Chapter 3892 3894【Strive to adapt】
“This is our home, it’s more beautiful than Yiwu’s home.” Qiaogu couldn’t help but praise.
Xiang Nan nodded, "That's because Yiwu hasn't developed yet. Let's see in twenty years, Yiwu won't be bad at all."
Now that China has just opened up, it is normal to lag behind. However, the development speed of the mainland is much faster than that of the United States. Especially economic leaders like Yiwu are developing even more rapidly.
In 1984, the GDP of Yiwu County was only 380 million. By 2004, the city's GDP had reached 26 billion. In twenty years, it has increased sixty-eight times.
In 1984, the national GDP of the United States was US$710 billion. By 2004, the national GDP reached US$1.33 trillion. It took twenty years to triple.
So even though Yiwu started slowly, it was able to catch up with its rapid development. Like Chen Jianghe and Luo Yuzhu in the play, they also drove luxury cars and lived in villas in 2005. In terms of living conditions, they were no longer inferior to the wealthy American class.
Qiaogu smiled and nodded.
“Come, you sit down and rest first, and I’ll cook. Let’s try American steak today.” Xiang Nan said with a smile.
“Brother Daguang, I’ll do it.” Qiaogu said quickly.
"No, you've been on a plane all day. Let me do it. You sit down and watch TV for a while." Xiang Nan pushed her down on the sofa and said.
Qiaogu had no choice but to nod, and then looked at the TV with confusion and said, "Hey, Brother Daguang, how do you turn on this TV? Why can't you see the switch?"
You can see that this TV is very different from the TV at home. First of all, it is very big. The TV at home is 14 inches, but the TV here is 21 inches, which looks much bigger.
Moreover, the TV here actually had no buttons or dials, so she didn’t know how to watch TV and stood there completely at a loss.
"The TV here is controlled by a remote control." Xiang Nan picked up the remote control with a smile and pressed the switch of the TV. "Look, it turns on when you press this button."
“Oh, that’s right.” Qiaogu nodded, “Hey, why is this TV in color? The leaves are so green, and the clothes are so red…”
“This is color TV. People have invented it a long time ago, but we have just developed it in the mainland and haven’t started to popularize it yet.” Xiang Nan explained.
The United States developed color TV in 1940, and the first domestic color TV was produced in 1970, so there is a 30-year time gap.
However, the development of domestic color TVs is extremely fast. After the new century, three-quarters of the world's TVs will be produced in China.
As for Japan, a traditional home appliance powerhouse, its home appliance brands such as Toshiba, Panasonic, Sony, Sanyo, Sharp, etc. have either gone bankrupt and reorganized or been acquired.
So it goes with the old saying, if you get fat first, you are not fat, but if you get fat later, you will lose weight.
…
In the following months, Qiaogu struggled to adapt to life in the United States.
Hand Xiang Nan has long been accustomed to life in the United States, so there is no discomfort after arriving. For Qiaogu, the United States is simply another world, which makes her feel very uncomfortable.
For example, in the United States, clothes are not allowed to be dried. No matter how sunny it is outside, clothes are not allowed to be dried.
This is because dryers were already popular in the United States in the 1950s. Hanging clothes to dry outside means that they cannot afford a dryer, which means that the family is poor. When poor people move into a community, it will affect the overall housing price of the community.
For example, the American diet is relatively simple. Almost every day is bread, salad, fried chicken, hot dogs, steaks, etc. If you eat it once or twice, it still feels fresh, but if you eat it often, you will feel tired. But she wanted to eat stir-fried vegetables, but there were no decent seasonings or suitable vegetables. Many domestic vegetables are not available in the United States, such as leeks, cabbage, lettuce, winter melon, etc. Moreover, seasonings such as oil, sauce, and vinegar are also very different.
For another example, in the 1980s, Americans’ clothing was already very bold. Navel-baring tops, backless tops, hot pants, suspenders, etc. are everywhere on the streets, not to mention the beaches.
Qiao Gu, who had just come out from the mainland, was really shocked when she saw this scene. So she had to adapt to it for a long time, so she wouldn't cover her eyes, turn her head, or blush every time she saw it.
…
In order to make it easier for her to adapt to life in the United States, Xiang Nan not only took her out frequently, but also specially invited a fellow from Jiangsu and Zhejiang from Chinatown in San Francisco who could speak English and Mandarin to teach Qiaogu.
That fellow’s Chinese name is Lin Shuangshuang, and her English name is Serena.
Her family also came from Jiangsu and Zhejiang, but they first went to Debao Island and then immigrated to the United States in the 1970s. Therefore, she can speak both English and Jiangsu and Zhejiang dialects, and she can also speak English. It can be said that she is just right to help Qiaogu.
“Your husband just came to the United States to study last year. It’s really not easy to buy such a beautiful villa.” Serena said to Qiaogu.
“Why, is this house expensive?” Qiaogu asked doubtfully.
"Of course, this house is worth 150,000 US dollars." Serena explained, "This is a famous middle-class area, and the people who live here are company executives and gold-collar workers."
“I don’t know much about it.” Qiao Gu waved her hand and said with a smile.
“Let’s put it this way, it’s been almost ten years since my family immigrated to the United States, and we are still living in an apartment in Chinatown.” Serena explained.
“Isn’t that great? There are so many Chinese in Chinatown, wouldn’t it be better to live together?” Qiaogu said doubtfully. She would rather live in Chinatown. With so many Chinese people there, she wouldn’t be uncomfortable.
"Of course not. Only Chinese people with no money live in Chinatown. If they had money, they would have moved out long ago." Serena waved her hand and said.
Many of the Chinatown communities are old buildings that have been built for decades. The buildings are outdated and have insufficient supporting facilities. Moreover, when many Chinese come to the United States, they have empty pockets and nothing, so they first live in old buildings in Chinatown.
This has also resulted in Chinatown being a mixed bag of dragons and snakes, mud and sand, making it complicated. Therefore, Chinese people who are rich and powerful and have made their mark in the United States usually move away from Chinatown and will no longer live there. Of course, those who have no money or power can only stay here.
Serena's family has been in San Francisco for ten years, and they haven't saved enough money to buy a house yet, so they can't move out of Chinatown yet.
So she admired Xiang Nan very much. He bought such a beautiful house just half a year after coming to the United States, and even drove a new Cadillac car. It was really extraordinary.
“So that’s the case, I really don’t know.” Qiao Gu shook her head.
"Anyway, you are so happy." Serena smiled, "I don't know how many people I have seen, after coming to the United States, they will leave their significant other and look for a second love. Your husband can still think of taking you back. , It’s really rare.”
After coming to the United States, many people choose to break up or divorce their lovers who stayed in China.
First of all, long-distance relationships are very painful and not many people can persist; secondly, after they come to the United States, they think they are superior to others and do not look down on those who stay in the country.
After Xiang Nan got rich, not only did he not get divorced, he also brought his wife back from the mainland, which is really rare.
“Da Guang has always been very kind to me.” Qiao Gu said with a happy smile.
Selena nodded enviously.
(End of this chapter)