Bai Zhifang's younger brother still works at the ceramics factory; his two-year-old son has become a left-behind child, living with Bai Zhifang and others back in their hometown.
Bai Zhifang, 39 years old, is a villager from Yangliu Village, Weixin Town, Tongliang County, Chongqing Municipality. He was the first worker at Lihua Ceramic Sanitary Ware Co., Ltd. to be diagnosed with silicosis. On April 13, 2009, after receiving 199,000 yuan in compensation, he returned to his hometown. Now, he has become as thin as his wife, coughing all day. The only work he can do at home is chopping grass for the pigs and cleaning up.
In late September 2010, during a health check-up of more than 2,000 employees at Foshan Lihua Ceramic Sanitary Ware Co., Ltd., over 200 workers were found to have abnormalities in their lungs, and more than ten were subsequently diagnosed with pneumoconiosis. This occupational health incident has drawn attention from the government and all sectors of society. Meanwhile, workers with lung abnormalities are still waiting for re-examinations before the end of the year.
Most of these ceramic workers come from Chongqing, Sichuan, Hunan, Henan, and Guangxi, especially Chongqing. In folk terms, there is even a saying: "Ten thousand Chongqing ceramic workers in Foshan." The brand "Chongqing Tongliang ceramic workers" has been established as a labor brand. Local government departments have preliminarily estimated that thousands of ceramic workers from Tongliang are in Foshan, including more than 200 working at Lihua Ceramics alone.
A large number of ceramic workers from Chongqing have traveled thousands of miles from Bashan-Shudian to Lingnan, carrying the hope of getting rich and escaping poverty. With their hard work and sweat, they have promoted the development and growth of the ceramic industry in Foshan. However, while they have paid with their sweat and youth, they also face the threat of occupational diseases.
The Southdu reporter learned through investigation that before this occupational health incident occurred, dozens of Chongqing ceramic workers at Lihua Ceramics had already been compensated and returned home due to silicosis or lung abnormalities. Recently, the reporter traveled far to Tongliang County, Chongqing, interviewing more than ten sick ceramic workers who had returned home, revealing the daily lives of a group of ceramic workers suffering from silicosis.
The car drove along winding mountain roads for more than an hour from Tongliang County, arriving at Yuanshan Village, Weixin Town. On the undulating hills, some tree branches had turned yellow, and the stubble after the harvest had become dry. After walking through muddy mountain paths around two hills, one could see through the towering bamboo groves a red glazed tile roofed two-story house nestled on the hillside. Compared to other villagers' houses, this building stood out particularly. In a courtyard of more than ten square meters, the sound of a cleaver chopping echoed as sweet potatoes the size of fists were chopped into small pieces. Bai Zhifang was cutting sweet potatoes for the pigs; his wife Li Yuying was busy in the kitchen, and his father stood in the yard lost in thought.
On December 6th, from 9 am to 12 pm, during more than three hours of conversation with Bai Zhifang, it felt like prying open his mouth. The quiet rural courtyard was eerily silent, so silent that there wasn't a single laugh, so silent that it was almost terrifying...
At 39, a "waste of a person"
Bai Zhifang, after being diagnosed with stage one silicosis and classified as a level four disability patient in March 2009, returned home and was regarded by his fellow townsfolk as a "waste of a person."
With a sudden drop in temperature, the local meteorological department issued a forecast predicting that on December 7th, the lowest temperature in Tongliang County, Chongqing, would only be 7℃. It was the lowest temperature since winter began, and people hurried along wrapped tightly in their coats.
"Bai Zhifang, where have you been playing?"
"I've been in town."
Two villagers from Yangliu Village met Bai Zhifang on the field ridge path. The greetings from the fellow villagers couldn't hide the straightforwardness of the Chongqing people, and their voices echoed through the valley. The few words that came out of Bai Zhifang's throat were low and沧桑(cynical).
These greetings no longer carried the envy they once did in Bai Zhifang's eyes. Instead, he even sensed a bit of sympathy from the fellow villagers' greetings.
Bai Zhifang, 39 years old, is a stage one silicosis patient and a level four disability patient, considered by his fellow townsfolk as a "waste of a person." In September 2008, while working at Foshan Lihua Ceramic Sanitary Ware Co., Ltd., he was diagnosed with silicosis. In March 2009, he reached a private settlement with the factory, receiving over 190,000 yuan in compensation before returning home.
Bai Zhifang's home is about 2 kilometers from town. To get to town, one must first walk a section of stone-paved road behind the house, then take the muddy path on the field ridge, climbing up and down slopes. Along the way, he was out of breath, needing to rest by supporting his waist every few hundred meters.
Coughing has accompanied him continuously, but without phlegm, which is the most obvious symptom of silicosis.
Bai Zhifang is 1.76 meters tall and wearing a thin blue coat, looking frail in the cold wind. He said he weighed 130 jin (about 65 kg) before falling ill, and now he weighs exactly 100 jin (about 50 kg), roughly the same as his wife Li Yuying.
On the way, Bai Zhifang remained silent, his gaunt face prominent with sunken eye sockets. His wife Li Yuying said she dared not look directly at her husband because tears would come if she did.
Since returning home from Foshan for over two years, Bai Zhifang has not looked for work again. Every day, he does nothing at home, and villagers say "he just plays around," but outsiders cannot truly understand his pain.
One kilometer away on the slope behind the house lies the family's contracted land, totaling 2 mu (about 0.13 hectares). With his father in the late stages of liver cancer and himself unable to farm, and his wife uninterested in managing it, they have to hire workers during the farming season.
Earning money, earning money...
As their skills became more proficient, their combined salary could reach up to 7,000 yuan per month, similar to other experienced workers. "This salary is incredible. Holding the cash in your hands makes them tremble."
Tongliang County is located in the northwest of Chongqing Municipality, and Weixin Town is the most remote township in the county. Starting in the 1990s, going to Guangdong to work became a temporary trend here. Young villagers left their fields and headed south to Guangdong. In the Yangliu Village of the town, the Bai Zhifang family owned only two mu of land and had no other economic sources, making them one of the poor households in the village.
"Planting crops doesn't make any money. You can only maintain basic daily expenses for the whole year with no surplus," recalled Yang Zhongyun, the secretary of the Yangliu Village branch committee, describing the living conditions of the villagers at the time. Currently, nearly 100 people from Yangliu Village alone work in Foshan as ceramic workers.
Back then, Bai Zhifang's sister-in-law Li Yuying's older brother Li Yuqing had been working in Guangdong for many years, with a monthly income of two or three thousand yuan, envied greatly by Bai Zhifang and his wife. They asked Li Yuqing to keep an eye out in Guangdong and contact them if there was a good opportunity to enter a factory.
In November 1999, Bai Zhifang and his wife finally received a call from Li Yuqing, realizing their wish to work in Guangdong. On the 18th of that month, having never traveled far from home, Bai Zhifang and Li Yuying took a two-hour bus ride to Tongliang, then transferred to a long-distance bus to Chongqing, and that day boarded a train from Chongqing to Guangzhou.
After over 30 hours, they arrived in Foshan. The train station was crowded with people, each carrying big and small packages. Bai Zhifang looked up to see a gray sky, his first impression of Guangdong. "We didn't even have 20 yuan to take a motorcycle taxi from the train station." Upon reaching Lete Town in Shunde District, Li Yuying's brother Li Yuqing paid the 20-yuan fare for them.
They both entered Lihua Ceramic Sanitary Ware Company. On the second day after entering the factory, they started as apprentices in the casting workshop, learning how to make toilets. Lihua Ceramics was well-known in Tongliang, as "Lihua" was synonymous with high wages, and being able to enter Lihua was an honor.
Both Bai Zhifang and Li Yuying dropped out of school before finishing elementary education as migrant workers, but "each of us earned 300 yuan in the first month, and together we saved another 300 yuan after paying for food."
Transitioning from farmers to factory workers gave them their first taste of the joy of receiving a paycheck. Even saving just 300 yuan equaled a year's income in the countryside, leaving them satisfied.
In the second month, the couple started working independently, bearing risks themselves. At Lihua Factory, workers were paid based on piecework. If the products they produced failed inspection, not only would they not receive bonuses, but they would also be fined. "That month, we only received over 100 yuan in wages because many products were不合格(unqualified)."
In the third month, they earned 680 yuan; in the fourth month, their combined salary was 1,100 yuan. "We were very happy and already quite satisfied." In the following days, as long as the molds did not need repair, they worked tirelessly, putting in at least 12 hours a day and rarely taking a day off each month.
Later, as their skills improved, they earned as much as other experienced workers, with a combined monthly salary of up to 7,000 yuan. "This salary is incredible. Holding the cash in your hands makes them tremble." In 2000, official statistics from Tongliang County showed that the average annual income per farmer was 2,442 yuan, and Bai Zhifang's income level had already far exceeded the local urban residents' income.
In 2004, Bai Zhifang spent over 60,000 yuan to build a two-story house in the village, with red glazed tiles, pink-tiled exterior walls, and a cement courtyard of over 10 square meters, making it impressive at the time.
At that point, their only wish was to earn money, earn money. "With money, the family would feel proud when going out, and it could also provide for their son to attend university," said Li Yuying.
Massive nepotism effect
Li Yuying's older brother Li Yuqing was one of the "leaders" in enriching the hometown, bringing 14 relatives into Lihua Factory and introducing no fewer than 30 friends to work there.
The Human Resources and Social Security Bureau of Tongliang County reported that Tongliang was designated by Chongqing as a key labor export base. Ceramic workers were one of the concentrated groups among the county's migrant workers, mainly heading to Foshan, Guangdong.
There was no traditional pottery-making culture in Tongliang, and the only attraction for Tongliang ceramic workers was the higher income. The process of entering this industry was particularly evident through the "nepotism effect" of relatives and friends introducing and bringing each other along.
It was learned that in Weixin Town, Tongliang County, the local government previously established a working leadership group led by top officials responsible for organizing, training, and protecting the labor rights of ceramic workers across the town. Town leaders actively strengthened ties with successful ceramic workers, encouraging them to lead hometown labor forces to work outside, teaching new workers technical skills to increase their income.
Looking back now, the initial leadership group focused solely on "exporting" and did little work in training migrant workers on safety protection awareness.
Li Yuqing, Li Yuying's older brother, was one of the "leaders" in enriching the hometown. Initially, he knew nothing about pottery-making either. He went south in the early 1990s to work on construction sites. In 1994, while working on the Lihua Ceramic Factory construction site, he stayed on after the factory started production, moving from apprentice to worker step by step until becoming the team leader of a workshop.
"At that time, he was earning two or three thousand yuan a month," said his younger sister Li Yuying, envious of her brother, which sparked the idea of going out to work.
In 1999, Li Yuqing brought Bai Zhifang and Li Yuying out; in 2002, Bai Zhifang brought his sister Bai Zhihua and brother-in-law Wang Xianxiong out, followed later by his younger brother Bai Xiaoyang and sister-in-law to Foshan. Li Yuqing not only brought his wife Pan Qixian and nephew Li Hongfei to work but also introduced his older sister Li Yu Hui and brother-in-law Chen Zhiyong and their son Chen Zhuo to work in the factory. He even brought his youngest uncle Li Zequan and aunt Shi Xingju into the factory.
Tallying up these intertwined family relationships shows that apart from Bai Zhifang leaving due to illness and his younger brother and sister-in-law entering other industries, Li Yuqing had a total of 14 relatives enter Lihua Ceramic Factory.
In Li Yuqing's view, the relatives he brought out were not limited to these. Besides relatives, he also introduced some friends to work in the factory, numbering over 30. In fact, in Weixin Town, almost all ceramic workers entered Foshan ceramic enterprises through this method.
In March 2009, local media in Chongqing reported that over 5,000 migrant workers from Tongliang worked in Foshan ceramic enterprises, with more than 1,000 entering Lihua Ceramics. However, according to the latest statistics from the Labor Economy Development Bureau of Tongliang County, there are approximately 200 migrant workers from Tongliang at Lihua Ceramics Factory, mainly from economically disadvantaged Weixin, Gaolou, and Shaoyun Townships, with Weixin Town being the most represented. Several migrant workers from the town held middle- and upper-level positions such as branch factory managers, managers, and supervisors in their workplaces.
Ceramic workers have become the largest group of migrant workers from Weixin Town. Through this method alone, it brings the local farmers a direct income of 50 million yuan annually. "Tongliang ceramic workers" have gradually become a well-known labor brand. Last March, local officials reminded the ceramic workers before sending them to Foshan that they represented the image of Tongliang County, urging them to establish the brand of Tongliang ceramic workers, showcasing the hardworking and law-abiding image of Tongliang people, focusing on training and mentoring new workers to master the skills quickly.
From admiration to fear
As more ceramic workers returned home, people's perception of "silicosis" and being a ceramic worker shifted from initial admiration to later fear.
What is silicosis? Before entering ceramic enterprises, almost all migrant workers from Tongliang did not know.
Bai Zhifang and his wife Li Yuying only thought about the money they could earn from working, which could help them build a good house. As long as they had money, they would look good and have face when returning to their hometown.
On November 26, 2007, Lihua Ceramic Factory conducted physical examinations for its workers, the first time in the factory's 13-year history. The next day, Bai Zhifang was informed that there was a problem with his lungs, but he did not see the examination report and did not know what disease he had. On November 28, the factory allowed Bai Zhifang to return home and rest for three months.
Bai Zhifang said that in the eight years he worked at Lihua Ceramic Factory, almost no one told him to take protective measures. "The dust was so thick that you couldn't see anyone five meters away in a workshop," and under such circumstances, the lack of self-protection awareness among the workers was natural. "The factory only gave us two masks each month, which were so thin they were like paper and useless after two days." It was understood that at the time, Lihua Ceramic Factory provided only medical masks, which did not offer special protection for workers exposed to dust.
At the end of November 2007, Bai Zhifang returned to his hometown of Yangliu Village to rest. The green mountains and clear air of the countryside could not heal his already fibrotic lungs. On September 26, 2008, after returning to Foshan, he was diagnosed with stage one silicosis and rated as "level four disability" by the labor capacity appraisal committee.
He was the first worker at Lihua Ceramic Factory to be diagnosed with silicosis. On April 13, 2009, after negotiations, Lihua Factory paid Bai Zhifang a one-time compensation of 199,000 yuan. This included a one-time disability allowance, a one-time medical allowance for work-related injuries, and subsequent treatment fees. With this compensation, Bai Zhifang returned to his hometown of Tongliang. The agreement also stipulated that after the payment of the compensation, Bai Zhifang would no longer pursue any responsibility from the factory.
By late April 2009, news of Bai Zhifang's return to Tongliang due to an occupational disease spread rapidly throughout the town. Subsequently, as more ceramic workers returned home, people's understanding of "silicosis" and being a ceramic worker changed, shifting from initial admiration to later fear.
In the winter of 201