Time: 11:48AM October 6th, 2012
Place: Sand Net Hutong

Character: Auntie Song, 56, Cleaner at local business

“Come over to my place for lunch. I’m making Shandong wraps!” Auntie Song insists after we run into her at the produce marketwhile giving Big Sister Bian the photo of her and the armchair.

The first time we met Auntie Song was on Sand Net Hutong.She was sitting on a sofa enjoying the autumn sun and chatting with an olderwoman wearing the bright orange sanitation outfit and a mother holding asquirming boy. A blue cart filled just bought meat and vegetables was parkedbeside Auntie Song. The sofa on which she was sitting on carried a dignifiedair with its dark red velvet and golden floral pattern. The beaded pearlpattern sewn framing the bust of Auntie Song’s black sweater was the perfectmatch for the sofa’s regalness.

Auntie Song is originally from Shandong Province, but todaymost of her family is in Beijing. She works at a company in the hutong as acustodian and her husband is a doorman for the same company. He eldest sonworks on Inner Andingmen Avenue at the cake bakery while her second son worksat a small grocery store on Fangjia Hutong. She also has asix-and-a-half-year-old grandson who is in first grade. Auntie Song is verysatisfied with her present life, “I don’t have any burdens”…”The kids don’t need my money anymore.”

Auntie Song inquires if we’re married or not, if our companyprovides lunch, and how much our rent is. She lives in a courtyard at thecorner of Sand Net Hutong and Paper Money Hutong. He younger son lives in thecourtyard too in the room next to hers. “This room is 800RMB amonths,” Auntie Song explains as she shows us her room that could probablyfit 3 or 4 people standing up. The room also has a bunk bed. The double-sizedtop bunk is covered in odds and ends, and queen-sized the bottom bunk isdressed with bedding. The table beside the bed has a computer monitor.”This was originally a computer, but my dad converted it into a TV!”Auntie Song’s 6 1/2 year old grandson as he proudly explains to us, “We’vealso got an iPad!”

On the other side of the small room next to the entry is asmall table where Auntie Song uses an electric burner to deep fry meatballs.She uses “peanut oil extracted from the peanuts that her family grew backhome.” Although her family is away from home, Auntie Song still has a 7-8mu of land where they grow peanuts and “rent the land to others andcollect rent every New Year.” The tofu and minced pork have been rolledinto meatballs and after sizzling in oil give off a delicious aroma. AuntieSong takes out a thick stack of wraps that she brought back from Shandong. Sheteaches us how the dish is eaten by crushing the meatballs into a half-foldedwrap and chomping down on it. Xiaohei (our research dog) hungrily circles ourtable and Auntie Song gives in and throws Xiao Hei several meatballs throughoutthe meal.

When we’re about to leave, Auntie Song packs us a full backof mooncakes. Her son who works at the cake bakery always receives five largeboxes of mooncakes on the Mid-autumn Festival. On that day, Auntie Song walkedaround the hutong handing out mooncakes to “anyone and everyone”wishing them a Happy Mid-Autumn Festival.

“I never had need for money. I get what I want,”Auntie Song says, “The more generous you are the more you get.”