We Are All Camel Xiangzi

Camel Xiangzi is the protagonist of the renowned Chinese author Lao She’s novel “Camel Xiangzi.” He is a rickshaw puller in Beijing, born into poverty and faced with a life full of hardships. Initially, Xiangzi is a young man full of dreams and hope. He wishes to own a rickshaw of his own through hard work to improve his life. However, in that turbulent era, Xiangzi’s dreams are repeatedly shattered by reality. He not only loses his rickshaw but gradually loses hope and faith in life.

Does the name Camel Xiangzi sound familiar at first glance? But when you think about it more, it seems strangely unfamiliar. If you keep repeating his name, you might completely forget who he is. In fact, when you feel this way, you might already be another “Xiangzi.”

Xiangzi braves the wind and rain in society, relying on his youthful strength, and tirelessly running in the harsh reality just to earn two simple meals.

Xiangzi also has dreams. His dreams are similar to many of ours: to own a vehicle of his own. In that era, buying a rickshaw was the greatest dream because having a rickshaw meant you could earn more money.

More money meant the possibility of starting a family. Before having a stable economic foundation, happiness was simply having a place to live and enough food to eat.

Isn’t Xiangzi’s way of thinking similar to many of ours when we first enter society?

Human nature is inherently good. When we first leave home and school, stepping into society for the first time, everything seems full of hope. Of course, beneath our pure thoughts, we still carry a kind heart.

Despite living in poverty, we don’t forget to care about our country and society. Our minds are filled with ideals, dreams, and fantasies.

All our goals are based on our current efforts and the fair distribution of time. This is just like Xiangzi’s plan to buy a rickshaw. A rickshaw costs 100 yuan, but he can only save 1 yuan a day. So, he must find ways to earn more money.

Once the goal and the method to achieve it are determined, what remains is relentless running.

Every morning he hopes the day is longer so he can carry more passengers and get a step closer to his goal.

Every night, dragging his heavy feet back to his shabby residence, he wishes time could pass faster, dreaming of traveling to the future. He hopes that when he opens his eyes the next morning, a year has passed, and a brand-new rickshaw is parked at his door. At this moment, would you also smile like Xiangzi?

Dreams are dreams; reality is always reality.

Even if one day we exhaust all our efforts to achieve this insignificant goal, the harsh reality will still squeeze the smile from your face.

I have a friend named Xiao Li. After graduating from university, he had no background and average ability, but he had a strong determination not to admit defeat.

Like many people, after graduation, Xiao Li looked for work in society. He worked as a delivery person, a restaurant server, a salesperson, and a part-time worker, traveling far and wide. Although his income was not high, he could still support himself.

His wish was to settle down in this city, buy a house, and buy a car. After several years of hard work, he finally pooled all his savings and, with the help of his relatives, made a down payment, proudly joining the ranks of “mortgage slaves.”

After getting a house, his next goal was to buy a car. The reason was that traveling without a car was inconvenient, and not having a car didn’t fit the pace of a big city. So, he maxed out his credit card and took out another loan, finally getting a car parked downstairs.

From then on, Xiao Li carried a “huge” debt. This debt, like a chronic illness, was incurable. Along with the ever-increasing living expenses, this debt became a permanent pain in his heart.