“An Entrepreneur’s Story” follows the life of Liu Feng, who starts the story as a bricklayer. Wanting to pursue a higher income, Liu Feng decides to buy cigarettes in the South and then sell them in his neighborhood for a higher profit, an activity that is illegal at the time. He is caught by authorities and punished for his actions, and is now viewed as a criminal. He returns to working construction, taking home only 1.5 yuan per day. He pursues a matchmaker and proposes to a young lady by the name of Manshan. Her mother, Mrs. Pan, is disgusted by Liu Feng and states, “He isn’t worthy. He’s the rooster that dreams of nesting with a swan” (118).
Liu Feng continues to pursue Manshan but without success. It is no longer illegal to run a private business or sell merchandise for a profit, so Liu Feng quits construction for a new career. He runs South, purchases four large suitcases worth of clothing, and sells it for double, making a significant profit. Every two to three weeks he is making a profit of at least 900 yuan. Suddenly, he is making so much money that he doesn’t know what to do with it.
Now that Liu Feng has money, people start to treat him differently. People see him carrying something heavy and offer their help and many mothers ask if he is a fiancé yet. Mrs. Pan even comes around and begs Liu Feng to marry her daughter, claiming that she knew all along that he was a great man. On their first date, Liu Feng feels disappointed because it had been too easy compared to before. He doesn’t feel that Manshan makes him feel humble and unworthy any longer. In the end, Liu Feng marries Manshan and her parents move in with them, but he is unable to give Manshan a baby, even though that is what he wants more than anything.
To me, this is a story that teaches the lessons that one must be cautious when they have money and that money can’t always buy ultimate happiness. It is true that people, even the people that are closest to someone, start acting differently when they have significant wealth. Liu Feng used to be viewed as a criminal and a homeless dog, but as soon as he gained wealth, he became famous in his neighborhood and people became attracted to him. Liu Feng even had to worry about the government coming after his money, something that really amazed me because I had never heard of such a thing. Liu Feng was worried that the state would come and take his savings whenever they wanted and distribute the wealth to the poor. I learned that this does happen in communist states, where the government will take from the wealth of capitalists and landowners and redistribute amongst the less fortunate. The United States has different tax brackets so that individuals with a higher income are taxed more than others, but we are fortunate enough that we don’t have to worry about the government coming and pulling money out of our savings. The more money he made, the more cautious Liu Feng needed to become. I also find it interesting that the Chinese community worshipped when a Chinese man adopted the capitalist ways and became wealthy, but in “After Cowboy Chicken Came to Town,” the Chinese community (particularly the employees) despised of the American capitalist.