Go back in time and be a chaebol

Chapter 1085 You and I are both Tang people (first update, please subscribe)
On the sparkling river surface, a dilapidated wooden boat was sailing downstream in the middle of the river.

On both sides of the Mekong River, dense tropical rainforests are like green barriers that cut the sky into long and thin cracks. The sunlight shines through the cracks, giving this mysterious jungle a golden halo.

When the boatmen are rowing the wooden boat, they always look carefully at the rainforests on both sides of the river. Having made a living on this river for many years, they know that Laotian bandits are hiding in the rainforest.

Unlike the nervous captain, the passengers who had long since walked out of the cabin filled with groceries were mostly sitting by the side of the boat or at the bow. They either lowered their heads in deep thought or gazed into the distance, their eyes filled with deep sadness of leaving their hometown.

Those familiar places and the warm smiles of relatives and friends are all drifting away with the wooden boat, turning into unspeakable pain in my heart.

Far away, home is far away, and people are in a foreign land.

Zhang Xie looked towards the north silently, feeling reluctant. But even the most reluctant he felt turned into a sigh in the end.

"Dad, are we still in the Lancang River now?"

The kid next to him asked.

Listening to the child's question, Zhang Xie said.

“Once you cross the border and reach a foreign country, the Lancang River is called the Mekong River.”

"Dad, where are we going?"

Yeah, where are you going?

While Zhang Xie was looking into the distance, Zhang Fuhua beside him said.

"Let's go to Southeast Asia."

After saying that, he sighed again. Only they themselves could understand the loneliness and bitterness in his eyes.

"After this departure, I'm afraid I'll never be able to set foot on my homeland again in this lifetime!"

“It still carries a stigma…”

Just then, a low roar broke the tranquility of the river.

In the distance, an iron-hulled patrol boat was approaching rapidly. Its green hull was shining with metallic luster, and the muzzle of the cannon at the bow was flashing with a cold light. The soldiers on the patrol boat were wearing military uniforms, German-style steel helmets, and holding American-style carbines. Their eyes were fixed on the wooden boat, and the muzzles of the cannons were also pointed at them.

"Stop! Who are you? Where are you from? Where are you going?"

The shout came from the patrol boat, echoing on the empty river. The passengers on the wooden boat were frightened by the sudden questioning, and they all raised their heads and looked at the patrol boat, all of them looking at the boat nervously.

We're already in a foreign country, how come there are people speaking Mandarin?

For a moment, the river was in a tense atmosphere. The wooden boat slowly stopped under the threat of the patrol boat, and the passengers' hearts were in their throats. They didn't know what would happen next, and could only pray that this encounter would be safe.

"Don't worry, don't worry, it's a patrol boat from Shan State, we are all family, family..."

The captain said quickly.

"Sir, they are all coming from the interior and are going to Siam."

Approaching the wooden boat, the patrol boat officer looked at these people, looked at their appearance, and asked in a calm tone:

"You are teachers, right?"

"Yes, yes, sir."

The officer nodded and said:
"The world is not peaceful right now. The situation in Laos is turbulent. You should be careful on your way."

While reminding them to be careful, the officer gave instructions to the captain.

"After arriving at the Siamese border, we let them go ashore at the nearest port. There are cars on the shore that can take them directly to Bangkok."

Soon the patrol boat sailed away. Looking at the patrol boat going away, Zhang Fuhua asked.

"Captain, who are they?"

"Shan State Army under Commander Li of Shan State."

After that, he lowered his voice and spoke again.

"They are the ones who fled from Yunnan Province to Myanmar and now control the entire Shan State, so they are considered one of our own."

The people on the boat were stunned when they heard this. They looked at the patrol boat going away and said:
"I really can't tell. The equipment looks quite good."

"That's not the case. It depends on which big tree they rely on. When the King of Siam was restored, they fought from the north all the way to Chiang Mai. When the King of Siam ascended the throne again, they naturally had to reward them according to their merits."

The captain's words surprised them all.

"So, their backer is Siam?"

“No wonder there are gunboats!”

"Siam?"

The captain picked up his pipe, took a leisurely puff, and then said contemptuously.

"Are they worthy? The King of Siam himself is leaning against a big tree to enjoy the shade."

"Otherwise, why did you even change your name to Zheng Xi?"

These people from Yunnan Province knew nothing about what the boatmen said. Even as for the restoration of Siam, they only focused on the invasion of Southeast Asian imperialists. A few years ago, they had participated in activities to support Siam's resistance to aggression, but they knew nothing about the name change of the King of Siam.

The next morning, the ship docked at the port. As soon as the dozens of passengers on the ship got ashore, they felt the difference here. Most of the signs on the pier were written in Chinese characters. "Is this Siam?"

The reason for such curiosity is that although this is just a small port town, most of the roadside signs are in Chinese characters, and many people even speak Mandarin. Although the tone is a bit stiff, it can be seen that they are trying hard to learn, which is somewhat similar to the mountain people in Yunnan Province and other places.

As soon as these passengers got ashore, they attracted the attention of others. Soon two military policemen stopped them. After a brief inquiry, they did not ask for their passports or anything else. Instead, they enthusiastically led the way to the bus station for them, as if they were already accustomed to all this.

From the border town to Chiang Rai, and then from Chiang Rai by bus to Lampang to board the train, what they saw and heard along the way made Zhang Xie, Zhang Fuhua and others so surprised that they couldn't close their mouths. Even in the train carriage before Bangkok, Zhang Xie was still looking at the train ticket in his hand, unable to speak for a long time.

“It’s actually Chinese characters.”

The tickets were printed with both Chinese characters and Sanskrit, just like the passengers in the carriage, some spoke Mandarin and some spoke Siamese.

"Of course it's Chinese characters,"

At this time, the passenger sitting by the aisle said.

"This is Siam. The Siamese dynasty was founded by Taksin the Great. Taksin was a Tang Chinese. The Tang Chinese country speaks the national language and uses Chinese characters. What's so strange about that?"

The man looked at Zhang Xie and said.

"Besides, only if you can speak Mandarin can you do business with Southeast Asia and study in Southeast Asia, so everyone learns Mandarin."

Nanyang!

Once again, they heard about Nanyang. Along the way, the word they heard the most was Nanyang. Even in the small town of Siam, people's eyes were full of longing when they mentioned Nanyang.

It seems that when everyone talks about Nanyang, they are talking about - paradise!
In Nanyang, everyone has a beautiful house and car, and everyone lives a rich and happy life...

Is what those people said really Nanyang?

For Zhang Xie and Zhang Fuhua, who had studied in the United States, they felt that the Nanyang these people talked about was more like the United States than Nanyang. In their memories, the life there seemed a bit like that of Americans. Every family lived in a small Western-style building and drove a car.

That night, Zhang Xie, who was sleeping on his bunk, once again recalled the Nanyang movies he had seen in the past. In the movies, the Nanyang people seemed to live an unimaginable life. After a while, he spoke.

“Perhaps, Nanyang is really like what is described in the movie.”

In fact, generally speaking, they had some understanding of Nanyang, which provided housing and jobs to immigrants, free lunch and free education to children, and free education from primary school to university. Before the liberation of Yunnan Province, like other places, many students from Yunnan Province failed to get into university due to quota restrictions, and they chose to study in Nanyang.

However, at that time, their understanding of Nanyang was vague. Now, seven years later, their understanding of Nanyang is only limited to a few old movies they have seen and their criticism of Nanyang's hegemonic behavior.

As for what Nanyang is like, they know nothing about it.

……

Two days later, in the evening, Zhang Xie and his 20-plus people finally arrived in Bangkok. As soon as they walked out of the train station, they saw the bustling city. As night fell, neon lights twinkled like stars, covering the city streets with a gorgeous dress. The shops on both sides of the street were brightly lit, and the colorful signs were intertwined in the red light and shadow, like a flowing oil painting.

The air was filled with the sound of car horns. Although most of the cars were small, the traffic on the streets was so huge that it was hard to imagine that this was a Southeast Asian city. The exhaust from the cars mixed with the aroma of food on the streets, creating a unique urban atmosphere. There was an endless stream of pedestrians, some hurrying on their way, some strolling leisurely, and everyone's face was reflected in different neon colors.

At this time, a bus drove by slowly, and its headlights left a long shadow under the neon lights.

Looking at the scene in front of him, Zhang Fuhua couldn't help but say.

"This place looks a bit like a big city."

"Yes, it's a bit like Shanghai. Look at the neon lights and the cars on the streets..."

The wife pointed at the neon sign, her eyes full of confusion and said.

"It seems to be more lively than Shanghai."

But she subconsciously felt that it was impossible. After all, that was Shanghai, the Paris of the East.

This is just Bangkok.

However, while the women were immersed in the prosperity of the city and the dazzling splendor of neon lights, Zhang Fuhua and others' eyes were on the neon signs - Chinese characters, Chinese characters were everywhere. Those red, green, blue, and yellow neon signs were all Chinese characters curved out of neon lights. Even the vendors' cries were in the familiar Mandarin.

Although this is a strange country and a strange city, everything here does not seem strange to them because of the language and the writing here.

Even the people here.

“Is this really Siam?”

Being in this seemingly magical city, such questions flashed through their minds: once upon a time, they had worried about language barriers, but what about now?

Just at this moment, a taxi stopped in front of them and the driver tilted his head and shouted at them.

"Sir, do you want a taxi?"

What he heard was still Mandarin, which was a bit stiff and had a slight Cantonese accent. Zhang Fuhua asked curiously:

"Sir, are you from Cantonese?"

Hearing this, the driver greeted enthusiastically.

"Are you also Tang people?"

Suddenly, as if he had thought of something, he said.

"Look at me, here in Siam are all Tang people..."

(End of this chapter)