Outsiders may consider the company “overly democratic” becauseof things like “playing badminton during office hours”。 WheneverDavid is asked， “How can your people play ball during officehours?” he shrugs and says nothing. He thinks efficiency is moreimportant than form. Actually， he has instituted the standard managementof a Western company — everyone is responsible for their workand must keep a strict and orderly pace. At the same time， he also paysattention to a harmonious atmosphere in the company， trying to makingeveryone work hard and have a good spirit so that the company isvigorous. One young employee told us， “Working here is a delight. That’s why all young workers in the company don’t regard Davidand Yang Zhi as bosses， but as elder brother and sister. They often callthem “Teacher Yang” or “Boss” once in a while as a joke. They cometo the Yang home justas if it is their own andsay “Hello” to YangXianyi as they wouldto their own fathers， andthey ask David’s youngerson about his studiesand hobbies whenthey see him. Thosewith babies often bring142 them to show thefamily， while singlepeople often cometo discuss courtingstrategies. At meals，they sit and eat likefamily members，and seeing somethingthat they canhelp out with in thesmall yard， theyspare no energy to give a hand. Sometimes， a group of people swarmshere， sitting around chatting after eating and drinking. At this moment，David looks much younger. He laughs with them and complains nowand then that， “What you said is nonsense！ With this kind of boss， a group of young people， and a team withsuch cohesiveness， how can SinoFile not be successful?！
In 1996， in order to meet the needs of the growing company， theyset their eyes on an old Anglican church close to the west gate of theXinhua News Agency and decided to renovate it as their office. “It hadnothing except mice，” Yang Zhi says. In 1997， SinoFile got rid of themice and moved into the old church. Now the company has a technicalresearch team composed of a dozen or so people to support it in informationtransformation with new and high technology. Everything ison track with good prospects. “We don’t have many difficulties， so wedare to play ping pong， badminton and so on，” says a vice presidentof the company proudly. We ask David if he approves of his words.
David smiles and shrugs as usual.
They’ve got few competitors at home and none from abroad. BeijingSinoFile Information Service has entered into the most pleasant ofstages： “The shores are broad when the tide is calm. And the wind isblowing in the right direction.” （From a poem， “Moored Under NorthFort Hill”， by Wang Wan， a poet of the Tang Dynasty.）
Natural and Unrestrained in the MoonlightDavid found an end in China. His family and his career are allhere. His lifestyle and mode of thinking are “localized”。 When he firstarrived in China in 1986， China had already opened its door to the outsideworld， but the economy still lagged behind. He also experiencedthe time when goods were in short supply. However， in the past 2years， China has changed dramatically and its GDP has leapt to thirdin the world. But since the Chinese population is so large， its averageGDP is still very low. China is still a developing country， but its potentialis there for all to see. David is full of confidence about China， afeeling that has never changed， even in 1989 and SARS of 2003.
In 1989， when the Canadian Embassy informed David to withdrawfrom China， he said， “Why would I leave? I’m safe here. Thereis no need to worry.” Besides， he hardly regards himself as a real Canadian.
He loves China and looks at everything from “Chinese” perspective.
In recent years he’s been trying to get a Chinese green card.
But it’s so complicated to go through all the procedures. “First， I needto have a certificate issued by the Canadian side to identify me as thiskind of person or not that kind of person， then a marriage certificateissued in Chicago， and at last a certificate issued by the Ministry ofPublic Security to prove that I have no criminal record. Sigh， I am accustomedto the bureaucracies of the world. David’s eldest son is now studying in the United States. He plansto come back to China after making some money after school. Hisyoungest son， Yang Yi’an， has finished junior high school in Chinaand is receiving distance education for senior high school over the Internet.
This is a kind of overseas study at home. In his spare time， this17 -year-old handsome young man loves music. In his room you canfind a drum kit and musical instruments. He often exchanges viewswith his friends on art. Anyway， he has got enough space and democracyat home for him to fully develop his own interests. As many otherchildren with international family backgrounds， he was born to be atranslator. Sometimes， David and Yang Zhi ask him to translate some14thing to earn some pocket money on one side， while getting social experienceon the other. “He does well in translations from Chinese intoEnglish， but not very well from English into Chinese，” says Yang Zhi.
In fact， his authentic Beijing dialect and English， both inherited fromhis family， are excellent.
David looks very content with his sons and with his family ofthree generations living in their small courtyard. We can’t think ofanything with which he is dissatisfied.
David is used to the four seasons of Beijing and likes every oneof them. After the Waking of Insects in the spring， a seasonal pointwhich usually falls on the 5th or 6th of March， he begins to worryabout whether his little creatures in the small yard have come to lifeafter hibernation. After a rain in the summer， he may fold some paperboats and put them on the pond in the rear yard. In an autumn evening，he may sit on the deck enjoying the moon， while every snowfall inwinter is a festival in his courtyard. He is like a child and makes asnowman with his son. David doesn’t like the “concrete forests” of themodern city， “especially the high-rises with balconies all wrapped up.
You can’t keep in touch with nature by living there. What’s the differencebetween living in that kind of building from living in a casket? he says.
What he likes the best is a rainy day. Every time it rains， he likesto open the big umbrella in the small yard， listening to the rhythm ofthe rain. Is this romantic behavior caused by so many memories ofdrought left him while he studied the history of the Middle East in Jordan?
Or has he got the heart of a poet under his scholarly appearance?
The rain in Beijing sometimes lingers on， and sometimes it’s wild， butit’s all aggressive. If you stand longer outside， you’ll get wet for sure.
David doesn’t care at all， for he loves to experience that poetic feel.
How can he get that without getting soaked?
Translated by Li Shujuan