On August 22, I was invited to Shanghai and boarded the "Watermelon Video Creator's Ark". I am attending this event on behalf of Touch. "Go for it! This reflects our friendship! Touch's editing teacher said to me.
This is a cruise tour, this cruise ship carries more than 4,000 tourists, set sail from Shanghai to Shimonoseki City, Japan, stayed for 1 day and returned to Shanghai, the whole journey lasted 5 days.
When I arrived at the dock, it was close to boarding time, and the tin room where the scheduled meeting was scheduled to be filled with people. The team leaders identified their responsible team members and issued them with the necessary documents to board the ship. Shanghai's poisonous sunlight rushed in from outside the window, scorching pedestrians coming and going. It all reminds me of when I was a kid.
My grandmother's family lived near Saigon Port, the largest and most prosperous port in Vietnam, and many of my childhood memories are related to ports, freighters, and foreigners. Fishermen anchor in small boats in the harbor, the freshest fish are delivered to Ho Chi Minh City, and bulk fish are often sold at very cheap prices. My grandma would sometimes get a few fish and make spring rolls for me. What a delicious spring roll, the skin of the spring roll is thin. Later, I left my hometown and came to Beijing, eating a good sister-in-law's home cooking every day, but the taste of spring rolls in my memory never dissipated.
Waiting for me at the boarding gate was a tall black crew member standing in the aisle, constantly repeating "passport" and "glasses" in English. The streamlines of the embarkation passage are carefully designed. The first stop I arrived was the casino on the 6th floor. It's golden inside, and it reminds me of the casino on board in Persona 5.
The top deck, ah, reminded me of my hometown
I don't remember if there was such a casino in my hometown, maybe there was, maybe not, but I always think of the Mekong. My home is near the Mekong River, which is the largest river in Vietnam. Many of my memories as a child are related to the rivers of the river and the boats on the Mekong. At night, sometimes, I would be on the shore watching the boats drive by, some of which were brightly lit, and perhaps the boats were bustling. But the cruise was still busier than I could have imagined, with enthusiastic crew members repeating "welcome" with smiles on their faces between the tables and slot machines, holding leaflets selling "drink coupons," presumably $60 for 10 coupons to offset drinks under $10.
On board, most of the content is free, and the only strict restriction is the drink. Whether in the cafeteria or the dining room, including the various bars on board, they do not serve drinks in the traditional sense (except water, coffee and milk). I think of scurvy, including the fresh water and oranges it needs to cure it — and speaking of oranges, I think of my hometown of Hanoi. There are always street stalls in the streets and alleys there. Many of my memories of my childhood are related to street food.
At the entrance to the alley of my house, there was a woman selling tamales (bánh cuốn). My grandmother sometimes talked about her and said that her mother had fallen in love with an American soldier, and then the American had returned home—poor man. She would put an orange in the tamales, and the sour taste of the orange and the taste of the shrimp were combined to make the taste very beautiful. Later, I left my hometown and came to Beijing, eating pancake fruit every day (Chinese would put an industrial product called "thin crisp" in the pancakes, which was far inferior to fritters, but I heard that it is rare to find pancakes with fritters now, except for Tianjin, I want to go to Tianjin! But the smell of the tamales in the memory never dissipated.
Out of the casino, I took the elevator to the cabin. The narrow aisles wind and turn, and if you are not careful, you will lose your way. I dragged my suitcase down the aisle and remembered the scene where I had turned into a rat and killed everywhere. I found my room, settled down, and stood on the balcony looking at the empty port. This room reminds me of the room I had as a child, but before I could think about it, the alarm went off – it reminded me of the siren that rang through the city as a child, and my blood boiled in that instant... plane...... Incendiary bombs... Screaming compatriots and villagers... I don't know how long it took before I realized that this was the previously scheduled escape drill, so I randomly put a life jacket on my body and rushed to the meeting point.
The cold life jacket brought me familiar memories. I know life jackets, and my grandfather, Mr. Lý thái tổ, once fled in a glider during the evacuation of U.S. troops from Vietnam in 1975, and the pilot forced the plane to land at sea — about 1 nautical mile from the USS Midway. My grandfather and the remaining 5 passengers drifted at sea in life jackets for 4 hours before being rescued. He later told me that he still couldn't fly or get close to the sea.
But I can't help but wear this orange dress, which represents the friendship of my Chinese colleagues to me. I put it on my head with a trembling hand, and for a moment that suffocating feeling crawled all over my body. But I still overcame myself, and I came to the meeting point in my life jacket. Looking back, in 5 days at sea, I only saw so many people at once, once for an escape drill and once for a bungee party, and they all seemed particularly casual.
Bundy party. The green light filled the house, which reminded me of my hometown
After the exercise, the schedule read "Creator's Ark Launching Ceremony", and the organizers today's headlines, Teacher Gao and Teacher Hu, gathered everyone in the group to drink together. Soon, there was a circle of game media workers sitting in the bar on the 5th floor. They were busy introducing and greeting each other warmly, some looking around but not opening their mouths, while others were huddled in the sofa playing with their mobile phones. This scene evoked my memories and it reminded me of my hometown of Da Nang. Da Nang is now the most popular city for travelers in northern Vietnam, and when I was young, it was a quiet little town. Many of my childhood memories are related to sesame biscuits and oysters, which are a specialty of Da Nang. Sometimes, on a hot afternoon, neighbors gather on the side of the road and do their own thing. Then I left my hometown and came to Beijing, where people were so busy that they hurried out of the subway station of the ancient city and disappeared into the office building in the mist. But I will always remember the quiet and comfortable moments of my childhood.
Maybe sensing that the atmosphere is a little awkward, someone proposed to start introducing themselves, but it makes the atmosphere even more awkward, Chinese friends seem to dislike introducing themselves, especially friends who work on the Internet, they are very shy, which makes the whole process seem a little awkward, in the long "I am from ×× ××× (name)" "Oh! You are the endless cycle of ×× (nickname), and I quickly finished drinking the agave sunrise in my hand, so sweet, it reminded me of my hometown edge water. I know you'd love to know my memories, but tequila started magic.
Throughout the trip, I didn't participate in much group activity — including pool soaking, square dancing, watching movies and basking in the sun. I often say "there is a manuscript to write" and leave my Chinese friends alone, but I am actually wandering around the boat (although there is a manuscript to write).
This 18-storey ship named "Mediterranean Splendor" sails noisily on the dark high seas, I often come to the deck at night, facing the sea breeze, looking into the endless darkness, my motherland Vietnam must be on one side of the sea, as long as I jump off the ship, swim, I will definitely be able to return to my hometown.
But I can't do that, I can't let my Chinese colleagues down, I'm like sitting in a fortress that belongs to meat eaters. All kinds of facilities are available on the boat, as long as you don't want to get off the boat, you can really not go down. There's everything here.
Looking back from the stern, a trail appeared on the endless sea, and I thought of my hometown
Of course, there are also people who can't get off the ship – the tour leader told us that on the last voyage, someone lost in the casino and disappeared into the depths of the ocean with an unpaid debt.
But I drank a lot of cocktails with strange names, they were all different colors, and the taste was often surprising. I held my glass and indulged in the singing of the white guy 'milasca'. This song reminds me of my hometown of Hanoi. There, in the evening, the streets are filled with French songs, which seem to be absent from the roar of motorcycles. Many of my childhood memories are associated with these taverns, when I would hawk on Vietnamese specialties – cashew nuts, coffee and rubber – in the streets.
People love cashew nuts, they treat it as a side dish, people also love coffee, Vietnamese coffee is well-known. Few people like rubber, they are all agents of large Western companies, such as Michelin and Goodyear. We brought futures delivery orders, and if any agent drank too much agave, we asked him to buy 7,000 tons of rubber next year in a 500-acre rubber plantation on the outskirts of Hanoi at a very high price. We are all good at doing business! Later, when I came to Beijing, I was fascinated by literary creation, and I rarely heard this beautiful song again, and I rarely drank cocktails (Chinese friends forced me to drink a lot of old white dry, spicy!). But now, I think, I'm back in the atmosphere of this drunken fan.
Teacher Hu from Shenyang, China, told me that as a "creator's ark", there are still some industry-oriented activities on this ship. I attended the closed door meeting of Watermelon Video, and several big vs of the Watermelon Video Game Area took the stage to share their successful experiences.
They are really powerful, everyone is a fan master and a master of volume. At the conference, they poured out their own development paths and key choices. But my Chinese is not good, which makes me very distressed. “nếu bạn mạnh về mặt kỹ thuật, bạn sẽ hài hước, hoặc bạn sẽ trông ổn. tôi đã không mở máy ảnh trước đây. sau khi tôi có một vẻ đẹp, tôi thấy rằng tôi ổn." Many showed pelican empowerment expressions. My Chinese is not good, my Chinese is not much worse, and I can't even understand the true meaning of these words. Many people repeat a sentence to me to the effect that "just take a pat on the hand and get an extra VND 32,371,215.80 per month." "A lot of money!
Rather than the experience sharing sessions of Chinese friends, I would rather watch children play "Nintendo Star Brawl" in the game room on the 7th floor. The machine was completely occupied by seven or eight children, who lined up in an orderly manner, and the person with the lowest score in a game was replaced.
The children were fighting fiercely in Nintendo Smash Bros., and I couldn't help but think of my hometown
During the time I watched, there was a slightly older boy who always came first. He tirelessly chooses the role of "robot", constantly using the same move to skillfully beat other players out of the field. Teacher Hu, a friend from China, told me that earlier they had challenged the young master, "three hits and one, never fought."
There is the first, there is the bottom. A little girl could only play one game on the field, and she waited obediently, despite the tears in her eyes.
On the other side is tetris belonging to adults. However, the level of these participants is not at all the same magnitude as the battle I saw in the office of Touch Le, where the Chinese friend Mr. Zuo Lun is a terrible opponent, not only skilled, but also cunning, even the Vietnamese Zhenwu Emperor can not defeat his Tetris. Having seen his tricks, these machines were completely unattractive to me.
But after all, not everyone has seen Mr. Revolver, and they have other entertainment. Once, I was passing by the playroom at night and found adults and children playing "werewolf killing" together. On this most luxurious cruise ship, it seems to be a rustic paradise. The host with a nice voice said quietly, "Please close your eyes when it's dark", and I hurried past, and I felt a little at ease.
Tetris. The people in front of them concentrated on it, but they still quickly played themselves to death. I started thinking about my hometown
Before arriving in Japan, I consulted various materials in Shimonoseki City. The foodies online rave about the puffer fish in this area, and I was eager to try it out.
Yet we didn't eat puffer fish – we didn't even look at it! Buses carry tourists from one duty-free shop to another, and all I see in Japan is the parking lot next to the shop and the crowded cars on the highway. This reminds me of my hometown of Da Nang. When I was a child, Da Nang was just beginning to develop tourism, and we watched tourists from all over the world pass in front of us on buses. As the old Vietnamese proverb says, "bạn đã ở đây" (all come and go), these tourists are bound to spend their money here.
All my memories as a child are associated with tourists, handmade souvenirs, and dollars. At that time, I would dangle in front of tourists with souvenirs. We are a young and dynamic country. Every night, we would give the money from the sale to my grandmother, who would carefully count and then carefully put the money in her bag. She would say, "Wait for enough money, wait for enough money to take you to see your grandmother." ”
Let's go back to this trip. It's good to say goodbye to Japan. As the cruise ship slowly sailed out of port, the crew on the shore waved wildly at us with glow sticks, and we also turned on the flash of our mobile phones and waved. At this time, fireworks bloomed in the night sky of Shimonoseki. Colorful fireworks shine on the far shore, and I can't hear the sound, but I can see the light behind the tall buildings. If it's in the game world, I'll definitely put a messenger at my feet.
On the boat, looking at the fireworks on Guam in the distance, this picture comes from the Chinese friend Hu Zhengda teacher, is he homesick?
The return trip was a bit sad. Probably due to a typhoon, the cruise ship became shaky. I stared hard at the words on my computer, suddenly felt a dizziness, and then I never got out of the straight line again. Plagued by this vertigo, I even tried to maintain a delicate balance by getting drunk, but it proved futile.
On August 26, I left the Mediterranean Glory with the returned $100. A familiar "goodbye" came from behind me, and I turned back to see the huge, pure white cruise ship quietly parked in the harbor. Me and her, and the people I meet above her, probably ended up with that. In the familiar, poisonous sunshine, I walked the streets of Shanghai with my bags on my back, my clothes soaked in sweat. Once again, I felt the real feeling of being back in this world.
Every separation reminds me of my sister. She's so smart, she always likes to joke with me, but I know she takes care of me. In fact, every time I went to sell souvenirs, my sister always went with me, but we got too little money - how many souvenirs can two children sell?
Every night, when we handed the money to Grandma, she would still say, "When the money is enough, I will take you to see Grandma." "But the money is always not enough, it is not enough, there are too many places to spend money." One day, we brought back the money, and Grandma said so. "When the money is enough, when the money is enough, I will take you to see your grandmother."
"I'm not going, Grandma." My sister said, "You take A Nguyen with you." ”
Grandma was silent for a long time, and then she said, "Okay, Agua, we'll leave tomorrow." ”
The next day, my grandmother took me, and I said goodbye to my sister, who smiled and said goodbye to me, her eyes narrowed into a line. We left the house, saw us in the neighborhood where we were chatting at the entrance of the alley, and greeted us: "Ah Nguyen is going out?" Grandma would say, "Take him to see Grandma." ”
"Be careful on the road." The neighbors said that while talking, they stuffed me with many sesame biscuits and told me to obey along the way. We came to the harbor and boarded a small boat that moved forward in a system of countless rivers, splitting the waves.
The man who started the ship was my grandfather, who returned to his homeland from Indonesia 10 years ago and bought the ship to do some long-distance transportation business. He was still reluctant to wear a life jacket. He was going to drive us on a boat to see my grandmother. But I can't go straight to Hanoi, the first stop is Hanoi, where I first find a drunken foreigner and sell him the rubber delivery slip at hand. Having done all this, I'll go back to the boat and buy two or three Vietnamese rolls on the way, and there's nothing more comfortable than eating them at the bow of the boat.
Sunset over the bay, sparkling, sea and sky, ah, my hometown!
The boat continued to sail until it reached Saigon Port. Like I said at the beginning, it is the largest and busiest port in Vietnam. My grandmother and grandfather would take me off the boat and tell me to obey. I ran to my grandmother—she would wait for me at the door, pat me on the head, tell me I'd grow tall again, and make me spring rolls.
Yes, that's all my memories of my hometown. Now I have left my hometown and come to Beijing. I do enviable work in an office building, but I still think of that sometimes, all of it. Every day, every night, I miss my hometown. Ah, the little boats floating on the Mekong.