The Illustrious Madam Liu

A ROUGH START IN CHINA

A little more than ten years ago, I had the great fortune to travel to China and to live and work there for several years. The beginning was tough because the first company I had signed on with ended up being somewhat flakey and unclear about the mission it wanted me to fulfill.

Under that company's flag I lived in Hong Kong for a few months, and then I was transferred to Shanghai to start up a new branch there. Within weeks after arriving in Shanghai, I sent a report to the office in Hong Kong stating that the new venture would probably not show a profit until after two years. Upon hearing this, the Hong Kong office peremptorily decided to fire me, and relayed instructions for me to pack up and go home.

I had been sacked...

DIGGING IN

Within days upon my arrival in Shanghai, I knew that Hong Kong was no comparison to Shanghai. The city "On the Sea" (Shanghai's literal meaning) was the place for me. I would have done anything to stay there.

I had been fired, but I shot a message back to the Hong Kong office telling them to get stuffed. I determined to forgo their offer to ship my worldly belongings back to America. At the end of that day, I was left with a large pile of unpacked boxes in my apartment, no job, no prospect for a job, enough cash to fill the palm of only one hand, and a lot of hope and love for this new and wonderful city - a city under whose dazzling bright lights I found myself basking.

After about two weeks of frantic job searching, I started to become disheartened. Money was soon running out, and the prospect of losing a foothold in my new home was an ever-growing nightmare on the immediate horizon. I stopped myself in the midst of my panic, and stood in the middle of my home. I forced myself to relax and spoke aloud, intending exactly what I felt in my heart: I had to stay in Shanghai.

Luckily I stayed on for some of the best years of my life.

A NEW JOB & THE AMAZING LARS

The day after making this resolution, I made a telephone call to the right place at the right time.