During the Spring Festival, I returned to that familiar land with mixed emotions - my rural hometown. Every time I go back to my hometown, I can always deeply feel the snobbish atmosphere from the countryside, as if everyone is measuring your achievements in the city with their eyes, expressions, and topics.
Are you making a lot of money?Did you become an official?Did you build a big house?These questions seem to have become the only criterion for villagers to measure the value of a person. In such an environment, the younger generation has begun to choose to escape, preferring to hide in a small house at home rather than face those eyes full of comparison and scrutiny.
Buying a home in the city may be one of the stresses, but that pressure is very different from the interpersonal pressure in the countryside. The pressure in the city is material, while the pressure in the countryside is spiritual. Here, every achievement or failure you achieve or fail will be magnified and judged.
During this time, I was immersed in the world of "The Outer History of Confucianism" and couldn't help but sigh that hundreds of years have passed, and people's desire for success and worship of power seem to have never changed.
I've received a lot of letters from readers who are feeling pain within the system and want to resign. But each time I advise them to think twice. Because in my opinion, the system, with all its shortcomings, at least provides a relatively level playing field. Here, it is possible for your efforts to be seen and your talents to be recognized.
In the rural areas, I have come to appreciate the importance of the system. My uncles have been in small business for decades, and although they have accumulated a certain amount of wealth, they always feel full of emotion when they talk about business in private, saying that many times they still have to rely on relationships to get orders and make money. This kind of dependence and recognition of the system has made me more aware of why so many young people are desperately trying to be admitted to the system.
Back in the countryside, I also saw the living conditions of grassroots township civil servants. They may not be as glamorous as people think, but their lives are more decent than many migrant workers. This is because, within the system, even the most basic civil servants have a certain right to speak and manage space.
However, it is not easy to enter the system. Competition for civil service positions in townships and towns is also fierce, and it is not easy to renew a contract. This reflects a period of economic transition, when various industries are facing fierce competition and reshuffle.
So, when someone asks me why I often talk about promotions, transfers, and examinations, I want to say that it's because for most people, these are the shortcuts they can take to achieve a counterattack in life. In this era full of challenges and opportunities, what we need is not only high intelligence and talent, but also perseverance and hard work.
Returning to my hometown during the Spring Festival allowed me to see the warmth of the countryside and the reality of society. But I believe that as long as we don't give up our efforts and don't stop pursuing, we will be able to find our place in this world full of changes.