Biz Scene: BIZ UNUSUAL

Easy go

Finally, the perfect exit plan - most employees, especially fresh college graduates, are often in a quandary when they plan to switch jobs, as they have to dish out a huge amount for breaking the contract. Liu Haobin, a senior lawyer in Beijing, has now set up a business to help clients quit with ease. In his "perfect quitting plan", Liu will offer legal consultation to employees who want to switch jobs, help them draft resignation letters and negotiate with the employer on behalf of the clients to maximize their benefits.

Matchmaking Co formed

A marriage consulting agency offering cross-boarder matchmaking was recently established in Tianjin. It promises: "You pay 50,000 yuan membership fees, and we make sure that you get married to an overseas man and go aboard." The firm said it only accepts women aged 22 to 65. "Because we have many foreign male members, we can guarantee 100 percent matchmaking success," said a staff member surnamed Li. The agency said it doesn't matter whether the clients could speak English, because they would help translate their love letters. There is no criteria for physical appearance, and the agency assures bride hopefuls that foreign men have a different standard of beauty.

Golden rice

The average market price of a kilogram of rice usually hovers around 3 yuan. However, a pack of 5 kg of rice from Wannian County in East China's Jiangxi Province, a place regarded as the world's rice cradle by archaeologists, was sold for 13,800 yuan in an auction over the weekend. The precious rice in Wannian, planted in spring and harvested in winter, used to be offered to the imperial families of the Ming Dynasty as tribute.

(China Daily 11/22/2007 page15)