Kanghan YUAN - One Who Moved Out to Get Rich

Still, on her WeChat, Hong comes across Chinese wisdom verses. She asks me.

"What does it mean if you are just a little bird, then someone……? "

Before finishing that one, she adds another.

"…not everyone who puts you in shit is your enemy…., and listen to this one, just imagine you are freezing, and suddenly, a cow

comes up and lets a flatbread swell on you…, or what if an eagle flying by, hears your cheerful singing and eats you?"

She continues, but I cut her short and say that the good thing is, I am not a bird, but I know it is better to keep my head down. She drops the topic of Chinese wisdom and jumps on to another piece of a news item which she passes over to me.

"A Chinese man had to give up his villa by recklessly using his mobile phone because when he was travelling abroad, it automatically connected to the internet".

She says, biting her nails, a sign of slight anxiety since she has open foreign access that she uses to communicate to her parents.

But thankfully, she says she deleted this option. I am a bit confused to know this. Just because your mobile phone automatically connects to the internet, does it mean losing your house? I want to learn more about this. The fees for getting a connection to foreign countries is incredibly high and tightly controlled in China. Besides, what the government wants is to limit travel and businesses of foreign countries and the outflow of money abroad.

In the evening we visit one of the local eating places, where you get a cheap meal. However, here you need to be careful because, in areas such as this, traders want to make quick money, sometimes without thinking about quality, health and safety issues. The rule of thumb is to keep places visited by tourists and Thais, as good and clean as possible. If you see an empty restaurant in busy times; you should be careful. Ask yourself why it has no customers at a busy time. Hong is still suffering from a slight cough; I will buy new cough juice tomorrow.

The following morning, after breakfast of rice soup and fish, we drive to the centre of Pattaya to buy Hong's cough medicine. We go to the beach, take some photos, and then later go to a restaurant overlooking the harbour.

Through the window of the restaurant, I have a beautiful view of the beach where I have seen Chinese tourists in a tour group about to take a boat trip. Since I am in the area, I use this opportunity to survey a piece of land I bought a few years ago, to construct an apartment. I made a down payment, but construction has not started yet. Hong proposes that we go to the building contractor to find out why.

"I am surprised; I am hearing this for the first time. I wonder how you can buy land in a country where you do not even visit frequently. And more so, when you are a foreigner. You should not have bought it in the first place", she reacts furiously.

I explain to her that I did not buy land because I wanted to live here; it was merely an investment which would bring good returns.

If I built an apartment and rented it through an estate agent, it would bring good profits in return. I do not have to be living here to invest here. But she keeps on arguing; she does not want to listen to me. I again explain to her that everything is legal because the law provides for it.

After a thorough search, we manage to locate the plot where construction will be taking place; it is empty. What makes it even worse is that squatters have invaded the land with makeshift shanty dwellings. I don't see how construction can take place with all this mess. Straight away, we head to the developer's office. When we reach there, we learn that the managing director had travelled; he was not in the office. Is it because we did not make an appointment

to see him? I ask myself. Yes, I will wait until it is all sorted out. I will use all necessary means to find out the truth. I decide to involve a lawyer in the matter because I signed a contract with the developer.

If not, he will have to refund my money; I have had enough of this.

Before I even finish my sentence, Hong interjects.

"Stop all this nonsense; you are too selfish. Let me tell you, if there is nothing yet on the site, it could be that the developer is not yet licenced to start construction or maybe he is already declared bankrupt. If I may ask, why didn't you make an appointment much earlier before coming here in the first place? As an investor, they could even have picked you from the airport. You must understand that if you invest abroad and that you want the construction erected quickly on your orders, I am afraid you are kidding yourself. I am sure you know that there are procedures to be followed in doing things, especially when it is about technicalities. You do not grab a flight, go in a country, and walk to the site without an appointment.

You should have clarified that the people concerned were present. It is that simple you should know that". I am left speechless.

I get Hong's point; then I ask her to get ready for something to eat. I am hungry. We look for a restaurant in the city centre. While enjoying the sunshine, Hong takes the opportunity to teach me the real meaning of a Chinese business lunch. I learn that it is essential to go out for lunch with your suppliers. She says that Chinese people are careful about what they have to say to foreigners. They prefer keeping some of their secrets to themselves, more so on business matters. It is very right because somehow, I have also been observing it. I need to take more time to learn about Chinese culture.

Most of the time, I speak English and behave as German. I am grateful that I have so far gained a lot from Hong.

In China, employees are reluctant to sit near their bosses. Being too far away from your boss is not a good either. If you do so, they will suspect you for having ulterior motives, and those who sit now, in the eyes of the boss, "are disinterested". "When you go to a restaurant in China, and order monkey brains, you could be seen as being awkward. It would mean that the cook would smash the skull of a living monkey to get the brain". Hong says jokingly.

You cannot guess the reaction on my face after hearing about smashing the skull of a monkey to get the brain out. I frown in disgust, and say to Hong,

"thank you for tipping me about, it, but probably I will never try a monkey brain in my lifetime".

At Chinese business dinner, everyone orders a meal on a large rotating roundel, in the middle of the table. It is usually the host who makes more orders than the guests so that nobody would think about him or her as being greedy.

It is a polite gesture at a business dinner table, to try anything, instead of picking and choosing what you want to eat and leave the rest to others. I think about the many times during business lunch when I have been deciding what I want to eat. Perhaps no one has been noting. Being a foreigner, you can probably get away with it because you do not know what to do. Either way, the same thing can also happen to a Chinese person in Germany.

One other thing I learned from Hong is that having a meal with the company boss is a good thing because it allows you to chat with him at least a little bit. In a situation where you must ask questions, never admit not being in the know, at least you give an utterly plausible-sounding answer, even if it is wrong. Bosses prefer people who can remember numbers, data, and facts. "Oh! Wait a minute!

Did I hear you well? I interrupt Hong's explanation.

"Do you mean I should rather give a false answer than none at all?" I ask.

"Yes, I just said it; I am sure you heard me quite right. Not knowing the answer would make you look foolish, and, it would be like losing face, which is a lot more embarrassing. After the meal, you must leave everything back. If there are any leftovers, it is the job of the host to determine which ones to pack.".