Rebirth: Rising Hong Kong

Listening to the stinky fish, Hui Yinghong's father was originally a scholar. After coming to Hong Kong in 1963, he was defrauded of all his money. After that, he couldn't afford it. In order to make a living, the three-year-old Hui Yinghong was led by his mother in the area of ​​Lockhart Road, Wanchai. Selling chewing gum, playing cards, Chinese chopsticks. She slept on the street without a place to sleep, and she had no money to go to school. At that time, it was very difficult to survive. She ran on the street for more than ten hours every day to sell.

Later, Hui Yinghong's father passed away, and her mother had a more difficult life with several children. Not long ago, she met Siu Yuming, but she didn't expect that Siu Yuming fell in love with her at first sight, so they formed a family again.

"Congratulations, I didn't expect you to be married. I'm really sorry for not drinking your wedding wine." As he spoke, Shi Zhijian took out his wallet and took three hundred Hong Kong dollars and handed it to the stinky fish Ming said: "This money is not worth it. More, Quan should be the money I handed over, please accept it!"

"No, no, this is impossible." Stinky fish hurriedly waved his hand, "I didn't have a banquet when I got married. I just had a casual meal with my family. I can't ask for this money."

Shi Zhijian was stunned for a moment, the former stinky fish was desperate for money, and he often spent money in Shek Kip Mei.

Stinky Yuming scratched his head a little embarrassedly, "I know I used to be a bad person, and I always coaxed me to eat and drink in Shek Kip Mei. Hong'er's mother taught me that in the future, I have to stand upright as a person, and eat a few bowls of rice as much as I do. It's not your own money, you must not ask for it!"

Shi Zhijian smiled and put the 300 yuan into the wallet again, but seeing Hui Yinghong looking at the drink but refusing to open it, he smiled and said, "I bought it for you, why don't you drink it?"

Hui Yinghong blinked her small black eyes and looked at Stinky Yuming.

Stinky Fish Ming said, "Uncle Shi bought it for you, just drink it."

Hui Yinghong said, "Mom said that you can't just drink what others give you."

"Uncle Shi is not an outsider. He is my neighbor. We have known each other for a long time."

Hui Yinghong turned to look at Shi Zhijian again: "Uncle, can I really drink it?"

Shi Zhijian smiled, personally picked up the bottle of drink, unscrewed the cap, handed it to Hui Yinghong and said, "Hey, this drink is delicious, it's made by my uncle's factory, it's called rock sugar Sydney. If you like it, my uncle will bring you later. Go to my factory and let you drink enough!"

Hui Yinghong was happy, she took a sip of the drink with both hands, her small eyes narrowed happily, "It's so sweet!" She handed the drink to the stinky fish, "Aba, you can try it too, it's sweet. very!"

Stinky Fish Ming laughed, looked at the rock candy Sydney and swallowed her saliva, then pushed the drink to Hui Yinghong, "Hong'er, just drink it, I'm too old to drink sweets!"

When the food came up, Shi Zhijian handed a pair of chopsticks to Stinky Yuming, but Stinky Yuming handed the chopsticks to Hui Yinghong, and he took a pair of chopsticks again, and then said to Shi Zhijian, "Thank you first!"

Shi Zhijian nodded, but he had no appetite for food. He took out a cigarette from his pocket, squeezed it, flattened it, but finished smoking.

Seeing this, the stinky fish who was eating didn't care that he was still chewing something in his mouth, he got up and took out a box of crumpled cigarettes from his pocket, tried to chew the contents of his mouth a few times and swallowed, and said to Shi Zhijian: " If you don't dislike it, hit me."

Shi Zhijian took a look and saw that the cigarette case contained the cheapest hand-rolled cigarettes of this era.

No brand, no address, no trademark, many Hong Kong smokers jokingly call Hong Kong-made "three no" brand cigarettes.

To put it bluntly, some private households smuggled in tobacco leaves from the outside, and randomly made inferior cigarettes produced by a small workshop, which tasted pungent. A dozen boxes of these cheap cigarettes.

Shi Zhijian didn't mind that the cigarettes were good, so he took one out of the cigarette case and put it on his mouth.

The stinky fish was very happy to see Shi Zhijian willing to smoke his own cigarette. He hurriedly took out a match from his arms, struck it, helped Shi Zhijian light the cigarette, and then carefully put away the half-pack of cheap cigarettes, for fear that the cigarettes inside would break, It was even more arranged one by one, and then he put it into his arms again, but he was reluctant to even smoke one.

"I've quit smoking now, Hong'er's mother said that smoking too much is bad for your health." Stinky Fish said coyly.

Hui Yinghong said next to her, "Mom also said that not smoking can save money."

Stinky Fish Ming hurriedly coughed and picked up his chopsticks to serve her vegetables: "Eat the vegetables first! Eat more to grow taller!"

Shi Zhijian took a puff of cigarettes. The inferior tobacco filled his lungs and he couldn't help coughing. Then he asked the smelly fish: "Why don't you stay in Shek Kip Mei, come to Kowloon?"

Stinky Yuming sighed, "I can't live in Shikipwei!"

"why?"

"There's no water!" Stinky Yuming took a piece of scrambled egg with chopsticks and swallowed it, then wiped it twice with the back of his hand.

"Last time the Water Supplies Department cut off water and said it would store water for those ghosts for Christmas!"

"Now that Christmas is almost over, but the gate has not been opened yet, the entire Shek Kip Mei is about to be killed! Many people have to run far away to fetch water, and some directly spend money to buy water from those candle ghosts."

Shi Zhijian knew a little about the current situation of Shek Kip Mei through the narration of Stinky Yuming.

Hong Kong has always been short of water locally. In order to draw water, the government has built many ponds, hundreds of large and small, for the purpose of storing water.

Unfortunately, although there are enough ponds built, the problem of draft water has not been alleviated.

In May 1963, water was restricted. At the beginning, water was supplied for four hours a day. After a month or two, it was found that the water was insufficient, and water was changed to four hours every four days. This caused many livelihood problems. At that time, most of the buildings in Hong Kong were four-story buildings. As soon as there was water, a large water pipe was opened downstairs to receive water, and there was no water upstairs at all.

Nowadays, even the "four-hour water supply system" does not work well. Since Shi Zhijian and the others moved out of Shek Kip Mei, life there has become even more difficult, especially in terms of draft water. Take care of those ghosts.

At first, they said that they wanted to store water for the ghosts to spend Christmas, but after the festival, they found an excuse to say that the floor of Shek Kip Mei is too high, and the water supply system cannot keep up with it. .

The people who live in Shek Kip Mei are poor people. It costs at least 30,000 Hong Kong dollars to build a water tower. Who can build it? !

"Hey, everyone can't live anymore now! The fire candle ghosts are getting more and more expensive for water, and it's almost like a business to do it - the price of water is higher than the price of rice! We poor people have to spend every The water used for washing clothes is used to wash feet, and the water used for washing feet is used to wash clothes. I don’t dare to think about taking a bath, it’s more expensive than going to the bathroom!”

"Many people couldn't take it anymore. They moved out from Shek Kip Mei. I couldn't help it, so I took my wife and children to escape!"

Shek Kip Mei can't live there, so people have to flee?

Shi Zhijian was taken aback for a moment.

"Then what are you doing now?"

"What can I do? Of course I, a big man, want to find a job to provide food~www.readwn.com~ and then support the family, I can't let Hong'er's mother support her!"

Shi Zhijian flicked his cigarette, "I have a company that is recruiting cleaners. If you can endure hardship..."

"If I can endure hardship, of course I can endure hardship!" When Stinky Fish Ming saw that he was working, he immediately became excited, and he didn't care to eat, patted his chest and said, "You also know that I came from a poor family, and I have been able to endure hardship the most since I was a child! Cleaner, I'd love to do it!"

Afraid that Shi Zhijian wouldn't believe it, Stinky Fish Ming took out some bottles and jars from the sack he was carrying just now and said, "I'm picking up junk now! I can even pick up junk, let alone cleaning. carry!"

"Okay, I'll write you a note later. You look for the address. If anyone asks, you can say that I introduced you!"

"Thank you, thank you Ah Jian! Oh no, thank you Mr. Shi!"

"What's your name, sir, it's too sensible! Let me call me Ah Jian!"

"Hey, Ah Jian!" The stinky fish smiled brightly, and was busy serving Huiyinghong with vegetables, "Hong'er eats vegetables, we are lucky, we met a great benefactor!"

"He's not a big benefactor, he's Uncle Shi!"

"Yes, it's Uncle Shi! Uncle Shi is our great benefactor, and even more of a good person!"

At this time, Shi Zhijian was thinking about taking his old sister Shi Yufeng back to Shek Kip Mei to visit those old neighbors in the afternoon.

If the old sister Shi Yufeng knew about Shi Kipwei's current situation, but I don't know what she would think? !