Around 2012, my mother opened a framing shop in an antique market, operating as an individual business with a business license. The industrial and commercial, fire, and market personnel often wanted free framing services. At first, my mother was not willing, as these people could easily use their connections to the market management to impose charges on us for sanitation, electricity, and water. Later, she learned to be smart. If these officials wanted free framing, she would provide it, allowing them to choose any calligraphy or painting in the shop. Framing was already a small business with fierce competition. Some established shops were not to be messed with by these officials, so they particularly liked to bully those with no strong foundation. They would frequently have their calligraphy and paintings framed for free, whether they were friends today or relatives tomorrow. After three years of hard work, my mother realized that she was earning less money than if she had worked for someone else.
In 2015, a friend and I rented a commercial space on the second floor of a residential area to open an art studio. My friend held a 70% stake, so we used his identity to register the business license. Since the studio opened, the fire department and urban management would often come to make things difficult for us. When arranging the fire extinguishers, even the direction of the nozzles would be scrutinized. Later, we were informed by the fire department to spend thirty thousand on a set of surveillance cameras from a company they recommended, so they could approve it. My friend negotiated the price down to fourteen thousand and bought the surveillance system. We even gave the person a pack of cigarettes to get the fire department off our backs. The surveillance system for fourteen thousand was just a low-end computer with two cameras, not even reaching 1080p resolution. Then there were the street office officials, the most annoying of all. They had no enforcement power, but their connections in various departments could make it impossible for us to open our doors with just a word. They would send their kids to our studio to learn for free, and occasionally we had to treat them to a meal. Their behavior was disgusting. After two years of mental stress, we decided to cancel the business license and rent a house in the residential area to run classes. This way, we avoided all these troubles, but we lost the advantage of being on the main street, resulting in a significant drop in student enrollment.
In 2019, my parents planned to open a cooked food store in the market. All the procedures were completed, and the storefront was rented. The head of our street came to ask us to buy his wife's recipe for cooking seasoning, and in the future, all seasonings had to be purchased from her. He also hinted that he must be given a share in the business, and the amount would be decided by us. The recipe cost fifty thousand, and my parents thought about delaying the matter. However, the man came back and said that the store would not open without buying the recipe. Within a couple of days, the landlord informed my parents that the storefront would not be rented to them. As a result, the cooked food store closed within two weeks of opening.
I have a relative who is a white glove for a department in the provincial government. Only he can obtain approval for a certain type of project, and everyone else has to step aside. Although he is in the limelight, he only gets a small share while others enjoy the benefits. He makes around ten million in net profit every year. Then he left, opened a milk powder store and a tea shop. These two shops were doing fine, handling everything from foreign exchange to fire safety, industrial and commercial affairs, and taxes. He invested five million to open a budget hotel in a satellite city nearby. The renovation cost over three million, and the remaining two hundred thousand were used to purchase essential equipment like TV beds. He also made various connections. However, after the opening, the place was constantly inspected by different groups. Within six months of operation, the hotel was only open for less than a month in total. Eventually, someone approached him to sell the hotel. He was worn out by the situation and sold the budget hotel for eight hundred thousand to a local person, who continued the business without changing the sign and became very successful.
In China, anyone who has done some small business and interacted with these officials has faced challenges and become what the government calls "pink mouths."