positions Rofel I The Traffic in Money Boys 433 him.Ah Zhuang helpfully repeated some of Ah Pei's statements to make sure I understood.But Ah Zhuang also kept inserting his own views,inter- rupting Ah Pei at every turn. We began the conversation in a desultory manner,with my questions about Ah Pei's background.He explained that his parents both had had a hard life when they were young,before the 1949 revolution.His father was from the Northeast and had always had to move around looking for work. But fortunately he had ended up in Beijing,working in a factory under the Central Television Bureau,constructing television reception towers.His mother worked in a radio factory.When his father fell ill with cancer,Ah Pei had taken over his factory position.At the time,of course,job inheri- tance in state-run factories was seen as a privilege.Then Ah Pei's second brother and sister-in-law also came to work there.By the time of our con- versation,Ah Pei had taken what was then the risky step of abandoning his secure position in the factory.Perhaps he had the foresight to realize that factory workers'living conditions were declining under economic reform. Indeed,by the time of our conversation,half the factory had been let go and were on unemployment.Ah Pei had become a taxi driver.He was then in his mid-thirties. Perhaps I was moving too slowly toward the ostensible topic of the eve- ning.Or perhaps he had his own agenda.In any case,Ah Zhuang suddenly interjected with a question that abruptly changed the direction of our con- versation:"What are your feelings when you are with women?"Ah Pei pro- ceeded to tell a story about his factory:"All the women I have encountered have been from our factory."He then described how,at the age of 19,he had his first sexual relationship with an older,married woman,after another woman he was apprenticed to introduced them to each other.She,too,was an apprentice.According to Ah Pei,she had seduced him.Prior to that,he had no interest in sex with women,at least not women his age.They carried on their affair for over a year.The woman's husband never knew;he worked in another factory.The main point that Ah Pei stressed in telling this story was that with an older person,he finally felt secure.Since then,he added, he has always wanted to be with older people. When he first made this assertion,I did not pick up on its larger implica- tion in relation to the issue of money boys.Only later,when Ah Zhuang was Published by Duke University PressRofel ❘ The Traffic in Money Boys 433 him. Ah Zhuang helpfully repeated some of Ah Pei’s statements to make sure I understood. But Ah Zhuang also kept inserting his own views, inter￾rupting Ah Pei at every turn. We began the conversation in a desultory manner, with my questions about Ah Pei’s background. He explained that his parents both had had a hard life when they were young, before the 1949 revolution. His father was from the Northeast and had always had to move around looking for work. But fortunately he had ended up in Beijing, working in a factory under the Central Television Bureau, constructing television reception towers. His mother worked in a radio factory. When his father fell ill with cancer, Ah Pei had taken over his factory position. At the time, of course, job inheri￾tance in state-run factories was seen as a privilege. Then Ah Pei’s second brother and sister-in-law also came to work there. By the time of our con￾versation, Ah Pei had taken what was then the risky step of abandoning his secure position in the factory. Perhaps he had the foresight to realize that factory workers’ living conditions were declining under economic reform. Indeed, by the time of our conversation, half the factory had been let go and were on unemployment. Ah Pei had become a taxi driver. He was then in his mid-thirties. Perhaps I was moving too slowly toward the ostensible topic of the eve￾ning. Or perhaps he had his own agenda. In any case, Ah Zhuang suddenly interjected with a question that abruptly changed the direction of our con￾versation: “What are your feelings when you are with women?” Ah Pei pro￾ceeded to tell a story about his factory: “All the women I have encountered have been from our factory.” He then described how, at the age of 19, he had his first sexual relationship with an older, married woman, after another woman he was apprenticed to introduced them to each other. She, too, was an apprentice. According to Ah Pei, she had seduced him. Prior to that, he had no interest in sex with women, at least not women his age. They carried on their affair for over a year. The woman’s husband never knew; he worked in another factory. The main point that Ah Pei stressed in telling this story was that with an older person, he finally felt secure. Since then, he added, he has always wanted to be with older people. When he first made this assertion, I did not pick up on its larger implica￾tion in relation to the issue of money boys. Only later, when Ah Zhuang was positions Published by Duke University Press