Chang Fulin

**張福臨 (Zhāng Fúlín) "Chang"**  is a character in The Smoke Room. He is a former miner who currently works as a translator and interpreter for some of the Huaxia immigrant population in Echo.

## Appearance

Chang is a dark-furred sable marten of average height and build, with brown eyes. He wears a gray tangzhuang jacket and black pants and often holds a long opium pipe. He is missing the middle, ring, and pinkie fingers of his right hand down to the third knuckle.

## Personality

Chang is serious and meditative, though he seems to have a bit of a wry sense of humor. He tends to get straight to the point in his interactions and is not overly conversational, though he is attentive and determined in his work. Chang seems inclined to cover up aspects of his life he is embarrassed by or does not wish to talk about, which can lead him to take serious strides to preserve himself. He also carries somewhat of a bitter, vengeful streak and can be motivated by revenge and the possible personal satisfaction it carries for him.

## Story

### Before The Smoke Room

Chang is from Huaxia. He was formerly a miner for the CSCG mining operation, and has been in Echo longer than either of his colleagues Nik and Yao. Three years prior to the start of the story, Chang lost his job after his right hand was caught in machinery and he lost several fingers. Chang eventually developed an opium addiction as a way to manage the pain from his injury.

He currently makes money picking up trash, and occasionally acts as an interpreter for immigrants from Huaxia who share a language with him. Despite no longer working at the mine, Chang continues to play an active role in the miner's union, particularly when it comes to spreading the word of affairs to miners who do not speak English. He also seems to sell opium to various customers, though whether he is the source of this trade or simply an intermediary is unknown.

### Nik's Route

On the day after the miner's riot, Sam is on his way to the mine when he realizes William is trailing him. After stumbling into a small shack to take cover from the sheriff's pursuit, Sam quickly realizes he has accidentally found his way into an opium den, where he meets Chang. Chang allows him to stay for a moment and reveals a bit about his past before offering Sam some opium to "make the pain and sadness go away," but Sam turns him down and exits.

The following night Sam crosses paths with Chang once again, when he visits The Stag in order to be introduced to the rest of Nik and Yao's fellow union members. Out of fear that Sam has witnessed his addiction and opium dealings and could expose him, Chang takes Sam aside to reveal that he has discovered his illicit work as a gay prostitute. The two come to a tense agreement to keep each other's secrets before returning to the rest of the group. Over the course of the ensuing conversation Chang discusses the assistance he provides to the union and his work as a translator, then departs from the bar when a fight between Paul and Ben breaks out.

The following evening, after working his first day in the mines, Sam is sent by Yao to ask Chang for help ensuring that he, Nik, and Yao can somehow guarantee being placed on the same shift, so that they can protect one another while on the job. Yao also gives Sam a note for Chang, written in Huaxian. Though initially reluctant to offer a free service, Chang reconsiders when he reads Yao's note and realizes that helping Sam may allow him to obtain some kind of 'vengeance' against Foreman Beckett. While musing over whether what he is doing will actually ‘take some of the pain away,' Chang points Sam toward Porter Moore, who can be found in the city hall's library late at night, and tells Sam that he can gain an audience with Porter by delivering a fabricated apology message from Beckett, his estranged brother.

After Dimitri is injured the next day under suspicious circumstances, Sam accompanies Nik and Yao to speak with Chang and Paul in Chang's tent about the union's next course of action. Though Chang does not object to Sam's presence, he notes that Sam has been hanging around Nik and Yao frequently, and has a brief argument with Yao in Huaxian. Chang then confirms that the miners will go on strike the following day, and suggests the further possibility of putting "fear" into the mine bosses by burning down a ranch owned by CSCG co-owner Briggs just outside of town. After Nik's plea to avoid escalation causes Paul to leave in a huff, Chang shakily begins smoking his pipe, and deflects Yao's consternation by insisting that it eases his pain. Sam is asked to leave so Nik can have a private word with Chang and Yao, and outside the shack he encounters Murdoch, who has come to buy opium from Chang. Nik eventually emerges and relays that Yao will be staying the night at Chang's residence.

The next day, after the strike, Nik and Sam bring a delirious Murdoch into The Stag to recover and encounter Chang there. Murdoch says he knows Chang upon seeing him, likely due to their previous dealings over opium. Possibly to stop Murdoch from revealing these specifics, Chang is quick to clarify that their connection is only 'professional,' although he and Yao then exchange a few terse whispered words, and Chang is later described as doing his best to avoid Yao's stern stare.

When Murdoch mentions offhand that he saw something inexplicable down in the mines, Chang urges him to continue, which Sam remarks is a rare instance of Chang speaking up. This leads the assembled miners to each begin sharing their own tales of strange phenomena they've encountered while working. When it comes to Chang's turn, Paul tries to get him to recount a story he has evidently shared with the miners before, but he sharply and bitterly refuses and Yao says he does not have to share if he does not want to.

Later, despite his apparent bashfulness about participating, Chang accepts a dance with Yao during Murdoch's performance.

That night, Yao, Nik, and Sam undertake a secret plan to steal a fortune in gold ore from an unexplored cavern deep in Echo's mine. While they discuss who in town they will say goodbye to before escaping, Yao mentions that he hopes to convince Chang to leave with them. He implies that he has attempted this unsuccessfully before, but nonetheless believes anew that Chang can be swayed once he 'hears what he needs to hear.'

### Will's Route

During the course of his investigation, Will briefly encounters Chang at The Stag. Chang, impudently introducing himself under the name "Jī Ba," treats the sheriff coolly and with caution, but informs him that James and Briggs both tend to pick favorites among their employees, which has led to in-fighting and resentment among the miners aligned with either side.

## Relationships

### Yao

Yao and Chang seem close, though the full extent of their relationship is not yet clear. Both are prominent labor organizers due in part to their ability to translate directives into their respective languages for the mine's Huaxian workers, and they show a high level of mutual trust and collaboration during their work for the union. They are also shown somewhat playfully disagreeing on whose language is preferable.

Apart from their professional connection, it is likely that Chang shares a more intimate bond with Yao. Yao's note to Chang asking him to help Sam indicates that the two have previously had sex, or at minimum that Chang would be interested in doing so. Chang is also the only one to call Yao "Feng," possibly indicating a unique familiarity. Yao seems newly acquainted with the fact that Chang smokes opium, and exhibits surprise and worry at seeing him use his pipe. Chang, in turn, becomes embarrassed and defensive when Yao expresses judgmental concern over his drug use, and seems to care what Yao thinks of him to a significant degree.

### Sam

During the course of their first meeting, Sam inadvertently stumbles across Chang smoking opium. Chang, who likely feels that his addiction becoming known could harm his reputation and put him in legal trouble, takes it upon himself to uncover Sam's true occupation as leverage. Though Chang does not seem to have any ill-will against Sam, he is suspicious of him and worries about Sam exposing his indiscretions. Apart from this, after Sam becomes a miner Chang is willing to provide him with assistance and treats him fairly if not kindly.

### Will

Chang seems to categorically distrust Will as a man of the law and deals with him gruffly, keeping their interaction short and vague. He also provides the sheriff with a crass false name, and shows amusement when Will says it out loud.

### Beckett

The history between Chang and Beckett is not yet clear, but it is implied that Chang has some sort of bad blood with the foreman, possibly related to the injury he sustained while working in the mines. Chang noticeably uses a venomous tone when mentioning Beckett, and the note Yao sends him implies that Chang wants revenge against the foreman. While instructing Sam to deliver a false apology to Beckett's brother on Beckett's behalf, Chang also seems to take pleasure in the idea that his actions may work against Beckett in some way, musing over whether he will feel satisfied should his "revenge" be accomplished.

## Trivia

* Jī Ba, the false name Chang offers Will when the two talk during the course of the sheriff's investigation, is a vulgar Mandarin term that translates to 'dick.'
* When the build in which he debuted was released on Patreon, Chang was named Cheung. His name was later changed to Chang from the public build onward.

## Gallery

DefaultSmilingSurprisedChang smoking his pipe, with his missing fingers on display
## References

1. ↑ GeorgeSquares' Twitter
2. ↑ George Squares' CuriousCat
3. ↑ George Squares' CuriousCat