When my septic tank overflowed and caused a toxic mess in the Beijing courtyard where I live, the last thing I expected was that it would bring a measure of notoriety to my humble neighborhood. So I was a little surprised to walk out of my door the other day to be confronted with this question from my neighbor Feng: “Shuangzhou, we know you write lots of reports, but did you happen to write something about the ‘wastewater incident?’”
I told Feng that indeed, I had described the saga on TIME’s China Blog. Then another neighbor, Jinke, said they already knew. His brother had been reading “Reference News,” the popular Chinese newspaper that translates stories from the foreign media, and came across a short item about a courtyard in Beijing with a resident named “Jinke” and foreign reporter with a problematic toilet. For all the headaches and stench it has caused, that toilet has also made us famous. When the paparazzi decide to stake out our alley, at least I’ll know how to flush them out.