"Oh? Your dad's doing pretty well. Since you can afford a house, why not give Longtail a couple thousand more in insurance money?"
"The house was bought with borrowed money, and we haven't paid it all off yet!" Lin Baozai revealed his entire background.
“My dad came home to visit relatives during the Spring Festival and talked about this with my uncle. I was there at the time. According to my dad, my family was not originally eligible to apply for subsidized housing, but his factory boss helped us.”
My father is a bit older and can't work on the assembly line. When he first joined the factory, he was a gatekeeper and later a warehouse worker. But he is loyal and responsible in his work.
Because he saved his boss hundreds of thousands of dollars in losses by putting out a fire, he was appreciated by his boss from then on. His boss not only helped him with the approval process for his housing project but also transferred him to the design department, giving him the opportunity to showcase his talents!
"Your dad has turned his life into an inspirational drama? We younger generations should learn from him!"
The more loyal a person is, the more Li Ling appreciates them, and he feels more at ease about letting them stay overnight.
Lin Baozai chuckled, feeling especially proud that his father could be learned from by Brother A-Ling.
As they talked, the two walked to a railway track. Lin Baozai pointed and asked, "Brother Ling, where does this railway lead?"
"Have you heard of the Kowloon-Canton Railway? It's a railway line that connects directly to the mainland. The mainland terminus is Guangzhou Railway Station, and the Hong Kong Island terminus is Hung Hom Station in Kowloon. It has a history of over a hundred years."
The British went to great lengths to establish trade relations with us; they even funded and provided the manpower to build it themselves.
Li Ling could already see the high-rise buildings of Sui Wo Court in the distance. After crossing the Kowloon-Canton Railway and passing through another housing estate, he would be able to reach his destination.
"So this is the Kowloon-Canton Railway!" Lin Baozai exclaimed excitedly.
“My parents take the Kowloon-Canton Railway every year when they go home to visit relatives. I have seen them off many times. When I go back to the mainland, I will also take the train here.”
Missing the mainland?
"Of course, people on Hong Kong Island are bad and love to bully others."
"Then work hard to make a lot of money and go back to live in mainland China in the future."
"Um!"
...
The two climbed onto the pedestrian overpass, crossed the railway, and quickly made their way to Suiheyuan.
The large-scale construction of public housing on Hong Kong Island began in the 1980s. In the 1970s, there were very few Home Ownership Scheme flats, no more than ten in the whole of Hong Kong, and only one, Sui Wo Court, in Sha Tin.
Each unit has a gross floor area of 430 to 650 square feet (43 to 65 square meters) and a usable floor area of 380 to 570 square feet. The lowest price is HK$100,000 and the highest price is HK$250,000, with an average price of HK$3,000 per square meter.
Of course, this was during the housing boom of 1980. This year, housing prices have plummeted, and the value of subsidized housing has already been halved.
Room H on the 12th floor of Building 7 in Suihe Garden is Lin Baozai's home.
The door numbers in the hallway are arranged from A to K. At first glance, the layout looks like a university dormitory, except that there is an elevator.
The space near the elevator was quite spacious, and a table was set up where four housewives of different ages were playing mahjong.
One of them had a stroller next to her, with a child inside who was no more than a year old. The mother had a cigarette in her mouth, and the child was quiet and watched with great interest as his mother puffed out smoke.
Hong Kong housewives have three extraordinary talents: making soup, playing mahjong, and gossiping.
After Li Ling and his companion appeared, the housewives teased and joked among themselves:
"Hey handsome boy, which family are you related to? Don't be shy, why are you blushing? Look up and let Auntie see you. Auntie will introduce you to a girlfriend another day."
"Hey handsome guy, whose son are you? You're dressed so fashionably, are you a son-in-law coming to visit?"
"You're so tall, you're even taller than TVB's Adam Cheng! Any family that has you as their son-in-law would be truly proud!"
"Sister Pomegranate, who is Adam Cheng?" The young housewife was rather reserved and spoke softly.
"No way? You don't even know him, Adam Cheng! You've seen 'Chu Liuxiang,' right? He's played by Zheng Shaoqiu!"
Mainland girls are just ignorant. It's one thing to be ignorant, but at least read the news more. You stay at home all day playing mahjong and always lose money.
Does your husband find new ways to berate you every day? Ugh, it makes me feel embarrassed to even win.
Sister Pomegranate is the baby's mother.
"I know Zheng Shaoqiu. The newspapers say he married a celebrity called 'Fei Jie' (Fat Sister). Sister Shi Liu, they're such a mismatch." The young housewife had a good temper.
"Incompatible? Even a ghost could see that!" The other housewives chimed in unison, all joining the nagging group.
"Sister Fei was a big star early on. Adam Cheng only became famous after he got involved with Sister Fei. It was Sister Fei who got him the opportunity to play Chu Liuxiang."
"So what if they're married? The two of them don't look good together. No matter how devoted Sister Fei is, can she stop Adam Cheng from having affairs?"
Adam Cheng is a heartthrob for housewives and young girls alike; countless beautiful women willingly climb into his bed. Their relationship won't last.
These housewives, in short, are all gossipy old women.
They were joking about the two handsome men, but then they started to study Liu Liangzai. After finishing their study, they continued to analyze Zheng Shaoqiu and Shen Dianxia. Soon, they changed the topic to Hui Koon-kit, the number one star in Hong Kong. What were they talking about?
Hui Koon-kit was among the first to attend the newly opened Hong Kong Coliseum in early May, and he will be holding his first solo concert this Sunday. Housewives are eager to watch and are discussing how to trick her husband into spending money to buy tickets and send flowers.
Li Ling didn't say a word from beginning to end, only smiling apologetically. He wanted to greet them, but the housewives talked like machine guns, not giving him a chance to interject.
But Li Ling still gained something. Through the chat of these housewives, Li Ling learned that there was no star Chow Yun-fat, no Leslie Cheung, and no Ti Lung.
In other words, the actors who starred in the movie "A Better Tomorrow" are not actors in this world; this world only has Mark Gor, Sung Chi-ho, and Sung Chi-kit.
Having learned all this, Li Ling led Lin Baozai to room H, which was at the end of the corridor, beyond which the housewives could no longer be seen. Lin Baozai snorted and curled his lip.
"Brother Ling, these old women are so annoying, they're just like the gossipy old women from my hometown!"