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Picture丨Visual China
One night in October 2019, he was on a business trip. After drinking party wine, he lay down on the hotel bed and rested. The leader suddenly sent him a WeChat message: I have finished my resignation, I am packing my luggage and I am going to Africa.
Li Changfeng was a little confused when he saw “Going to Africa”. With the leader’s qualifications, it is easy to find high-ranking jobs in major domestic factories. Why does he “go to Africa”? The leader eloquently said that so and so went, so and so did. These people, Li Changfeng, know that they are more famous than him and earn more money than him. They even went to Africa to pan for gold? His mind began to move: “If they all dared to give up domestic opportunities, there must be greater benefits there.”
The next night, Li Changfeng called his father and said that he might change jobs. Father encouraged him to jump if the opportunity is good.
“It may be a little far away,” he said.
“It’s nowhere near Russia.” Father said.
When he heard that his son was going to Africa, his father was stunned for a moment, “Oh, Africa.” As a result, his father stayed up all night. Later, my father checked the situation in Nigeria in detail: there seemed to be no war, and the environment was fair.
Leader introduced Li Changfeng to Nigeria’s top Internet startups. At its peak, there were hundreds of Chinese employees. This company has a grand territory, equivalent to a collection of Didi, Alipay and Meituan Dianping. Its business includes mobile payments, taxi rides, bus ticket purchases, food delivery services, and investment and financial management.
In recent years, since the domestic “traffic pool” has bottomed out, entrepreneurs have to leave their comfort zone to find new depressions. Some people have turned their attention to Africa. Before their arrival, a little-known mobile phone company in China had already trained a group of Internet people. In Lagos, Nairobi, and Addis Ababa, beside the bustling business districts and dilapidated streets, you can see “Tecno”
Li Changfeng asked: Where are the fish you sell? A person stands up at the poker table and raises a few fish from a big bucket, that’s it. According to the “local push” standard of domestic Internet companies, this shop will be ignored directly. But in Lagos, this is the shop. He continued to walk forward. The house was a hasty shed made of iron plates and large tiles. Some put a few colorful wigs at the door, and some small decorations in Yiwu style hung at the door. When walking into a coal store, Li Changfeng saw a circle of children sitting on the ground. The older one is more than ten years old, and the younger one just can walk. The child’s silent and simple gaze made Li Changfeng afraid to look at each other. Work usually starts at 8 or 9 o’clock in the morning, and then ends at 11 or 12 o’clock in the evening, and the bathing usually lasts until the next morning. This kind of high-intensity “floor push” life will give Li Changfeng an illusion: the 35-year-old crisis is gradually disappearing. Beyond work, compared with the people of Lagos, their lives are more comfortable or even luxurious. For a period of time, Li Changfeng was arranged by the company to live in a high-end hotel. A room rate of US$200 a day was equivalent to the income of many locals for several months. On fixed nights every week, the hotel will invite a band to sing. In the clear night, rows of sofa seats are placed on the open-air platform, and hotel guests wearing tailored clothing are scattered in the backrests. The tropical sky is light and clear, the clouds are well-defined, the palm tree bonsai is hung with strings of twinkling small lanterns, and the yellow desk lamp next to the sofa gives off a warm and hazy light. The band sang English songs, and the drum set didn’t seem noisy. Tired from work, Li Changfeng will feel comfortable when he comes here for a drink. But this kind of life cannot last. 4 The sense of novelty began to fade in the first month. Before coming to Africa, Li Changfeng thought he could see the prairie or the mighty migration of animals. Only when I came to know that the prairie is in East Africa and the streets of Lagos in West Africa, only red-tailed lizards with chopsticks can be seen. The only attraction on Victoria Island is the seaside. When Li Changfeng was in the car, he could often see the sea water from the window. Seeing the muddy color, he didn’t yearn for it. “Would you like to go to the beach?” A colleague asked for an appointment on the weekend. He wanted to be in a group and reluctantly agreed, but lacked interest. Blowing the seaIn the past, there were no new flights to the country. Picture丨Xinhua News Agency There are fewer and fewer things to do in life. The only Chinese channels available on TV are Mango International and CCTV News. Some time ago, “The Hidden Corner” was hit, and Li Changfeng bought members on iQiyi. However, when the program is opened, the screen is completely dark with a line of words: “Due to copyright restrictions, the video cannot be viewed in your area.” He uses a razor to shave his head and keeps exercising every day to make his life as normal as possible. Li Changfeng will order some takeaways in the evening. Duck necks and roasted lamb legs are delicious, but the price is discouraging. A duck neck is 2000 naira, which is about 30 yuan, and a duck head is 1000 naira. It is packed in a disposable plastic lunch box for a meal. It took more than 200 yuan. When Li Changfeng had nothing to do in the hotel, it was a different story in China. Internet companies’ stock prices rose during the epidemic, reaching a two-year high. The market value of Pinduoduo has also soared by 146%, and everything seems to have recovered. A colleague from the former boss told him: The salary has been adjusted recently. Li Changfeng had the final say, if he did not go abroad, his income after the salary increase would be considerable. “You know, nowadays, people often say “adverse quotient”, which is the endurance in the face of adversity, and the time has come to test adversity.” Do a small business, live your life honestly, and never toss again. “Africa taught me a profound lesson, that is, there is no gold everywhere.” *At the request of the interviewee, the characters in the text are all aliases. Unless otherwise specified, the pictures are provided by the interviewee.