Little Fang continues. "Men like gentle women, so we should learn from Japanese women. That's why I recommend that you watch Tokyo Love Stories."
"Women like us only watch Ally McBeal and Sex and the City," an audience member comments.
"American stuff is too shallow, especially Hollywood," Little Fang says.
"Neither Ally McBeal nor Sex and the City represent the Hollywood – style. They are the New York – style, which is much more sophisticated than Hollywood." I can't help but defend my two favorite shows.
"What is the sophisticated New York – style?" Little Fang asks.
"Hilarious, funny, wise, and psychological." Lily speaks for me.
"I think on American TV shows, couples go to bed far too quickly and too easily. It's quite carnal," Little Fang says.
"It's called sexy." CC retorts.
Little Fang rebuffs her. "It's sexual, but not sexy. Japanese soap operas normally don't have bed scenes. They focus on feelings and sensitivities. Women who can delay their sexual urges and who care more about love than sex are the ultimate winners."
"Those Japanese love stories are simply about mind games. The girls are all prudes. They try to be cute at first. After they get the men they want, they dump them. In their TV series, somebody either has to die or become handicapped. The ending is always sad. It's so sadistic!" Beibei speaks out. She is on CC's side and won't let Little Fang's points go unchallenged. Although Beibei hasn't studied abroad, she is a made-in-China feminist.
Little Fang defends her beloved Japanese shows ardently. "They are textbooks on how to deal with men. You learn how to be soft on the outside and firm inside, how to disguise your feelings, how to make men notice you, how to turn the passive situation around. Our Chinese mothers haven't taught us these tricks, so we have to learn it somewhere else!"
"Do these tricks really work?" another female audience member asks doubtfully, adding, "Men aren't stupid."
Little Fang says, "Yes. It is an art to know when to say no, when to say yes, when you should wait for men, when you should make the m wait for you."
"We have no interest in becoming manipulative prudes! We'd rather watch Sarah Jessica Parker!" says CC, thinking that Little Fang must have used these tricks on Nick.
"Sex and the City and Ally McBeal cant teach you anything about men. Even worse, they teach you to be bitches that men hate!" Little Fang snaps back.
Everybody is stunned.
So far, Lulu has been quiet. I say, "Lulu, you aren't as westernized as CC, Lily, Mimi, and me. Nor are you a Chinese-made feminist like Beibei. Do you prefer American TV series or Japanese ones?"
"I watch Korean soap operas," Lulu says.
"What is so good about Korean ones? All the actresses have had plastic surgery!" Little Fang shakes her head.
"I've seen several. They are all about rich kids falling in love with poor kids: the cliche Cinderella plot." CC doesn't approve of Korean soap operas either.
Lulu says, "I can dream of being a Chinese Cinderella when I watch the Korean ones."
HA RIZU: Fan of Japanese culture.
HA MEIZU: Fan of American culture.
46 City Versus Country
Thanks to her self-made parents who fled from the mainland to Hong Kong, CC was able to study at Oxford and learned to speak English perfectly. But most of her relatives are still peasants living in Henan Province. CC has little idea how poor her relatives are until she receives a letter from her Aunt Yuxiu, whom she has never met, asking for help. The gist of the letter is that Auntie Yuxiu, who lives in a place known as Monkey Village, wants to come to Beijing to earn money. CC's cousin, Auntie Yuxiu's eldest son, needs money to get married. Auntie Yuxiu wonders whether she can work as CC's housekeeper and CC agrees to pay her 3,000 yuan per month. Later, Auntie Yuxiu learns, to her amazement, that this salary is equal to that of a university professor.
Before moving to Beijing, Yuxiu cycles three hours to the biggest supermarket in the township, searching for a gift for her niece. She buys ten bars of Dove chocolate, the most expensive gift she can think of. But CC rejects the present politely. "Auntie Yuxiu, I don't eat chocolate. I'm afraid of gaining weight."
"My kids, my husband, and I just have enough to eat," Yuxiu once complains to me, "but she is afraid of gaining weight. I don't understand you city people."
It's the first time Yuxiu has seen her niece. She is proud of CC's success, but one thing puzzles her: in their village, people are poor, but they have enough money to buy clothes to keep themselves warm. CC wears a shirt so small it shows her belly button. Even worse, it's worn and torn. So she says to CC: "I can mend the holes and lengthen the shirt by adding a fringe. That way your stomach won't feel cold. When your stomach gets cold, you get sick easily."
"No, I don't feel cold," CC replies. "My T-shirt is designed this way. The shorter it is, the more fashionable and expensive."
Yuxiu is confused and complains to me. "Why is it more expensive? It uses less cloth, so it should cost less!"
Yuxiu has never seen cut-off T-shirts before.
In order to teach Auntie Yuxiu about city life, CC decides to take her to Starbucks. The three of us go there together. CC orders Auntie Yuxiu a coffee. Yuxiu takes a sip and almost gags. "It so bitter – like Chinese medicine!" She looks at the price and screams, "Twenty-eight yuan per cup! That's half a year's tuition for the kids in Monkey Village!"
"You might want to add some sugar and milk," CC suggests.
It amazes Yuxiu that the sugar is free, so she slips ten packets into her bag. She explains to CC that for years, her household couldn't afford to buy sugar. It was a luxury item in Monkey Village. "Do you want sugar?" she asks CC. "No. I'm afraid of getting diabetes," says CC. "What is diabetes?" Yuxiu asks. CC explains: "It means peeing sugar…"
Yuxiu has only recently been able to afford sugar, yet CC is afraid of it. Yuxiu is overwhelmed. But she soon has another big discovery. The white paper napkins are also free. "They are much nicer and smoother than the coarse toilet paper we have to use at home!" She tells us as she pockets a stack.
In the next year, Yuxiu finds there are many differences between CC's life and her own, the city person and the country person, the rich and the poor. For example, she is grateful she no longer has to forage for wild herbs in the mountains and is able to eat meat every day. CC, however, is a vegetarian by choice. CC also tires herself out at a gym, which bewilders Yuxiu, who feels fortunate if she has time to rest and doesn't need to work from dawn to dusk.
Before she leaves Beijing with bundles of money for her son's wedding in Monkey Village, Auntie Yuxiu takes me aside and asks: "In the countryside, getting married late is shameful because it means you don't have enough money to pay for the wedding. Now that both you and my niece CC have enough money for a large dowry, why are you still single?"
I search for an answer and finally tell her, "Perhaps, like wearing smaller clothing, staying single is a stupid fashion followed by city people."
47 Fake Nose, Fake Breasts
Lulu asks me on the phone, "If you meet a classmate you haven't seen for ten years, what would your reaction be?"
"Thrilled." I reply.
"What if she wouldn't recognize you?"
"I was too unimportant to remember."
"What if you were her savior or benefactor."
I stop Lulu. "No more of these what-if's – just tell me what happened!"
"Have you heard of a real estate development project called GWD – Great Wall Dreamland?" Lulu asks.