The Firstborns.docVIP

The Firstborns 　　Life seldom goes as planned ? but for decades， this was not true for staff at State-owned enterprises in China. In 1980， Li， at the age of 18， entered a Beijing-based State-owned optical instrument factory. For 10 years， he worked alongside his parents， married a colleague， and enjoyed free， albeit low quality， housing and health care. “Everyone was poor， but no-one had anything to worry about. I still feel nostalgic for that simple life，” he told NewsChina. 　　This simplicity disappeared along with the planned economy itself. The factory began to falter in the late 1980s， an