ps: Since the novel was put on the shelves for more than two years, this week is the first time to test the recommendation position. I hope everyone will vote for it! Thank you very much! (Two chapters in one)
In midsummer (January is summer in South America), the days are long and the nights are short, the sun is directly overhead, the weather is hot, cicadas and birds are chirping non-stop, and the leaves of the newly planted willow trees beside the road are drooping, as if they are rushing back.
Pedestrians are generally tired and tired.
Across the country road, not far away is a coastal village surrounded by greenery and dotted with ponds.
Directly south of the village, under the oak trees near the blue brick and tiled houses, farmers in twos and threes sit in the shade of the trees or under the eaves of the slates, chatting while looking at the white smoke coming out of the chimneys, thinking about how the food is ready.
time.
Walking forward for tens of meters, avoiding the cover of trees, you can vaguely see a Western-style building more than ten meters high with pointed eaves. The building has two floors, with several spacious houses on the lower floor.
The first floor is an attic with a Western-style clock. About twenty years ago, when the Chinese first settled in Rio Grande do Sul, this Western-style building was still a rural church with many believers. However, with the departure of the missionaries,
The church was taken over by the government. It was first used as a barracks for the first two years. Later, a junior school was built in the town. The students lacked a place to go to school, so the soldiers who were stationed in the church at that time gave the church away and slightly renovated it.
After some discussion, the national flag of the Han Dynasty was hung, and it became the first junior high school of Jingbian Town.
In the past ten years, the economic situation of the Han Dynasty has been getting better and better. Jingbian Town, which has a large population, has built two primary schools in the town. The original school that was converted from a church was sent to the town because it was far away from the center of the town.
Xincuo Village is the village primary school of Xincuo Village, and the three or five teachers in the school are mainly responsible for the education and management of school-age children in Xincuo Village and several neighboring villages.
The strange-looking primary school with its red national flag and pointed roof has witnessed the twenty-year historical changes of the Chinese people in Xincuo Village and also carries the memories of hundreds of people living there.
The eldest, Yang Guangzong, the second, Yang Guanghai, the third, Yang Guangzhong, and the three younger girls all spent their childhood in this school.
When he walked into the village, he habitually looked up at the primary school in front of him, and Yang Kaifu felt full of happiness in his heart.
The Yang family's ancestors were outright poor farmers. In his father's generation, the family only rented five acres of thin farmland from the landlord. During the autumn harvest every year, after paying 50% of the farmland rent, the remaining food was barely enough to make ends meet.
, and if the harvest is slightly worse in a year, after paying the land rent, the remaining grain will not be enough to feed the five or six people in the family. At such times, Yang Kaifu's father and mother often go to the county to find some work.
, by working part-time and odd jobs for the gentlemen in the city, in exchange for a few copper coins, and then buying a few kilograms of coarse grains, they survived the hard days.
The hard days are the hardest to forget. Yang Kaifu often recalled the experience of going to the mountains to pick mushrooms, fungus, and wild vegetables to satisfy his hunger when he was a child.
The father and mother go to the city to work part-time to make money, and the four or five children in the family, who are seven or eight or early eight or nine years old, often go to the village together with a few sticks and baskets in order to find more food for the family.
I look for mushrooms, fungus, wild vegetables and wild fruits in the mountains and forests not far from my home.
The mushrooms that are practical in the mountains are very rare because they are often picked. Several children would fight with each other from time to time to compete for a bunch of mushrooms. Yang Kaifu often fought with other children when he was a child. At the earliest, there were
A brother who was two years older than him always protected his younger brother during fights. However, his brother died after eating a poisonous mushroom by mistake. Without his brother's protection, Yang Kaifu ate a lot of food during the fight with other children.
A small loss.
Recalling what happened when he was a child, Yang Kaifu couldn't help but feel sorry for his brother who died young. If his brother had not accidentally eaten poisonous mushrooms, grew up safely, and moved to South America with him, the tragedies in the past would not have happened.
People of the same age, with different identities and backgrounds, had completely different fates. While the officials, landlords and gentry in the Far East lived in well-dressed, well-fed, and hordes of servants, many poor people like Yang Kaifu,
But struggling on the boundary between life and death.
Yang Kaifu has a total of five brothers and sisters, one older brother and one younger sister. One sister died of hunger and poverty one after another. The other sister was sold by her father to a family in the city when she was seven or eight years old because the family did not have enough food to eat.
He's master works as a maid.
Children from poor families have long been in charge of their own affairs. When his father gave his sister to a master in the city as a maid, Yang Kaifu once saw his mother hiding in the house and crying secretly.
Sons and daughters are all meat that has fallen from the mother's body. No matter how hard it is, the mother is not willing to send her children to others to serve as maids.
Although Yang Kaifu was already thirteen or fourteen years old at the time, he was unable to make changes, and the situation is different now. Sixteen years ago, when Yang Kaifu had just stabilized in South America, he spent all his savings and followed
More than a dozen familiar local neighbors returned to the Far East together, and then spent money to buy back their then thirteen-year-old sister and bring her back to live in South America.
Sixteen years ago, there was a serious gender imbalance among Chinese men and women in South America. In order to encourage Chinese women of working age to immigrate, the government not only waived immigration fees for all female immigrants in the age range of five to thirty-five, but also exempted all female immigrants within this age range from immigration fees.
After arriving in South America, female immigrants within the scope can directly obtain official national status and land ranging from ten to fifteen acres per person without going through a two-year assessment period.
Thanks to the preferential policies promulgated by the government, Yang Kaifu's transportation costs back and forth after he brought his sister back to his homeland were all reimbursed after being reviewed by Jingbian Town officials. The sister was only thirteen years old and less than twelve years old.
, was sent to literacy school to receive education.
My sister studied in a literacy school for three years. After finishing her studies,
She entered a state-owned textile factory in Xinjing Prefecture and worked as a female textile worker. Two years later, when her sister was eighteen years old, she married an active-duty major officer. From then on, the fate of herself and her sister was improved.
A radical change.
Now, not only is the only sister out of the sea of suffering and living a harmonious and happy life as husband and wife, but even the three sons of his own family have made great achievements.
"Kaifu, Guangzong", the name chosen by his father and himself for his offspring, contains the most straightforward expectations for the offspring, to develop wealth and honor the ancestors. Although he failed to fulfill his father's expectation of developing wealth, his eldest son Yang Guangzong was admitted to Shanghai.
After attending the military academy and becoming a naval academy-level officer, given the poor background of three generations of Lao Yang's family, he can be regarded as a proud ancestor.
Yang Kaifu is very satisfied with his current life. His eldest son has a bright future. With his help, he has made plans to start a family. The three girls and one son are still young and are at school age, so there is no need to think about it too early.
Regarding their future prospects, apart from their five children, the only one Yang Kai is interested in is his second son, Yang Guanghai.
The second child will turn sixteen and will take the intermediate education exam in May or June. After the exam, he will face the problem of choosing a higher education institution.
From my own point of view, I still hope that my son will attend the Naval Academy and serve in the Navy like my eldest son after graduation.
There are two naval officers in the family. For an ordinary Chinese family, telling them is something to be very proud of.
I was thinking about my second son's academic choices after graduation, and soon arrived home.
"Dad! My brother is back. He brought back many gifts!"
Opening the door to his yard, a small body jumped into his arms and said happily.
"The boss is back?"
Yang Kaifu was stunned for a moment and asked doubtfully: "In previous years, didn't you have to wait until the 27th or 8th day of the twelfth lunar month to get home? Why did you come back two days early this year?"
"The fleet has new plans this year, so we took two days off early."
Yang Guangzong, a navy lieutenant commander wearing a blue naval officer's uniform and a big-brimmed hat, walked out of the house with a smile, picked up the five or six-year-old girl who was hanging on his father's feet, and teased:
"Is Xiaoying obedient at home? Is there a sister who makes my mother angry?"
"Xiaoying is obedient. Grandma really likes Xiaoying."
The little girl stared at the military rank logo on her brother's shoulder, and while answering in a mocking manner, she played with the military rank logo with her little hand.
"Haha, Xiaoying, don't touch this thing. If you take it off, my brother will be criticized when he returns to the army."
Yang Guangzong laughed and reminded his sister softly, but did not stop the little girl's actions.
"Is it like the way grandma taught Xiaoying?" The little girl heard her brother's voice and quickly retracted her little hand.
"Yes, just like the way your mother teaches you when Xiaoying makes a mistake."
Yang Guangzong scratched the little girl's nose with his finger, put her on the ground, and coaxed: "My brother has put many interesting gadgets in the house. Xiaoying will go to the house to play with toys first. After lunch,
After brother, father, and mother have finished talking about things, we can play with Xiaoying again, okay?"
"Brother, please chat with daddy first. Xiaoying has gone to the house."
The little girl nodded vigorously, looking like a little adult.
"Haha, Xiaoying is so obedient."
After coaxing his happy sister away, Yang Guangzong welcomed his father into the living room. The two first talked about some trivial family matters, and then talked about his brother's choice of school after the college entrance examination.
"After the college entrance examination, the choice of which institution to attend is mainly based on Gwanghae's own ideas."
"That's different. If you apply for the Naval Academy or the Army Academy, you can become an officer directly after graduation. But if you choose an ordinary state university, after four years of graduation, you will either work as a teacher in a primary or secondary school, or work in a factory.
There is a huge difference in salary between working as a mechanic and directly working as an officer."
Yang Kaifu shook his head and objected.
"Dad, you have an old idea. After graduating from the college entrance examination, you not only have to enter a military academy to serve as a soldier. You can also enter a regular state university or have more stringent requirements. The eight national universities directly under the jurisdiction of the Ministry of Education have good prospects after graduation.
Way out.”
Yang Guangzong patiently advised: "Applying to the military academy and joining the army as a soldier is a way to serve the country. Studying in university and becoming a teacher or engineer after graduation are also ways to serve the country.
The country is vigorously developing industrialization. There are more than 20 local colleges and universities, generally focusing on science and engineering. Every student who graduates from science and engineering will have a good salary, whether he enters a state-owned factory or a private enterprise.
"
"No matter how good the treatment in a company or enterprise is, can it be better than being an official?"
Yang Kaifu is still stubborn in his old views.
"The salary of being a soldier and an official is indeed good, but the country is already preparing to implement a constitutional monarchy. In the future, people from all walks of life will have the same political status. Engineers who graduate from colleges and universities and have good skills may be paid better than ordinary officials and military officers.
You are still too tall to just be a soldier or an official."
"No matter how the outside world changes, the teachings passed down by our ancestors for thousands of years will never be wrong. Studying and becoming an official is the best choice. If there is a chance, let the second child go to the military academy."
With his eldest son's successful experience, Yang Kaifu devoted himself to training his second and third sons to become naval officers. However, Yang Guangzong saw that he could not change his father's ideas, so he changed his perspective and persuaded him to choose a science and engineering university to study.
After graduation, they can also enter the government as officials. For example, Zhou Sheng, Lin Shenhe, and Tang Yuanzhan are examples. Not only did they become technical officials leading the technology industry, but they also obtained noble titles.
Yang Guangzong patiently persuaded him for more than half an hour, and finally made his father change some of his ideas, and agreed to choose a higher education institution according to Yang Guanghai's wishes. If he did not go to a military school, he would go to a science and engineering school, and then after graduation, he would strive to become a government supervisor.
Work in technical institutions or large industrial enterprises.
After the father and son finished chatting, several younger brothers and sisters helped their mother carry the prepared meals to the stone table under the oak tree in the yard. The family of seven or eight ate and chatted around the spacious stone table.
"Uncle Yang, I made a whole marinated pork in the winter, and the family couldn't finish it. Daddy asked me to come over and give you a piece."
The family was having dinner, and a girl of fifteen or sixteen years old walked away from the gate of the courtyard with her hair tied up. (The traditional hair binding process in the late Qing Dynasty was complicated and inconvenient to clean, so the Han government issued a hair binding decree on the basis of cutting braids.
Women are encouraged to keep their hair tied.)
"Brother Zhuangzhuang, you're back!" The girl saw Yang Guangzong sitting at the table, still wearing a brand-new military uniform, and said with surprise on her face: "Dad said you won't come back for the New Year until two days later, why are you back early?
No notice was given.”
"The fleet took a temporary two-day vacation early. I have just arrived home and haven't had time to visit Uncle Wu at your house."
Yang Guangzong had already heard that his father and Wu Silang were planning to arrange an engagement between him and Wu Songlan, and there was a rare hint of shyness on his face.
"Songlan girl, the boss is now a naval officer. He is not a bald boy who has not grown up. When we meet in the future, we must call him by his first name."
Yang Kaifu looked at the girl who was familiar with her and walked in, and joked: "Your father told you that he will arrange your marriage to Guangzong after the year. Three years later, when you are eighteen years old, he will marry you."
The marriage of two people has been arranged. After getting married and becoming a daughter-in-law, when I meet Guangzong later, I will change my mind. I can't keep being strong, and I will scream like Zhuangzhuang."
Although Wu Songlan was a country girl, she knew a little bit about human affairs and knew the joking meaning of Yang Kaifu's words. She blushed with embarrassment, put the bacon on the table aside, and ran out shyly but happily...
