During the May Day holiday, I took some time to organize my interview notebook. When I flipped to the pages of the interview at the Women's Re-education Center, I stopped.
This was a record of our research trip to the Women's Re-education Center. At that time, our interviewee was Amei, who had previously worked as an escort.
Amei grew up in a municipality directly under the central government. She was an only child, and could be considered a pampered princess.
Looking carefully at her, her skin was so delicate and fair, her figure so tall and attractive, with dimples that always brought a smile. If we hadn't been interviewing her at the Women's Re-education Center, you would never have guessed that she had been an escort; you might have thought she was a model, flight attendant, or a white-collar worker in a company!
But she said, "I am an escort!"
She said, "Actually, being an escort isn't a big deal. As long as you don't steal, rob, or commit arson, you do your thing, and I'll do mine. We won't bother each other!"
However, she was very unlucky. Once, while doing business with a client, she was caught on the spot by the police, and thus ended up here.
Amei was very experienced, her words were sharp, and she wasn't afraid of anyone. It was as if they, these escorts, were saviors of society.
Below is a record of our conversation at that time using a question-and-answer format (we "ask", Amei "answers").
Q: How is the environment here?
A: It's still okay. Although it's not as easy and carefree as when I was working as an escort, the management is very humane. There's not much hitting or yelling; it's mainly about education.
Q: Do you have any beliefs?
A: Beliefs? I'm afraid most people in our country don't have any beliefs anymore. Anyway, I don't have any beliefs. If I did, it would be money. Besides money, what else can I believe in? Should I trust people?
Q: Now we are building a harmonious society. How do you understand harmony?
A: I can't really talk about societal harmony, nor do I fully understand what harmony means. Let's take sexual harmony for example. In our line of work, we can only practice it physically and deceive with sweet voices. Only then will the money in men's pockets naturally fall into my pocket. So, when I have sex with men, I never care about harmony, nor do I need it. Harmony is fake, it's the trickery of righteous gentlemen! Actually, we also make a contribution by having sex with men, which is reducing the number of rapists; and men also make a contribution by having sex with us, which is caring for us disadvantaged groups.
Q: What do you plan to do once you leave here?
A: To be honest, I haven't really planned anything. With the little money I have, what can I do? Starting a company requires more capital, doing business risks being scammed, buying a house would only get me a toilet, and I'm not qualified for a good job. I might as well stick to my old trade, putting people first!
Q: Your thinking hasn't been well educated. Can you go out like this?
A: Pfft, everyone's like this. As long as you don't fight, you can go out when the time comes. Besides, we don't have any special skills. We should take advantage of these few years while we still look good, our eyes can still seduce, our breasts haven't sagged, and our figures haven't changed. We should try to make as much money as possible. But this requires self-initiative and continuous updates to service concepts, mainly focusing on service, because service is key. I'm already in my twenties, and once I start wandering around, I'll be like tofu residue. This is similar to the "59-year-old phenomenon" among officials. Why do so many officials commit crimes at this age? Thinking about myself, I can understand these old men.
Q: After you go out, if you have the conditions for marriage, employment, or going abroad, which one would you choose?
A: Maybe I'll choose all three, or maybe just the latter. However, as I mentioned earlier, I might return to my old trade. Perhaps you think I'll bring disharmony to society again, but what can I do? What else can I do?
Every time I come into contact with these escorts, I gain knowledge, and this time was no exception. Hopefully, next time the leader will arrange for me to visit the Women's Re-education Center again, and then tell everyone a new story.