The descriptions in this article have official sources, and they are placed in the suffix of the article for readers to have a better experience!
Edit丨xk
"Play mahjong during the day and live as a couple at night?"
This vulgar sentence is a true portrayal of life in China's more than 2,000 counties.
Compared with the glamorous "nightlife" of Beijing, Shanghai, Guangzhou and Shenzhen, the low-level people living in the county seem to have long been unable to keep up with the tense and rapid pace of the big cities, and their daily life is monotonous and boring.
But it seems that it has been abandoned by the times, but in fact it has a good leisure time, in this regard, some netizens are amazing: "In addition to husband and wife life, there is only mahjong left." So is that really the case?
Entertainment life
Throughout China's more than 2,000 counties, most of them have long constituted the lives of the "lowest" people, and of course, they also reflect the "most real" life records of ordinary people.
As the saying goes, the lights of a big city are easy to confuse people, and this sentence just shows that there are countless pastimes in big cities.
Migrant workers in Beijing, Shanghai, Guangzhou and Shenzhen can have a cup of Long Island iced tea after work, or they can go to "857", even if they are hungry in the early morning, they can still have a supper.
But in the small town, there is nothing to choose from at night, there are only a few night market stalls for you to choose from, walking on the street seems to be "sleeping" the street lamps, if there is anything lively, it may be the ride of the ghost fire boy.
Although the contemporary entertainment facilities are complete, and all major industries are upgrading, such as KTV, bars, and amusement parks, ordinary people only revolve around the four major "entertainment industries" every day in the county with limited economy.
Mahjong parlors are blooming everywhere, all red mahjong; selling Mark Six lottery; fishing, day and night; All kinds of massage parlors, Xian Jiao, are also blooming everywhere.
And these forms of entertainment all start in the morning of the county, they seem to wake up very early every day, the sky is high and bright, accompanied by the sound of selling breakfast, the whole county is active.
There are elderly people who staggered out to buy breakfast, there are middle-aged people who start to run to the fields, taking advantage of the cool weather to quickly plant, and there are hard-working workers from all walks of life running in this barren and dry small county.
It's just that there are very few young people in the small town, and those who are left are middle-aged and elderly, living a fairy-like life.
At that time, whether it is the elderly, middle-aged or young people, they can always be seen in every household, tea room, chess and card room, and gather together to play mahjong.
Mahjong is not only a game for the people of the small county, but also a way of life and a cultural imprint, and people who really understand the way of mahjong can appreciate the deep fun of the game behind it.
Every time the cards are played, every time the cards are clamped, there are subtle calculations and deployments, which need to be treated with wisdom against the enemy, and they can also enhance each other's feelings and gain a sense of identity in the local "acquaintance society".
But this scene can't help but make people question, where do they have the time and money to support these entertainments?
The information in this paragraph comes from: February 1, 2023 - Chinese climate - in addition to sex is to play mahjong - more than 2,000 counties in China life record
Employment in small towns
People living in big cities have a lot to say, especially in first-tier cities like Beijing, Shanghai, Guangzhou and Shenzhen, where most of the day is squeezed by work, and sometimes there is only one day off on weekends.
Ma Yun once said that 996 is a blessing, although this sentence is spurned, but it is indeed a true portrayal of most young people who work hard in big cities, except for work is work, so busy that they don't even have time to spend with their children.
In this way, living in a big city is both happy and unfortunate, at least for the rich, but for all the general public, it is a proper torment.
On the contrary, "more money and less things close to home" has become the goal of many people looking for a job, and the county itself is not big, and the work business is naturally not so busy, but with it, the salary level is naturally not high.
The abundant employment opportunities and generous salaries in big cities attract many highly educated and highly skilled talents, which also leads to single jobs and low salaries in the county.
However, most of the people living in the county are local residents, and their lives are not so stressful, and although the absolute value of income is not high, the cost of living is low, so that their disposable income is not low.
Moreover, unlike renting in big cities, county residents often start to plan to buy a house after deciding on a fixed job, and lower housing prices also allow them to better balance their mortgage and income.
As a result, because prices are close to the people and there is no heavy mortgage and car loan expenses, the income of county residents is often enough to meet daily expenses and live a well-off life.
With spare money and idle time, they naturally set their sights on leisure and entertainment in addition to daily work accidents, so don't look at the county people's income is not high, but they make money and spend money.
Therefore, county residents who "have a house under their feet and spare money in their hands" naturally know how to enjoy life better than those who are tired of working in big cities.
Such a privileged life that outsiders envy is simply the greatest happiness, but in fact, it is not, and the pros and cons of a small county town also form a sharp contrast.
The information in this paragraph comes from: June 18, 2024 - Financial Times - Small county, where did you win this time?
The inadequacy of life in the county
It can be said that in addition to being leisurely and comfortable, there are also many flaws and shortcomings in the life of small counties, such as lack of educational resources, backward medical standards, and relatively lagging economic development.
Among them, the problem of educational resources is particularly important, the quality of schools in the county is uneven, high-quality resources are very scarce, many parents hope to send their children to big cities to go to good schools, at least to go to the county key middle schools.
The children of poor families can only study in ordinary schools in the county, and if they want to make a career in the future, they will be powerless, especially since various resources are very limited, and the jobs that people can find are also very limited.
In small counties, in addition to civil servants, jobs are "second-rate", so for parents in small counties, it is a glorious thing for their children to be admitted to civil servants.
In the eyes of the people of small counties, other occupations are some precarious industries, and the demand for personnel will not be too great to enter the enterprise.
In this way, the people of the small county town have only two choices, one is to go out to work, and of course, those who stay in the small county town choose the second path, that is, to be their own boss.
Therefore, if we want to change the conditions of the county, we must change the education problem in the county, and we can vigorously develop the education policy and encourage outstanding graduates to go to the county to teach.
At the same time, it can also combine local natural resources to develop distinctive industries, expand employment opportunities, and help cultivate local labor force, so as to improve the income and quality of life of people in the county.
The information in this paragraph is derived from:
August 19, 2023 - Jiemian News - How to break the situation of China's county-level education towards urbanization and hollowing?
Resources:
August 23, 2019 - The Paper Online - 2019 China's urban development potential ranking: second only to Shenzhen, Shanghai, Guangzhou, Chengdu ranked fifth
June 15, 2024 - The Paper - Novelist Zhang Chu: In the county seat, time is fast and slow
May 29, 2020 - Yicai - The New First-tier Cities Research Institute has released the 2020 City Business Charm Ranking and the 2020 City Emergency Response Capability Report