Are all Qingyou scams? I brought 1,000 yuan in cash and traveled on a budget for 2 years

This is the 1437th real-life story we have told

I am Xiaolang@migrant worker Xiaolang, a Shandong native born in 1996. My mother left when I was 6 years old. My father remarried to a Korean stepmother.

After graduating from technical secondary school, I went to work elsewhere. Due to my low education, I didn’t save much money. When I was working as a tour guide, I accidentally learned that there are people who can support themselves through traveling, and I couldn't help but be moved.

Some people say that travel is only for rich people. It is impossible to live outside without money. Those so-called poor travel are all fake, and they are all designed to gain attention and deceive traffic.

I just don’t believe in this evil. I use more than 500 yuan of equipment and only have 1,000 yuan with me. I started cycling around the country, which not only supported myself, but also increased my knowledge.

(During the trip, I often lived in abandoned houses)

In 1996, I was born in the countryside of Fei County, Linyi, Shandong Province. This is a red base and the famous Yimeng Mountain was born. Minor, it is also the hometown of longevity in the world.

My sister and I are twins, but my mother left when I was 6 years old. When I was in sixth grade, my father remarried and my stepmother gave birth to a younger brother and younger sister.

My stepmother is Korean, gentle and kind, and treats me very well, but she has always been in poor health and cannot take care of the children. In desperation, I had no choice but to adopt my sister to my aunt's family.

(My twin sister, brother and niece and I)

We in Shandong are a province with great education and attach great importance to children’s learning. I studied very well in elementary school and often got full marks in exams. However, after entering junior high school, I became obsessed with poetry.

The number of study subjects in junior high school increased, but I did not spend my energy in class. Instead, I was addicted to the poems of Xu Zhimo and Haizi, and I couldn't help myself. I even started writing poems secretly.

I like the romance and sentimentality in Xu Zhimo’s poems, but I appreciate Haizi’s sincerity even more:

I also wish you a bright future and a lover in your life. Now that we are married, I wish you happiness in this world. I only wish to face the sea and enjoy the warmth of spring and the flowers blooming.

I was addicted to reading and writing poetry and neglected my studies. The high school entrance examination here was very competitive. In the end, I had no choice but to go to a technical secondary school majoring in auto repair.

(When I was in junior high school, I was addicted to poetry)

In 2015, I worked in Qingdao and Shanghai, hoping to make more money to reduce the burden on my family, but it didn’t take long. , the stepmother's condition worsened.

She has lung cancer and needs someone to take care of her, but her sister is still in college. Dad is the backbone of the family. He works hard every day and has no time to take care of his stepmother.

He works at the construction site every day as a wall builder and builds buildings near our countryside. He also raises pigs and sheep at home. Our family is supported by my father alone.

I had no choice but to go home. My stepmother was already so skinny from the disease that she weighed only over 60 kilograms. I feed and drink her every day and do my best to take care of her.

The day before my stepmother died, her legs were swollen and she had difficulty speaking.

At that time, my stepmother probably had a premonition that her time was running out, so she asked me with difficulty to take more care of the family when I grow up. Before leaving, she handed me all the money she had saved over the years and then closed her eyes.

(I was traveling in poverty, with simple equipment)

Children of poor people have long been in charge of their own affairs. After I helped my father take care of the family affairs, I went to work in Beijing to relieve my stress. Dad's burden.

In 2016, I started working at BAIC. As I grow older, I realize that I can never get ahead by working part-time, and my earnings are always limited.

In order to change my destiny, I decided to change my career as a tour guide in 2019 and look for new opportunities. While working as a tour guide, I learned about the travel industry. There are actually people who make money through travel photography.

Some of these people fly to various parts of the world to take pictures of beautiful scenery abroad; some buy RVs and travel around the motherland to taste delicious food. They filmed their experiences and posted them on self-media platforms, making money while traveling.

In 2020, due to the epidemic, the work of tour guides was not easy to do. So I made up my mind to quit my job and started cycling on a budget while shooting videos for self-media.

(shooting while riding)

Some people think that without money, you cannot travel or leave home. Because of the various expenses such as accommodation, meals, travel expenses, attraction tickets, etc. along the way, it would be difficult to make it without money.

However, when I came, there was a way to play rich and poor, and a way to play rich and poor. As long as you have the courage to start, all these problems can be solved.

I am a person without money, so I chose to travel on a budget by bicycle. I first bought a mountain bike for 200 yuan, and then bought a tent and sleeping bag, plus gloves and a scarf, etc. The total equipment cost was more than 500 yuan.

After everything was prepared and I had 1,000 yuan for living expenses, I cycled from Linyi, Shandong, to the ends of the earth in Sanya, Hainan, and embarked on a cycling journey.

On January 1, 2020, I released my first video. At that time, it was still very cold in the northern land, and accommodation in the cold was a big problem.

I usually set up a tent on the roadside, or look for abandoned and unoccupied houses in the villages I pass along the way, then get into a down thermal sleeping bag and sleep until dawn.

(Tents are usually set up during cycling)

After entering Jiangsu and heading south, the weather became warmer and warmer. I camped in abandoned squares and Gas stations, park pavilions and even once took up residence in the lobby of a postal self-service bank.

In March 2020, I arrived in Danji Town, Xuzhou. It rained heavily that day, and I rode in the rain for more than 4 hours. My whole body was soaked, and I couldn't find a place to shelter from the rain and sleep in the open air.

I was reluctant to spend money for accommodation. When it was getting dark, I saw a self-service bank. In order to live in it, I had a warm place to pitch a tent. I plucked up the courage to tell the staff about my experience, but to my surprise they agreed.

This made me realize that there are still many kind-hearted people in the world. From then on, when I encounter difficulties on the road, I learned to seek help from others. As long as I treat others sincerely, I will gain goodwill.

Another time it was a rainy day. I spent the night under a bridge on the way. Unexpectedly, when I woke up the next day, I found that my bike was missing and I quickly called the police for help.

The place was in the middle of nowhere and there were no shops. I couldn’t buy anything to eat. I was hungry for almost three days and couldn’t go to the fields to find grapefruits to eat. Fortunately, the police later helped me find my bicycle. .

(It’s very warm to live inside on a rainy day)

Of course, when I’m lucky, I can find abandoned luxury hotels to sleep in. That was in April this year, when I rode I met him by chance on the roadside when I was traveling in Tibet and crossing Mount Balang.

This hotel is built on the mountain and is a typical Tibetan building. Although it is abandoned, the exterior is still very grand, and the decoration inside also vaguely shows the luxury of the past.

The price of a single room is 680 yuan, and there is even a presidential suite. The corridor leads directly to the small bungalow at the back. From the room, you can overlook Mount Siguniang in the distance, which is covered with ice and snow all year round.

This abandoned hotel seems to require an investment of more than 10 million. I would never have the chance to stay at this level. Now, you can find a place to set up a tent inside and enjoy the exclusive treatment of a large villa for yourself.

(The small western-style building behind the abandoned luxury hotel)

In July 2020, I came to Yunnan, and had a dinner and chat with my cyclists in Shuhe Ancient Town, Lijiang; in Dali and We had a meal together with the fan sister. This Bai girl opened an inn and was kind and hospitable.

Some people say that Lijiang is suitable for an affair, while Dali is a city suitable for love. I saw local couples throwing stones into the butterfly spring to pray for happy love. As a single person, I might wish to have the opportunity to meet my sweetheart and have a pure relationship.

My prayers were answered. In October 2020, my girlfriend and I met online and spent a week together in Chengdu.

Although we broke up due to personality differences, it also allowed me to experience the ups and downs of love.

From then on, I quit love and started the next journey wholeheartedly, heading to Sanya, Hainan, to the ends of the earth. In a place where spring flowers are blooming and facing the sea, he can heal his failed love life like Haizi.

(Looking forward to love at the Erhai Lake)

After the New Year in 2021, I left my hometown again and rode alone to Jiayuguan, Gansu. It was my 25th birthday. I drank a bottle of beer by myself and had a full meal to celebrate.

Then I headed west to the beautiful Xinjiang. I crossed the uninhabited land of the Gobi Desert and saw that there was no grass growing in the Flame Mountains. The surface temperature in May had already reached 60 degrees.

I have encountered sandstorms and boiled water with snow water from the Qilian Mountains to drink. The temperature difference between day and night in Xinjiang is huge. I was afraid of wolf attacks when I slept in the open, so I could only rely on lighting fires to drive away unknown dangers. No matter how many difficulties and obstacles I encountered, I never stopped cycling on a budget.

(Often sleeping in the wilderness)

In 2022, I went to the Potala Palace in Tibet again. When I was in the Red Palace, I had no distracting thoughts and felt tired from riding. All swept away.

Tibet is the only place I have cycled twice. I have climbed 14 snow-capped mountains with an altitude of more than 4,000 meters. Traveling alone on the Sichuan-Tibet Line, the hardships and pains during this period are difficult to describe. I just want to say: this journey has severely tempered my perseverance and will.

During the two years that I have been cycling on and off, people have constantly questioned me, saying that I live in the wild and have poor food, so I am selling poorly and defrauding traffic.

Actually, this is my real life. My family is not rich to begin with. I only recorded the actual conditions on the cycling road, and I never complained about how painful and tiring it was.

(Background picture of Tibetan 50 Yuan)

As the saying goes, it is better to travel thousands of miles than to read thousands of books. All the experiences will be unforgettable memories in my life. These are all made with money. immeasurable.

Once my bicycle had a flat tire, a fan saw my video on the headlines and drove more than 30 kilometers. He came to the village from the city and helped me change my tire for free. I still remember his enthusiasm and kindness.

Another time that impressed me deeply was when I met a 90-year-old grandmother on the roadside. She took the initiative to say hello and chat with me, and enthusiastically gave me directions. Invite me to your home for dinner and hot water.

She also told me: She has 5 daughters and no sons. Now her daughter takes care of them. It would be great if she could live in her son's home.

I feel that my grandma treats me like a relative and talks about her true feelings, which is very warm.

(All experiences are unforgettable)

Another time, I rode across the Mira Mountains in Tibet. The altitude there is 5,013 meters, and the temperature at night reached minus 28 degrees. I didn’t dare to close my eyes all night. My wife was too cold, and I was afraid that I would not be able to wake up if I fell asleep.

I lived in an abandoned house, put on all my clothes, and used collected cow dung to warm the fire. At three or four in the morning, when I was hungry and cold, the police came to my door.

It turned out that fans saw the video I posted and were worried that I would not be able to survive such bad weather and disappear from this world, so they called the police for me overnight.

Despite the severe cold, the police drove to find me late at night, brought me a warm coat, instant noodles and other supplies, and even drove me across the mountain pass.

The enthusiasm of fans and police warmed my heart and helped me get through that extremely cold night. The thrills I have experienced and the emotions I have experienced are all engraved in the depths of my memory, leaving me with endless aftertaste.

(When you encounter danger on the road, you will miss home)

No matter how far I have traveled, how many beautiful scenery and good people I have seen, what makes me hardest to leave is the mountains and rivers of my hometown. and loved ones. Therefore, every Spring Festival, I still have to go back to the countryside of Fei County to spend it.

My sister and I prepared things for the New Year together, killing New Year pigs, frying fried cakes, and posting couplets for the New Year celebrations

On the first day of the new year, I formed a team with my friends, Go from house to house and kowtow to the elders to pay New Year greetings.

Someone once said that kowtowing to pay New Year greetings in Shandong is a stereotype. But for Shandong people, the land of Confucius and Mencius, a land of etiquette, worshiping heaven and earth, ancestors and elders are the highest rituals of our New Year greetings.

(Friends from Shandong form a group to pay New Year greetings)

2023 has arrived, and it has been half a year since I returned to my hometown. Today, when I think carefully about the journey of Qingyou cycling, everything seems to be just like that. It happened yesterday and is still vivid in my mind.

My starting living expenses were only 1,000 yuan. After I hit the road, in order to save expenses, I spent every day carefully, and I really went to the extreme. Some netizens even ridiculed me for giving up my life rather than my money.

In the beginning, I ate instant noodles for three meals a day. Eventually, I became afraid of instant noodles and felt like vomiting when I saw them. When I got tired of eating, I bought rice and oil and cooked for myself.

In order to save money, I gave up the alcohol stove I started with and started a fire by picking up tree branches and stones on the roadside. I ate rice or noodles every day, and found wild vegetables on the roadside to eat. If there were no vegetables, I would mix them with chili sauce.

I rode for more than 50 days without taking a shower. I was really embarrassed, so I found a cheap hotel to stay at, which cost only 20 yuan a night. That night, after taking a shower and sleeping on my long-lost bed, I felt extremely comfortable.

When I was most economical, my expenses for two months were less than 500 yuan. I always adhere to the concept of traveling on a budget and never spend a penny.

(I have been riding for 2 years, and the income from video shooting supports me)

After riding for a few months, my video playback volume is getting better and better. Self-media is starting to generate income, and my fans and friends are constantly increasing, and they are also helping and supporting me.

Some gave me compliments, some booked a hotel room for me in advance, and some invited me to dinner. However, I still do not change my frugal nature and continue to travel on a budget to the end.

So, don’t say you can’t start without money. As long as you have a dream in your heart, there are always more ways than difficulties.

Sometimes, what we lack is not time and money, what we lack is just the courage to take the first step. We should not always say that the future is long. In fact, the future is not long.

This year, the income from self-media has become less and less, and I can no longer support my continued departure. Coupled with the impact of the general environment, I returned to my hometown to rest at the end of May and did not start again.

Now, I have fulfilled my dream, and I am waiting for the spring to bloom next year. I will first find a job, be down-to-earth, take on a responsibility, and be the guardian of this family.