Jump into the Commercial Water
"To get rich is glorious." -- Deng Xiaoping
Before the economic reform and opening up, China was under a planned economy stystem. People felt embarrassed to talk about money or how to get rich. But here came a new era. In 1980s, leader Deng Xiaoping called on the intellectuals across the country down to south (mainly to special ecomony zones that along the south coast of China) and plunge into the commerical water. And tens of thoudsands of intellectuals left their stable jobs in the northern China and pursue their dreams and wealth along the south-east coast.
Amy Zhao, a graduate student from the University of Florida tells the story of how her family moved to Shenzhen in the 1990.
Her father was an assistant professor in the Yan'an University with monthly salary 100 Yuan (USD 15) before he came to Shenzhen in 1990. Once settled down, her father earned monthly 1000 Yuan (USD 150) in teaching physics in a Shenzhen high school. With some investments in stock market and stable but high monthly salary, her family is now able to afford Amy to pursue her dream across the ocean.