rebirth of change

After several hours of flight, the plane successfully arrived at Christmas Island after stopping at the Cocos Islands.

Although the existing airport on Christmas Island is not big, it only has one tower, a simple terminal building, and only one runway, with a lot of weeds growing on the side, but it is still considered an international airport, and it can withstand the maximum load of a Boeing 747. However, so far, the number of passengers transported by this airport has not reached 3000 per year. It can be said that only a few people enter and leave here on average every day. In fact, there are often no planes landing or taking off for many days. Due to the large population At least, there are no fixed commercial flights at this airport, and charter flights have become the norm.

Stepping out of the cabin door and stepping onto the land of Christmas Island, a gust of refreshing sea breeze brought Chen Kangjie the wonderful freshness of the Indian Ocean.

When you come out of the airport, you can see the endless blue sea from a distance. If you look to your right hand, you can see green and undulating mountains in the distance, which is very beautiful and quiet.

When leaving the airport, there is no inspection. Unlike other big cities, there are no taxis at the gate of the airport. There are not even motorcycles here. If you don’t prepare a vehicle in advance, you can only enter the town on foot.After all, the population here is not as large as a slightly larger village in China. It is impossible to make a living by relying on those operating methods. So far, 60.00% of the residents on the island are employees of Christmas Island Phosphate Mining Co., Ltd. Others are not these Only a small number of people's relatives live by fishing in the sea.

This time Chen Kangjie came to Christmas Island, in addition to investigating the situation on the island, he just wanted to get in touch with the people from the Christmas Island Phosphate Mining Co., Ltd. Some unwanted backlash.

There is only one street on the island, which is located in the northeast of the island. It is not narrow, it is [-] to [-] meters wide, and cars can be used. Unfortunately, there are very few cars on the island. After Chen Kangjie and the others arrived here on foot, they only saw four. Cars, two Buick off-road vehicles were parked on the side of the road, and two trucks drove past them. They were really transporting apatite to the edge of the port.

The tallest houses on both sides of the street are only three floors, and most of them are not too brand new, and some are even tin houses, which can reflect that the economy of the island is still in a relatively backward state In a big city like Sydney or Sydney, there is simply no way to guess.Only on the easternmost side of the street, that is, near the sea, there is a five-story "building" with neat and tidy decoration, and satellite dishes and TV receiving equipment are installed on the roof.

"If I'm not mistaken, that should be where the Christmas Island Phosphate Mining Co., Ltd. is located," Chen Kangjie said to Xiong Ziqiang and the others as he covered the glaring afterglow with his left hand and pointed to the building with his right hand.

"It looks like that is the tallest building on the island. If there is only one company on the island, then there is no doubt about it," Xiong Ziqiang and Chen Kangjie turned to the same direction and said, looking into their eyes.

"Let's go, let's find a place to stay and have a good meal before we talk." It's getting late now, and it's not suitable for wandering on the street before we settle down.

The population on the island is small, and there are few people walking on the streets. Chen Kangjie and his group walking together are quite eye-catching.

Although the place is not big, the living facilities are quite complete. There is a small hospital, school, shops, hotels and restaurants, and even a small chapel.In addition to providing services to local residents, these facilities are also because tourists visit this beautiful island from time to time. Those tourists usually choose to stay for a few days before leaving by boat or chartered plane.

"Boss, do you want to stay in a hotel?" Chen Kangjie and the others walked to the door of a small two-story cement building. There was a Chinese signboard hanging on the door - Fulai Hotel, and there was an English sign below it. Maybe they saw Chen Kangjie Most of them are Chinese, and the tall and thin boss who came out spoke to them directly in Cantonese and asked them if they wanted to stay in the hotel. Basically, places that speak Cantonese like to refer to male adult guests as "boss" (boss).

Most of the residents on Christmas Island are Chinese, and these Chinese basically speak Cantonese. Therefore, although this language is not an official language, it is very popular on the island.

"Yes, we want to stay in a hotel, how can you accommodate so many of us?" Chen Kangjie answered in the affirmative in fluent Cantonese, and asked him if he could accommodate so many of them here.Seeing that the building here is not high, Chen Kangjie worried that people like them could not live here.

Chen Kangjie often goes to Hong Kong, and he deals with so many Hong Kong people and calls them friends. In many cases, the chats between them are carried out in Cantonese. He is already very talented in languages, so there is no problem at all in this regard .

Hearing Chen Kangjie's answer in Cantonese, the smile on the boss's face became brighter, "No problem, I can accommodate you, everyone, please come in, please come in."

The boss was wearing a short-sleeved white shirt, with thinning hair, perhaps due to long-term stay in the Indian Ocean, his skin was a bit oily, and the wrinkles on his forehead were no longer shallow.He led Chen Kangjie and the others into a main room with a ceiling fan. It looked like the front desk of a hotel, but it also looked like his living room, because Chen Kangjie and the others saw the bar and the dining table at the same time.

He greeted Chen Kangjie and the others to sit down, and the boss found a middle-aged woman to serve them tea.

"Is it time to travel here...?", the boss seemed very friendly, and did not take Chen Kangjie and the others to the room immediately, but sat down at the dining table and chatted with them first, asking them if they came here for tourism What are you doing here.

"Hehe, I just came here for a trip. I heard that the place is very beautiful, so I came here." Chen Kangjie took a sip of the slightly bitter tea, answered with a smile, and told the other party that he heard that this place is very beautiful , so let's go around.

"Where are you from? On Christmas Island, there are very few foreign Chinese coming here," the boss asked curiously.

This is also true. There are very few Chinese tourists coming to this island. The tourists who come here are basically Westerners. Even if there are rare Hong Kong tourists coming here, there will not be so many people.From a realistic point of view, the country is not rich at present. Traveling overseas is not a cheap option, not to mention for ordinary families, even for those who have already started to get rich. What's more, Christmas Island is so remote and not What a particularly famous resort.

"Do you speak Mandarin?" Chen Kangjie didn't answer, but asked a rhetorical question first.

"I didn't before... I went back to my hometown a few times... Now I know a little bit", the boss was stunned for a moment, then stammered.

"We are from Qianzhou. We just went to Australia for a trip. I heard people over there said that this place is not bad, so I came here for a while. I think you are almost fifty. Where is your hometown?" Chen Kangjie said in Mandarin Continue chatting with the boss.

The boss didn't send them to the room, but wanted to chat with him. Chen Kangjie happened to hope to take this opportunity to learn about the local situation.

"Oh, that's how it is... Hehe, I'm over fifty, and my hometown is Nanhai... But we have been here for decades." Hearing that Chen Kangjie underestimated his age, the other party very happy.

"Wow, you look very young. The South China Sea is developing well now. It is the frontier of the country's reform and opening up, and the people are getting rich very quickly." Chen Kangjie has been to this place in the South China Sea, but it was already two thousand and five years later. .

"Yeah, there are factories and newly built roads everywhere."

"Then your whole family is here?" Chen Kangjie continued to ask, "Yes, my wife and children are here. The one who poured tea just now is my wife."

"Oh, that's pretty good. If that's the case, you should be considered Australian citizens, right?" Chen Kangjie thought that since the other party has been here for decades, he should have Australian citizenship anyway.

"Hey, don't mention it, we have no status in China now, and we haven't obtained citizenship in Australia. We only have the right to live, but we don't have the right to vote. We have applied several times, but they have found many reasons to reject them. At most, we can get a green card. Come on!" said the boss dejectedly.

Although obtaining a green card allows you to live permanently in the country and enjoy basically the same benefits and job opportunities as a national, he is still different from his nationality and has no right to vote, because the holder of the green card is still classified as a foreigner. In the category, the status is slightly lower.

"Are all the residents on the island like this?" Chen Kangjie felt puzzled.

"Not all of them are like this. There are more than 200 western whites on the island, and most of them have obtained Australian citizenship. So the number of whites has gradually decreased in recent years, but the number of Malays has increased. Our place is like an abandoned The government does not take much care of the land here, the investment here is pitifully small, and there are not so many tourists..." When talking about the situation on the island, the shop owner seems to have endless words to complain about. few.

The emergence of this situation is not a good thing for the local Chinese, but it is not a bad thing for Chen Kangjie.If these people are all Australian citizens, it will be a big trouble. Since only a few white people are real citizens of Australia, it will be relatively easy. At least Chen Kangjie’s purchase of the island will be easier to convince the residents to accept, as long as they can provide them with more benefit benefits.

"What about your child? Have you gone to work in Australia?" Chen Kangjie became concerned about his family.

"The education level of our local Chinese is not very high. Basically, they have graduated from middle school. In Australia, it is not very easy to eat. My son is in the Phosphate Mining Co., Ltd., and the child is quite promising and has become a worker foreman. , two to three thousand Australian dollars a month", the Chinese have such a habit, if their children have something to be proud of, they like to show it off in front of outsiders.

"That's not bad. I'm a white-collar worker. What's your surname old sir?" If others want to show off, Chen Kangjie must of course cooperate. This is etiquette.