Must wash seven times

In class, the professor was teaching the chapter on WTO clauses; everyone was sleepy. To wake the room, he used his usual method and told a story:

A Chinese international student working in Japan washed dishes at a Japanese restaurant after class, like many other international students, to pay tuition. In Japanese restaurants there was an unwritten rule: every dish had to be washed seven times. Since dishwashing was paid by the piece, this student made little money after a full day of work. So he thought to himself, and after that started washing two fewer times. Naturally, his efficiency improved a lot, and the owner therefore trusted him more, so his wages quickly rose.

A hard-working Japanese student asked him for tips. He didn’t hide anything and said, “What’s the difference between washing a dish seven times and five times? It’s just two less.” The Japanese student nodded weakly, as if slightly ashamed.

The Japanese view people through two prior assumptions: first, you are innocent; second, you are honest. So the restaurant owner only sampled dish-cleanliness occasionally. In one inspection, he tested with reagent paper and found the dish wasn’t clean enough, and when he confronted this student, he replied confidently: “Isn’t seven washes and five washes equally clean?” The owner said quietly: “You are an unhonest person. Please leave.”

That student walked onto the street, angry and full of outrage, and raised his fist shouting at the Japanese restaurant: “Down with Japanese imperialism!”

A slogan is just a slogan. Needing a living, he applied for dishwashing again at another restaurant in the same community. The owner inspected him for a while and then said, “You’re the Chinese student who only washes dishes five times, right? Sorry, we don’t need you.” The second place, the third place—he kept hitting walls. Worse, his landlord soon asked him to leave, because his reputation affected other residents’ work (most of them were also students). His school also called him separately, hoping he would transfer, because he affected student enrollment. With nowhere else to go, he packed up and moved to another city to start over.

With regret, he warned other Chinese students preparing to study in Japan: “If you wash dishes in Japan, make sure you wash seven times!”

“This is the WTO rule!” the professor barked in a loud voice. We all shivered—and stayed fully awake.