He was one of many foreign seamen at the port of the Chinese city of Guangzhou. His job was to supervise the repairs of a ship owned by a Greek tycoon in a Chinese shipyard. Since most of the workers were Chinese, he had an interpreter who would help him with the job and anything that would come up during his stay in China.
The job was boring but it certainly beat spending half a year on a boat without seeing any land. He had visited China several times in the past and he could not say he loved the place but there were certain aspects of life he enjoyed here. One of them was shopping for counterfeit goods. To avoid being ripped off he would always take the interpreter with him. This way, he was always sure he could get much cheaper prices than any other stupid foreigner who would go on his own. It seemed that being with a Chinese person deterred another Chinese to cheat on you.
The accommodation was nice but there was not really that much to do in his free time apart from hanging out in the bar district. There he got the chance to meet people from all corners of the planet. Most of them were either English teachers or business people. There were also prostitutes and plenty of African drug dealers who spoke broken English.
His English was not very fluent. Despite years of international travel, he had not gotten rid of his lousy Mediterranean accent. This did not bother him. The prostitutes and street peddlers he had to deal with had much worse language skills. What mattered is that they understood him whenever he spoke.
One night out, he met a girl in a bar named Lily. They spent a few hours chatting and drinking until they ended in his hotel room. They spent the night together and the following day went out together for lunch. He wanted her to return with him to his hotel room but she said that was impossible. She had to return to her hometown-a six-hour ride on the high-speed bullet train. She asked him if he wanted to come with her and he jumped on the offer. He made a phone call to the company and asked them if it was okay to take a short leave for a few days. He was an excellent employee and they had no reason to refuse his request.
YOU ARE READING
Women of Clay
Lãng mạnA seaman travels to a remote village in the Chinese countryside where he meets a wild woman of extraordinary beauty. He falls under her spell and forgets his previous life. Warning: Politically Incorrect!
