Vanity Fair and City I (4)

“It is on the 31st floor.” Juliet said.

I looked up to the tall building, frustration flooding into my heart. Juliet’s apartment is on the 31st floor. She bought it last month.

Of course her rich parents paid for the down payment. And then, in the coming years, she will pay for her own house monthly.

“I have to spend my half salary paying for it every month in the coming years.” She smiled bitterly. “That means I don’t have much money to buy luxurious things. That means I have to work very hard…”

Yes, they all work very hard for their ideal houses. House is so important that the goal of life is just to have a house.

That’s because it is the base of family-regulating.

In villages or towns, it is easy to achieve this goal. Young people buy some land, build their houses, and then live in the new houses with their parents. Next it is time to consider marriage…

However, things are different in this city. A manager, who graduates from a good university and gets a good job here, still fights for his house. His salary is very high but the housing price is much higher. So he can’t afford a house even though he has been working here for five years.

“My biggest dream is to buy a house here and let my parents live in it.” He said. “Throughout their life they worked hard to raise me up. They suffered a lot when I and my brother and sister went to college. Now we work and they are getting old. I just want to have my own house and let them live there, to enjoy, to relax…”

Sheep will kneel down for their mothers’ nursing, so will we. However, we find it difficult to kneel down for our parents’ nursing.

And marriage…not many women want to marry those who don’t have their houses…nobody want to spend their honeymoon in a house they rent…but, for him, even though he doesn’t have his own house, his job is not good, his salary is low…I don’t mind…but I remember what he said: “You are my good friend for ever.”

It is clear and simple. The problem is: the housing price is extremely high, so most of us can’t afford our houses, most of us can’t kneel down for our parents, most of us can’t get marriage, and most of us can’t regulate our family and personal life… When we are still striving for these things, how can we order the state and govern the land great???

Now I understand why…That westerner has his own house, his own small business, so he doesn’t worry about those things. And I guess marriage and family are not very important for him, so he has much time caring for the environment, politics and people he cares.

But I can’t tell him I understand it at last…Too late…I still miss the feelings his writing and words gave me. A sincere charm…

So…

“You can go back your hometown, there you can have your own house easily!!!” you may say.

Yes, I can go back my hometown. But…

When I stood on the 31st floor, I could see so far, so broad. I feel so excited, so happy. The sky is so near, so clean and so blue…then I know the answer: I am vain and I love this city!