Jeff Jiang (蒋浩) | Ep. 1: Tomorrow Will Be Better
https://youtu.be/ZBCfBgh-48s
(Transcript from the episode's English subtitles; speakers not labelled. Host: Sarah Yu.)

[0:00] Highlights
Five years ago, his home caught fire. I went next door and got $1,000. I put it in an envelope with a note: "Tomorrow will be better." And I gave it to him. She said, "You did the right thing. You donate all the time. Sometimes it's chipping in, sometimes you feel obliged, to save face. But this came from the heart." I said I don't want to be a career politician, but I'd really enjoy taking part in managing city affairs.

[0:30] Losing weight on the campaign trail
Not bad. I think you've lost weight. This municipal election has probably slimmed you down a lot. It's a lot of physical activity. Physical activity. Walking, running around. Right, knocking on doors? Knocking on doors. And also, we're always visiting community groups, You know, we've known each other for over twenty years. Over twenty years. Over twenty years, and you haven't changed. Hardly changed at all. Not much, no. When it comes to work, I'm someone who changes things very gradually. I don't do one thing today and jump to the next tomorrow. I plan things out.

[1:03] Not a career politician
I do everything bit by bit. I'm the kind of person who goes step by step. I don't get a sudden whim today to do something, and then tomorrow do something else on a whim. Like a few days ago, yesterday or the day before, I think, I posted on WeChat Moments. I'd found an interview someone did with me. What it mentioned about me was a 2022 report on the municipal election, where I encouraged people to get involved in the election. There was one question in it, and I said I don't want to be a career politician, but I'd really enjoy taking part in managing city affairs. It's about understanding, not that I must achieve something. That was my mindset back in 2022. And actually, now it's still the same. People ask me how I'll go about this. I say being a politician or whatever isn't what I'm seeking most. But being able to speak up for everyone, understanding how things are run, that's why I decided to run in the first place. I think you have a really good attitude. A really good attitude. Those of us who know you, in Metro Vancouver, whether in the Chinese community or the mainstream, I think your image has always been about serving the people. I'd put it this way: I'm not one to try to put myself in the spotlight or act with an agenda. Doing things just for an agenda isn't meaningful. I usually just follow where my own thinking takes me. Some things I do, a lot of people might not understand. Right. I actually think you're a pretty pure-hearted person. You really do this because it makes you happy, simply to help others, not to build your personal reputation. Exactly.

[2:43] The night of the fire
It's not about achievement. For instance, a while ago, a friend put out a news story. He told a story: five years ago his home caught fire. After the fire, I was renovating a daycare next door. My electrician said we couldn't get in that day. I asked him, "Why can't we get in?" He said the inside was completely flooded. So I rushed over and finally managed to convince the fire department and the police. When we got in, it was all water. So I pumped the water out. Nearby, I saw a man. He said he lived in the burned house next door. It caught fire at 11 at night. He couldn't get anything out, hadn't eaten anything. He was starving. Then he saw, in the hallway, a plastic bag with a few crackers the firefighters had left. He asked, "Can I eat these?" I thought he was asking if they were safe to eat, so I said, "Of course." He said, "So can I have them?" I said, "Go ahead." "Do you want some?" I said no, "You have them." He ate all three packs. I knew he was starving. Then I took him across the street. This was during COVID. I took him across the street to a Vietnamese place, and ordered takeout. After ordering, since you couldn't dine in back then,

[3:53] $1,000 in an envelope
I ordered takeout. Once the order was in, while we were waiting, I went next door and got $1,000. I put it in an envelope and wrote a note: "Tomorrow will be better." And I gave it to him. When I pulled down my mask, he recognized me. That's the story he told, but he didn't know how much I'd given him. I took him to his temporary shelter. That night I contacted Zhenyu Cao, Zhenyu Cao and Jungang Du of the Shanxi association. They're all from Shanxi, like him, so they went to help, and they helped him. After that, he even called me and said, "Brother Jeff, I don't even know you, and you gave me $1,000." I said, "If I can give, I give. It's no big deal." I didn't know how to handle this with my wife, because I do renovations, and I don't have much cash. I had no cash.

[4:31] “You did the right thing”
The next day I was building a flower stand in the yard. The last board, I saved on purpose for my wife to put in. She put it in and was really happy. While she was happy, I told her what had happened. My wife, at the time, I thought she'd scold me. We're not rich, we're not well-off, and we have two kids. She said, "I noticed, but I didn't ask you where the money went." I said, "Here's what happened. I helped a friend in need." She said, "You did the right thing. You donate all the time. Sometimes it's chipping in, sometimes you feel obliged, to save face. But this came from the heart. And I see you didn't post it on WeChat or anything, didn't tell anyone. That's the right way." I'm really grateful to my wife for that. Your wife is a very caring person too. When it comes to things like this I do, some she understands, some she doesn't. I mean, it happens so often. I do it so often. Sometimes, honestly, she finds it a bit much. Because we're not some big corporation or conglomerate. Everything we have, we earned through hard work. A lot of this can't be written off on taxes; it all comes out of our after-tax income. And the story you just told me, you quietly prepared an envelope with money inside, and you gave it to him, saying "Tomorrow will be better." I think a lot of people, hearing this, will be moved to tears. It's very moving. Something interesting happened later. Burnaby councillor James Wang called me, or rather, sent me a WeChat message. About two weeks later, he said he'd attended a fundraiser held by Shanxi folks for a man whose home had burned down. He was there to emcee. Since he has ties to Shanxi, he donated a bit too. But the organizers said the first donor was named Jeff. He asked, "Was that you?" I said yes. He said, "You never mentioned it." I said there was nothing to mention. It's a small thing, what's there to say? And that was that. Many people found out about it. We were total strangers. Later, that man came looking for me, always wanting to repay me. I said, "It's fine. We all help when we can." On December 23rd I went to see him again. He'd found temporary housing. Did his insurance pay out? We brought gifts, and a card when we visited. He was truly grateful. And this man really, really values loyalty. Later, at our association's inauguration ceremony, I bought a table. After buying the table, I invited him. He came, and paid anyway. He paid. I said, "Why did you pay? I already paid for you. Money's tight for your family." He said, "I want to show my support." Then, around the start of this year, at Alexa Loo's fundraiser, I shared a link to the fundraiser for people to come, and I bought a few tables. And he came again. I hadn't invited him; I didn't want to burden him. He said, "I donated again." I said, "Why would you donate? I feel really bad." From the bottom of his heart, he wants to do whatever he can. That makes me really happy. Hearing you tell this, honestly, right now I feel really moved and touched.

[7:24] An elderly friend from Shanghai
Actually, when it comes to helping people, there are many stories like that. There's one. I know an older gentleman from Shanghai. He's a bit older than me, good at renovation work, but for some reason, financially, he was always struggling. He did some work for me, and I ended up losing a lot of money on it. So I basically didn't keep in touch with him. But he kept saying hello, always saying hello: "How are you?" "Happy Father's Day," "Happy Dragon Boat Festival." He kept sending me messages, and I'd politely reply. Once he sent me a message: "How are you all?" A strange "How are you all?" I found it really strange. Why would he say that? So I asked him: "We're fine. How about you?" He said, "Not good. I've been in the hospital for two years." I called him right away. "Why two years?" He said he had kidney disease; both kidneys were removed. So it was miserable in there. He couldn't eat well or live well. Doesn't he have family? Family? He and his wife had separated. His wife helped him as much as she could, but anyway, there were always some problems. Sometimes he'd tell me about it. Later he said, "I've moved back, living over by Joyce." Then a friend of mine told me that one day someone posted online in our group chat, asking if anyone wanted these doors, these tools, these parts. Lots of people saw it was all free. He said, "Jeff, this is a guy from your hometown." I immediately asked, "Is it Lao Xie?" It was. He'd been renting a warehouse, and when the rent went unpaid, the landlord had the real estate agent throw out, sell, and clear everything. So a lot of stuff had to go. My friend said, "See? If your health is bad, however much business you have, it all goes to zero. So health has to come first." I called Lao Xie. "What happened?" He said, "Remember a while back, I said my stairs were bad, and you sent a worker over to fix them?" I'd sent a worker over to do it. He insisted on paying the worker. The worker refused the money. I told him, "He's my employee, don't worry about it. I'll pay my own employee." Now there was a new problem. He needs dialysis two or three times a week. The hospital has to send people over to bring him down from the second floor, carrying him down in a special chair. But the stairs weren't safe, and they'd refused to come get him. I figure he hadn't paid rent, so the landlord wouldn't fix them. I said, "No problem, I'll go." That night I was attending an event. I brought a dozen or so long 2x6 boards. I figured with a dozen or so, I could fix a dozen-odd steps of your stairs. That had to be enough. When I got there, I found out there were three more steps than I'd thought. But I fixed all of them, handrail and all. He said, "Jeff, how do I pay you?" I said no need. He said, "At least let me cover materials." I said, "Not even the materials." And I said, "Here's a box of mooncakes." It was Mid-Autumn Festival. My wife had told me to bring him mooncakes for the festival. This was a few days before. I said, "What are you thinking? He has kidney problems, poor digestion. Giving him these will only hurt him." My wife said, "It's not for him to eat. It's that, right at festival time, someone is still thinking of him." Right, he'd be touched. So I gave them to him. He still keeps in touch with me. Sometimes I call him and say, "If you have a problem, tell me. I'll help." Anyway, that's one friend.

[10:36] Another friend, three and a half years
There's another friend. This one's still around. More than ten years ago, when we had just founded the association, I happened to meet him. After we met, he asked, "How can I help you?" I was holding an event with President Ding in White Rock. I asked if he could prepare some snacks for me. He made lots of braised dishes for me, and at the event they were snapped up. His food was really delicious. But because of this, he and his business partner fought. The partner said, "How can you use the partnership's stuff for outside jobs?" He said, "Just once. I bought the ingredients myself." "But what did you use? You can't say for sure." He was upset, and I felt I owed him one. Later, a lot happened to him, including at Pacific Plaza, where a forklift hit someone's wall and broke a TV. And at Admiralty Centre, there was a fire inside. I took care of all of it. Admiralty Centre was the most interesting. He was the sublessor there. As sublessor, he said he had insurance. So I told the sublessor, I told my friend, "I'll do it for you. If insurance covers it, fine. If not, I'll write it off for you." And I really did. I fixed everything for him, all of it. Some time later, he moved in next door to us. I didn't know him well then, only that he was a fellow Shanghainese. He said, "I'm next door to you. Come over for lunch." And sometimes I actually did. After a few meals, some time later, he told me, "I don't drive, so I can't go shower. It's really inconvenient. I'm living here. Could you add a shower for me?" I had a plumber put one in. That was a bit against the rules. After it was in, it was meant to be temporary, the landlord didn't agree, so we took it out again. Later I said, "You could go to the community centre." He said, "I don't have a car." That's when I learned he had no car. So he'd take the bus to the community centre to shower. I remember it was December that year, around the 20th, he called me. He said the landlord found out he was living there and banned it. Wouldn't let him rent it anymore. "I have to move out. Can you put me up for two weeks?" The next day I helped him out, and he ended up living at my company for three and a half years. Three and a half years at your company? Honestly, it just couldn't be helped. He stayed three and a half years. A lot happened during that time. He was really, really good to me. Always cooking good food for me, helping me however he could. Often I'd drive back with a truck full of tools, and he'd help me unload. He'd chat with me in the evenings. Emotionally, I felt I truly had a friend, someone to speak Shanghainese with. I was really happy. Once I came back with a truckload, desperate for the bathroom. I went, and when I came out, he'd unloaded everything. I said, "Don't unload that, I need it tomorrow." So we loaded it back up. Then I had a bite to eat and went home. After I got home, he called me: "Big brother," he's actually a year older, but calls me big brother, "Big brother, could you lend me $20? I don't even have bus fare for work tomorrow." I said, "Why didn't you say so earlier?" He said, "I couldn't bring myself to ask." OK. I was living on the West Side then. I drove all the way back and put $200 on his desk. He was out for a walk. When he came back and saw it, he was really happy. A few days ago I told a friend, in all my chats with him, he's always borrowing a bit here, a bit there, and I never say anything. I just give it to him. Even my wife once said, "Our power bill was never this high. Now it's so high, it's all him using it." I told my wife, "If we hired someone to watch the warehouse, it'd cost more. This is a good deal." Really, it gave me peace of mind. We're still good friends now, whether or not he pays me back. I think you're helping so many ordinary people in society, ordinary citizens. Your kindness is genuine, truly, just like the ocean.