Struggling for a Life in a Foreign Land

By You Jin [Singapore]

On Nawoi Avenuein Osh, the second largest city in Kyrgyzstan, there is a restaurant named “Shanghai Restaurant” which serves authentic Chinese cuisine.I had been tortured by an ache in my throat due to the ubiquitous local kebabs, so Chinese food was indeed a wonderful option for my sore palate.

I went there and ordered two dishes after sitting down.It was wonderful.The chef had a superb command of culinary art, with presentable steamed fish garnished with sliced ginger and green onion, and sumptuously savory slivered beef with gourd.

After that, I became attached to the food there, and began visiting it frequently.Soon I was on good terms with the restaurant owner Luo Yihan.We had many good conversations before I knew that she had experienced a lot of hardships in starting her career in Osh.

A Difficult Start

As a newcomer to a foreign country, Luo couldn't speak a word of the local language.Things were so difficult for her.

“Russian is one of the official languages that everyone speaks in the country, so I made up my mind to learn it by reading a set of Russian textbooks with pictures.I stayed with a local family, and the couple had five children who, in turn, taught me the language.Some basic retroflex sounds were so difficult for me that I couldn't grasp them—I even had a swollen and sore tongue from constant practice.With my unremitting effort to master them, I learned a secret: When vibrating my tongue, I raised it against the upper jaw.Then the moving air could produce the sound.Eventually I overcame the formidable obstacle, and made great progress afterwards.”

With her persistent study of the language, she was able to communicate with locals in simple Russian.As her proficiency improved, she could use the language much better.Now she spoke Russian with as much ease as if she were a native, and had long become accustomed to the life here.

吉爾吉斯斯坦的第二大城市奧什有家“上海餐廳”，坐落于那娃伊大街，據說提供非常地道的中餐。我的喉嚨早已被那無處不在的燒烤肉串弄得又干燥又疼痛，中餐對我而言，不啻沙漠綠洲。

我坐下來，點了兩道菜。此處的廚師果然了得，姜蔥蒸魚做得活色生香，牛肉葫蘆瓜也炒出萬種風情。

吃上癮了，天天往那兒跑，自然而然與店主羅藝菡熟絡起來。常談變為長談、深談，這才知道，現年49 歲的她，在奧什創業，卻是一路崎嶇。

寸步難行

初到異域的羅藝菡，語言不通，寸步難行。

“俄羅斯語是當地的官方語言之一，人人會說，我買了一套圖文并茂的俄文書，下定決心學會它。當時，我寄居在一戶烏孜別克族家里，夫婦倆有5 個孩子，他們輪流教我。俄語中有些基本的卷舌音非常困難，我的舌頭卷得幾乎潰爛了，還發不出來。下了拼死的決心日練夜練，最后終于發現一個竅門：以顫動著的舌頭頂住上顎，靠氣流把語音傳送出去，這才破除那個可怕的障礙。障礙一去，勢如破竹，進步神速。”

日夜不分地苦學不輟，出門去時，已能用基本俄語和當地人溝通交往。她持續不斷地活學活用，越學越順，越順越精；現在，一口俄語已說得如水般流暢。這時，她已全然適應了異鄉生活。

正當一切上了軌道時，第一個要命的打擊來了。

她的親戚把12 萬雙鞋子批發到鄰國烏茲別克斯坦，遇上商場騙子，分文都收不回來。

對著潑瀉一地的牛奶痛哭流涕，縱是哭得天崩地裂，也于事無補啊。痛定思痛，她決定轉售床單、被子等日常用品。靠著誠信，生意蒸蒸日上，利潤滾滾而來。

沖出重圍

正當她以為迎來生命里的另一個春天時，第二個打擊接踵而至。

那是2010年，吉爾吉斯斯坦發生嚴重暴亂事件。

回憶起6月那夜的情景，羅藝菡的記憶清晰如昨。

她雙眉緊蹙地說道：“一連串好像鞭炮的聲音將我從夢中驚醒，坐起身后，發現那是恐怖的槍聲。往窗外一看，人影奔竄，喊打喊殺之聲此起彼伏，我肝膽俱裂。那僅僅是一個開始。次日，情勢惡化，到處放火啊，打砸啊，殺戮啊，強奸啊，我獨自居住在樓房里，像頭困獸，插翅難飛，一籌莫展。”

更糟的是，事出突然，家里沒有囤積糧食。樓下不遠就是百貨商店，可誰敢離開家門半步呢？每家店子都把大門鎖得緊緊的，誰敢開門營生？

“我住二樓，左鄰右舍都是吉爾吉斯人，幸好平時大家相處得不錯，危難之際，他們發揮了守望相助的精神，有戶鄰居給我送來一只大羊腿，另外幾戶鄰居則送我面包和干糧，以供我果腹，真令人感動啊。”

靠著這些溫暖的援助，度日如年的她挨過了好幾天，等局勢稍稍受到控制，她逃到烏魯木齊，在那兒待了一個多月，才敢回返奧什。

騷亂平息，通向鄰國烏茲別克斯坦的其中一個大關卡被關閉了，原本生氣勃勃的批發市場首當其沖，生意一落千丈。

璀璨的春天變成蕭瑟的冬天，羅藝菡不愿坐以待斃，積極謀求沖出重圍的機會。

中國有許多企業集團到奧什發展，來來往往的中國人很多，敏銳的她從中嗅到了商機，決定開設一家中餐館。

As everything was set on the right track, she suddenly suffered a deadly blow.

One of her relatives helped her to wholesale 120,000 pairs of shoes in the neighboring country Uzbekistan but was scammed.All her money was lost in it.

There was no use crying over spilt milk, however.After learning a lesson from it, Luo decided to trade daily necessities such as bed sheets and quilts.Her honesty paid off, and she benefited from her booming business.

A New Turning Point

Just as she was expecting a good step forward for her career, another blow followed.

In 2010, a violent riot broke out in Kyrgyzstan.

Now, Luo still recalls the night in June as if it had happened today.

“I was woken up by a bout of noises like fireworks.Soon I realized it was a volley of gunshots.” She frowned as she described.“Looking out of the window, I found the chaos horrible—people were running and shouting.I was scared to death.This was just the beginning of the dreadful situation.The next day, things were out of control, with crimes being committed everywhere, including arson, looting, and rapes.You name it.I shut myself in my apartment like a caged creature, not knowing what to do.”

Worse still, she was running out of food at home.Down the street from her building was a department store, but she didn't dare to leave her room for it.Business was suspended and all shops were closed.

“On the first floor where I lived, all my neighbors were Kyrgyz.Since we got along very well, we helped one another out in the critical moment.One neighbor offered me a large lamb leg, and others gave me bread and instant noodles so that I could nourish myself.How grateful I am! ”

Thanks to her friends' help, Luo sustained for several days in frightening conditions.When the situation became better, she fled back to Urumqi and stayed there for over a month.

Although the riot was eventually put down, one of border entries to Uzbekistan was closed.The once prosperous wholesale market was so heavily affected that it quickly saw a slowdown.

For Luo, the lively spring turned into a bleak winter.Instead of drifting into abject poverty, Luo took initiative to seek solutions.

Given that a lot of Chinese companies were run in Osh, with many Chinese expats and visitors living here, Luo, pushed by her acute business mind, decided to open a Chinese restaurant.

Her Confidence Bounces

In 2012, Shanghai Restaurant was opened in Osh.

Luo hired chefs from Sichuan Province in China to ensure the authenticity of the Chinese cuisine.Guests could not only satisfy their desire for hometown food, but also cure their homesickness.

“Many unique ingredients from Osh can be used to cook many amazing dishes,” Luo was cheerful when introducing her recipes.“For example, pheasant-fighting is very popular here, and the game birds are meaty—the flesh is brawny but not hard, tender but not soggy.They are an ideal choice for a stew or braising.They are sweetly fragrant and dreamily delicious.Apart from it, Sudak fish is also a local delicacy.When steamed alive, its silky meat offers such a lip-smacking flavor that no one gets tired of.”

Blessed with a bundant mountains, lakes, and glaciers, the City of Osh is abound in water resources.Large power plants and hydropower stations across the country provide the people with inexhaustible energy.Therefore, the low costs for water and electricity can be a great advantage to a restaurant owner.

Luo hoped that her restaurant would attract local customers as its frequent guests.

百事不懼

2012年，上海餐廳在奧什開張營業。

羅藝菡千里迢迢地從四川請來廚師，給中國人做地道的餐食，讓他們解饞的同時，也為他們釋放思鄉之情。

“奧什很多獨特的食材都能做成很好的菜肴。”羅藝菡滔滔不絕地說道，“比如說，這兒盛行斗雞，斗雞的肌肉特別發達，肉質堅實而不堅硬、柔嫩而不柔軟，用來燉湯或紅燒，又鮮又甜。還有啊，本地捕獲的蘇達克魚，肉質嫩滑，用以清蒸，百吃不厭呢。”

奧什境內有大量的高山湖泊和冰川，水資源異常豐富，而許多大型的發電廠和水電站也為全國提供了充沛的電力，水電的收費驚人地便宜，這對經營餐館的人來說，是一個很大的優勢。

羅藝菡衷心希望以后能吸引當地人成為餐館常客。

“本地人呀，光愛吃肉，不愛吃菜。我希望能在當地電視上爭取到一個美食節目，教觀眾怎樣用中國人的食材結合肉類，以葷素相配搭的完美方式，凸顯中國菜的精華。”

跋山涉水來此創業的羅藝菡，有著一股輕易不妥協的堅韌。她跌倒了，快速爬起；爬起來時，一點兒也不擔心會再跌倒，因為她的心已經長出一層厚厚的繭，百事不懼、無難不克。

（摘自《被人遺忘的天堂》海天出版社）

“People here don't form a habit of eating vegetables, only meat.I wish I could have a food program broadcast on TV in order to highlight the essence of Chinese cuisine by demonstrating Chinese people's perfect combinations of meat and various vegetarian ingredients.”

Luo, who came all the way from China to Kyrgyzstan, is resolute in action and determined in mind.She once failed, but soon regained confidence without fearing failure.After experiencing hardships and setbacks in life, she has strengthened her resilience and become confident all the more.

(FromThe Forgotten Paradise, Haitian Publishing House.Translation: Wang Wen)