with excitement, and he approached the familiar place, for fear that this would be another mirage. However, when he stopped at the ruins of the humble grass hut in his memory, it had been replaced by a brand new small building. He watched in disbelief and even wondered if it was all real. He stood in place for a long time, and suddenly the familiar door opened, and he saw his ex-wife, Zhang Lianhao, walk out.
She hadn't seen her for years, and she seemed to be looking a lot older. His face was full of dust, and his look was gone. She looked at him indifferently, without a trace of joy or emotion in her eyes. She looked at this man who had not returned for many years with vicissitudes of life and stubbornness, and only resentment and disappointment remained in her heart. She pursed her lips and didn't say a word, but her eyes slashed at Cai Zhuxiang like a knife.
Cai Zhuxiang felt bitter in his heart, he knew that all this resentment was caused by himself. Although his heart had already collapsed, he still followed him into the house with a cheeky face. Over the years, Zhang Lianhao has also supported this family alone, and now her life is much better than before. Cai Zhuxiang stood in the room in a daze, guilt and self-blame made him feel ashamed. He knew that he was wrong, and he could only let time slowly heal the gap between the two.
Later, he and Zhang Lian thought that they could add several floors to this house for rent, so he settled in this house again. This creates a certain financial dependency between the two. Although the emotional rift can never be bridged, the sympathy in life has made some faint connections between them.
The battle of demolition is mercenary
Over time, the old village where they live has been listed as a demolition area. At this moment, Cai Zhuxiang and Zhang Lianhao ushered in a rare opportunity to make a fortune in their lives. The two have ulterior motives, secretly intriguing, you sing and I appear, and do everything in their power to fight for higher compensation for their own interests. To this end, they will do whatever it takes.
They have been running around, leaving left and right to win over relationships. Cai Zhuxiang took out the keen sense of smell and scheming that he had cultivated for many years in society, while Zhang Lianhao played the weak card of a poor and clever woman and kept currying favor with the developer. In the end, isolated developers are left at a disadvantage. In this battle of demolition, Zhang Cai and his wife took advantage and filled their pockets.
But the victory of their political acumen was also a complete loss. They have gone from being a demanding careerist to being a lonely ghost. The relatives and friends who have dealt with them over the years have also drifted away because of this vicious battle of demolition. The emotional vacuum and the sloppiness of life make it impossible for them to maintain everything before after they start from scratch.
Wealth is extravagant, but in exchange for a desolate loneliness that will never recover. Until one day, Cai Zhuxiang suddenly realized that it was not only the love of his homeland that deeply bound him. Those neighbors and friends who depend on each other day and night, the bits and pieces they have experienced together, are the real destination of his life. And now everything is wrong, and he has nothing left.
It's a pity that time can't be turned back, and the regrets of his life are left to his old age when he is not in Chengming. The thousands of family fortunes he obtained with all his scheming were exchanged for indelible loneliness. He asked himself – what more do you want, what is the point of all this?
In the end, however, there are only endless, empty echoes.