One Who Moved Out to Get Rich
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.
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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: contact@gtec.asia
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 the seas 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 "Venice of 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 of Suzhou, 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.