Leaving on the Journey South

Name: Leaving on the Journey South
Author: Shanjiu's Home

南下归途离开

by Shanjiu's Home (杉玖家)

Status: Completed
Length: 371k Words
Genre: Urban
Subgenre: Urban Everyday
Updated: 19d ago
Source: Fanqie

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Translated by GPT-6 Luna

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Synopsis

Every so often, a generation leaves home to make a living, leaving its youth behind on construction sites and streets far from home.

Our fathers left the mountains with worn-out woven-plastic bags on their backs, heading south to find work. They knew nothing of polished talk. They only knew to keep their heads down and work hard, relying on brute strength to feed their families. They lived in cramped shacks, endured grueling day and night shifts, and swallowed their homesickness and grievances. Their scarred bodies held up the roofs of their hometowns, their children's education, and their families' livelihoods. The city's towering buildings rose thanks to them, yet no one ever told their stories.

This is a shared memory spanning three generations of migrant workers.

The first generation of migrant workers pressed on under heavy burdens and carved out a way to make a living, spending half their lives adrift and giving in silence. The second generation grew up with the times, witnessing their parents' toil and hardship. They grew up separated from their families or constantly on the move, then took on new family responsibilities. The third generation looks back at last and understands that their parents' ordinary lives held the most moving examples of steadfastness and sacrifice.

This book has no melodramatic plot or forced tearjerking, only the most authentic lives of ordinary people. It depicts the helplessness of leaving home, the hardship of providing for a family, the pain of separation from loved ones, and the stubbornness and tenderness of ordinary people through the years.

Whether you're a worker making a living far from home, a loved one waiting back home, or a younger generation who has come to understand your parents' hard work, open this book and you'll find yourself, your family, and the bitter yet passionate half-lives of a generation reflected in its pages.

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178Chapters

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