The country was poor, not many jobs available in an agrarian society without industrialisation and the modern factories. What were the jobs and occupation available?
The best jobs that paid well, and extremely well for the corrupted, were the govt officials. That was the dream of all the poor peasants. Study hard, became a govt official and the future would be made, fame and fortune and money. 升官发财。 The other available jobs would the civil service, iron rice bowl. Even the low level officials could provide a decent life for their families, and if they were willing to cahoot with the top officials, they too could be rich, as part of the cronyism of the govt service.
The rest of the people were likely to be farmers, planting and growing food in little plots of land to feed themselves, or they would be jobless. Then the cooks in the tea houses, the waiters, the salesmen peddling their wares, and pulling passengers in their two wheeler carts, or food delivery, and of course the cleaners and dishwashers. Village doctors, shop keepers were reasonable occupation, but they would not become rich.
There were also the merchants that made it rich travelling the silk routes and sailing the high seas. But there were not many professionals or PMET jobs around. Living was hard but bearable.
Then came the foreigners with the guns and cannons. And they took over the country. Most of the top jobs were taken over by foreigners. The one holding the real power were the foreigners. And the natives had to suck up to the foreigners to be their assistants and lackeys just to earn a living in their own country. The rich and powerful continued to live their decadent and corrupt lives. The quality of life of the people went down a few notches. New professions like bandits, cheats and conmen, thieves, kidnappers were aplenty when normal occupation were hard to come by.
Then came the peasant revolution. The corrupt officials and landlords were executed and a new order was established. It took decades to eradicate inequality and to rebuild a new order that is more egalitarian with the wealth spread wider and further down the social ladder.
70 years passed and a land that was lack of opportunities is now a land of many possibilities. The people could work hard and believe they could be better tomorrow. The land is theirs and they affectionately called it their motherland. No more foreigners be allowed to rule over them, to take the top jobs, especially those in the govt service or govt related companies. The country and jobs were for the people of a self respecting country. No need to suck up to foreigners, no need to disgrace themselves as less able than the foreigners, no need to depend on foreigners for expertise or to create jobs for their own people. No need to be cheated by fake talents.
Foreigners are allowed in the country but under their terms and laws. Foreigners were there to complement and to contribute in their own ways to the country, but not there to steal their jobs and their lunches. This is the pride of a self respecting people that believed in themselves, their ability to achieve greatness on their own steam. They do not have to be humiliated by foreigners in their own country. No foreigners would dare to have the audacity to tell them they have no talent and the foreigners were there, invited, to help them because they have no talent. Such shameful and self deprecating statements would never come out from the mouth of a proud civilisation that is equal to the best in the world.
They have created their own order in their own country and all the opportunities and possibilities for their people, and travelling the world with heads held high, with dignity not bought by paying themselves millions for doing nothing useful or worthy. They paid themselves pittance for what they contribute to their country, and uplifting the quality of life of their people to be the best in the world.
Their motherland is theirs, always theirs, and would not be taken over by foreigners, a land of endless opportunities and possibilities for them to pass on from generation to generation...not to pass to foreigners.