One Who Moved Out to Get Rich E-Book

KANGHAN YUAN

• Herausgeber: Karl-Heinz Zürl
• Kategorie: Gesellschafts- und Liebesromane
• Sprache: Englisch

Seitenzahl: 590

Veröffentlichungsjahr: 2020

Beschreibung

ALL CHINESE EAT DOGS AND CATS! Franz Übermut, is a German businessman who wants to gain a foothold in China for business and pleasure, humorously dispels mistakes about China. The land is brought closer to the Europeans and the Western world in a way that no travel guide can. Every day in their life with his wife Hong and her family comes up with exciting stories, and one or the other pitfalls cannot be avoided despite all warnings. The marriage of the two is far from harmonious, because different cultures clash again and again. For both of them this is no reason to give up, they love each other. Their life is filled with actions, thoughts and conversations about money, happiness, intrigue, love, power, sex, and business. While many of his business colleagues return to Germany after a few years in China, Franz naively thinks he can bite through and become successful. Learn the risks and opportunities of mixed marriage, life and work in China. Outside the comfort zone without backing away from home. Who decides about life and death of a foreign manager in a Chinese company? Not the managing director, who then? How can this be influenced to avert damage? Why are there so many rich Chinese, but most expatriates remain poor? What are they all doing wrong? For everybody who like to know how life and business in China is going on, where you put your foot in it and what are the culture and business differences between Western and Eastern world, between Christians and Buddhists. This is the first volume of an adventurous journey across Asia. The business and private experiences of the German expatriate and emigrant Franz Übermut. Marvel at the "ultra-modern" China and the millennia-old stratagems, superstitions, traditions, TCM knowledge, culinary skills and self-esteem rooted in the minds. You can also learn about the wide-ranging cultural differences between the west and east, which drop a brick by many travelers and business people.

Leseprobe

From the Series. "Successful in China":

The One Who Moved Out to Get Rich

Volume 1 "The Empress of Suzhou"

ALL CHINESE EAT DOGS AND CATS!

Franz Übermut is a German businessman. He wants to gain a foothold in China for business and pleasure. Franz humorously dispels mistakes about China. The land is brought closer to the Europeans and the Western world, in a way that no travel guide can.

Every day in their life, Franz, his wife Hong and her family, all come up with exciting stories and one or the other, pitfalls cannot be avoided, despite all warnings.

Franz and Hong are not the happiest in marriage. They both come from different cultural backgrounds. Now and again, they keep on clashing. But there is no reason to give up. They are too much into one another. They genuinely love each other. The life of these two love birds rotates around thoughts and activities of money, happiness, intrigue, love, power, sex, and business.

Ebook out of softcover with 393 pages.

Ebook ISBN 978-3-939366-61-4

Paperback/softcover ISBN 978-3-939366-62-1

ACKNOWLEDGEMENT

I want to thank my dear family in Germany and China, especially for my beloved wife Zheng, and my dear son Adrian, who have supported me a lot to complete the series of this ebook successfully.

My special thanks go to my wife Zheng, who actively supported me in the invention, design and selection of the appropriate stories.

Many thanks to Claudia Speckmann, who designed the cover of this book. Manuela Lohse, who contributed a lot to its arrangement.

I thank my father Richard, my sister Christine as well as my nieces Amelie and Caroline, you were always there for me especially in the hardest of times, to make sure that I complete this ebook.

All my in-laws you worked tirelessly in helping me to purchase my apartment. Without your presence, it would have been a challenge for me to accomplish this task. I can't forget my outstanding friend Peter Kruse from Shanghai, who has always been there for me. You have encouraged me tirelessly through all difficult times, given me support, you have never left me hanging in the balance. You have been advising me whenever I need help. I thank you so much because all the experience I got from China started with you.

My heartfelt gratitude goes to the employment office for making it possible to dispute the notion that people above. forty years of age can't have a future in Germany. I thank Hans, who always made a worthless commitment to my company to ensure long-term financial success. Without your support, I wouldn't have been in the right places at right times, over the years in China.

I extend my sincere thanks to many companies, private and public, who have knowingly or unknowingly helped me to contribute to the completion of this ebook. My thanks go to the following companies, Schäfer, Weingut Gerhard, Siemens, BMW, General Motors, Opel, Valeo, Grob, WEMA, ZF, Continental, Dr. Schneider, Bosch, Schaeffler, GTEC, DUSA, HSBC, Siloking, Zapi Group. Without these companies, my life would not have been what it is today. I can't thank you enough. Erika and Claudia with family you took care of me to accommodate me in Mödlitz.

For my son Adrian I send exceptional thanks to you for actively supporting me in IT matters. With your skills and expertise, I have gone far and beyond to understand the outside world. I also thank Teresa, Anna and Felix for reading my texts and advising me professionally.

I owe a big thanks to the following people, who have done all they can to make sure that I complete this ebook. Marissa and Thomas from Melbourne in Australia, Christian Sommer, Michael Bauer, Dongjin Li, Andreas Seidel, Dr Jasmine Huang, Dr Röhr, Wang Zhenyu and Olivia Zhang as well as Lothar Wolf from Shanghai, Ulrich Mäder from Ningbo, Ran and Carsten Brethauer from Suzhou, Gerhard from Wuxi, Tom Mayer from Munich, family Usner from Augsburg, Gerhard Horn and pastor Munzert from the district Kronach and family Popp from Wunsiedel in Upper Franconia, winery Sauer from Nordheim in Lower Franconia, Sepp and Moni from Donauwörth. Those I have not mentioned it is not on purpose. My heart goes for all of you. Thank you.

BIBLIOGRAPHIC INFORMATION

The “Deutsche Bibliothek” lists this publication in the “Deutsche Nationalbibliografie”, see http://dnb.ddb.de.

This document is protected by copyright. All rights, including those of translation, reprinting, and reproduction of the ebook or parts thereof, are reserved. No part of this work may be reproduced in any form or by any means, photocopying, microfilming or any other process, including educational purposes, processing, duplicating or distributing, using electronic systems, without written permission of the publisher.

The publisher expressly points out that external links contained in the text could only be viewed until the time of publication of the ebook. The publisher doesn’t influence subsequent changes.

Liability for external links is always excluded.

Copyright © the original edition 2017 at GTEC Publishing House, 96277 Beikheim, Bavaria, Germany.

Illustrations, graphics: GTEC Publishing House

Cover design: Claudia Speckmann

Editor: Manuela Lohse

Translation from German to English: Dr. David Wasswa PhD

London

© 2020 GTEC Publishing House.

Internet: www.gtec.asia

E-mail: [email protected]

ABOUT THE AUTHOR

Born in Germany, KangHan YUAN has been a manager in various international projects, with well-known original manufacturers in Europe, America, and Asia. For over 20 years KangHan has been working as an advisor, coach and supporter of companies in quality assurance, purchasing and negotiating businesses in Asia, mainly in automotive, engineering, electrical, and electronics sectors.

KangHan’s professional expertise in Japan, Korea, China, Malaysia, Vietnam, and India, and his blending with the Asian culture, and the Chinese perception of life is where his strength lies. Since 2005, KangHan has worked as a General Manager in China, where he gained tremendous experience and excellent knowledge of the law, human resource and compliance. Since 1999, KangHan has delivered numerous lectures and successfully published books, audiobooks, and e-books in German and English languages.

Contact the author via GTEC publisher.

FOREWORD

Franz Übermut is German; Hong is Chinese, can the two possibly live together? Cultural differences are significant, especially in Europe and Asia where many prejudices make it difficult for people of the two sides of the globe, to get along with one another. Franz wants to disprove this “Western-Asian” concept. He believes that everything is possible. He is calm and relaxed. A workaholic, who tries his luck where the money is. He is, however, a spendthrift. He loves the warm climate, dating pretty women and eating the sweet sauce and spicy foods. But there is one thing about Franz. He is too naive; he has a problem saving his hard-earned money.

Hong, his wife, is different. She is intelligent, unpredictable, fizzy, nagging, and loves provocations all the time. She is full of herself, and she loves sweet food. Her detective instincts make her suspicious of her Husband’s unusual behaviours. She starts to spy on him clandestinely. However, despite differences in character and personality, Franz and Hong are genuinely in love.

If you want to skillfully overcome all the hurdles in private and professional life in China, just get carried away by the inter-cultural and action-packed experience between “East and West”. Get deeply soaked into the humorous and exciting stories about money, luck, intrigue, love, power, sex and business.

DISCLAIMER

Names in this ebook, people, companies, as well as places, are all fictitious. Similarities to the living or deceased persons, as well as Chinese or Germany company names, are all purely coincidental and not intended.

Shanghai, in the Spring of 2020

KangHan YUAN

All provinces as well as the main mountains in China and theseas of China (Source: GTEC Publishing House):

All major cities and rivers in China (Source: GTEC Publisher):

CONTENTS

ACKNOWLEDGEMENT

ABOUT THE AUTHOR

A BREAST IN THE DAWN AND WORRIES ARE GONE

IF YOU HAVE A LADYBOY IN YOUR POCKETS, ....

ALL IS UNDER CONTROL ON THE SINKING SHIP

TAKING A SHOWER FOR TWO, SAVES WATER AND TIME

BETTER SECRETLY CLEVER THAN WEIRDLY STUPID

WHO LAUGHS LAST, THINKS TOO SLOWLY!

THERE IS ALSO A LIFE AFTER BIRTHDAY

ORDERS FROM THE COUNTRY OF THE EXPORT WORLD CHAMPION

STOP! NO ONE MOVES. I'VE LOST MY BRAIN

IN THE LONG RUN, ONLY POWER WILL HELP

GOING TO THE LAND OF THE FRANKS

THE BATTLE WITH THE DEVELOPER

List of keywords on Chinese culture and traditions

Recommended GTEC E-books And Books

A BREAST IN THE DAWN AND WORRIES ARE GONE

It is precisely one o'clock, on the morning of January 2014. The weather is chilly. A plastic bottle of hot water is warming my feet, while my wife Hong is lying next to me. "Hong" means "red". The red colour was significant at the time Hong's parents were still working as civil servants and party members for the Chinese government. That is why red as a colour was immortalized with their daughter's name.

Hong is a beautiful woman, medium height, with a voice sounding a bit deeper than most Chinese women. She attributes the roughness in her voice and character, to her childhood experience, when she was separated from her mother, to go and spend days with relatives. Her parents used to travel long distances to work many hours in the field, during times of the Cultural Revolution. It is quite evident that she lacked maternal affection; perhaps this is the reason for her provocative behaviour and constant screaming.

Taicang is a small Chinese city in the north of Shanghai. It is one or two hours drive to and from the city centre, depending on the time of the day. However, because of a busy schedule at work, I sometimes spend a few days away visiting my suppliers, making suggestions for improvement, filling out forms, and much more.

From time to time, I visit the offices of the Asia headquarters in Shanghai. I mostly go there to calculate the costs of shopping parts, and to prepare notes for the upcoming board meeting in Germany headquarters. I work with senior buyers of the individual product groups in the purchasing department of Schluckauf company, operating in Shanghai, Taicang and Anting. I have a local employment contract, same as the Chinese living here.

I rented an apartment and negotiated a chauffeur-driven mid-range service car from Shanghai-Volkswagen, on the grounds of being able to concentrate better on my work. To drive a vehicle in China, you must have a Chinese Driver's Licence, because neither the German nor the International Driver's Licence, are accepted here. Chinese people living in Germany, are lucky because their driver's license is acceptable at least for the first six months, so long as the notary certifies it.

I do have a Chines driving licence. Chinese driving test examination questions are like the German ones. When you present the German Driving Licence, you are only required to take a theory examination, but the traffic rules are different. All employers in China are aware of this. Since they prefer seeing their employees getting to places of work, they have no choice, but to abide by the rules. As a foreigner in China, when you get involved in an accident, you should know that you are on your own. The language barrier problem makes it more challenging and time-consuming. I experienced this several times in my former company in Shanghai and Suzhou, around 2008.

My current company has two offices, one in Shanghai, another one in Taicang, where the production plant is situated. Being a newcomer here, I am not yet utterly conversant with many tasks and processes, and therefore, I am unaware of benefits for individual top buyers. I always work under pressure, to deliver excellent quality service to the head office in time, with no excuses.

Sometimes when I have too much work, Hong decides to go to her parent's home in Suzhou to avoid being bored. The city of Suzhou has a population of approximately ten million inhabitants. It is two hours bus drive west of Taicang, near the third largest inland lake of the People's Republic called Tai Lake, baptized the "Veniceof the East", because of its many canals. The right connections by express trains highway and Grand Canal, make Suzhou one of the fastest-growing cities. It is one of the so-called Boomtowns. Suzhou is also in the rankings of the oldest cities in the Yangtze Basin. With more than two thousand five-hundred-year history. It is the cradle of the Wu culture, tracing its foundation to the legendary King Helu of Wu.

Hong told me that she chose to name herself The Empress ofSuzhou, because of her family name, Wu. There is a brief story about it; this is how it started. Once upon a time, there was a small village in Suzhou, where everyone was named Wu. It followed a legendary story of Jingniang Wu , a girl kidnapped from Suzhou, but later rescued by Emperor Kaiser Song, the brave warrior. On their way back to the village of Suzhou, the Emperor and the rescued girl Jingniang Wu had an affair. As a result, a baby was born, who was later to became Hong's great-grandmother, this, Hong said is how her family retained the surname Wu. Therefore, as a descendant of Wu, she chose to call herself The Empress of Suzhou. Suzhou, as a modern city, is developing rapidly. Imperial Canal, the longest human-made waterway in the world, connects Bejing to Hangzhou, stretching over two thousand kilometres, is in Suzhou. The city is also known for silk production, as well as blossoming high-tech industries. It is being referred to, as the silk capital.

The architectural landscape of this once old town is a magnet to the booming tourist industry because the maximum height of buildings here is still limited to twenty-four meters high. Some of the parks in this city are in the list of the UNESCO World Heritage Sites.

The most spectacular thing in Suzhou is a hukou of this old town, the invaluable "registered permanent residence", a certificate that Hong owns and will always keep, even if she moves elsewhere. In Germany, people do not keep hanging on to the principal residence, because even a student who is entitled to plenty of benefits, can also be convinced to change places.

Hong's parents moved into a terraced house in the North of Suzhou years back. They bought the house when prices were still affordable.

In Suzhou, property prices are rising day by day, because of the sporadic changes and development in the area, for example, the opening of a modern metro station. Hong moved here to live with her parents the time when I was busy running up and down, working hard. Being away from her parents could have been the reason for going to them. It happens when you are the only child in the family; parents tend to spoil you with whatever you wish to have. For example, Hong owns a private sleeping place in her parent's home, on the top floor of their house, distinctly separate from the standard living room and kitchen.

Her parent's house is in a quiet housing estate. Plants decorate the stairs of the house going to the terrace being guarded by "Bingjiling", the small dog, that greets guests with a joyful barking.

The living room can be reached using the front door. My in-laws named their dog "ice cream" because it licks the “cold desert " so well, especially when he wants to be allowed into the house. In China, before you enter the home, you must remove your shoes, and exchange them with slippers, because Chinese household does not welcome dirt. The house comprises of a kitchen, parental bedroom, and Hong's room, which also in some way is my room since I am

married to their daughter. Next is a visual art-related studio, which belongs to Li Gengnan, my father-in-law, a man with a passion for calligraphy.

Despite space occupied by the desk and an office chair, the room looks more of a studio, than an office which was initially a balcony and later converted into a living room. Instead of computers and other accessories, the desk has writing brushes, rod squid, friction stone and papers, typical of the Chinese tradition, that has been in place for millennia. Textbooks here and there, are part of the décor and the artistic ambience of the room. I relocated from Shanghai to Suzhou. Hong was living with her parents while teaching law at Suzhou University. The job was not paying well, she was earning only 5,000 RMB, per month, that is about six hundred and fifty Euros, at that time, including all insurance and taxes. She was working only two days a week. RMB (Renminbi) is the Chinese national currency, also known as Yuan. 5000 RMB is not much money. Civil servants earn less than private-sector employees.

Despite living on a meagre income, Hong's parents worked so hard to save for their pension. In China, pensions schemes for public servants pay well.

To support my business projects, Hong applied for an indefinite break at the university. My mother-in-law Wu Meilan was the mediator for our semi-detached house, while Li Gengnan, my father-in-law, arranged all the contacts with the real estate agent. It helped me to understand that without relations in China, it would have taken me a long time to settle, including paying dearly for such a simple thing. We live in a small but quiet condominium.

A gatekeeper is slated off the main road, and there is a small garden too. It is a relatively new house, with double-glazed windows, and modest heating system.

It is common to find homes with no heating system in the South of the Changjiang river, which is popularly known as the Yangtze in the West. Even though it is part of austerity measures, temperatures in this part of the country rarely drop below zero degrees Celsius. Rules were set up by the Chinese government in the 1950s. In order not to freeze here, you must have the underfloor heating, and in hot temperatures, you need the air conditioner.

Preparing tea in Suzhou is popular; it is famous too. Traditionally locals here make tea from infusing leaves, for example, Hong’s parents use plants parts such as buds, flowers, fruits and others. I prefer green or herbal tea; Hong loves fruit tea.

Interestingly, in China, black tea is called red tea. Yellow tea is also on the list but has not yet stormed the wholesale market, although, for some time, they have been secrectly making it in small islands.

Hong and I took advantage of a week off work to fly to Germany, at the headquarters of Schluckauf in Ingolstadt. Each morning before having our breakfast, we used to jog together, passing through the city, and illuminated pathways in parks. We found this interesting because the air in Germany was crisp and fresh, as opposed to that in China.

We later proceeded to Upper Franconia, in the northernmost tip of Bavaria. We were to stay with my father and sister for a few days and to attend Hong’s christening and the marriage ceremony in a church between Christmas and New Year.

I got married to Hong in June 2013 at the Chinese registry office in Nanjing. 6 months later, she needed to invite as many relatives as she could to our wedding party in China because it was a special day for both of us. We celebrated our marriage in Suzhou in a

spectacular ceremony. More than three hundred guests attended the ceremony. Thanks to my in-laws, for funding everything. Hong and I would never have made it.

The ceremony in Suzhou provided an opportunity to introduce myself to all relatives. I presented a speech in the Chinese language, which I had to practice for some time before the event. My American boss of Schluckauf with his wife, and a travel-loving friendly couple from Germany, were visibly impressed by my speech. Despite attending adult evening classes in Germany, still, I have not mastered the Chinese language, to be able to speak fluently. As it is in Germany, there are many dialects in China. In Suzhou, the one spoken by my kinship is incomprehensible to me.

I recalled years back when I used to work as a supplier developer for a French company in Bietigheim. There, I joined a group to be trained like a marathon runner. Even though we only meet once in a year; we all have each others’ contacts. I did not spend much time convincing Hong about the health benefits of sports; she was a good runner, too, during her school days. Sports activities help me to get away from the hustle and bustles of daily life. Therefore, Hong and me took the chance to participate in the famous yearly “New Yearś Eve” running event through the city with thousands of spectators, before we flew back to China.

Yesterday, I spared some time cleaning up my office to get prepared for the Chinese New Year. After doing all the cleaning, I turned the television on to watch programs. There was continuous buzzing sound, indicating no signals. I wondered why. I asked my wife what could have happened! “It is pointless to keep on paying television monthly bills when you are always busy travelling abroad”

She answered. What have you just said! I asked, surprisingly, trying to figure out where the logic was in her statement. Hong’s way of doing things sometimes amazes me. In Germany you would never think of cancelling or stop paying television licence, just because you are temporarily going out of the country, it is even hard to imagine such a thing. However, despite all such behavioural characteristics, which are sometimes intolerable to me, I am proud of my wife. Perhaps her aim, in this case, was to save us from paying unnecessary costs.

The television bill was still not paid yet, what we decided to do instead, was to watch a movie on DVD. We also treated ourselves to special Tata tea, a powdery blend with a natural taste of various herbs such as Tulsi (Indian basil), Brahmi (fairy weed), cardamom and ginger, which I came back with from a business trip to India last year. As usual Hong is a woman with impulsive behaviour. She could suddenly change from one topic to another. Sometimes I find it difficult to understand her. At times I ask myself whether it is not the age difference? She is about twenty years younger than me. For example, when watching the DVD movie, she suddenly asked me what simple gifts do Chinese men donate to their loved ones? Not much concerned about the question, I replied, wine, books, and tea.

“No, you are wrong; it is flowers, wrist-watches, and wine”, she replied. I did not know that I learned it from her.

As the Chinese proverb goes, "don't listen to what they say, go see", we continued watching the movie; it was called "The Devil Wears Prada", its theme fittingly connected us to yet a short discussion about money and wealth. “I prefer to stay rich and healthy instead being poor and sick”, summarized Hong her ingenious opinion.

By the time we finished watching the movie, it was late in the night. Before I retired to bed, I grabbed my laptop to browse through my emails. As if driven by intuition, what caught my eyes straight away, was an email from my bank about an investment company that had suffered severe losses in value. I remembered another email from an Australian administrator sometime back alerting me of a company that had filed for bankruptcy, and that he had been asked to start the process. On reading this one, I immediately contacted my two British financial advisers Alan and Michael from Shanghai; they advised that my company was not affected. Amidst many thoughts, Hong came to the door, trying to distract me with a conversation. I took that opportunity to ask for legal advice on this since she is a lawyer.

I explained to her how I had been alerted that my Australian finances had plummeted to the bottom. But my financial advisers assured me that the investment in question was protected against losses in value. I got information that if I did not generate money, I would at least get my capital investment back. I was still confident since Deutsche Bank managed the funds and because it is commissioned by one of Australia's oldest financial companies.

Hong advised me that if the company was to go bust in Australia, I could at least sue the financial advisers In Shanghai. She suggested that it was vital for me to get another adviser to manage my funds.

She explained that private individuals were not allowed to do business directly with financial institutions. "Organise all relevant documents so that I can advise you further," she said.

Hong had a somewhat similar experience. In Germany, she was surprised one day to find that her bank statement with Deutsche Bank, showed "no funds available". She knew she had not emptied her account to the last penny. Inquisitive as a detective, she vowed to find out how this could have happened. "No funds available, yet I know I had not withdrawn all the money!", she wondered. She privately carried out her investigations. Eventually she found out that the day money was withdrawn from her account; she was in Bonn writing entrance examinations to obtain university qualifications. She further discovered that when she was still sharing a flat with two Arabs and a Chinese woman, her bank details were secretly copied.

Evidence indicated that it was the Chinese woman their roommate who did it. She faked Hong's signature and presented it at Deutsche Bank in Frankfurt. Because many Asians have similarities in features, it was easy for the Chinese woman to forge Hong's signature. Hong was determined to finish it all. After a long, arduous task, efforts paid off. The bank finally refunded her stolen money.

Every night before I retire to bed, I check on the share price index, at least before the end the day. Today it is not all good news; prices have gone into minus. Amidst thoughts, the small voice in me is referring to what my financial advisers have always said, that it is normal for share prices to go into minus. I must be patient and wait for them to rise again.

I am about to go to the bedroom, but still feeling a bit troubled by the share price news. As if to revenge for my coming back home late, when we went to bed, Hong turned her back towards me, I had no choice but to coil my left palm around her breast. It perfectly fitted inside. I consoled myself by saying after all " A breast in themorning dispels all worries".

In a speech after church wedding in Germany, I mentioned that as far as I am concerned, I care less about whether Chinese women have small breasts. Her breasts fit in well into my palm, and I am comfortable with it, I don't need anything more, end of the story.

Whenever I hold my wife's breast in my palm, I contemplate about many different things between China in the East, and German in the West.

• In China, when I turn the garden lock around on the left, it closes, when I turn it on the right, it goes up.

• If I wanted to have a shower, I turn the blue tap on, for hot water, and a red tap, for cold water.

• On Christmas day, churches in China are mostly decorated yellow and red, while in Germany, they are decorated white. In a Chinese church, there is no collection box during ceremony. In Germany, you need to be prepared to give during and at the end of worship. Indeed, travelling is an adventure.

• At conferences, Chinese officials and company representatives are more flattering, while in Germany they talk more about figures, data, facts.

• In the West, they use Twitter, WhatsApp, Instagram and others, while Chinese have WeChat and Weibo.

• In China, when stock markets blink red, it means prices are going up, green means prices are going downhill.

• Magnetic compass needle in China shows to South, whereas Western compass points to North.

I am looking at my watch; it is six o'clock in the morning. I hear sounds of the morning birds chirping. I can only imagine what they are saying. The temperature outside is about 10 degrees Celcius. It is cold inside the house, because of the single glazing thin walls.

Hong is feeling a bit chilly, and maybe it is the reason why she kept on coughing throughout the night. The kitchen and bathroom are colder than the rest of the house. I asked her why she wants to keep

the house cold all the time. She replied that in her childhood days, there was hardly any heating in her parent's house.

"Living and working in the cold and sitting on the couch wrapped in a winter coat, were quite normal for us as kids", she replied.

Hong studied the German language entirely. She even knows the insulting and gossip words. We communicate more using German rather than English or Chinese languages. I need time to practice the Chinese language, but Hong is impatient with me. I asked her how she came to learn all these colloquial words in Geman language; she replied that she used to read Bildzeitung daily. I could not hold my laughter back on hearing her talking about reading Bildzeitung. I asked whether there is an equivalent of a German Bildzeitung in China, I got no response we left it at that. My busy working schedule prevents me from concentrating on learning the Chinese language.

Away from work, when I am with Hong, we commonly use German language, in that case, I have no pressures of leaning complicated Chinese language.

When we talk about busy working schedules, at times, I sit back to reflect on the strenuous work during the past week. I remember one time I was sitting with my American Boss in his office in Shanghai. We were to meet to discuss how to improve the headcount in the company. His budget had been cut and instead money was allocated elsewhere. He looked so worried, saying that he did not even know how he was going to pay wages to his employees, not to mention the cost of headhunters and bringing old and experienced people on board. He was worried about what would happen to scholarships of those gifted Chinese students.

“Yes, that was the situation. I think we need to tighten our belts”. My boss said resignedly.

The day before, I was at the Global Sourcing Board for a conference call with the head office in Germany. Unfortunately, they did not inform me early enough. I then had to organise the essentials quickly and do all the calculations at night in the hotel. I was lucky, I finished in time. Delivery notes were written in Chinese.

Knowing the language, saved me.

Shortly afterwards, I received an email from Germany asking for a quick translation of those notes into English language. A German manager was supposed to travel to a Chinese supplier the following day, therefore, there was a need for urgent support in requesting the necessary information for subsequent cost calculations in English and Chinese languages. I did not have enough time to forward the email to a German-speaking Chinese in the Shanghai office. I used my specialist knowledge of English and Chinese to do it myself.

However, I could not send this file since I was still driving. I had to wait until I reached the office. It was nine o’clock in the morning, but luckily, no one had complained yet.

“I cannot understand this.” I heard myself talking to myself.

“Why do people do things at the last minute, and heap the pressure on others to finish them?”

In this case, I would have imagined that travel plans were already in place and fixed beforehand. I wondered why these German managers do not want to speak. English; after all, we are an international company. Or are they just lazy for the sake of it, simply because they want their work done by others? I tried to raise this issue with one German colleague in the office one day because I was upset about it. I was not surprised when he answered that all emails were written in German anyway. He said that a new colleague in the company once tried to impose the use of the English language, but

the proposal received an adverse reaction among the Germans. The colleague was upset and left the company.

Taking you a little bit back, my American boss in Shanghai had also proposed cost-saving measures, by merging several offices on the higher floor into one. It would then mean that an entire floor was to be given up, including my office. My boss argued that I did not need that office anyway, since most of the time I am out meeting suppliers or attending meetings with buyers in the office at our production plant in Taicang. I disagreed with this decision. I told him that it would be difficult for the management team to hold together if I was far away in Taicang and that it could no longer be possible for me to attend team meetings that were so close to him.

A few hours later, I had been allowed to retain my office in Shanghai.

My wife Hong was the happiest person on hearing the good news about keeping my office in Shanghai. She praised me for being brave and fight on for my cause, hmmm? It was not fighting for my cause alone; I was instead fighting for both of us. “I am doing all I can to get a foothold in China,” I told her.

I am preparing to go to work tomorrow. Despite being a Sunday as well as a public holiday, it was designated to be a working day. I am quite happy working on Sundays because then I would push buyers to work hard, and to get more time to send out invitations to the many meetings.

As it is the case in Germany, office working days are Monday to Friday. Working hours in China are regulated by law, not to exceed forty-four hours a week. In exceptional cases, people do also work on weekends and public holidays.

Additional to eleven public holidays, staff gets five to fifteen vacation days, depending on seniority.

The difference to Germany is when you work overtime, you get paid at least one hundred and fifty per cent of the total wages. If you work on weekends, and you are not compensated, the payment rises to at least two hundred per cent. There are cases where people are paid three hundred per cent on public holidays.

The Chinese New Year, also known as CNY, is globally referred to as Lunar New Year. This festival is called the Spring Festival in mainland China. It is one of the several Lunar New Years in Asia.

Observance of this festival traditionally takes place from the evening preceding the first day of the year, to the Lantern Festival, takes place on the 15th day of the year. The First Day of the Chinese New Year begins on the new moon, that appears between 21 January, and 20 February. Every year, this date is different.

A few days ago, Hong and I went to Shanghai. We had gone to attend the GCC monthly meeting of the German Chamber of Commerce. It was here that for the first time, I met a new evangelical pastor in charge of Greater Shanghai area. The Shanghai Metropolis assigned a small church in the Western Qingpu district, which I like calling Qingpu church. The pastor in this church delivers divine services of the Chinese Evangelical Church, called the “Three-Self Church”. In China, religion is sensitive, because the philosophy of faith, and that of the state, do not auger well. However, there are now a few officially recognised religions in China, with strict instructions from the state. It includes, among others, Catholicism, Protestantism, Buddhism, Taoism and Islam. Many followers of other religions are still persecuted in China today.

According to history, Catholicism made the first attempt to start missionary work in China in the 13th and 14th centuries, but their mission was not successful. The protestant missionary came to China at the beginning of the 19th century. Unlike Catholicism, Protestantism was moderately successful, although initially on a plodding pace. Five years after the founding of the People’s Republic of China, the present Evangelical Church started operating under the name the Three-Self Church.

Hong told me how the name “Three-Self Church”, came about.

“During the Cultural Revolution, everyone concealed their religions.

Buddhas destroyed, instead, Mao’s images hanged. If you wanted to survive, you had nothing to do, but to cooperate with the Communist Party. The only opportunity for the Evangelical church was to break away from the Western organisation, and all its influences. The church got buildings to operate from, and members were advised to look for finances (self-financing), to expand. The name ‘Three-Self Church’ came from there”.

The current membership of this church is difficult to figure out, as there are countless registered congregations in addition to state recognised and gazetted churches. However, according to statistics carried out in 2013, in Germany, Catholics and Protestants were almost at per with each other, with nearly sixty per cent of the total population. Germany has a small number which coincides with the people. The estimated six per cent of Christians in China fits well into the vast Chinese population.

Also, in Shanghai we met Peter Kreuz, a catholic pastor whom we had known for a long time at the German Chamber of Commerce Abroad meeting. Kreuz’s church is called CCPA (Chinese Catholic Patriotic Association). To be officially recognised in China, CCPA church had to be renounced from the Pope. It is not a trifle in this faith, which regards the Pope as the head of the Church.

Peter Kreuz now works in Anton Rebe’s company. Foreign priests in China do not get work permits. They only get short term visas, since they do not work for the Chinese church. They work for a legalised company and put it on their name cards.

Hong is already preparing for the Chinese New Year. She wants to spend it will all her relatives. I will present a speech in Chinese or in Suzhounesian, which will be stressful for me because they understand my Chinese, I don’t understand their Suzhounesian.

However, I am always grateful for their warm reception as a family, to a ‘Laowai,’ a Chinese name for foreigners. It is rare in China because Chinese people are always suspicious of foreigners. History maintains that they have all the right reasons to do so, and perhaps these are one of them.

Struggle for land possession in China only benefited a few, leaving many scrambling in a quest for the same. The first Opium War in the middle of the 19th century resulted in the cessation of Hong Kong to Great Britain. A few years later, France also came in during the second Opium War, which forced China to drop opposition to international trade relations. At that time, the Chinese’s economy had collapsed, which saw the end of its dominance in Asia. Great powers such as Germany, Britain, Russia, Japan and France, used this opportunity to compete for dominance, in dividing China.

At that time, the Qing government was in a severe financial crisis.

The Chinese’s economy was not strong enough to sustain itself. It, therefore, had to borrow money from Western countries, pledging to surrender its marine customs. As a result, significant powers gained control of Chinese’s finances, opened branches of banks throughout the country, handled capital exports and issued banknotes. They manipulated and dominated the Chinese economy.

In just five years after 1895, there were nearly a thousand factories in China. They dominated railway construction, ship transportation and mining.

Astonishingly, until the end of the 19th century, the US had played no role at all in the conquest of China, but that was not going to last long, because it proposed that it should be given equal advantages and opportunities in the Chinese market too. They accepted the proposal without any conditions, which later resulted in it becoming entrenched in China. In the 1930s, however, China put up resistance battles against Japan. During World War II, with its allies together, it brought Germany, Italy, and Japan to their knees.1 Briefly that was the story. I wanted to give you a synpopsis of what happened. Let me now go back to the Chinese NewYear Festival.

I will use the upcoming holiday as an opportunity to practice Chinese language, prefereably on my notebook. Soon it will be Valentines Day again. As if she had read my mind thinking about her, Hong wakes up and comes to me. The temperature outside is about 14 degrees Celsius. She is still having a little bit of a cough, I think of advising her to visit a a doctor.

The Chinese New Year is dedicated to the horse. Many legends and folk tales surround the origin of the twelve zodiac signs. Many other ethnic minorities do not adopt the animal selection and its order that is mostly used in China. There is a popular legend that Emperor Xuanyuan once announced that twelve animals should form his imperial bodyguard. The animals use rabid means against others, to secure the best place. This unfair struggle used to be organised through an order in which animals would be arranged.

There is another legend of a day being divided into two-hour cycles, where the selection and ranking of animals would depend on which one was the most active during these cycles.2

Hong was born in a horse year that repeats itself every twelve years, which is why she customary wears red underwear. According to the Chinese culture, wearing red underwear, drives away evil spirits, at least to some extent. There is also another belief to the contrary that the year of the horse is not as good as the Dragon year, since only half as many children would be born in this year. Whether that is true or not, I don’t know, at least, I would not tell Hong.

In a sense when you think about it deeply, those who believe that being born in a horse year may not be desirable, I could somehow agree with them. I see that a newly born horse would seem restless, struggling to move and searching for adventures. In that case, the year of the horse would fit to be described in juxtaposition to a newly born horse, as exciting, being adventurous and lively. On the other hand, it could also be symbolically interpreted as struggling to live, being stressed, or yearning for help, which would mean going through hard times. In comparison to that, I try to give my wife, as much as possible, the space she deserves, without restrictions. She is not a type of woman you can put down anyway. As a modern person, I have no problem with it. What is essential to me is to have financial security and freedom, as a horse also stands for. Financial independence is vital in life. Having stated that though, I always avoid being seen to be a materialistic person.

I once asked Hong, whether she knows about big people such as Merkel, Cameron, Holland, and the Turkish Prime Minister Erdoğan, being born in the horse year.

"A female Prime Minister as Merkel in China is more than a dream. It is a far-fetched hope It could be possible maybe in future, not now", she retorted. Hong told me that in Chinese history all Emperors were male, except Empress Wu Zhao, who was accused of poisoning her husband to come to power."

It is now time to go jogging along the river. The weather is not all that pleasing. Smog is worst this time of the year. The sun has no choice but to struggle to pierce through thick smoggy clouds. In China, around this time of the year, the weather is bleak, which sometimes makes me uncomfortable. All I can see right in front of me now is a one big grey mass of smog. When local people see me jogging in this weather, they take me for being mad.

"That is the problem with foreigners", I heard one of them retorting, they did not expect me to know the Chinese language.

Anyway, I am not too much bothered about what people say. I will continue jogging, as long as it helps me to keep healthy and fit.

Anyway, nothing much to worry about, because after the Chinese New Year celebrations, Hong and I will go for a holiday in Thailand.

After jogging, I return home and go straight to a cold bathroom to take a quick shower, and afterwards get some brunch, after which I will check on my emails. Many of these emails are from German Chamber of Commerce Abroad, or from LinkedIn, the international networking site for businesspeople. I also received many New Year's Festival greetings cards. This evening we must go to the pharmacy to buy a cough mixture and tablets since Hong is still not feeling well. We will then head to a restaurant to have noodle soup next door to our house.

I like noodles because you get the opportunity to choose recipes, amongst them. Another thing is that eating noodles saves my wallet because they are too filling, although sometimes I don't like the way they prepare the food. They mix too much glutamate, an additive that helps to enhance their taste. Being used to Western rather than Oriental cuisine, when I eat food with too many additives, I develop heartburn, making me feel uncomfortable. However, there is another way you can avoid that. You can order a special meal without added glutamate; I do that a lot. You can also go to restaurants which prepare fresh dishes, other than order food deliveries. Anyway, after our evening meal, we head back home. On our way, we pass by the bakery, to buy my favourite alcohol-filled confectionary. I enjoy these snacks while watching a movie. Hong, who is not a good fun of movies, would be surfing the internet. While concentrating on watching movies sometimes, Hong comes to interrupt me with her unending Chinese jokes, which I don't find too funny. Is it because I don't understand them?

We have had our meal; it is now time to go. Usually, before I go to bed, I make sure that I don't forget to gulp a glass of a herbal mixture given to me by Li Gengnan, my father-in-law. This mixture with more than 50% alcohol is too strong, but it does not only strengthen life, it increases libido and potency of a man too. Of course, you must believe in its effect. The mixture comprises of expensive ingredients, some of them being, a deer's penis, or a snow dog, from the mountains. It also has a high content of traditional liquor, which makes it to be more expensive. Women are however not usually advised to take this mixture, for fear of them going into a sexual frenzy.

Traditional Chinese medicine, such as acupuncture, has been proven to have cured many people whose conditions had been described as “incurable” by medical doctors. I also personally do meditation practices such as Qigong, to bring my Qi into harmony with my body, to enjoy good health. An appropriate application of breathing exercises can also regulate a smooth flow of Qi. I usually get swamped at work on Thursdays, which is why I do not return home before seven o’clock in the evening. Today, Hong has already prepared an excellent dinner at home, with lovely Western herbs.

The aroma in the house aroused my appetite for dinner.

“Hong, did you know that you could open up a restaurant?” I bragged giving her a cuddle and a kiss.

“Oh! really, where can this be?” She asks with a smile.

“Of course, here in China”, I replied. I tell her that Chinese food tastes suitable for the Chinese, but if you add Western herbs to dishes in your restaurant, you would undoubtedly reduce competition.

After eating, Hong grabs plates and heads to the kitchen to wash them. I mix cocktail for myself while watching the movie.

“Today, the first floor must be cleaned up”. Hong says commandingly while going out of the kitchen. “I have always been cleaning the second floor myself, it is now your turn”, she grumbles.

I look surprises wondering what could have sparked off her bad mood. I think it is time to relax and enjoying the evening. She kills my spirit. According to Chinese tradition, a house must be swept and cleaned, the day before the New Year, to cleanse it from the previous year’s burdens. I quickly jump to help put chairs in place.

I ask Hong to give me a broom to clean up.

“Go back, I will do this myself, all you know is to come when I have done most of the work”, she murmurs amidst outbursts. I feel offended but ignored her. When I return to the living room, the movie had ended. I decid to retire to bed.

The New Year’s celebration is as important to Chinese, as it is to Germans. It is one of the most important festivals in the year.

Tomorrow is New Year’s Eve, the CNY. Today we want to go and book a cheap holiday to Thailand, or at least to discuss booking it.

After work tomorrow, I will be going to Hong’s parent’s house to have dinner together as a family. That is the Chinese tradition. They will be expecting us and, they will prepare our over-night stay.

After getting ready, we leave home in Taicang to go and start giving out “Hongbaos”. These are the lucky money gifts which are wrapped in small red envelopes to give away during the Chinese New Year Festival holidays. Hongbao comes from two words, Hong (red), and Bao (bag). In China, giving away red bags with money wrapped inside is standard practice. It also applies to weddings and birthday celebrations. There is an exciting story that Hong tells me.

“It is about a migrant worker with a large family who used to spend fifty thousands of his sixty thousand Renminbi annual earnings buying Hongbaos. Family celebrations can sometimes be expensive.

Even if you decide to cancel the event for any reason, you will still be obliged to pay. It is the tradition.”

The first people that we give our Hongbaos were the gatekeeper of our residential complex and our driver. Hong is going to drive, on our way to her parents' place. Indeed, she does, and we arrive safely.

We are in Suzhou, at Hong's parent's home, for dinner. I have lived in China for many years; I have never seen such a lavishly laid the table like this, because I have visited many places during the CNY festivals with girlfriends, to enjoy the sun, and the weather.

The reminiscent ones were in 2012 when my girlfriend Jacqueline and I went to Bali. In 2011, Pan Pan and I went to the Philippines, in 2010, I went to Malaysia with Vickey, and in 2009 I was with my Chinese teacher in Yunnan. But uhhh!! Oh God! I forgot her name, but I remember, I had to put up with the teacher because by then she was a real binge drinker. Before, I used to come to China to meet business people during the CNY. This season, tradesmen have time and spend money because of the festive holidays.

That was a long time ago, it is time to remember. I went to many countries enjoying holidays and spending lavishly. I could not care less about money, and I used to foot the bill for all holiday trips. But since I got married to Hong, I am now seriously committed to Chinese family life. My life changed a lot; for example, I no longer spend lots of money eating out. I believe that home-cooked food is much healthier than the one prepared outside, where many artificial flavours and enhancers are added to make money. A survey carried out revealed that in some restaurants in China, pork is "chemically marinated" after slaughter, and sold expensively as beef to make more money.

At home, focus is on taste, not on cost savings. Therefore, Li Gengnan spends hours in his kitchen to prepare delicious meals.

Hong resembled her mother Wu Meilan in body structure, and she is the smallest in the family. She always reiterates the importance of eating various traditional Chinese dishes.

“This fish is called Li Yu. Fish is pronounced as "Yü" but written as Yu. Sounds like “left over”, means in coming new year you will have a lot of money left, and therefore you will become rich.”

At Hong's parent's home, we also have rice cakes on the dinner table we are enjoying the meal. Hong passes a small cake of rice over to me.

“In the Chinese language, "Nian", means year, and "Gao" means cake, but it also means "high", concerning salary. It is traditionally believed that eating a rice cake, is equated" to becoming rich since it associates to earning a higher salary. "I have passed the rice cake over to you, eat it you will get richer", Hong said jokingly, looking at me.

"Of course, I would love that, who wouldn't?”

In Chinese tradition, eating eggs filled with minced meat, known as

Dan Jiao

, increases your chances of wealth. Therefore, when you consume many of them, you get too much "

Jin Yuan Bao

", a monetary currency used during the Jin Dynasty.

On the other side of the dinner table, there is a bowl of yellow bean sprouts. The shape of the dish reminds me of a lucky Chinese charm called "Ru Yi", that is responsible for keeping you in good health. Yes, indeed, I couldn't wait to feast on the contents within this bowl, after the incredibly lavish dinner to balance the diet. At the dining table, Hong asks whether I know what " Rou Yuan" is.

"Yes, I do, they are meatballs representing the family's gathering at the Spring Festival, which is also another name for CNY" I replied while helping myself with some of it from the bowl. I am munching them unreservedly, after all, it is a day to celebrate.

My mother-in-law Wu Meilan encourages me to help myself even more with food in the rice bowl. China has many varieties of rice, and the most popular is the glue rice.

This time of the year, over dinner, the conversation mainly revolves around celebration and the mass migration of Chinese.

There is even a name for it, and it is called " Chun Yun". In the Chinese language "Chun" means Spring season, whereas "Yun", stands for transport. Although it may not sound that poetic, it is how the name came about. During the Chinese New Year celebrations, around eight hundred million people swarm trains to go to their distant hometowns and villages. It can sometimes be a big challenge for logistics and transportation.

This period is so busy that tickets are sold out online within minutes. Migrant workers who cannot access the internet would struggle to get tickets. Some can still manage to get official tickets without seats; the problem is enduring many miles standing, in a country many times bigger than Germany. People can travel for over forty hours before reaching their destination. Think about those without seats, it is incredibly discomforting. That in place, however, some opt to buy "black-market" tickets, from the so-called "Yellow-Ox Group", albeit at exorbitant prices, especially for those travelling as a family in a group.

After the Spring Festival, the situation starts to calm back to normal. Prices for train tickets go down, but the situation remains dramatic during the rush hours, especially for the many low-income earners, who struggle to go back to their places of work in time.

After the festive dinner, Hong and I receive a small piece of gold, made in the image of a horse's head. The significance of the gift is that when Hong produces children in future, they would also receive a similar piece of gold. This gesture seemes to be luring Hong and me into having offsprings, for her parents to get grandchildren to raise. She has, however, told them that she would rather have children abroad, than in a polluted environment.

On the first day of the New Year, the Chinese usually stay at home. People believe that visiting other people's families on this day, would drain money from them and pass it over to the other family.

As common sense would have it, no one would love to part with their money, more so 'being given to others', just like that. The belief maintains that if one stayed home on this day, " Shou Cai", a traditional greeting ushering in wealth and prosperity, would be there to hold and protect the property.

On New Year's Day, Hong and I travel to the city using the metro train. The newly launched train contributed to the value increase of house properties in the area, including Hong's parent's home. We walk by the riverside using the pedestrian pathway. Farmers sell their products, mainly to the tourists who throng this ever-busy place.

The locals use mopeds or cars using narrow streets, to access the area. Hong and I treat ourselves with a Tofu soup, and grilled lamb roasted on a spit, and flatbread.

After spending a night with the in-laws, Hong and I go to visit her ageing grandparents, and cousins, who were each given a Hongbao. As a couple, you must give money to relatives with children; it is a tradition. Most relatives were living a stone's throw away, so we do not go far. And, there are a few visits because the apartments were cold. People prefer to keep themselves in their homes. The second New Year's Day is also another busy one, because traditionally it is the "Son-In-Law Day". If you do not attend the New Year's Day, the tradition is that on the second New Year's Day, you must visit your wife's family. Fortunately for me, I was already there, which made it easier.

In the morning of the third New Year's Day, Hong drives me and her parents to Wetland Park on Taihu Lake. The weather is not all that good, we are, however, not much bothered with it. All we do is to enjoy the excursion, so we continu to see the hot springs. There are various springs under a vast heated dome, and you can comfortably bathe in them. We are unluck. We are told to return home because we had not made a reservation at the hot springs reception office to be allowed in. We all look at each other. "What is the meaning of this?", one of them echoes inaudibly. We have no choice but to return home. All tickets had already been booked. As expected, the place is at times overcrowded being a big touristic attraction. We missed the chance to see these hot springs. Hong was still feeling cold. She jumps on the wheel, and we drive back home.

It is perhaps a bad day. While we are driving back home, a dog suddenly runs into the road, straight in front of our car. "Oh! not again!" Hong exclaims. Before she even finished the sentence, the four-legged friend slightly hit himself on the vehicle. It was the second time for Hong to run into a dog. Fortunately, this time, the animal escaps it into the nearby bush with minor injuries. We are all left in shock.

"This can't be a good year if such an accident happens to us shortly after the CNY! We might not get children this year!" Hong observes. On hearing about not having children, I smile reservedly.

I observe that Hong's mother, who is sitting next to me in the back seat is not thrilled. When we reach home, we notice that our car had a slight dent due to the minor accident earlier with the dog.

Hopefully, the insurance will repair the damage.

In China, and in many other parts of the world women prepare something to eat for the family, in Hong's family, it is the other way around. It has been happening for decades. Here it is Hong’s father who is always in the kitchen. Li Gengnan is, however, an excellent cook. His meals are delicious. Traditionally, this time of the year, a meal cannot be Chinese, if it misses Nian Gao, a small round rice cake. Nian Goa is sometimes known as the Chinese New Year's cake.

In Chinese tradition, it is considered good luck to eat Nian Gao, a homonym for the "higher year" symbolising higher income, higher position, growth of children, and promise of a better life. So, eating Nian Gao, is considered good luck, during the Chinese New Year period.

After dinner, I go to skype, to talk with my son Daniel, about creating a homepage. Daniel is a student of “Computing and Digital Media” in Augsburg. He designs websites for a German company between semesters. I ask to join us for a Thailand vacation, but he refuses.

“My opinion about the security situation in Thailand is, depending on what I were reading in newspapers and watching on television at that time, I advise that it is not safe to travel to Thailand.”

Hong thinks, Daniel since he is a well-travelled person who always knows his way around. I disagreed with him because a few years back, when I was on holiday there, it was beautiful and peaceful.

I am not in any way threatened. Already Hong and I are planning to go for a holiday in Thailand, after the new year's celebrations. I ask Hong what she thought of a beach holiday in Pattaya, a prominent tourist resort for foreigners. Pattaya is only two hours drive south of Bangkok. I chose this place because I invested money to buy an apartment some years ago. It should be built on a mountain overlooking the sea. I still vividly remember everything about this brochure, even though it is ages ago today.