Dagong means "working for the boss", or "selling labour", connoting exchange of labour for wages. Mei means younger sister. The majority of the work-force in China's special economic zones and in other newly industrialized districts are dagongmei, young girls coming mainly from rural areas. In a reverse movement, however, working daughters in urban factories generally returned to the countryside by age early twenties, before it became too late to marry. After working four or five years for twelve hours a day in the factory and forced to live a precarious existence in company dormitories they would be completely worn out. It would then be high time for them to get married serving the chinese patriarchal system.
