Broken China (Part 2) - October

Four families. Four dreams. Four very different paths.

Apartment block, Taiyuan, China (Photo: M. Griffiths)

Read Broken China (Part 1) - September, here

Broken China

 

(Part 2) - October

 



 

Wu Ming walked into the study. Her husband sat staring at the computer. It sat on a wide polished wooden desk. Matching deep red bookshelves stood against the interior wall, away from the large window overlooking the adjacent park. Half the shelves were occupied by ornate jade carvings mounted on small wooden plinths. The product of half a lifetime’s interest and patient collecting funded by his successful real estate business.

Zheng Long looked up from the screen. “Apartment prices are falling. None of the government’s policies to stop it are working. I am worried we will not have enough money to meet the requirements.”

Wu Ming nodded. “I have worse news. The immigration agent phoned me just now and told me that the Australian government has increased the amount we need by 50%.”

Zheng Long rubbed his forehead. “50%?”

“Yes. That is what he said.”

“They are getting greedy.”

“They are having problems just like China. Except no-one wants to pay money to come here.”

He pulled off his glasses, scrunched his eyes closed and pinched the bridge of his nose. “It is a very bad time to be selling apartments and the business. The worst possible time.” He said softly.

She nodded. “Maybe we will need to sell this apartment too. And the car we planned to give to your brother.”

He opened his eyes. This apartment in a new building by the park was the realisation of a dream. Three bedrooms plus the study, large living room, separate dining area, kitchen with all the modern appliances. Plenty of room for them and their son, and for his aging mother to come and stay. It was carefully and elegantly decorated, filled with traditional looking wooden furniture, but with the benefit of modern upholstery, glistening floor tiles, and subtle lighting that showed it all off to its best effect.

“We planned to keep this. In case we want to come back. And to stay here when we visit our families.”

Wu Ming shrugged. “If we don’t sell we may never get there. The agent has sent all the documents to the embassy. He said they will process it quickly. They are expediting business migrant applications. We will need to show the bank statement with the required cash soon. Maybe one or two months.”

“I must talk to my brother and my mother. It will be a shock to her. We never expected to go so soon. She is old now. I hoped we could stay until she...”

“She can come and stay with us as soon as we find a suitable house in Australia. Hopefully she can live with us most of the time. And your brother will still be here.” She walked round behind his chair and put her hand on his shoulder. “It might be bad time to sell. But it will be worse if we stay here and see everything we have worked for disappear anyway. Think about our son. We are doing this for him remember. So he can have a better future.”

He nodded silently.

 ****

Lao Chen (Old Chen) breathed a column of smoke into the air above the long counter. He scanned the newspaper spread in front of him. Huang Jinhai rumbled a small four-wheeled trolley into the factory engineering store and stopped in front of him. Lao Chen looked up and smiled. “Long time no see. How are you these days?”

“Good and you?”

“Same as always. Did they make cuts in your department?”

Huang Jinhai nodded and shrugged. “We’re still here at least.”

Lao Chen grinned and took another puff of his cigarette, then exhaled. “They can’t get rid of the people who really know how to run the place, can they?”

“Did they cut your wages too?”

Lao Chen grunted. “Ungrateful bastards. Nothing changes. Anyway, what brings you here today?”

“We are doing maintenance on the machines since there are not many orders at the moment. I have a long list of parts. He passed a piece of paper to Lao Chen. Lao Chen ran his eyes down the list and then began to expertly wind his way through the rows and rows of nuts, bolts, screws, washers, pipes, metal rods, brackets, hinges…. Huang Jinhai followed him with the trolley as he worked his way down the list and the pile of items on the trolley grew. The smell of grease blended with the smoke encircling Lao Chen’s head.

When he finished they returned to the counter by the door. Lao Chen eased himself back down onto his stool. “You know. If you want to make money, you should try the stock market. I have a nephew who makes lots that way. So he says.”

“What about you? Have you tried it?” asked Huang Jinhai.

Lao Chen shook his head. “I’m too old for that kind of game. All I know about is nuts and bolts. But if your wife is not busy in the shop she can watch the computer. Watch the trends, buy and sell.”

Huang Jinhai nodded. “Things are quiet in the shop. But what happens if market goes down? Things are not so good at the moment.”

“If you are smart you can still make money. There are always some shares going up. That’s what my nephew says.”

Huang Jinhai nodded thoughtfully. “Ok. I’ll talk to my wife about it. See you.”

“You do that. Could be just what you need.”

Huang Jinhai pushed the trolley through the doorway then turned. “Oh. By the way. Do you know anyone who can help us fix the heating in our apartment?”

 ****

Julia and Malcolm sat at the small rectangular Formica table in his small living room finishing up a study session. The English exam was only a month away. Julia packed up her books and put them into her bag. “I hope I pass the exam. I am so sick of my job. My boss is a…” she reached for the right word.

“Bitch?” he offered.

She nodded. Not quite able to bring herself to say it in English. “Yes. And all the giving red envelopes to the bosses to get promotions and some people...some people do worse things with their managers.” Her face reddened.

Malcolm pursed his lips. “You will be fine Julia. I have taught lots of students now and I think you are ready.”

She nodded but didn’t meet his eyes. “I’ve been thinking about money too. I am worried that by next year I won’t have enough saved up for the university fees and also to live over there.”

Malcolm shook his head. “I think you have enough money to get through your degree. And we can share an apartment to reduce costs.”

Julia gave him a sideways look, then dropped her eyes. “What if you can’t get a job? You have less money saved than me. You told me you came to teach English in China because there were no jobs in your country.”

“Yes. But I think now can find one now. I will look at more options this time, and aim for an industry that is stable. And I have some savings. We will be ok. Don’t worry.”

“And afterwards? Maybe I can’ t get a visa. I maybe have to come back here. I don’t want to come back…”

He shook his head. “You will have a degree and hopefully you can extend your visa and get work experience afterwards. I think you will have a good chance.”

“What if they change the laws, make it harder to immigrate?”

Malcolm hesitated. He reached for her hand. “Well, I know we haven’t really talked about this. But if we…if we live together while you study then we can say we are a couple. After two years you can get a residence visa. Then you won’t have to worry. We don’t even have to be married.”

Julia shivered. “May be we talk about this later. If my father found out…”

She stood up. Malcolm rose too, took a step toward her and tried to pull her into a hug. She slipped away from him and picked up her bag from the table. “I have to go now. My father is in the hospital again for more tests.”

“Ok. Call me later when you can.”

 ****

Henry put down his tea cup on the oval wooden table. He looked across the living area as his son crawled around the wooden floor. Two bedrooms led off the living area and a small balcony on the east side of the house formed a half room in a pinch. More often it was a clothes drying area.

The apartment was a five storey climb up the dusty concrete stairs. The front door opened onto the living area with the smallest of entrance areas for storing shoes and a collection of slippers for wearing inside. The narrow kitchen lay to the left and the bathroom to the right. A wedding photo turned into a large decorative clock hung on the living room wall. Henry’s three pieces of jade sat on a shelf, high out of reach of the little explorer on the floor. 

It was not a large house but adequate for a small family and the occasional visitor. His wife’s mother came regularly to see the grandson and help out.

His wife leaned over and topped up his cup. He turned to her and nodded. “Ok. So we agree that we need to make more money to make a good future for ourselves and our son. What is your suggestion?”

She sighed. “I have only one idea. I can get a full time job. We can take the baby back to stay with my parents. Lots of people do it.”

That was true, he had to admit. But he had never thought they would need to do it. He opened his mouth the protest. “But…”

“Your crazy schemes won’t work. Buying a car so you can drive around buying jade. That will just waste more of our savings.”

“We will use the car every weekend going to my village, instead of catching the bus. It will be useful.” His wife shook her head. “I’m sure I can make money with the jade. There are always people with money who want to buy…”

 “Buying jade?” His wife grimaced. “Next thing you’ll be saying you can make money buying lottery tickets.”

Henry stood up and walked quietly to the door of the bedroom and stared at his son sleeping in his cot. There had to be something. He thought of how his parents had worked hard on their farm to send him to university. Now as an engineer he could use his money to help them. Much of their savings had gone into rebuilding their house in the village. Since his father injured his leg he tried to help out on the farm as often as he could. His sister would not be at home forever. She would get married and perhaps move away sometime soon.

What was left of their savings was their deposit on an apartment of their own. He wanted to save as much as possible so they didn’t have to borrow too much from the bank. And if prices came down then that would make waiting even better for them, despite the money going on the rent.

 ********

Read Broken China (Part 1) - September, here

Tell me what you think.  Constructive comments welcome.

If you like the story share with it with your friends.

 

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Read Broken China (Part 3) - November, here next week.

ANNOUNCEMENT:  Founders House Publishing have released the anthology:

After Oil 2: The Years of Crisis

The anthology includes my story Promised Land. Part of my North Queensland Trilogy.

"Founders House is happy to announce that the latest collection of science fiction stories in the ongoing After Oil series is available.

After Oil 2: The Years of Crisis - Edited by John Michael Greer

John Michael Greer, author and host of the popular weekly peak-oil blog, The Archdruid Report, returns with another collection of twelve tales of the post-oil future. As Industrial civilization staggers beneath its myriad disfunctions, ordinary people  endure the long, slow decline that shapes the years of crisis. The old world passes away an a new age takes shape."

The anthology is available now in various formats from Founders House Publishing.

The first anthology: After Oil: SF Visions of a Post-Petroleum World, is available from the publishers, Amazon (Amazon) or, in Australia, from Fishpond (Fishpond).

MORE STORIES....

Missing in the Himalayas - A scientist disappears in mysterious circumstances

Borderline - A border guard in the Himalayas dreams of following in his grandfathers footsteps...
The Chief Inspector - An awkward tension builds between a stressed police inspector and his new assistant...

Under Development - A young idealist hunts for international development work in China. (6 parts)

The Nature of Love - A couple in love enjoy a day out in nature but something is amiss...
 

My Crazy China Trip - (Humour) A novice traveller gets more than he bargains for during 15 days in China. (10 Parts)

 

Love at First Flight - A foreign teacher arrives in China and falls in love with a local, but the path of true love is anything but smooth. (5 parts)


Trial by Fire - When a woman in Tibet self-immolates two witnesses face a dangerous dilemma.  (4 parts)

Arrested Development - A development consultant in China finds life getting out of control. [Rated R]  SHORTLISTED for the Lord Grimdark Award. See the list here.

Beijing Private Eyes - Drama, Romance, Karaoke, Kidnap!   A foreign teacher in Beijing meets an attractive stranger and offers to help, then things get complicated. (A long story in 8 parts)

Tell him he's dreaming - An engineer has an environmental epiphany but things don't work out as planned.  GAINED 5th PLACE in the New Zealand Writers College Short Story competition. See the list of finalists here. 

 

Entries in the post-industrial / peak oil short story competition:
My story 'Promised Land' has been selected for the forthcoming anthology "After Oil 2: The Years of Crisis".  You can read the other entries here.

A previous set of stories was published in 2012 in a book entitled After Oil: SF Visions of a Post-Petroleum World, available from Amazon (Amazon) or in Australia from Fishpond (Fishpond).

Stories set in China:

Winds of Change –  In 2022 a migrant worker struggles to realise his dreams and fulfil his family obligations.

Outside In – It's 2050, the country and economy have changed. A recycler studies for an exam to improve his prospects, and an indentured servant plans her escape.

Seeds of Time – (Sequel to Outside In). In 2055 rural China prospers again after a period of dramatic changes, then things are complicated by a strange visitor and a hidden object.

Stories set in Australia: A North Queensland Trilogy

Robots on Mars – 2025. A space-mad city boy adjusts to life in the country and tries to solve a mystery.    (Note: no actual robots or Martians involved)

Promised Land – (Sequel to Robots on Mars). It’s 2050 and development threatens the rural district. Is it what they really need and if not, how can they stop it?

Heart of Glass - (Sequel to Promised Land). The year is 2099, high school graduates prepare to step into adulthood and the community prepares to celebrate the turn of a new century. 

Tell me what you think.  Constructive comments welcome.