Chapter 2: Death Is Better Than Life
Genji - aka: Sakura
“Your attention please all passengers.” The intercom of the small commuter train was tinny and thin. But Genji could make out what the stewardess was saying. “All passengers who are riding without a ticket, or who smoke in public areas, will face a potential decrease in their social credit according to all applicable local government and party regulations. So please. Comply with all local government and party regulations. I repeat—”
Genji tuned it out and looked out the window.
“Do you have a ticket mis?” The guard gently poked her shoulder to get her attention. “Mis?”
“Oh, yes.” Genji sat straight, reached into her small sack cloth bag she had fashioned herself, and retreated her pass card and local government ID. The red mark on the front of her ID gave her social credit score away, but the pass clearly stated she had a work permit exception.
“I see. Mis. You know you are not allowed to ride this train out of the city.” The guard shook his head sadly. “I’m afraid I'll have to report this to the conductor.”
“Please sir. Read the permit card. It is a work pass that grants me the right to leave the city for employment. You can see the name of my employer there.”
He inspected the card then nodded. “True. But, it doesn’t change the fact that you can’t use the train to do so. I’ll allow you this ride today because clearly you are confused. But now that you know, you need to make other arrangements.”
The guard was wrong. She knew it; she had read the regulations regarding work permits herself. But she couldn't waste the time to fight with him, get his supervisor on the phone, and get her boss to chat with the guard to clarify the nature of the permit. She had done that before of course, particularly that first week she had started at her new job.
But she couldn’t. Not today. Today they started harvesting, and, well, she didn’t want to get her hopes up too high.
“Thank you for your generosity, and education officer. I will of course correct my behavior.” He wasn’t an officer, just a guard the rail line paid to get rid of vagrants who tried to sleep on the train or to catch ticketless or passless riders. He wasn’t the bad type, just the kind that wanted to flex his petty authority now and then, who thought that only by flexing said authority could others show him proper respect.
A little flattery went a long way with them, she knew. And it cost her nothing.
“You are welcome.”
The rest of the trip went well enough. When her station came, Genji got off the train and walked quickly to the public bathroom. The small, heavily cracked mirror was clean enough to allow her to see herself. She looked, well, not good. But as good as her lack of cosmetics and half Japanese complexion would allow her, given Chinese standards of beauty.
She fixed her hair a little, brushed some of the dirt from her best work dress that had clung to it from the seats on the train, and then ran outside. In front of the train station the work truck was waiting, and the other employees, most of them elderly or low rated women crowded the back of the truck bed.
Shen offered her a hand up to the cab. “Saved you a seat up here Genji.” She took the offered hand and her friend helped pull her up to the tall truck cab. The cab was only marginally cleaner than the bed, but at least the wind wouldn’t mess up her hair as much.
“Are you excited?” Shen asked as the door closed and the driver, Ming the only male in the outfit turned the vehicle on and started going.
“About what?”
“About your interview, silly. I hope one of us gets it and not some leftover woman from the city whose parents could buy them the spot.” Shen was a beautiful, middle-aged woman who had never been married. Technically, she was a ‘leftover woman’ as well. But the field workers always liked to see one of their own promoted rather than someone who had not worked in the fields or gardens at all.
Genji supposed it gave them hope. But something she had learned a long time ago was, hope? Hope was dangerous. All it did was set you up for failure. But even she was susceptible to its intoxicating lure. It's why she was excited, even if she knew she wouldn’t be selected.
“Here we are, ladies.” Ming said in his country drawl. You could always tell the difference between someone born and raised in the cities versus those who were born in the countryside among farmers. The farmers were nearly universally healthier, poorer, and they had a strange drawl to their words, remnants from their peasant village days before the Great Leap Forward and the urbanization efforts of that era.
Her mother had been one of those.
Shae had come from a high mountain village in the north. Her people were poor, and if the government had their way, they would have remained poor. But Shae had other ambitions. She had risen through the ranks of the local government and even gotten herself a foreign academic post.
It was there, while slipping information to the Chinese Government about the inner workings of Japanese academia, that she met Genji’s father. The scion of an old Japanese clan named Sakura where Genji got her last name and mixed heritage. The clan hadn’t favored the pairing, and when their illicit relationship, and that her mother was actually a spy for the CCP had been quickly uncovered. It didn’t take long until the authorities had expelled her mother from Japan.
Of course, Genji hadn’t been born yet. By the time her mother got back to the mainland though, she was nearly ready. When the government had discovered this fact of her pregnancy, they had discarded her mother as useless. What kind of spy had a toddler following them around?
After several years the Japanese and Chinese relations grew warm briefly. Enough that her father was able to petition for her to come and live with him. Shae had accepted, and for a few years before her teens Genji and lived with her father at their clan shrine.
Of course, that hadn’t gone nearly as well as anyone had wanted.
“We’re here ladies!” Ming shouted back to the ladies in the bed from his rolled-down window. And just like that, Genji was out of the truck and about to face an interview that would decide the course of the rest of her life.
***
“Your productivity is above requirement, and you have kept your record clean for the last year. No absences, and you were only late three times. Once from the train, and twice because of confusion over your work pass.”
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That was she knew more than many women could say about their managers and employers. Particularly ‘leftover’ women like her. Those whom the government and the CCP had deemed socially unfit for a better life then the ones they already had at the very bottom of urban Chinese society.
“Thank you, Mr. Lee.” Genji bowed slightly in her seat, a sign of respect and obedience but not so low as to invite negative remarks about her Japanese heritage. “I have worked hard to maintain my position, and am deeply grateful for it. As you can see from my daily reports, my numbers are always accurate, and my penmanship is nearly perfect. I have had no complaints about my work quality, and as I have provided to you, I have finished three typing tests from all three sites you requested.”
Genji motioned to the pile of papers with receipt numbers and official stamps from the librarian that proved they were authentic. Well, proved them as much as she was able to.
“I see that. And they are all adequate. I am very pleased by your efforts to improve yourself, as is the party I am sure. To come from such a lowly and foreign background, and to do what you have already done is very impressive. But, secretary positions can only be provided to those of higher social credit than you have, as they are positions of trust. Continue down this path however, and perhaps in a few years we can re-interview you and . . .”
She tried not to let the disappointment get to her as he finished his explanation. It was filled with empty promises about the future. The same promises everyone gave her since she was born. When he finished, she nodded and gave him as real a smile as she could muster.
“I understand Mr. Lee. But someone in your illustrious position can surely request an increase in my station? That way, If not this year then, perhaps next?”
Mr. Lee watched her through his circular glasses for a long moment, before sighing. “Perhaps.” He looked at the papers for another long moment. “Have you considered a position as a quality auditor?”
“No sir. Please educate me as to the requirements and duties.” She had already, and it wasn’t in any way an improvement over her current position. The pay was a little better, though not by much, but the work was inside in hot and stifling, or frigid conditions. She would rather let the wobbly building on the outskirts of her work area fall on her then work as an auditor.
But Genji knew she had to give her boss an out. He was, if not a good man then an honest one. And the best thing for her to do would be to keep good relations with him. Cornering him or pressuring him into trying something that might make him look bad, like uplifting a foreign blooded peasant from the north? That would only sour the little good will Genji had earned from him.
He went on for about ten minutes explaining the duties of a produce quality auditor. It wasn’t until the end that she heard anything new to her. “The best part about the position is, that if you keep your quality scores above average, and maintain good attendance scores, you get an automatic bump in social credit. Nearly ten points. Now . . .” he hesitated for a moment.
“If you promise me you will do so, I’ll send a letter to the local party requesting a pre-emptive point bump so you won’t run into trouble with the train guards anymore. That will help. At least a little. You’ll also be doing me a favor by taking the position, as we had three women quit just last week taking better positions elsewhere in the city. Something that could open up for you as well if you take the job.”
Genji knew better. Those women had left because the conditions were terrible among the auditors. Two had suffered frostbite on their fingers working with the frozen vegetables during the stew and canning process. And had been forced to find piece-work elsewhere. The third had died of heatstroke according to the rumors.
“Thank you, sir. I will seriously consider the offer.” She nodded, stood, and left the room as he dismissed her. The Interview finally over.
***
“So you didn’t get it. Big deal,” Shen said as they sat in the dirt together, pulling up vegetables. The sweet tuber roots were large, and deep-rooted things. She didn’t know their proper names, but they were a lot like potatoes when cooked properly. Unlike potatoes they had to be cultivated in gardens by hand because industrial machinery was too rough on them.
That was most of what they grew here. Plants, fruits, vegetables, and the like that would grace the tables of the most high and powerful in society. Her and her fellow workers only got to eat those that were deemed too ugly to sell, but still edible. Which is how she knew what the sweet tubers tasted like.
“There are plenty of other jobs out there. They’re growing more desperate for workers who can type, read, and spell properly. In all forms. Which you can do.” Shen was trying to be encouraging, but it was well worn ground at this point.
“Few things overcome prejudice.” Genji whispered quietly to her friend. She did not want to risk being overheard by others, who might use the comment to get her fired in favor of one of their family members or friends.
Shen snorted. “Ain't that the truth. Look Genji. This job is good. You get to work outside, you get to take some of the fancy food home, oh sure it doesn’t look good the stuff we get, but it's free and it doesn’t taste half bad. The pay is, just barely, enough to live off of too. What more could you want?”
She thought about it as she pulled up a large tuber. “Air conditioning during the summer? A savings of more than a few Yuan. Oh, how about the ability to go get this tooth looked at? The one that is turning black?” She opened her mouth and pointed at it with a dirt covered finger.
Shen recoiled, laughing slightly. “Okay, okay. You made your point. And you’re right, that tooth needs to be pulled before the infection spreads. We can ask Ming before you go home. He has a pair of pliers.”
Genji sighed. “Good idea.”
The two kept chatting about various things, allowing the topics to range to less important matters. Once they met their harvesting quota for the day, it was lunchtime.
Mr. Lee, who usually wasn’t there, handed out the small rice bread sandwiches himself. “I have some good news for everyone, so once you have your lunch please sit on the green and I’ll make the announcement!”
Genji thanked the server and took the measly meal to the ‘green’ which was a large open area in the middle of the processing compound that wasn’t all that green. The grass was brown and crackly and she wasn’t sure if it had ever been any kind of shade of green in her lifetime.
Her and Shen sat and ate while the line moved along. After a few minutes. Mr. Lee stood on top of a short overturned crate and addressed them all. “I have great news everyone. As of this morning, I received approval for pay raises across the board of 2 yuan per week.”
That got some applause and happy grumbling but mostly people kept eating. 2 yuan a week was . . . not a lot of money. Even by their standards.
“Thank you, thank you. Under this new directive I have been ordered to remove all non-native employees from our workforce. As there are no foreigners here, this directive shouldn’t affect us much.”
The bottom fell out of Genji’s stomach. Technically, on paper, she was half foreign. Depending on how the directive was worded, she might lose her job. And despite what she had said to Shen, she wanted to keep it.
She stopped listening. Her world spinning into the numb realization that she was likely to become penniless and homeless because of this. She might have to go join the women over in the red-light district, though who would have her gangly, lanky body even for enough money to pay for her rent, she didn’t know. Then again, there were always stories of freaks who liked the girls who looked Japanese.
Though those stories usually came with a sinister warning.
Thoughts of her impending lack of employment dominated her mind. Even when her and Shen went back out to the fields for their second half of the workday, she was numb. Only giving one-word answers to her only friend as they continued to work.
Then, the world shook.
Shen sighed and got up. “Come on, we have to go see if the boss needs any help back at the plant if any of the machinery shifted.”
“Go on. I’ll catch up.”
“Genji, you can’t stay like this all day. Come on, lets go see if Mr. Lee needs our help, then maybe we can ask him about your status. I know that’s what you’re freaking out about.”
“Go on Shen. I—I just need a minute.”
Shen sighed and turned to leave. It was then that the surrounding shadows shifted, and a crack louder than any thunder Genji had ever heard filled her ears. She turned only to see the poorly made, half fallen seven-story apartment complex not even vagrants lived in because of its poor craftsmanship, fell.
Towards her.
Shen screamed and ran. She’d get away. Shen was fast on her feet. Genji however? Well, perhaps—perhaps just this once, she’d let the world, which had been trying to crush her since she was born, succeed.
She stood and bowed towards the falling apartment building. Welcoming it, and thanking whatever god, spirit, or enlightened high power had finally, blissfully, deemed to end her time on Earth.
The stone fell, her heart raced, and just as quickly as she had woken up that morning, everything went black.