Chapter Ninety-Three: The Special Zone and Rumors

Then let her come if she wants; I just feel for her, having to catch the bus so late at night, then wake up early and rush here again—it’s pretty tough. Besides, who knows, maybe our business hours will get even longer. When winter comes, would you really have the heart, as her sister, to let her walk home alone, braving the wind and snow at night? Oh, and another thing—what happened to her hands? They’re so rough. Do you make her do all the chores at home? Are you worried that with her staying here, you’ll lose your best laborer and have nobody left to help you?” Hongtao wasn’t at all intimidated by Han Xue’s attempts at frightening him with grown-up talk. As long as it didn’t get physical, he could handle three Han Xues and still hold his own.

“Mind your own business! You little brat, stop worrying about things that don’t concern you. Just because my sister works for you doesn’t mean you get to boss me around! All right, I’ll trust you one more time and let her help you with the shifts. But listen carefully: if you dare have any bad intentions toward her, I’ll get someone to smash up your shop and put two holes in your backside—believe it or not!” Han Xue, feeling a little embarrassed by Hongtao’s words, tried to scare him off with gritted teeth, but she hardly had any real authority. In the end, she had no choice but to bring her sister over herself.

“Isn’t that a little unfair? The first time we met, I bought you a beer. The second time, you ate one of my ice creams. Up to now, you’ve always taken advantage of me—when have I ever gotten the better of you? That day, I accidentally touched your thigh, and you nearly ripped my ear off! Didn’t you get it backward? You’re the one bullying me, not the other way around!” Hongtao refused to let Han Xue take the upper hand. He began counting off on his fingers every occasion when she’d gotten the better of him.

“I can’t argue with you! Anyway, you’re not allowed to bully my sister, nor tell her about our relationship. I have business with your aunt, so I’m done talking to you!” Han Xue realized she was losing ground the more she argued. This kid was full of strange logic—completely unpredictable—so the only thing she could do was escape him.

“Our relationship? What relationship?” Hongtao kept pressing, chasing after her for an explanation.

“Just wait, kid! You think you can beat me? Give it ten more years and you’ll be no match for me, body or mind!” Watching Han Xue flee into his aunt’s tailor shop, Hongtao flexed his jaw muscles in satisfaction and swaggered back to the neighboring salon.

Busy days passed quickly. In the blink of an eye, a week had gone by since the tailor shop and salon opened, and business was booming. Customers now came not just from nearby neighborhoods or passersby on their way to work, but also from farther afield. Some heard about it from colleagues or friends; others simply spotted someone on the street in stylish new clothes or with a novel hairstyle, asked for the address, then made time to rush over.

As the customer base grew, the two little shops settled into a steady rhythm; the daily workload became predictable, with little variation except during holidays or festivals.

His aunt was no longer struggling alone. She took her nephew’s advice and recruited a close friend from high school, a girl who hadn’t yet found suitable work and whose family had no objections. This new helper became her right hand, learning as she worked. Tailoring is much harder to master than perming hair, but tasks like hemming, sewing on buttons, or pressing small pieces weren’t too difficult. Don’t underestimate these chores—half the work of making clothes lies in those little details. With the girl’s help, his aunt’s efficiency improved greatly.

Unfortunately, his third cousin was clumsy, and Han Yan’s time was too limited, so Hongtao still couldn’t fully step away from the salon. Particularly for long-haired customers, the two girls simply couldn’t manage, so Hongtao had to handle those himself. Otherwise, he let his cousin and Han Yan do as much as possible, only stepping in if they made a major mistake—and rarely speaking a word.

Learning a skill is much like learning to swim. If you always wear a life vest, you’ll never really swim. Someone needs to give you a shove into the water, so you can struggle on your own. As long as you’re not in danger of drowning, you’ll quickly figure it out.

Han Yan was far more capable and diligent than his cousin. She was meticulous, able to keep track of multiple customers’ different processing times for perming and setting, never off by a minute. Her hardworking, obedient nature also made customers happy; even if she made the occasional mistake, adults wouldn’t hold it against her. Soon, she became the number one choice for customers after Hongtao, while his cousin remained the last resort: not only was she careless and clumsy, but also hot-tempered, shouting for Hongtao at the slightest problem. Whatever little prestige she had, she squandered herself.

Since most of his time was spent at the salon, Hongtao even moved his cricket cages there, storing them in a cabinet in his aunt’s shop. Whenever he had free time, he’d cook meals for his crickets on an electric stove—after all, electricity here was free!

“Grandpa, did you read today’s newspaper?” Near the end of August, one day at the dinner table, Hongtao suddenly placed a copy of the People’s Daily in front of his grandfather.

“The newspaper? What’s it say now? Let me see... Special Economic Zones? The fifteenth meeting of the Fifth Standing Committee of the National People’s Congress has decided to set up Special Economic Zones in Shenzhen, Zhuhai, Shantou, and Xiamen. Bingrui, what does ‘Special Economic Zone’ mean?” Grandpa read the headline on the front page several times but couldn’t understand, so he turned to the most educated man in the family, his second son-in-law—Hongtao’s father.

“I saw it at school too. Looks like Xiaotao was right—the country’s policies really are changing, not just talk, but actual action. As for Special Economic Zones, the way I see it, these four places will see bigger policy shifts. How can I put it? It’s like in the late Qing Dynasty—Tianjin, Canton, Shanghai—where foreigners were allowed to do business here. Yes, it’s something like that!” Unable to use academic language with the old man, Hongtao’s father explained in plain terms.

“What! Isn’t that just going back to the old days? Are we going to have concessions again? We finally drove them out—why are we inviting them back? What nonsense!” Grandpa understood now, and slammed his chopsticks on the table in protest.

“Grandpa, it’s not concessions—it’s just allowing foreigners to do business here, but they still have to follow our laws. Mainly, it’s about getting their money—making them buy our stuff, so the country gets richer.” Hearing Grandpa’s words, Hongtao quickly tried to help his father explain. In different times, Grandpa’s comment would have been considered counterrevolutionary!

“Well, that’s better, I suppose. But I still don’t get it—why do we have to trick them out of their money? Foreign devils aren’t easy to fool—they’re sly as monkeys. Back in the old days, there were plenty of foreigners in the capital, and rickshaw drivers never wanted to take them in summer—they always went on the longest rides, real scoundrels!” Clearly, Grandpa harbored deep resentment toward foreigners.

“Whether they’re easy to fool or not, at least Auntie’s and Cousin’s shops are safe. If the country allows foreigners to do business, surely they’ll let their own people do the same, right?” Hongtao knew he couldn’t give Grandpa a crash course in international finance, so he steered the conversation back to their own affairs.

“Of course! Our Xiaotao has good instincts! You’re better than your grandpa, and even better than your father—your father’s read himself stupid. But your grandpa and your dad have seen too much in their time. The more a person knows, the more cautious he gets. When you grow up, you’ll be the same—no one escapes it, haha.” Talking about their two shops filled Grandpa with pride, just like when they first installed central heating a few years ago.

At first, many neighbors watched with a sense of schadenfreude, waiting for the Hu family to trip up. But half a month later, not only had nothing gone wrong, business was booming. Some busybodies even helped Grandpa tally up the accounts, and the resulting number was unbelievable: the two little shops were grossing almost ten thousand yuan a month!

Ten thousand yuan! That was an unimaginable sum for ordinary people at the time. When pork cost mere cents a pound and the biggest purchase most people ever made was in the hundreds, earning five figures in a month made you a freak in the eyes of family and friends—envy and jealousy gave way to naked resentment.

Everyone was born of parents just like you, lived in the same crowded alleys, and you weren’t royalty—so why should your family earn so much? Why should you eat at restaurants whenever you please while the rest of us gnaw on steamed buns and cabbage? Why should your children wear new clothes while ours wear hand-me-downs? Why do you smoke Zhonghua cigarettes at over one yuan a pack, while we smoke Da Fengshou at nine cents?

Is this still socialism? Are landlords and capitalists making a comeback? Is capitalism returning? These questions arose in everyone’s minds, stoking their anger until most couldn’t sleep. In the end, they went to the neighborhood committee to file anonymous complaints! Some even wished the bad old days would return—if they couldn’t live well, then no one else should either!