Adventures In The Middle Kingdom

ADVENTURES IN THE MIDDLE KINGDOM

Over the past twenty years I have been fortunate to travel to the People's Republic of China many times.

While no trip was more than three weeks in length, I calculated that I have spent a total of almost three years in the "Middle Kingdom".

When I think back on those experiences, both from a business perspective as well as personally, I realize how fortunate I was.

Let me share a portion of these experiences.

It is 20 years ago that the VP of Sales walked into my office saying, "I have good news and bad news". This conversation started an adventure for me that in retrospect is more than amazing at least to me. At the time I was the CEO of a mid-sized manufacturing company on the West coast of North America. While we sold product around the world, we had the only one manufacturing location.

So is asked him to tell me the good news first. He responded, "I have an order for two containers of product for China."

"And the bad news is?" I said.

His answer was, "I am not sure I want to ship it unless we are prepared to manufacture there as otherwise we are giving the Chinese a large sample to clone. I informed him that there was a board meeting in two weeks and in the interim he and I would consider the logistical problems and potential profits associated with such a move and then make a recommendation to the board.

We did recommend the investigation of establishing an operation in China which was accepted. Then the real work started. We decided to enter the market by way of a Joint Venture Company with a Chinese partner.

Now came the matter of finding a JV partner in China. After some preliminary investigation, we went back to the original customer and asked for their advice. They came back with a half dozen alternatives and a month later, I climbed on a plane (along with a Chinese translator/business advisor) for my first trip to the Middle Kingdom.

We flew into Shanghai and then on to a provincial capital where we met our Chinese agents whom I had never met previously. One was a large Australian, I will call him Les and the other a diminutive Chinese woman I will call Xiao Ling. I was not sure how much these people could be trusted hence the need for the translator/business advisor. The company's relationship with the agent's company had not been great prior to my arrival and I had never met any of their management team.

Our search for a Chinese partner went well and within the first four days we had identified our preferred choice, concluded an agreement with that company and completed the required arrangements with the local government. Having no need for my translator, he departed. Then Les and Xiao Ling and I started a two week trek visiting potential customers.

There is a story that when China first started making aluminum after the Second World War, Chairman Mao decided that "the smelters should be situated such that the Americans and Russians would never find them." They did a great job in this regard; most of the smelters were out in the middle of nowhere. As a result, our accommodation was largely in hotels owned by the smelter; great amounts of money had not been spent on fancy facilities or creature comfort.

By the end of the second week traveling around rural China I was getting pretty horny. However, I was did not have any way of knowing how to deal with such a problem in this environment. I was not comfortable asking Les for guidance and using the Yellow Pages was of little assistance being all in Mandarin. In those days there was no such thing as Backpage or Craigslist, at least not in China. Even in the larger cities, asking a door man at the hotel was not feasible as virtually none spoke English.

On top of this a fear of sexually transmitted diseases was not far from the front of my mind plus I was not sure whether "Big Brother" in the form of Chinese security was watching the activities of a rather large westerner traveling around China.

In the larger cities it was not uncommon to get calls from what seemed to be sweet young things saying Massage Massage. I had been warned that while some were safe, one could never be sure either from a health perspective or the fear of a "driver" showing up with the strong armed tactics.

While in other parts of the world "dirty movies" are commonly available on hotel TV's. Not so in China. Twenty years ago and still today the Central Government look on such movies as degenerate and not suitable for the mass population they try to keep under their control. The same could be said for any pornography via the internet, where the internet was available.

I am bald and bald headed men are uncommon in China but revered. They understand that the cause of baldness is the result of too much testosterone. Despite this fact, no one seemed to be willing to recognize that this hormone oversupply was causing me problems or offer to alleviate the affects I was experiencing.

In those days unless westerners were there on buying expeditions that normally occurred in large cities such as Beijing, Shanghai or Guangzhou, it was abnormal to see my type in the more rural areas. Don't underestimate how rural parts of China were twenty years ago.

In the west, one saw shepherds with flocks of sheep near the road side and sightings of camels were not unusual. On this first trip, in a small (by Chinese standards) city while waiting for a plane that had been delayed, we visited a local market with live chickens, ducks and rabbits being sold for food while large sides of pork hung next the butcher's block without the benefit of refrigeration and fish that were virtually comatose lay in pans of dirty water. Well you get the picture.

The last smelter we visited was in the south, not far from the Vietnamese border. It was like a pleasant summer day where I came from. After dinner as the sun was setting I was standing out on the walkway outside my room enjoying the sunset. Xiao Ling came along and stopped to talk. She was wearing a lovely light blue dress suitable for the temperature and with her leaning against the railing with the sun behind her, I could see more clearly the gentle curves of her small body. She did not have a slip or anything similar inside her dress so that her white panties and bra were quite visible. Her hips were well proportioned, not what one would call large yet were a delight to look at. Her breasts were small but larger than I had imagined previously without the benefit of having them back lit. "Oh Yes" I thought, "Wouldn't a night with her be the end to an otherwise frustrating three weeks at least from a physical point of view. Then I remembered rule 2, "Don't dip you pen in company ink."

Chapter 2.

Before going forward I should likely explain that I had been married for almost thirty years. My wife and I had two wonderful offspring in their 20's, one gainfully employed and the other perusing a second professional degree. The bad news was that after my wife had the second child it was discovered that she had a disease that threatened her life unless a total hysterectomy was performed and after that hormone therapy was not recommended as it caused lumps in her breasts that the doctors were concerned would become cancerous. Not only did she go through rapid menopause, over the years since her operation her sex drive diminished due to lack of hormones until our moments of intimacy were rare.

When I got home I started to do some homework knowing that about four times a year I was going to spend something like three weeks in China. With some diligence I found web sites that gave contact information for massage parlors in Beijing and Shanghai but were of virtually no use in smaller cities. Even Guangzhou which was a city of several million people had virtually no links on the web that were of help. Mind you there were all kinds of alternatives in Hong Kong and Macau but those cities were always at the end of the three week trek and while they could provide relief it always came at the end of my trip. Something mid trip would be most beneficial.

Based on this research, I tried a couple of sites that offered "massages" in one's hotel room. In both instances the young lady spoke little or no English and this made the time together somewhat stilted. Also, it only occurred in Beijing on the occasions when I would fly in, spending the first night of my trip on my own. Mid trip in the middle of nowhere was still the issue. I did find one hotel in a smaller city that had a "Sauna" which offered full service. I was told to ask for a Mongolian girl as they were more likely to speak English. In the one instance, the girl while reasonably fluent was skinny as hell and not very physically appealing.

I also learned that many barbershops and hair dressers offered "extras" if approached properly. Once again, language was a real issue. One night in Zhengzhou I was alone and went for a walk after dinner. Across the street from the Crown Plaza Hotel where I was staying was a hair dresser with the striped barber pole revolving. As I walked by two young hair dressers, I would think in their early 20's, were standing out front. Now it was after 8 pm in January and that part of China is quite cold, much like Boston or New York at that time of year. While they had warm coats on in deference to the weather, I think they opened them so I could get a better look at their figures as I approached.

They smiled and said something in Mandarin and when I shrugged, they laughed then one made the sign of scissors cutting and pointed at my head. It was obvious that I was bald on top and I rubbed my baldness which made them laugh even more. Not giving up they used sign language to indicate that maybe I should consider a trim to the rest. Having nothing else to occupy my time and being willing to experiment a bit, I agreed.

The shop was brightly lit and all glass across the front. It was cool inside as well, central heating is not common in China. They sat me in a chair and tried to decide I think who was going to cut my hair. The taller girl took command and picked up the scissors and carefully started to clip around my ears and the back of my neck. She went at this for about 10 minutes and then produced a mirror to let me see if I agreed that it looked better. I smiled and nodded. I took out some money and asked how much. She reached and took RMB 25 which was about $5.00. I smiled and she then said "Massage?" I nodded and once more took out my bills. She pointed at a RMB 100 and then held up two fingers. I figured, $40.00, what the hell! I had nothing else to do that night.

She took me back behind a curtain at the rear of the shop. I think the other girl was giggling but I am not sure. My new friend sat me on a narrow table that had a thin mattress on it. Remember, no central heat and no radiant heaters in this part of the building. She had me sit on the bed facing her and she pulled my sweater up under my armpits and then pulled my shirt out of my pants running her hands up my chest. Thank God her hands were reasonably warm. Going around behind she started to rub my back really giving me quite a good massage.

After about 5 minutes she moved to my neck and scalp really working all the muscles and my cranium. While she worked on my neck, she pressed her body against my back and I could tell she had a nice set of tits especially for a Chinese girl. Then she came around to face me and her hands went up my chest once again. She started to rub me reasonably hard, I am not sure whether as part of a normal massage or to keep us both warm. After a bit of this she started playing with my nipples, pinching them and twisting them. All this happened as she stared into my eyes.

I could not resist. I reached under her sweater and found several layers of clothing. This was not surprising as I had learned that Chinese in the North wear sometimes two sets of long underwear in addition to wool outer pants in the winter. After a bit of pulling and tugging I got down to bare skin and my hands found their way up her back to her bra. When I got no resistance they went around to cup her breasts over the bra. I played a bit and then she reached around releasing the clasps which allowed me to go under the bra and play with her tits. They were firm, about a B cup and the nipples about the size of an eraser on a pencil. She was very sensitive as she pulled my head between her breasts and then lifted my head and kissed me deeply.

I thought, well here we go! However, when I tried to get my hands into her pants, she drew the line and put my hands back on her boobs. By this time I was rock hard and really wanted some release. I tried everything to convince her, a blow job or even a hand job but she kept on pointing to the salon beyond the curtains. When I realized I was getting no further, I tried to communicate that she should come to meet me across the road in my room. I wrote down on a card the number of the room and pointed across the road at the hotel. All to no avail, I spent a lonely evening on my own.

Chapter 3

In mid-1998 Les informed me that he thought or business was going nowhere fast and that he was not prepared to spend any more of his time on it. He would allow Xiao Ling to travel with me as my translator at least for another year. This announcement did not come as a disappointment. In my travels with the two of them, I had observed Les be verbally abusive to Xiao Ling in all cases for no good reason. Once I had told Les to leave her alone, she was doing a good job. On a more personal level, I thought that now I can maybe get it on with Xiao Ling. In the next few weeks by e-mail or phone we arranged an itinerary for my next trip that would be in September. I wanted to follow my normal pattern; go in through Beijing and out through Hong Kong. She agreed to meet me in Beijing and then we would travel first north to Shenyang and then south west to Chengdu before heading east to Shandong Province before flying to Hong Kong through Zhengzhou where or production facility is. I arrived in Beijing on schedule and Xiao Ling was waiting as we came out of security. She was her normal breezy self and if she felt awkward being alone with me you would never know it. I had decided that I would leave it to her to make the first move if there was going to be such a thing.

She told me that she had rooms for us at the Qinghua hotel where we had stayed before. We took a cab to the center of Beijing and checked into the hotel. We had rooms on separate floors so my thoughts of Xiao Ling climbing into my bed went down-hill. Over dinner we talked about our itinerary and what we hoped to accomplish. Then, after shaking hands, rode the elevator up, Xiao Ling getting off first and me one floor up agreeing to meet at 8:00 am for breakfast in the lobby. After my 12 hour flight I was philosophical about not having any company.

The next couple of days went as normal. That morning we had meetings with a couple of customers at their Beijing offices and in the afternoon flew to Shenyang where we had dinner with long time acquaintances at an engineering company that we did business with. Typical Chinese business dinner, much laughter and drinking, toasting each other with Mao Tai, the favorite white lightning they enjoy. Thank goodness our hosts were good friends and did not insist on too many toasts so I left the table reasonably sober. Once again, Xiao Ling and I parted company with a friendly good night handshake.

The following morning was made up of meetings with our hosts from the previous evening. Then following lunch, off to the airport for a flight to Chengdu. That is when the plans started to unravel. After dinner with our prospective customer, we went to the airport to catch a plane that was to go to Xian and on to Jinan in Shandong Province. First the plane was delayed arriving in Chengdu by more than an hour. This was not uncommon. The later in the day a flight was scheduled, the more likely it was to be late. Then when it arrived in Xian, it was pissing rain and we were informed that we had missed our connection. The airline offered us one room for the two of us; having no indication from Xiao Ling that she would welcome company, I deferred and said that I thought I should sleep alone.

The next morning we were off to Jinan where our customer had a car waiting for us for the drive to Zibo. Arriving about noon in Zibo we were taken almost immediately to lunch. There were five of us, three representatives from the customer, Xiao Ling and myself. It was not long before our hosts ordered a bottle of "Baijiu" which is the generic name for Chinese white lightning. It is a powerful potion that tastes terrible but they love it. It is generally served in small glasses similar to what Protestants refer to as communion glasses. One chugs it saying "Ganbei" or Cheers. The trouble is they tend to double or in this case triple team the guest of guests. As Xiao Ling did not drink alcohol, I was their target. One bottle led to another and by the time lunch was finished, we were all pretty relaxed.

After an afternoon of business discussions, we were to catch a train at 8 PM to Zhengzhou and meet those from our Chinese partner. Finishing our discussions at 5 our hosts asked us to have dinner before we went to the train, very hospitable. However, this led to more Baijiu and more toasting. By the time we went to the train, our hosts were not feeling any pain and I was only slightly better. However, being of a size some 50% greater than that of my hosts, I could or should be able to tolerate alcohol better. When we got to the train, they helped us to our compartment with our luggage before saying goodbye. I was relieved that I had no problems going to station or climbing stairs before boarding the train.

Xiao Ling and I had a compartment to ourselves, thank goodness, not so much from the point of intimacy but rather sleeping in a compartment with two farting Chinese I did not know for almost 12 hours is not a pleasant experience. Being in late May it was light as the train left the station. Having put our luggage on the upper berths, we sat on the lower ones, talking of the day we had just had and what the prospects of increased business were.

By 9 o'clock we were well under way and it was getting dark outside. I offered let her go to the toilet first so that she could have some privacy while she got ready for bed. Upon my return she was sitting on the bed wearing a t-shirt that came down past her bum covering the upper one third of her legs, and nice legs they were. I had never seen her legs unclothed that far up before. She asked if I wanted her to leave while I undressed and I said "no, I would just sleep in my boxer shorts". Having taken off everything except my underwear, I climbed into my bed, saying goodnight and then she turned off the light. It was not long before I was asleep.

I am not sure how long it was but I would think an hour or more after going to sleep I awoke with a jerk and realized that I was going to be sick to my stomach. I sat up quickly and Xiao Ling said "Are you OK?"

I responded that I thought I was going to be sick to which she quickly grabbed the garbage pail that was in the room and put it between my legs. A good thing she did as it was no sooner in position than up everything came. After my stomach was empty I felt better but was embarrassed with Xiao Ling standing in front of me holding my head. She then got a wet wash cloth and washed my face and hands then around my neck and down my back and chest. I got up and got a bottle of mouth was from my luggage and rinsed my mouth out, adding it to the pail which Xiao Ling put outside the door locking it once again.

She came back and was standing in front of me when the train suddenly lurched throwing her against me. I grabbed her around the waist so that she did not fall back and hit her head on the upper berth. She put her arms around my neck pulling my face into her chest. Here we were, my face squashed against her, my mouth in direct contact with her left nipple. I could feel it firm and erect and after a few seconds tried to draw away. To my surprise, instead of releasing her arms that were holding me to her, she took my face in her hands and moved my mouth from the left nipple to the right. It too being hard and obviously sensitive seemed to be crying out for attention. "This one is getting lonely." she said. I ran my hands up her back and back down to her derriere. Xiao ling reached around and pulled her t-shirt up so that I could run my hands up and down her bare back. Oh how lovely and soft her skin felt. After a few moments of rubbing her back my hands went around trying to cup her breast. I was expecting some resistance; instead she pulled her t-shirt up and over her head. I pulled my head back so as to view the small but exquisite globes that rested so firmly on her ribcage. Xiao Ling took my head and once again directed my mouth to her breast. "Please suck my breast like a baby John. I want to feel your mouth take my nipple." Who was I to resist. Just then there was a rapping at the door and a voice in Mandarin called out. Xiao Ling said that it was the conductor and having seen the pail of barf wanted to know that everything was ok. Xiao Ling obviously told him it was and I could hear him go down the corridor.