Peanuts

Sometimes China has an undeserved reputation for bad service.
Sometimes not.

Recently dad went to a bar with a friend and ordered a beer. The waitress showed up with two beers and a small bowl of peanuts. They explained that no, they just wanted one beer, please, watching in surprise as she then took off with not only the second beer, but also the peanuts.

Just when they were about to ask if they please could have the peanuts back, the waitress returned with the tiny bowl and placed it on the table.

Looking at it they realized that she had carefully removed exactly half the amount of peanuts, leaving a total of seven for the two friends to fiest upon.

No freebies for cheapskates, obviously.

Family Planning

China’s one child policy is having a hard time, recieving protests from both the highest and the lowest ends of society. 

The Family Planning Agency (yes, there is one) is getting worried that rich families are ignoring the one child policy and raising families with so many as three kids. The wealthy people can easily afford to pay the horrendous fines that comes with having extra babies, plus they can pay for private schooling, private insurance and generally just buy themselves out of the 25-year old one-kid-and-that’s-it system.

More disturbing is that the New York Times reports serious clashes in Guanxi province last week between locals residents and the police after harsh attempts to enforce the birth control policy. Witnesses have posted stories on the internet of families forced to pay "social child-raising fees", their valuables confiscated if they refused, or pregnant women forced to abortion.

Go forth, but do not multiply…