24 City Page #6

Su Na

It's such a hassle.

The stuff you want is so expensive.

Who can afford it?

Who can afford to show off like you?

Su Na, born 1982 in Chengdu

The school in Factory 420

In grade 1, I was 1.66 meters tall.

A good figure.

So I thought I could be a model

or something like that.

But I didn't get any taller.

It was such a shame.

Most of us in school were not

good students.

And the teaching was pretty bad.

He was manager of one

of the workshops in 420.

So he had good connections.

He used his influence to get me transferred

to High School 4.

He thought I'd go

to some famous university,

Iike Tsinghua or Peking University,

to make him proud of me

and honor our ancestors.

But I'm not the studying type.

Not at all.

I failed the college entrance exam.

I had the strong feeling

that I'd let my parents down.

For a while I hung around on the streets.

I had nothing to do.

I wasn't willing to work in 420.

But things are going fine now.

I work as a shopper.

I go to Hong Kong every two weeks

to buy things for my clients.

There are many rich people here.

So I can easily make money.

Rich women with time on their hands

Iike fashion but have no energy to buy.

So they hire me to buy for them.

All the famous brands.

Shoes, scarves, belts,

watches, that kind of thing.

I get 1000 yuan per item.

Enough to live on.

Pretty good, in fact.

See that tower?

Yes.

We call it the Panda TV Tower.

I have a friend from Malaysia.

I met him on a plane.

He wants to take over

the revolving restaurant

and hire me to manage it.

I've never worked in catering,

but there's no harm in trying.

Maybe I'll become a powerful woman!

What do you think?

I bought a car for my credibility.

I have to see those rich ladies every day.

If I didn't have a car,

I'd feel quite embarrassed.

I'll repay the loan myself.

My classmates' parents

have put money aside for them

since they were little.

I forget the name of the fund.

Anyhow, it's ring-fenced.

And when they're old enough

they'll own apartments and cars.

My mother was laid off in 1995.

While my father was working,

he kept his hands clean.

He never found my mother a well-paid job.

She found a part-time job

in a telegraph-pole factory.

She's still doing that now.

Since he retired

my dad's been permanently grumpy.

He can't adjust to not being in charge.

When he worked,

the house was packed with visitors.

It was very lively.

Now nobody at all comes to visit.

In the first few months,

he hardly stepped outside at all.

And he became very taciturn.

When he got up in the morning,

he'd just sit on the sofa,

chain-smoking.

I didn't go home much.

I didn't want to.

Whenever I was there,

I felt the mood of failure and depression.

I lived with my first boyfriend

in Royal Mansion, Yulin Gardens.

It was a pretty nice place.

But we eventually broke up.

Then I found another guy.

And we lived in a place called

"Beautiful Age".

I also lived in a one-room flat.

I think that was with my third boyfriend.

The bottom line is,

I didn't want to go home.

Not if I could avoid it.

One day, to apply for a trip, I needed

my permanent residence document.

So I went home to get it

and found the door locked.

I realized I didn't know where my key was.

I don't know what was wrong with me.

So I went to see my mother at her factory.

I'd never been there before.

As soon as I went inside,

I was deafened by the noise.

You had to shout to be heard.

I looked around the place.

But I couldn't see my mother.

The workers were all wearing blue uniforms.

I had to go up to every person.

I was looking for my mother.

Finally,

I found her over in a corner.

She was carrying ingots of steel.

She took them and threw them,

one after the other into some boxes.

Every time she threw one, it went bang!

I had never felt that sad in my whole life.

It was like a sharp pain

striking my heart. It made all my limbs ache.

I didn't even know if it was a man

or a woman when I approached.

The head was bent down.

I started crying

when I saw it was her and I ran off.

I had dinner at home that night.

My parents were so surprised:

"Why have you come home for dinner?"

I didn't answer.

After eating, I told my mother

that I would stay the night.

She was very happy.

She made my bed and brought a quilt.

I hadn't touched that bed in ages.

As I lay on it, I suddenly felt grown-up.

I began to care about my parents.

The thing I most want now

is to make a lot of money.

Lots and lots of money.

I want to buy an apartment

in 24 City for my parents.

I know it will cost a lot.

But I can do it.

I'm the daughter of a worker.

Chengdu

Home of the lotus-eating life

That's what makes my life worth living

Poem by Wan Xia

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