Spring came extremely late this year. It was already mid-February, and there were only three days left before the Spring Festival. The air was still filled with a biting chill.

As usual, Huang Qin hurried into the office, shook off the wind and frost, and then skillfully brewed a cup of coffee.

After finishing his cup of coffee, he turned on the computer and squinted his eyes comfortably in his seat.

At this time, there was a noise behind him and someone walked in.

Huang Qin looked back and saw that it was his old partner Williams.

Williams' face turned red from the cold, he opened his mouth and let out a puff of white air, greeting him warmly.

"Qin, good morning, you look great."

Huang Qin watched him take off his down jacket and sat down next to him. He couldn't help but said in surprise: "Dawei, you know it's the Spring Festival in a few days, right? Why didn't you go on vacation this year?"

Williams' eyes became a little dark and he whispered: "A relative of mine passed away recently. I can't attend his funeral. I'm in a bad mood and don't want to go on vacation for the time being."

Huang Qin suddenly showed a caring look and asked: "Then what are you going to do during the seven-day holiday? Are you going to stay in the dormitory?"

Williams nodded, looking a little melancholy: "Yes, I plan to come to work every day and turn grief into strength."

Seeing his sad look, Huang Qin couldn't help but feel worried, and pondered for a moment.

"How can you be here alone for the past seven days? Since you are in a bad mood, you should go and relax. Especially on such a festive day, you should experience the festive atmosphere."

"Well, how about you go home with me to celebrate the New Year?"

Williams looked at him in surprise, a little in disbelief, and after a while he said excitedly.

"Qin, thank you for your concern. You are my best friend. I am very happy to go back with you. It is my honor to meet your family."

Huang Qin waved his hand carelessly and said: "It's okay. I'm going back alone anyway. The thing about having two children is that my home is in the countryside, which is a bit far away."

Williams happily took out his mobile phone: "Qin, you are such a good person. Please tell me how to buy tickets. By the way, I also want to buy some gifts for your family. You can't come empty-handed. It's rude."

"Haha, you are so polite. I still have tickets for this trip. You are so lucky. Maybe it was someone else's refund."

Huang Qin guided Williams to buy high-speed rail tickets, then bought some New Year's goods and stuffed them in his suitcase.

Early the next morning, the two set out on their journey home.

The destination is a remote rural area in Nangui Province in the southwest, and it is said that it will take a day.

Sitting in the clean and bright car, Williams began to study the seats and other equipment with a curious look on his face.

This was his first time riding a high-speed train. Looking at the speed displayed on the LED screen, he was so shocked that he couldn't open his mouth from ear to ear and let out bursts of exclamations.

"omg, the speed is too fast. The speed is 364 kilometers per hour. It's too scary."

"This high-speed train is so clean. Wow, the carriage looks as new as the space station. I feel like I'm riding a rocket now. Amazing!"

"China is really too advanced, you know? I used to take the high-speed rail in Eagle Country, which is our fastest train. It takes 22 hours to go from Xincun to Chicago, a distance of more than 700 kilometers."

"According to the speed of the Huaxia High-speed Railway, it only takes 2 hours to get there. It's really fast."

"Nah, this speed should be recorded. Qin, come and take a picture for me."

Huang Qin laughed and took the phone calmly.

He liked the foreigner's appearance of having never seen the world, but he had seen too much and was a little numb.

In this way, Williams took a photo under the speed sign in the carriage, making the V sign.

Soon, the train left the city and shuttled through the endless greenery, with residential houses and lakes dotted on both sides.

Williams took one look and quickly fell in love with the beauty.

"Qin," he grabbed Huang Qin's arm and shook it excitedly: "This scenery is so beautiful. Look at the small rivers and the tall buildings. They are like paintings. It's so amazing."

Huang Qin looked at his phone expressionlessly, unable to complain in his heart.

He had seen the scenery on this train for six years from the time he was 18 to 24. He had long been accustomed to it, and it was really nothing to be surprised about.

In the south, there are scenery like this everywhere, so it’s not surprising.

Williams' full attention was attracted by the scenery outside the window, his face pressed against the glass window, watching everything greedily.

The train is moving quickly, and the scenery outside the window changes.

Williams watched it for several hours, and then he said with emotion: "I am so ashamed to think that the infrastructure of Eagle Country has lagged behind for so many years."

"Even the high-speed rail station is so well built, it feels like it's in a science fiction movie, waiting for the spaceship to land."

Huang Qin showed a smile and asked: "Dawei, do you feel hungry? It's time for us to have lunch."

"That's right," Williams rubbed his hands excitedly and said, "Do you want to call the flight attendant? I just saw a trolley filled with food passing by."

Huang Qin shook his phone: "No, I'm not used to the food on the train. Let's order takeout. Do you want McDonald's, KFC, or Pizza Hut?"

Williams looked shocked and said: "What? Can you order takeout on the high-speed rail?"

"Yeah, I see you like fried chicken very much, let's have a family meal." Huang Qin said while placing the order: "When we get to the next stop, the flight attendant will bring it directly."

Half an hour later, when a full bucket of KFC appeared in front of him, Williams opened his mouth in surprise.

Apart from the word amazing, he couldn't say anything else.

When the two of them had eaten and drank enough and were lying on the seats picking their teeth, Williams couldn't help shouting an English sentence while burping.

"China is the real future!"

After he finished saying this, he turned to look at Huang Qin, earnestly repeated it in Chinese, and continued.

"This is what I say sincerely. China has changed so much. I have only been here for a year or two and I have already felt it deeply."

"Even near the company, there have been great changes. I don't know what kind of chemical fertilizers were sprinkled on those buildings, and why they grew so fast."

"And I have lived in my hometown for more than 20 years. Apart from some newly built apartments, I have hardly seen any changes. There are more and more cracks and potholes on the same highways, but there are just more cars running on the roads. The government

With so much tax collected, there are no funds to repair or build new roads."

"The old buildings in the city center are too outdated and are at least 30 years behind here. The hotels near the airport are 30 or 40 years old and there are no new hotels. Only the city center has a new tallest building to be completed recently, and that is

It was invested and built by developers from the East.”

"But who is going to go downtown? There are so many homeless people and dirty streets. Who is going to risk being robbed and attacked? At the same time, you can go anywhere here.

In the city center, you can shop, eat, watch movies, and you know what, it’s very, very safe.”

"There are cameras everywhere, all shopping malls are open until 90 o'clock, the streets are brightly lit, there are 24-hour security guards in the community, and there are no homeless people or drug addicts wandering around with bottles of wine on the road. Even a little girl can

There is no danger in walking alone at night."

"Who dares to do this in a big city in Eagle Country? I wouldn't dare."

Having said this, he finally stopped complaining and showed a wry smile on his face.

Huang Qin smiled calmly: "Thank you for the award. In fact, we are just a developing country and we still have a long way to go in the future."

Williams was shocked again: "Qin, you are so shameless. You look at all this and tell me this is what a developing country should look like? Is this much more developed than the Eagle Country?"

Huang Qin shook his head: "Nonono, if you go to my hometown, you will know that it is a very poor place, in the far southwest, far away from the bustling city."

He raised his head and seemed to be lost in memories: "I still remember that there was only one road in my hometown, which was very bad. Every year, the village organized young people to repair holes in the road. There was only one shuttle bus to the county seat. People in our village

Every once in a while, I have to put on my best clothes and go shopping in the county town to kill the boring time."

"When I was a child, I only had a few clothes that I wore over and over again throughout the year. There was no TV at home, and there were frequent power outages. I could only read and study by lighting candles. It wasn't until I was eight or nine years old that I watched TV at a classmate's house."

He raised the corners of his mouth and showed a smile: "At that time, I saw the rocket launch on TV and saw the scientific researchers in white coats, and suddenly I had an impulse to be like them."

"Slowly, I learned that if you want to be that kind of person, you have to go to college. To go to college, you have to go to a middle school in the county, so you have to study hard now."

"Later on, the tone that I brought up in the first place has supported me for more than ten years. Until now, although I have not been able to become an aerospace scientist, I have finally put on a white coat, which can be considered a dream come true.

"

He stretched out his hand to press his heart, and then slowly stretched it into the air, with a happy smile on his face.

"It is the grass that I have planted in my heart since I was a child that can now grow into a tree."

Williams said thoughtfully: "Actually, your hometown is not poor at all."

"Real poverty is not actually a lack of money. You can make money without money."

"Real poverty is the lack of access to see the world and get out of it."

"The world is so big, but you can't see it; the world is so big, but you can't get out."

"This is real poverty."

"I once lived in a small country. The people there were just like you when you were a child. They were trapped in a ravine and were told that they should not be punished every day. It was very sad. But their sadness was not material poverty, but a lack of knowledge."

"People dare not imagine the outside world, let alone what it would be like to go out."

"This is not because they are lazy or sick, it is simply because they don't know what the outside world is like."

He looked at Huang Qin with deep meaning in his eyes: "If your hometown didn't have that road connecting the outside world, you wouldn't be able to see the outside world, and you wouldn't have the awareness that I want to do that, and you wouldn't realize that you can pass education.

Come and change your destiny.”

"Qin, you are where you are today because you have a good and responsible country that gives you a channel to connect to the outside world."

Huang Qin was stunned for a moment. These words were like a bolt of lightning, clearing up many myths in his mind.
To be continued...