The Wild Beasts of Wuhan Read Online Free PDF

self-confidence.
    Uncle sat at the back of the lounge, sipping tea. Ava took the seat next to him. He glanced at her and smiled. “I was going to have a beer, but I think it is best to save myself for dinner,” he said.
    Ava could see in his eyes how pleased he was with her appearance. She loved his eyes: lively, curious, probing. Ava had learned early on that Uncle’s world was defined through his eyes and not through his words. “I was reading about Wong before you arrived,” she said, a question more than a statement.
    “I met him once, about fifteen years ago, when Uncle Chang and Tommy Ordonez wanted to build a cigarette factory in Wuhan,” Uncle said. Tommy Ordonez was the richest man in the Philippines and Chang Wang was his long-time business partner and an old friend of Uncle’s. He and Ava had just finished a job for them, recovering $50 million from a gambling swindle that had taken Ava from Vancouver to San Francisco, Las Vegas, and finally London, where she had found herself confronting a prominent U.K. cabinet minister and his daughter. “There were problems getting the right location, and then more problems with building permits and licences. I went to Wuhan to straighten it out and found myself dealing with Wong. His guanxi was impressive then. It must be stronger now.”
    “And what was he like?”
    “For someone with his connections, he was friendly enough, and easy to do business with if you understood what his requirements were and complied with them. Of course, many people are friendly if you are doing what they want you to do. What was different about Wong was that he was not arrogant or boastful. Most of the new-rich Chinese, especially those from humble backgrounds, are vain and selfish. They have so much and everyone else has so little, and they cannot seem to help rubbing it in. Wong never took that path. He prides himself on being loyal to everyone who helped him along the way. I did hear, of course, that he is not a man to mislead, and that if you do, he never forgives and is relentless in getting revenge.”
    “The government?”
    “He was respectful. He obeyed the law as much as was necessary. He did not embarrass officials with his wealth and power, and he did not, as far as I know, bribe them excessively. He exchanged favours, of course, but where he was clever was that his door was open to them and their children if they chose to join one of his companies. That was the carrot, rather than an envelope filled with cash, though I am sure from time to time that was needed too. So he has never been associated with any overt corruption, and the officials who have worked with him over the years have not had to worry about getting shot.”
    “Why does a man with such guanxi need us?”
    “I do not know, but I am curious, and not many things make me curious these days.”
    “He seems to have his fingers in many pies.”
    “More than we could know.”
    “Toys, plastics, garments, computer parts, cigarettes.”
    “It is difficult to do anything in Wuhan without his assistance, and his assistance always comes at the cost of a piece of the business.”
    “What if you refuse?”
    “Then maybe your plant does not get built or it takes longer than you thought and costs more. And then you might have problems with warehousing and transportation, because he controls much of that too.”
    “So Uncle Chang made him a partner in the cigarette business?”
    “Of course, but as Wong explained — and he was right — making him a partner opened many doors. Chang got the land he wanted at a reduced price. Instead of waiting two years for a building permit, he had one in two weeks. The equipment he was bringing over from the Philippines cleared Customs, without a bribe, in half the scheduled time. And when the plant was running, Wong spoke to his friend the governor of Hubei, who spoke to his friend the mayor of Shanghai, and the cigarettes had an instant new market. And so on and so on. Wong is