7 The Plate Pilgrimage

Agonizing Dilemmas: Problems Emerge

Bao

“I’m sorry baby. I just can’t take this risk. I’ll always love you.” Bao’s eyes stared at the pavement as he searched for a meaningless object to focus his burning embarrassment on, restlessly looking for an outlet to discard the stinging shame his body tingled with. This couldn’t be true. He had tried to avoid the signs for so long. Feigned ignorance even as she continued to broach the subject, challenging him to find another excuse to hide his painful reality. Peng had always been a catch, and he had always been the lucky victor struggling to hold her interest. How could he have possibly thought their fleeting relationship would last in the face of competing suitors teeming with riches[1]? He had always known that he was poor, but when her eyes met his at university and she approached him, striking up soft conversation – he thought that perhaps just maybe –

“Bao? Hello? Can you say something?” Her smooth voice broke off his tangent of self-deprecation, and Bao realized he needed to cover his tracks.

“I totally understand.” His feeble response failed to emit any sort of confidence or assurance, but he couldn’t continue to muster a flimsy self-defense. Instead, his mind frantically searched for solutions. Something, anything to allow him to secure the only prize that could keep her in his life. The lottery wouldn’t work, he had tried it for years as she continued to ask him when he would be able to pick her up for their weekly dates to the cinema. There had to be a way, things couldn’t just end like this…

***

Yan 

Yan nervously glanced at her watch, worried about the revelation it was about to unveil. As she got the courage to pivot her gaze downward she was rewarded with a fresh wave of anxiety. 8:55! She was still two miles out from her desk job and desperately needed to clock in by nine this morning, as she was in danger of being late for the third time in a week – it was only Wednesday! The traffic in front of her barely crawled forward, inching along at a snail’s pace. It would be at least 10 minutes before she arrived. Already dreading the fury her boss was sure to unleash upon her, she drifted into deep introspection. Was this car even worth it? It regularly took her 60 minutes to travel the 15 miles between her apartment and office in the bustling streets of Beijing[2]. Each morning she swore there was plenty of time on the clock to walk into the office early. Yet she continued to find herself on the road agonizing over the car in front of her and its slow crawl forward as the minutes creeped by. To make matters worse her coworker Li, who lived just a block over and took the crowded subway each and every morning, would be typing away at her computer by the time Yan frantically rushed in. She constantly bragged about the money she saved forgoing a car and using public transportation[3]. When she won the license plate lottery, Yan felt overjoyed. Here was one luxury she could relish in, a privilege that meant her time would not be wasted searching for some other method to acquire these sought after plates. Her friends had always paid top dollar[4] for them, over and over again, even after they got busted and their licenses confiscated. She had been saving up for a new apartment, and perhaps the extra cash would finally give her the incentive to move out and get rid of her inconsiderate, dirty flatmate whom she had always resented.

***

Larry

The cars snaked by, a stagnating funeral procession of suited zombies staring straight ahead, aimlessly searching for a non-existent empty freeway which would finally quicken their parade’s pace. Zhou sat slouched over in his patrol car, reading the dashboard for any sign of an inconsistency. Similar to the vehicles he was monitoring, the minutes inched forward until his dashboard lit up red. A gray Toyota Corolla was his newest unsuspecting victim. This car was legal – it did have a license plate. Yet these plates were not authorized to drive during rush hour, and so Zhou prepared to enter the road and issue the fine of 200 renminbi in addition to a driver’s license points deduction[5]. As he prepared to turn his engine on, Zhou paused. While a routine part of his work, he couldn’t help feeling just a little bit of guilt every time he made these stops. The sinking guilt in his stomach didn’t originate from the pity he had for his fellow man however. Zhou himself skirted around the rules he so dutifully implemented. His own car, a shiny Mercedes Benz, was outfitted with illegal plates, the kind which claimed to belong to the military – a direct result of Zhou’s contacts in the People’s Liberation Army[6]. Each time he cracked down on a citizen going about their daily business he was reminded about the constant rumblings of impending punishment on those with illegal government plates like himself. He treasured the ability to simply slide past traffic under the facade of a government vehicle. Word had reached the local police department of changes in Communist Party leadership, and the new bosses were not a fan of corruption. In the face of such uncertainty, his best strategy was to erect a veil of normalcy, so he strolled up to the open window of the Corolla.

“Why are you driving right now? Don’t you know it is illegal to drive during these hours?” he asked the clearly vexed driver.

“I was at the airport waiting for their flight to arrive. The delays postponed their arrival!” protested the man…

***

Larry could not believe he was getting pulled over. After dozens of lottery applications for a license plate he had finally on his 25th attempt, earning a license which granted him the privilege to drive during all hours of the day – besides those deemed rush hours. He had carefully adhered to the regulations, and when his in-laws decided to fly in from Shanghai he gladly fulfilled their request for airport pick-up as it fell outside of the commuter hours. Then, he got a text about a flight delay which began a long chain of events bringing him to this current moment, watching the police officer write him a ticket and deduct precious points from his license[7]. There surely had to be a better way than this. He had heard from some of his friends that if you purchased one of the new electric cars out on the market, then it was possible to obtain a license plate with the transaction[8]. His mind drifted away thinking about the potential possibilities as his father-in-law, Han, verbally scolded him from the backseat…

Rising Hope: Solutions on the Horizon

Larry

It was rapidly approaching closing time, and it could not come any faster for Nie. His day had started off great with a consistent bustle of customers at his dealership like usual. As the owner and operator of the local Hong Guang Mini dealership, Nie had enjoyed several months of steady business. Government initiatives to support green vehicle dealerships such as his own meant he could offer every customer a free license plate with their vehicle purchase, a hotter commodity than the cars themselves. Coupled with a price cheaper than Tesla, his automobiles never went out of style, and Nie was perfectly happy continuing to reap the profits. Such sweet bliss would soon come to fade. Around noon, news got around to the dealership that the free license plate program would soon come to an end[9]. Nie was distraught, unable to figure out what his next move would be. He needed to close up shop to head home and get a good night’s sleep on the matter, but suddenly a middle aged man came bursting through the doors.

“I need one of those electric vehicles. Do you have any?” His eyes frantically surveyed the store, looking for a car to fixate on. “I like this one. Is it electric?” Nie was flustered with this unexpected customer, but decided to entertain his questions.

“Unfortunately this one is not. I think you might be referring to the Hong Guang Mini, our most popular electric vehicle. Is that correct?” he replied calmly, hoping to diffuse the tension.

“Yes! The Mini! Whatever that is. If I buy it now it comes with a license plate, yes?” Nie’s heart sank. He soon knew the news he would have to break to this man and judging by his demeanor it was unlikely it would be received well. Of course this had to happen at closing time! He took a deep breath and gathered his thoughts.

“Sir, I am very sorry to inform you that the government has stopped allocating us license plates for our electric vehicles. If you are still interested, I am happy to discuss payment plans or other -”

“No! This can’t be! This was my only hope! How could you do this to me, you cruel, inconsiderate asshole!” The man exploded in rage, his face reddening and body language turning aggressive. He continued on. “I can’t deal with this anymore! I can’t take it. I am done with the humiliation, the shame and embarrassment, the shit Han will give me when I come home! There has to be a way, my marriage will not end in divorce!” As he spewed his spiteful monologue, Nie soon realized the man would not leave until he knew a way to obtain a license plate. Nie, devoid of  plates, racked his brain for nearby dealerships who had an excess of them. Nothing. All the auto salesmen had been hit hard by the news, and in discussions with his counterparts Nie found they were collectively suffering. What could he tell this desperate stranger to ease his concerns? Referring him to the lottery wouldn’t help in the slightest. All of Beijing applied each cycle, and the results were incredibly discouraging. In the past month, only 25,000 plates were awarded in a city of 21 million[10]. Years had gone by since Nie had a friend win. He usually just sent his friends to his connections at the asset company, where they could purchase – wait. What if he passed along the company’s information to this man? He is a complete stranger; it would be far too risky. Nie had heard of the impending government crackdowns on the license plate trade[11]. What if he was an undercover impersonating a desperate citizen? The last thing the dealership needed right now was a national investigation. Agonizing over his decision, Nie stared into the man’s pleading eyes and recalled a time when he too would have done anything to get a license plate, to drive whenever with the city as his oyster. Only through good fortune and connections had he been able to obtain one himself. He knew the endless embarrassment suffered without a plate. Besides, it was late. Nie needed to go home and sleep after the events of the day.

“I have nothing for you here, but I know a place you can go. What is your name?”

“Larry.” The man abruptly ceased his tirade, listening attentively.

“Listen here Larry. What I am about to tell you is to remain between the both of us, and the both of us only. Is that understood?” Larry gave a brief head nod in agreement. Nie continued. “About 3 kilometers from here is a storefront called Beijing Sunshine Aomei Asset Management Co.[12] Go there and tell them you know Nie, and that you are looking for a license plate. The plate will not be under your name, so you must avoid car accidents to hide this arrangement from the law. Are you prepared to pay?”

“Yes. Anything if I can get a license plate for all hours of the day.”

“Good. They will take care of you, but it is going to cost tens of thousands of yuan. If you have the money, the rest will sort itself out.” Nie quickly glanced towards the window to see if there were any passers-by. “It’s late. You should get going.” Larry turned and headed towards the door. “Oh, and Larry? One last thing. This conversation between you and me…it never happened.”

***

Bao

Bao stared down the computer screen, the blue light illuminating his numb face. It was 3 in the morning and he had spent hours surfing the internet. Tipped off by a friend that there were opportunities to find license plates online, he had been on an incessant tear over the past week. Barely sleeping, eating, or drinking, he passed the hours roaming message boards, social media channels, and any website containing online ads. Still, he had no luck. When he managed to discover an ad for a license plate, he would light up with optimism until seeing a price that was non-existent in his bank account or a car plate for a different province, not permissible in Beijing. Overcome with dejection, he was about to power off his laptop for the night and head to bed when an ad emerged in the upper right corner of his screen. It read: “Men who are interested to transfer the license, contact me. Middlemen don’t bother – Yan Chen[13].” There it was! For so long he had assumed it was merely urban legend, but he finally found a sham marriage opportunity to obtain a plate. His mind began racing, thinking of the joy he would soon experience when he told Peng and won back her love. The excitement was contagious, but first he needed to look and see the payoff the ad demanded. Dragging his mouse across the page and selecting it, he located the price. It was 80,000 yuan[14]! His savings would take years to recover, but there was nothing capable of dampening Bao’s spirits as he finally had a price he could afford. He had found a license at last! All that was left was the paperwork to formally marry, transfer the license, and then quickly obtain a divorce. He eagerly sent the vendor a message, letting her know his willingness to pay top dollar. For the first time in weeks, Bao slept through the night…

Trouble Emerging: Things go South

Bao

“Excuse me. Are you Yan?” Yan quickly turned around to see a man standing behind her.

The wind howled as Yan stood shivering outside the entrance to the Bureau of Civil Affairs. The dreary day and its unforgiving chill made her question the decision to get rid of her permit. The  time was far too late to turn back now, but over the past month her commute to work had been shortening ever so slowly as traffic lightened. She had heard the police were coming down hard on those driving without the right plates (to reduce congestion) – a couple of her friends who illegally purchased theirs had been stopped recently. There was no use thinking about that now, because he was here directly in front of her. She mustered up a reply: “Yes. Are you Bao?”

“I am. I have your cash.” Bao pulled out a thick wad of bills and offered them up, eager to exchange the cash to finally receive his end of the bargain and relieve his suffering.

“Let’s go.”

Ceremony completed and marriage certificate in hand, Bao opened the door but was stopped immediately in his tracks. He couldn’t believe his eyes. Right in front of him stood Peng on the steps outside.

“I see you have moved on rather quickly, huh?” There was no way she was right here, right now. Her eyes drifted to the marriage certificate in his hand. Bao could see the despair stricken across her face as she tried to make sense of the situation she was witnessing. He scrambled to cover his tracks.

“It’s not what it looks like! I can explain! It’s for the license plate! I finally have my own!” Bao stammered, trying to convey the true meaning of the situation. Yan was no help, as she slowly crept away from the conversation without uttering a single word, avoiding the confrontation instead of helping Bao. She fulfilled her end of the bargain and felt by no means obligated to support Bao in another capacity.

Peng interjected Bao’s frantic pleading: “It’s fine. I understand. Life happens.” With that, she was gone, slipping back into the flow of pedestrians seamlessly and out of Bao’s life forever this time. Bao sat on the steps of the bureau, attempting to process the previous few seconds that would come to shape his future. License title in hand, everything he had worked so hard for suddenly felt so meaningless. Now the risks he took to drive meant nothing. He had won, but at what cost?

***

Larry

Larry sat in his car on the way to work, shaking in fear. In front of him was a smashed bumper, the work of his own reckless driving. It was a beautiful Thursday morning. Six months had passed since he found a license plate, setting up an arrangement renting one from its original holder. Avoiding the hassle of legally transferring the document, he simply made his payment and cruised along in peace, waiting until the day came where he won his own plate in the lottery. The events of the past few minutes would ensure that his bliss was soon to grind to an abrupt halt. It was simply a matter of time before the police were called and his entire world would fall apart. Not only would he surely lose his license and face extensive legal punishments, but he was bound to bring down the Asset Management Company (from which he bought the license) with him. The rush hour traffic left him with no option to flee, and the best Larry could do is sit in agonizing silence as he knew he would surely never obtain a license again. The shame he felt months before at that traffic stop was nothing compared to what will happen when he informs his family. Only six months with a plate. Was it all worth it?