Thinking of the past, Diao Rong's eyes darkened, Diao Rong's grandfather's ancestral hometown in Lingnan has a few acres of thin fields, not rich and not starved to death, his parents died when he was a teenager, he is not the material for farming at all, plus the years of war and chaos, it is not safe anywhere.

So during the First World War, when he was eighteen years old, when the government called for him, he volunteered to cross the ocean from China to France, and became one of the 140,000 Chinese laborers recruited. These Chinese laborers served the British and French armies at that time, and even went to the front line to fight, and about 20,000 Chinese laborers sacrificed their lives. After the war, others either returned to China or took root in the local area. It is a miracle to survive, most of the Chinese who have drifted overseas have experienced a history of not being recognized, and the Chinese in France are no exception.

The Chinese laborers lived in low-slung shantytowns, ate rough meals, and did the hardest labor. They went down to the mines, engaged in smelting, cleaned up horse farms, collected the bodies of the dead, cleared mines, and even went directly to the front, giving their youth and blood to the land of France. When the war ended in 1918, these Chinese laborers who sacrificed their lives for the Allies did not enjoy the treatment of nationals of the victorious powers, and they became a forgotten people. Beginning in 1919, Chinese laborers were repatriated one after another, and about 110,000 people returned to their homeland. The Chinese who died and the thousands who stayed in the area, and the Chinese workers who stayed behind became the first immigrants to France.

The Chinese laborers who served in the United States and the British were very different, they were treated like slaves, and there were often strange incidents of British Chinese laborers "absconding" from the French Chinese labor camps...... The only reason is that the Chinese workers generally feel that the French are better off. It was frustrating that the blacks in the U.S. military at that time also liked to add punches and kicks to Chinese workers. Brawls occur from time to time. The British and Americans, on the other hand, did not think about their own reasons, and went so far as to attribute the non-cooperation of the Chinese workers to the fact that "the French were too merciful to hinder their strict management!" He even sent a note to the French government demanding that Chinese workers be treated "equally......

In contrast, the French were treated better, and the French commander-in-chief, Foch, admitted: "The Chinese people are not only hard-working, strong and capable, but also have an admirable character, and their wages are generally sent back to China, and they do not waste their money in taverns at all." ”

Even for a long time, many French factories advertised jobs that clearly stated: "Only Chinese workers are recruited." ”

The British complained that the reason why the Chinese workers fled was that the French were too merciful. Of course, no matter how 'benevolent' the French are. The treatment of these Chinese laborers is always the last grade.

Most of the French men went to the front in the latter part of World War I. The French woman in the back was not alone. Because they found a group of good men of their dreams: Chinese workers! They found that these optimistic and simple Chinese people were not only industrious, but also of good character, especially friendly and kind to women. Compared with those rude and drunken French men, it is obvious that these Chinese are more suitable to be their husbands. They took the initiative. Falling in love with a Chinese worker.

The French government, which felt that it had lost face, actually intervened to obstruct: "The noble women of France should marry the French men who have returned triumphantly." And not those poor Chinese coolies! And in many ways hindered the marriage of Chinese workers to French women.

The Beiyang government, which has long been regarded as corrupt by modern Chinese, could not tolerate such discrimination. -for-tat said: "For the marriage between the Chinese worker and the French woman, the Beiyang government will give support and help!" The Beiyang government even promised to issue a certificate that Chinese workers who applied for marriage did not have a spouse in China.

Although most of the romantic French love of Chinese workers did not come to fruition for various reasons, it is now counted. At that time, more than 3,000 Chinese workers were still married to French women and settled in France.

Diao Rong's grandfather married a local man and belonged to a group of people who settled in France.

Fortunately with the grandfather of the early Chinese laborer Diao Rong, the Qing Dynasty Chinese laborers went abroad in two stages: before the Opium War, they mainly voluntarily went abroad to make a living, most of them were distributed in Southeast Asia, and the number was small, and from the Opium War to the end of the Qing Dynasty, almost all of them were indentured Chinese laborers who were abducted and sold by Western colonialists and distributed all over the world.

In the United States alone, Chinese laborers are called piglets. The working days of "indentured Chinese laborers" are as long as 10~14 hours, and most of them are forced to work under the whips and sticks of the supervisors. At that time, the annual salary of a black slave was about 1,000 US dollars, while the income of a Chinese worker was only 200~300 US dollars.

In the mid-19th century, the U.S. shipping industry, which carried Chinese laborers, made tenfold profits. Shipping from Hong Kong to San Francisco costs only $5 per person, while the ticket price is more than $50. The Pacific Mail Shipping Company, which specializes in transporting Chinese laborers, also receives an annual allowance of $5 million from the government. The steamship company had a verbal agreement with the Chinese Chamber of Commerce that Chinese workers returning to China by ship would not sell tickets unless they had a certificate from the association.

From the day they set foot on American soil, Chinese workers were ostracized and abused by white racists. The trend of anti-Chinese movement in various parts of the west followed, and the Chinese workers did not have any guarantee. When the United States was building the Central Pacific Railroad, which ran from east to west across the entire territory of the United States, due to the dangers of the project and the shortage of labor, it signed a treaty with China to recruit Chinese laborers. Tens of thousands of Chinese laborers sacrificed their lives in the construction of the road, but after the completion of this epoch-making railroad for the economic development of the United States, the opening ceremony was celebrated, but the Chinese laborers were not allowed to participate and all of them were fired. Soon after, due to the periodic economic crisis, there was a surplus of labor force across the United States, and the anti-Chinese activities became more intense, with frequent massacres, burning, beatings, and expulsion of Chinese workers.

These can be seen from TV and movies, but the real history is more cruel than this.

If you are backward, you will be beaten, the eternal truth, in front of the invaders, etiquette, kindness, are all illusory, only iron and blood are real! No matter when someone's fist is strong, it's the last word!

The war is over, and the days are still to pass, and Diao Rong's grandfather began to beg for life in a foreign country with a pair of big hands. After two generations and more than half a world's efforts, there is finally a Chinese restaurant and a haberdashery store.

Diao Rong's mother is the youngest daughter of Diao's grandfather, combining the advantages of her parents, not to mention the beauty of the country and the city! is also a big beauty, and her beauty naturally attracts wild bees and butterflies. So Diao's mother's story is very old-fashioned and bloody.

Diao Rong's parents are college classmates, and they are also a good match, and after graduation, the two got married, from the sweet love to the daily chores of firewood, rice, oil, salt, sauce, vinegar and tea, the relationship between the two gradually smoothed out. When Diao's father was caught by the daughter of the company boss, then the ending was self-evident. When Diao Rong was ten years old, he left. This blow was fatal to Diao's mother, who committed suicide.

The mother is gone, the father is gone, and the grandfather's family has nothing to think about, because the grandfather's family doesn't want his son to marry a 'mongrel' with half Chinese blood. The little Diao Rong has lived with her grandparents since then, although she doesn't worry about food and clothing, everyone treats her well, otherwise she wouldn't go to college. But my grandfather's family is a big family, she has three uncles as you can imagine, there are many cousins and sisters, and there are always bumps and bumps. Real life made Diao Rong abandon her unrealistic illusions early, knowing that everything has to rely on herself, and her grandparents also have old times, so she studied and worked part-time to sharpen herself.

With honors, he holds a bachelor's degree in finance and business administration from the University of Paris-Sud, one of the world's top universities, one of the largest and most prestigious universities in France, and its position among French universities is equivalent to that of Tsinghua University in China.

After graduation, when he studied in the United Kingdom, he met Cheng Shigui, and later stayed in the United Kingdom, Diao Rong applied for a job as a securities analyst in a securities company, after all, the United Kingdom is one of the three major financial centers. Although Diao Rong's beauty and intelligence are equally important, men are usually visual creatures. When the boss made unreasonable demands, Diao Rong resigned angrily. She invested some of her money in the stock market, and her accurate vision allowed her to accumulate wealth slowly, because the base was too small, she could only accumulate slowly, which could be regarded as being able to support herself.

It wasn't until later that Cheng Shigui found her and flew to Italy together, opening a turning point in his life.

Of course, these were all when Cheng Shigui first introduced Diao Rong, and all her information was placed on Fang Monan's table.

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Although Diao Rong was born in France, he grew up with his grandfather and was deeply influenced by traditional culture, with three-quarters of French ancestry, but he is fluent in Chinese and knows a lot about traditional culture.

No way, when my grandfather was young, when my parents didn't die, I followed Lao Xiucai, went to private school for a few years, knew some words, and at least read and write was no problem. Later, he was forced by life to discard the books, and until he was old enough to understand the feeling of homesickness, he picked up the books again. Learn by yourself, and even take Diao Rong to learn in order to please the elderly.

Otherwise, how would Diao Rong know the Book of Songs? Hooligans", most of the poems that ordinary people think of are famous passages: Guan Guan Ju Dove, in the river island, fair lady, gentleman.

The first time I read the poem "Hooligans", this is simply a portrayal of Diao's mother, the sweet and sweet work after marriage before marriage, even after "the scholar is also reckless, two or three of its virtues", it is still "dreaming of sleeping at night, and there is a future", getting up early and sleeping late, there is no difference between day and night. The brother didn't know what was going on, but made fun of her. Late at night, I only have my own sighs. "I want to be happy with you all my life, but I don't expect people to be old! It's already starting to dislike it.

Aging women sometimes think of the time when they met at the age of fifteen, like the heroine of Duras's "Lover". It's just that "swear by you, don't think about it", and swore to love you forever, and these vows will never change. So far, "if you don't think about it, it's gone"! Everything has changed, let's end it! Every time he picks up the "Book of Songs", Diao Rong always has to read this "long story" again, which tells the unhappiness of love and marriage in the first person of women. After reading it, it was like a delicate and bright flower slowly withering in front of her eyes. made her shy away from marriage.

Of course, Diao Rong is not a hateful marriage, although there is Diao's mother's tragedy in front of him. But my grandparents have been through ups and downs all their lives, and they have been together until they grow old. There are also three uncles whose marriages are short and stumbling for the family, but they have been married for so many years and have not seen a divorce.

She believes in love, but not in eternity. (To be continued......)

PS: Ask for pink, ask for recommendation