A Certain Smile by Judith Michael

Author:Judith Michael [Michael, Judith]
Language: eng
Format: mobi, epub
Tags: East and West, Women fashion designers, Americans
Publisher: New York : Crown Publishers
Published: 1999-09-27T04:00:00+00:00

"You mean he's a director of American companies?"

"No, Chinese companies. Americans have nothing to do with it."

"But those are American products."

"In China, they are Chinese products. Why not? The Americans make huge profits from them; it does not hurt them if our people make money from them, too. Even if the Americans complain, the companies are quite safe because they are owned by the sons of high government officials and military officers. And the products are popular, so everyone is happy."

Li pictured Miranda trying to digest all this.

"And Zemin's other company manufactures TV satellite dishes. The factory is owned by men he knew when he was in the army, and they made him a director because he is shrewd in business. He gets a nice conrniission on each one he sells, and they sell excellently."

"You can have satellite dishes? And watch anything you want on television?"

"Why not? Oh, you think it is against the law. Well, officially it is, but since the mihtary own the factories everyone looks the other way."

"It seems very strange. Your government violating its own beliefs..."

"It is money," Shuiying said, as if that explained everything, and perhaps, Li thought, it did.

Li and Ming returned to the reception room, and when Shuiying spoke to Ming in Chinese, the little girl ran off. "She will wash for dinner, and I must do some work in the kitchen. Forgive me, but I have no cook, you see. Soon I will, when Zemin becomes a partner in the satellite dish company."

"I'd like to help," said Miranda.

"Oh, no, a guest does not help. I will call you when I am ready."

"Please. In America we help each other. And I'd like to watch you make dinner; I could learn so much."

"Ah." Again Shuiying bowed her head in pleasure. "Well, then ..."

Li watched them go through the dining room and into the kitchen, his gaze lingering on Miranda's fair hair. His love for her was so powerful at that moment that he thought he could not contain it, could not even fully understand it. Every part of my life is hers, he thought; she settles into it as if she belongs here. She does belong here. With me, wherever I am. And what am I going to do about that?

Are you going to America?

He could almost hear Sheng's voice blurt out the question in his office.

ARE YOU GOING TO AMERICA ?

It was, after all, not an impossibility. All over the world, people moved from country to country, for one reason or another. Love was as good as any. Better than most.

"Laoyeh!" Ming peered around the comer of the doorway.

Li knelt, and she ran into his arms. "Aren't you supposed to be washing your hands?"

"They're very clean. I can't get them any cleaner. Will you read to me after dinner?"

"Yes."

"Oh, you are so good. And play a game, too?"

"We'll decide that when we see how late it is."

"You have to do twice as many things with me when you don't come so often."

"I'll do three times as many if it's not too late.

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