Unlike the previous sections of this project, this last one analyzing the social impacts of gold farming and its new labor class will be told through empirical evidence, namely, a personal story.

In the summer of 2013, I spent 10 intensive weeks at Dandelion Middle School, a migrant middle school located in the outermost ring of Beijing, approximately 1.5 hours away from the heart of Beijing via public transportation. As part of a social immersion program called DukeEngage, I along with 8 other Duke students taught English to first-year (7th grade) middle school students for 8 weeks. After 8 weeks, the students were released for summer vacation. However, Dandelion offers a mandatory summer camp program for incoming 7th graders and optional extracurricular summer camp programs such as dance, science, etc. for rising 8th and 9th graders. For two weeks, we--the DukeEngagers--led the entire summer camp program.

The students in 7th grade were divided into 6 classes, uninterestingly numbered Classes 1-6. The classes were divided based on English and math abilities; Classes 1 & 2 had the weakest performing students while Classes 5 & 6 had the strongest. I was assigned to teach Class 1 with Carol, who an international Chinese student from Hebei. 

Unsurprisingly, some of the poorest performing students were also some of the rowdiest children. In particular, I had a group of three students--Wang Biao, Zhang Yi Ao, and Yuan Bing, whom I've grown to affectionally refer to as "The RowdyRuff Boys" (yes, like the Powerpuff Girls characters), that caused all sorts of trouble in my classes. Dandelion, which also serves as a weekday boarding school, requires that students be in bed by 9:30 PM. The main gates to the school's front entrance are locked by then and only teachers have access to the back door, which is also locked. 

On one particular evening after coming back from the public showers, I ran into Wang Biao outside of the school at 11:30 PM. I ended up buying him some Chinese street food just outside of the school as we had a long, bonding moment discussing his family and his poor performance in school.

Wang Biao didn't try in school because he knew there was no point. His parents would have to withdraw him from the Beijing school system eventually. Even if did miraculously do well on his high school entry exams, it would still be near impossible for him to attend high school while his parents remained in Beijing. Beijing has some of the most competitive high schools, and most of them are unwelcoming to migrants that may be stealing the "rightful" seats of Beijing Hukou holders. On top of that, this was all contingent on the fact that his parents would be able to make enough of a living for them to remain in Beijing instead of returning home to the countryside. Wang Biao's situation certainly wasn't uncommon. Another DukeEngager, Richard's, student in Class 2 was abruptly withdrawn from Dandelion close to the end of the school year. He and his older sister in the 8th grade were both returning home to the countryside. While many of these students are still in their pre-pubescent years, they understand what sort of future and fate befalls them due to their status as migrants. 

However, what intrigued me the most was Wang Biao's reason for being off campus grounds so late at night.

Wang Biao explained to me that there was an Internet Bar (网吧 or "Wǎngbā") not too far from campus. Since he was a child, he enjoyed playing video games. His favorite game was 宠物小精灵 ("Chǒngwù xiǎo jīnglíng"), or Pokemon. Earlier that year, he had discovered a way to monetize his game playing skills. I'm not clear whether or not he was part of a formal gold farm, but he essentially collected items and helped other players level up their accounts in exchange for real money.

Wang Biao wasn't the only one. He explained that plenty of the students who enjoyed gaming did this. They were able to make some extra cash while doing something they enjoyed. In fact, for one student, gold farming was the reason why he was able to stay at Dandelion and finish the school year. His parents could no longer afford to send him to Dandelion, and while the school has many sponsorships and offers scholarships/reduced education, some students are still unable to attend. The student, who was originally also working two restaurant jobs, quit his jobs and turned to gold farming. In a few short months, he was able to make twice the amount he did working two jobs and help his parents pay for the missing portions of his tuition. While this is certainly not orthodox in terms of starting a professional career, these students took advantage of his abilities and interests. For example, whereas beautiful or attractive people use their looks to find work, gamers turn to the virtual world to exploit their talents. 

The Rowdyruff Boys all engaged in gold farming to an extent--some more intensely than others. Close to the end of the year, Yuan Bing gave up any hopes he had for attending high school. He had a younger brother about to enter Dandelion the following year, meaning more expenses for the family. In order to help alleviate some of the financial burden and give his brother the opportunity for academic success, Yuan Bing took it upon himself as the oldest to dedicate most of his waking hours to gold farming. He not only snuck off to the Internet bar with Wang Biao, but he played games on his cell phone during class. In fact, he was able to afford a secondhand smart phone with the money he made from gold farming in order to expand his job/business. 

Wang Biao and Yuan Bing are relatively younger participants in the gold farming industry, but even so, gold farming is shifting the labor paradigm. Work is no longer confined to physically laborious positions for migrant workers, and a small population may even have hopes of being able to make a more decent living than in the past.

While the Internet has produced quite a few interesting and strange new job descriptions over the years, it is hard to think of any more surreal than that of the Chinese gold farmer. The wages, the margins, the worker housing, the long shifts and endless workweeks seem to parallel any other meaningless job in China; however, many youth migrant workers from rural farmlands opt for work in the virtual gaming world rather than engage in an equally boring position such as manufacturing or production in the real world. In fact, as the playbourer population grows, the more the industry has seemed to improve towards the direction of service labor. One of the primary reasons for this shift in the labor dynamics is the idea of work through play—a hazy line in the virtual labor market. As one gold farmer put it, “I loved to play because when I was playing, I was learning” (Dibbell). But was he learning to play or was he really learning to work? His response? Both. Ultimately, with the allure of the virtual world, a new labor market is created—one that exists in virtual world while simultaneously producing consequences in the physical world.