Mar 12 2008
The prostitutes
A decade or so ago, we visited VIP, a high end night club in the city (Manhattan) where the girls had to pay to work there every night. Lin and partners learned quickly, made the beauties pay 120 yuan ($15) a night to work at the Passion, the night club in Beijing. The prospect that a night out with a client would generate US$200 - $500 drew girls from nearby and afar. There was bargain to be found toward wee hours for those less pretty or lucky, they’d drop the price to 600 yuan, just to recuperate their investment.
The girls at Passion were really beautiful. Starting from the entrance. Four or five young handsome/pretty men/women with ear phones stood at attention. They were all tall, clean cut, well dressed and very professional. Few times we got there early around 9pm, I saw the roll call or rehearsal with the hostesses. They lined in two rows like ballerina, heads held and chests out. The male manager repeat himself by saying, well, how to behave, customer first .. how lucky to be admitted to work there .. In the spotless bathroom, I found neat posting on the doors, ‘hide your tears .. .. laugh all the way to the bank.” There was a girl or two who made out handsomely, well over 1,000,000 yuan a year, ”we all work for her” Lin said. To some degree, it’s true, as in any other profession. Top sales agent gets what he or she wants.
The first time I was at the Passion, Lin called a hostess then went off, doing his spells. The hostess asked me in a perfect Mandarin, what would I like to drink. Hmmmm … the interior was marvelous, could be in Manhattan, or London.. .. French martini was a hot, so I ordered it. She looked puzzled.
“Oh, well .. how about Comso?”
More frown.
She retrieved a leather bond menu from next table, ‘we only have martini.’
What’s the heck, the gin with dry vermouth was just fine.
China at that time, was buying up all the lousy cheap Californian wine and mixing it with Sprite.
Few moments later, a neatly dress young boy (India came to mind) brought my martini, served in a rock glass!!
Lin finished his business and came back, asking me how’s my drink. The big mouth I’m, I told him the truth, “hey, if you spent money on decor and getting the top notch employees, why don’t you beef up glasses and drinks?”
“People come here for the girls, not the glass.” He snapped.
The private karaoke room was then ready. Lin led the way. It’s very spacious, with a baby grand at one corner and modern sculpture at the opposite end.
“Are they Henry Moores’?”
“Go ask the interior designer.” Lin hissed.
Huge deep sofas took up another wall. Soon people, mostly men began to file in, old buddies and new acquaintance. Some were just drop in to say hi and others were in need of a favor or two. Girls in uniform were busy opening bottle of red wine and gulping down mixed with soda, and attended to their men. One of the man came with a 30 something lady. I wasn’t sure was his mistress/secretary or partner. She sat by me but mostly with her back to me. Within a hour, a case of wine was washed down with Sprite between dozen or so customers. I only had a glass. My goddess, the working girls were all great drinkers, few glasses of wine in a short span, they were still able to function. The group talked about current affairs, bs, they debated over why Zhou Enlai was so faithful to his wife Deng Yinchao. Zhou was handsome and Deng was far less than pretty. Then came up with a formula, that men look at women’s face when she’s in her 20s, 30s her breast, 40s her belly .. till 60 or 70 her feet .. and Zhou’s been gazing at her feet the day they met .. cool theory, so another round of ganbei - bottom up egged on by the working girls. Second case of red wine brought in. The lady sat next to me sang a few numbers and left. Another lady in the room was introduced to Lin, saying she needed a favor. Lin said this wasn’t the place for business, meet me tomorrow at another hotel lobby. The men that night were rather sober and behaving rather, well, nicely. Nothing graphical.
Next time when Lin went to meet the lady at the lobby, they hit off well, business wise. She had a nice media kit, a portfolio of her water fountain projects. So the lady who came with a female partner suggested to go to a night club again, and called her husband. Walking out of the lobby to the car, Lin said “I’ll meet you there, I have to take her home.” What? I want to go!!
“No, that isn’t the place for you.” He insisted with a poker face.
“I’m not teenager, I can handle it .. Pls ???”
“You’ll be disguised and offended ..”
“If you don’t take me, then I’ll be disgust and offended ..” So there we all went.
I don’t remember the name, but a second rate night club 10 minutes away from the west side train station. Lin ruefully said that the station was 豆腐渣 doufu dregs project, a shoddy work. Wondering out loud if it’s his uncle’s last approval. The night club was very bread and butter, dirty bathroom, less attractive girls and in a state of chaos. Both ladies’ husbands showed up, Lin and his two buddies, plus me, the eight of us took up a room in narrow shape. Two girls came with half case of wine and two liters of Sprite. After they filled our glasses, in no time they swallowed two glasses themselves. One dimmed the light and the other striped naked and began to dance, lap dance, table dance, break dance and dirty dance, any dance. One wife urged her hubby to ballroom dance and he did. And he was pretty good although looked very stiff. It must be very awkward to be among strangers in a stripe joint, I’d think. The two performers got pretty low and dirty. During the entertaining, some bus boys busting in as if unexpected because the girls tried to cover themselves up with hands and looked annoyed .. the whole set up was raw and primitive, nothing to be desired and imagined.
In the parking lot, Lin scolded me, “I told you not to come .. now you’ll think Beijing is all rough and raw ..” Wait a second Mr. I was born and bred here. It’s being transformed in a lighting speed, but no matter how long away I’m from it, how an entire neighborhood was replaced, I always know what’s going on .. .. Beijing runs in my blood, it’s pulse vibrates in my veins.
The following week, Lin went to bat for her, eventually sealed her the contract in Zhejiang, earned 30% cut as middle man.
The point of this story was that Chinese women share or shoulder half the sky, and Eliot Ness, opps, I mean Eliot Spitzer worked in a wrong country, :).