Chapter 2343

When work was mentioned, Lang Hongjun's expression clearly became somewhat unnatural.

To be precise, he, who had been proud of his status as a government-sponsored overseas student, suddenly felt somewhat inferior when mentioning going to Mexico for work.

Ye Chen keenly noticed his change, and combined with his previous years of constantly changing jobs with decreasing income, eventually becoming unemployed for over a year, he could guess that this trip to Mexico was absolutely also a helpless choice forced by life.

So he let out a light sigh and said: "Looking at your appearance, elder brother, going to work in Mexico must also be a helpless move; I actually am the same as you—I wouldn't want to go to Mexico unless absolutely necessary."

Lang Hongjun curiously asked him: "What are you going to do in Mexico?"

Ye Chen casually said: "I still don't know what I'll be able to do there; it's just that my visa in the US is about to expire, and originally I was thinking of staying illegally first and then figuring things out, but recently immigration authorities have been cracking down hard on illegal immigrants, and my uncle was just deported not long ago, so I thought I'd better leave the US before my visa expires, at least for now."

Lang Hongjun asked, puzzled: "If you can't make it in the US, you can go back home; although the domestic environment isn't as good as the US, it's still much better than Mexico."

Ye Chen said somewhat embarrassedly: "To be frank, I came out because I couldn't stay in the country anymore; I owed quite a bit of money domestically before, and if I go back now, I might even get arrested."

Upon hearing this, Lang Hongjun smiled and said: "You borrowed money and ran away, didn't you?"

"Well..." Ye Chen gave an embarrassed laugh, saying awkwardly: "I borrowed a bit too much, plus poor management led to a big deficit, I can't repay it, so I can only come out to lay low for a while."

As he spoke, Ye Chen asked curiously: "Elder brother, since you were a government-sponsored overseas student back then, you must be high-end talent, right? So why are you still going to a place like Mexico? Compared to the US, it's like heaven and earth."

Lang Hongjun said with a somewhat desolate expression: "No way, I'm getting older; in a place like the US, if you haven't achieved financial freedom between the ages of 35 and 40, you're likely to be eliminated by capitalists; even if you have rich work experience, what can you do? Young people's salaries are only a quarter or even a fifth of yours, yet they dare to strive and work hard—one person can't match you, but two people together might be stronger than you; three clumsy craftsmen can even match Zhuge Liang."

As he spoke, Lang Hongjun sighed again: "People like us in IT, new technologies keep coming out; we older employees have weaker learning abilities for new technologies compared to the young, and we're easily eliminated."

Ye Chen nodded and feigned curiosity: "Elder brother, since you're in IT, going to a place like Mexico probably has even less development, right? Did you switch industries?"

Lang Hongjun sighed, waved his hand, and said: "Well, never mind—it's just about making a living; no need to mention it."

Seeing he didn't want to talk, Ye Chen didn't press further for a moment; at this time, boarding had already begun, and the two walked through the gate one after another, heading toward the cabin.

Lang Hongjun chose a window seat for himself, seat number 39A; he walked ahead of Ye Chen, and after reaching his seat, he stopped, first stowing his suitcase and shoulder bag into the overhead bin, then squeezed into his seat.

Ye Chen, holding his boarding pass, pretended to check the seat numbers, muttering under his breath: "39B, where is this 39B..."

As he spoke, he suddenly looked up at Lang Hongjun, feigned surprise, and said: "Oh my, elder brother, what a coincidence! My seat is right next to yours!"

"Is that so?" Lang Hongjun also looked somewhat surprised.

We're both compatriots; just now, while queuing to board, we were one after the other, and I didn't expect that after boarding, our seats would actually be right next to each other.

That does carry a bit of fate's meaning.

So, Lang Hongjun rarely showed a genuine smile, quickly saying: "Oh my, this really is fate! Come on, come on, hurry up and sit down!"

Ye Chen nodded, placed his luggage properly, then sat beside Lang Hongjun, smiling and saying: "Looks like we'll have someone to chat with on this trip."

Lang Hongjun let down his guard toward Ye Chen, curiously asking: "By the way, younger brother, do you know anyone in Mexico this time?"

Ye Chen casually laughed: "What acquaintance? I'm just going to wander around, see if there's any suitable livelihood I can do; if there is, I'll do it; if not, I'll just go back."

Lang Hongjun asked curiously: "Aren't you afraid creditors will come after you if you go back?"

Ye Chen waved his hand: "China is so big—what patch of yellow earth doesn't bury people? When the time comes, I'll first find a place to settle down; maybe there'll still be a chance to make a comeback; by then, I'll pay off my debts, and who knows, I might even return home in glory."

As he spoke, Ye Chen looked at Lang Hongjun and asked again: "By the way, elder brother, what exactly are you going to do in Mexico? Do you have any connections? Could you introduce me to something?"

"Me?" Lang Hongjun sighed, self-mockingly laughing: "What connections do I have? If I had any, I wouldn't have abandoned my wife and children to run off to that damned place in Mexico."

As he spoke, Lang Hongjun lowered his voice and told Ye Chen: "Let me say something from the heart—Mexico, in our Chinese terms, is basically a lawless place; why did that previous president spend so much money building a wall on the border? Wasn't it just to control illegal immigration and drug smuggling over there? Who in their right mind among well-off Americans would come here?"

Ye Chen nodded, curiously asking: "Elder brother, you've said all that, but you still haven't told me exactly what you're going to do there."

Lang Hongjun no longer concealed it, speaking seriously: "To be frank, younger brother, this time I'm going to Mexico to work as a seaman."

"A seaman?" Ye Chen asked curiously: "You mean working on a ship?"

"Yes." Lang Hongjun nodded: "It was introduced by a friend of my mother's, who said the salary and benefits are quite good—one can earn several ten thousand or even over a hundred thousand US dollars a year, but it's also quite hard work."

Ye Chen frowned slightly, unaware that Mei Yuzhen was using the pretense of a seaman job to deceive Lang Hongjun, and what her true purpose behind it was.

But at least one thing is certain: someone as ruthless and vicious as Mei Yuzhen would absolutely not just trick Lang Hongjun into going to Mexico to be a seaman that simply.

Ye Chen remained expressionless and said: "Elder brother, you're supposed to be a top talent—going to sea as a crew member seems like a waste of talent; frankly, you'd be better off returning to China to develop, since domestic development is so fast now, you'd surely find a good way out."

Lang Hongjun's expression froze for a moment, then he sighed: "I haven't not thought about it, but sometimes I just can't bring myself to face it—my relatives, friends, and former classmates all know I emigrated to the US early on, and even brought my elderly mother to the US to enjoy blessings; over these years, whenever they mention our family, it's nothing but envy; if I were to return to China to develop now, I don't know what they'd say behind my back..."

Upon hearing this, Ye Chen smiled faintly and said calmly: "Elder brother, although I'm younger than you, when it comes to right and wrong, I see things more clearly than you do; face is something only considered after one's wife, children, and parents are fed and clothed; you now need to support your family—why bother caring about these things? Does going to Mexico to work as a seaman really save your face?"

Lang Hongjun said with a guilty expression: "Don't hide it from you, younger brother—over these years, I've always felt guilty toward my homeland; you may see I've taken American citizenship and hold an American passport, but in my heart I've always remembered that it was my homeland that nurtured me, that it was my homeland that paid for me to go abroad for further studies, and that I couldn't resist outside temptations, betraying my homeland's trust; you say if I were like them, also becoming a big shot—like a Fortune 500 entrepreneur or executive—I'd also be willing to bring money and return home in glory, donate some money to my alma mater, set up a scholarship fund to help those who can't afford school, which would also count as making amends..."

As he spoke, Lang Hongjun's eyes turned red, and he said sorrowfully: "The key is I'm useless—I can't betray my homeland first, then fail to make it abroad and go back begging my homeland to take me in afterward."