Take It Or Leave It

Shine City opened a few years back as the latest, bigger-than-though, neighborhood mega-mall.  There are many, many stores and restaurants.  They are always changing.  And they are never of any interest.  I wind up seeing movies there, every once and a while.  There is, of course, a massive Cineplex that will have whatever’s made it past the censors from Hollywood.  It’s just a bit too far to walk to.  Parking’s a drag.  I bought a Christmas present of some turquoise cooking pots there for my wife one year ago that I do enjoy. 

Tonight the older one said: “Let’s have Thai.”  “OK.  Where?”  “There’s a new place at Shine City.”  Oddly she managed to convince my wife, who usually turns her nose up at Thai food.  We took a Di Di over and avoided the parking challenge and paraded up into the place and took ourselves a table.   The menu looked delicious and we were just about ready to order when it occurred to me to ask the essential question: “Do you take foreign credit cards?”  The young lady went off to ask someone behind the counter who shook his head.  “No.  We don’t.  We take Wechat Pay, and Ali Pay.” 

I have Wechat pay.  I have about three thousand RMB in my wechat pay.  But I can’t use it.  They have imposed a limit on how much you can transfer within a year.  So unless you link it to another Chinese bank you can’t use it.  It is a marvelous system for everyone that has a local bank and a notable impediment for those that don’t.  

Well then.  You guys order and I’ll go get find an ATM.  It’s an enormous mall, as I’ve mentioned.  If we were in the U.S. a mall would likely have more than a few ATMs.  The little mall map would likely tell you where they all were.  But the little mall map here shows nothing.  And the folks at “information” don’t know.  And the guard who’s standing around has no idea.  So I think back to the last time I was in this position here and try to remember where that street is that heads off out from mall-land.  Somewhere along that road is bank. 

Fifteen minutes later, everyone is halfway through their meal when I return with a pocket full of cash.  China is evolving.  And the evolution is creating a world of convenience and surveillance for Chinese people and take it or leave it sentiment for everyone else, much like my homeland has always been for the rest of the world.

Sunday 9/23/18