A Father Who Refused Leave His Daughter Behind (Afterword: Q&A)

August 26th, 2023:

Mr. Fu (Fu Xiong), first from left, carrying his daughter, second from left

"Q: Your whole family can finally live together now! Both of your kids got into public schools in Shenzhen, just like you hoped. I’m really happy for you.

A: Yeah, thank you hahaha, little brother.

Q: Besides your kids' education, do you have any thoughts about your own personal career development? You’ve been at this factory for almost 20 years now, and you’ve built up a lot of experience in garment production. Have you ever thought about starting your own business?

A: Factory life… It's the same thing day after day, no picture or thought of the future in sight. You can’t see your future here. I’ve thought about leaving so many times. I’ve thought about starting my own business, too. It’s not that I dislike the Zhaowen factory, but I just want something better, you know, something that would give my family a better living and a better life. But I’ve always lacked the courage and determination. You know, I had a co-worker back then, from Shandong. He worked at the factory for two or three years, and then left to start advertising and selling farm produce on TikTok live-streaming. He’s the kind of guy who’s bold – daring, even. He’s got that adventurous spirit. His hometown, Shandong, is a big province known for agriculture, so he tapped into the resources there. He contacted and connected with local farmers and helped them promote their produce, kind of acting as a bridge between the rural farmers and urban supermarkets. He met some influential people along the way; they helped him out financially so that he could expand his business. His business kept growing, and now he supplies all the yams to every Huahui Supermarket in Shenzhen. Just imagine that. Think about it, in the best year, Huahui supermarkets bought over 200 million tons of yams from upstream suppliers. The person I was talking about, his annual income is over a million yuan now. I really respect and admire him.

Q: That’s a classic case of being in the right place at the right time with the right people.

A: Exactly! Ten or so years ago, it was a lot easier to start your own business. If you had the guts, you could find opportunities. You could even do it alone by yourself, you know. But things are so very different now. You want to change, but there are too many things, too many uncertainties you can’t control. One wrong step and your business might die and you might lose everything. Nowadays, you have to collaborate with others, even with big, established companies, and you need strong backing and support to have a real shot at success, in terms of career and business development.

Q: So, seeking this kind of change nowadays also means you’d have to take on much bigger risks.

A: Yes, that’s right. Right now, my wife and I together earn about 15,000 yuan a month. The rent for our factory apartment is 400 yuan per month. Then there’s the monthly expenses for our six-persons household, and all the costs for the kids. By the end of the month, there’s barely anything left. And I didn’t even factor in unexpected costs like sickness or accidents. I’ve thought about building, putting together my own clothing production team, but, you know, renting a space, buying machinery—all of that requires a huge investment upfront. We have no savings at home. If I fail, there’s no one who’ll support us, and I won’t even be able to afford to feed my kids. So, I can only look at it – the possibility of starting my own business – from a distance but not take the leap.

Q: Are you confident about your future? What’s your future outlook?

A: Well, there’s a lot of heavy pressure, pressure of life. I feel kind of lost, and I don’t see much hope going ahead, you know.

Q: I mean, you’ve already done something amazing. You’ve managed to bring your kids to live with you here in Shenzhen, to be present and see them grow up while working a job. In the factory worker community, you’re already a great father!

A: Hahaha…"

Fu Xing’s phone rang at that moment. It was his daughter calling. It was almost midnight, and she was telling him to come home and go to bed. He really is a nice father.