"Tie Xi District, located in the city of Shenyang in northeastern China, is the oldest and most extensive industrial manufacturing center in China." "Built in 1934 to produce armaments for the Japanese Imperial Army, the factories were converted to civilian use, soon after the People's Republic of China was established in 1949." "By the late 1950's, the factories were being refitted with equipment provided by the Soviet Union." "Much of it WWII era stock captured from the Germans at the end of the war." "Most of the 157 Soviet-financed industrial projects in China during this period were located in Tie Xi District and the surrounding industrial belt." "After the Sino-Soviet split in the early 1960's, many of these factories and their workers were relocated to the interior of China, but over 100 factories remained in operation." "In the early 1980's, factory employment in the district was at an all time high." "As workers who had been "sent-down" to the countryside during the Cultural Revolution, began returning to the cities, the workforce in Tie Xi District swelled to over one million people." "By the early 1990's, however, most of these state-owned factories had begun to falter, and were operating at a loss." "By late 1999, the factories began to shut down, one by one." "Hey!" "Guan Ling!" "1999, Shenyang Smelting Factory." "Built in 1934." "At one time, the factory employed 13,000 workers." "Shenyang Smelting Factory;" "copper smelting plant" "Copper smelters'break room" "Did you hear Zhao Zhongxiang's hosting a show on CCTV?" "They ought put me up onstage with him." "Standing there together, nobody would be able to tell us apart." "Everyone says I look just like him." "They ought to say he looks just like me!" "I'd bet even he would agree." "I'm just having my hair cut." "At least I don't look as old as Jing Liang over there..." "His hair's gone completely white." "Okay, finished." "Damn fine work!" "Brush that off for me, will you?" "Get all that stubble off my neck..." "I'm going to take a shower." "It will only take me 10 minutes." "I have to go home tonight." "I've got something to do." "What's so important that you've got to do it tonight?" " Going out to find a hooker, more likely." "What's your problem?" "It's not like you've got a wife waiting up for you at home." "My wife isn't even home." "Then stop making excuses and play mahjong with us tonight." "Really - why won't you play?" "I just don't want to play, that's all." "You can play without me tonight." " You can't afford to play, right?" " No, it's not that." " If so, I'll lend you money." " It's not about the money." "Fuck, you dropped your wallet." "Il can afford to play." "I just don't want to, that's all." "Come on... it's too late to get anything done tonight, anyway." " I've got something tomorrow." " Don't we all?" "But I need my sleep..." "Oh, and you're the only one who sleeps?" "I'm telling you, I'm sick of your excuses." "Everyone else is playing." "No, I can't tonight." " Fine, don't play." "Just spare us your excuses." "Here, Sange..." "I saved you some fish!" "What the hell was that you just dumped on my plate, asshole?" "You trying to start a fight?" " Fuck you..." "What the hell did you dump on my plate?" " All I did was give you some fish!" " Oh yeah, asshole?" "If you don't want it, forget it." "Fuck, I'm trying to be nice here, but I'm losing my patience." "You're always like this when you're drunk." "You don't know your ass from a hole in the ground!" "I'll throw you in there, I swear!" " I'm not going to bother talking to you." " Suit yourself... don't fucking talk to me." "Like I said, I'm not talking to you." "I don't want to have to hurt you." "You scared to fight me, little guy?" "Didn't you say you'd lend Lai Yi money, then change your mind?" "No wonder he's mad." "Come on Lai Yi, sit down and play." "I'm not playing with that cheat!" "Then why don't you get the hell out?" "Fuck, as if I would lend you money, anyway!" "See?" "You're a liar and a cheat." "To hell with you..." "You can't afford to play, just admit it!" "Who says I can't afford to play?" "Who says?" "You don't want to play, fine." "You're too fucking busy, whatever..." "I'm not too busy..." "I wouldn't lend you money anyway." " To hell with you, you lying cheat..." "What's your fucking problem, anyway?" "Is that any way to talk to people?" "You're 40, you should know better..." "Get out of here - get back to work!" "You son of a bitch..." "Lai Yi, go downstairs!" "Who the hell does he think he is, talking to me like that?" "Stop this and go downstairs." " What the hell kind of..." " Go downstairs!" " Swearing at people like that, what the..." " Downstairs!" " Forty years old, he should know better." " Lai Yi!" "You hear the way he was talking to me?" "Lai Yi, he was just joking..." "Who talks that way, at 40 years old?" "Lai Yi, get out!" "You're drunk again." "Did you hear the way he was talking?" "Saying "fuck" to people in the workplace..." "You're drunk." "Get out of my way!" "I'm going to kill you, you shit!" "Say that again, and I'll kill you..." "I'd like to see you try!" "I'm not scared of you..." "Fang, what's going on here?" "He's just drunk again." "I'll kill you, you shit!" "You think you're so tough?" "Fuck you..." "You bastard..." " Come over here!" " Fang... stop it!" "Fang!" " Everyone get out of my way!" " Fang...!" "Think you're tough, you son of a bitch?" "I'll kill you, I swear..." "I was just drunk, I didn't mean it." "This was all my fault..." "I shouldn't drink like that." "It was just the drink talking..." "Fuck, if Lai Yi didn't want to play, that's all he had to say." "Why go and pick a fight about it?" "Why did you even ask me?" "Smelting factory, copper smelting plant, Blast furnace workers" "Come on, put the hat on for me!" "Oh darling, you know you want..." "I'm going upstairs." "There's nothing to do here." "I'm going to try to stop up this leak." "Wait a minute..." "The leak's too big." "Fill this up with water, will you?" "Smelting factory, copper smelting plant" "Fill this up with water, will you?" " Did you make money on your stocks?" " Yeah." "Copper-plating workers break room" "Radio broadcast: " More and more high-tech companies are entering the market, which is one reason we're so optimistic about this new stock offering..." "Internet and high-tech companies are expected to continue..."" "Smelting factory, copper-plating plant" "Be careful, it's dripping there." "Most stocks are 70 to 80 yuan per share." "That's the usual price." "The most expensive ones are 90," "I hear we're not getting wages next month." "Everyone's saying so." "The bosses and cadres have it easy." "They don't do overtime." "I do." " We could take turns working." "When I work, you take the day off, and vice versa." "Or I could just take sick leave." "Sick leave?" "You get 5 days off as it is." "That's 1 night shift and 2 swing shifts." "I was going to take two days sick leave but my mom said it would be bad luck." "She said, "Who ever heard of taking sick leave at New Year?"" "Bribe someone with a carton of cigarettes and I bet they'll give you sick leave." "Or find another hospital." "Fuck, for a carton they'd probably write you a note for a month's sick leave!" "More like a week..." " I'll get a note from my hometown!" "Get a doctor or a hospital there to write one." "It's easy to get a week." "The second week is harder." "Who says?" "The most you'll get is a week." "Don't you need a doctor's stamp, too?" "I can find someone to give me one." "I got a week that one time, didn't I?" "Can't get more than that." "Usually it's 3 days." "And you'll have to be careful the next time." "I'm going to ask for a full month." "I'll ask my dad to help me get a doctor's stamp." "He's a cadre, so he knows people." "He's a cadre, so he knows people." "She works at a hospital." "I'll just walk in, tell the doc I need some time off, and ask him for a note!" "How long you want?" he'll say." ""A year, or two?"" "Oh, I don't need that long, doc." "Four or five months would be fine."" "He'll say, "Okay, here's your note."" "I'll get a note from the chief doctor, with one of those chief doctor stamps." "You know, the round ones." "I'll walk right into Shenyang Military Hospital and ask for Chief Doctor Zhang." "He'll give me an official stamp and say:" "Here's your note, son." "It says you've got testicular cancer..."" "Miss Li, could you take a look at this and tell me if it's okay?" "Smelting factory, copper-plating workers' break room" " Did the temperature come down?" " Yeah." " Did you open the valve?" " As far as it would go." "What's the air pressure?" "Between 0.4 and 0.6. and 0.6 is normal." "Did you hear about the valve factory?" "They just signed a contract with Three Gorges Dam." "Three Gorges... that's a big contract." "Bastards, at least their jobs are secure." "Three Gorges is a huge project..." "Will the factory give us New Year's gifts again?" "I don't know." "I bet it'll be canned goods." "They should give us rice and flour, at least..." "Did you hear?" "His son just joined the army." "He'll be a bigwig when he gets out, ha..." "Not that it'll help him much when he gets out and starts looking for work." "They posted him to the military police." "That was fast." "It's only a few months of training." "It's a bad posting." "Nobody wants it." "You have to give people a lot of flak." "And when you get out, everyone hates you." "Or comes to beat you up!" "Military police is the worst posting you can get." "It's a tough job..." "Everyone hates the military police." "Did you check the high-pressure valve?" "I checked." "It's at 75 degrees." " Open it a little more." " Okay." "Can't trust that guy to do his job right." "If it's not one problem, it's another..." "Bring it down!" "Throw that over here..." "Blackboard reads:" "Five-day Schedule Copper plating workers' break room" "How would you feel if I was always stealing your things?" "Go ahead..." "It wasn't us... was it, guys?" "We didn't take anything." "Well, when your own things start going missing, don't blame me." "You know it only takes three steps to steal a phone from a locker?" " Three steps?" " What three steps?" "One:" "Open the locker and take the phone." "Two:" "Run for the door." "Three:" "Call some whores!" "You want to know who took your phone?" "Just call him up and ask!" "Cut!" "That's a take!" "Let's hit the showers." "Copper plating workers'shower room" "Just a second." "Let me arrange this straw." "There you go." "Block the exhaust with this straw." "Will the draft make a difference?" " Nah, it's fine." "What are you doing?" "Let's finish this up before it gets dark." "Foreman Dexing Zhou" "When you go into the smelting plant, you should always wear a face mask." "Never go in there without one." "The fumes can irritate your nose and throat." "Copper smelting fumes are poisonous." "Lead emissions here are high, too." "Hundreds of times the national standard." "At least in the lead-smelting factories you know what you're getting into." "Not like this factory..." "Emissions here are way too high." "The factory never says so, but everyone knows it." "We do advanced processing here, so they really should tell workers to wear masks to avoid inhaling the particles." "But they don't say that anymore." "Being a smelter is a dangerous job." "You have to look out for yourself." "Especially temporary workers - half the workers here are temps." "Most regular workers have left." "They weren't getting paid anyway." "Some went into business or found other jobs." "The ones who couldn't are still here, just muddling along... guys like us who didn't have enough money to go into business for ourselves." "There's your salary." "I'll give you Zhao Bo's money too, and you can pass it on to him." "Are new bills okay?" "Nobody wants new bills these days." "I just want to see what they look like..." "If you show up for work, they give you 200 a month." " If not, you still get 200, right?" " Right." "So why bother at all?" "By the way, the night shift guys forgot to change the filter." "Then change it yourself." "You didn't change the filter yet?" " Which filter?" "I changed it." " Are you sure?" "You've got to change it every day." "All right, all right..." "Those slackers on the night shift sure won't remember to change it." "Everybody's always slacking here." "It's like sabotaging the Party." "Nobody else cares if the filter gets changed." "Why should you?" "What kind of talk is that?" "I ought to fine you" "I'm not even getting wages!" "I'll fine you the minute you get paid." "You can talk about fining me when they pay my back wages." "I will fine you, I swear." "Pay me the wages you owe me from last year, and I'll treat you to dinner." "Then you can fine me all you want!" "Put in a request and I'll send you home right now." "I can't do that." "I'd lose my pension." "That's 30 years down the drain..." "You should take what you can get." "If you get laid off this year, you won't even have last year's salary." "Thirty years... what a waste." "It's not so bad." "Just one bad year, out of thirty." "Thirty years." "What a joke!" "They said we had a job for life." "Pensions, health care, a safety net." "Doesn't seem likely now." "They don't care if you get sick, much less if you die... and forget about a pension!" "Next thing you know, the CCP will start calling itself the Republican Party!" "After 30 years, they ought to at least send you home with a pension." "Now they just send you home." "You have to be patient..." "Why?" "So I can wait for the factory to go bankrupt?" " Could that happen?" " Sure it could." "If the factory goes bankrupt, that's it." "We're all out of a job." "Things aren't that bad, are they?" "They're pretty bad." "I'm sure that after New Year, you'll be back to work again." "Back to work?" "What work?" "There'll be work." "They're not going to let you stay idle." "One minute they say everything is fine, and the next you're out of a job!" "Who knows what's really going on..." "Shenyang Smelting Factory" "Smelting factory, Lead smelting plant" "I'm going to take a look at the furnace." "Smelting Factory, Lead smelting furnace" "Quick, get that on camera!" "Running around, bare-assed..." "Lead smelting maintenance workers' break room" "You call that chess?" "Why would you move the rook there?" "Shit, you're right." "What were you thinking?" "Xiao Yang, that's the worst chess I've ever seen in my life!" "You lost the game right there." "Damn..." "Does this look like a "first rank" state-owned enterprise to you?" "Sure, that's what they call us." "But take a look around this place!" "Have you ever seen a sorrier bunch?" "We're full of lead poisoning, all of us." "Nobody should spend too much time in a factory like this." "Every year, we have to spend two months in hospital to have the lead taken out of our blood." "Anyone working here for long will find that his kids have health problems, too." "That's one hundred percent certain." "The kids are all born with too much lead in their blood." "It's even more dangerous for women." "Women shouldn't be working with lead in the first place." "It's too toxic." "This place used to have 4 shifts, running around the clock." "That was before the layoffs started." "F you get laid off, you know, you take a cut in salary." "200 month, that's all you get." "That's all I know." "We're the only ones left here, but we could get laid off any day." "One word from the boss, and the twenty of us are out of a job." "Most of us here are in our thirties or forties, married with kids." "We've got mouths to feed." "How are we supposed to feed our families if we can't work?" "We're all hardworking guys." "We want the factory do well." "But there are too many people competing for jobs these days." "The layoffs have made things worse." "Everyone here has at least one family member who's out of work." "Notice all the workers here are men." "Hardly any women, right?" "The factory laid them off and replaced them with cheaper temporary workers." "His wife got laid off." "So did mine." "We used to work together in this very same plant." "That was two or three years ago." "But who can you complain to?" "After my wife got laid off, she started selling vegetables." "She's out there every day with her vegetable cart..." "I get up early and go to the market to help her buy produce." "It gets light at three in the morning, so I've got to be up and out by four." "It's cheaper to buy vegetables at the market north of town." "I've been going there for years, buying three, four, five hundred pounds of vegetables each time." "They're so heavy you can hardly push them, and it takes an hour to walk back home." "They're so heavy, you've just got to take it slow, keep trudging along..." "It's three or four miles to market." "Sometimes we don't sell them all." "Then we have to store them at my father-in-law's place." "He has a warehouse." "They use it to store electrical parts." "We stow the cart and the vegetables inside, then get up early the next day to start again." "I only get four or five hours of sleep a night and then I have to work all day at the factory." "Sometimes I can catch a nap during lunch." "We earn 10, maybe 20 yuan a day." "Some days we don't make anything." "Then it feels like a waste of time." "It's not easy work lifting produce..." "The bags weigh 70 to 100 pounds each." "These days, most of the factory workers have one-child families." "You've got to make your kids study hard so they don't end up like us." "We didn't get much schooling in our day." "Now it's harder to find work." "You've got to do well in school and get a good education if you want to find a decent job." "With only a junior high school education you'll never find work." "These days, even the army requires a high school diploma." "Most of us at the factory only have junior high school educations." "Not many of us made it to high school." "I'm trying to prepare for the worst, because I could get laid off any day now." "You see the way things are here..." "A lot of workers have left already." "The ones who have left are a step ahead of the rest of us" "That's the way you have to look at it." "Take a look around this place and you'll see what I mean." "All the empty rooms, all the padlocked doors..." "You win every time." "Nobody can beat you." "Du Bin, I know you never wanted to see my face again, but today's your last day." "I wanted to say goodbye." "I know what you said but..." "I had to say goodbye." "You've got some nerve..." "Look, here's a present for you!" "What is that?" "It looks like some lint you pulled out of your pocket..." "Try to leave with some dignity, will you?" "Oh, you know you're going to miss me!" " Go home, already..." " You'll miss me, just wait and see!" "Can't you at leasttry to leave a good impression?" "I'm just saying you'll miss me when I'm gone..." "Your turn." "What are you waiting for?" "Stop talking, and I'll make my move!" "Don't listen to Liu." "He doesn't know a thing about chess." "This was Du Bin's last day at the factory." "He was laid off from his job as a maintenance worker in the lead smelting plant after an altercation with his supervisor." "Tie Xi industrial district freight railway" "Shenyang Sheet Metal Factory, 1999." "The factory, which once employed 6000 workers, was built in 1943 to produce bayonets for the Japanese lmperial Army and nails for civilian use." "From the early 1950's to the late 1970's, the factory was expanded to its present size." "Though it posted a record performance in 1993, by the second half of 1995 the factory was losing money." "On September 17, 1997, the Shenyang Sheet Metal Factory shut down." "Individual safety benefits everyone Careful craftsmanship means quality products" "January 2000" "Shenyang Electrical Cable Factory" "The factory, built in 1934, once employed 12,000 workers." "Most of the factory plants are now idle, and only a small number of workers remain." "Shenyang Electrical Cable Factory Production Records Department" "Where'd you perm your hair?" "How much was it?" " Ten yuan." "Twelve, if you want it styled." "Can you get me some water?" " What's that?" " I said I'm thirsty." "Where's your cup?" "Our production figures used to average 2 million yuan per month." "Sometimes 3 or 4 million." "This month has been the worst." "Production was only 40,000 yuan." "Production figures for the first half of this year were about 500,000 yuan." "This is the report for this month." "I'll put it on the back of my bike." "I lost some fish once, that way." "It fell right off the back of the bike..." "I didn't even notice until I got home." "You have to be careful these days." "If you put anything on your bike, people will steal it." "That's true!" "Who's in charge here?" "We're collecting the heating bill." "The heating bill..." "You need the factory manager." "He's in a meeting right now with the other supervisors." "Is it the bill for the factory?" "Whose is it?" "It's for workers' housing." "Oh, you need the manager, then." "We can't help you." "You're from building affairs, right?" "Where are they meeting?" " Over there." "Shenyang Electrical Cable Factory Accounting Department" "That comes to 62.7 yuan." "But I can't pay you unless you give me change." "How much?" " 62.7 yuan, so you need to give me 31.4 in change..." "Wait... that should be 37.3." "How much are you giving me, again?" "I'm giving you a hundred, so you give me 37.3 yuan." "Wait, how much am I getting?" "62.7 yuan." " But you've got change right there!" "Dat kan ik niet allemaal aan jou geven." "Dat heb ik nog nodig!" "I can't give it all to you, can I?" "I need it for other people!" "No, not 32.7... 37.3." "What month is this for?" " November." "I already paid you for October, remember?" "That was thirty-what?" " 37.3 yuan." "I owe you two cents." " No matter." "Keep it." "I don't have change, anyway." "Wait a minute, here's change..." " Thanks." "Zheng, don't you owe me from last month?" "No, I already paid you." "Oh." "Then who still owes me?" "By the way, the computers are down because there's no one here to work them." "I have to calculate the pensions by hand so it's going to take a while." "You'll just have to wait." "Do we get our food subsidy this month?" "What do you think?" "The factory isn't even paying salaries!" "How can you expect a food subsidy?" "It's okay if you don't like it." "Tell me the truth." "If you think it's too small, I'll give it to her instead." "No, no, it's fine." "It's just a little small, that's all." "I think it'll stretch with wearing." "Isn't that right, Danzi?" "Let me look in the mirror." "Looks fine to me!" "Really - if you're afraid it's too small, you can give it to Miss Fu." "That receipt you gave us last time isn't even official." "We can't use it!" "It's just that we're a little short-staffed right now." "We didn't do it on purpose." "Do you still have the receipt?" "I gave it to them already." " Have you eaten yet?" " No, not yet." "None of us have eaten yet." "If you don't like the sweater, give it to her." "You're not trying to take away my sweater, are you?" "Not at all." "But if you don't like it, I'll make you an even better one!" "Well, in that case, maybe you could knit me a slightly bigger one." "I'll give it to you as soon as I'm done." "Let's give this one to Miss Fu instead." "Is the color all right?" " Oh, it's very nice." "They say it's a very flattering color for women over forty..." "Are you sure it's all right?" " We should get going." "Are we coming back after we eat?" "Sure, we'll come back here." "Finish that, and we'll go together." "After all, it's New Year." "We should celebrate." "Celebrate the new millennium." "Millennium years are bad luck." "That's right, bad luck!" "Well, everyone else is celebrating." "We should too." "Go find Miss Xiang." "Tell them to hurry up so we can leave." "That's a change." "The boss is trying to get us to leave work early!" "Do you want some water?" "Xiao Xiang?" "Where are you?" "Where are the others?" "As factory manager, I just want to say that I look forward to working together again in the coming year." "I promise to do my best to help make this the best year ever..." "Cheers!" "Good speech!" "Here's to a joyful and prosperous New Year!" "May it bring you happiness and success!" "Thank you." "Well said!" "Now drink up!" "You're like the girl in that song..." "A pretty girl in my boat, a gently rocking boat..."" "Is it my turn?" "I'd just like to say that" "I hope we can always be together!" " Could you stand us?" " Of course I could!" "I just hope that none of you ever leaves me!" "That's all I wanted to say." "Were you, uh... thinking of anyone in particular?" "You, of course!" "I'd like to wish everyone a happy millennium." "You mean millennium bug!" "Right, happy millennium bug!" "And I hope that in the coming year, everyone will have enough work enough food to put on the table, and more good times like these." "So let's work hard to make it happen!" "Lastly, I just want to say how much I miss Danzi!" "What can I say?" "You've said it all!" "You're the secretary!" "You have to say something." "The secretary should speak last, do the summing up." "The last speech is always hardest." "You can't drink until you make a speech!" "Today we've wine, today we'll toast..." "Though we may not have wine tomorrow..." "Today we'll drink like fools!" "The song, a distant melody" "I'll meet you in my dreams" "Mourn the days gone past" "My love for you is evermore" "The wind she sweeps away today" "And leaves me but this poetry" "Your shadow haunts each line" "And with these words, my love" "I bless you on your way..." "The general manager's speech was the same as last year." "He said that if we have another bad year, we'll have to shut down and lay everyone off." "He said it's like raising kids - sometimes you have to let them go, let them make their own way." "That's what he said - "I can't take care of you anymore."" "I did the best I could, but now you have to fend for yourselves!"" "We're on our own." "That goes for factory departments, too." "They're all going to be privatized, spun off, or hired out." "He said the factory doesn't have the time or the money to look after us any more." "Every day people are hounding the general manager for money." "When one of the departments couldn't pay pensions, he had to borrow 40,000 from another one." "Otherwise those pensions wouldn't have been paid." "As it is, he's got retired workers coming into his office every day, cursing and telling him that if he can't do his job, he should get the hell out." "They say that right to his face!" "Every day it's something." "Now it's the bondholders, asking for their money back." "Some of them bring their entire families." "I'm so busy dealing with bondholders I don't have time for anything else." "And what am I supposed to tell them?" "That we can't afford to pay them?" "I can't cope with another year like this." "Nobody could." "Every day it's some new mess, right?" "I'm telling you, this is no way to live." "Maybe the factory should privatize." "Let them fend for themselves." "I can't deal with it anymore." "We've got to cut back, privatize, become financially independent." "Some of the departments already have." "That's the plan right now, anyway - to privatize everything we can." "Privatize the departments and sell shares." "Twenty thousand from one investor, eighty thousand from another." "The state will probably still hold the largest block." "The general manager said that's what we're going to try next year." "But will it work?" "Maybe not." "All we can do is try it and see." "It's like Deng Xiaoping said:" "Groping for stones to cross the river."" "If it works, great." "If not, we try something else." "Next year is going to be even more difficult than this one..." "Let me tell the world" "China's fate is hers to make" "Let me tell the future" "China's relay has begun" "Great leaders past and future" "Lead us to a grand new age" "Oh!" "Guide us forward on our way" "Onward to a grand new age" "Sing The East is Red!" "Arise!" "The future is in our hands!" "Let us tell a tale of spring" "Reform and opening, Great prosperity" "Guide us forward on our way" "Lead us to a grand new age" "Hold the banner high" "Here begins the future" "Shenyang Smelting Factory March, 2000" "Lead smelting plant" "Leave that." "We'll get someone else to do it later." "Foreman" "Lead smelting furnace workers'break room" "Another game?" "Lead smelting plant, routine annual maintenance and repairs." "Repairs and maintenance being carried out by temporary workers hired by the factory." "During the repairs, all regular production workers are idled." "I'm telling you, it won't go." "Ready!" "You have to close that gate." "It doesn't matter if it's open." "Which gate do we close?" "Lead plating plant, annual maintenance and repairs." "It won't work unless all the gates are closed." "Ready!" "Let's go!" "Keep going..." "Keep going..." "You're almost there." "Okay, stop!" "I don't have a wrench." "Can't adjust it without a wrench." "Okay, just leave it." "Just repair the hole." "Weld it, then." "Are we going to weld it today?" "No, just do the bolts." "They're still loose." "We can't finish welding today, anyway." "Should we move this back?" "No, just finish what you're doing, then come back down." "We're already finished." "That's it for today, then." "We'll finish the rest tomorrow." "Are the bolts in straight?" " Are they straight?" " Yeah." "We'll start on that area tomorrow." "Let's move." "Pass your tools down to him." "Careful, hold onto the rail." "Just toss those tools down there..." "Fuck you!" "I'll raise two cents." " That's all?" "I've got a deuce." " Deuces won't help you!" "He's holding higher cards." "Raise four cents and call." "I've got the higher card." "That's all?" "Four cents!" "No respect, I tell you..." " What were you holding?" " I'm not telling." "Mine's higher." " I'm beat." "Damn, I got bad cards." "Draw your cards first, then you can raise." "What are you doing?" "You ought to..." "A little modesty please?" "It's hard to be modest when I'm winning!" "No respect..." "A king for me, deuce for you." "Can't get any respect around here..." "Go ahead and draw." " Take the money, it's yours." "Who are you filming?" "He's the big boss, you know." "Not the big boss..." "Assistant" not-so-big boss." "Hey, hey... what are you doing?" "Fuck, he had a ten..." "No respect..." "No respect at all..." " He doesn't have a seven." "Come on, I need a seven!" "Don't hold back..." "You see the way it is around here during the annual repairs." "All we do is mess around all day..." "Can you lend me some change?" " I'm not lending small change." "How about a hundred, then?" "A hundred?" "That isn't even enough for a decent hooker!" "Here's your hundred." "All right!" "Let's play..." "Be careful not to step on it." "Keep laying those bricks..." "Hey, the boss is here!" "No, I only came beause it's payday." "Figured today there'd at least be a good game of mahjong on." "Figured today there'd at least be a good game of mahjong on." "Hey Mao, that wall seems to be bulging a bit." "Take out two of those bricks." " No, it's fine..." "Where have you been?" "We've been waiting!" " Who's waiting?" " Everyone." "Well, they said we were getting paid today, but we're not" "Think you're a match for me?" "Place your bets..." " Are you playing?" " No." "At least stay and eat with us." " You don't even have enough for yourselves." "Have a bite, at least." "There's hardly enough for a bite." "Even so, share and share alike." "Bring anything good to eat?" " Eggs." "Too much cholesterol in eggs." "Damn, it's been a long first day!" "You call this a day?" "It's not even noon yet!" "We used to work all day, every day, without a break." "Now we don't even have spare parts to fix the equipment, so there's less work to do." "I make 440 yuan a month now." "That's 300 less than I used to make." "We can't afford replacement parts." "Even if we took the equipment apart, we couldn't put it back together." "That's why we don't bother." "Anyway, my shift is over." "Okay, let's move it!" "Stop!" "If you use that stick for leverage, we can get it up on the rollers then move it forward." "No, not like that..." "All right, let's move it!" "Push it forward, that's it..." "Okay, stop!" "We need to lift it up again." "I'll just pry up the front end." "Ready?" "Here we go..." "Okay, stop right there." "We'll roll it forward, then turn left." "All right, that's good enough." "Fuck, I need a break." " Yeah, let's take a break." "Back to the break room!" " Let's go..." "It's hot in here." "I'm covered in sweat." "So the deal is, you two get thirty yuan each, I get forty." "I thought it would be 250 altogether, but it's only 100." "We got cheated." "So it's 30 for each of you, 40 for me." "I wouldn't do this again for 100!" "There are seventy bags left." "I'm fucking exhausted!" "This is damn hard work." "What did you expect?" "My fingernails are killing me!" "I couldn't lift another bag." "Fuck, my fingernails are killing me!" "That's funny, mine feel just fine." "And those bills he gave me - I think they're fakes." "He wouldn't dare." "It's true, a lot of the new bills are fakes." "I should check the serial numbers." "There are too many fakes floating around these days..." "This is damn tough work!" "What did you expect?" "Fun and games?" "Hey, is Wang Ran still here?" " He left." "He went home?" " Yeah." "Oh." "His wife just called for him." "Those bags are heavier than they look." "You can sprain your back lifting them." "Even the ones that look light, aren't..." "It's tough work." "It's true, they're heavy." "Can't even fucking lift them." "They must weigh 200 pounds!" "At least." "I couldn't lift a hundred." "200?" "They felt heavier than that!" " Definitely." " What are you looking for?" " A bucket to wash my clothes." "Why wash them now?" "Can't you wait until Monday?" "You're tired enough as it is." "But what if I'm working Monday?" "Hell, it's not like you've got a contract!" "Yeah, you do this work too long, it'll kill you..." "You have to admit it's good work, though." "I'm telling you..." "I'd quit my job in a minute if I could do this every day!" "I'd be set for life." "It's decent money - you can't complain." "Fifty yuan for two hours is good money." "350 yuan for a week's work." "What's to complain about?" "Listen to him talk!" "And he's a cadre!" "I still say 350 a week isn't enough!" "It's a lot more than you usually make." "We're not talking pocket change here..." "Last month, you guys made... what?" "200 yuan?" "If only I were stronger, I'd be glad to keep doing this work." "It's better than most jobs out there." "Besides, you get used to it after a few days, right?" "I was panting pretty hard by the end." "But other than that, I felt fine." "I used to do this goddamn work all the time and never felt tired..." "I'm telling you, I don't mind this at all." "I'm not even that tired." "How long until quitting time?" "About an hour." "Fifty yuan a day's not bad, but it's still not enough." "Next time I'll ask for more." "Hey, it's money in your pocket and only takes a few hours a day." "So why not take the work?" " Maybe if we worked in pairs..." " No, that wouldn't be fair." "You'd end up doing most of the work." "But you know you need the money." "Fuck, I used to do this kind of work when I was younger." "Used to load trucks all day." "No big deal." "It might be easier to work in pairs." "That way, it's not so tiring." "Hell, at least you don't have to load them onto the trucks." "There's not a bastard alive who could manage that alone..." "Zhuzi..." "Zhuzi!" " Do you have any change?" " Why?" "We want to divide the money now, so we need to break this bill." "Can't it wait until Monday?" "If you don't have change, just forget it." "We'd just feel more comfortable if we divided the cash now, that's all." "I'll take your hundred for this fifty but it won't be a very good deal for you!" "In that case, never mind." "Besides, can't it wait until Monday?" " Sure, I guess so." "Aren't you coming back on Monday?" "There's another shipment." "I'll do it." "I'm just worried about him." "I'll do it, but not alone." "It's only a few hours, right?" "And it's good work." " It's almost 4:30, isn't it?" " Not even close." "Whose jacket?" "I'll just throw it here." "Fuck, don't throw it there!" "It'll get all dirty." "It's not dirty here." "You think it's any cleaner over there?" "!" "At least it's cleaner than there." "Whose watch is this?" "Now, don't go crying when I beat you..." "We'll see who ends up crying." "You shouldn't have bothered showering." "You'll be sweating soon enough." "See, I'm already beating you." "Is that your move?" "Get this place on film now, because it won't be around much longer..." "Go, go... get away from there!" "Watch that oxygen hose!" "Move that hose!" "We're going to have to seal that opening with clay." "If we don't seal it, there'll be trouble." "Okay." "Tell them to get down from there!" "Goddamn supervisors - they're not even taking this seriously." "Nobody does his job around here." " The pressure seems high." " It is high." "It's leaking all over the place down there." "Make sure the opening's sealed." "Stay back there..." "This molten copper's volatile." "The factory finally got government approval to file for bankruptcy." "That's good news." "I hear we get 20,000 yuan each." "I'd settle for 10,000." "No point hanging around here, anyway." "We'll be lucky to get that much." "10,000 seems low compared with what Xu Guoqing and the others got." "They got 17,000 yuan." "Who did?" " Xu Guoqing." "Who said that?" " A guy who came to the factory yesterday." "Can't remember his name..." "He cut a deal with someone, treated them to dinner and drinks." "He got 9,000 up front, and they're supposed to give him 8,000 later." "The factory said they'd pay him the rest in September." "The factory won't be here in September!" "Well, he got it in writing!" "That doesn't mean anything." "You could get it in writing from Zhu Rongji himself," "So is Xu technically laid off?" "More like "bought off" - He got severance pay." "And the factory agreed to that?" " Sure." "And he gets 240 a month for two years, from the local government committee." "240 a month for two years..." "That's not bad." "This whole place is going under." "Lai Yi says there's work in handong, in the smelting plants there." "What does he know?" "Did you see how scared that guy looked today?" "Those were some strong winds." "I heard they even blew down one of the telephone poles." "Scared the hell out of me." "Did you see me take off running?" "They blew off some tiles from furnace number 4." "Those were damn strong winds..." " Is there any water?" " No." "I'm going up." "I want to wash my face." "When the factory closes, we're out of luck." "Half of us probably won't find jobs." "Nothing to do all day," "except maybe steal..." "The copper smelting furnaces here are the oldest in all of China, but they still work." "And you can feed them anything, not like those new high-tech furnaces." "You can feed these furnaces any old garbage as fuel." "The new ones require better raw materials." " Is the temperature down?" " Not yet." "Well, there's nothing we can do about that." " Is that opening still sealed?" " Yeah, it's fine." "How's the air pressure?" "It's 0.12." " Good, that's normal." "If these factories were better managed, they wouldn't be losing money." "From start to finish, smelting is a profitable business." "3000 yuan pure profit, per ton." "One shift can produce 100 tons of copper." "Three shifts a day, that's 300 tons." "300 tons." "300 tons at 3000 yuan per ton... that comes to 900,000 yuan." "900,000 yuan per day." "Figure twenty-five days per month of regular production and you get..." "22,250,000 yuan a month." "Let's just say 22 million a month." "...how much?" "Over 200 million." " And that's pure profit." "Besides your raw materials and labor costs and fuel," "you're talking pure profit." "Say I spend 5 yuan on raw materials and I sell my finished product for 30 yuan." "That's 25 yuan left." "If you subtract labor and fuel costs" "Let's say 15 yuan." "You're still left with 10 yuan." "That's why copper smelting is a profitable business." "You need raw ore, of course." "The price of the ore depends on the quality, right?" "That's the real problem - poor quality." "The high level cadres only buy goddamn low-quality ores." "Shenyang's got copper mines everywhere." "But what they do, see, is mix copper dust with common riverbed clay." "That's where they get the The stuff's complete garbage..." "Do a chemical analysis of it and I guarantee you'll find it's mostly clay." "Goddamn it..." "If only they'd use decent quality ores we wouldn't be in this situation." "The materials we're using now are nothing more than rocks." "There's no gold in that stuff." "This factory is paying gold prices for something that's basically just dirt." "Is it any wonder we're losing money?" "This is a problem for the government, a problem for the factory managers." "There's nothing we can do about it." "The buyers here cut deals with suppliers." "They bring in poor quality ores, and pocket the rest of the cash themselves." "Raw materials being fed into the copper smelting blast furnace" "Hurry up and get inside." " Got a cigarette?" " What?" "Why should I give you a cigarette?" "Come on, let's play." "Copper smelting blast furnace workers changing shifts" "Workers cleaning up after the mishap at the copper smelting blast furnace" "It's a nice-Iooking blade, isn't it?" "Checkmate!" "This factory is... 20 million in debt for electric bills alone." "Water bills are another 10 million." "That's 30 million, just for water and electric." "Bond debt owed to outside investors and employees is another 30 million." "If you add coal and gas, you have to figure we're at least 70 million in debt." "I hear they're not even going to pay back the bondholders." "But it gets worse..." "there are workers' back salaries." "That's at least 2000 per worker." " It adds up." " I know..." " Fuck, this factory is drowning in debt!" " It's got to be at least 100 million..." "And if you add other outside debt, it's almost too high to count." "There's more, too." "Right - we owe 7000 tons of copperplate for contract work that hasn't been delivered." "And the factory already spent the money!" "That's 7000 tons of copperplate" "we're going to have to pay back very soon." "All of the copper and gold around here is for contract work." "It doesn't belong to the factory." "It belongs to someone else." "All the factory earns are labor costs." "Damn it, I'm telling you..." "this is the bosses' fault." "They've gotten rich running this factory." "What kind of society are we living in?" "It's just like, you know..." "what they say in biology." "It's a life or death struggle." "People, plants and animals..." "We're all part of the same big food chain." "We depend on each other for life." "It's always the same struggle, whether it's people or animals." "What I'm talking about here is survival of the fittest." "The weak become extinct." "You can't get a piece of the pie, a piece of the market?" "Well then, you die out." "That's just the way it is." "A lot of people are out there wondering:" ""What the hell?" "I can barely afford to eat!"" "Doesn't take a scientist to understand why." "It's just the way things are today." "If everyone's in the same boat, struggling just to make a living..." "well, it starts to get you down." "You start to lose hope and give up." "We're all people, right?" "We all want the same things from life." "But if you look around and see that other people have things you don't... well, it makes you start to wonder." "You're the same as everyone else, and yet you're falling behind." "You can't keep up with the crowd." "You see other people out there, they've got their hookers and their dinners out and drinks." "They're making 500 a month, same as you." "They can afford food to eat." "They can afford to raise their kids." "While you're busting your ass and still barely managing to get by." "You start to wonder, "What's wrong with me?"" "How can anyone go on like that?" "That's the way it is, all over." "More or less the same." "Give me two sheets of sandpaper..." "That's the truth, but a lot of people out there don't want to hear it." "I know we're not what you'd call "educated", but we read the papers, we watch the news." "We know what's going on out there." "We know how our lives compare..." "Copper smelting workers'break room One month later" "Did you hear they're planning to widen Second Street?" "They're calling in the military police to keep an eye on things." "I thought it was First Street." "No, it's Second Street." "They're bringing in the MPs to keep watch during the demolition." "Otherwise, people will steal things." "It doesn't have anything to do with workers or protests at the factory." "I heard some of the workers are planning a protest after May 1 st." "All the retirees know about it." "Yeah, Xiao Yuan told me." "He said the retired workers are going to hold a protest to demand that the factory pay them their pensions." "I asked him where he heard it, and he said his dad told him." "I said that whoever told his dad must have been a spy or something." "They ought to arrest the guy." "If the factory manager finds out who's organizing the protest, there's going to be trouble." "I'm going to go steal some supplies." "Hope nobody notices me taking them." "Go ahead." "Nobody will care." "Maybe I can sell them to earn some cash." "You're not going to earn much on them." "Maybe enough for a drink or two." " Yeah, and that's about all..." "Rumors have been flying for the past month." "They say that the factory is going bankrupt." "There are shortages of everything." "We used to get trainloads of coal," "but now it's just a small truckload, not even enough to run the furnaces." "We're going bankrupt, any day..." "Where's Zhao Bo?" "Have you been drinking?" " Yeah, I bought this." "Want some?" " No." " Did you eat yet?" " Yeah, I already ate." "Don't go downstairs again." "There's nothing but ash down there." "There's some bread up here, too." "Why don't you eat it for lunch?" "I promised to bring it down to someone, but it's already been over an hour!" "I'm going back down." "I already ate." "Have you eaten yet?" " Yeah." "What time is it?" " I It must be at least 12:30." "It's 12:00." "You going down?" " Yeah, I'm going out for a smoke." "Oh, courage, don't fail me now..." "There's water for showers." "What time should I come in tomorrow?" "Why come in at all?" "Why bother?" "There's nothing left to do here." "I thought I'd come in and see if the factory is bankrupt yet..." "I think there's something wrong with my arm." "It's going numb." "Maybe you're dying." "Hey, if I have to go to the hospital, will the factory pay for it?" "What do you think?" "They probably won't pay for 100% of it, will they?" "Who knows, these days..." "Well, I'm going to ask them." "Come on, let's hit the showers." "Worrying about the factory is a waste of time." "Let's shower and get out of here." "Will anyone be in the clinic now?" "You're wasting your time..." "What's the extension?" "123, right?" "No, that's not right." " What's the number?" "I'm telling you, nobody's there." "We're all getting laid off soon, anyway." "Copper smelting blast furnace workers" "What time is it?" "How long until we get off?" "An hour?" "Two more hours." "Two more hours - that means we'll have to load the furnace again." "Stop worrying about what time you get off." "If I cut my foot again, they're going to have to replace my foot!" "Fuck, that looks bad." "Here you go." "See?" "I got cut twice!" "What the hell...?" "Don't worry, they've got it under control." "Blast furnace foreman Zhou Qixing" "The main thing right now is to give the workers some sense of stability." "Hey, remember that foreman from the sheet metal factory?" "He lives in Nanhu now." "Well, he's a pedicab driver now." "Now that the factory's bankrupt, he's a laborer, like the rest of us..." "Are you in charge?" " Yeah." "I'm going to ask the foreman!" "Go ahead... ask your goddamned foreman." "Smelting plant internal supply railway" "Zinc smelting plant raw materials receiving depot" "Temporary workers unloading shipments of raw materials for the zinc smelting plant" "Not many deliveries these days." "Any news about the factory yet?" " None at all?" "Everyone's talking about it." "There are a lot of rumors that the factory is going bankrupt." "But nobody knows for sure" "Well, it won't be long." "Look at all that empty space." "We're not even getting shipments of raw materials these days." "If we keep working, we can finish by 4:00." "This is the only shipment today." "I can't leave until you finish unloading." "1200 bags, right?" "There must be 1200 bags left." "Smelting factory, zinc plating plant" "The finished zinc plates, after undergoing chemical processing." "It's against regulations to make these, you know..." "They take a lot of time." "They're nice, though, don't you think?" "I was sent down for nearly two years" "It was a bad time to be a student..." "Back then, nobody cared if we learned anything." "The teachers never made us study." "Even in junior high school, you didn't have to go to class." "You knew they'd give you a diploma anyway." "All you had to do was show up on exam day." "Even if you didn't turn in an exam, they'd still pass you." "They sent us down as soon as we graduated." "That was it... we had no skills, no real education." "It was the same for everyone my age." "None of us got any education." "Right now, if you gave me a grade-school textbook," "I could read it okay, but that's about it." "You know that we never even studied phonics?" "Phonics is basic stuff, right?" "But I never learned it." "I don't think they ever taught us." "These days, I can read okay." "I can read most of the grade school characters." "But when it comes to science, chemistry or physics," "I'm pretty lost." "Chemistry's a complete blank, and I doubt" "I could understand a biology textbook." "I could do a lab experiment, sure, but if I had to read about it in a book, I wouldn't understand anything." "As for history, literature, geography..." "I know as much as the next guy." "But that's just common knowledge." "I have a tough time with math." "Sure, I know the basics - things like addition and subtraction, multiplication and division." "But I can't do fractions or algebra." "Not that you need much math to work in a place like this." "In grade school, I never had much respect for my teachers." "Nobody did." "Back then, our heroes were the kids who struggled against authority, or turned in blank exam papers." "We went to school, but we never listened to the teacher." "Nobody listened in class, but the teachers couldn't complain." "If they did, we'd struggle against them, or put up big character posters." "We never studied for exams, either." "We'd just come to school one day, they'd tell us the exam topic, and pass out the exam papers on such-and-such a topic, and then you'd take it home." "They let you look up all the answers at home, then turn it in the next day at school." "The plant's closing in two days." "What?" "We've got two more days." " Are you serious?" "Yeah." "They're shutting down the zinc smelting plant in two days." "Do we still have to come to work on Monday?" "The factory manager was just here for the meeting." "He changed his driver so that nobody would recognize him, and kept the car circling outside, waiting for him to come out." "He drove off the minute the meeting was over." "I felt sorry for him..." "he looked terrified." "So, the plant is closing." "There won't be any work done around here these last two days..." "If you're going to steal those tools, you'd better do it soon." "We've only got two more days." "At least there's no work to do now, so nobody will miss them." "You can hide them someplace safe, then sneak them out on your last day." "Your brother works over in maintenance, doesn't he?" "He doesn't have anywhere to put them." "Doesn't he have a toolbox?" "Yeah, he's got a toolbox, just like the ones we use." " Fucking idiot..." " Who's an idiot?" " Your brother." "I'm telling you, it's not that simple." " Nobody will even notice." "But where is he going to put it?" " It doesn't take up that much space." "Listen, it's not that complicated." "Just hide your tools over there today, and take them when you leave tomorrow." "Forget it - we'd never get past the guards." "But they're our tools." " They belong to the factory!" "You going to take a shower?" " No." "I can't believe we're bankrupt." "It happened so fast..." "On April 29, 2000, the Shenyang smelting plant closed its zinc smelting plant and sent all the workers home." "Copper smelting plant, furnace maintenance workers' meeting" "If you start slacking off, you'll only be hurting yourselves." "But we've still got work to do here." "If you start slacking off, you'll only be hurting yourselves." "For now, it's business as usual." "I want you all to keep doing your jobs, and be especially conscious of safety." "Du Aibin broke his hand recently," "and I don't want any more accidents." "So look out for yourselves." "Remember: "Safety first!"" "We've got to keep working, and take this one day at a time." "Do the best you can, and don't get sloppy." "There's a chance we might get bonuses." "So if you don't get your bonus because you've been slacking off, you won't have anyone to blame but yourself!" "We should turn off the lights." "Yeah, conserve electricity..." "June 9, 2000, Shenyang smelting factory, copper smelting plant." "On May 30, 2000, the Shenyang smelting factory closed its copper smelting plant and sent all copper smelters home." "June 11, 2000 The last copper plating plant left in production." "That's too big." " What's wrong with it?" "You'll never get it past the guards." "Well, at least I can try..." "It's over." "This place is bankrupt" "You came just in time to see this place go out of business." "This place go out of business." "Ours is the last plant still open, and we close tomorrow." "Even last winter wasn't this bad." "This time we're closing for good." "The factory still hasn't paid our salaries for June!" "They owe some people a whole year but there's no money left on the books." "Guo said he just got paid." "I asked, and they said no." "So far, no one's been paid." "Liu didn't get paid yet." "He wouldn't anyway." "He hasn't shown up for work in a month." "Some of them are supposed to get paid up until the end of the year." "That's more than we'll get." "Guess it doesn't matter what time we come in tomorrow." "8:00 should be fine." "I'm not used to coming in at 8:00." "By the time I get used to it..." "By the time I get used to it, the factory will be bankrupt!" "8:00 isn't that early." "It's no big deal" "Let's go." "On June 6, 2000, the Shenyang Smelting Factory closed its last copper plating plant and laid off all remaining workers." "Soon after this, , all laid-off lead smelting workers are required to travel to a hospital 30 kilometers away for their last round of medical treatments." "The treatments last for one month, and are held four times each year." "June 13, 2000 Lead smelting workers arrive at the hospital" "Look what reading porn has turned me into..." "Hell, there's nothing else to do around here." "What's that?" "Same old game?" "Man, I'm out of batteries." "See?" "That little light's not on." "And I just got to level ten..." "I'm going to bed." "Let me take a peek at that book!" "Just be careful... don't drop it on the ground or anything..." "Bet you couldn't play that if we threw something in there!" "Give him the sheet music." "Where is it?" "It's in that bag." " In the bag?" "Be careful..." "don't step on his case." "And play the whole song this time." "You always stop in the middle..." "we want to hear the whole thing." "No stopping this time, okay?" "You always do that..." "Floating on the river" "Delicate bamboo" "Soaring in the distance Lofty peaks of blue" "The eagle, so heroic Spreads his wings and soars" "I'm off to fight, my darling I'm off to fight the war" "To take the place of men who fall And heed the Party's call..." "Where am I supposed to go again?" "Hey, can I take one of those boxes when you're done using it?" "Sure." "They're right over there." "I can't find my name on this list." "What is this list, anyway?" "The list of patients with lead poisoning..." "I think I have another shot this afternoon." "Can you absorb another one this soon?" " Sure, why not?" "It takes a while to absorb." "It's a slow process." "It's three shots in all, right?" "Remember I told you about my dad's dogs?" "Well, he asked me to kill one of them, so I beat the dog to death." "We had two dogs - one male, one female." "The male bit my dad." "Didn't want it anymore, huh?" "Well, it bit him pretty bad." "I was so mad when I heard," "I said we ought to kill it." "My dad was pretty mad, too." "He said if I wanted to kill it, go ahead." "Let me help you with that needle." "Does it hurt?" "Do I have another shot tomorrow?" "How many have you had?" "Just one." "Then you should have another one tonight." "Where did you go last night?" "I didn't go for my shot." "I forgot." "Too busy having fun, I guess." "I got one the first day, but not yesterday." "Is this swelling normal?" "It isn't going down." "I think that's normal." "The medicine isn't going in!" "Take the needle out." "It's swollen." "Does it hurt?" "The swelling should go down on its own, right?" "Yeah." "Hard to find my veins..." " That's because you're too fat." "It was no problem yesterday." "Did the needle go in?" "No, it didn't." " It didn't even go in." "You just have to use more force." "Forget it then." "Don't keep trying." "You're supposed to relax your hand." "It's hard to find a vein." "My veins hurt." "This time should be all right..." "Does that hurt?" "He's fat, that's why you're having trouble finding a vein." "Does it hurt?" "If it hurts, forget it." "Yeah." "My arm hurts." "Then forget it." "Take the needle out." "Maybe they ought to give you the injection in your ass, instead!" "Try here." " I already got one there." "Try this area." "Maybe this area will work." "You can't find a vein because you're too fat." "I think maybe my veins got tangled up somehow..." "The injections contain a chelating agent to rid the bloodstream of lead and other harmful chemicals, though it also eliminates other beneficial minerals from the blood." "For this reason, the workers are required to stay in hospital for one month." "Hello?" "Testing, testing..." "I think it works." "It works?" "Unplug that, will you?" "You either agree to play mahjong, or we'll have to beat you up!" "We're not taking no for an answer!" "You've got nothing better to do." "Come on, let's start the game!" "You invited me to play last night, so I'm inviting you tonight." "Come on, Chen!" "Hey, you should know that these guys lost yesterday, and didn't pay up." "They didn't?" " That's no way to act." "That's right - you lose, you pay up." "At least I always pay my debts." "Come on, let's go!" " You've got to pay your debts." "We're playing eight rounds tonight." "Are you in or out?" "I'm not taking any excuses." "I'm serious." "I can't." "Maybe tomorrow." "Hurry, maybe we can still sell his saxophone out on the street!" "What's he going to do about it?" "If you're too afraid to light those, give them to me and I'll do it!" "Are you playing?" "If you say no, I'm going to burn these." "All that work, up in flames..." "Are you playing?" "Come on, you've got to play!" "Seriously... if you don't play, we'll have to beat you up." "Don't think we won't." "But I can never sit still through a whole game..." " That's no problem." "We'll find you a stick to sit on!" "We really needed you yesterday." "We were short one person." "Tell them where you went last night." "You know what this guy was doing?" "Sleeping?" " No, he was up all night." "How do you know?" "Were you there?" "Liu told me." "They were in the next town, with a bunch of working girls..." "See what you're missing?" "Look..." "I caught a moth." "Don't stir up the water..." "One person can do that, if you use a stick to hold the bag open." "We'll try it with two people, because the bag will be heavy." "All right..." "let's go!" "Aw, hell..." "we didn't catch a goddamned thing!" "There are some tiny shrimp in there." "I'll bet most of the fish in this pond are already dead..." "It's hard to do this with two people." "Let's gather up these little fish." "There." "That's all of them." "That's it." "Let's try over by that dam." " Let's go." "Hey, this bag's got a hole in it." "I'm going to switch bags." "It's leaking." "This one's got an even bigger hole in it." "Come on, give us a smile..." "Who's that?" "I don't care if she's your wife." "I want to sit next to my best mate!" "Why aren't you drinking?" "I thought we were best mates." "That means you've got to drink!" "Let's go..." " The police are coming." " What, to take pictures?" "Really, they're coming." "Someone called them." "They heard someone was found floating in the fish pond." "Well, they're definitely coming." "They'll probably wait until afternoon, when the weather cools down a bit..." "Some time that morning, lead smelting plant worker Yang Mou accidentally drowned while trying to catch fish in the pond behind the hospital." "Just last night, he was sleeping upstairs." "There are rats, I'm telling you." "Can't you hear them in there?" "First they fed the fish and threw a net as soon as they saw any." "There aren't any fish in that pond." "Sure there are." " Maybe, but not many." "The weather report said it was supposed to be sunny." "I wonder if it's raining back home." "We sure needed the rain." "If only he'd decided to stay in and play cards or something, this never would have happened." "He just got here yesterday." "Here today, gone tomorrow..." "Bet your flowers will be glad for this rain." "They sure will." "Like water to a thirsty man..." "True words, very true." "They're meeting with the next-of-kin today, aren't they?" "Yeah, they're at the factory now." "They're meeting at the factory?" "Guess they didn't want them crying and carrying on here." "Looks like it's going to rain." "Was there any trouble with the family yesterday?" " No, nobody had told them yet." " They didn't even know?" "The top three honchos from the factory were here yesterday." "I saw the car, but I figured it must have been the family." "They only notified the family today." "It was so hot I guess they wanted to get him to the morgue quickly." "Still, they should have told the family earlier." "I'm telling you, they handled this all wrong." " Exactly." "They should have had the family here when they pulled him from the pond." "Otherwise, they're going to wonder if he committed suicide or something." "But the police took pictures." "That's still secondhand evidence." "But they're photos from the scene." "Usually in a case of drowning, they let the family see the place where it happened." "They handled this all wrong." "Today the family is meeting with one of the lower-level managers." "It's not even somebody senior." "The boss won't even be there." "They want to see how the family reacts." "Then if there's a problem, they'll send in the boss." "He'll make an offer, say 20,000 and the family will ask for 30,000." "They're worried that the family is out to make some money..." "We welcome you not with wine," "Nor with Tibetan tea," "Nor with silken scarves," "But offer up a joyful song" "To the Liberation Army" "Oh!" "Welcome this, our liberation..." ""Tie Xi District Workers' Village"" "The factory's mostly deserted now." "I'm going over tomorrow anyway to see if there's any news." "They might need a few people to keep watch over the place." "It's hard to say what happens next." "The factory is definitely bankrupt." "It might reopen if they can sell it, but we have no say in that." "That's for management to decide." "I don't know how we'd be affected if it reopened." "It's not clear yet." "They're keeping a lid on it for now." "Nobody's saying anything just yet..." "If the factory does reopen, there would be shareholders." "We might have to buy shares, say 10,000 yuan each." "But if things don't work out and they fail again, we wouldn't get our money back." " You could kiss it goodbye!" " That's right - goodbye." "That's 10,000 yuan, gone." "Your shares might not mean anything." "They're not going to give you any of the equipment, right?" "They'll auction it off, but you won't get the whole 10,000." "You might get a few thousand, but you'd still lose seven or eight thousand." "How much money do you earn fixing bicycles?" "I'm not working today." "Did you buy that hat with the money you earned?" "I earn five or six yuan a day." "Fuck, you'd make more collecting bottles!" "Then you could rent this place out." "For five or six yuan a day it's hardly worth it." "It keeps me busy." " You'd still be better off collecting bottles." " Like I said, it keeps me busy." "The bankruptcy was official on August 9th." "They held a meeting, but the workers weren't invited." "I think we read it in..." " The China Commerce Morning Edition" " Yeah, that's right." "I think the headline went something like:" ""Massive State Owned Enterprise Files for Bankruptcy"" "August 20, 2000:" "The Shenyang Smelting Factory goes bankrupt." "Hell, there must be a meter of steel sunk into that soil!" "No wonder everyone's out there digging it up." "They're trucking it out every day." "They'll be digging for years..." "Shenyang Sheet Metal Factory" "Call and tell them that" "the truck can't come today." "There are rules about paying back bond holders in a bankruptcy." "The machine tool plant still owes over five million yuan in employee bonds." "They probably won't pay back half." "Fucking bastards..." "Fuck that manager Zhang!" "This is all his fault." "I tried to see him but his people said, "No!" "You're not allowed in!"" " Where did everyone go?" " Out to lunch." " When will they be back?" " Soon." "Can you give them this pension paperwork?" " Who is it for?" " For Liu Yifa." " Liu Yifa?" " And don't tell me it's not your job." "Let me see if it's complete." "Hey, you've got contacts upstairs..." "is there any news on employee bonds?" "They'll pay them when they sell this building." "I thought they already sold it." "They did, they're just waiting for the money." " They'd better pay me, or else!" " Or you'll give them hell, eh?" "You'll get your money, don't worry." "They're paying employee bonds first." "Hey, this envelope has the wrong name." "Look below it, there's another name." "Liu Yifa." "Why does that sound so familiar?" "You wouldn't know him." "He's retired." "He gets 216 yuan a month." "He retired early, that's why he doesn't get paid much." " How's your husband?" " He's still at the same job." "Still raking in the money, eh?" "Put this over there, will you?" " So I don't forget it, that's why!" " Sorry to trouble you." " Thanks again." "I appreciate your help." " It was my pleasure." "You're only nice to women, you know that?" "It's my only fault..." "I can't help it." "I've always been a ladies' man." "It gets expensive, though." "My wife always complains I spend too much money on these trips." "Fuck, I've been here 20 times, spent over 2000 yuan, and I still haven't seen a penny of that bond money!" "I can't keep asking my wife for money!" "At least I bargain the hookers down to 30." "3 tricks a day at 30 each means a hooker can make over 20,000 a year." "That's more than old guys like us could make..." "Those laid-off factory girls are willing to do it for 20 or 30." "It ain't bad work." "Top or bottom, everybody wins." "This is what society's driven us to." "Understand what I'm saying?" "No, not really." "Why is sex so cheap?" "Layoffs." "That's why there's a glut." "Fuck, it just makes me angry." "Understand what I'm saying?" "No." "Shenyang Sheet Metal Factory Workers'break room" "This umbrella doesn't work." "There's not much left here." "Fuck, look at these two." "Both of them blinked." "This place is deserted." "This was the break room." "How about these lockers?" "They're in pretty good shape." "There's still some good stuff around here..." "Fuck, they've looted everything." "Look, somebody's worker I.D. Card..." "Give me a drink of that." " It's just beer." " Why don't you stay for a while?" " I have to get home soon." "I'll wait until the truck is loaded." "The truck's still here." "Last time it came back around 1:00." "Hey, take a look at that..." "The Shenyang Sheet Metal Factory offices" "The factory was bankrupt in 1998, but we had to wait for approval." "The city has a limit on the number of bankruptcies it can approve in a year." "And ours was big one - 600 million." "Come in, we're just talking." "The city has a limit of 300 million per year." "We were twice the annual limit." "That's why it took so long." "We had to wait for three years before we finally got approval." "The city made us wait a long time." "Hey, look - two sets of books." "Hey, not on camera, man..." " It's okay, he's a friend." "There's this one..." "I know, I know." "These are trucking records." "I know already..." "October 28, 2000 The Shenyang Sheet Metal Factory being dismantled." "The Shenyang Sheet Metal Factory pays retired workers their salaries." "Have they paid salaries yet?" "What, not yet?" "Why stand around here waiting, then?" "It's already ten-thirty." "Fuck this..." "They won't be paying salaries today." "Zhao says they're going to pay us tomorrow." "Zhu, give me one of those good cigarettes." "I don't have any good ones." "I thought you got paid!" "Why'd you buy the cheap ones?" "I haven't been paid in full yet." "If you can't stay any longer we can wait in line for you." "Why'd you buy these ones?" "I needed change, so I bought the cheap ones." "What number are you?" "What's your number?" " Number 1856." "Hell, they don't even go that high!" "Who do you think you're fooling?" "Hell, we have no say in any of this." "We have to take what they give us." "They could offer 5 yuan, and you wouldn't have any choice." "Nothing you can do." "I wonder what's going on." "How much did you get?" " Fuck..." "less than 300 yuan." "That's not bad - some get even less." "Who does?" "There was a crippled guy in here earlier..." "he only got 280." "That's not so bad." "February 24, 2001 Chinese New Year" "Happy New Year!" "In the winter of 2000-2001 the Shenyang Electrical Cable Factory, unable to pay its heating bills, decided to temporarily cease production and send all remaining workers home for the winter." "March 14, 2001:" "Workers return to their jobs after a long absence." " Something stinks in here." " It's probably a dead rat." "I think it's coming from that drawer." "Be careful." "Don't let it bite you." "Are there rat droppings?" "No, I don't think so." "It smells like someone farted in here!" "You're right." "I smelled it last time, too" "I should leave you my phone number." "Write it down." "I'll put it in the book later." "What a dreary place this is..." "In the months the factory was idled, the water pipes froze and burst, flooding the entire factory floor." "Let's go, hurry up." "Hurry up." "You don't have to close those." "Shenyang Smelting Factory workers'housing" "Factory worker Li Jingliang and his family" "All you do is hang around all day." "Fuck, he's still sleeping?" "They're letting hardship cases sign up." "It's a kind of welfare." "How do we sign up?" "There's a form." "It's easy." "Where do you sign up?" "At the local government office." "Hell, I shouldn't have to fill out a form." "It's obvious we're a hardship case." "You have to go there to sign up." "They're sure not going to come looking for you!" "I could sign up in my mom's neighborhood." "Who's the mayor there?" "Is it Chen Zhigao?" "My wife and I are both laid off." "If they don't believe us, I'll show them the layoff notices." "Is it a one-time payment?" " It's a subsidy." "So, they pay us a subsidy every month?" "Yeah." "They give you the poverty line allowance." "It's about 200 a month, maybe more." "The government owes us 5,300 in unemployment insurance." "Unemployment insurance is 220 per month." "For two years." "But they give it to you all at once." "God knows we could use it." "Hey Li!" "Are you a hardship case yet?" "If so, better tell it to the mayor..." "If you're a hardship case, we must be destitute." "Everyone's a fucking hardship case." "No one has a job around here." "Of course - they've all been laid off." "If that's not hardship, what is?" "You could always ask the mayor to give you a personal loan!" "Yeah, I'll ask him for the special "poverty line allowance"." "What's the poverty line in Shenyang?" "226 yuan per month." "It's definitely over two hundred." "It's 226 yuan per month." "Fuck, who can live on 200 a month?" "Li Jun, didn't you say you wanted to use the shower at my place?" "200 a month is barely enough for food." "I need a shower, but it can wait." "I'll just wait until tonight..." "March 30, 2001 The Shenyang Sheet Metal Factory is demolished." "Rainbow Row is a working class neighborhood located within the Tie Xi Qu industrial district in the city of Shenyang, northeastern China." "It was known for many years as "Handmaiden's Grave", because local legend has it that an indentured servant girl in the employ of a wealthy household lies buried in an unmarked grave nearby." "Much later, the name was changed to the rather more upbeat "Rainbow Row"." "Starting in the 1930's, the neighborhood experienced a population boom, as Chinese from other regions came here to find work in Japanese munitions factories, or to flee the fighting during World War II and the subsequent Chinese civil war." "The late 1970's and early 1980's brought about another influx of residents, as students who had been "sent-down" during the Cultural Revolution began returning from the countryside to settle down and start families in the area." "Today, most of the residents of Rainbow Row are industrial workers employed in nearby factories." "December 1999" "Give me a hand with this." "Bring it over here..." "Tie Xi District municipal government fairgrounds" "China Charity Lottery promotional event" "Welcome to the China Charity Lottery!" "We've got big prizes for lottery ticket holders, plus special prizes for "double-A" ticket holders!" "And the lottery has only just begun..." "Prizes include these minibuses for lucky "double-A" ticket holders!" "Now, we all know that in this world, there are no saviors, never have been." "You've got to rely on your own talent, your own hard work, brains and brawn." "Success, even in the lottery, means investing a little time and money." "Success, whether in business or in life, requires an investment." "It's the same for the lottery." "But an investment in the China Charity Lottery, is an investment in yourself and your country." "It's a chance to aid society and worthy charities, and a chance to win something for yourself." "What better way to spend your money?" "Not on cigarettes - Smoking's bad for your lungs!" "Not on drinks - Drinking's bad for your stomach!" "Saunas are too expensive." "So are discos." "Not on mahjong - Gambling's bad for society." "The lottery is both economical and profitable..." "Your good fortune starts with the lottery!" "Bring out the cars, please!" "Just look at these beautiful cars." "Soon they could be yours!" "Sir, how much did you spend on lottery tickets today?" "Thirty yuan." "Let me introduce our winner, Ma Xueping." "He's from Tie Xi District - a hometown boy!" "I bet you're all proud of him." "Ma Xueping, age 37, ticket number 242..." "Let's give him a red ribbon!" "So, now that you've got fortune and fame, you must be feeling pretty happy!" "Sure, I'm happy." "Aren't you just thrilled?" " Yeah, thrilled." "Of course you're thrilled " "Because it's all for a good cause!" "So Xueping, you're a hometown boy..." "Where do you work?" "Huh?" "I said:" "Where do you work?" "I'm sort of between jobs right now." "Between jobs, eh?" "How long has it been?" "Six months?" "Oh, about ten years..." "My, that's a pretty long break!" "Nice to have a break, though." "So how do you spend your time?" "Hanging around the house, mostly." "Oh... then where do you get the money for lottery tickets?" "I borrow it." "Let's see if I won anything." "One look at this comedian, and you just know he's from the south!" "Try your luck with the lottery!" "If luck is on your side and you're holding two "A" tickets, you'll win the grand prize!" "A big round of applause for our singer!" "Let's hear it for him..." "To thank this young lady for helping the lottery, I'm going to give her this lovely scarf!" "How about that?" "Let me put it on her." "Raise your veil and let me see your face... and let me see your face..." "Your round, rosy cheeks are like the autumn apples..." "Your round, rosy cheeks are like the autumn apples..." "Tie Xi District, Rainbow Row January 2000" "The fairgrounds after Chinese New Year" "You collecting metal?" "Scrap metal?" "Here, I sold it all." "The police station?" "But we didn't steal anything!" "This stuff is ours." "We found it." "I lost my beeper." "Were you at Chao Ran's house?" " Yeah." "Bobo, age 17" "It's fucking cold in here!" "Bobo's mother" "Don't think about asking me for money." "Your dad didn't get his salary again." "No salary again?" "What a joke." "Give me another orange." "For someone who's not bringing in a salary, you sure do eat a lot..." "Where's the half I gave you?" "I dropped it on the floor." "Oh, then forget it." "I don't want it." "You never eat regular meals, mom." "I'm out of here." "This place is depressing." "Bye, mom." "Just stay out of trouble!" " What's that supposed to mean?" "Hey, it's warmer than I thought." "It's snowing outside." "Who's at the store?" " Nobody." "I'm going to have a look." "I don't have my beeper today." "I thought I might have lost it." "Then my mom lost my keys." "Rainbow Row, The "Lucky Swan" market February 14, 2000" "Where's Shen Shen?" " She went out." "I left my beeper somewhere." "I thought I lost it." "That's her!" "Get her on tape, quick!" "Where are you going?" "Hey, don't leave!" "I just want to give you some flowers." "Is that okay?" "Suit yourself..." " Wait, where are you going?" "Can I come see you tonight?" "What did you say?" "Fuck this." "I'm tired of chasing after Nana." "I can't get anywhere with her!" "Fuck it, I say." "She's always leading me on." "But she won't actually go out with you?" "She said she doesn't want to see anyone." "I told her that if she didn't fucking" "I'm not there ten minutes before she starts acting all embarrassed." "Why keep hanging around, then?" "Because persistence counts." "That's right!" "And she's never actually said no... not directly." "But she's always hanging around, leading me on." "She keeps bringing up Wang Yao and other girls, and saying she knows them." "It's like she's trying to find out if I like anyone else." "She's always talking about Wang Yao." "How does she know Wang Yao?" " Who knows?" "But she seems to know everything about me." "I told her if she doesn't want to go out with me, just come out and say it." "Maybe she likes the chase." "You think so, Shen Shen?" "She could just say no, right?" "But she keeps leading me on." "You think maybe she likes you?" "How could she?" "I used to bully her in school." "I burned her arm with a pencil once." "She still got a big old mark there." "Afterward, she said she never wanted to talk to me again." "She fucking hates me now..." "But it was an accident - I didn't mean to do it." "I did a lot of bad things back then." "How could you burn someone's arm?" "Hell, I wouldn't do that to a corpse!" "How long has she been with what's-his-name?" " Chen Hao." "Two years." "You think they'll split?" " Why not?" "It happens." "How old is he, anyway?" " Same age as me." "Why so tired, Bobo?" " I was up past 2:00 reading a book, but my mom made me turn out the light." "I wanted to read until 3:00." "Damn, time flies when you're reading." "I didn't get to sleep until around 3:00, then I woke up at 9:00." "I'm exhausted." "I just want to go home and crash." "Why don't you go home then?" "Because I have to wait for Chi Ying." "I have to ask her something." "Just don't bring her in here." "She's annoying." "I want to ask her to help me with Nana." "I had to really talk her into it." "Chi Ying's going to help me get some flowers for Nana." "Why don't you buy them yourself?" " Forget it." "It's too cold outside, and I don't know where to go." "There's a flower shop on 13th street." "I'm just going to borrow some." "I'll ask Chi Ying if I can use her flowers." "Oh, Li Xu's mom called for him." "She sounded worried." "Really?" "That's strange." "She didn't mention it when I talked to her." "It's easier to borrow Chi Ying's flowers..." "Li Xu's mom asked me where he went." "I said he was with Whitey." "Will they let you borrow their flowers?" "They don't need them, anyway." "They're just going to wilt, right?" "But won't she mind?" "They're her flowers." "Aw, Chi Ying doesn't need flowers." "I'll pay them 5 yuan for the flowers, then I'll give them to Nana." "Does Qin Ying know I'm using these?" " No, I said I was keeping them for her." "It's okay, nobody knows." "But what if her boyfriend walks by and sees us with her flowers?" "What are we going to tell him?" "Just rewrap them, he'll never know." "Thanks for helping me with this." "I hope Nana likes them..." "But wait... what if we get caught?" " Just blame it on me." "All right, all right..." "It's our secret!" "I'm still worried we'll get caught." " We won't, you idiot." "Oh god, here he comes!" "Shit, now we're found out." "We're fucked, you found us out..." " What?" "We're were playing a little joke." "You know, for Valentine's Day." "You going home?" " Yeah." "Hurry, take those home before they freeze." "Take the balloon, too." "Don't let your family see you with two bouquets, though." "They'll start to wonder." "Wonder about what?" "I'll say I bought them for myself." "Don't you get it?" "They'll think you've got an extra boyfriend." "You should have seen this guy trying to buy me flowers!" "He walked into the most expensive shop." "He would have spent all his money if I hadn't stopped him." "When you give these to Nana..." " I'll hide them behind my back!" "Say I asked you to deliver them, and then..." " Wait!" "What if her parents are home?" "That doesn't matter." "Just make me sound good..." "Tell her I rode my bike for miles in the snow so I could buy her those flowers." "You can make up some sappy story, right?" "And remember to act natural!" "Let's go!" "Zhang Nana's House" "Nana, it's me." "I don't want his flowers!" "Go away, go away..." "Oh, come on!" "If I take his flowers, he'll think it means something." "No, he won't." "Yes, he will." "It's Valentine's Day." "It's freezing out here!" "I wan't let you back inside until you take them!" "Come on, don't be rude." "Come on, I'm begging you!" "Please?" "Oh, all right." "Bye!" "Maybe I could bring Bobo over to see you sometime?" "We did it!" "She took them." "Li Xu, age 17" "I can't believe those flowers of Chi Ying's cost 50 yuan." "I bought my girlfriend a balloon for 3 yuan and she lost it." "I was so damn mad at her!" "You bought her a balloon?" "Yeah, we bought three balloons and we each gave one to our girlfriends." "But then Qin Ying lost hers." "I told her to tie it so she wouldn't lose it and then it flew away." "The idiot..." "Mr. Chi, proprietor of the Lucy Swan market" "Ducky, age 17" "Just flew away..." "So she lost the balloon, who cares?" "Why keep talking about it?" "At least you didn't lose your girlfriend!" "That balloon cost me three yuan!" "You'd be even madder if it cost you your girl, though." " I'm not so sure about that." "I was mad because I told her to tie it, and she didn't even listen." "I heard they're demolishing some houses." "Is yours one of them?" "Yeah." " You live in that courtyard, right?" "So I left the general manager a message that this store is going to be torn down soon." "I said he'd better deal with it, or I'd come to his office and start trouble!" "I also said that if they didn't deal with the unpaid salaries" "I'd leave the store and ask for - what's it, something-pay?" "Severance pay?" " Right, severance pay." "They asked if I'd be willing to continue my contract." "I said it depended on the other store managers." "If everyone was asking for severance, I'd do the same." "Of if someone wanted to share the contract on the store, that would be fine with me." "I could come up with the money." "Can I use the phone?" "Sounds like you'd like to stay here." "Sure, I would if I could." "So later I get a call from the general manager" "thanking me for agreeing to stay on." "He said that when the other managers heard" "I was continuing my contract, they decided to stay and continue theirs." "So I helped him save all those contracts." "If he would have lost them, the whole company would have gone bankrupt!" "They were four, five months behind in paying our salaries." "That was the situation." "Is it better now?" " Hell, no." "We haven't gotten salaries in a while." "Looks like you'll have to pay yourself." "You leaving already?" "Guess I should head home, too." "Rainbow Row A neighborhood funeral procession" "Two for me, two for you." "But that's only two cents!" "You should give me more!" "1,2,3,4,5,6, 7 cans." "You give me seven cents." "You owe me five cents!" " Give me back those two cents." "Forget it, I'm not selling." "Let's go!" "If you're not selling, give me back those two cents!" "I'll sell for seven more cents." "Seven cans." " What do you mean, seven more?" "I gave you 20 cents already." "Forget it, then." "I already gave you two!" "Wait, okay, here's two more." "I don't want it!" "I'm not selling..." "You stole my two cents!" "I didn't steal it." "You gave it to me!" "I'll only sell them for seven more..." "Forget it... we're leaving." "We're not selling to you!" "If you fucking touch one hair on my head, I'll kill you!" "Fuck you!" "Afraid to fight, you chicken?" "Why don't you go home and suck your mom's dick?" "I'll get you for that, you little shit!" "Oh yeah?" "Well, your mom shows me her panties!" " Your mom's panties are uglier!" "Come here, you bastard!" "You big fat prick!" "You shit-for-pants..." "Where the fuck have you been?" "I haven't seen you for days..." "Tofu!" "Tofu!" "Bobo's house Bobo and his friend Whitey (age 17)" "What an awful Valentine's Day!" "One with no flowers, another with no chocolates." "Things are tough all around." "What" " Whitey didn't get any chocolate?" " No, I was talking about my sister." "Don't eat all the chocolates!" "We have to leave some for your mom." "Did you hear me?" " Forget about it." "But we said we'd bring some to your mom!" "I just want to sing an old love song" "Don't eat them all!" "Leave some." "I can't believe you're going to eat them all." "They say the old love songs are the best" "What?" " Leave some for your mom." "Don't you two ever stop fighting?" "Even for just a minute?" "We're supposed to bring your mom some of those!" "If you were standing up, it would be a fistfight!" "And she's taller than you..." "Don't you start with me, or I won't ever help you again!" "What a pain you are." " Okay, no chocolates for you!" "Oh, it never ends..." "I can't forget this hatred..." "Did you see that?" "I kicked his head!" "Kicked him?" "Hell, you almost wrapped your ass around his head!" "Help, she's killing me!" "Say you're sorry!" " I'm sorry, I'm sorry..." "I can't believe you fucking kicked my head!" "Want me to do it again?" " If you can..." " Okay, here I go!" "Don't move." "Here I go..." " Bet you can't do it." "Brace me, Yi Xiu!" " You're going to get hurt..." "Oh, fuck!" " All right!" "Come on, sexy!" "She hurt herself." "Ow, my arm..." "I shouldn't have wasted my chocolates on you." "Hey Whitey, your shoes are dirty." "There's ash on them or something." "Look at him go to work!" "You know I'm a dreamer..." "I can't believe the way you treat me." "Don't ever ask me for help again." "Am I right?" " Stop nagging." "Who's nagging?" "It's all your fault, picking my leg up like that..." "She's ignoring you, Whitey." "Lost a little face there, eh, Whitey?" "Hey, Lu Yao!" "Wait a minute!" "I want to ask you something!" "Wait a minute..." "Don't let her go!" "This should be fun." " At least it's something different." "Guess she doesn't want you, Whitey." "And it seemed to be going so well..." " Game over." "She doesn't like you." "I'll never speak her name again..." "Watch where you're going, idiot!" "How the hell did that happen?" " I have no idea..." "Did you see the way she fell?" "Take it easy!" "So this chick thinks she's as tall as me!" "She thinks we're the same height!" "It's hilarious..." "She wears high heels." "Hey, let's get some beer..." "Want to get some beer?" " No, it's too far." "Or we could hang out somewhere else..." "Want your bus pass back?" "I'll give it back... for a kiss." " Forget it!" "Just one kiss?" "Give up?" "No way... fuck you!" "Shit, you're strong!" "Need some help?" "Hey, what's going on here?" "Look at all those legs!" "Fuck you..." "You're lucky I didn't jump in there." "I would have crushed you all." "Why'd you wake me up?" "I was sleeping soundly..." "I know a guy who bought some trucks last year and made some money from it." "They've got some trucks for sale at the rubber factory right now." "I went to take a look at them today." "You can hire them out for construction work." "They're 1990's, but they don't have papers." "They'd cost 60,000 if you bought them new." "My friend gets them from his nephew, who has connections in Beijing." "Are they big trucks?" "Yeah, they're cargo trucks like the ones they use at the Three Gorges dam site." "He got 5 trucks for only 120,000." "They cost 20,000 each, plus another 20,000 to pay off the guy." "Only 120,000 for 5 cars?" " And you can resell them for a higher price." "It's easy money." "We could buy some ourselves, make some money on the deal." "If we had the money to buy 5 trucks, we could easily make 20,000 on each." "This pen doesn't work." "Use another one, then." "Chinese Lantern Festival Late February, 2000" "How many?" " What?" "How many firecrackers?" " How many firecrackers?" "What's wrong with you?" " I just don't want to go, that's all." "You're afraid you're going to run into your ex-girlfriend, aren't you?" "I don't want to see her, looking like this." "Oh, but you look good enough for me?" "I don't care." "We're going!" "Chi Ying says that if she runs into that girl, she's going to slap her face!" "I will!" " Really?" "I'll slap her right now." "Let's call her up!" "Are you getting this on film?" "I'll call her right now!" " She's not home." "Who are you calling?" " Meimei." "Why?" "What are you going to say?" " Meimei's going to freak out about this." "Nobody's answering." " 2383-777" "What's the number again?" " 2383-7777" "You have money for the phone call?" " No." "Then how can you call?" " I can borrow some." "Sorry, no loans allowed!" "Hey, don't break my phone!" "She's nuts." "I wish you damn kids would stop hanging around here all the time." "Chi Ying's an idiot..." "This card represents the girl you have a love-hate relationship with." "This one!" "Don't bother reading fortunes." "It's hopeless." "Hey, you stay out of it!" "She's the one who will stay loyal to you." "It must be her." "Do you really think so?" "Now, among these four girls... who would never abandon you, look after you in sickness or in health?" "It's got to be her..." "This is the big question!" "That's her!" "She's the one..." "I was never good at writing things in school." "Perseverance always wins out." "Hey, what are you looking at?" "What are these, chicken scratches?" " You're looking at the wrong side..." "What the hell is this?" "It's just a first draft, you idiot." "I'm going to rewrite it tomorrow." "You people have no artistic sensibility..." "Let me see your love letter!" "You'll tear it." " No, I won't." "Why are you so embarrassed?" " I'll let you see it later." "Let me see..." "Let me see." "Don't be shy!" " Don't tear it, okay?" "I spent a long time on this letter." "It's a first-time love letter." "I wanted to find the perfect words." "Not so loud..." "I've decided I can't give up on you." "This letter is to tell you my... what?" "Innermost feelings." ...my innermost feelings." "I don't want to waste our time, or interfere with, with..." "I can't read this." "With your studies"" "Oh, he wrote the wrong character!" "And it's been distracting me from my job." "If you don't answer this letter I promise" "I won't ever bother you again." "So don't worry." "I still care about you." "From the first time I saw you," "I know I cared about you." "I go to your school sometimes, but I never call out to you." "Just seeing your face is enough to make me happy." "Maybe this is wishful thinking on my part, maybe this is all one... one..." "Oh... one-sided love!" "Well?" "What do you think?" "Your letter isn't half as good as mine." " In your dreams." "If you want, I'll give you one of my letters to copy." " Asshole..." "I mean it when I say that if you don't feel the same way, there's nothing I can do to change that." "But I would be very grateful if you would consider me your friend, just a regular friend." "You can talk to me about anything." "Please believe me... if you ever have a problem and want to talk, just call my beeper." "Something, something..." "and I'll be there." "I'll be your faithful listener." "I know you think I'm a bad person but you're wrong about me." "Maybe you don't understand me." "Maybe you don't want to." "But that's your own decision." "When you get this letter, I will be waiting for your answer." "Your brother has my beeper number." "So please call me soon..." "His letter wasn't half as good as mine." "Right, Shen Shen?" " Yeah." "Is it good?" " No." "I can't believe you're still chasing this girl!" " Bye!" "What day is today?" "No, there's no hurry." "Finish what you have to do." "I'm at the Lucky Swan." "You know the number." "You going over to Liu Bo's later?" "No, it's nothing important, really." "Okay, bye!" "His voice sounded funny." "Kind of sounded like..." "Someone's stuck in the mud over there!" "I swear, I wrote it myself." "It sounds so fucking insincere!" "What?" " It's insincere." "It doesn't even sound like you." "You're trying too hard to sound intellectual." "We're all intellectuals here!" " We are?" "What's three plus five?" " Um... eight." "If you really wrote it, recite it for me." "I can't." "I forgot the words." "If you wrote it, you'd remember." "Intellectual, my ass." "You can't even add 3 and 5." "Quick, what's three plus five?" " Eight!" "That letter was even worse than yours." "But the truth is that they're both..." "pretty fucking shit." "There's no way he wrote it himself!" "I'll bet you can't even spell half those words!" "Got a call?" "258681..." "It's the repair shop." "You going over there?" "What do you think?" "Hey, don't tear it!" "Admit it." "Who wrote it?" "I did." "Tell us the truth!" " I wrote it." "Looks like we'll have to use force." "I know who wrote it." "Shao Yuan." "How could he write something that bad?" "You should have asked me to write it." "I'd help you." " Where are you going, Yong Chun?" "Will you really write it for me?" " Sure..." "Tell her if she loves me to write it in a letter..." "Want me to come with you?" " You coming?" "Luzi ("Donkey"), age 18" "We come over, and you ignore us!" "What are you doing, anyway?" "See you later, Wang Zhen." "I'm going home." "Don't get yourself murdered on the way!" " Fuck, same to you..." "Then you could keep Anzi company, wherever he is." "Wang Zhen, age 18" "Bobo, you're blocking the road." "Wang Zhen's mother" "You won't split firewood that way." "It's too hard." "Home already, Mr. Wang?" "You should move your bike out of the way." " Why don't you move yours instead?" "Wang Zhen's father" "That firewood is split too small." "What are you looking for?" "These logs split better." "Where did you wash your hair?" "At home." "You'll never break firewood like that..." "Watch your step there..." "Wang Zhen's house Wang Zhen's grandmother" "Wang Zhen en Leizi" "I think I found a job today." "It's not a sure thing, though." "What kind of job?" " Moving medical equipment." "They haven't said if they'll hire me." "If so, it's a three-month contract." "What's it pay?" "450 a month?" " Yeah, about 450." "Bet there's no room for advancement." " What room for advancement?" "I mean it won't teach you anything." "What's to learn?" "Well, if you became an apprentice or a master or something, you could make more money." "What are you doing for work?" "Beating people up." "Mostly mafia types, you know." "There was this guy at a sauna, in one of those private rooms." "They rent them out for 50 yuan an hour, or something..." "Anyway, the guy pulls me into the room and starts beating me, tries to make me kowtow." "But the big boss sees it, and gives me the signal." "One of our guys slips outside, and comes back with a big iron bar." "We all start bashing the guy." "After that, his crew starts trailing me everywhere I go, for about a week." "My boss at work found out about it and helped me smooth things over, like he did that time with the TV set." "That one cost me about 14,000." "Put me even deeper in the hole." "We had pretty rough fights back then." "Did you ever see the photos we took?" "There was blood all over the walls, blood splattered everywhere..." "I was brawling almost every day, for a while there." "I guess they're at the market." " You think?" "I don't know." "But they're definitely not home." "Go find him for me, will you?" "Ren Huan, age 17" "I don't want to go over there." "Just tell him I want to see him." "He'll know what you mean." "Ren Huan's house" "Shit... the dog hasn't been fed all day." "Beat that, ha!" "How many cards did you have left?" "Why so nervous?" "It's just a card game." "The thing about Leizi is you can't believe a word that kid says." "You should go now or you'll miss your bus." "It's too hot to be riding the bus today..." "Six, seven, eight... nine, ten, eleven, twelve..." "Your face is all red." "Hell, those weights are so heavy you can barely lift them." "More than you could lift." "Aren't you supposed to be the big-shot mafia thug?" "What's the going salary for a hired thug these days, anyway?" "More than you spent fixing your fucked-up ear, that's for sure!" "He's starting to make me mad..." "What's it to you?" "Hey, you don't have to get mad." "Idiot, you hurt my arm!" "So what?" "I'm not playing mahjong with you anymore." "Hell, I ought to call the cops on you!" "Just looking at you makes me mad." "Why are you mad at me?" "Why the hell do you think?" "I'm a decent guy." "I'm a decent guy, right?" "I'm not the one who started this." "I just don't want to play, that's all." "I'd rather go home and sleep." "That day I came over to your house, and I'm standing at the door..." "I just wanted to play mahjong!" "I wasn't causing trouble or anything." "But your wife locked the door on me!" "I told her it was me, and then everything got real quiet inside." "I could hear you inside so I started banging on the door." "You know what your wife said?" ""He's not home"!" "Hell, I could hear you in there playing mahjong!" "Fuck, it's not like I came over to rob the place or rape someone or anything!" "I could hear you in there playing!" "What did I ever do to you?" "That's all I want to know." "I started cursing because I was so mad at that bitch!" "Don't blame it on her." "This is between us." "If you don't want to play, fine." "I'm going home..." "This bike is too high." "What are you doing?" "I'll kick your ass, you little..." "Four of a kind." "That's it, you win." " Fuck..." "You can't even play poker, son, much less mahjong..." "Community meeting regarding neighborhood demolition plans October 9, 2000" "The area to be demolished extends south from Red Avenue north to the Golden Bull Factory." "In compliance with the Shenyang City Government Ordinance Number 17... all residents must leave the area by November 7, 2000." "Relocation and compensation will be complete by April 8, 2003." "We request that all households and work units work together to help ensure that the relocation progresses smoothly..." "Three years!" "I'm an old man." "I doubt I'll be around in three years." "They're basing compensation on indoor floor space." "That's smaller than building space?" "Much smaller." "But they measure private and public housing differently." "They're posting a notice tomorrow, with more specifics." "They should count all indoor space." "So what were they talking about in the meeting, then?" "What did they mean by "functional living space"?" "It's different for your place, because it's public housing." "Private housing compensation is based on "indoor living space"" "They compute it by measuring actual building space." "They're actually going to measure?" " Of course." "So how about it?" "You moving soon?" " I tell you, I'm not in any hurry to move." "The new places will be a lot smaller." "I mean tiny." "Fucking tiny..." "What about his place?" "It's only 28 square meters." "It's a "class two" house." "You call that "class two"?" " Our place is over 60 meters." "You think they're going to take your word for it?" " No... they're going to measure it!" "Their place is only 28 meters square..." "See, our kitchen is located right in the middle of the house." "They measured our biggest room and said it was 15.7 meters." "But they didn't count our smaller room, which is 4.5 meters square." "And they didn't count the bathroom or the sink." "Is yours public housing?" "It belongs to the housing bureau." " Oh, then the rules are different." "It's going to be a tough move." " Sure will be." "This is what it's come down to..." " It's going to dig into my savings, too." "Look at all the things I've already had to throw away." "So our payments will be spread over two and a half years?" "We won't get it all at once, that's for sure." "There's a rent credit on the new places." "Say you pay 16,000 in rent a year, they'll give you a refund of 6,000." "The rest comes out of your own pocket." "But you won't get it in advance." "They'll keep it in the bank..." "And earn interest on it!" "Those developers are sure getting a deal." "And they're turning off water and electricity on November 7th." "They ought to give us more time to move." "And bigger households should get more money." "Wait - don't they factor in the number of people in a house?" "No, it's based on floor space." "What a pain in the ass!" "Having to move so soon." "It hit us like a wildfire." "What's a fire got to do with it?" " Hey, it's just a metaphor." "This reminds me of the old days." "How much for this?" "Three yuan?" "How much will you pay?" "How much?" "Two yuan." " Two cents!" "Guess we scared him away." "Let's go home." "Go home!" "Whose stuff is this?" "Whose is it?" " My uncle's." "What are you doing with it?" " Selling it." "Everything in that row is only one yuan." "Nice skates, Whitey!" "Those are fifteen yuan each." "Only thirty for the pair." "How about it?" "Two for thirty?" "That's too expensive." "How about a better price?" "Hey, if you don't want them, forget it." "I've got two of those." "You want both?" "Neighborhood relocation office" "Who do I give this to?" "I've got two household registration books." "They're 45 square meters each." "That's 90 meters total, see?" "I want to combine them into one big flat." "The home of a sheet metal factory worker" "You got any pliers down there?" "Better to leave early, while there are still good places to choose from." "Right?" "We have to leave sooner or later, anyway." "Can't hold back the tide of progress." "I don't really want to leave, though." "We don't even know what the new flat will look like." "It's going to be rough." "At least this place was rent-free, because it belonged to the factory." "The new flats cost at least 20,000 or 30,000." "This couldn't have come at a worse time." "First there were layoffs and unpaid salaries... now they're making us move." "I can't believe they only gave me 50,000!" " How much for the boxes?" "Ten yuan, but the buyer isn't here yet." "Are you finished with that saw yet?" "I have to give it back." "To who?" " Xiang's grandmother." "I think she's afraid we're going to lose it or something." "Or maybe steal it." "Wang Zhen's father" "I'll give you ten yuan for the lot." " Ten yuan." "But I sold you the whole..." "Fine, fine, you win." "It's twenty, right?" " No, twenty-six." "Right, twenty-six." "Twenty-six times.4 is... 10.4 yuan." " And don't try to short me." "I'm practically selling you the whole damn house as it is." "And I didn't even try to bargain on the books - did I, young man?" "Here's four cents." "Hell, you could at least round it to five." "It was a fair price." "They were only worth that much." "Wish I hadn't sold them to you in the first place." " I gave you exact change." "Yes, and not a penny extra." "It was a fair price." " Shouldn't have sold them to you" "Just leave..." "It was a fair price." " Sure, sure, a fair price..." "Wang Zhen's neighbor" "How's the move coming along?" "All right." "It's about time we left this old house, anyway." "It'll be nice to have a new place." "I've got so much junk to get rid of." "I'm 83 years old." "I could go any day now!" "At least if I throw some things away now, it'll save them some work after I die." "I remember that at first, everyone swore they wouldn't move." "But look at everyone now..." "they can't move fast enough!" "What they meant to say was:" ""Oh yes, you go ahead and stay... while we move into our nice new flat!"" "It's hypocritical." "They say one thing, then do another." "Hell, why even listen to them?" "Those private developers are to blame." "They don't care what happens to us." "They make an offer on a new place, you can either take it or leave it." "They don't care." "They just want you to leave." "But as long as you stay, you've got leverage." "Once you agree to move, though, you lose that leverage and there's no more negotiating." "Think about it this way:" "What store would give you a refund on a packet of cigarettes after you've already taken them home and smoked them?" "Is Mrs. Wang at work right now?" " No, she went to the hospital." "Oh, is she sick?" " Yeah." "I'm going outside to check the fire." "What's this?" " Spinach." "I'm just trying to work here, and you're giving me a hard time." "Fuck you and your entire family!" "Fuck you, I'll bash your head in!" "Xun, that's no way to talk!" "I'm not afraid, you son-of-a-bitch!" " Xun, listen to me..." "He started hassling me for no good reason!" "I was working quietly, not bothering anyone and he threw away my cup." "Why the hell would you do that?" "Is that any way to act?" "You call yourself a man?" " You call yourself a man?" "Come on, get him out of here..." "How much are you willing to pay?" "Is this stainless steel?" "No, but it's good quality." " Quality?" "It's plain steel." "You want it?" " Not if it isn't stainless." "This steel wire can hold a weight of up to ten tons." "But it's too short." "You selling scrap metal?" " Yeah." "You should have come earlier, when we had more." "I pay 4 cents a pound for scrap." " Here, take it." "No, not the bicycle pump." "I'm not selling that." "It's a perfectly good pump." "Besides, you're collecting metal." "The pump is plastic." "Oh, I didn't realize what it was." "That guy over there said to take it." "Thought you'd just walk off with it, eh?" "I know you need our help but your dad and I have our hands full as it is." "It's just the two of us moving everything." "We'll be moving out soon, before the house is demolished." "No, we haven't paid for the new place yet." "Your dad's getting the check tomorrow." "He has to go to the factory to talk to the person in charge of payments." "If you've got the cash, you should try to pay for your flat yourself." "I've only been doing chemotherapy a few days, but already my hair is falling out." "Oh, that's just awful..." " See?" "I even went out and bought a wig." "I'll just put it in the basket for now." "Look, it's falling out in clumps!" "You shouldn't pull your hair like that." " It's going to fall out sooner or later, anyway." "Wang Zhen and his father at home" "Wang Zhen's grandmother" "If only his mother hadn't gotten sick." "The cancer came as a big shock to all of us." "I can't eat." "I wish I could do more for my grandson." "I wish we could give him money, buy him nice things." "He's growing up fast, and soon he's going to want to get married." "But he'll need money to look after a wife and family properly." "It's rough for Wang Zhen." "I feel so sorry for him." "And now on top of everything else, they're forcing us to move." "They ought to give us two flats, in all fairness." "A large flat for them, a small one for me." "That way, there would be room for all of us." "But we may only get one flat." "Those bastards..." "Jacks!" "I can't beat that." "Discard." "Need a little help there, son?" "Pair of eights." "Mr. Liu, Retired copper smelting blast furnace worker" "Let me get this table straight..." "I'll be moving in a few days, when the new house is ready." "We should move soon, too." "I hear that over thirty people have signed up for the new houses." "Thirty?" "" " Right." "I hear it's three hundred." " That many?" "And they've already torn down all of the houses on West Road." "The little alley by the market is next." "I'll sure hate to leave this place." "It's hard, after all these years." "Our place is a mess these days." "There's no place to even do laundry." "My legs are killing me." "I pulled a muscle, I think." "I don't know how we'll manage to get through this." "Once you're moved, things will be better." "I don't know." "You should have heard what my daughter-in-law said to me the other day." "She said she wants me to move out." "She said that?" "It's not as if they don't have enough room." "Their son is still young, so there's time before he needs his own room." "But what do you suppose she said?" "She said she wants him to have his own room right now!" "Can you believe the woman?" "Make her buy her own flat." "If you ask me, she's a horse's ass!" "You see how it is?" "They just send the old folks packing!" "They don't care what people might think." "After all that I've done for her, she still has the nerve to complain!" "I say if that's the way they want it, fine..." "I'll move out on my own!" "Are you moving?" "Is the new place nice?" "If you don't like it, you don't have to move!" "Look at this place..." "it doesn't seem like home anymore." "Get this on film, for posterity..." "This was my older sister's room." "Of course, she doesn't want to leave it all behind and move into her daughter-in-law's house." "But what else can she do?" "I wish she didn't have to deal with this at her age." "But there's nothing I can do." "I can't take her in." "Luckily, she's got the kids to help." "It's a shame that she has to deal with this at her age..." "How much did you say we're paying the movers, again?" "We're the first to leave." "Someone's got to be first." "Come on..." "Can you get through there?" "Oh, we'll still see each other." " Easier said than done." "You'll see, soon you'll have a nice place of your own." "I doubt it." "Promise you'll come visit us!" "Okay." "Retired factory worker" "I've got three sons who've been laid off and two daughters-in-law who've been laid off." "Their factories all went bankrupt." "I moved here when I was sixteen, and I turn seventy-three this year." "I'm originally from Hebei Province." "I left my hometown because of the war." "The Japanese took over the area early and they were conscripting everyone they could get their hands on." "It was a lot safer here." "In my hometown, all the young men of fighting age were kidnapped by the Japanese." "I fled here to work in the Japanese factories." "It wasn't so bad." "Where's the plug?" " Isn't it right there on the wall?" "Oh, I couldn't find it." "I've had it with this whole thing!" "They'd better find me a flat beause I don't have anyplace else to go." "Fucking hell..." "I've got a mind to go over to that relocation office and bash their heads in!" "Just wait until I'm through with them!" "I'll do it, I swear." "They're the ones who got me into this mess." "I'm not afraid of them!" "Bobo and Whitey" "So I finished my exams." "You graduated?" "What did you study?" " You asking me?" "Can't fix anything." "But it was trade school..." " I still can't fix anything." "Can you change a tire?" " Nope." "Never learned." "You can't even change a tire?" " No." "You could drive a car or do repairs." "There's still time to learn." "You coud drive a cab like Zhao Bo, maybe take turns renting one." "Or you could buy a cab yourself." "With your own cab, you'd be set." "No worries." "It's better than renting one." "Why?" " Hell, you think you can make any money when you're paying 200 a day to rent the cab?" "I heard 150." " Okay, say 150." "That's a little better." " But then there's gas." "That comes out of your pocket." "Gas is fucking expensive." "I'd still make 30 or 40 a day." "It's a lot of work for 30 a day." "Beats working in a factory, though." "At least at a factory, you have regular wages." "If you had a second-hand Lada you could drive it for 3 or 4 years." "I want one of those new cabs..." "Dream on!" "Because who else is going to hire you?" "You look like a goddamn gangster." "Hell, I'll kick some ass..." "They'd have to be crazy to hire you!" "Fuck, you think you're so kick-ass?" "It's not that easy." "You think your trade school diploma means anything?" "Fuck, some people get jobs out of trade school." "You won't make it in business." "You don't want to drive a cab or work as a waiter, and you're not going to get hired at a factory with a trade school diploma." "Hey, at least it's a diploma." " You won't get a factory job..." "Why not?" "Because nobody wants to pay pensions." "The best you'd get is contract work." "Forget that." " Exactly." "Anyway, I've got a year to think about it." "Why are you so fucking worried about my future?" "I'm just asking, that's all..." " You asking me?" "Listen, even I don't know what my plans are." "So why bother asking?" "Because we're the same, you and I. We don't have any goals." "So why nag me?" "I'm nagging you because you don't have any goals." "What goals?" "Fuck, you know, goals." "You've got to have goals." "Goals don't put food on the table." "Whitey's house" "Don't you have a bathroom?" "I need to take a piss." "Heaven is still heaven..." "In tonight's chill wind and blinding rain" "The storm of memory breaks" "I'm a boat in search of a safe harbor" "You are the memory I can't leave behind" "The taste of love once known" "Those days with you forever gone" "My heart belongs to you" "You'll always and forever be" "The only woman in my heart" "No one will ever take your place" "And when I vow my love for you" "Whatever you may say, you know" "I'll always love you, forever and a day." "We only get two seasons around here..." "It turns cold in November or December, and it's freezing until March." "Sometimes until April or May." "Fuck, that's six months of winter!" "It's hard enough to get through three months of winter, much less four or five." "Did you hear about the guy who got beaten to death, during the demolition over in district twelve?" "The developer had to pay compensation." "The thing is, it wasn't anyone local." "It was one of the thugs they hired to intimidate the locals into moving." "They hired thugs to drive out the locals, but the locals ended up driving out the thugs!" "It was supposed to be the other way around." "Guess those thugs weren't as tough as they thought!" "I don't care who they send." "I'm not leaving for anyone." "Where would I go?" "They won't find me a place to live?" "Fine, then I'm not leaving." "I don't care who they send." "I'm not leaving." "Qu Jian's grandmother's house" "Hand those to me." "The chopsticks..." "But we just paid 50 for electricity!" "Yes, but you've used it up already." "Already?" "We couldn't have used that much." "I hear they're tearing down our neighborhood." "Are the rumours true?" "November 7, 2000" "Oh, your lights are still on?" "They're cutting off the electricity, you know." "Already?" " They must be." "Just look outside!" "Everyone's outside watching." "Look - everyone's outside watching." "They're cutting off the power?" "Yeah, they're cutting the lines." "I thought they'd already done that." "Zhu Bin, age 17" "You're pretty strong." "Aren't you tired yet, Zhu Bin?" "Why don't you rest a while?" "The relocation people came to see us again the other day." "They said they wanted us out." "I said if they'd given me a decent flat, I would have been the first to go!" "But they didn't, so I'm staying here." "Hell, if they don't give me a decent place to live, I'm not going anywhere!" "I was hoping that the store's management might help me arrange a new place." "And nothing too small, either." "So what are your plans now?" " Well, I need a storefront, of course." "Either a new storefront, or some kind of financial compensation." "But how do you compute the amount?" "This is commercial space, so it's worth more per square meter than residential housing." "That's the sticking point." " It won't be easy..." "So if you can't find your mom, does that mean she won't get a flat?" "I don't know." " Otherwise, she won't have a place to live." "I'll ask my aunt to help find my mom." "Do you know where your aunt lives?" " Yeah." "Everyone's saying that my mom won't get a flat." "Why not?" " I don't know." "Isn't she registered as a resident here?" " Yeah, she's registered." "Then even though she's divorced, she'll still get a house." "Does it matter how long they've been divorced?" " Not as long as she's a resident." "So they have to give her a house?" " That's right." "Those are the rules." "Are you leaving, Whitey?" "I wonder what kind of flat they gave him..." "I need to warm up..." " Come over here, then." "It's warmer." "Hell, I'm freezing to death!" "What's going to happen to Qu Jian's family?" "Aren't they getting kicked out soon?" "Who knows..." "What about you, Ren Huan?" "You're eighteen now, aren't you?" "No, I'm still seventeen." "When you turn eighteen, will you be able to make it on your own?" "I doubt it." "I still won't have any money." "Then how can you afford to move?" "How could he?" "He's an orphan!" "They're not going to give him a flat for free!" "I'll just tell them I don't have any money." "These days you can't even make any money selling your blood." "Nobody wants it!" "But they're not going to give you a house for free." "They ought to." "He's an orphan." "Where's he going to come up with that kind of money?" "He'll need at least eight, nine, ten thousand yuan." "Or maybe he could borrow from relatives." "I've got an uncle, but fuck... he only earns a few hundred a month!" "That's hardly enough to feed a family." "It's hardly enough for anything." "What did your mother die of, again?" " A cerebral hemorrhage." "What caused it?" " High blood pressure, I think." "It was one of those stress-related conditions." "If my mom hadn't died, I wouldn't be in this situation right now." "It changed my whole life." "In what way?" "At least those developers wouldn't be taking advantage of me." "That's right!" "If you'd met his mother, you would know what he means." "She was as tough as nails..." "Go ahead, let them take everything!" "Ren Huan and his aunt" "It sure would be nice if we got a house..." "Qu Jian at his aunt's house" "Did my mom call?" " No, she didn't." "Our neighborhood is being torn down, and they're saying my mom won't get a new flat." "Who's saying that?" " The relocation office." "They say she has to transfer her residence permit first." "Do you have a current number for my mom?" "It's a mobile phone - 13625307993." "Oh, it's the same one I've got." "It's an old number..." "What are you eating?" " Dumplings." "Who made them?" "I did." " Any left?" "Why should I give you any?" "You left without helping us with these chopsticks." "Do you think you deserve dinner?" " I had to go to my aunt's house." "Didn't she feed you?" "They said they'd take me out to eat, but I wanted to get home early." "She could have given you some money, at least..." "Hurry up and eat before it gets cold." "Is this all there is?" "Porridge?" "There are still some buns left." "Those chopsticks aren't even clean!" " Then go wash them yourself!" "Fuck... you ought to be thankful we've got anything to eat!" "I'd better get home and get to bed." "Hell, it's only 6:30 pm!" "What are you, a farmer?" "Why would you go to bed so early?" "You know what they say:" "Early to bed, early to rise..." "You still share a room with your parents?" "No, I've got my own room now." "You're lucky." "Which room is it?" " My grandmother's old room." "Where's your grandmother?" " She moved out." "So you've got it all to yourself?" "That's pretty cool." "Too bad you can't enjoy it for long." "Your house gets torn down in two days, right?" " Your grandmother's room, eh?" "Isn't today the sixteenth?" "What's the date?" "It's the seventeenth." "They said that if we don't move by the 20th, they're going to kick us out." "I'd like to see the bastards try!" "They're going to hire people to come and force us out of here." "You don't want to be home when they come, either." "They'll beat you up." "Let them beat me up." "I'm still not leaving!" "They'll raze the house with everything in it." "You think they care what happens to your stuff?" "December 2000" "I think that's everything." "Goodbye, neighorhood!" "This is your home." "You'll want to come back someday." "Not much to come back to." "Hell, we don't even know what the new flat is going to look like." "It'll be good to move, though." "You're moving?" " Yeah, we decided." "Are you sure you want to move in this weather?" "Zhu Bin's house" "Zhu Bin's parents" "If they don't find me a new flat, I'm not moving anywhere." "You know that tiger in the legends?" "Well, that's me." "Hell, I'm not afraid of them." "I'll kill them if I have to." "I don't care how many people they send." "They'll be running scared by the time I'm through with them..." "They think they can scare me by breaking my doors and windows?" "Let them come on in, that's what I say." "You've got the guts to come in here?" "Go ahead, but you'll have to deal with me!" "I don't care if they send the police after me, or sue me for assault and battery." "They're not going to get off that easily." "Zhu Bin and the rest of these kids aren't going to amount to anything." "Their lives are wasted already." "They're not doing anything, not making anything of themselves." "They won't amount to anything." "They're not taking part in society, but they're not opposing it either." "Because they're caught in the middle." "There's nothing for them to do but hang around at home all day." "They couldn't even get into the army." "They're past the army's cutoff age, and none of them can afford to bribe someone to bend the rules for them." "The developer and the people from the relocation office told me that this store is public property, so I can keep using it if I want." "The general manager thinks they're trying to pull one over on me." "He's right." "I can tell you right now what's going to happen..." "Say I keep using the place, renting it at the price we'd agreed on." "Pretty soon, the developer is going to start raising my rent, to try to drive me out of here." "And I couldn't sue them, either." "I wouldn't have grounds for a case because this is public property." "And if I refused to pay rent, they'd just seize the store." "If I tried to sue them, I'd lose in court." "Can't they just find you a new place with the same floor space as this one?" "They won't include store space in the total floor space, though." "That's what I was just talking about." "Can't they just find you a new store?" "I can't trade my private living space here for a commercial space elsewhere." "They'll only do that for companies." "If they give me a new store, it won't be in my name." "It'll belong to the company." " To the company?" "Which means you'd basically be giving your private property over to the company, right?" "Sounds like confiscation to me." "That's exactly what it is - confiscation!" "I could accept a regular apartment instead, but it wouldn't be a very fair trade." "You bought buns?" "Let's eat soon." "I'd better start dinner before it gets too late." "I hope we won't have to live like this much longer..." "Light the candle..." "Blow it out again..." "Why isn't it working?" " It's not lighting right." "I think it's stuck." "Maybe if you open it up a little..." "It's blowing out ash or something." "There's something wrong with it." "It's not giving off much light." "It's not bright enough." "Maybe it's broken." "So they saw the light burning and came over to investigate." "I told them we weren't stealing electricity." "I said take a look, it's just an oil lamp!" "They probably thought you were the ringleader!" "They asked when we were moving, and I said we weren't moving." "Do you have electricity?" " No, they cut it off." "Have your neighbors moved?" "Yeah, they've moved." "Well, somebody's over there and they've got the lights on." "They must be stealing electricity." " Who is?" "They've turned off everyone's water and electricity." "You'd better get over there fast and warn them about the inspectors." "Did Wang's family move yet?" " Yeah, they left." "They moved into Zhao Wei's neighborhood." " Well, somebody was there this afternoon." "They haven't moved." " Yes, they have." "Did they finally get a flat?" " No way." "Those inspectors are idiots..." "They actually thought this was an electric light." "They should have looked at the meter." "It wasn't even moving." "But they cut the lines right then and there." "Funny thing is... the lines they cut weren't even power lines!" "I should go." "I've got to move." "You're moving?" "Yeah, all by myself." " Where are you going?" "Hey, Whitey" " Li Xu is here visiting!" "He brought you some clothes..." "Just look at this... they sent some people to break my windows." "The eviction notice we got said that this time will be a forcible eviction." "Intimidation, that's what this is." "We should take those." "Those won't work as kindling." "Where should we put this?" " Put it by the door." "Can I store these here?" "Well, maybe just one of them." "And not for too long." "Better to put them here than blocking the road." "Just throw them there for now." "I'll have my son move them later." "Let's put that over here." " What about the kindling?" "We'll just put it there." "Over there?" "You can cover it with that fiberboard." "I'll get my son to do it." "There's another bag of coal over there." "We shouldn't leave it blocking the door." "There's one more bag?" " Yeah, just one more." "If you can't lift it, just leave it there." "It's stuck." "You can't move it?" "Try pulling it." " That's it." "There's one more bag." " That's not coal, it's something else." "What are you doing?" "Need any help?" "We're gathering coal." "A lot of work for nothing..." "Whose stuff is this, blocking the road?" "Mine." "And look - you ripped my bag!" "Well, what do you want me to do about it?" "For a start, you could stop dragging those things around!" "Leave those there and help me clean this up." "Can't, I'm too busy." "Or too selfish!" "Listen, these are heavy." "I've got to get them back home." "I don't care how heavy they are." "I want you to clean this up now!" "Hey, where are you going?" "Come back and clean this up!" "I'll come back later." " Sure you will..." "You're leaving so soon?" " We're moving soon." "You look exhausted." "Aren't you tired?" "Baby, aren't you tired of this yet?" "Fool..." "Do you think the roads will be icy?" "What do you think?" "Just look at all that snow and ice outside!" "Yeah, but I wanted your opinion." "Why don't you just go outside and look?" "I've got a long trip ahead of me tomorrow." " You sure you want to go, in all this snow?" "I have to." "It's a deal I'm working on." "A chance to make a little money." "What kind of deal is it?" "Why are you being so secretive?" "Because it's not a done deal yet." "When it is, I'll tell you everything." "How long before we move?" "Why?" "Because I can't stand living in this awful little house a minute longer." "To hear you talk, you'd think you were raised in a fancy high-rise!" "I've never been in one, and maybe never will." "See, that's exactly what I was talking about..." "But two small flats aren't big enough for them." "They've got the grandma as well as the kids and their families." "I think they're planning to trade in the two small flats for one larger one," "and have the younger son take care of the mother." "We've got a big family." "Nine people, three generations." "Should I mash this up for you, grandma?" "Can you eat it?" " The tofu's a little too salty." "It's not the tofu that's salty." "It's the fish." "Toss that bottle outside, will you?" "And shut the door." "No, keep it." "We can reuse the bottle." "Is your place cold?" " Yeah, a little." "Do you have electricity?" " No." "Did you get a final eviction notice yet?" "I don't know." "If we did, my mom hasn't mentioned it." "I wonder how many families got eviction notices this time?" "I'd better go eat dinner." "I've got a hot date tonight..." "Go wash your hands." " I already did." "Wang Zhen's parents" "The food's a little tough tonight." "Don't you think so, Wang Zhen?" " It tastes fine." "Bobo's parents" "How's it doing, uncle?" "Stop calling me that!" "I'm not your damn uncle." "Fuck... if you don't like it, then don't answer to it!" "Let's play some mahjong." "Uncle wants a game of mahjong!" " Asshole..." "Zhu Bin, go find some of the guys and see if they want to play mahjong." "Who's still around?" " Ren Huan, but he can't afford to play." "Ren Huan already left." "I hear Wang Zhen's mom has cancer." "It doesn't look like she'll live long." "What did they end up giving his family?" "Athree bedroom flat?" "No, one of those small flats." "How are they going to pay for it?" " I don't know." "What about his grandmother?" "They say they don't have room for her, so she's going to live with her younger son." "Those cheapskates..." "I think they gave the uncle some money for taking her in." "They got 20,000 and a small flat." "Who did?" " Wang Zhen's family." "See, the relocation office was going to give them one of those small flats, but instead the family decided to exchange the flat for 20,000 cash." "It's just the three of us now that grandma's living with your brother." "We could get a smaller flat." "That's probably all we'll get." "It would be nice to move soon, but we'll have to wait until we can meet with the relocation office." "That might take a while." "We'll be gone by spring." " No way." "Hey uncle - how about a game of mahjong?" " Nobody wants to play mahjong." "I bet Ren Huan wants to play..." "He already left." "Besides, he can't afford to play." "What about Qu Jian?" "He's still around." " He doesn't even like mahjong." "Hell, if nobody else is playing, forget it." "I hope Qu Jian's mom shows up soon and gives him some money, so he can pay me back." " You really think he'll pay you back?" "Or that his mom will give him money?" "Even if she does, he'll probably just keep it for himself." "You'd never know." "You don't think he'd pay me back?" "Li Xu and Ren Huan have been waiting for ages already, and still haven't been paid back." "I think they've given up hope." "He should at least pay back the hundred I borrowed for him from someone else!" "What if he asks you again?" "Would you lend to him?" "Hell no." "Do I look like an idiot?" "Qing Bo never lent to Qu Jian." "I've got to say this for Qu Jian:" "He never asked to borrow from me." "That's because you never have any money!" "They offered us one of those small flats." "But how are we supposed to live there?" "I've got two sons, both grown." "There won't be enough room for all of us in one of those small flats." "I'm not budging from here until they find me a bigger flat." "I just hate living like this..." "Chinese New Year, 2001" "That singer's got a great voice." "I can't eat this." "Give it to the dog." "What are you doing?" " What time is it?" "I should go." "Are you working today?" " No, tomorrow." "Is your house very far from here?" "This happens every time you drink!" "You start acting like an idiot..." "How many aces are down?" "Three?" "Just one." " They're all gone..." "That's another ace, that makes four." "Four deuces." " Fuck..." "Doesn't your TV work?" "That shitty black and white set." "You'd be better off smashing it!" "At least it still works." "How do you like my outfit?" "Where the hell did you dig it up?" " From a ditch or something?" "Our TV is a piece of shit." " It's all snow..." "You can't see anything clearly." "Turn it off, then." "Time to settle up." "He owes me four yuan." " Four?" "I thought it was five." " And he owes two more." "That's six." "Why don't you pay for the cab and we'll call it even?" "I'm not giving you a ride." "We don't even live in the same direction!" "Hey, move your foot!" " In a minute, in a minute..." "God, I need to lie down." "I'm so fucking tired..." "I can't believe we played cards all day, and all I mananged to win was one yuan." "Hey, tomorrow is New Year's Day." "I have to remember to burn some incense." "I've got to take a shit." "Go ahead." "Where's the toilet paper?" "I'd better go now." "It's a long way home." "Qu Jian's house" "Two thirty in the morning," "You're still lying by my side..." "They're not ready yet." "What are you doing?" "Nobody came to visit this New Year." "Fuck, it's like everyone died..." "What's wrong?" "I left a jar here last night, and somebody took it." "It was a great jar, too." "One of those big heavy ones." "Someone else probably saw it and walked off with it." "Sure, we're getting cheated." "But what can we do?" "The relocation office says they're just following orders, by complying with City Ordinance No. 17..." "Have they relocated your family yet, sir?" "Hardly call it that." "All they gave us was a tiny flat." "That's no solution." "Well, we're paying for 55 square meters, and it's costing 16,500 yuan altogether." "The actual price is 15,500, but we have to pay another 10,000 to the guy who helped us pull some strings and get more floor space in the new shop." "How much space did he get you, for that price?" "Seven meters?" "Hey, what are you doing?" "I've been looking for you!" "What the fuck happened to you?" "Come on..." "let's see some cash!" "There's a mahjong game on." "Got any cards at your place, Ren Huan?" " Yeah." "Where are you going?" "Wait!" "Wait...!" "Mother, we've come to raise you from your slumber in the spirit world" "and move you to a new home." "Do you need a pole for that?" "Haven't we got some firewood around?" "We can hang the lantern from the pole." "Do you want a drink?" " I've already got one." "Just beer?" " You don't want something stronger?" "Beer's fine." "You want something to eat?" " No thanks." "I'm not hungry." "Where'd that paper go?" "I need to burn it as an offering." "Mother, are you here with us?" "We're waiting for you to show yourself." "Please hurry before the lamps burn out." "Don't keep us waiting." "Can't you give us some kind of a sign?" "We've come to move you to a new place." "The whole family is here." "You'll like your new home, I promise." "But please don't keep us waiting." "All your descendants are here." "Your son, your grandson, your own flesh and blood." "Please show yourself..." "Hurry, the lamps are burning down." "Now, don't be coy with us, mother." "Show yourself now, otherwise... we'll have to leave you right here." "April 2001" "Tian Hai!" "Tian Hai, there's a call for you!" "Tian Hai, you've got a call!" "He's not home." "Tian Hai!" " What?" "You've got a call." "Put this in the house..." "And close the door after you!" "The Tie Xi district freight railroad, first built in 1934 to service the factories, in the Tie Xi industrial district, has undergone several reconstructions over the years." "It is presently divided into two separate railway systems, which are responsible for transporting raw materials to factories and for shipping out finished goods." "There are over twenty kilometers of tracks, subdivided into four lines:" "The southern, central and northern main lines, and a smaller northern branch line." "The railway runs through the Shenyang city southern freight yard and connects to the Chinese national freight railway system." "Railway worker Li Wenchen" "Assistant railroad conductor Yu Yang" "Something just scraped against the fuel tank." "Are we clear?" " It's your call." "Head railroad conductor Lao Gu" "Come up and take a look." "Okay, I'll be right there." "Come around the front." "And you might as well bring a shovel to clear away the snow." "On second thought, forget it." "There's too much snow." "If we're scraping against something, we should find out what it is." "Safety first, right?" "That's what the station says." "Otherwise, they'll dock our pay." " How about a game of cards?" "What do you say, boss?" " Let's play two rounds." "Railway worker Mr. Zhao" "You going to put down a card?" " No." "Let's keep this game moving, then." " He doesn't have anything to put down." "My heart grows wilder... as I rush toward the future..." "Nobody's been playing chess lately." "Old Du's got a chessboard." "Old Du isn't much for chess lately." "I'm just not interested in chess." "Guess I need a change of routine." "What are you doing for New Year?" " Any big expensive plans, Zhao?" "Oh, I've definitely got big plans." "I'd rather go home early that night." "I hear Ma San and the boys are planning a big night with those "club girls"." "I ran into some railway guys at that club." "Guys from the station, and the freight department..." "Hell, the whole railway was there!" "They must have just got paid." " Yeah." "Those guys in freight have it good." "Their wallets are thicker than ours!" "But I don't like spending too much time in that club." "By the second song, I'm already dizzy." "That place will make your brain swell." "Best to take a quick poke and leave - know what I mean?" "Go in, dance with a few gals, then get the hell out of there." "No need to stay for long." "And then there's the smell..." "all that sweat and smoke." "They've always got the windows shut, so there's no fresh air." "A man could suffocate in there." "It's a health hazard!" "And I want a long life." "Still, it's kind of fun." "Notice the big bags those girls bring?" "They always check the big bag, then pull out a tiny little bag" "Then they stand around outside, swinging their purses." "Hell, I bet they're full of money!" "I'd love to get a look inside one of those bags." "I hear that sometimes the girls will come right up and grab you!" "I saw an old guy there once, giving the girls a hard time." "I was standing right next to him, and he asked me how I thought he was doing." "I said fine, just fine." "After all, he had seniority." "As he left, he shouted to the girls:" ""Next time, ladies, I'll bring 100!" "What's a measly hundred to me?"" "Hell, the guy looked like he collected cans for a living, but there he was, acting like some big shot!" "He brought two old geezers with him, for protection or something." "They sure didn't look like bodyguards." "They were even older than him!" "Later, I saw his bicycle parked outside." "It was an old beat-up thing with a wire basket." "I'll bet the old guy sells vegetables, and collects cans for extra cash!" "Collecting cans to pay the door charge." "He probably pays the bare minimum, gropes a few girls and then leaves." "You get all types at that club." "Even guys carrying big plastic bags, like peasants from the countryside." "Maybe the bags are full of cash!" "I went to another club called "Imperial Capital"." "It was even more of a meat market than that Korean club." "Sun ran into his brother at one of those clubs." "He asked:" ""What are you doing here?" And his brother asked him the same question." "Sun told him brother there might be a vice raid that night, but he already knew." "Head railroad conductor Lao Gu" "Go forward a bit." "Okay, stop." "Let's go." "Lao Gu, when were you born?" "In sixty-two." "Sixty-two?" "No, sixty-one." "You were a student during the Cultural Revolution, too?" "No, I started school early." "So I guess you count as part of - the Cultural Revolution generation." "The schools were closed for about four years then, right?" "Yeah, in the early stages." "I caught the tail end of it." " I guess that makes us classmates, of sorts." "Sure, and Lin Biao was our principal!" "That really dates us." "We're getting old!" "I started school later, so I got ten full years of schooling." "By that time, they'd already reinstated exams." "Railway workers'break room" "Your boss came in yesterday." "I told him the radiators were frozen." "He's got a huge nose, your boss." "Anyway, he just said to get more coal, and that we'd have to deal with it." "Your room has heat." "Why isn't ours working?" "Guo Tong checked the stove and said the fire had burned out." "Don't you have any coal?" " Who's supposed to get the coal?" "There's a train coming back at seven o'clock." "Nobody does his job around here..." "That idiot boss can't do anything." "All those managers do is complain." "Calling him is a waste of time." "He doesn't take anything seriously." "Trying to talk to him is as useless as farting!" "He doesn't care." " Why even talk to him?" "What could you say?" "There's nothing to talk about." "The radiators here are useless." "They're all broken, anyway." "In two days, they're going to install coal stoves in all the rooms." "That's their plan." "They're going to wait until spring to fix the radiators." "The metal's cracked." "Listen, can you hear it?" "These rooms are so cold that the water pans are frozen solid!" "Hey, big Du, did you hear?" "You're on track maintenance!" "Didn't they tell you?" " No, I didn't know." "Should I mention it to them?" " No, there's no need." "Old Zhu said you're on track maintenance." "Oh, then it's all set?" "Is there any hot water?" "Yeah." "Pour me some, will you?" "Working the night shift again, eh?" "Yeah... hot on the inside, cold on the outside!" "So, none of the scavengers showed up today?" "Nobody came?" " Well, there was one guy..." "He told my son that he'd heard" "I'd sold twelve bags of coal to Big Li." "He invited Ma San to his house, and then he went home." "Was it that brother-in-law of his?" "Yeah, yeah - that's the one." "The guy's a cheat." "He took coal without paying for it." "Did you ask him about that?" " I wasn't even home." "I'll talk to Ma San later." " Don't bother with Ma San." "You'll have to find a new place, this house wil be torn down on the twelfth." "It's nothing to do with Ma San, so forget about him." "So forget about him." "Yeah, nothing to do with him." "Old Du, add some coal to the stove." "You'd better find a new place soon." "I don't want to hear you saying that you've got no place to go..." "Guo Tong!" "We need some better coal in here!" "You and one-eyed Du go over to factory # 68 or 24 for some coal." "Just open the door and grab enough to fill two bags." "Will it fit in the bags?" "What are you, an idiot?" "Just fill the bags up like I always do." "Did old Guan remember to fill the thermos?" "He went out to the north line." "To that factory 300-something." "331?" "He's out there unloading coal." "He's got some guys helping him." "They're bringing it back." "That was good coal from the Datong coal mines." "That's right." "There's not any decent coal there anymore, though." "There's coal in factories 68 and 24, but you have to really dig for it." "It's all covered in snow now." "Not at factory 68." "They've got a shed." "No, they don't." "That coal's buried in snow." "Yes?" "Has number four arrived yet?" "Soon, soon, maybe noon..." "Linkup to engine no. 14, eight cars..." "I had these old neighbors who decided to try wife-swapping." "They'd trade for a week, then trade back." "Then trade again." "One of the old guys wasn't very good in bed, but the other was still going strong." "After they swap, the one old gal... well, she starts to realize that not all men are created equal." "Because this old neighbor of hers a real tiger in bed." "Wham, bam!" "She's loving it, because she never realized it could be so good." "She's happy, but the other old gal isn't pleased because the other old guy can't satisfy her." "She decides not to swap anymore, and goes back to her husband." "But now the other gal doesn't want anything to do with her old man, and keeps running back to the neighbor!" "So the neighbor's wife complains." "To the factory where they all work." "Factory security calls in the couples for a full investigation." "But the factory tells them there's nothing it can do, because they're the ones who decided to swap in the first place." "So they send the couples home." "Eventually, the couple with the bad sex life gets a divorce." "Now that the wife has compared, she wants out of the marriage." "And the couple with the good sex life are happy, so they stay together." "The divorcee eventually finds herself a new man, one with a little life left in him." "Once she'd had a taste of what she'd been missing, she didn't want to go back!" "There are two couples in my aunt's neighborhood who are always fighting." "Whenever one couple has a fight, the other couple goes over to help smooth things over." "The husband tries to mediate." "They take turns mediating - first one, then the other." "The one husband seems to be attracted to the other's wife, and vice-versa." "This goes on for a while, until they start to realize the truth of the matter." "So they decide to swap wives." "Well, they swap for a year." "After a year, one of the couples moves." "Later, one of the women starts having second thoughts." "She tries to get her husband back, but by then, it's too late..." "You working today?" "There's not any fucking work to do." "There aren't any trains coming in." "Fuck it..." "You've got a good thing going here." "You get to ride the trains - not bad!" "Am I right?" "Why don't you find yourself a good woman, Du?" "I'm not looking for one." "Why not?" " I'm impotent." "You are?" "You should tell your son to get a job and stop hanging around." "I've tried..." "I suggested working as a plumber, painter, or dry-waller." "Or better yet, a cook or a baker." "He worked as a cook once," "for about three months, but he didn't like it." "Comrades!" "Are you cold?" "Don't tell me you're still holding out and living in that place?" "Is anybody left there?" " Me and my son." "Everyone else has left." "At least you have someone to talk to, eh?" "Perseverance always wins..." "What's going on with Ya Dan?" "Why is he hoarding coal?" "I saw him gathering coal out on the central line." "I saw that bastard buying it, too." " That's right." "And he rented a place to store it?" "Yeah, and he's got guys helping him." "They're scavenging coal?" " Yeah." "Ya Dan's the ringleader." "The police came to see him today." "Did he pay them off?" "No, he lied and said all the scavengers had left." "You finding any coal lately?" "Us?" "Can you make any money that way?" "We do all right." "We don't need much." "Just three bags a day." "Three bags - that's what?" "Thirty yuan per day?" " Not that much." "Twenty yuan." "Twenty isn't bad." "It's more than I make sitting around here all day." "Three bags, 20 yuan per day." "Better than sitting in a train all day." "Factory Number 68" "Finally earning your keep around here, eh?" "We got some good coal today." "Doesn't he look like Lenin?" "Put the hat back on." "See?" "Just like Lenin." "Who?" "Gao Sen looks more like Lenin." "Gao Sen." "Tie Xi industrial district freight railway Freight yards" "Coming up on number 24..." "Where's Du Yang?" "Where'd you get this stuff?" "It's good coal." "Where's it from?" "Fuck, we had to break into the storage place." "You broke in?" "It was hard work." " I had to break the door." "And you just left it like that?" " Nobody's going to care." "We just broke down the door, and threw the coal inside." "How are we going to get it out again?" "Is that coal any good?" "It's the same as the coal from factory No. 24." "Where's it from?" "Didn't you take a little for yourself?" " I took 5 bags." "Fuck." "That much?" "We just opened up the door and..." "This stuff doesn't burn well." "It looks like leftovers." "Huh?" "It's leftover from last shift." "Let's get rid of this stuff." "Throw it away and replace it." "Throw it all away..." "There aren't even any decent-sized chunks." "Maybe it got crushed at the bottom of the pile." "Get rid of it, take it away." "Gather that up." "Are you finished emptying the furnace?" "It's empty." " Thanks." "Want a cigarette?" "No thanks." "Du Yang?" " Hm?" "Du and his son are hard workers." "They're the only ones who know how to do things right around here." "And since they're homeless, it's no problem letting them live here." "And they get their pick of things from the freight yards, no less." "He ought to go and buy us some chicken to thank us for our kindness..." "Tie Xi industrial district December 2000" "Tie Xi Qu Factory No. 42" "Careful, that stove's hot." "This tofu is really good." "Old Du looks like the president of Indonesia, don't you think?" "Especially wearing that little hat." "Okay, finished." "Doe de deksel er weer op." "Put the lid back on that." "That lid..." "Put it right there." "That idiot." "He didn't even close the door..." "Stop!" "Stop..." "Old Du and his son at home" "This is my son." "And this is our little house." "It's too dark in here." "Maomao!" "Come here!" "Say hello to the camera..." "There aren't many people who would be willing to live the way we do." "I've been here for 20 years." "That's how long I've been on the railroad." "Although I'm not a railroad employee, you know." "Not technically." "I just collect what I can use or sell." "My wife abandoned us." "I've got two sons - this is my oldest." "My other son works in a restaurant." "We manage to get by." "It's not easy, when you have kids." "I was part of the "sent down generation"." "As soon as I graduated from middle school in '68, they sent me down to the countryside." "That's the age everyone got sent down." "Conditions in the countryside in 1968 were rough, so we all came back as soon as we could." "When I got back, I learned a trade from my father." "It was a good trade." "We cooked snacks in bamboo steamers." "Pigs feet and things like that." "It was just a small family stand." "But we got into trouble because private businesses were illegal back then." "We lost everything we had..." "not that we had much to begin with." "We were just a regular family." "Back then, nobody had bikes or watches or transistor radios." "Not that we called them transistor radios, back then - we still called them "radio sets"." "Anyway, after my father was arrested they took everything we had" "and sealed the doors of our house." "We lost our savings." "Back then, nobody kept money in banks." "They locked my father in a shed, and then finally released him." "After that, my father taught me a new trade:" "Baking clay bricks." "In those days, there weren't any brick houses in Shenyang." "Just crappy old houses made of mud." "So we made bricks for a while, and then I started with the railroad." "I worked railroad security for 7 years, so all the police know me." "That's why they still let me live here, in the freight yards." "If I were some regular guy, they'd probably arrest me." "But they don't bother me, because I've got connections." "Everyone's got to make a living, right?" "It's not easy..." "Hook up car number 14." "Bound for the north line..." "Is there coal on this train?" "Old Du's house" "Du Yang and his younger brother" "Oh, I forgot to buy you cigarettes." "I'm not smoking, anyway." "Aren't those cigarettes right there?" "I wanted to buy you some Apollos." " It doesn't matter." "I'm living in the same room as before." "The second building, right?" "Second from the gate." "Are you going there tonight?" " No, tomorrow's fine." "If you come, wait until 9:30 when I've left for work." "That way nobody will bother you." "Or maybe when I'm off work?" "So I'll wait until you're off work?" " Yeah." "But I don't have a key." "They won't let me give you a key." "Maybe it's best to wait until I'm there..." "Then you can stay there." "You're finally home." " I just got back." "Where's your dad?" " He... he went out." "Where did he go?" "Something bad came up." "With the police?" "What happened?" "He was gathering coal..." "That's all?" "Gathering coal?" "He had just finished, and the police showed up." "My dad admitted everything." "It was the guys from the plant." "They sent someone to see me, too." "They must have tipped off the police." "What did they say?" "They said you can't stay here." " Yeah, the police said that, too." "They sent someone to see me, and said I had to kick you out." "I figure my dad won't be in for long." "Maybe a week, or ten days..." "You can stay here for now." "If anyone says anything, just tell them I said it was okay." "Say you're moving out of here as soon as your dad gets back." "I understand." "I can't kick you out now, right?" "Right." "I'll say if they kick me out, my dad won't know where to find me when he gets out." "Fine, fine." " Thanks." "See you later." "You see how hard it is?" "First my dad gets arrested, now we have to move." "They caught him collecting coal." "Here?" " Yeah." "The higher-ups want him out." "They were just looking for an excuse to drive him out." "They want me to kick them out." "At least Du Yang wasn't scavenging." "If he were, they would have arrested him, too." "His dad started bringing him to the depot back in 1989." "To the depot back in 1989." "He was only two or three then." "That's no kind of life for a little kid." "They were always half-starved, so they never grew much." "Fuck... my sons are the same age, but they're a hell of a lot bigger." "Poor nutrition, that's what it is." "Their dad doesn't make much money, and their mom left years ago." "She was a country gal." "No, I'll tell you what she was." "She was always running off, even when the boys were small." "She'd be gone for days, months, then come back to visit her boys." "One day she never came back." "She was more like his daughter than his wife, you know?" "Big age difference." "How did she end up with him?" " Hell, who knows?" "She probably had no place to go." "She was 15 years younger." "The boys are 17, 18... she'd be about 35 now." "Can't you shut the door when you're done?" "I tried, but it was too heavy." "It was creaking..." "Fuck, it'll take at least 15 pins to secure those wheels." "It's just you and Gao working today?" " Yeah." "Who else is here?" "Ding Gao, and that other guy..." "Just two?" " Tall Wang is here, too." "Du's sons are really worried about him." "Smoke?" " No thanks." "The oldest looks like he's been sleeping with his eyes open." "Ma Wu, come over here!" "What is it?" " Just come over here." "Careful not to step on those metal pins." "Wow, take a look at that moonlight." "It must be the 14th or 15th already." "Can you believe how round the moon is?" "Old Du's house" "This is the way our family used to be." "That's my dad." "And that's my mom." "Just a few more days." "Until I hear from my dad, though, I won't believe it." "We'll see if he comes back tonight." "If he isn't back by eight tonight," "he'll have been in there for a week..." "Su Jia Tun, a suburb of Shenyang city" "Du Yang" "After he was released, your father walked in that direction." "It was really far, too, and there weren't any buses." "Is the other direction faster?" " Yes." "Follow the railway tracks all the way - it's the only road." "Okay, and thanks again." "Let's go." "Thanks!" "Goodbye!" "This was stupid" " I can't believe you insisted on coming out here in this cold!" "Shenyang Railway security office" "Hello?" "Dad?" "You're back!" "I know." "We're coming back now" " Ask him where he is." "Are you at home?" "Okay, I'm on my way." "Is he home?" " Yeah, he's home." "He's already there?" " Yeah, he's home." "I was caught during the third shift, but it was the guys on the second shift who told the cops." "Yesterday I went to the police station" "and begged them to release you." "I said that if they didn't, they could throw me in there with you." "I even offered them money!" "I should never have gone there." "What happened?" "The cops were just getting off work for the day." "Then this one asshole cop started yelling at me, and kicked me out." "There was nothing I could do." "I ended up groveling, kneeling on the ground in the police station." "I begged those two older cops to take me to see you." "All I knew was that you'd been gone for days, and I'd never been apart from you that long." "That's exactly what I said." "When they said you were in for a whole week, I was desperate." "I couldn't have known that." "You should at least have asked them to tell me!" "It's snowing outside, so he couldn't call." "If it were summer, they'd have let him call from outside." "Don't you understand how I must have been feeling?" "Don't you understand how I must have felt?" "I missed you terribly, you know?" "No, I'm the one who missed you." " I wasn't free to contact you!" "You didn't miss me as much as I missed you." "Do you have any idea how much I cried?" "I went through all our pictures..." "I know I raised you right." "That's the truth." " Dad!" "You missed me, huh?" " I really missed you." "Check please!" "On bended knee, dad, I want to say..." "What are you doing?" "Du Yang!" "Don't do this!" "Now son," "listen to me..." "What are you doing?" "Get off the ground, Du Yang!" "Listen to reason!" "People are going to laugh at you." "Son!" "Son, I'm going to call your brother." "Stop lecturing, or I'm going to hit you!" "I'm still calling your brother." " If you say that again, I'll hit you!" "How dare you hit your father!" "And at his age..." "Du Yang, listen to me!" "Get up!" "Kid, you're making a laughing-stock of yourself!" "Du Yang, get up!" "People are laughing at you!" "Get up!" "Don't hit him!" "I hate you!" "Come on, get up." "Your father is back now, and everything's fine." "Young man, what's wrong with you?" "You're acting like a girl!" "But you waited until New Year to come back... fuck you all!" "Who are you so angry at?" "There's no need for that kind of talk!" "You think you're so great?" "Du Yang..." "I'll hit you!" "That's your father!" "That's your father!" " Du Yang..." "Listen to me, that's a good boy..." "I'll carry you on my back, just like when you were little..." "Is he okay?" "It's fine." "You can go home." "No, I'll see you home first." "That way I'll know you're safe." "Du Yang?" "Can you hear me?" "It's dad." "Dad!" " That's right, dad's home." "You said you missed me." "Well I missed you, too." "Fuck, it's been hard, I know..." "Life is hard, son." "One of these days, I'll tell you my life story" "I've never told you that." "I have a brother myself, you know." "My name's Du Xiyun." "My younger brother's name is Du Xiyu." "Didn't know that, did you?" "Son, please listen." "My parents had to give him away, but I know where he lives." "He has a new name now:" "Ma Youtian." "They gave away my only brother." "I'll tell you the whole story later." "I'll tell you everything about my life." "I've suffered through everything a man could..." "I've endured a lot." "Are you listening?" "That's a good boy." "You know the saying:" "Heaven never lets a good man down." "It's true." "I was blessed with two sons." "I never expected to have sons." "And now I'm getting old, and I have no job or place to live." "But let me tell you:" "On this railroad, I'm somebody." "I've got connections here, I've worked security." "I've done a lot for this railroad." "I'll tell you all about it someday." "I've got dirt on everyone, including the cops." "But now they've got a file on me... on me!" "Chinese New Year 2000" "We don't have any fireworks." "Do we have any signal flares left?" "Not many people do fireworks now." "It's not like it was in the 80's." "Hell, those were the days!" "Back when workers were getting their salaries, and the factories were still open." "Let's set off two of them." "Set them apart from each other." "Hell, I need a drink." "I feel like shit." "Don't set them all off at once." "That's no fun." "How many should we light?" " Three." "Fuck, let's put them on the rails so the trains set them off as they pass!" "Or attach one to the wheel." "Boom!" "Shenyang High-Voltage Switch Factory" "Take two of those." "Okay, okay." "Setting these off is addictive." "Now, that's what I call a flare!" "Fuck, my ears are ringing now." "Let's eat some dumplings!" "That's a proper flare!" "We wanted you to see this - a real railroad experience." "Now he knows all about the fun you can have with signal flares!" "Let's eat." "That was great..." "Spring 2000" "So you ran into Li Taiqing?" "Where did you see him?" "Old Zhu" "What have you been up to?" " Spending time with my son." "North line." "Shenyang Sheet Metal Factory" "He sold them." "Shenyang Paint Factory" "Who knows where he got them?" "It's fucking scrap metal!" "Shit, he's even got metal door frames" "Oh?" " Metal door frames, eh?" "Shenyang Smelting Factory" "Those things must weigh two or three hundred pounds..." "North line Shenyang Cable Factory" "Shenyang Compressor Factory" "Shenyang Wire Factory" "Take it easy" "Big Du came to drop off the new work schedule." "Central line" "Shenyang Glass Works" "The sun is high, don't let the rain forget her padded jacket..." "The rain is nigh, don't let the sun forget her big straw hat..." "I'm full of excitement today, but I don't know why." "Remember I said I'd stop teasing you?" "You're too old to tease people, anyway." "I'm hot." "Can you pour me some water?" "It's so hot today, I bet you'd jump in that water if you could." "Take these." "Here you go." "Shenyang Rubber Factory" "What's this thing?" "Why don't you put the hat on?" "We've got trains on tracks 12, 13, 14 and 25." "Yeah, someone left this cart on the tracks and never claimed it." "Why didn't you claim it before?" " It belongs to an old lady." "What old lady?" " The lady who works at the gate." "You confiscated it and she couldn't find it!" "What do you expect me to do?" "It was blocking the train." "Right... so I'm asking for it back." " You might try asking nicely." "Listen, I'm in a hurry here!" "Well, you're the one who started this." "I just don't see what business you have confiscating people's things!" "If it's blocking the tracks, it's my business!" "Why do I always end up dealing with these things?" "It didn't even happen on my shift." "Who knows when it happened?" "Probably fell through the cracks." "If you can't handle this, who can?" "I can't believe this is turning into such a big deal." "What did he say?" "Never mind, just tell the old lady to come in and get her cart." "Why don't you tell her yourself?" "Ah no, what you should have said was:" ""I'm so sorry, sir, for the trouble."" ""May I please have my cart back?"" "See how polite that was?" "And how much more effective?" "You see, I could give you a lot of trouble if I wanted." "Around here, my word is law." "That's the way it is." "You don't believe me?" "Wipe that smile off your face!" "You may think I'm boasting..." "No really, you've said enough." " Oh no, I haven't." "Because I have the authority to back it up, understand?" "What - do you want me to beg?" " That would be a start." "We're talking about an old lady!" " I don't care how old she is." "Why do you care about my manners?" "You should try to be more polite." "We're all neighbors here, so we should try to get along." "There's no point in starting a fight." "Listen, I only came here because my grandmother was afraid to come herself." "You're just lucky I was able to stop the train in time." "If the train had hit that cart, I wouldn't be letting you off so easily." "Let's consider this resolved, then." "Please don't give her a hard time." "My goal is to return the cart to its rightful owner, and make sure this never happens again." "I'm letting you off easy because she's your grandmother, okay?" "I still think you spoke too hastily." "Just don't scare my grandmother when she comes in, all right?" "I won't." "This was between you and me." " I was wrong, okay?" "And thank you - sir!" "I still think you owe the others an apology." "We were perfectly polite to you." "You should go and say you're sorry." "I'm sorry, sir, very sorry." "I spoke too quickly just now." "Good." "And offer them a cigarette." " But I don't smoke." "That doesn't matter." "It's the courtesy that counts." "Well, again..." "I'm sorry." "Common courtesy." "I'm sure your grandmother would understand that." "If she had come today instead, I wouldn't have had to lecture her..." "All she'd have to do is ask." "What are you burning?" "Paper." "South line Late autumn 2000" "Pass that water over." "Fuck, don't spill it!" "Okay, let go." "Third round!" "Wave to the crowds!" "Wave to the cameras!" "Looking good, comrades..." " Fourth round!" "Nice work, comrades!" "Stop!" "The water's ready." "Comrades!" "Care for a drink of water?" "I boiled water for you." "How many cards left?" "Got a king?" "Sure, but it won't help you." "It's yours." "Come over here!" "That's quality metal, through and through." "How heavy is it?" "What's it weigh?" "There's another one in back." "Come here." "5 mao per pound?" "I'll sell for 7 mao a pound." "Everyone else is selling for 8." "How much does it weigh?" "Ten pounds." "How about 7 yuan?" "How about eight?" " I'd still be losing money on it." "Losing money?" "I can't sell it for eight..." " Why not?" "Look how heavy it is..." "Ik geef er 7 yuan voor." "Give me ten for it." "Hey, Lao Gu!" "Can I sell this?" " Sure, go ahead." "Ten still isn't enough." "Lao Gu, what do you say?" "Give me some more." "Maybe you could scrap the train." "That's all you get for 10." "No way." "I'll throw this in, too." "That's sheet metal." "Sheet metal?" "I don't think so." "You want aluminum?" "Sure." " There's this thermos" "It can't weigh two pounds." "Hurry, let's go back." " We'll be back next time." "Let's go." "I beat you." "Four jacks." "Four queens." "Aren't you going to draw?" " Fuck it." "You can't throw two deuces." "They're not high enough." "I'm finished." "There are still the kings." "We don't have the cards to win..." "One year later, Old Du returns to the freight yards" "Where are you living now?" " Near the airport." "Fuck, I saw this plane the other day..." "Near the airport?" "It was trying to take off, but couldn't get up off the ground." "They had to send in those tow trucks." "On the runway, huh?" "How much do you earn out there?" "They pay me 500." " You and your son?" "No, Du Yang makes 300, I make 500." "You working as a security guard?" " And as a cook, too." "I cook three meals a day for the workers there." " That's not bad." "I should be heading back." "If you need anything, call me!" "And about that loan..." "Never mind." "It's no big deal." "We're all friends here, right?" "I even bought a damn phone!" "Our phone broke, so I went out and bought one." "And tell Lao San I said hello." " Okay, I definitely will." "See you later." "Bye!" "Hitch one car to No. 14..." "Chinese New year 2001" "Happy New Year!" "Come over here." "Okay." "Let's eat." "Old Du's new house" "Come on, let's eat!" " I don't hear any fireworks." "It's a shame San Ge's mother had to die before New Year." "Add some coal to that." "Why'd you have to light firecrackers here?" "The boss is probably going to kill us for it tomorrow." "Da Yang, you light them." "I hope New Year brings you good fortune... and a nice girl!" "And an old gal for you - to comfort you in your old age!" "If there aren't any young ones, an old one will do!" "There's no such thing as true love!" "It doesn't exist!" "You think there's no love in the world?" "Let me give you an example." "It's right here, before your eyes." "Li Jun and I have known each other for 20 years." "That's true feeling." "You still think there's no such think as love?" "When my wife left me and I was desperate," "I took my sons, and you know where I went?" "To Li Jun's." "I told him I hadn't eaten in days." "That was three, four years ago." "Remember?" "Add some salt and soy sauce." "And let it boil for a while." "If she doesn't come here, I'm not going over there." "Did you call her?" " I just tried." "She didn't return my call." "Call her again, then." "She could become your new mom." "He's already met her." "See?" "I knew she'd call!" "I'm here having drinks with a few friends." "Why don't you come on over?" "I'll tell you how to get here." "Take the No. 8 bus to the last stop, and I'll meet you there." "Come in, come in." "Old Du!" "Who's the young lady?" "Let me introduce you to my..." "Don't trip yourself up!" "This is my, uh..." "It's okay." "You don't have to introduce me." "We're all old friends here." "Take it easy..." "Are your eyes okay?" "It's the smoke." "Old Du!" "Don't you have anything to drink?" "I forgot to buy anything." "Let me help you put that on." "I think these dumplings are a little too soft, but..." "Spring 2001" "Why didn't you tell me?" "I did." "Oh, fuck..." "Shh... keep your voice down."