The following translated article highlights a scam that takes place in many bars and cafes around China. Young girls are recruited by a pimp-like boss to find elderly men on dating sites and chat rooms and lure them into private booths at bars or cafés. Accompanying the men but not selling their bodies, they trick the customer into spending thousands of RMB on overly-priced watered down drinks. Referred to as “酒托女” in Chinese, these girls can make up to 30,000 RMB in a month.

21 year old Feng Ling, who graduated from a university in Zhengzhou in 2010, used to occasionally mix with a group of people called Jiu Tuo Nǚ|酒托女, an association she later came to regret. 

In Zhengzhou, these “Jiu Tuo Nv” are simple called “girls” and as long as they’re young, bosses will like them. The girls’ ages range from 16 to 25; very rarely are they older than 25. Their educational achievements and work ability barely matters; having the looks is the main thing.

The usual story unfolds as following: first they’re hired under the guise of the waiting and bartending industry. During the interview, the boss will say: “Don’t be nervous. Do you understand this industry?” (The person replies that they’ve seen it on TV and on the internet before). “It’s very simple. You just bring a man to this bar and get him to order from the menu and spend money.” He then continues by talking about the do’s and don’ts, like etiquette and commission. After that, he first arranges for some of the older staff to take the new person around for the day, and on the second day their “training” is complete and they’re reading to go “fishing” alone – slowly but surely the girls get the hang of it.

Chatting on QQ to lure in the bait
According to custom, the boss first chooses a bar and café and rents one or two private booths there for a long-term lease for the girls and their “accomplices” to use. If business takes off, then he will gradually rent all the private booths in the venue or even open a new venue himself.

Within these booths, the boss will set up an internal QQ group including the accomplices, the girls, the waiters, security staff etc. These internal QQ groups can’t be revealed to anyone and strangers’ requests to enter the group are systematically denied because all the “gangs” intimate secrets are stored here.

Each person in the group has their own function, working under the command and control of the boss. Working hours are from 4pm to midnight, but if they land a big catch they stay until the early hours.

The “bait” is usually somebody who the accomplice has found on any one of the major marriage-seeking websites or chat rooms. The best ones are those who are a little older. If they’re too young, then they won’t have a solid economic base and might be aggressive – problems could easily arise. If they’re a little older, then they’ll be inclined to like innocent girls for having some fun and they won’t have any qualms about spending a bit of money.

One insider disclosed that Jiankang Road, the bars along Jingsan Road and the area surrounding Manhattan Square in Zhengzhou are all places that these girls like to visit.

Watered down over-priced red wine
According to Feng Ling, the use of “expensive wine” is the dodgiest method used by the boss to earn money. All of the expensive wine ordered by these “girls” has been mixed down with cheap, bad quality alcohol or soft drinks. In the bars, this wine is sold for 300, 400 all the way up to several thousand RMB because the number of customers who actually have an understanding of wine are few and far between.

Usually, the boss buys one or two bottles of real wine from the supermarket and has one empty bottle waiting in reserve. If the customer hasn’t studied the wine list carefully, then the pre-mixed wine is directly brought out. If customers want to see the wine first, then the waitresses will bring out the bottle of real wine and let them take a look at it. When the second bottle is ordered, the waitresses directly bring out the pre-mixed version. The same course of action takes place regardless of the wine price; usually the difference isn’t too big, just some disparity in the alcohol level of the drinks.

The wine is usually bought for 10 or 20 RMB from market and mixed with sprite. Normally, each bottle contains about 25% wine and 75% sprite. That way, customers won’t get drunk – drunken customers easily stir up trouble.

According to sources, customers have previously spent up to 30,000 RMB in one night and the least amount spent has been one or two thousand. According to the girl, when the customer isn’t paying attention, the boss comes along and grabs the wine and pours it into the rubbish bin or into one of the nearby plants. If there’s no other option, then he’ll slug it down himself real quick and spit it out later. This method ensures that the wine is finished quickly and that the customer will want to buy another bottle.

No bringing customers home and no prostitution
All the girls know that they can’t bring customers home or sell their bodies to make money – these are the two major rules in the industry. Their aim is to get a percentage of the profit and the bosses don’t care what methods are used, as long as they manage to bring a man back to the bar to spend money. On average, the girls will only scam a man once and will usually never see him again.

Girls can earn tens of thousands of RMB per month
Inside the Zhengzhou circle, the girls’ remuneration is usually 30% of the amount spent by a customer on any given day. This is another rule. For example, if a man spends 3000 RMB, the girl will get 900 RMB. Some bosses pay according to the girls’ working performance and the number of customers lured in. For example, if a girl brings in 50,000 RMB every month, then she’ll receive 30% of the earnings; whereas if she doesn’t bring in that fixed amount then she’ll only get 25%. Moreover, these girls get paid every five or seven days. According to Feng Ling, everyone is capable of meeting the target and the most a girl makes per month is 30,000 RMB, while the least she makes is several thousand. The bosses never worry about whether they’ll earn money; their main worry is that the girls will run off. For this reason, wages are paid every few days.

How to avoid getting scammed
But what should members of the public do when they come across one of these “girls”? According to Feng Ling, who has completely turned her back on the industry, as long as you do the following three things then you’re guaranteed to not get scammed:

1) Don’t meet up with girls you met while chatting online if you haven’t known them for long.
2) Don’t go if the girl wants you to go a specific venue.
3) If you feel like the price is too high or that you’ve been duped, then you have the right to leave or to call the police. 

Ling Feng also stated that bars won’t force the men to foot the bill. Bosses would prefer it if the girls pay up, rather than having the cops called. However, another really important aspect is that men shouldn’t be too keen on keeping up appearances when meeting an unfamiliar girl; vigilance is vital when being lured into the trap.
 

Source: ifeng.com

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