A Good Life Is Not Necessarily Expensive

By Wang Xiang

Living in Hong Kong, a metropolis famous for being expensive, Mo Haoguang's family of three haven't purchased any clothes for 13 years and live on monthly expenses of only 2,000 HK dollars (equal to about 250 US dollars). It may sound impossible, yet they live a happy and joyful life. For them, a good life does not have to be expensive at all.

Going Green with Aniu

Born and raised in Hong Kong, Mo Haoguang's student life was no different from most young people. He liked to watch TV at home, play games, eat takeaway, and go online shopping, generating a lot of garbage on a daily basis.

At the age of 16, Mo Haoguang saw on TV that Hong Kong's landfills would soon be full, and the city was facing a severe problem of urban garbage. Mo Haoguang was shocked and started feeling guilty for being one of those generating massive amounts of garbage.

After that, Mo Haoguang began to pay attention to environmental protection. In 2004, he graduated from the Department of Education at the University of Hong Kong and continued to pursue his master's degree at Hong Kong Baptist University. There he joined an environmental organization and worked with volunteers every day to study more natural lifestyles with low-consumption. He made the decision to live a green life, stop buying new clothes, take public transportation all the time, and move to the outskirts of the city. His girlfriend could not accept his life philosophy and broke up with him.

13年來(lái)沒有買過(guò)一件衣服，一家三口每月開銷只有2000港元。這在物價(jià)極高的香港幾乎是不可能的事，但莫皓光一家三口過(guò)得其樂融融。對(duì)他們來(lái)說(shuō)，好的生活，一點(diǎn)都不貴。

遇見志同道合的她

莫皓光是土生土長(zhǎng)的香港人。讀書時(shí)，他的生活方式跟其他年輕人沒什么不同，假期喜歡窩在家里看電視、打游戲、吃外賣、網(wǎng)購(gòu)，每天制造很多垃圾。

16歲那年，莫皓光偶然在電視上看到一則新聞，說(shuō)香港的垃圾填埋場(chǎng)將很快飽和，城市垃圾問題嚴(yán)峻。莫皓光十分震驚，他忽然覺得很愧疚，自己就是海量垃圾的制造者。

從那時(shí)起，莫皓光開始關(guān)注環(huán)保。2004年，莫皓光從香港大學(xué)教育系畢業(yè)，進(jìn)入香港浸會(huì)大學(xué)攻讀碩士。在那里，他參加了一個(gè)環(huán)保組織，每天跟志愿者們一起研究低耗、自然的生活方式。他決定過(guò)綠色生活，不再買新衣，乘坐公共交通工具，還打算搬到郊外去住。因?yàn)榻邮懿涣怂纳罾砟?，?dāng)時(shí)的女朋友跟他分了手。

世界文明之旅活動(dòng)推動(dòng)了校園文化的創(chuàng)建和中外文化交流，并在讀書主題引導(dǎo)、閱讀興趣培養(yǎng)、各國(guó)文化交流等各個(gè)方面均起到了積極作用，真正實(shí)現(xiàn)了全方位的圖書館與讀者的雙向互動(dòng)與交流，并在此過(guò)程中引領(lǐng)了校園文化建設(shè)，得到了廣大讀者的積極評(píng)價(jià)與反饋。

Later Mo Haoguang met Aniu, a girl in his environmental protection course. Like Mo Haoguang, Aniu also advocated a simple and natural way of life. They explored a green life together, climbing mountains, camping, and learning to make pure natural cleaning products. They shared the same interests and had a lot in common.

In 2007, Mo Haoguang graduated with a master's degree. Instead of applying for a high-paying job like his classmates, he found an easy job, which doesn't pay high salary, but enough for them to maintain a simple life. Meanwhile, he got to spend more time with Aniu.

Less Money, More Romance

In 2012, Mo Haoguang and Aniu decided to get married. They planned an environmentally friendly yet joyful and romantic wedding.

They rented a venue at a countryside school and chose to have their wedding in the afternoon, when the sunlight was soft and there was a gentle breeze. Therefore, no lights or air conditioning were needed. The floor was covered with petals and leaves collected by friends from nearby, making a simple and stylish venue. Instead of a caravan of cars, Mo Haoguang and his relatives and friends went to Aniu's home to pick her up by bus. The groom's suit was borrowed and the bride's wedding dress was made with white cloth by a friend. The couple made their wedding rings out of grass. At the wedding, the two young people solemnly exchanged their rings, which were buried in the soil the second day and returned to nature.

All the dishes at the wedding were cooked by Mo Haoguang's friends and all the tableware were brought by guests themselves. Everyone had a good time. The newly-weds took no red envelopes (monetary gifts), so all the wedding gifts given by friends were green: selfplanted vegetables, organic rice, handmade soap, leaf puzzles... everything was full of creativity. More than 300 guests were invited, making it a grand and fun occasion, yet the total costs add up to no more than 20,000 HK dollars (less than 2600 US dollars). Following their example, many friends emulated their wedding later on.

后來(lái)，莫皓光在一次環(huán)保課程上遇見女孩阿牛。和莫皓光一樣，阿牛也崇尚簡(jiǎn)單自然的生活方式。他們一起登山，露營(yíng)，學(xué)習(xí)制作純天然的清潔用品，體驗(yàn)綠色生活，兩人志同道合。

2007年，莫皓光碩士畢業(yè)，他沒有像其他同學(xué)一樣去應(yīng)聘高薪工作，而是找了一份輕松的工作。月薪不高，但足夠維持簡(jiǎn)單的生活，他還擁有了更多陪伴阿牛的時(shí)間。

浪漫不打折

2012年，莫皓光和阿牛決定結(jié)婚。兩人籌劃了一場(chǎng)既貫徹環(huán)保自然理念又營(yíng)造出婚禮喜悅和浪漫的婚禮。

他們租了一所鄉(xiāng)村學(xué)校的場(chǎng)地，選擇下午時(shí)間辦婚禮，此時(shí)陽(yáng)光柔和，清風(fēng)吹拂，既不需要燈光，也不需要空調(diào)?，F(xiàn)場(chǎng)鋪滿了朋友們從附近收集來(lái)的花瓣和樹葉，簡(jiǎn)單又不失格調(diào)。沒有迎親車隊(duì)，莫皓光和親友一起乘坐巴士去阿牛家接親，他穿了一套借來(lái)的中山裝當(dāng)禮服，阿牛則身穿朋友用白布制作的婚紗。至于婚戒，則是兩人一起用草編的。在婚禮上，兩人鄭重交換了對(duì)戒，隔日又將它們埋到了泥土里，讓其回歸大自然。

婚后，莫皓光和阿牛住在鄉(xiāng)下，在屋子旁邊辟出一塊地自己種菜。他們從未買過(guò)新衣，穿的都是朋友送的二手衣。如果非要去超市買食物，那就選臨近過(guò)期的特價(jià)品，避免食物被浪費(fèi)。家中沒有電視和空調(diào)，每月只需繳納很少的電費(fèi)，家具都是二手或自制的。夫妻倆還學(xué)會(huì)了自制環(huán)保酵素，配合茶籽粉去污。

因?yàn)殚_銷小，莫皓光幾乎沒有任何經(jīng)濟(jì)壓力，幸福指數(shù)越來(lái)越高。他說(shuō)：“身邊好多朋友在城市工作了大半輩子，都想歸隱田園，我覺得他們很傻，既然田園生活那么好，為什么不一開始就過(guò)呢？”

最好的不一定最貴

2016年，兒子麥皮出生。人人都說(shuō)養(yǎng)小孩很貴，因?yàn)楦改缚傁氚炎詈玫亩冀o孩子，但莫皓光和阿牛認(rèn)為，最好的不一定是最貴的。

麥皮的玩具大部分是二手玩具。莫皓光過(guò)段時(shí)間就會(huì)跟同樣支持環(huán)保的朋友交換玩具。不花錢，還能讓兒子玩上不同的玩具。

莫皓光還經(jīng)常為兒子制作玩具。他用木頭在院子里做了一架秋千，還將一輛破舊的小推車改裝成嬰兒車。車子的前面是麥皮的專屬座椅，后面則用來(lái)裝貨，每次麥皮坐在推車上，都會(huì)樂得咯咯大笑。

After getting married, Mo Haoguang and Aniu still lived in the countryside. They cleared some land next to their house to grow vegetables. They wear second-hand clothes given to them by friends and haven't bought any new clothes. When they have to go shopping, they choose expiring specials in the supermarket to avoid food wastage. There is no TV or air conditioning in the house, so their monthly electric bill is very little. All their furniture is second-hand or hand-made. The couple also learned to make environmentally friendly enzymes, which, combined with tea seed powder, makes a good cleaning product.

With such a small expenses, Mo Haoguang feels next to zero economic pressure and enjoys a high happiness index. He said: “A lot of my friends work in the city for most of their lives, saying they want to return to pastoral life when they are older. I find it silly, since if the pastoral life is so good, why not live it now?”

The Best Is Not Necessarily the Most Expensive

In 2016, their son, Maipi, was born. Everyone says that raising children is expensive because parents always want the best for their children. Mo Haoguang and Aniu believe that the best is not necessarily the most expensive.

Most of Maipi's toys are second-hand, obtained by exchanging toys with friends who also support environmental protection. Not much money is needed here, while the child can have various toys to play with.

Mo Haoguang often makes toys for his son too. He made a swing in the yard out of scrap wood, and converted an old cart into a stroller. The front of the car is Maipi's exclusive seat while the back is for carrying things. Maipi always has a good laugh sitting on the cart.

Mo Haoguang and Aniu engage their son in daily family life as much as possible. They take him everywhere they go, from picking vegetables and making bread to tightening bolts, shoveling sand, and carrying water… While a naughty child might slow them down a bit, the couple feels joyful to have him.

The birth of Maipi only increased their monthly living expense by less than 100 HK dollars. Mo Haoguang works three days a week and spends the rest of his time with his wife and son. The whole family is satisfied with their life.

Mo Haoguang said: “Happiness should not be far away from us. You don't have to have a house, a car, and many things to be happy. When you have enough to support your basic needs, you can live happily.”

(FromMo Chou, May 2019. Translation: Lu Qiongyao)

莫皓光和阿牛盡可能讓孩子參與家庭生活，帶著他一起摘青菜、做面包、上螺絲釘、鏟沙子、打水……雖然孩子調(diào)皮，會(huì)降低工作效率，但夫妻倆很開心。

有了麥皮之后，每個(gè)月的生活開銷只增加了不到100港元。莫皓光每周只上三天班，其他的時(shí)間就用來(lái)陪伴太太和兒子。對(duì)于這樣的生活，一家三口非常滿意。

莫皓光說(shuō)：“開心不應(yīng)該離我們很遠(yuǎn)，并非要有房子、有車、有很多東西才開心。資源可以滿足生活需求，你就可以過(guò)得很快樂?！?（摘自《莫愁》2019年第5期）