Lao Wu and his robots

　　"Lao Wu is my most capable and helpful baby," explains Wu. "He never complains but works really hard." Wu is currently working on plans for "Lao Liu" (sixth child), a new robot that would improve on Lao Wu's features. Lao Wu, for example, can walk but cannot bend its knees. Once complete, Lao Liu will have greater joint flexibility in both the knees and wrists.

　　But for the moment, Lao Liu remains a concept in Wu's imagination. He says he does not have the funds necessary to actually start work on it. Despite his recent spell in the media limelight, Wu remains heavily in debt. Five years ago, an electric transformer short-circuited in his home while the family was away at work, and the entire house was burned to the ground. Wu had to borrow 60,000 yuan to rebuild his home, a sum he fears he will spend the rest of his life paying back.

　　His only hope rests in finally gaining some kind of commercial benefit from his three-decade-long dedication to building robots. "Earlier, the robots were just a pastime for me. I did it as a hobby. But now I realize that I have to provide for my family and that without getting some kind of commercial benefit from this hobby, I can no longer afford to continue with it," he says in a matter-of-fact manner. Nonetheless, surrounded by the bits of rusting metal and parts of motors and electric fans that comprise his "study," Wu looks a little defeated, a little sad.

　　Even as his dreary days as a minor technician in a cement factory stretch out before him, Wu continues to have a dream. When asked what it is, he answers slowly, as though reluctant to give up the cherished secret. Finally, he says that what he wants more than anything else is to be a toy manufacturer. While sitting bored stiff in his dusty, hot classroom at age six, Wu felt his mind wander. He dreamed of creating toy cars and planes. Almost 40 years later, not much has changed.