In the 21st century, there are "Chinatowns" in every corner of the world, and the Chinese gathering place in Paris is called "13th Street".
In Paris in 1929, there was no such thing as "13th Arrondissement", but there were already many Chinese people there. For example, two great figures from our dynasty, Zhou and Deng, lived here when they studied in France.
Zhou Hexuan, surrounded by many students studying in France, came to a neighborhood on the left bank of the Seine River.
Strictly speaking, it cannot be called a neighborhood, it is a bit similar to a shantytown or an urban-rural fringe area. There are no high-rise buildings here, and it is not as prosperous as the main city of Paris, but it is not called a slum.
The buildings here have obviously not been strictly planned. They are built randomly everywhere. Most of them are bungalows and two- and three-story buildings. Although it is messy and complicated, it is orderly in the chaos. There are many signs with Chinese characters hanging on both sides of the street.
Some small shops are also quite busy.
Li Shi once said: "Most of the students studying in France are from poor families. They cannot afford to rent a house in the city and can only live in the suburbs of Paris. This is the best choice."
Zhou Hexuan asked: "How many permanent Chinese are there here?"
"I'm not sure," Li Shi thought for a while and said, "It must be at least ten or twenty thousand. I don't know if they are Chinese. Many immigrants from Southeast Asia and East Asia will choose to settle here after arriving in Paris. So you don't see yellow skin everywhere.
, but not all of them are Chinese.”
Zhou Hexuan asked: "How is the life of the Chinese here?"
Li Shizeng smiled bitterly and said: "That's it. As long as you work hard, you can still survive. The key is that the social status is relatively low and they are marginalized people in Paris. Although they have become French citizens, they do not have the right to vote."
Hundreds of people were walking on the street, and the residents here watched curiously.
A bun shop owner met an acquaintance in the crowd and came over and asked, "Classmate Lin, are you holding a parade?"
The international student smiled and said: "We just picked up Mr. Zhou from the train station. Did you see that the man in front of you is Mr. Zhou?"
"Is this Mr. Zhou who is praised by all French people?" the shop owner asked in surprise.
"Of course it's him." the international student said proudly.
After hearing this, the shopkeeper immediately ran back to the bun shop, picked out more than ten meat buns, wrapped them in good brown paper, rushed to Zhou Hexuan and said: "Mr. Zhou, you eat the buns!"
"Thank you." Zhou Hexuan was surprised, then smiled and took out the money.
The shop owner quickly refused: "No money, it's all for free."
Zhou Hexuan said: "Why are you so embarrassed?"
The shop owner said with a smile on his face: "Mr. Zhou has given us Chinese people a good face. This is just my personal opinion."
"Thank you very much." Zhou Hexuan clasped his fists and asked Sun Yongzhen to put the buns away.
Since World War I, France's population has dropped sharply and it has begun to receive a large number of immigrants. Nowadays, it is very easy for Chinese to immigrate to France, but in the traditional concept, no matter which nationality they have acquired, they still consider themselves to be Chinese.
The same is true in the United States. Chinese Americans consider themselves Chinese.
Whether it was Sun Yat-sen's revolution, Chang Kaishen's leadership of the Northern Expedition, or the subsequent Anti-Japanese War, these Chinese people have been actively donating money. There are even elders who sent their children and grandchildren back to the country to participate in the war. Their patriotic behavior is purer than that of many local Chinese.
The biggest reason is that China is too weak. Overseas tourists are often bullied and dream about the motherland becoming stronger as soon as possible.
When I heard that Zhou Hexuan was here, many Chinese people along the street came to watch, and there were many gift-givers. Although they were only small things like fruits, steamed buns, snacks, etc., Zhou Hexuan was still very touched. Looking at their simple smiles
, Zhou Hexuan had the urge to wipe away tears.
Everyone's destination is a restaurant called "China Hotel".
The name of the store is very catchy, but it is only a two-story building and cannot accommodate hundreds of people eating at the same time.
After Li Shizeng entered the store, he cupped his fists and said to a middle-aged man: "Boss Chen, I'm going to trouble you today. Mr. Zhou is giving me a big treat."
Boss Chen looked at Zhou Hexuan in surprise: "Is that Mr. Zhou in the newspaper?"
"Exactly," Li Shizeng introduced, "Mingcheng, this is boss Chen Yingchen, from Shandong. The Shandong cuisine he cooks is very authentic."
"Hello, Boss Chen." Zhou Hexuan greeted.
"Welcome, rare," Chen Ying glanced at the large crowd outside and shouted to the store clerk, "Hurry and prepare food, and then go next door to borrow some tables and benches. If you can't place them in the store, they will be placed outside!"
The store clerk was embarrassed and said: "Boss, there are not enough ingredients in the kitchen."
"Then go buy it. If you can't buy it, borrow it! Go back quickly!" Chen Ying shouted without any doubt.
"Hey, I'll be there right away." All the shop assistants were dispatched.
Chen Ying called out the French woman at the counter and introduced: "Mr. Zhou, this is my wife, her name is Michelle."
"Hello, Mrs. Chen." Zhou Hexuan nodded and smiled.
Michelle was quite pretty, but she had a lot of freckles on her face. She seemed to be very introverted. She shrank behind her husband and said, "Hello," in somewhat awkward Chinese.
Because there were so many people, there was no time to serve the food.
Chen Ying had no choice but to invite everyone to sit down, then came out with a bag of peanuts, grabbed a few handfuls at each table, and asked his wife to pour wine for everyone, saying apologetically: "Let's chat first, the food will be ready soon."
"Boss Chen, please take a seat too." Zhou Hexuan said with a smile.
Chen Ying sat down with a smile and apologized: "Mr. Zhou, there is nothing to entertain in the shop, please forgive me."
Zhou Hexuan asked casually: "When did Boss Chen come to France?"
"The fifth year of the Republic of China..." Chen Ying subconsciously said the year of the Republic of China, and then changed his words, "1916 in the Western calendar."
"Aiding Chinese workers in France?" Zhou Hexuan understood.
"Yes, Hua Gong." Chen Ying said with a smile.
During World War I, although China did not send troops, it sent 140,000 Chinese workers to support the Allied Powers. These Chinese workers were very important because French men suffered heavy casualties at that time, and even women were sent to factories, but there was still a shortage of manpower. There were not 140,000 Chinese workers.
Chinese workers went to work in France, but the French soldiers could not even supply them with bullets.
Zhou Hexuan said: "Can you tell me about it? I'm very curious about it."
Chen Ying shook his head and smiled bitterly: "There is nothing to say. I used to be a farmer in Shandong. My parents used half a bucket of grain to send me to a restaurant in the town to work as a waiter. I remember that it was the spring of the fifth year of the Republic of China, just after
At the end of the New Year, the county officials suddenly posted notices everywhere, saying that Britain and France were recruiting workers. The wages were very high, so I got excited and signed up without telling my parents."
Zhou Hexuan asked: "What then?"
"Then I signed and deposited a ten-yuan deposit for my family, which was actually the settlement fee," Chen Ying gradually fell into memories. "At that time, we didn't board the ship directly to go overseas. The French officers took us to the beach to camp and taught us to line up.
Stand at attention, walk, and speak foreign words. We were also divided into groups. Because I could write a few words and do some simple arithmetic, I was assigned to be the group leader. I trained like this for more than two months, and then everyone sat down
The foreign ship sailed across the sea to France."
Zhou Hexuan refilled the wine for him: "You continue."
Chen Ying took a sip of white wine and said: "I was seasick and had a high fever on the boat, so I came to France in a daze. However, a brother in my group fell ill and died on the way, and was thrown into the sea by the French, with his body attached."
We couldn't find them. I don't know how much time passed, but the French officers took us to a small town called Noyelle. I still remember that everyone was panicked at that time, not knowing what we would encounter next. Until we went there
After arriving in that town, there were large tracts of wheat fields outside the town. The wheat was golden. Everyone felt at ease when they smelled the wheat. At that time, I thought, it would be great if I could farm in France with peace of mind.
.”
"Chinese farmers love the land most," Zhou Hexuan said with a smile.
"That's right," Chen Ying also laughed. "It's a pity that we don't have the opportunity to farm. Outside the town is a large camp, which is square and surrounded by two layers of barbed wire. I lived in the camp for half a month.
Brothers were selected in batches, the lucky ones went to factories, and the unlucky ones were sent to the front lines. I was unlucky, and went to war without knowing anything."
Zhou Hexuan said: "Can you shoot?"
"That's bullshit," Chen Ying said, becoming more and more angry. "It was stipulated in the contract that we only came to France to work, and there was no mention of going to the front line to fight. The French are not trustworthy at all. I went to the battlefield.
On the first day, I was sent to dig trenches, which exhausted me to death. Finally, the war started, and I thought I could take a break. Hey, I was sent to transport ammunition again. There was a hail of bullets and machine gun bullets everywhere.
It was flying around. You see, a piece of my ear was missing. It was blown by shrapnel and almost died. When we were regrouped on the battlefield, I was still the team leader. There were 12 people in my group, but we had only been fighting for two months.
, only 7 of them died."
Chen Ying started talking, and Zhou Hexuan didn't need to answer. He continued: "The French are actually pretty good, but the most disgusting thing is the British. When we gathered in the small town for training, the people guarding us were British officers. Take a closer look.
We were not pleasing to the eye, so the British officers beat us like dogs. After beating us, they wiped us clean with brushes and hot water, and then sent the half-dead Chinese workers to the hospital. Why did they have to clean us? Because there were reporters in the hospital, and the British
People are afraid of reporters reporting on the abuse of Chinese workers. Beating is still good. I had a brother who was tied to a tree and beaten until he was only breathing. The British officer felt that he could not be saved, so he shot him to death."
"At that time, there was a Scottish doctor named Green in the Chinese Workers' Hospital. He was a kind-hearted person. He wrote letters to the superiors to report the situation, but it was of no use. Dr. Green was even taught a lesson by a British officer."
"These are nothing. The most disgusting thing is that we are arranged to clear mines. The mines on the battlefield are not so easy to clear. They explode when they are lined up, and the bodies are not intact. Some brothers are very scared.
I simply dug a hole in the barracks and buried myself in it to commit suicide. This way, I could keep a complete body so that I could return to China intact in the future. A brother from the village next to me committed suicide like this..."
Chen Ying's narration continued, and Zhou Hexuan was speechless.