Summary

In Chapter 6, Deming’s mother, Polly, narrates. Polly is living in Fuzhou and is a manager at World Top English, a language school for English learners. Polly has married one of her worst students, a businessman who believes she went to university in the U.S.: “we both fell in love with this version of Polly… the woman who lived near West Lake and who had gone to university, decided to not have children” (114). Polly and her husband, Yong, go to a social dinner. A disagreement breaks out of Sichuanese workers who, one of the guests implies, are ruining the city. She excuses herself to listen to a message on her cell phone. It is from Deming, her son. Panicked, Polly returns to the dining room, where they all toast “To success” (118). Polly reveals that she has never told Yong about her son...