And there was me thinking you a young slip of a lad knowing nowt about China, having spent too much time in the country getting over-involved with unsuspecting brothers of brothers.

This well-written bloke is well-pleased to have landed on his feet in Shanxi after a bad experience with another company (probably didn't have an African accent) Why try and undermine his exuberance?

What did actually happen with that FT's brother-or my brother if you reallly must? Must have been something shocking to drive you into the hands of the Bosh?

Good luck in Shanxi, you won't be short of coal.

Short of coal? I'm sick of the sight of the stuff! So far, after a month of teaching in the province, that's about the only big negative I can come up with. Net to worry, nothing is perfect. The main thing is that I'm back in employment, other things pale into insignificance in comparison.
I seem to recall that you were teaching in a coastal city of Shandong. A better living environment than Shanxi, of that there's no doubt.
I hope you can continue to teach in China in your upandcoming golden years. In spite of what some say about teaching here, I'm sure it's a better deal overall than teaching in most of its Asian neighbours. If I were to try another country for EFLing, I'd go to Thailand or Vietnam, but I'd limit my job search to the public sector.