“After Cowboy Chicken Came to Town”, a short story found in The Bridegroom by Ha Jin, explores the story of an American fast food restaurant in the Chinese town of Muji City. Told from the perspective of Hongwen, an employee at the Cowboy Chicken restaurant, Jin illuminates the clash of cultures that takes place between the American business in China. The clash of collectivist values of Western Culture versus the more individualistic attitudes of American society is evident throughout this story, for example, when the Cowboy Chicken employees come together to discuss when problems arise with their American boss, Mr. Shapiro, and eventually, threatening to go on strike. Hongwen also seems to mistrust foreigners and people that he does not know (“American dogs, foreign lackeys,” etc.), which makes it difficult to build relationships in a business setting with people he works with. Capitalism and American business were also recurring ideas throughout the short story and many of the Cowboy Chicken company policies upset Hongwen and his fellow employees, for example, no employee discount. However, Hongwen also receives some of the benefits of American business, such as higher pay and wages that arrive in a timely manner. It is also revealed that he takes home more money than his father, who tells Hongwen “Hongwen, I’ve joined the Revolution for almost forty years, and I earn only three hundred yuan a month. But you just started working and you draw a larger salary. This makes me feel duped, duped by the Communist Party I’ve served” (Jin 197). Despite higher wages, Hongwen continues to feel frustrated with his job at Cowboy Chicken and something I found interesting when reading this particular section of the story was the fact that although the government does not provide enough food or wages for the Chinese people, Hongwen chooses to be angry at capitalist America instead despite seeing the problems present in his own government. In many ways, this story is a jab at capitalism and American business. For example, when the restaurant attempts to open up a buffet, Hongwen and the other employees are confused as to why Mr. Shapiro did not choose to price it at twenty yuan even. Peter replies that this was “the American way of pricing a product” and “you don’t add the last straw to collapse the camel,” hinting at the idea that American businesses try to trick their customers into paying more. Finally, at the end of the story, Hongwen and the other employees realize that Peter is making much more money than they are, and thus, decide to go on strike. However, they are quickly replaced and the feelings of pride and respect they had for the company are gone, once again displaying the recurring lesson of American capitalism. Overall, I found this to be a very interesting look into the perceptions that other cultures have of Americans and American culture itself, particularly when it comes to American business and capitalism.