Of boys and girls and marriage stakes

My nanny has a strapping son of 26. Both of them are migrant workers in Beijing, having traveled far from their home village in Henan province near the ancient town of Luoyang.

While his mother works with our family, the boy is settling down to a succession of menial jobs, ranging from working in a carwash to odd jobs at construction sites.

In the past two years, Ayi has been getting increasingly concerned about her son's future.