Zhang Han and his family live in an old building on the outskirts of Tokyo. As he heads home, the neighbors, mostly migrant workers, greet him with a nod and a kind smile.
The residents here come from all over. Some arrived from China over a decade ago, while others are from smaller countries like the Philippines and Indonesia. Most of them are struggling to make ends meet, and they rely on one another for support.
The relationships in this community are warm and tight-knit.
Zhang Han's mother moved here to work alongside her older sister, shortly after graduating from technical school at the start of the century. That was almost twenty years ago now.
Zhang Han had never heard his mother speak of his father, but he assumed that such stories were common in a place like this. The tale was always the same— a man and a woman coming together only to part ways eventually.
Many children born under these circumstances ended up in local orphanages, but some women, especially those from rural backgrounds, chose to raise their children on their own.
Zhang Han's mother is no different from the others.
The apartment they rent has two bedrooms and a living room. Zhang Han has his own room, while his mother, Lan He, and his younger sister, Lan Yu, share another. Since Zhang Han was very young, his mother has showered endless love on his younger sister. Everything good in the house seems to be for her.
When they were small, Lan He couldn't take care of both children at once, so she had to send one of them back to her hometown. It was Zhang Han who was sent back. He stayed in a small coastal town on the urban-rural fringe until he started elementary school, at which point his mother brought him back to Tokyo.
While in his hometown, Zhang Han once heard a saying:"Raise sons in poverty, and daughters in wealth."It means that sons should be raised in hardship, so they learn to rely on themselves and fight for their future. Daughters, on the other hand, should be raised in wealth, so they're not easily deceived by small things when they grow up.
Zhang Han believed his mother loved him. The reason she gave him and his sister such different living conditions was likely because of this very principle.
After all, isn't the cost of both schooling and daily life high?Perhaps his mother wasn't as poor as he thought. Maybe she was actually a hidden rich woman.After all, not many people could afford to rent a two-bedroom apartment in the area they lived.
It wasn't until Zhang Han returned to Tokyo and lived with his mother for a few more years that he realized he had overthought it. That kind of story only appeared in amateur online novels. How could something like that happen in real life?
"Mother!""Baby!!""Mom, you work so hard! If I don't go to school anymore, will that make it easier for you?""How could that be possible? Even if I have to sell everything I have, I'll never let you stop going to school!!"
As Zhang Han entered the room, the emotional drama he had seen countless times before began again, right on cue. The two women closest to him were already hugging and crying.
Zhang Han felt a sharp pain in his head.He looked at the two of them, speechless, took a deep breath, and pretended not to notice.After slipping into his slippers, he was about to retreat to his room.
"You heartless little thing, can't you see your mother is crying?"Zhang Han had no choice but to pause, turn back to the sofa, and refocus on the mother and daughter crying together.He grabbed a chair from the corner, pulled it over, sat down across from them, and pretended to listen attentively.
At the sight of Zhang Han's face, the two women who had been crying just moments ago immediately shifted gears and stopped sobbing, smiling instead.
"As the only man in this family, have you ever thought about making some sacrifices and contributing to this family?""I really feel disappointed to have a brother like you!""The school selection fee for each of you is 3 million yen (around 200,000 Chinese yuan). For both of you, that's 6 million. As the eldest son of this family, why can't you make a sacrifice and sign a contract with them? I'm not asking you to do anything illegal, just..."When Ms. Lan said this, she suddenly seemed to stumble over her words."If I call my grandfather and tell him you asked me to become a porn actor, do you think he wouldn't break your legs?"Ms. Lan looked embarrassed."What can we do? With your grades right now, there's no way you'd pass the high school entrance exam even if you went back. And besides, if we don't tell him, how would your grandfather ever know?"Their hometown is in Qi and Lu, a place known for having some of the toughest exams in all of China.With so many talented people in their small county, the high school entrance exam admission rate is under 40%.In other words, it's a success if 4 out of 10 people make it into high school.When Zhang Han was in his hometown, his grades were good enough that getting into high school or even a second-tier university should've been a breeze.But it's been four years since he left his hometown.He studied in Tokyo for four years, and the cultural knowledge, especially subjects like history and biology, is quite different from what they teach in China.With the knowledge he has now, if he were to go back to China and take the exam, he'd be lucky to score anything other than zero on the non-multiple-choice questions.How could he possibly get into high school?Now, the only viable path for Zhang Han and his sister Lan Yu is to attend high school in Tokyo and later enter university.With a diploma from a Tokyo school, it would be much easier to either find a job in Tokyo or return to China for career opportunities.Otherwise, his future would be completely ruined.Tokyo also has its own set of rules.First, there are public and private high schools. Public high schools are cheaper, but they require local household registration.This is the same as in China. For schools funded by the state, the government has to pay a large amount of money.This taxpayers' money is meant for taxpayers, not for outsiders, right?Not to mention someone like Zhang Han, a foreigner. Even an out-of-towner wouldn't be allowed to attend.Private schools, on the other hand, don't have the same restrictions, but they still require a lot of money.Even for locals, tuition isn't cheap. Foreigners like Zhang Han have to pay a hefty school selection fee.3 million yen per person is about the same as Lan He's total income for a year without eating or drinking.How could she have saved up that much while raising two children on her own?If they pooled all the money in the family, they could barely afford the school selection fee for one person."Don't worry about my school selection fee. I'll figure it out myself."Before heading home, Zhang Han had heard from the team coach that several high school coaches were interested in him.He thought this might ease some of the burden on his mother.With that, Zhang Han went back to his room.Lan He wiped away the tears that hadn't even formed and smiled at her daughter beside her."See? It's all taken care of!"Lan Yu looked a bit disappointed. "It's such a waste that he doesn't want to become an actor!"Lan He looked at the closed door and nodded, "Yes, it is."