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Sender: ajun
In 2021, the factory I rented in Shahe was demolished. Through a referral, I moved my woodworking workshop to Yanjiao. The landlord was the former village head. He occupied a piece of public land and built a house on it.
After the machines were sent over, the landlord said there were too many items and that I shouldn’t lose anything. He insisted on finding someone to watch over the place at night. I said it wasn’t necessary; the iron pieces weren’t worth much, and no one would want them. He insisted, saying it had to be done. When I arrived, after seven days, I gave him one or two thousand. After settling in, I treated them to a meal to express my gratitude.
The landlord and the referrer called a few other people. The restaurant owner was a friend of the landlord. After the meal, the bill was 450, but the landlord insisted on giving him 500. I could only give the landlord 500 and couldn’t let him pay. The house’s windows didn’t have security bars, and the landlord suggested adding them to prevent theft, asking me to cover the cost. A person came to measure and quoted 1900, but the landlord said it should be 2000. I said I wouldn’t add them; nothing would be stolen, which made him stomp his feet in anger. After moving in the machines and wood, I locked the door for a year and didn’t go in.
In the second year, I sent a junior craftsman to process small items. At this point, the landlord appeared, saying this wouldn’t work; the inspection team, urban management, fire safety, and safety supervision all needed to be bribed, each person costing 2000, totaling several tens of thousands. I didn’t pay; I had already paid two years’ rent, and it was agreed that I could produce furniture when I moved in. Later, I added another craftsman. The landlord was anxious, saying, “How can you add people? You should have informed me first!”
After three months, the landlord asked for two beds, so I gave him two oak beds. As the New Year approached, he asked me to go to the brigade office, still insisting on money, saying the managers relied on this for their livelihood; the assistant manager earned 2000 a month. I said I would talk when they came. They hadn’t come yet, and I didn’t want to expose myself since they didn’t know I was making furniture. I brought a box of wine for him. The electricity bill wasn’t calculated by usage; it was a flat fee of 2000.
After the Spring Festival, around June, he asked for a writing desk with vertical drawers on both sides and a tabletop in the middle, preferring dark wood over light. The craftsman said he came every day, scolding me for not paying and calling it a small mess. I had worked in Beijing for four years and often encountered inspections that halted work, but they were all official. I had never faced daily demands for money. The electricity cost was 1.5 per kilowatt-hour, calculated by the meter, not arbitrarily demanded. I complained to the referrer, who said this was between us and had nothing to do with him. A writing desk with three vertical drawers on each side in dark wood would cost around ten to twenty thousand.
The constant harassment was too annoying, so I had to move again. Just as I was about to finish moving, the secretary rode up on an electric bike, furious, saying, “You are making furniture right under my nose!” Previously, there were two people: the village head and the secretary. Later, the secretary took on both roles. The former head became the former head, and without an official title, he was very unhappy. Their relationship soured, and it sparked conflict at my place.
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