China Syndrome

By Antonio Casale

“Love, in all its arcane meanders and through the lonely and narrow channels of capillaries,arteries, veins,nerves and muscles that lead to the heart, remains the most fascinating emotion of humankind. To raise the human experience to a spiritual realm is a sublime expression of human and spiritual happiness.”

• Language: English
• Publisher: Xlibris US
• Release date: Sep 10, 2019
• ISBN: 9781796058536

Antonio Casale

Antonio Casale was born in Cervinara,Naples. He studied in Florence, Madrid, Mexico and Syracuse University where he taught for 25 years. He is the author of seven novels in three different languages:English, Spanish and Italian. (If there is space) Also, he ran also a radio show for fifteen years and on TV he played the role of an interviewer.

Book preview

China Syndrome

Antonio Casale

Copyright © 2019 by Antonio Casale.

Library of Congress Control Number:    2019913743

ISBN:                  Hardcover                        978-1-7960-5855-0

                            Softcover                          978-1-7960-5854-3

                            eBook                                978-1-7960-5853-6

All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical, including photocopying, recording, or by any information storage and retrieval system, without permission in writing from the copyright owner.

This is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places and incidents either are the product of the author’s imagination or are used fictitiously, and any resemblance to any actual persons, living or dead, events, or locales is entirely coincidental.

Any people depicted in stock imagery provided by Getty Images are models, and such images are being used for illustrative purposes only.

Certain stock imagery © Getty Images.

Rev. date: 09/10/2019

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CONTENTS

Chapter I            The Wedding Ceremony Plans

Chapter II           Iran, Saffron and Love

Chapter III         Don Manuel

Chapter IV         Monique’s Return

Chapter V           Casanova

Chapter VI         The Troubling Correspondence

Chapter VII        Consumerism: Church and State

Chapter VIII      Pre-Marriage Obstacles

Chapter IX         Other Pre- Nuptial Events

Chapter X           The Missed Wedding

Chapter XI         The Reception

Chapter XII        A New Morning

Chapter XIII      Loving Times

Chapter XIV      Confrontation with the Bishop

Chapter XV        The Party’s Toughest Decision

Chapter XVI      The Secret Hideout

Chapter XVII     Monique’s Investigative Role

Chapter XVIII   Monique and the Anonymous Nun

Chapter XIX       Don Manuel and the Bishop

Chapter XX        Monique Interviews the Bishop

Chapter XXI      Monique Meets don Manuel

Chapter XXII     Return to the Past

Chapter XXIII   The New Central Committee President

Chapter XXIV   The Papal Verdict

Chapter XXV     The Flight to Liberty and Happiness

I

dedicate this novel to the rich souls who can aspire and be inspired to attain in liberty that unique physical, mystical and spiritual experience which we call ‘love.’

I also wish to dedicate this book to world peace.

I wish to thank Monica, a native of Jinan, China, who was inspirational, in the initial stage of this novel by elaborating cultural and historical material from her native city. Then, like in a dream, she disappeared from my life.

Chapter I

The Wedding Ceremony Plans

I am not different from you at the end of a hard, working and sultry day, I like to eat and sink on the couch. Underneath, I keep a couple of cold beers, away from my wife’s eyesight. As soon as she leaves for the garage, I grab one, pull the tag and sip it hoping that she does not return ahead of time and snatches it away from me. To prevent the unthinkable, I keep a newspaper at hand to cover it in case of need.

Next step is to grab the remote control to turn on the TV. I keep on switching channels nervously and aimlessly until the eyelashes begin to quiver and, eventually, I take a snooze. Last evening, however, I did not take a typical journey in the world of sleep. Something unusual called my attention. I raised the volume. The news lady announced that they would interrupt the day programs to put on the air a new story by the title of Wedding Ceremony, the Untold Story. I must confess that upon hearing that announcement, I irked my ears and I perked my eyes. She looked very pretty not to deserve all my attention, but she disappeared momentarily from the screen to give space to advertisement. I lay back and watched intensely to the upcoming scene. She reappeared shortly after with a wide smile that showed an impeccable white denture. She looked straight to the audience and stated, And, now, relax and enjoy this story.

An aborted wedding? I said to myself. I am not going to miss it by any means. Now, you, my friend reader, join me in this reading adventure. I guarantee you that there are all the premises for an unforgettable and enjoyable romantic exploration. Just be a bit patient here and there.

Monique Li Juan was waiting for her husband to be in the Cathedral of Jinan on a solar day of June. Everything was ready for the great event, but there was one fundamental card missing to complete the memorable festivity. Dear reader, I beg your indulgence. Be patient and follow me. Soon, you will find out what happened and why.

Jinan is the capital city of Shandong Province. It is also known as The Spring City}. In fact, it has seventy springs. The ancient rural area has become a bustling city of six million people. It enjoys a crucial geographical position. Located between the capital Beijing in the north and Shanghai on the southern east side, in proximity of the Bohai Sea, Jinan feels the chaotic, political and industrial impulses of both giant cities. Today, Jinan is only a pale picture of her past. The picturesque street and alleys are a few of the nostalgic and architectural residues of a glorious past.

Change, like in most of the world, has become a ‘sine qua non’ for existence. Without industrialization and technology local and national economies would suffer tremendously. In some cases, they would collapse and fall into lethargy making it hard for the population to survive. All the credit of the change is attributable to Chairman Dang Xiaoping, a peasant himself, who brought China on the road to urbanization, modernization and technology.

As a result of that crucial decision, China has become in recent years a world leading nation economically, militarily and industrially. Its products are invading every corner of the earth. In the fifties, China was a dormant giant; now, it is a cauldron of energy, vitality and success. Nevertheless, in the process of enormous efforts to raise life standards of its citizens at par with the most prosperous nations of the west, China has left behind something that will never regain again. Yes, it is a prosperous nation where nine out of ten citizens are enjoying the fruits of progress even though with great sweat. Yet, the loss of almost all its identity makes the most romantic people wonder, whether or not, the rapid pace and the cynicism of the changes were all worthwhile.

There is no doubt that the highest price that the major cities have paid is in terms of their characteristics. Even culture, once considered a sacred monument of the past to hold on all costs, has lost much of its charisma. The country is clearly projected into a future of smart intelligence; therefore, it should not be a surprise if many aspects of the culture have already lost their identities.

In contrast, the hatch of modernization has fallen on the smaller cities on a lesser degree. For this reason, they have been able to maintain some of their patrimonial treasures. Here, despite industrialization, culture has preserved somewhat of its ancestral identity.

Subtle differences are also visible on different spheres, may they be climatic, anthropological or linguistic. The north is much drier and colder than the south and the inhabitants are frank, quick tempered and stronger.

The anthropological differences exist also between larger and smaller communities. In small geographical areas, people are more tolerant, simpler and kinder. In larger cities, coexistence is difficult if not existent at all. Everyone’s finality is directed toward a materialized life.

Even on a linguistic perspective, the scenario reverberates the struggle between two epochs. And the Mandarin language is an eloquent manifestation of the effort by the past to pull to maintain the status quo; while the present is projected in a future that tries to identify the whole nation with one single national language. The older folks don’t disdain to hold on a mandarin dialect. The younger generation, instead, speak the standard mandarin, even though, on a local level they mix it with their vernacular, thus making mandarin a hybrid idiom.

In 1986, in China, nine families out of ten lived in poverty. A social welfare system did not and does not exist. Monique’s parents, then, newlyweds, were caught in the vortex of an economic depression. Like any other family, they struggled for survival in a rural area of the south where economic conditions were on the verge of collapse for a few years. Uneducated as they were, they could only perform menial jobs when they were available. On the brink of desperation, the couple, their five children, decided to move to Jinan in 2013 where they began to see the light. They worked seven days a week in restaurants and construction and, in a short while, they moved to the Lexia District.

Monique Li Juan was not one of those gorgeous young ladies portrayed on magazines with a prosperous chest and voluptuous look. She was of medium stature with spongy and prominent lips. The black, coarse textured and shiny hair rested on her shoulders hiding the protruding bones. The eyes, too, were dark and looked like two giant ball. Her body was not exactly slim but did not show any fat either. The skin had the luster of an apple just picked from a tree. In addition to planetary beauty, she possessed a gorgeous personality. Nature blessed her with a captive smile and a charming sweetness that she used at her advantage whenever she conversed with the opposite gender. Hardly any young man could escape the magnetism of her affability. With that sublime personality, she could enter easily into the heart of her suitors.

By the time she graduated from high school, she had reached a high degree of notoriety and admiration in the athletic field among classmates and foes competitors. Her specialty was the one hundred meters dash which she ran with the spectacular time of twelve seconds establishing the national record even on the professional level.

No doubt, her athletic achievements opened her the gates to Shanghai University from where she graduated with ‘summa cum laude’, majoring in computer engineering.

Monique had also a vocation for languages; therefore, she petitioned the government for a study abroad. The petition acceptance brought euphory to Monique. She started to dance and sing in the kitchen until her parents reminded her that it was time to eat. In agreement with the Party, she chose Syracuse University. It was during this period that she got to know a Spanish professor with whom she established amicable and long-lasting relations. Unfortunately, at the end of the second year, her Visa expired and the authorities in Beijing, inexplicably, did not renew it and she was forced to return to her homeland. When future attempts to continue her studies in America failed, she put her heart at rest and her life took another twist.

The Visa denial, at least temporarily, prompted her to seek employment anywhere as long it was very remunerative. By no means, she was in the mood to vegetate at home. Day by day, she kept on checking the computer for job opportunities and spend also some time watching a television channel where they promoted job openings. One day, the regular program was interrupted. In place of it, they showed the execution of a poor farmer who was accused by the red guards for stealing a chicken to feed his starving family. She watched with horror the knot around the rope on Tiananmen Square and vowed that someday she would fight to extirpate that uncivilized, inhuman, primitive and horrendous death sentence. Disgusted, she changed channel and found out that a Chinese company, Mao Zung Zung, had bought stocks in a saffron company in Iran and was launching a highly paid job advertisement. The opportunity was too good to refuse. She applied for a position and shortly after, she got accepted. In a matter of a couple of weeks, she passed the interview and joined the group. A few days passed by and she was already flying to Teheran.

Chapter II

Iran, Saffron and Love

In the region of Kuorassan Ramzan’ of Iran there is the greatest plantation of saffron in the world. Currently, a gram of gold costs around forty dollars on ounce, depending on the market. The saffron value is much superior reaching about sixty- five dollars. It is easy to understand the reason for the high interest on the part of workers to transfer in that area and earn a high wage on a steady basis. Saffron is in high demand especially in China where they use it with rice during the cooking process. The powder is so much valued that in the city of Torbat Heydariych, they have established a saffron bank with special refrigerators and freezers that serve to conserve the the red gold to a high degree of purity and freshness.

Anyone who cultivates saffron can sell it to that specific bank instead of at the market. The vendor receives a credit card whose dollar value corresponds to the value of the saffron and it can use it anywhere just like a check.

On the first day of work, Monique showed up on the field with a large straw hat to protect her head from the scorching sun. The local community debited to constant and fierce solar rays a mini drought of the past months that almost decimated the whole plantation. Most of the efforts, therefore, were being concentrated on restoring vitality to the dirt by the frequent use of artificial water channels. Moved by curiosity, she bent down to peruse a chunk of dirt that showed all the characteristics of a lifeless body.

Due to the uneven terrain, Monique almost lost balance in trying to raise her body to an erect position. Fortunately, a hand protected her from falling. As she turned her head, a handsome young man of approximately thirty-years of age was facing her. They came almost nose to nose. He stared at her and said, Glad to meet you. My name is Zhang wang Min; hén goaxing jíán dao ni. (Pleased to meet you.)

Monique was startled being so physically close to a stranger. For a few moments, she was able to mask a false calm, Wo de mingzi shi moin.

A long pause of uncertainty followed. Neither one said anything. After a few moments, Monique took the initiative, Are you the leader of our group?

He nodded with a faint smile.

Zhang was tall and as straight as a pole without an ounce of fat. The long, black hair fell on his eyes to the point that impaired his vision. He claimed that it was a fad and continued to keep it at that length covering the thick eyelashes that grew uncultivated and wild. Recently, he had a couple of tattoos made on his neck He had the gift of gabbing and with a savory tongue he was able to conquer the heart of many girls. By the time he was twenty- five, he was very popular in most of the bars, dancing halls and parties that earned him the reputation of a playboy. He loved to eat; in fact, he devoured everything that happened to pass by his eyes. In his native land, his social status was at the bottom of the scale, but that did not prevent him from dressing elegantly. Not having money to squander, he roamed the thrifty stores where he purchased with a few dollars old suits that he ironed every week until they shined like a crystal ball. Many times, the girls, themselves, provided him the necessary means of purchasing clothes.

Like Monique, he too was a native of Jinan. Back home, he often ate at a popular Arabic restaurant, El Mubarak, near one of the seventy natural springs that Jinan feels proud of. Among the many types of food, he preferred the Arab cuisine, probably, for the aromatic spices which are an integral part of the Middle East culinary art. In the early twenties, he alternated six months in Iran and six at home, but, wherever he happened to be, he was true to his eating taste.

On the plantation, at the end of the working day, usually, a couple girls would approach Zhang on issues related to the job. Really, it was an excuse to invite him to dance of which he was very fund of during the weekend. Once, during the ritual conversation, a pretty brunette stamped a big kiss on his right cheek. Concerned about his public image, he wiped out quickly the lipstick with the back of his hand and warned her to refrain from making such ostentatious demonstrations of love in the presence of other girls. Monique noticed it and turned her attention elsewhere. By conquering one girl after another, soon, he gained such a popularity as a womanizer that they nicknamed him ‘Casanova, the second.

As a leader, he was impeccable. All workers recognized in him an innate talent in leadership and admired him for the zeal he abundantly demonstrates in the company’s project. He kept with him a whistle that he used to communicate with the employ On the first day, Zhang whistled three time to converge workers around him.

As the whole crew gathered quickly under the portico of the main building, he delivered a brief welcoming message. I wish to welcome each and everyone of you in this unique, world enterprise. Indeed, it is an honor contributing with you to the success of this company. For those of you who are joining me for the first time, my name is Zhang, the leader, this year, and want to let you know that I am here to assist you in any possible way. But I also expect from you full cooperation and the highest sense of responsibility. Needless to say; our stipend is one of the highest in Iran. We are asking that each one of us honors the company’s commitment to generosity with a diligent and efficient participation in this project. Our president looks forward for a substantial production increase this year opening the doors to anticipate higher employment for next season.

At that point, he took a short respite and, then, continued, Secondly, I would like to brief you up on the history and field operation of the saffron. Knowledge is power. It will allow you to pursue higher goals within the company and spur credibility in possible future clients. The throat was getting dry. He grabbed a glass of icy tea and took a few sips. As soon as he was assured of the crew’s undivided attention, he continued, I suppose that if I told you, and I am referring especially to the new ones, that almost the whole world production of saffron occurs right here under your feet, probably, you would not believe it. In fact, we produce here three hundred tons of saffron annually. Its worth is higher than oil.

A man, with European somatic features raised his hand and questioned him, "I thought that saffron was first discovered and used as a dish ingredient by someone who was working in the cathedral of Milan in the fifteen hundred. In fact, in occasion of his wedding, he created a dish of rice on which he added saffron. From then on, it became the regional culinary specialty of that great metropolis.

The leader acknowledged that piece of history and went on explaining, "Yes, I fully agree with you, but the use of saffron dates back to more than three thousand years ago. The Medi, an ancient Iranian population were the first ones to cultivate it. Initially, it was used as a component in glass manufacturing. Later, it was used as an integral ingredient of culinary specialties.

How come the powder is red when the bulb is violet in its exterior form? asked a gray hair man.

Well, the real red color is in the interior of the bulb, Zhang was quick to respond. Remember that we need about fifty workers to grow one gram of this red gold, therefore, it may be a tedious job. I don’t deny it, but it is very remunerative.

When do we have to pick up the bulbs? Asked a younger worker.

Good question, answered Zhang. Everything has to be done in the morning before the sun rises. The heat is the bulb’s main enemy.

How many flowers a day do we have to pick up? asked a Russian woman.

About one-hundred and fifty, responded the leader without losing his composure.

The young man queried again, I heard that saffron has therapeutic qualities.

You bet, my friend. Doctors from all over the world are using it in tests for all kinds of diseases. So, you are working also for a good cause. And now, Let’s begin. Follow me and I will explain to you how to proceed.

As the days went by, Zhang shifted his interest to Monique and asked her to go out with him on a Saturday evening. She replied very coldly, Don’t you think I saw you in the past days flirting with girls and one of them even kissed you?

Yeah, I did not request it.

But you were jubilant, weren’t you?

Oh, babe, I feel comfortable with women. Is here is nothing wrong with it? I love feminine figures. I can’t stop them loving me. It’s their prerogative. I am the victim. He leaned forward until his mouth got close to her ear and whispered into it, Women are the air for my longs, the food for my stomach, the joy for my spirit. In my closet, I keep a few women’s gowns, a pair of shoes and some underwear to remind me of their constant presence in my life.

Is that right? I imagine you even dream of them with open eyes.

Monique, my dear, don’t be so fast in your judgement. He put his fingers through her hair and started to play with it. She pushed them away. If you want to go out with me, you must be loyal. I dislike to death an unfaithful boyfriend.

You can bet, I won’t betray your expectations, honest. He bowed over her neck and kissed her.

Don’t disappoint me,