Fiction: Group 3
Tales of the Pearl River Delta
South Island School, Tsoi, Tiffany - 13, Fiction: Group 3
nce upon a time, there was an extremely lonely and forlorn man, who lived in the slums of
Shenzhen. As an adolescent, when he resided in northern china at the golden age of
urbanization, he had heard many enchanting tales about the Pearl River delta, the area
surrounding the mystical Pearl River that flowed into the South China Sea, containing megacities and the
economic hubs of china. Young and foolish, he was desperate to escape his dull home situated high in the
mountains, seeking a much more extravagant and exuberant lifestyle. So one day, he ventured off, heading
for the famous Guangzhou province.
The trip was no picnic- He climbed high and low through mountains, swam through rivers, with scarce
food and water. But being an ambitious and daring young man, he did not give up and arrived at his
destination after long, harsh and tedious days of travelling, exhausted and enervated. Nevertheless, he had
high expectations and hopes for his new life. Immediately, he applied for job applications in Shenzhen,
anticipating to earn a steady income and settle down, but it was not as easy as he had presumed. His
applications were refused and turned down, due to his lack of experience and education. Crestfallen but
determined, he continued, working hard to educate himself and applying for even more jobs, but all of his
attempts, were, in the end, tragically futile. Devastated, he had no choice but to resort to living in the
disgusting, repulsive slums of the city, and sold little knick-knacks and cardboard he found on the street to
make himself a little money.
And now, two decades later, nothing had changed. The man himself had grown to be exceedingly bitter and
isolated, but had accepted his unfortunate fate. It just so happened the slum he lived in was located beside a
luxurious, lavish and upmarket housing estate, so close he could see the inhabitants from his windowsill.
Admittedly, when he was bored, he would sit beside his filthy, battered window and watch the different
families there with an air of longing and envy. As a matter of fact, he had watched them so much he could
recognize the residents of different apartments and could read them off at the top of his head. There was the
woman in her early 50s, who had been married and widowed 5 times, each time to a well-known and
wealthy businessman who had died under suspicious circumstances, increasing her wealth every time. And
then there was the retired singer and his nineteen-year-old son, who was spoilt rotten by his pushover
father and sneaked out every night right under his dad’s unsuspecting nose only to come home in the middle
of the night, heavily intoxicated. And next to that there was a family of four, a vastly successful
businessman, his celebrity wife and their two teenage children, a boy and a girl. And last but not least, there
was the young archaeologist couple that had dug up and discovered a large prehistoric site a few years ago,
leaving them filthy rich.
You can imagine how monotonous and routine this man’s life was. Every day, he woke up and set off to
what he called “work”, where he went to the busy central streets and picked up cardboard, dug up trash
cans, and collected things that he could sell. He had grown used to the constant glances of revulsion and
disgust as if he was just a rabid animal scavenging the streets, and no longer took it to heart. Even the
occasional look of pity was dismissed, as after two decades he had accepted his misfortune. Once he had sold
everything he took that day and earned the money, he went home and watched the neighboring apartment
block for the rest of the day. The rent was sky high and prices for food were rocketing, but he managed,
although barely. He had become acquainted to this lifestyle and thought he would live his whole life like
this, but he was woefully wrong.
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