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SUMMARY: Yes, this is a real product.

A Question of Shen

A Short story by:

William Hrdina

On the outskirts of Fulin, China lived a man named Shen. Shen lived in a humble hut on the outskirts of the city. On a clear day, Shen could see Mt. Emei, one of the four Sacred Buddhist Mountains in China. Shen lived his entire life in Fulin. For generations, the people in Shen's family were farmers and Shen expected to be a farmer too. But then, one day, an ambitious party member named Yu Wang had the province declared an Industrialization Zone. The population quadrupled in the space of 24 months and all of the farms disappeared.
Shen wanted to go to college, but he had to stay in Fulin and work because his parents were sick.
Shen took a job in one of the new factories that sprung up in the wake of industrialization. He had to walk a mile and a half to work every morning. Half of the year it was very cold, and Shen was forced to wear two coats. The factory was a monstrous thing- almost a half mile square. Raw materials were poured into one side and finished goods poured out the other on an endless rotation of cargo trucks. Black smoke poured from the exhaust pipes. The smoke made Shen cough.
Then, one day, the manager of the factory walked out onto the floor and said everyone should go home for one week. The factory was going to be retooled and there would be no work. Shen went home and waited patiently for the week to go by. He enjoyed himself, taking long walks- starting in the morning and continuing until he was far enough from the city that the air lost its industrial stink. He would climb up into the mountains until he found a wonderful view, and sit in silence until it was dark. Then he would walk home.
When his vacation was over, Shen went back to work- curious about what new thing he would be manufacturing. He was hoping for some sort of medical equipment. Shen thought making medical equipment would be a noble thing to do.
Instead of going to his normal station, Shen was herded into the center of the factory with all of the other employees. His boss, a portly-pig of a man named Zhun, was with another man Shen had never seen before. He looked very rich. His suit was handmade, and several rings laden with large gems sparkled from his hand. Shen didn't know he was looking at Zhun's boss's boss's boss, but he figured.
Once everyone was gathered, the man raised his hand to silence their chattering. He then proceeded to congratulate them all on their victory. Shen didn't know that they'd been playing at anything for them to be victorious about- but nevertheless he smiled and smacked his co-workers on the back, saying, "Good job" because he didn't want to seem disloyal.
The rich man then turned his attention to a wheeled cart covered with a heavy velvet cloth. He wheeled the cart out in front of everyone so they could see it and said, "And now, ladies and gentleman, I give you our new product." With a flourish, he pulled off the curtain.
Shen looked at the toy truck with bunched eyebrows.