No place like home for migrant workers

Boom time

Things were very different during the boom time in the late 1990s and early part of this century, when going overseas was seen as a courageous move. Those who returned with the money they had made were treated as heroes, and special arrangements were made to help them reintegrate with life in rural China.

As in many villages, the people of Nanzhanglou traditionally live in single-story houses, and some families have to share a public latrine because the underground sewage system doesn't reach every house.

However, in 2015, two modern apartment buildings, resembling those found in large cities, were built in the northern part of the village and boasted modern amenities such as gas cookers, flushing toilets and electric water heaters.

"Many people who returned after working overseas for years found it difficult to acclimatize to the poor living conditions, especially the dry latrines. So we built these modern apartments to meet their requirements," Yuan said.

Yuan Hengjun, 69, and his 70-year-old wife Yang Zhengxiang share a 112-square-meter apartment in Nanzhanglou. Yuan Hengjun doesn't dress like a farmer; instead, he wears a white shirt and cashmere sweater, and his hair is neatly combed. In the living room, a calligraphy scroll hangs on the wall, bearing a traditional maxim, "Happiness consists of contentment".

"The contentment in my life comes from my two sons, who work overseas and changed their lives from farmers to businessmen," he said. The couple's sons, Yuan Antian, 45, and 43-year-old Yuan Anguo both manage supermarkets in Argentina, where they have permanent residence.

In 1995, Yuan Antian was one of the first villagers to venture overseas to make money, when he joined seven other residents who chose to move to Argentina and work on a farm. Before that, the farthest he had been was Weifang, a city about 60 kilometers from Qingzhou.

His life improved immediately. "My eldest son got his first month's salary and called us immediately－he sounded excited and astonished," Yuan Hengjun recalled.

"He told us he had earned $200, which was a lot of money to most Chinese people. In 1995, a rich family with three people in our village only earned about 3,000 yuan a year."

The work brought Yuan Antian a bright future. A year later, his fiancee moved to Argentina and they got married. In 1997, the couple had their first child, who was granted Argentinean nationality the same year. The young family continued to look for new chances and soon sensed a business opportunity.

More than 100 workers on the farm needed to be fed every day, but their daily supplies could be only purchased at a supermarket more than 100 km away. Yuan Antian made a bold decision: he borrowed 400,000 yuan from his father and opened a supermarket to meet the demands of his peers.

The move paid off quickly. Making an annual income of $80,000, he was able to pay back all the money he had borrowed within a year. Now, he owns four supermarkets in Argentina. His younger brother decided to follow Yuan Antian's lead and also moved to Argentina to start his own supermarket.

The original eight villagers who moved to Argentina became legends in the village. Many other residents followed in their footsteps and headed overseas. The trend quickly spread from Nanzhanglou to other parts of the city, according to Yuan Xiangsheng, the village head.

"There was a slogan in Qingzhou－'A worker overseas brings fortune to the whole family'. At least half of the people in the village have worked overseas," he said.

In the late 1990s, Qingzhou became one of the first few cities in China to establish a center to help arrange work for those determined to head overseas.