Now they still criticize Northeast China, crossing the firewall to the external internet to continue insulting us. I really wish we weren’t in the same country; it’s so disheartening.

Northeast was originally the homeland of the Manchu, later turned into Manchukuo under Japanese occupation, and only afterward was it incorporated into China.
Many people in Northeast China claim to be patriotic but actually dislike Chinese from outside the region, privately calling them “Southern barbarians” or “Guansi people.” We also know they don’t like us, but there’s nothing we can do since we all live on the same land.
Because of the Japanese occupation history, Northeast China developed earlier than other regions. My great-grandfather had a high school education, while people in other areas hadn’t even gone to school at that time… Later, when it was merged into China, they drained Northeast’s resources, transporting everything away—some cities’ rail tracks were dismantled and taken south to smelt iron, and even the black soil of Northeast was excavated. Many industrial cities were turned into agricultural ones, forcing Northeast people to go south to work as migrant laborers, living under others’ roofs, just like mainlanders working in Hong Kong back then, not well regarded.
In my heart, Northeast people are Northeast people; Chinese are Chinese.