The Path to Prosperity in the Novel "Me and My Destiny" (2021) by Chinese Writer Liang Xiaosheng

Rodionova Oksana Petrovna ORCID: 0000-0001-9984-0795 PhD in Philology Associate Professor; Faculty of Asian and African Studies; Saint Petersburg State University 7-9-11 Universitetskaya Embankment, Vasileostrovsky district, Saint Petersburg, 199034, Russia o.rodionova@spbu.ru

To date, the latest Chinese literature has more than forty years of development. The 3rd Plenum of the 11th convocation, held in Beijing in December 1978, marked a new beginning for China's movement towards change in almost all spheres of life. The reform policy has profoundly transformed the country and led to a significant increase in the well-being of its residents. The latest Chinese literature, especially its realistic trend, perfectly reflects the challenges facing China in recent decades and ways to overcome them. The older generation of writers, whose life experience allows them to compare life in China before and after 1978, each in their own way reveal topics and issues of concern to the entire Chinese society.

The work of writer Liang Xiaosheng (born 1949), who is the same age as the People's Republic of China, is a good example of reflecting the dynamic life of Chinese society in an era of economic change. In 2019, his three-volume novel "The Journey of a Lifetime" (2017) was awarded the Mao Dun Literary Prize. Soon, a 58-episode TV series of the same name was shot based on this novel, which was broadcast on one of the main Chinese channels and, according to the author himself, became the highest-rated among other television series ^[1]. The reason for this success, in our opinion, in addition to high-quality directorial work, is the rich life experience of the writer, who described three generations of his characters so truthfully and comprehensively that almost every viewer recognized himself or his friends in them.

Liang Xiaosheng's novel "Me and My Destiny" (2021)^[1] is the first work of the writer, written by him after receiving the Mao Dun Prize. This novel also belongs to the realistic genre, but this time it is aimed more at a young reader. It is curious that the work is written in the first person, or rather from the perspective of a girl-a young woman, Fan Wanzhi, who goes through her journey from birth to about forty years old. At some point, the heroine meets two more girls, as a result, the reader has the opportunity to follow how not one, but three human destinies develop at once in the era of building the Chinese economic miracle. It is also very significant that the novel develops on several scenes at once – in a poor mountain village, in a small town in Guizhou province, in Shenzhen, which is literally growing into a modern metropolis, as well as in Shanghai. Such a variety of scenes, the large time span of the plot (1982-2020), as well as the belonging of the heroines to different social strata allow us to explore in the most detailed way one of the main themes of the novel – the path to prosperity in Chinese society in the late twentieth and early twenty–first centuries. The importance of the topic of enrichment and rising living standards for the writer is also confirmed by the fact that on 377 pages of the original text of the novel, the hieroglyph for the word "money" (钱) is used 428 times! For comparison, the hieroglyph for the word "fate" (命), which is included in the title of the novel, is used only 155 times.

The stated theme has its origins in the "reform literature" popular in the 1980s, which was spearheaded by such writers as Jiang Zilong (蒋子龙, b. 1941), Gao Xiaosheng (高,, 1928-1999), Zhang Xianliang (张,, 1936-2014), Zhang Jie (张,, 1937-1922), and others. The first literary experiments were a response to the reforms of Deng Xiaoping (1904-1997), most of which were aimed at combating poverty. In connection with the transition from a planned to a "socialist market economy" in the country, decisions were made to carry out agrarian reform, develop individual entrepreneurship and attract foreign investment. It was Deng Xiaoping's ideas of reform and openness that determined China's development for several decades to come. The second powerful wave of socio-economic transformations in China began with the coming to power in autumn 2012 of Xi Jinping (born 1953), who, repeating the words of Deng Xiaoping, emphasized: "Poverty is not socialism" ^{[2, p. 5]}. I. Y. Zuenko in the monograph "In the era of Xi Jinping"indicates that on November 29, 2012, during a visit to the exhibition with the symbolic title "The Road to Rebirth", Xi Jinping "delivered a speech in which the idea of the "Chinese Dream of the Great Rebirth of the Chinese nation" was formulated ^{[3, p. 283]}. A little later, specific deadlines were set for the implementation of this idea – to create a "rich and powerful, democratic and civilized, harmonious and modern socialist state" by the centenary of the PRC, that is, by 2049. The concept proposed by Xi Jinping is based on "the idea of building a prosperous and powerful state, the dream of national revival and the achievement of universal national welfare" ^{[4, p. 82]}. One of the priorities of the "Chinese dream" (Zhongguo Meng) was the fight against poverty and the building of a "middle-class society" (xiaokan). At the same time, "the Chinese leadership actually made a solemn promise to the people that everything would be done so that the entire population of the country, all strata and nationalities, including, above all, the poor population, would join the Xiaokan society together, that no one would remain outside it!" (quoted in ^{[2, p. 5]}).

As a result, over more than forty years of ongoing reforms, a number of specific documents have been adopted: "1984 - "Notification of the CPC Central Committee and the State Council on support for accelerating the transformation of the appearance of poor areas"; 1994 - "State 7-year Plan to reduce the poor population by 80 million people (1994-2000)"; 2001. - "The program to combat poverty in rural China (2001-2010)"; 2011 - "The program to combat poverty in the Chinese countryside (2011-2020)" (cited in ^{[2, p. 5]}). As L. D. Boni points out in the article "Poverty Eradication in China", at the 5th plenum of the CPC Central Committee of the 18th convocation in 2015, clear criteria for the "threshold" of absolute poverty were formulated and a program was put forward that "guarantees the five most important needs of life - "liange buchou, sangye baozheng" ("two concerns" and "three guarantees"), i.e. do not worry about food and clothing and have 3 guarantees of ensuring a normal life – 9 years of education, basic medical services and housing security" (quoted in ^{[2, p. 9]}).

All these stages and their accompanying directives are reflected in one way or another in Liang Xiaosheng's novel "Me and My Destiny". Its distinctive feature was that in this work, the author, unlike the writers who were at the forefront of reform literature in the 1980s, was able to evaluate not only the beginning, but also the entire era of economic reforms carried out in Chinese society, and he does this from the "height" of the twenties of the XXI century, this allows him to paint a much more voluminous picture and create deeper and more voluminous characters of his characters.

In addition to Liang Xiaosheng, other writers are developing this topic in the latest Chinese literature. For example, it is very poignantly and rather pessimistically realized in Dong Xi's novel (b. 1966) "The Broken Fate" (2015), which also has the word "fate" in its title (命). The main character of this work, no matter how hard he tried, could not change his fate. As a result, at the cost of his own life, he changes the fate of his newborn son, whom he gives to a wealthy family to raise, and, according to the terms of the deal, commits suicide. In connection with the theme of the path to well-being, a number of questions arise in the reflection of Chinese literature: what qualities and skills help overcome difficulties on the path to well-being; how family ties and traditions influence the life choices of characters; how cultural norms shape ideas about wealth and success; whether everything is measured by money; what moral dilemmas have to be solved people on their way to a wealthy lifestyle?

The action of the novel "Me and my Destiny" begins in the fall of 1982. It was then that the main character of the novel, Fan Wanzhi, was born. Her family (parents and two older sisters) live in a remote mountain village. To show all the despair of the impoverished life in the village of those years, the writer reports that before giving birth to their third child, the parents decided to find out the sex of the child with the help of a city fortune teller. He quotes the following passage: "If fortune–telling suddenly showed that I was a girl, then, according to a "pre-approved plan," I would immediately be given to other people. They had agreed on this in advance with two families from the village at the foot of the mountain. One family agreed to pay two bags of sweet potatoes for me; the other agreed to pay thirty or forty tiles. The roof in our house was leaking almost completely, so new tiles were urgently needed. But in the end, the parents decided that it would be more profitable to negotiate with a family that offers sweet potatoes, in which case they would save their grain, and after selling the grain, they would no longer buy thirty or forty tiles, but more" ^{[5, p. 13]}. Fortunately, the heroine was lucky – by the will of fate, her mother was delivered right at the home of the chief midwife of Yuxian, a town located right at the foot of the mountain. Actually, on the same day, the real mother and father left their daughter in this prosperous urban family, realizing that for a newborn child this is the best of all possible options. Fan Wanzhi learns the bitter truth about his origins only at the age of twenty. The first feeling that a girl feels is the strongest pity for herself and for all the villagers.: "I felt sorry for myself. I regretted that even before I was born, my fate had been managed; and I also felt sorry for the residents of Shenxiandin, who in those years suffered so much from poverty..." ^{[5, p. 14]}. Rural poverty is described in unobtrusive details, for example, the party secretary, helping himself to a snake kebab, says "that he can't even remember the last time he ate meat" ^{[5, p. 103]}. Nevertheless, in the early eighties of the twentieth century, the first steps for the better began to take shape in the villages. This is how the year 1982 is described in the novel: "That year, the right to use the land had already been transferred to the peasants, the production teams disappeared and the villages began to be called villages again..." ^{[5, p. 7]}. The transfer of land to the peasants was, perhaps, the most important stage, which set the vector for the entire subsequent benevolent perception of reforms by the people. That's how it's written in the novel: "In 1982, the peasants were waiting for the Day of the Formation of the People's Republic of China more than ever. After all, the land has now passed to the peasants, and the people have finally received the long-awaited freedom to engage in private activities. As for the trade in agricultural products, it was no longer stifled as before, it was even allowed to organize grain sales" ^{[5, p. 17]}.

Then, about ten years apart, the writer uses the example of the most everyday situations to show specific changes in the lives of Chinese citizens. Since the plot takes place simultaneously on urban and rural sites, we have the opportunity to see the problem of the noticeable social stratification of Chinese society and, as a result, the strong contrast between the city and the countryside. This is how, for example, the town and village of the 1993 sample are described: "In 1993, the boom in peasant trips to work reached the village... the whole village of Shenxiandingh looked dilapidated. Young people and older people all went to work as one... Since all the young people, especially the men, had moved away, there was not much one to do construction work in the village. Although the peasants remained the main labor force, however, returning home, they were in no hurry to put their homes in order. Now they have a new vision of the residential ideal – they dreamed of building solid brick buildings with the money they earned, which their children and grandchildren would later inherit. And they had long looked down on their old houses. It's just that at the moment they still did not have enough funds to realize their dream..." ^{[5, pp. 37-38]}. Almost immediately, the main character notices that although at that time she was only in the fifth grade, she felt a strong difference in the speed with which the city and village were changing: "Even though our Yuxian was developing slowly in those years, it was still transformed every year and looked different than before. But in more than ten years, only one change has occurred in Shenxianning – it has become completely abandoned: everything looked as if the residents had decided to abandon it ^{[5, p. 38]}. The appearance of urban and rural residents is also strikingly different. For example, when ten-year-old Fan Wanzhi first arrives with her foster mother in a mountain village, she involuntarily feels like a black sheep: "The village boys spent the whole year outdoors, even the girls here were smoky, like chimney sweeps, but I resembled the most delicate white flower. Almost all of them wore patches, and some had gaping holes without any patches. My clothes, no matter how much I dirty them, still looked too nice and clean. Some children, despite their age, have not yet gone to school ^{[5, p. 36]}.

Then the writer makes a leap again in about ten years and moves us to the same village, but already in 2002: "Ten years have passed, the village has been transformed – fruit trees suddenly appeared in place of fields; all the streets were rolled in cement; brick houses towered here and there, and they were not built of adobe, and the dark gray high-strength bricks and tiles had changed – instead of small fish scales, the roofs now featured large wave-shaped tiles; some houses had already been erected, some were in the process. Both adults and children looked much neater" ^{[5, p. 64]}. When Fan Wenzhi comes from Shenzhen to the village to visit her relatives, one of her sisters is just building a new house, and the other has already built a house. The writer deliberately draws our attention to the improvements in the material well-being of the villagers: "... the people in the village began to live better, people had the opportunity to earn extra money on the side, so the peasants, for whom the very word "money" sounded like a forbidden fruit for several generations in a row, finally took heart" ^{[5, p. 70]}. Fan Wanzhi's middle sister sincerely boasts about the new three-room house, the tiled roof, and at the same time says that now her son has everything that city children can afford. The condition of the village streets also improved noticeably in 2002 – now they are all paved, there were not enough funds only for the mountain road, but as one of the characters notes: "Now the county is collecting the necessary funds to bring it to mind ..." ^{[5, p. 72]}. But, with all this, through the mouth of Fan Wanzhi, the writer always notes a strong difference in the pace of change that occurs in the city and the countryside: "... compared to how the appearance of cities such as Yuxian, Linjiang or Guiyang changed, the improvements in Shenxiang were negligible. If the cities have been "keeping up with the times" over the past decades, then Shenxiandin in this sense has been moving like a snail, which often also "turned in place", barely moving from one house to another" ^{[5, p. 74]}.

Just a year and a half after the heroine's visit to the village, Liang Xiaosheng vividly shows the dramatic leap that is taking place in the appearance of Shenxiandin. In 2004 Fan Wanzhi, having visited his native land, remains under a very pleasant impression: "Shenxiandin has transformed. During the year and a half of my absence, the roads up and down were completely repaired, some of the residents bought minivans and now shuttled between Shenxiang and the village and even offered transportation to the county town. It was necessary to transport both people and goods, there was enough work, and it was possible to earn no less on this than somewhere in a foreign land. Yes, and the residents of Shenxiandin now began to live more comfortably — a trip to the city has become a routine for them. All houses and courtyards have been renovated, and some houses have a second floor. Now the village was clean, and even the square was tiled, with women and children chatting on low stools... The children played with toys, and with toys that their fathers and mothers could not even dream of in childhood" ^{[5, p. 243]}. On the same visit, the girl notices that the village has its own kindergarten – "although not an elite one, it was located at the highest point of the county; it was built with the money of the county council so that adults could safely go to work without worrying about who to leave their children with. Tutors from the county center worked here, whose salaries were paid by the poverty management department" ^{[5, p. 255]}. At some point, the writer puts his optimistic views on positive changes in the life of the village into the mouth of the minibus driver. After learning that Fan Wanzhi came from Shenzhen, he says, "Oh, Shenzhen, did you hear that there used to be a small fishing village there? Soon our village will turn into a town, and in a few more years it will probably surpass Shenzhen" ^{[5, p. 243]}. The passengers laugh together in response, realizing that only the settlements supervised by the Central Committee are developing rapidly. But the driver does not give up and retorts with the following passage: "Isn't our county the first in the fight against poverty? If the province is responsible for us, then the Central Committee is needed! So we can assume that we have been "circled"!" ^{[5, p. 244]}.

Positive changes in the appearance of the village occur on the pages of this novel even earlier than the officially announced plans in this area. According to Litvinova, "in March 2018, plans were announced to improve infrastructure, water and electricity supply, information services, and, in addition, the construction and reconstruction of 200,000 km of rural roads" ^{[4, p. 84]}. Meanwhile, the heroine of the novel, Fan Wanzhi, who came to the village in 2004, notes positive changes in the very faces and behavior of the residents, who now "were not averse to chatting and laughing" ^{[5, p. 244]}. She hadn't seen anything like this in the last two visits. Back then, both adults and children looked sullen and unsociable. Immediately, the writer adds on behalf of the heroine: "Secretly, I was happy both for the residents of Shenxiandin and for both of my relatives. It is necessary to know that people hardened by poverty often completely lose all ability to cheat. For those who have been living in extreme poverty for a long time, their IQ is practically reduced to zero" ^{[5, p. 247]}. The author cites the exemption of villagers from land tax as one of the reasons for such significant changes. Moreover, they were allowed to grow whatever they want, so now the Shenxiandingans began to grow tea instead of grain. Every day, the village tea factory sent a car to Shenxiandin, which took the raw materials, while "paying the villagers in cash right on the spot" ^{[5, p. 244]}. Due to the fact that the writer identified the mayor of the city as Fan Wanzhi's adoptive father, various kinds of political and economic attitudes of that time sound from his mouth. In particular, this is how we learn about the "Government Work Report" following the 2006 sessions, which officially announced a historic event for China – the abolition of the agricultural tax. We also hear phrases from him about working to eradicate poverty in villages: "Governments at all levels are really doing a lot to eradicate poverty and suffering from the people step by step"; "their lives are also changing: girls have started wearing gold chains and rings; guys can afford mopeds; smokers with simple tobacco has been switched to cigarettes; university students have appeared among the youth; among those leaving for work there are those who have acquired certain skills and become a good specialist..." ^{[5, p. 327]}. Among the signs of modern times, we also find mention of a state educational project to help children from villages called "Hope"^[2]. One of the heroes of the novel helped build one of the schools in the mountainous Guizhou region as part of this project.

It should be recalled that the fight against poverty was set as the main task of the 13th five-year plan (2016-2020). The most important role in this was played by the difficult experience of Xi Jinping, who, at the age of 15, together with all the educated youth of New China, took part in the "up to the mountains, down to the villages" campaign to to undergo ideological re-education among the poorest peasants and middle peasants. The book "Xi Jinping and his Stories about Overcoming Poverty in China" details the important role played by his seven years of work experience in the village of Liangjiahe. "Not understanding the countryside, not understanding life in poor areas, not understanding peasants, especially poor peasants, means not really knowing China, not understanding China, and not being able to manage it properly" ^{[6, p. 2]}. These and other statements by Xi Jinping about the countryside and its inhabitants give a powerful impetus to the systematic transformations that are actively and everywhere being carried out in rural areas. As L. D. Boni reports in his article: "Practically all government bodies at different levels, local governments of economically more developed areas, state–owned enterprises, as well as some large enterprises of non-social forms of ownership, are all connected to specific poor areas, counties, villages and serve as bosses and participants in the fight against poverty" ^{[7, p.. 11]}.

The contrast to the rustic background is the dynamically developing Shenzhen. Having become the first special economic zone (SEZ) in 1980, this city played, without exaggeration, a key role in Chinese economic reforms. As you know, Shenzhen has grown into a megacity from a small fishing village and has become not only an exemplary model for other FEZs, but also a symbol of the Chinese economic miracle. As Zhang Hongsheng and Li Mingan note, "Shenzhen has become a historical category and an important image that carries people's ideas about modernity and a better life" ^{[8, p. 124]}. The same researchers say that for Shenzhen, which initially had fewer than 300,000 people, but more than 20 million people came from other provinces, the modernization of the city and its impact on people's lives and spirits should become the most unique literary resource (see for more details ^{[8, p. 127]}).

In this novel, Shenzhen appears as a city of great opportunities, which attracts young people even more strongly than Beijing, Shanghai or Nanjing. This is how Liang Xiaosheng writes about it: "In 2002, life in Shenzhen was already in full swing. Much of the news that influenced China's reform and opening-up policies spread throughout the country from Shenzhen. Guizhou Province, as before, developed slowly and remained economically backward. When students of small universities... discussed plans for the future, it was often Shenzhen that flashed through their conversations, not Beijing, Shanghai or Nanjing. Of course, everyone dreamed of getting to megacities, but at the same time they understood perfectly well that it was oh so difficult to get caught there. In this sense, Shenzhen offered many excellent prospects, so it was a priority for graduates" ^{[5, p. 79]}. When twenty-year-old Fan Wanzhi is faced with several challenges in her personal life, she drops out of university without much hesitation and flies to Shenzhen.

Page by page, we observe how the appearance of this young city is changing, while it should be noted that Liang Xiaosheng romanticizes it. Fan Wanzhi's first impression of Shenzhen was that there were songs everywhere.: "Since tape recorders were 'contraband goods' here, they cost much less than in other places in China; as for the songs, they were mostly performed by popular stars from Hong Kong and Taiwan. Even small hairdressers put their speakers on the street" ^{[5, p. 80]}. The second thing that catches your eye is the practically empty streets and at the same time a huge number of construction sites: "During the day, all the people mostly worked at the construction site or somewhere nearby, so the city seemed deserted, pedestrians practically did not meet" ^{[5, p. 80]}. The main workforce here was young people, mostly from the northeast of China.: "In the northeast, the number of people laid off still did not decrease: according to Yao Yun, three generations of her family used to work at a large state-owned factory. Her grandfather retired, but did not receive timely payments, and she and her father were fired at the same time" ^{[5, p. 120]}. Other excerpts also suggest that, against the background of production problems in other parts of China, the situation in Shenzhen was exactly the opposite: "At that time, from the mouths of various visitors, I only heard about a complete shutdown of production, then about idle enterprises, then about bankruptcy, then about layoffs; between Meanwhile, in Shenzhen, I found information everywhere about the launch of production and the emergence of new industries, or advertising for all kinds of vacancies. Everywhere you looked, from the center to the outskirts, all the way to the suburbs, towering skyscrapers caught your eye. Despite the holidays, work continued on several construction sites. It was safe to say that the so-called suburbs would very soon turn into new areas of the metropolis..." ^{[5, p. 138]}. This "city pulsating with life-giving energy" conquered the main character once and for all. He reminds her of "a promising young man whose bright future is beyond doubt" ^{[5, p. 138]}, or a growing girl who "became more interesting and more beautiful every day" ^{[5, p. 319]}.

The author pays attention not only to the appearance of the city, but also to its qualitative characteristics. In this regard, the novel has a whole plot about how the first residents of Shenzhen received a residence permit. Since Shenzhen was considered a special economic zone, strict attention was paid to the level of education from the very beginning, for example, to obtain a residence permit, one had to pass a special exam. Thanks to this, the novel says, "the young city has the opportunity to retain the best specialists from all fields" ^{[5, p. 148]}. As a result, the main character successfully passes the exam and receives a Shenzhen residence permit, which automatically raises her in the eyes of others to a new level.

Another characteristic feature of the city is its attention to public order. In those years, Shenzhen was actively fighting pornography, gambling and drugs. Several times in the pages of the novel, we see police raids on hotels. In this sense, the scene of police officers communicating with Fan Wanzhi, who already had a Shenzhen residence permit, is interesting. When the police entered her room, Fan Wanzhi respectfully handed over her identity card and permanent residence permit, the policeman "immediately stood at attention and politely saluted" ^{[5, p. 171]} – among the thirty-odd guests, only she had a permanent residence permit, and this aroused involuntary respect.

As noted earlier, on the pages of the novel, the writer brings people of different social statuses together. For example, Fan Wanzhi's close friend, Li Juan, is ashamed of her rural background and sincerely remarks, "I hate it when people ask me where I'm from. More often than not, I just say that I'm from Heilongjiang Province, but some people keep asking me where exactly. Then I have to admit that I'm from the village. Alas, I will never be reborn in this life..." ^{[5, p. 171]}. Sometimes she jokingly remarks that her "rural brethren have a completely different attitude to money than those who got the deputy mayor as their fathers" ^{[5, p. 204]}. Naturally, different statuses become a real test for the friendship of girls who sincerely respect and love each other, but at the same time they are always forced to take into account the circumstances that fate initially predetermined for them. Responding to Fan Wanzhi's offer to financially invest in the common cause, Li Juan says literally the following: "We weren't supposed to become friends at all, have you ever thought about it? Who are you, after all? The mayor's daughter! What kind of environment did you grow up in? Don't you realize that you grew up with a halo? And I've been growing up among the poor since I was a child! I've long been used to their gossip, petty squabbles, intrigues, and duplicity.… As for you, even if you spend all the money, your dad, the mayor, will just say, they say, we'll assume that this is tuition. If you suddenly feel tired, you can return to Yuxian.… You can also settle in Linjiang, in the apartment of your dad, the mayor, I think its area is at least one hundred and fifty squares. But where would I go if something went wrong and I was left penniless? If I go home and stay there for at least six months without going to work, what will happen to my family?... Friendship with you, Fan Wanzhi, is a real test, do you think it's easy for me to be your friend?" ^{[5, pp. 208-209]}. This kind of test of relationships is faced by many residents of modern China, one of the main signs of which is active urbanization. The topic of fighting poverty and strong social stratification worries the writer so much that at some point he puts his thoughts into the thoughts of Fan Wanzhi, lying right on the operating table: "Some part of the Chinese population still lives in villages, these are our compatriots, whose monthly income is about a thousand yuan. Among those who have moved to the city, there are many people who lived in villages yesterday or the day before yesterday – all this makes relations within the vast majority of Chinese people far from easy. I wholeheartedly support the provision of comprehensive assistance to the poor in the villages.…I witnessed how "green mountains and emerald waters" turn into "untold treasures," and Shenxiandin became an excellent example of this" ^{[5, p. 376]}. It should be noted that the expression "green mountains and emerald waters are untold treasures" mentioned by the heroine is a concept put forward by Xi Jinping in 2005, when he served as secretary of the Zhejiang Provincial party committee. Its main idea is to combine economic development with environmental protection activities.

Another interesting point was that the writer comes up with a short story, thanks to which the reader observes the successes of mainland China through the eyes of Taiwanese residents. For example, the owner of an investment company, Mr. Geng, dreams of transplanting tea bushes from Taiwan to the mountains of mainland China and thus obtaining a new type of tea. At the same time, he considers investing in Guizhou Province to help its residents overcome poverty as his mission. He literally says the following: "If earlier my wife and I considered ourselves first of all Taiwanese, and then Chinese, now we consider ourselves first of all Chinese, and then Taiwanese. China's achievements have attracted the attention of the whole world, and we are happy for the mainland" ^{[5, p. 368]}. This kind of targeted assistance, shown in Liang Xiaosheng's novel, demonstrates the real steps that were actively being taken in China at that time. For example, as Y. G. Litvinova points out: "In October 2015, a movement called "10 thousand enterprises will help 10 thousand villages" was launched, and more than 60 thousand private enterprises participated in it" ^{[4, p. 83]}.

I. Y. Zuenko's book "China in the Era of Xi Jinping" provides a detailed overview of the changes that have taken place in China since Xi Jinping came to power in 2012. And even though the scale of social stratification is still high these days, the problem of overcoming poverty has been solved as a whole. According to the author, in the spring of 2021, Beijing announced "the complete overcoming of poverty in all administrative-territorial units of the country" ^{[3, p. 94]}. Specific figures are also given here that poverty in China means an income of less than $2 per day (see for more details ^{[3, p. 94]}).

Next, we propose to analyze the ways in which the heroines of the novel go to prosperity. As noted above, the reader has the opportunity to follow three fates at once. Let's start with the main character, Fan Wanzhi. Once in Shenzhen, the first thing Fan Wanzhi does is look for a job: "The first job I found was at a construction site far from the city. Since I didn't have a college degree, I couldn't find a job in an office building for the so-called "white collar workers."… I signed my first employment contract with the canteen that worked at the construction site – I was appointed an assistant cook. Helping the cook was to do whatever work you were asked to do. My monthly salary was two and a half thousand yuan, which was a thousand more than any ordinary worker on the mainland. Moreover, there was a bonus at the end of the year for good work here. Imagining that I would now earn two and a half thousand dollars every month, I signed the contract in such excitement that my hands were shaking and my heart almost jumped out of my chest" ^{[5, p. 81]}.

It is there that Fan Wanzhi meets two girls, whose fates are later intertwined with her own. To understand the dedication with which the Chinese work, suffice it to say that the canteen, in which the cook and his son and three assistants worked, provided three meals a day for a construction crew of one hundred and thirty people. The writer does not skimp on the most detailed descriptions of physical labor: "Our hands, except at night, were almost constantly soaked in water – they had to wash vegetables, wash rice, clean all kinds of kitchen utensils, and wash plates... To cook dinner alone, it was necessary to wash about eighty jins of rice; it was not possible to do this manually, so a spatula was used here. When I did it for the first time, after a few minutes my breath caught and my hands almost fell off. But most of all, the pies finished us off. Usually, each of the guys ate seven of them... so if you count the total number, you would need to stick about a thousand pies. At noon, it was necessary not only to wash a whole mountain of vegetables, but also to have time to chop them all before the end of the work shift, because the guys were so exhausted at the construction site that they collapsed from fatigue after work and went to bed without even having dinner" ^{[5, p. 84]}. As F. Williams reports in the collection of articles "Voices of Asian Literature", urban employers preferred to hire rural migrants because of their endurance in difficult and sometimes dangerous working conditions, who could work all day with little or no overtime pay ^{[9, p. 368]}.

With all this, the girls show amazing resilience, it seems that they never leave the persistent desire to earn even more money. For example, when the weekend is coming up in connection with the Day of Education of the People's Republic of China, the girls decide to work as singers in street restaurants in Shenzhen. An illustrative case is how on the last day of their part-time job, a gust of wind blew away as much as five hundred yuan. They caught something, but two hundred-dollar bills got into the truck, which was filling with cement at that time. Despite this, the girls rushed for the money right into the cement muck. They never managed to return the hundred yuan, which is why Fan Wanzhi laments.: "And we were grieving not because of the lost hundred yuan, but because of the difficult relationship that migrants have with money. After that incident, we became even closer to each other" ^{[5, p. 91]}. Another revealing passage characterizing the migrants is how they defended the well-deserved prize, which they were going to be deprived of. In order to receive money, the girls went to a trick and, armed with bottles allegedly containing toxic chemicals, staged a suicide attempt. As you can see, all three heroines are united by an urgent vital need to earn money. After the end of the contract, the girls break up for a while, each choosing her own path to enrichment and prosperity.

Fang Wanzhi gets a job as a nurse at the hospital for a while. A little later, she has a dream about a Shenzhen residence permit. To do this, she goes through three interviews and eventually gets a job at a packaging factory, which gives her the right to take a single exam for "resident quality." Registration also required a letter of recommendation from an organization with six months of work experience. Having managed to get to the head of the workshop during this time, in 2003 Fan Wanzhi gets a residence permit in Shenzhen. Her next serious goal is to obtain a certificate of graduation from the evening university. In the same year, she is registered on the Shenzhen stock Exchange. As a result, everything is going more than well for her here.: "For fifty thousand yuan, I bought five shares, which in the next two months, either slowing down or actively increasing their growth, steadily rose in price. At the same time, the value of one of the shares increased from ten to almost eighty thousand" ^{[5, p. 160]}. Finally, with the proceeds from the shares, she buys a room in which, together with her friend, Li Juan, she arranges housing and a supermarket. The supermarket was opened in January 2004. Recall that this happened just four years after the main character moved to Shenzhen. This is how her own assessment of achievements sounds, as well as her understanding of the value of friendship: "I remember when I first arrived in Shenzhen and huddled in the back of a truck with Li Juan and Qianqian, there was no turning around at all. Who would have thought that after a little over a year, Lijuan and I would open our own mini-market, and we would no longer need to spend money on rental housing. Now I appreciated my working life with gratitude and was doubly imbued with love for Li Juan. If I didn't have a Yuan in my life, would I dare to become a little boss? Even if I had such a desire and the necessary amount of money, I would not have the courage and strength to do such a thing!" ^{[5, pp. 220-221]}. In this connection, F.'s idea is interesting.Williams, who analyzes the images of migrant workers in Chinese literature of the early twentieth century. Using the example of Lao She's novel "Rickshaw", he points out that in the literature of the 1920s and 1930s, migrant workers were often portrayed as a somewhat "passive" character, "without any kind of master plan" ^{[9, p. 49]}. According to him, writers preferred images of migrants that downplayed the importance of family and other ties for adapting to a new environment. As a result, such migrants "are exposed to forces much greater than themselves" ^{[9, p. 49]}.

In Liang Xiaosheng's novel, we see a completely different picture, the girls have a clear plan and strategy for its implementation. Already in 2006, the friends expanded their business and rented a new retail space, and opened a pharmacy in place of the old one, which had already been bought out. It is noteworthy that in the construction of fate, the writer notes not only the role of money, but also the inner circle. In this sense, Fang Wanzhi was lucky not only with her friend, but also with her husband. Towards the age of thirty, she moved to Shanghai and got a job at an investment company, where she was appointed project manager for the cultivation of a new variety of tea in Shenxiandin – in the very village from where she was from. Such a looping plot twist in a sense demonstrates Fan Wanzhi's mission, which is seen not so much in his own enrichment as in improving the well-being of his fellow countrymen. All these achievements take place against the background of the heroine's struggle with cancer. Nevertheless, reflecting on her fate, she admits to herself: "I am happy in love, I have a wonderful family and wonderful friends – and these are the three main riches in a person's life, what more could I ask for?" ^{[5, p. 376]}.

Li Juan, who became a close friend of Fan Wanzhi, has a slightly different fate. Her path turned out to be bumpier due to unfavorable starting conditions. She is responsible for caring for her elderly parents and sick brother, who live in a remote village in the northeastern province of Heilongjiang. The death of a loved one, which destroyed her personal life, added financial obligations to his relatives. However, thanks to her selfless work, love of life and special business acumen, she achieves great success. The friendship with Fang Wanzhi also played a role. At some point, wanting to earn more money, Li Juan gets a job as a nightclub manager, but Fang Wanzhi, realizing all the temptations of easy earnings, persuades her to first go to work in a factory, and then offers to invest in a common cause. Step by step, they build their way to prosperity together and quickly gain financial well-being. After Fan Wanzhi's departure to Shanghai, Li Juan, in addition to a supermarket and pharmacy, also opens a clothing store in Shenzhen. By this time, she is transporting her younger brother to Shenzhen and buying a "sixty-plus-square-meter apartment" for herself and her brother on credit. Her motto in life is "if you want to live, be able to spin." This attitude leads to the fact that by the age of forty, she also takes over the management of a transport company, and also becomes a member of the People's political advisory council, and in addition, the deputy chairman of the Chamber of Commerce of one of the Shenzhen districts.

The third girl named Qianqian has a completely different life path. Working as an assistant in a canteen on a construction site, she accepts the attentions of the cook's son and eventually discovers that she is pregnant. After completing the contract, she and the father of the unborn child leave for his village, where she marries and gives birth to a son. However, she soon meets a rich man, becomes his mistress and leaves her husband and child, buying them off with money. She spends almost a year in Europe leading a bohemian lifestyle, after which she finally meets with her friends in Shenzhen. During this meeting, a terrible incident occurs – she is tracked down by her abandoned husband, who accidentally wounds Li Juan with a knife in a general scuffle. As a result, Lijuan loses one kidney after a complicated operation, and Qianqian, realizing the tragedy of the situation, pays her compensation for treatment, and also acquires the rights to the store's property for her. The writer does not say anything about the future fate of Qianqian, but the storyline involving this character is important because it highlights the moral dilemmas facing the inhabitants of modern China in the best possible way.

Each of the girls finds herself in a situation of moral choice on the way to enrichment and is forced to compromise to one degree or another with her ideas of what is worthy and unworthy. First of all, let's pay attention to Fang Wanzhi's contradictory attitude towards money. According to her, she "worshipped and hated them at the same time." Once in Shenzhen, she observes how the migrants "are ready to burn all the bridges behind them, just to move forward, paving more and more new paths – the power of money in this hot region manifested itself in all its glory..." ^{[5, p. 125]}. At the same time, she herself is still not ready to accept the new era. She explains it as follows: "Before coming to Shenzhen... my respect for people was never measured by money. Moreover, one of the conditions for my respect for others was that they should talk less about money. If they kept touching on this topic, I immediately classified them as "down-to-earth philistines." When I left my native province, I often saw people groveling in front of some of their fellow men, respecting them and being proud to get to know them just because they were rich, even if it was a casual acquaintance. When faced with reality, my value orientations were constantly shattered" ^{[5, p. 125]}. This kind of disorientation is understandable, because Fan Wanzhi finds herself involved in two different social groups at the same time – her adoptive parents belonged to the intelligentsia class, and at the first stage she decided to link her life with trade. As N. A. Speshnev notes in his book "The Chinese: Peculiarities of National Psychology": "The Chinese attitude to money is traditional and based on ethical norms. The proverb says: "An intelligent person (shidafu) is ashamed to talk about benefits." There is a certain paradox here. It is well known that, say, a merchant always thinks about personal gain, but merchants do not belong to the shidaf. The Chinese intelligentsia is somewhat wary of wealth, fame, and power" ^{[10, p. 272]}.

Having entered an independent life, Fan Wanzhi becomes more practical. She feels that she has changed in many ways, now one of her traits is "greed for money." She has a real reverence for money every now and then and can't do anything about it. Sometimes she fiddles with money just to dispel depressing thoughts – she straightens the corners of paper bills, wraps the coins in new paper. "What a wonderful thing money is," she muses, "even if you just look at it and don't spend it, it still brings pleasure" ^{[5, p. 228]}. It's funny that during the sisterhood vow, which is pronounced by friends, they are overwhelmed with mercantile interests, but they have a sense of proportion: "I want us not to think about huge wealth and influence when making money, but at the same time we would get our pot of gold. May our stream of money flow for a long time and never run dry. I ask ... that we become well-off people as soon as possible, who have a house, a car and several million savings..." ^{[5, p. 226]}. Working in the supermarket, during the day, the girls only dream of how to fork out to customers so that none of them leaves without spending at least a hundred yuan, and in the evenings they sit opposite each other and, counting the money earned, make new plans.

At the same time, having comprehended the "self-sufficiency" of money, Fan Wanzhi involuntarily feels disgusted by it. According to her, it was "disgust mixed with fear – the fear that their "self-sufficiency" surpasses everything that is possible" ^{[5, pp. 97-98]}. Overcome by conflicting feelings, she desperately exclaims, "Money, money, this damn money... I really don't understand exactly how to treat it. Nevertheless, I was very grateful for my money – the funds that lay on my two savings books provided me, a girl who came to work, with a completely cloudless and decent life! So it would be too arrogant of me to turn up my nose at money ^{[5, p. 126]}. At the same time, it is important to note that Fan Wanzhi clearly understands the line that cannot be crossed and demands the same from a friend who got a job as a manager in a nightclub.

Li Juan, unlike Fan Wanzhi, does not have any airbag. The difficult financial situation gives her an appropriate attitude towards possible side jobs. When a friend reproaches her for working in a nightclub, Lijuan replies, "I didn't do anything obscene. In this regard, I am as pure as you are. So I don't think I've embarrassed you. The only thing I did was keep company at the table and sing songs... I have never stooped to beg money from men, but if they are willing to reward me, I accept it with pleasure" ^{[5, p. 180]}. Lijuan feels much more free in his choice of earnings. She is ready to work hard and save money just so that her parents have time to live a normal life for at least a few years, so that her younger brother gets a family, so that the son of her deceased lover goes to university. According to Fan Wanzhi, "she earns and saves every yuan not for herself, but for others" ^{[5, p. 261]}. She sees this as her main moral duty.

Qianqian, unlike her friends, focuses solely on herself. She's the kind of person who gets what she wants at any cost. Having met a rich man, she realizes that a new relationship is difficult to call worthwhile: "I'm just a lover who clings to a married man, he supports me. But I am extremely happy about this state of affairs. Choosing between an idle life and a grueling job, I definitely chose the former and I will never regret it. Moreover, he loves me and is ready to spend money on me. He gave Liu Zhu two hundred thousand to let me go. Two hundred thousand, isn't that enough? Besides, I left this toddler to the Liu family, who wouldn't let me sleep for more than a year, so I'm definitely the one who got hurt!" ^{[5, p. 285]}. Such selfishness is only slightly brightened by her attitude towards old friendships. Awash in money, Qianqian invites her friends to take a walk with her to Hong Kong and Macau, as well as Singapore, Malaysia, Thailand and Japan at her expense. "You are my sisters," she says, "so take advantage of this opportunity, let it be to your advantage" ^{[5, p. 266]}.

As you can see, the understanding of what is "possible" and what is "impossible" is different for each of the heroines, and it depends, first of all, on their upbringing and values, which are usually laid down in the family. Reflecting on morality and the process of forming a "good person" in this novel, Han Wenyi, a researcher at Beijing University of Language and Culture, notes: "Creating the image of a 'good man' in literary works and spreading the culture of a 'good man' has long been Liang Xiaosheng's creative ambition. The heroine Fan Wanzhi in the novel "Me and my Life" continues to embody the above ideas" ^{[11, p. 14]}. Let's add that Fan Wanzhi carries a charge of such traditional values as love for one's neighbor, the ability to make friends, and the desire to help those who need it.

As for the Chinese perception of well-being, their traditional attitude to wealth and power plays an important role here. As you know, wealth is included in the "five manifestations of happiness", as evidenced by such an ancient monument as "Shujing". In addition to wealth, the manifestations of happiness included: longevity, health of the body and peace of mind, love of chastity and a peaceful death (see for more details ^{[10, p. 271]}. The novel clearly shows the connection between traditional culture and modernity in relation to money. For example, one of the heroines is very strictly guided by the attitudes accepted by the people, so she says: "Money issues should be clearly resolved even between siblings, this has been the case for centuries. I've never heard that the brothers were at odds with each other because of agreements! But I have heard how siblings who did not agree on how they would share the profits became enemies!" ^{[5, p. 208]}. In addition, the novel contains intertextual inserts pointing to specific plots from the ancient history of China, which perfectly demonstrate the attitude of the Chinese to financial issues. For example, one of the heroines recalls a story called "Qin Qiong lays a mace", the wisdom of which is that "the lack of a copper makes even a hero helpless" ^{[5, p. 126]}. The novel also reproduces a story from "Strange Stories from the Office of a Loser" by Pu Songlin (1640-1715). It tells the story of a hunter, whose name was the Seventh Fellow. His mother became restless whenever a rich acquaintance of her son wanted to do him good or help him financially. The seventh Young man could not figure out why, and then his mother explained to him: "Rich people pay others with their money, poor people pay others with their own loyalty" ^{[5, p. 206]}. In this novel, there was also a mention of the God of Wealth, Caishen, who is traditionally worshipped by the Chinese (see for more details ^{[5, p. 226]}).

Reading the novel, one can see the attitude of the Chinese towards gifts and offerings, while the writer points out that in modern China there are a number of restrictions dictated by political and economic interests. For example, recalling his childhood, Fan Wanzhi says: "In those years, there was no "eight-point rule", accepting any offerings other than money was not considered any "corruption". On the ground, there was no distinction between what was considered "decomposition" and what was considered normal "human relations"... Sometimes on New Year's holidays our pantry was filled to capacity with all kinds of products that it was no longer possible to give to someone" ^{[5, p. 49]}. Recall that when Xi Jinping came to power in 2012, he "launched a large-scale anti-corruption campaign" ^{[3, p. 36]}. However, no matter what laws are passed, in relationships between people, already ingrained values often prevail, which cause appropriate behavioral reactions. Judging by the content of the novel, even in the 2010s, gifts and bribes among officials and entrepreneurs have not gone away. Nevertheless, the writer draws our attention to the fact that the heroine is actively fighting against such phenomena. A striking sign of the new era is the mention in the text of the so-called disciplinary commissions^[3]: "I also encountered extortion of bribes both directly and in disguise. It seems that in order to fulfill a certain point of the project, I absolutely needed to oil someone up. Of course, I had some start-up capital that I could manage at my discretion, but this kind of mediocre spending greatly cooled my ardor. Signing my name, I reported the illegal actions to disciplinary commissions at all levels. As a result, some bosses were punished by imposing penalties, and some were even dismissed from their posts. Well, that's how I made enemies" ^{[5, p. 370]}. As O. Y. Adams notes, with the coming to power of Xi Jinping in China, "a new concept of fighting corruption was put forward... In 2014, 31,000 cases of corruption and bribery were considered by courts at all levels, and 44,000 people were sentenced" ^{[12, p. 213]}.

In addition, having become the head of the investment project, Fan Wanzhi refuses lavish banquets with officials, which is also a sign of the new age. Similar descriptions can be found in the novels of the 21st century by other Chinese writers. For example, the process of the rebirth of power is clearly reflected in the novel by Liu Zhenyun (b. 1958). "Children of the Herd Age" (2017). In the text of the novel, we find passages that speak directly about the fight against corruption and a luxurious lifestyle.: "Over the past few years, the Central Committee has approved the so-called "eight rules", according to which officials were prohibited from excessive gluttony..." ^{[13, pp. 148-149]}; "Since it was a business visit, there was no alcohol at lunch, so Li Anban made several toasts, raising a cup of tea" ^{[13, c. 172]}.

On the other hand, the heroine of the novel "Me and My Destiny" is clearly aware of the simple truth: whoever has money is worshipped. This is evident in ordinary everyday scenes. As soon as the two friends realized that now their mutual friend Qianqian, thanks to the money that had fallen on her, had a much higher social status, the roles of the girls in communicating with her immediately changed. Here's how Fan Wanzhi feels about this: "I noticed that our relationship had changed – when the three of us worked as kitchen assistants, the role of the eldest belonged to Juan, while me and Qianqian always obeyed her. But now Qianqian was in charge... For example, when she offered to take a keepsake photo, we immediately joined her, leaving a place for her in the center.… When we took a picture, I immediately took Qianqian's camera and hung it on my shoulder... In turn, Juan bought an umbrella and now wore it over Qianqian, explaining that she had the same white skin that should be protected and hidden from the sun" ^{[5, pp. 266-267]}.

On the other hand, the Chinese realize that they have a certain right to receive material benefits from rich acquaintances or relatives. And this also has to do with traditional Chinese culture, in which it is customary to take care of loved ones. This is how it is reflected in the text: "There was a saying among the people: when a person comprehends the Tao and ascends the mountains, his animals follow him. It contains a hint that if someone in the family makes a successful career and gets a high position, then each of his relatives, be it a gatekeeper or a palanquin bearer, basks in the rays of his glory, feeling like an important person" ^{[5, p. 125]}.

Throughout the novel, Liang Xiaosheng examines issues of poverty or wealth not on their own, but in close connection with family values and the support that relatives and fellow countrymen traditionally provide to each other in China. The so–called Guanxi connections and acquaintances play an important role here. As Professor N. A. Speshnev points out, "the regulator of Guanxi is a phenomenon such as renqing, which has several meanings: first, it is human feelings, and secondly, the amount of benefits (favors, pleasantries) of a material, social or emotional nature that one person can provide to another and return which (or their equivalent), he has the right to count at the appropriate moment" ^{[10, p. 138]}. In a novel of this kind, Guanxi is demonstrated by the writer using the example of the girls' acquaintance with Fan Wanzhi's countryman, Zhang Jiagui, who provides them with all possible assistance, both material and emotional. As a result, when he falls seriously ill, Li Juan marries him out of the kindest intentions and takes care of him until his death.

However, the topic of human relationships is not unambiguous. The author constantly demonstrates both the pros and cons of communication between poor and well-off relatives. First of all, the writer talks about the importance of starting conditions for a person. The foster family in which the main character grew up was not only well-off, but also reputable. Accordingly, the parents used their influence to help their daughter achieve certain heights in life. For example, Fang Wanzhi enrolled in the best school in the city, and only after graduating from it did she find out that she was actually missing seven or eight points. As for financial well-being, the heroine herself, recalling her childhood and youth, admits: "While I was in school, I did not know the denial of money and did not lack anything. To put it another way… I could get almost any item if it wasn't from the fantasy world and had already been produced somewhere" ^{[5, p. 48]}. Moreover, the foster mother even worried about her daughter's future and, before her death, handed her two savings books: one contained more than twenty thousand yuan from a neighbor's grandmother who helped raise Fan Wanzhi, and the other contained almost one hundred thousand personal savings.

The attitude towards family values, which has been formed in Chinese culture for centuries, reveals one immutable truth – relatives simply have to help each other. Sometimes this kind of duty is brought to the point of comedy. This brings to mind the very beginning of Liu Zhenyun's novel "I am not Pan Jinlian" (2012), in which the main character Li Xuelian seeks help from a judge who is her distant relative, and so distant that the writer deliberately stretches out the explanation of kinship by half a page of Chinese text (see for more details (14, p. 4) A similar situation occurs in Liang Xiaosheng's novel. When Fan Wanzhi, who has learned the truth about her origins, comes to the village to meet her relatives, they perceive her as a potential assistant. Here, for example, is what her middle sister tells her daughter when Fan Wanzhi visits their house for the first time: "... she's your own aunt! Her father is a big boss, her mother is a famous person, so you have relatives from a noble family, you and your brother have a great future!... Quickly write down your aunt's address, and you will write letters to her from all of us, otherwise she will forget about our family, and where else will you find such an aunt?" ^{[5, p. 71]}. Since then, Fang Wanzhi has been burdened with endless problems from people she "didn't know" but who called her their relative. Knowing that her father was the mayor, the "relatives" asked her to settle one problem or another for them. And since the husbands of both sisters were also considered relatives, the number of sufferers grew exponentially. Sometimes their arrogance is simply discouraging: relatives and fellow countrymen are waiting for the girl either next to the dormitory or at the entrance to the auditorium. They justify their behavior as follows: "Who asked you to be one of ours?" ^{[5, p. 77]}. As a result, it was because of them that the heroine, without completing her studies, decided to run away from the university.

At the same time, in the course of the narrative, the writer shows how Fan Wanzhi's attitude towards relatives is gradually changing. At first, she is overwhelmed by confusion and even disgust at her role as a savior, because at first she really could not do much to help them. When she came to the village for the first time, she just wanted to make sure that "she could live with a calm heart in the future," she "couldn't bear to think that her sisters were unhappy." Moreover, she is motivated by a desire to buy off poor relatives: "I put exactly three thousand yuan in each of the envelopes. In 2002, it was a lot of money... such a sum could have saved a village family from a hopeless situation. However, it also took a lot of determination for me to just give away nine thousand at once. It should be understood that at that time I myself was not yet earning: everything I spent belonged to my parents...I did this to end a future relationship. I was too afraid that I would have too many poor relatives. To be honest, I was terrified... With the help of nine thousand yuan, I wanted to buy them off once and for all with a clear conscience!" ^{[5, pp. 74-74]}.

Inside the main character, there is a difficult struggle between her own ideas of happiness and the high moral values that her adoptive parents nurtured in her. The plot moves in the novel are structured in such a way that she gradually realizes that her help has the most beneficial effect when the seeds are planted in the right soil. This is how Fang Wanzhi feels when he learns of his nephew's enlistment in the army.: "This letter filled my heart with joy, I felt that my efforts had been more than paid for, and the five thousand spent on it was absolutely worth it. Even if he did not become an officer, I reasoned, all the same, when he returned to Shenxiandin, he would already differ favorably from previous generations of villagers: I believed that "the army is a great school" ^{[5, p. 99]}. Step by step, the writer shows how the heroine comes to feel the value of her existence. As a result, when things are going well for her, she decides to take responsibility for the education of another nephew. By the age of twenty-six, she already has a residence permit in Shenzhen, she becomes a legitimate citizen. She is the most promising of all the relatives and the only one who can lift three generations of her family out of poverty. The whole difficulty lies in the fact that not all relatives are educated and understanding. For example, after her husband's death, the middle sister literally blackmails Fan Wanzhi: "Did you think that if you took the surname Fan, then you stopped being of the same blood as the He family? Even if you take off three layers of skin, you'll still be my sister! Did you think that if you became the daughter of the mayor, then you can forget about sisterly relations?" Then she softens her tone, although her request does not change the essence: "Little sister, you can't leave me in this swamp! If you don't help me out, I can only die!.." ^{[5, p. 252]}. As a result, Fang Wanzhi's attitude to money is quite contradictory due to her actual relatives from Shaanxianning who constantly require financial assistance. But, anyway, gradually she begins to perceive the fight against poverty as her mission. When she is offered to become the head of an investment project for tea cultivation in Shaanxiang, despite her serious illness, she gives all her strength to work, and explains this choice as follows: "No matter how difficult the project was, if it brought help to the poor, I had to continue it. Otherwise, I would have become a laughing stock" ^{[5, p. 371]}.

Fan Wanzhi is not the only heroine of the novel who demonstrates such an example of dedication. The story of the payment of compensation to the family of Li Juan's deceased fiance is significant in this sense. According to Li Juan, the military unit paid his family a fairly large allowance, but since the deceased had three brothers, parents and an uncle's family, all the money was immediately distributed among relatives. Lijuan explains it very simply: "The people have their own truth…To ensure that Commander Zhou's good name does not suffer, the first step is to meet the needs of all relatives" ^{[5, p. 200]}.

Perhaps the most important words about the fight against poverty and the role of family relations in it are put by the writer into the mouth of Fan Wanzhi's foster father at a family celebration. Since he held the post of mayor in the past, it is quite natural that there are some clerical phrases in his speech.: "According to Marx, a person is the totality of all social relations. Then it turns out that the vast majority of Chinese who have already turned into townspeople actually have relatives living in villages.… Therefore, China's anti-poverty plan is also aimed at creating favorable working and living conditions for those who have already moved to the city. It is difficult for most people to remain calm and serene, knowing that their relatives are still not out of poverty, they cannot pretend that this does not concern them!.. State support, no matter how generous, cannot completely replace the responsibility of relatives, therefore ... the fight against poverty must be carried out both by the state and by relatives ..." ^{[5, p. 336]}. As we see it, these words contain not only China's priorities put forward by Xi Jinping, but also the value of family ties that is ingrained in Chinese psychology.

Drawing parallels with other works of Chinese modern literature, which focus on the topic of well-being and the path to the Chinese dream, I would like to recall Dong Xi's novel "The Broken Fate" (2015), the main character of which is a migrant village boy Wang Changchi. The sad picture that the writer paints in this novel speaks more about social and ethical deformation than about improving the quality of the Chinese nation. "The heroes' resistance to endless difficulties leads them to personal degradation. So Wang Changchi's wife is engaged in prostitution, and the parents who moved in with them are begging on the street. When a child is born in their family, Wang Changchi, in order not to spoil the fate of his son, decides to perform some kind of miracle, and gives him to be raised in a rich family" ^{[15, p. 350]}. Interestingly, it is with this plotline that Liang Xiaosheng's novel begins, the main character of which immediately after birth remains in a wealthy and influential urban family. However, if Dong Xi's novel is clearly accusatory, then Liang Xiaosheng's novel does not have such an accent. If Dong Xi portrays "the spiritual image of his contemporaries, who waste and lose themselves, adapting to a ruthless and changeable world" ^{[15, p. 357]}, then Liang Xiaosheng's "ruthless and changeable world" tempers the heroines, opening up new opportunities for them.

Many of the modern Chinese authors are wondering how not to lose human values, how to survive spiritually and physically under the spell of the era of economic miracle. Ugly side of modern Chinese society reflected in the novels "the land of wine" (酒国，1993) Mo Yan (莫言, R. 1955), "Children of the herd era" (吃瓜时代的儿女们, 2017) Liu Januna (刘震云, R. 1958), "Brothers" (兄弟, 2005-2006) Yu Hua (余华, R. 1960), "Sisters of the North" (北妹, 2004) Shen Kei (盛可以, R. 1973), "Mountain of Thandanani" (天等山, 2016) fan Ipina (凡一平，R. 1964). Their characters, despite their different social status, place the cult of money at the forefront, being adversely influenced by mercantile values. The characters in these works are "infected with a thirst for profit, their price is prudence, commercialism and deception" ^{[16, p. 66]}. As noted by Zhang Hongsheng and Li Mingan, who analyzed the works of Mo Yan, Li Peifu and Deng Iguang about Shenzhen, "the great changes caused by modernization led to material prosperity, but at the same time they led to the loss and degeneration of human nature" ^{[8, p. 124]}.

Unlike these works, Liang Xiaosheng's novel "Me and My Destiny", while exposing the problems of social inequality and labor migration, nevertheless focuses on successfully overcoming material and moral challenges. Accordingly, the writer focuses our attention on the inner attitudes that are worthy of imitation, which help the characters move forward and achieve success. On the one hand, this is the creative position of Liang Xiaosheng himself. As Han Wenyi notes, "for more than forty years, Liang Xiaosheng has always adhered to the position of humanistic values in his literary work" ^{[11, p. 14]}. On the other hand, such an optimistic picture, in our opinion, is largely due to the successful implementation in China of the task of creating a society of average prosperity. "When 40 years of reform and openness policies were widely celebrated in China, Xi Jinping's report on December 18, 2018, dedicated to this date, stated that during the period of reform and openness policies, more than 740 million people got rid of poverty, and the number of poor among the Chinese population decreased by almost 95%" ^{[4, p. 82]}. Recall that in 2021, China announced the complete eradication of poverty in a country with a population of 1.4 billion. a man who has become a unique experience for the whole world. Although the reader never sees the names of the great Chinese reformers Deng Xiaoping and Xi Jinping in the novel itself, Liang Xiaosheng vividly explains the reasons for the country's success on the path to the Chinese dream. In this regard, I would like to cite the famous statement of Deng Xiaoping's son, Deng Pufang (born 1944), who once uttered these words: "Many people call the generation of the cultural revolution the lost generation. But this is not the case at all. Quite the opposite. Everything that this generation has gone through has hardened them. They think about great things, and they have something to say to the world. They are firm in their beliefs and take the initiative. It seems to me that this generation is a real trump card for China on its path to reform" (quoted in ^{[3, pp. 24-25]}). In our opinion, the outstanding achievements of modern China are the best proof of this. In turn, reflecting these successes with the help of artistic words helps the younger generation to "pass through themselves" the rich experience that their predecessors gained on the path to national revival and the achievement of universal national prosperity.

^[1] Russian edition: Liang Xiaosheng. Me and my destiny / Translated from the Chinese by O. Rodionova. St. Petersburg: Hyperion, 2024. 504 p.

^[2] The project was launched in 1989 by the Chinese Youth Development Foundation and the Central Committee of the Communist Youth League of China. It is aimed at supporting the education of children in poor rural areas. Thousands of schools have been built with the help of the project, and over the years it has helped millions of Chinese children get an education.

^[3] The official name is the Central Commission for Discipline Inspection of the Communist Party of China (CPC Central Committee) and the State Supervisory Committee (SSC). Although the CCPD and the GNC are formally separate, they function as a single entity and are responsible for fighting corruption and maintaining party discipline.