Introduction

In August 2015, I was invited to stay in Aunt Lin’s newly purchased summer retreat in central China. As we drove through the impressive gates and past the vast golf course designed exclusively for the residents, she recounted a tale of how she fended off a girl who wanted to marry into their household, but demanded too much financially. After she listed all the things the girl wanted, the summer villa among them, Aunt Lin exclaimed: ‘Who does she think we are? We are but a middle class family, we are not rich’. A thoughtful pause later, she amended: ‘Actually, we are just salaried class. A slightly better off salaried class family than others, but still! We work for our money, and money doesn’t fall out of trees’.