The Expats

Chapter One - Li Yang-1

Chapter One - Li Yang“Ni hao.”

Li Yang called out in Mandarin, greeting her husband as she pushed the front door to their tiny apartment closed with her foot, whilst balancing a huge nylon bag in her arms. It had been a long day and the middle-aged woman desperately longed to sit with her feet in a bowl of warm water, but there was still dinner to prepare, washing to do and a pile of socks to darn.

“Ni hao ma (How are you?)” Xu Wei asked sleepily as he trudged into the hallway to relieve his wife of her heavy burden, his slippers scraping across the tiled floor as he walked.

Li Yang quickly gave him a run-down of her day in rapid-fire Shanghainese, emphasising how tired she was but still excited to show him the goodies that her departing employers had bestowed upon her. Most of the contents of her chequered nylon holdall were foodstuffs that the family couldn't take with them overseas but there were also several items of clothing and some decorative cushion covers.

Xu Wei peered into the bag and pulled out a large sachet of rose tea, “Why do these foreigners buy such large quantities of everything?” he pondered, as his wife took the packet and inhaled the aroma, “Such a lot of waste. We Chinese have more sense, to buy what you need fresh from the market every day.”

Li Yang smiled, she too could never understand the Lao Wai and their unusual habits, but it was the foreign community in the city who had ensured her continuous employment over the years. Some had been easier to get along with than others and a few had been very strict about working hours and the finicky way in which they liked their homes cleaned but overall the benefits had outweighed the downfalls.

“I expect your new employers will be glad to have someone of your experience to help them,” Xu Wei muttered as he poured water from the dispenser to make his wife a drink, “You start tomorrow, don't you?”

Li Yang nodded and took out vegetables from a small carrier bag that she had hooked over her arm, “Yes, they're from England and have a young daughter, so I expect they will want me to work some evenings too. I'm looking forward to it.”

Xu Wei smiled, there was always a little extra cash when his spouse worked longer hours which would be very useful soon, as their son was approaching an age where he should be married and having a child.

“What are we having to eat?” he sniffed, “I'm very hungry.”

Li Yang rolled her eyes and pulled a second bag from inside the first, it contained chicken wings.

“I'll make them hot and spicy, just how you like,” she told the man at her side, “You can put on some rice.”

As preparations for their dinner commenced, the woman reflected upon the many differences between her own race and the Westerners who came to live in Shanghai, such as the simplicity of eating rice. In her culture, the rice was eaten after the main course, as something to fill you up if you were still hungry but, with her employers, they mixed the two dishes together on one plate regardless of the diverse texture and flavours. She knew that Chinese food was served that way overseas, her employers had never tired of telling her, but still it seemed a strange combination.

“Look at this huge packet of mixed spice,” Xu Wei was saying, pulling another pouch out of the bag, causing his wife to turn around, “This would take us over a year to finish. Shall I take some for our neighbor?”

Li Yang nodded and continued her task of heating oil in a wok, so much waste, she thought, it's crazy.

Later, after having eaten and cleared away the dishes, the couple sat contentedly in front of their television set but neither person was watching the news programme that aired in the background. Li Yang was mending socks and thinking about the new arrivals while the man that she loved so dearly snoozed peacefully in his armchair, a toothpick still clutched between his fingers and his trousers undone to let his stomach relax from the hearty meal he had just eaten.

Li Yang wasn't concerned about meeting her new Lao Wai family, the wife had seemed very friendly when she had been introduced by the Ayi agency a couple of weeks before, but you never knew how people would behave behind their own closed doors. An Australian woman that she had worked for some time ago had been depressed about moving to China, not knowing anyone and miles away from her family, and had taken up the habit of following Li Yang around the house with a mug in her hand as the Chinese woman cleaned. It turned out that there was wine in the mug and by teatime the woman would be fast asleep on the sofa, the empty bottles cleared miraculously away and her unsuspecting husband none the wiser. Of course, Li Yang knew that not all foreign women were like that, but she knew that most of them liked to go and drink at the weekends, although their insane shopping habits were worse than their wine imbibing ones. She was sure that this new foreign woman would reveal her bad habits eventually as a cleaning lady usually saw the worst of things, especially first thing in the morning. Except for the Germans, Li Yang smiled, never had she witnessed a cross word, the remains of a wild party or tension between a couple while working for that particular race, although they were very strict on the upkeep of their homes.

“Cha ma (Tea?)” Xu Wei asked, stirring his wife from her thoughts, “I'll make it.”

Li Yang set aside the darning and followed her husband into the kitchen, eager to put away the rest of the goods given to her that day, in particular she wanted to show him the gift that her employers had given her as a token of their appreciation. It was wrapped in pink tissue paper, and bubble wrap inside that, for protection.

“Can can (look)” she smiled, unwrapping the delicate object and placing it on the table.

“Bu hao,” Xu Wei scorned, frowning at the little glass clock that his wife was admiring so longingly, “That's very bad. Don't they know that we never give clocks as a gift, it means the time of your death will come rapidly, how thoughtless.”

“Mei wen ti (no problem)” Yang soothed, rubbing his arm, “These foreigners don't know our customs, besides Tai Tai Brenda was only here for a short while.”

Xu Wei shrugged, but his unhappy expression didn't change, “I suppose it will be useful,” he relented, “But these people really should have more sense about such things.”

Li Yang took her husband's concession as consent and took the clock through to their bedroom where she placed it on the bedside cabinet. Now she wouldn't have to listen to the dreadful tune on Xu Wei's mobile phone that woke them up every morning, this clock had a delicate ring that would be much kinder to their ears.

“Cha,” the Chinese man called, setting his wife's tea down beside her armchair.

Li Yang returned to the living room and looked around. She was content with their small apartment, it was neat and big enough for the three of them, although their son was often out with his friends but, on the odd occasion, she did wonder what it would be like to live in one of the grand homes that her employers could afford. It seemed that they always had more rooms than they needed and were forever buying things to furnish their lavish interiors. She had known couples with no children living in three or four-bedroom homes, keeping the rooms aired and fresh for visiting friends and family. There was no need to do such a thing in her home, the woman smiled, family lived close by, and anyway, she wouldn't dream of living such an extravagant lifestyle, not that their combined income would ever cover such a luxury.

“What is it?” Xu Wei sniffed, looking up inquisitively from his seat, “Are you daydreaming again?”

Li Yang smiled, he knew her too well, “Not really husband, I am just wondering about tomorrow.”

Next morning, the couple rose from their bed bright and early. Xu Wei started his factory job at eight o'clock but he had an hour commute across the city to get there and liked to do some gentle exercise before starting his shift. Li Yang ushered him out through the door before making herself some lunch to reheat at her new job, leftover chicken and vegetables would fill her up perfectly. Her husband was lucky that his meals were provided by the company that employed him. Sometimes Li Yang had found kindly employees who insisted on her taking lunch in their kitchen but mostly the food consisted of sandwiches which the Chinese woman didn't consider substantial, especially in the winter months when something warm was needed to sustain a healthy body. It would only take the ayi, or housekeeper, fifteen minutes to ride her scooter to the gated complex where she would begin her new position but Li Yang wanted to call at her friend's home first and collect a small offering for the new Tai Tai (mistress).

Deng Ping lived in a row of tiny cottages which used to be part of a very prosperous farm in days gone by, but now the buildings had become surrounded by multi-million Yuan high-rise complexes and they all knew that it wouldn't be long before the Chinese government made a compulsory purchase order to evict the tenants and sell the land to developers.

“Ni hao,” Deng Ping called from the doorway as her friend dismounted and leaned the scooter up against an outside wall, “Ni chi le ma (Have you eaten?)”

Li Yang replied in the affirmative, it was customary for friends to ask each other if they had eaten and if the response was negative, they would be taken inside to have a snack or meal, depending on the time of day. Having eaten a steamed bun for breakfast, Li Yang was content.

“Have you come for some eggs?” Deng Ping smiled, leading her friend around to the back of the cottage where dozens of chickens roamed about the yard, “They're fresh.”

“Shi er ma?” Li Yang asked, wondering if it would be alright to have a dozen, “Thank you Ping.”

Deng Ping took a cardboard carton from a stack by the chicken run and then gently knelt down to feel around in the straw for the perfectly formed eggs that her precious hens had laid.

It was ten minutes to eight when Li Yang switched off her engine and carefully lifted the tray of eggs from their resting place in the basket on the front of her scooter. Not one was broken, the sign of a smooth ride and a fortuitous sign that her new position would be a positive one.

Riding up three floors in the lift, the cleaning lady studied her own reflection in the mirrored glass. She didn't look bad for a woman in her mid-fifties but had aged considerably in the past couple of years. Li Yang tucked a stray wisp of grey hair behind her ear with one hand, carefully hugging the eggs with the other until the lift stopped and the doors opened opposite apartment 301.

The ayi knocked gently and stood listening for footsteps.

“Hello,” the cheery faced householder beamed, “Come on in.”

Li Yang nodded and slipped off her shoes before following the auburn-haired, buxom foreign woman down the hallway and into a bright, spacious lounge.

“Sorry, what should I call you?” the woman was asking as her new cleaner looked around with wide eyes.

Li Yang looked back blankly, “Sorry, little English,” she murmured.

“I'm Delia,” the woman said slowly, patting her own chest in an attempt to explain.

“Li Yang,” the Chinese woman replied, suddenly realising what was being asked.

“I know, what I mean is should I call you Li?” the foreigner prompted. Li Yang shook her head, “Yang, please. Li is family name.”

Delia nodded and repeated the name Yang a couple of times before gesturing towards the kitchen.

Li Yang offered the eggs forward and smiled, “For you.”

“Oh thank you!” Delia gushed, taking the cardboard tray, “How very kind.”

The ayi noticed that her new employer laughed nervously every time she spoke but her eyes sparkled as though she were privy to some joke that nobody else knew about. They would get along very well the Chinese woman thought. Just as Delia opened a cupboard to show Yang her vast array of cleaning products, there was a thud behind them, forcing both women to turn around.