A Lonely Soul in a Foreign Land
Old Zhao's wife insisted on bringing her husband's bones back to her hometown, but there was no crematorium there, so she had to burn them herself. The migrant workers cut down a lot of branches and firewood and piled them into a big pile. Old Zhao put on his best clothes (a tuxedo) and was carried to the woodpile. A migrant worker lit the firewood with a lighter. The fire started and burned brighter and brighter. Old Zhao's wife and his five-year-old son looked at Old Zhao from the side, shouting and crying.
I couldn't bear to watch. I walked up to them and stuffed 300 yuan into the woman's hand. The woman looked at me in surprise. When she saw the money in her hand, she immediately clenched it and put it into her underwear pocket. She looked up at me and opened her mouth to say something, but she didn't say anything. She cried again.
I quickly left.
Little Wang had no relatives or friends. The company paid a few hundred yuan and asked the locals to nail a big wooden box for him. They put him in it and buried him in the cemetery.
The cemetery was on a barren slope with sparse pine trees. There were more than a dozen graves in this cemetery, all of which were the deceased who came from China to mine. They were all homeless workers who had nothing. They came to this world naked and left empty-handed. No one remembered them. The grave was just a simple mound covered in thorns and weeds. In front of the graves, there was a stone with a crooked name carved on it, and some had nothing at all.
They died from illness, accidents, fights, and other reasons. They came with the hope of making a fortune, dreaming of returning home in glory, but they could never go back. They had been homeless and had gone through many hardships. After they died, they were buried in a pine forest in a foreign country. Accompanied by them were only the spring water, the clear wind, and the bright moon.
Old Zhao and Little Qin's deaths were the talk of the company for several days.
"Old Zhao is really a good-for-nothing. He was useless and incompetent, so he left, leaving his son and wife to suffer in this world. It looks like a sin!" Qi Tonggao said.
"Elder Qi, you're wrong. Old Zhao wasn't useless. He was too useful, which was why he ended up like this.”Duan Ming said.
"Is it useful? What was the use? Kong Lao Er said that those who worked hard could govern people, and those who worked hard could govern people. This was an unchanging truth. What was the use of him being a laborer? "Guan Yunwu smiled.
"In this world, the more useless the things are, the more noble they are, and the more useful they are, the lower they are. Look at those flowers and plants. They are beautiful but not delicious, but they are raised and worshipped for people to admire and praise. However, the grains that could feed people were as cheap as ten yuan for a few catties, and no one put a handful of millet or popcorn in a vase to serve them. Their value was completely determined by their usefulness. Orchids were expensive because they were useless, and grains were cheap because they were useful. This was about plants. What about animals? What was the use of goldfish and parrots? However, people took great care of it and praised its beauty and dexterity. And the oxen and horses that pulled the carts and plowed the fields were whipped and beaten by the people, and they were often cursed for their lowly stupidity. The reason was that it was useless. The goldfish parrot could only be displayed for the sake of looking at it, and it was dispensable. On the other hand, cattle and horses had to work hard to get food and clothing, so the former was noble and the latter was cheap. There was no need to mention people. Those who took things by trickery and did not care about farming and mulberry were high and mighty. Everyone was in awe and envy of them. Old Zhao was a weak and honest commoner who worked hard, but he did not have enough to eat and was despised by others. That was why it was said that one could not be too useful as a person! Elder Qi, Guan Gong, do you think what I said makes sense?”
"This…Hey, where did you get this strange theory from?”Guan Yunwu smiled.
"So this is how you teach your students, Teacher Duan?" Qi Tonggao laughed. No wonder the school doesn't tolerate you, so you can only come to this deep mountain forest to make strange comments! According to what you said, there is no need for people in this world to learn skills.”
" There are two kinds of abilities. One is the ability to create wealth and nurture humans, such as farmers, workers, and merchants. One was the ability to waste wealth and harm humans, such as bandits, warlords, and bureaucrats. But the latter was always more honorable than the former. This is the nature of society!"
When everyone heard this, they all said strange stories. No one was serious with him.
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