In the 1990s, I lived in Lane 25 to make a living, because most of the residents here are from northern Jiangsu, and some of them are relatives of my family, such as my second uncle's family and my fourth grandmother's family. They are all Shanghainese now, and the outsiders in Lane 25 are also our fellow villagers in Huai 'an, northern Jiangsu. We all know each other when we meet, and they all use famous surnames. Some of them are Qianhouzhuang or next-door neighbors, and the distance is not far. So I have lived here since I arrived in Shanghai, and it has been more than 20 years now. It seems to be my second hometown. In this place, no matter Shanghainese or foreigners, almost no one does not know me. I am a frequent visitor here. I would feel very strange if I changed places.
The area around Lane 25 is being demolished, but it is said that this place will be demolished in the next two years. Demolition of this place is very troublesome. Almost all of them are self-built private houses. Compensation for demolition is very difficult. There are many nail households. In addition, it is closely connected with Shanghai Jiguang Middle School, and Metro Line 4 passes below. Even if it is demolished, it is not good to build a tall building. Because it is not easy to lay the foundation, developers don't like this land, otherwise it would have been demolished long ago. Lane 25 is getting old and crumbling, and some people's houses are crumbling and dilapidated, and there are dilapidated houses everywhere. Most people who live here are migrants, and the environment is dirty and chaotic, which is difficult to manage and particularly unsafe. People's valuables are often stolen by thieves, and my home was stolen once, and valuables such as mobile phones, computers and cameras worth 20 thousand yuan were swept away! Twenty-five has become a place where people can't stay long. It is notorious in Hongkou District, Shanghai. Most ordinary citizens and foreigners living here are of poor quality, and some even have people. They have everyone, so to speak, they have all kinds of birds when they are old!
Lane 25 is an old-fashioned slum in Shanghai. Rich people have bought high-end commercial housing and moved out. They live in Shanghai on the 25th. Almost every household is not very rich, and even few people work in the company. Some people are willing to eat subsistence allowances at home and not go out to make money, mainly because they can't put down the shelves of Shanghainese. Unlike foreigners in Shanghai, they do everything to make money until they can't move. These worthless ordinary citizens always like to idle away and are called beggars! These people are worse than outsiders. Many people get married and divorce. Even many bachelors can't marry, and even foreign girls don't want to marry. They are just Shanghainese in name only, humiliating and discrediting Shanghainese! If you are poor, even if you have a Shanghai hukou, it is useless to be a Shanghainese. The advantage is that Shanghainese have good welfare, even if you don't do business or go to work, you won't starve to death. This makes some people who don't want to make progress develop a lot of bad habits, thinking that being a Shanghainese is great. Is the Shanghai hukou worthless? Because the Shanghai hukou brings a halo of glory, in fact, the quality of being a person is so poor! It's not that I despise Shanghainese. Everyone says that Shanghai is a villain. It is not that outsiders look down on Shanghainese, but that Shanghainese fail to live up to expectations. Almost all the people who successfully started the great cause in Shanghai are foreigners! Take no.25 as an example. Few Shanghainese are really rich. The less money they have, the more they crave enjoyment and the lazier they are! It's not that I want to ruin the reputation of Shanghainese, but that's what Shanghainese who live in Lane 25 do. According to the prophet's prediction, in the near future, Shanghai will undergo earth-shaking changes. Those who really speak Shanghainese are all outside the outer ring. Mandarin is spoken in the middle ring and English is spoken in the inner ring. The meaning is very clear, the inner ring road is in line with international standards, and all foreigners live there; Central Link buyers are social elites and rich people who can speak Mandarin; Shanghainese who can really speak Shanghainese have been demolished and moved to the suburbs of Shanghai outside the Outer Ring Road. There are no private houses like Lane 25!
Later, my son graduated from college and found a good job in Shanghai. He is a software engineer, and his son and daughter-in-law have high incomes. He doesn't want to live in an old-fashioned house in Lane 25, but wants to rent an elevator building in an upscale community. My wife and I bid farewell to Lane 25, and the whole family moved to the elevator room in a high-end residential area. The rent is extremely expensive. My wife and I work together, which is not enough to pay the rent, utilities and property management fees. No matter how expensive the rent is, you should rent it. In the future, such a poor living area in Shanghai Lane 25 will disappear like Anqiu Road and will never be found in the Inner Ring Road.