In 1918, Xu Zhimo went to the United States to study abroad, and the one-year expenses were equivalent to 50 years of an average person's income. At that time, a second-class cabin ticket from Shanghai to San Francisco cost 120 dollars.

Additionally, baggage check-in would cost another 20 dollars. When arriving in the United States, you couldn't use dollars directly; you needed to exchange for US dollars. One dollar was equivalent to 0.4 yuan.
Within a year, Xu Zhimo spent 1,500 dollars. Among that, 200 dollars was tuition, and 180 dollars was rent.
1,500 dollars was equivalent to about 3,700 yuan.
At that time, an ordinary person's monthly salary was only 5 to 10 yuan.
It is worth mentioning that Xu Zhimo's father's business could earn about 3,000 yuan a year.
After completing his studies, Xu Zhimo returned to China to serve as a professor at several universities.
Plus, he also had income from manuscript royalties, so altogether, he could earn more than 8,000 yuan a year.
So, do you think it was really worth going abroad to gain experience and come back with a "golden edge"?