Calligraphy:

Factory workers who live here produce probably the strongest doors in the world – anti-theft security doors. However, in the places where they live there were no locks and the doors were always open. The wooden door is very thin, and can‟t be locked. The monthly rent for this kind of old fashioned wood “si he yuan” (quadrangle courtyard) is 50 rmb per room – which equals a return tube ticket in London. Only the poorest rural migrants are willing to live here without toilet and shower facilities. They basically have nothing here except broken wood and a blanket. Thus, even though the door is open the whole day, there is no single one willing to walk in and have a look, including thiefs. One day, I walked into an old wooden building like this. The courtyard was so quiet to the degree that one could hear the sound of the sunshine. After a gust of wind, I was even worried that a tile or a broken wooden board would fall off. I thought there was nobody here. However I found there was a pair of eyes staring at me from under the curtain in the corner. I came up to him to say hello. “Hi brother, how are you.” He tried to hide again but it was too late. He smiled at me. I asked him many questions. To some of my questions he answered in a very simple way; to some of them, it looked as if he had not heard my question at all. He came from Guizhou (inland province), and was single. Too poor to get married. “Women are very realistic nowadays” he said. The reason he stayed at home during the daytime was there was nothing to do in the factory. The business was not going very well, so his factory asked workers to go back home. One day goes without working means one day without income. That is the worst thing for workers. All of them fear that there is not enough work for them, or they can‟t work extra hours to earn more money. He told me, half of this month has passed, however he only managed to work for five full days, which is too bad. If the situation remains the same, he will quit his job and try other places. I asked him whether he has relatives or friends at his hometown. He said maybe yes, but everybody is earning a living outside of his hometown. I asked him whether he uses the internet. He said, “I am poor, I don‟t use internet, or play mobile phone.” A few weeks later, I revisited the same place, the man had already left. It seems that he had decided to leave to find a new job somewhere else.