1
00:00:00,009 --> 00:00:02,123
Five years ago, his home caught fire.

2
00:00:02,160 --> 00:00:04,136
I went next door and got $1,000.

3
00:00:04,173 --> 00:00:06,409
I put it in an envelope with a note:

4
00:00:06,446 --> 00:00:08,437
"Tomorrow will be better."
And I gave it to him.

5
00:00:08,844 --> 00:00:11,153
She said, "You did the right thing.

6
00:00:11,440 --> 00:00:14,135
You donate all the time.
Sometimes it's chipping in,

7
00:00:14,172 --> 00:00:17,543
sometimes you feel obliged, to save face.

8
00:00:17,580 --> 00:00:19,365
But this came from the heart."

9
00:00:19,402 --> 00:00:21,601
I said I don't want to
be a career politician,

10
00:00:21,638 --> 00:00:24,074
but I'd really enjoy

11
00:00:24,111 --> 00:00:27,725
taking part in managing city affairs.

12
00:00:30,401 --> 00:00:32,937
Not bad. I think you've lost weight.

13
00:00:33,409 --> 00:00:36,076
This municipal election has
probably slimmed you down a lot.

14
00:00:36,094 --> 00:00:37,872
It's a lot of physical activity.

15
00:00:37,946 --> 00:00:39,150
Physical activity.

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00:00:39,224 --> 00:00:41,187
Walking, running around.

17
00:00:41,261 --> 00:00:42,909
Right, knocking on doors?

18
00:00:42,983 --> 00:00:44,752
Knocking on doors. And also,

19
00:00:44,907 --> 00:00:46,586
we're always visiting community groups,

20
00:00:46,660 --> 00:00:48,094
You know, we've known each other

21
00:00:48,131 --> 00:00:49,880
for over twenty years. Over twenty years.

22
00:00:49,917 --> 00:00:51,706
Over twenty years, and
you haven't changed.

23
00:00:52,118 --> 00:00:53,210
Hardly changed at all.

24
00:00:53,284 --> 00:00:58,386
Not much, no. When it comes
to work, I'm someone who

25
00:00:58,840 --> 00:00:59,770
changes things very gradually.

26
00:00:59,807 --> 00:01:02,136
I don't do one thing today and
jump to the next tomorrow.

27
00:01:02,210 --> 00:01:02,914
I plan things out.

28
00:01:02,988 --> 00:01:05,256
I do everything bit by bit.
I'm the kind of person

29
00:01:05,767 --> 00:01:07,359
who goes step by step.

30
00:01:07,396 --> 00:01:08,873
I don't get a sudden whim today

31
00:01:08,910 --> 00:01:10,197
to do something, and then tomorrow

32
00:01:10,234 --> 00:01:12,924
do something else on a whim.
Like a few days ago,

33
00:01:13,267 --> 00:01:14,267
yesterday or the day before, I think,

34
00:01:14,304 --> 00:01:15,189
I posted on WeChat Moments.

35
00:01:15,226 --> 00:01:17,609
I'd found an interview
someone did with me.

36
00:01:18,248 --> 00:01:19,569
What it mentioned about me was

37
00:01:19,606 --> 00:01:22,698
a 2022 report on the municipal election,

38
00:01:22,735 --> 00:01:24,776
where I encouraged people to
get involved in the election.

39
00:01:25,137 --> 00:01:26,617
There was one question in it,

40
00:01:26,654 --> 00:01:29,464
and I said I don't want to
be a career politician,

41
00:01:29,501 --> 00:01:32,806
but I'd really enjoy taking part in

42
00:01:32,843 --> 00:01:34,854
managing city affairs.

43
00:01:34,891 --> 00:01:37,530
It's about understanding, not
that I must achieve something.

44
00:01:37,567 --> 00:01:41,304
That was my mindset

45
00:01:41,378 --> 00:01:42,174
back in 2022.

46
00:01:42,248 --> 00:01:43,498
And actually, now it's

47
00:01:43,933 --> 00:01:44,489
still the same.

48
00:01:44,767 --> 00:01:47,152
People ask me how I'll go about this.

49
00:01:47,189 --> 00:01:49,019
I say being a politician or whatever

50
00:01:49,056 --> 00:01:51,646
isn't what I'm seeking most.

51
00:01:51,683 --> 00:01:54,361
But being able to speak up for everyone,

52
00:01:54,398 --> 00:01:57,077
understanding how things are run, that's

53
00:01:57,213 --> 00:01:58,231
why I decided to run in the first place.

54
00:01:58,306 --> 00:01:59,744
I think you have a really good attitude.

55
00:01:59,781 --> 00:02:02,752
A really good attitude.
Those of us who know you,

56
00:02:02,789 --> 00:02:04,796
in Metro Vancouver,

57
00:02:05,250 --> 00:02:07,318
whether in the Chinese
community or the mainstream,

58
00:02:07,355 --> 00:02:09,171
I think your image has always been

59
00:02:09,208 --> 00:02:10,537
about serving the people.

60
00:02:11,491 --> 00:02:15,333
I'd put it this way: I'm not one to

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00:02:16,157 --> 00:02:20,642
try to put myself in the spotlight or act

62
00:02:20,679 --> 00:02:22,796
with an agenda. Doing things just

63
00:02:23,380 --> 00:02:24,686
for an agenda isn't meaningful.

64
00:02:24,723 --> 00:02:26,314
I usually just follow

65
00:02:26,351 --> 00:02:27,704
where my own thinking takes me.

66
00:02:28,102 --> 00:02:29,798
Some things I do, a lot of people

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00:02:29,835 --> 00:02:32,139
might not understand.

68
00:02:32,213 --> 00:02:34,403
Right. I actually think
you're a pretty pure-hearted

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00:02:34,440 --> 00:02:36,029
person. You really

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00:02:36,066 --> 00:02:38,213
do this because it makes you happy,

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00:02:38,509 --> 00:02:41,176
simply to help others, not

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00:02:41,343 --> 00:02:43,824
to build your personal reputation.
Exactly.

73
00:02:43,898 --> 00:02:46,926
It's not about achievement. For instance,

74
00:02:47,169 --> 00:02:49,123
a while ago, a friend put out a

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00:02:49,406 --> 00:02:52,241
news story. He told a story:

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00:02:52,278 --> 00:02:56,080
five years ago his home
caught fire. After the fire,

77
00:02:56,117 --> 00:02:59,593
I was renovating a daycare next door.

78
00:02:59,630 --> 00:03:01,335
My electrician said we
couldn't get in that day.

79
00:03:01,900 --> 00:03:03,136
I asked him, "Why can't we get in?"

80
00:03:03,173 --> 00:03:04,755
He said the inside was completely flooded.

81
00:03:04,792 --> 00:03:06,862
So I rushed over and
finally managed to convince

82
00:03:06,899 --> 00:03:08,625
the fire department and the police.

83
00:03:08,662 --> 00:03:10,179
When we got in, it was all water.

84
00:03:10,216 --> 00:03:11,368
So I pumped the water out.

85
00:03:11,405 --> 00:03:12,743
Nearby, I saw a man.

86
00:03:13,011 --> 00:03:15,891
He said he lived in the
burned house next door.

87
00:03:15,928 --> 00:03:18,232
It caught fire at 11 at night.

88
00:03:18,269 --> 00:03:20,335
He couldn't get anything
out, hadn't eaten anything.

89
00:03:20,622 --> 00:03:21,761
He was starving.

90
00:03:22,122 --> 00:03:23,875
Then he saw, in the hallway,

91
00:03:23,912 --> 00:03:26,265
a plastic bag with a few crackers

92
00:03:26,302 --> 00:03:28,956
the firefighters had left.
He asked, "Can I eat these?"

93
00:03:28,994 --> 00:03:31,604
I thought he was asking
if they were safe to eat,

94
00:03:31,641 --> 00:03:33,233
so I said, "Of course." He said, "So can I

95
00:03:33,270 --> 00:03:35,631
have them?" I said, "Go ahead."

96
00:03:35,956 --> 00:03:37,375
"Do you want some?" I said no,

97
00:03:37,412 --> 00:03:39,256
"You have them." He ate all three packs.

98
00:03:39,294 --> 00:03:40,974
I knew he was starving.

99
00:03:41,011 --> 00:03:42,764
Then I took him across the street.

100
00:03:42,801 --> 00:03:44,500
This was during COVID.

101
00:03:44,537 --> 00:03:46,274
I took him across the street

102
00:03:46,311 --> 00:03:48,596
to a Vietnamese place, and ordered

103
00:03:48,633 --> 00:03:50,405
takeout. After ordering,

104
00:03:50,692 --> 00:03:52,571
since you couldn't dine in back then,

105
00:03:53,025 --> 00:03:55,107
I ordered takeout. Once the order was in,

106
00:03:55,144 --> 00:03:56,177
while we were waiting,

107
00:03:56,214 --> 00:03:57,954
I went next door and got $1,000.

108
00:03:57,991 --> 00:04:00,310
I put it in an envelope and wrote

109
00:04:00,347 --> 00:04:02,349
a note: "Tomorrow will be better."

110
00:04:02,756 --> 00:04:04,612
And I gave it to him. When
I pulled down my mask,

111
00:04:04,649 --> 00:04:06,558
he recognized me. That's
the story he told,

112
00:04:06,595 --> 00:04:08,519
but he didn't know how much I'd given him.

113
00:04:08,556 --> 00:04:10,921
I took him to his temporary shelter.

114
00:04:10,958 --> 00:04:13,081
That night I contacted Zhenyu Cao,

115
00:04:13,119 --> 00:04:16,044
Zhenyu Cao and Jungang Du
of the Shanxi association.

116
00:04:16,423 --> 00:04:17,803
They're all from Shanxi, like him,

117
00:04:17,840 --> 00:04:19,622
so they went to help, and they helped him.

118
00:04:19,659 --> 00:04:20,477
After that,

119
00:04:20,514 --> 00:04:22,560
he even called me and said, "Brother Jeff,

120
00:04:22,597 --> 00:04:24,746
I don't even know you,
and you gave me $1,000."

121
00:04:24,783 --> 00:04:26,655
I said, "If I can give, I
give. It's no big deal."

122
00:04:26,886 --> 00:04:28,390
I didn't know how to
handle this with my wife,

123
00:04:28,427 --> 00:04:29,241
because I do renovations,

124
00:04:29,278 --> 00:04:31,340
and I don't have much cash. I had no cash.

125
00:04:31,914 --> 00:04:34,665
The next day I was building

126
00:04:34,702 --> 00:04:37,214
a flower stand in the
yard. The last board,

127
00:04:37,251 --> 00:04:39,581
I saved on purpose for my wife to put in.

128
00:04:39,618 --> 00:04:41,244
She put it in and was really happy.

129
00:04:41,281 --> 00:04:42,357
While she was happy,

130
00:04:42,394 --> 00:04:43,812
I told her what had happened.

131
00:04:44,192 --> 00:04:45,460
My wife, at the time,

132
00:04:45,840 --> 00:04:47,093
I thought she'd scold me.

133
00:04:47,130 --> 00:04:49,622
We're not rich, we're not well-off,

134
00:04:49,659 --> 00:04:51,709
and we have two kids.
She said, "I noticed,

135
00:04:51,746 --> 00:04:54,730
but I didn't ask you
where the money went."

136
00:04:55,146 --> 00:04:56,891
I said, "Here's what happened.

137
00:04:56,928 --> 00:04:59,447
I helped a friend in need."

138
00:04:59,484 --> 00:05:00,581
She said, "You did the right thing.

139
00:05:00,869 --> 00:05:03,564
You donate all the time.
Sometimes it's chipping in,

140
00:05:03,601 --> 00:05:06,971
sometimes you feel obliged, to save face.

141
00:05:07,008 --> 00:05:08,554
But this came from the heart.

142
00:05:08,591 --> 00:05:10,591
And I see you didn't post
it on WeChat or anything,

143
00:05:10,628 --> 00:05:12,794
didn't tell anyone. That's the right way."

144
00:05:12,831 --> 00:05:14,869
I'm really grateful to my wife for that.

145
00:05:14,943 --> 00:05:17,202
Your wife is a very caring person too.

146
00:05:17,276 --> 00:05:19,322
When it comes to things like this I do,

147
00:05:19,831 --> 00:05:21,877
some she understands, some she doesn't.

148
00:05:21,914 --> 00:05:23,682
I mean, it happens so often.

149
00:05:23,719 --> 00:05:25,688
I do it so often. Sometimes, honestly,

150
00:05:26,003 --> 00:05:27,299
she finds it a bit much.

151
00:05:27,697 --> 00:05:29,827
Because we're not

152
00:05:29,864 --> 00:05:32,031
some big corporation or conglomerate.

153
00:05:32,068 --> 00:05:34,396
Everything we have, we
earned through hard work.

154
00:05:34,433 --> 00:05:36,591
A lot of this can't be
written off on taxes;

155
00:05:36,628 --> 00:05:38,234
it all comes out of our after-tax income.

156
00:05:38,308 --> 00:05:40,244
And the story you just told me,

157
00:05:40,623 --> 00:05:42,635
you quietly prepared an envelope

158
00:05:42,672 --> 00:05:44,861
with money inside, and you gave it

159
00:05:44,898 --> 00:05:47,012
to him, saying "Tomorrow
will be better." I think

160
00:05:47,049 --> 00:05:49,179
a lot of people, hearing this,

161
00:05:49,216 --> 00:05:51,179
will be moved to tears. It's very moving.

162
00:05:51,253 --> 00:05:52,318
Something interesting happened later.

163
00:05:53,401 --> 00:05:55,771
Burnaby councillor James Wang called me,

164
00:05:55,808 --> 00:05:57,244
or rather, sent me a WeChat message.

165
00:05:57,281 --> 00:05:58,771
About two weeks later, he said

166
00:05:58,808 --> 00:06:00,360
he'd attended a fundraiser
held by Shanxi folks

167
00:06:00,397 --> 00:06:02,481
for a man whose home had burned down.

168
00:06:02,519 --> 00:06:04,151
He was there to emcee.

169
00:06:04,494 --> 00:06:06,189
Since he has ties to Shanxi,

170
00:06:06,226 --> 00:06:08,410
he donated a bit too. But

171
00:06:08,447 --> 00:06:11,083
the organizers said the first donor

172
00:06:11,120 --> 00:06:13,131
was named Jeff. He asked, "Was that you?"

173
00:06:13,168 --> 00:06:15,161
I said yes. He said, "You
never mentioned it."

174
00:06:15,198 --> 00:06:16,466
I said there was nothing to mention.

175
00:06:16,808 --> 00:06:19,836
It's a small thing, what's there
to say? And that was that.

176
00:06:20,086 --> 00:06:22,688
Many people found out about it.
We were total strangers.

177
00:06:22,914 --> 00:06:24,516
Later, that man came looking for me,

178
00:06:24,747 --> 00:06:25,819
always wanting to repay me.

179
00:06:25,856 --> 00:06:28,155
I said, "It's fine. We
all help when we can."

180
00:06:28,192 --> 00:06:31,457
On December 23rd I went to see him again.

181
00:06:31,494 --> 00:06:32,973
He'd found temporary housing.

182
00:06:33,010 --> 00:06:34,034
Did his insurance pay out?

183
00:06:34,664 --> 00:06:36,424
We brought gifts, and

184
00:06:36,461 --> 00:06:38,612
a card when we visited.
He was truly grateful.

185
00:06:38,649 --> 00:06:40,932
And this man really,
really values loyalty.

186
00:06:41,719 --> 00:06:44,479
Later, at our association's inauguration

187
00:06:44,516 --> 00:06:45,932
ceremony, I bought a table.

188
00:06:46,095 --> 00:06:47,868
After buying the table, I invited him.

189
00:06:48,368 --> 00:06:51,430
He came, and paid anyway. He paid.

190
00:06:51,467 --> 00:06:52,279
I said, "Why did you pay?

191
00:06:52,316 --> 00:06:53,443
I already paid for you.

192
00:06:53,480 --> 00:06:54,943
Money's tight for your family."

193
00:06:55,294 --> 00:06:58,451
He said, "I want to show my support."

194
00:06:58,488 --> 00:07:00,231
Then, around the start of this year,

195
00:07:00,268 --> 00:07:01,767
at Alexa Loo's fundraiser,

196
00:07:01,804 --> 00:07:03,442
I shared a link to the fundraiser

197
00:07:03,479 --> 00:07:05,532
for people to come, and
I bought a few tables.

198
00:07:05,569 --> 00:07:07,396
And he came again. I hadn't invited him;

199
00:07:07,433 --> 00:07:09,290
I didn't want to burden him.

200
00:07:09,327 --> 00:07:11,493
He said, "I donated again."
I said, "Why would you

201
00:07:11,530 --> 00:07:13,603
donate? I feel really bad."

202
00:07:13,640 --> 00:07:14,794
From the bottom of his heart,

203
00:07:15,063 --> 00:07:17,391
he wants to do whatever he can.

204
00:07:17,428 --> 00:07:18,822
That makes me really happy.

205
00:07:18,896 --> 00:07:21,628
Hearing you tell this,
honestly, right now I feel

206
00:07:21,665 --> 00:07:24,720
really moved and touched.

207
00:07:24,869 --> 00:07:27,769
Actually, when it comes to helping people,

208
00:07:27,806 --> 00:07:30,318
there are many stories like that.

209
00:07:30,650 --> 00:07:31,474
There's one.

210
00:07:32,539 --> 00:07:34,252
I know an older gentleman from Shanghai.

211
00:07:34,854 --> 00:07:37,187
He's a bit older than me,
good at renovation work,

212
00:07:37,224 --> 00:07:39,013
but for some reason, financially,

213
00:07:39,050 --> 00:07:41,026
he was always struggling.
He did some work for me,

214
00:07:41,063 --> 00:07:43,629
and I ended up losing
a lot of money on it.

215
00:07:43,666 --> 00:07:45,048
So I basically didn't
keep in touch with him.

216
00:07:45,354 --> 00:07:46,934
But he kept saying hello,

217
00:07:46,971 --> 00:07:49,381
always saying hello: "How are you?"

218
00:07:50,122 --> 00:07:52,457
"Happy Father's Day," "Happy
Dragon Boat Festival."

219
00:07:52,494 --> 00:07:54,237
He kept sending me messages,

220
00:07:54,274 --> 00:07:55,729
and I'd politely reply.

221
00:07:55,766 --> 00:07:57,537
Once he sent me a message:

222
00:07:57,574 --> 00:08:00,003
"How are you all?"
A strange "How are you all?"

223
00:08:00,040 --> 00:08:01,355
I found it really strange.

224
00:08:01,392 --> 00:08:02,605
Why would he say that?

225
00:08:02,642 --> 00:08:03,829
So I asked him: "We're fine.

226
00:08:03,866 --> 00:08:05,724
How about you?" He said, "Not good.

227
00:08:06,085 --> 00:08:07,780
I've been in the hospital for two years."

228
00:08:08,548 --> 00:08:11,441
I called him right away. "Why two years?"

229
00:08:11,478 --> 00:08:15,150
He said he had kidney disease;
both kidneys were removed.

230
00:08:16,187 --> 00:08:17,761
So it was miserable in there.

231
00:08:17,798 --> 00:08:19,983
He couldn't eat well or live well.

232
00:08:20,057 --> 00:08:21,094
Doesn't he have family?

233
00:08:21,169 --> 00:08:23,030
Family? He and his wife had separated.

234
00:08:23,983 --> 00:08:26,114
His wife helped him as much as she could,

235
00:08:26,151 --> 00:08:28,426
but anyway, there were
always some problems.

236
00:08:28,463 --> 00:08:29,788
Sometimes he'd

237
00:08:29,825 --> 00:08:31,181
tell me about it. Later he
said, "I've moved back,

238
00:08:31,218 --> 00:08:32,307
living over by Joyce."

239
00:08:32,706 --> 00:08:34,326
Then a friend of mine told me

240
00:08:34,678 --> 00:08:36,484
that one day someone posted online in our

241
00:08:36,521 --> 00:08:38,589
group chat, asking if anyone wanted

242
00:08:38,626 --> 00:08:42,557
these doors, these tools, these parts.

243
00:08:42,724 --> 00:08:44,119
Lots of people saw it was all free.

244
00:08:44,461 --> 00:08:46,952
He said, "Jeff, this is a
guy from your hometown."

245
00:08:46,989 --> 00:08:48,841
I immediately asked, "Is it Lao Xie?"

246
00:08:49,313 --> 00:08:51,165
It was. He'd been renting a warehouse,

247
00:08:51,202 --> 00:08:54,009
and when the rent went
unpaid, the landlord had

248
00:08:54,046 --> 00:08:57,364
the real estate agent throw out,
sell, and clear everything.

249
00:08:57,401 --> 00:08:59,712
So a lot of stuff had to go.

250
00:08:59,749 --> 00:09:02,308
My friend said, "See?
If your health is bad,

251
00:09:02,345 --> 00:09:04,117
however much business you
have, it all goes to zero.

252
00:09:04,154 --> 00:09:05,862
So health has to come first."

253
00:09:05,899 --> 00:09:06,952
I called Lao Xie.

254
00:09:07,443 --> 00:09:09,544
"What happened?" He said, "Remember

255
00:09:09,581 --> 00:09:11,711
a while back, I said my stairs were bad,

256
00:09:12,359 --> 00:09:13,767
and you sent a worker over to fix them?"

257
00:09:13,804 --> 00:09:15,051
I'd sent a worker over to do it.

258
00:09:15,088 --> 00:09:16,148
He insisted on paying the worker.

259
00:09:16,185 --> 00:09:18,341
The worker refused the money. I told him,

260
00:09:18,526 --> 00:09:20,345
"He's my employee, don't worry about it.

261
00:09:20,382 --> 00:09:23,736
I'll pay my own employee."
Now there was a new problem.

262
00:09:23,773 --> 00:09:26,176
He needs dialysis two
or three times a week.

263
00:09:28,306 --> 00:09:30,682
The hospital has to send people over

264
00:09:30,719 --> 00:09:32,458
to bring him down from the second floor,

265
00:09:32,495 --> 00:09:34,831
carrying him down in a special chair.

266
00:09:35,057 --> 00:09:36,474
But the stairs weren't safe,

267
00:09:36,620 --> 00:09:38,503
and they'd refused to come get him.

268
00:09:39,114 --> 00:09:42,808
I figure he hadn't paid rent, so
the landlord wouldn't fix them.

269
00:09:43,206 --> 00:09:44,716
I said, "No problem, I'll go."

270
00:09:45,105 --> 00:09:47,193
That night I was attending an event.

271
00:09:47,230 --> 00:09:50,202
I brought a dozen or so long 2x6 boards.

272
00:09:50,239 --> 00:09:52,012
I figured with a dozen or so,

273
00:09:52,049 --> 00:09:54,354
I could fix a dozen-odd steps of your

274
00:09:54,391 --> 00:09:56,072
stairs. That had to be enough.

275
00:09:56,433 --> 00:09:57,702
When I got there, I found out

276
00:09:58,193 --> 00:10:00,642
there were three more
steps than I'd thought.

277
00:10:00,679 --> 00:10:02,287
But I fixed all of them,

278
00:10:02,324 --> 00:10:03,517
handrail and all.

279
00:10:03,748 --> 00:10:05,289
He said, "Jeff, how do I pay you?"

280
00:10:05,326 --> 00:10:07,209
I said no need. He said, "At
least let me cover materials."

281
00:10:07,246 --> 00:10:08,698
I said, "Not even the materials."

282
00:10:08,735 --> 00:10:10,423
And I said, "Here's a box of mooncakes."

283
00:10:10,460 --> 00:10:12,681
It was Mid-Autumn
Festival. My wife had told

284
00:10:12,719 --> 00:10:14,659
me to bring him mooncakes
for the festival.

285
00:10:14,696 --> 00:10:17,174
This was a few days before. I
said, "What are you thinking?

286
00:10:17,211 --> 00:10:18,952
He has kidney problems, poor digestion.

287
00:10:18,989 --> 00:10:21,040
Giving him these will only hurt him."

288
00:10:21,077 --> 00:10:22,746
My wife said, "It's not for him to eat.

289
00:10:22,783 --> 00:10:24,535
It's that, right at festival time,

290
00:10:24,989 --> 00:10:25,989
someone is still thinking of him."

291
00:10:26,063 --> 00:10:27,304
Right, he'd be touched.

292
00:10:27,378 --> 00:10:28,503
So I gave them to him.

293
00:10:28,540 --> 00:10:30,440
He still keeps in touch with me.

294
00:10:30,477 --> 00:10:31,959
Sometimes I call him

295
00:10:31,996 --> 00:10:34,093
and say, "If you have a
problem, tell me. I'll help."

296
00:10:34,130 --> 00:10:36,313
Anyway, that's one friend.

297
00:10:36,656 --> 00:10:37,831
There's another friend.

298
00:10:38,646 --> 00:10:40,021
This one's still around.

299
00:10:40,058 --> 00:10:41,958
More than ten years ago, when we

300
00:10:41,995 --> 00:10:43,285
had just founded the association,

301
00:10:43,634 --> 00:10:45,837
I happened to meet him. After we met,

302
00:10:45,874 --> 00:10:47,576
he asked, "How can I help you?"

303
00:10:47,613 --> 00:10:50,984
I was holding an event with
President Ding in White Rock.

304
00:10:51,021 --> 00:10:52,431
I asked if he could prepare some

305
00:10:53,329 --> 00:10:55,986
snacks for me. He made
lots of braised dishes

306
00:10:56,681 --> 00:10:59,494
for me, and at the event
they were snapped up.

307
00:10:59,531 --> 00:11:00,801
His food was really delicious.

308
00:11:01,468 --> 00:11:03,073
But because of this, he and his

309
00:11:03,110 --> 00:11:04,696
business partner fought. The partner said,

310
00:11:04,733 --> 00:11:07,256
"How can you use the partnership's
stuff for outside jobs?"

311
00:11:07,293 --> 00:11:09,134
He said, "Just once. I bought
the ingredients myself."

312
00:11:09,171 --> 00:11:11,208
"But what did you use?
You can't say for sure."

313
00:11:11,245 --> 00:11:13,162
He was upset, and I felt I owed him one.

314
00:11:13,303 --> 00:11:16,530
Later, a lot happened to him, including at

315
00:11:16,673 --> 00:11:17,377
Pacific Plaza,

316
00:11:17,803 --> 00:11:20,803
where a forklift hit someone's wall

317
00:11:20,840 --> 00:11:23,247
and broke a TV. And at Admiralty Centre,

318
00:11:23,284 --> 00:11:25,722
there was a fire inside.

319
00:11:25,759 --> 00:11:28,451
I took care of all of it.
Admiralty Centre was the most interesting.

320
00:11:28,858 --> 00:11:30,462
He was the sublessor there. As sublessor,

321
00:11:30,499 --> 00:11:32,248
he said he had insurance.
So I told the sublessor,

322
00:11:32,285 --> 00:11:33,655
I told my friend, "I'll do it for you.

323
00:11:33,692 --> 00:11:35,531
If insurance covers it, fine. If not,

324
00:11:35,569 --> 00:11:37,716
I'll write it off for you."
And I really did.

325
00:11:37,947 --> 00:11:39,660
I fixed everything for him, all of it.

326
00:11:39,960 --> 00:11:41,394
Some time later,

327
00:11:41,431 --> 00:11:43,086
he moved in next door to us.

328
00:11:43,123 --> 00:11:45,353
I didn't know him well then, only that

329
00:11:45,390 --> 00:11:47,525
he was a fellow Shanghainese.

330
00:11:47,562 --> 00:11:48,660
He said, "I'm next door to you.

331
00:11:49,021 --> 00:11:49,915
Come over for lunch."

332
00:11:49,952 --> 00:11:51,281
And sometimes I actually did.

333
00:11:51,318 --> 00:11:52,961
After a few meals, some
time later, he told me,

334
00:11:53,378 --> 00:11:54,720
"I don't drive,

335
00:11:55,443 --> 00:11:57,692
so I can't go shower.
It's really inconvenient.

336
00:11:57,729 --> 00:12:01,727
I'm living here. Could
you add a shower for me?"

337
00:12:01,764 --> 00:12:03,507
I had a plumber put one in.

338
00:12:04,137 --> 00:12:06,006
That was a bit against the
rules. After it was in,

339
00:12:06,044 --> 00:12:08,239
it was meant to be temporary,
the landlord didn't agree,

340
00:12:08,276 --> 00:12:09,519
so we took it out again.

341
00:12:09,556 --> 00:12:11,933
Later I said, "You could go
to the community centre."

342
00:12:11,970 --> 00:12:13,053
He said, "I don't have a car."

343
00:12:13,090 --> 00:12:14,864
That's when I learned he had no car.

344
00:12:14,901 --> 00:12:18,249
So he'd take the bus to the
community centre to shower.

345
00:12:18,286 --> 00:12:20,461
I remember it was December that year,

346
00:12:20,711 --> 00:12:23,266
around the 20th, he called me.

347
00:12:23,303 --> 00:12:25,961
He said the landlord found out he
was living there and banned it.

348
00:12:26,267 --> 00:12:27,091
Wouldn't let him rent it anymore.

349
00:12:27,341 --> 00:12:30,220
"I have to move out. Can you
put me up for two weeks?"

350
00:12:30,470 --> 00:12:31,788
The next day I helped him out,

351
00:12:31,825 --> 00:12:34,456
and he ended up living at my
company for three and a half years.

352
00:12:34,530 --> 00:12:35,678
Three and a half years at your company?

353
00:12:35,752 --> 00:12:38,104
Honestly, it just couldn't be helped.

354
00:12:38,252 --> 00:12:38,956
He stayed three and a half years.

355
00:12:39,280 --> 00:12:41,544
A lot happened during that time.

356
00:12:41,581 --> 00:12:43,159
He was really, really good to me.

357
00:12:44,650 --> 00:12:46,048
Always cooking good food for me,

358
00:12:46,557 --> 00:12:48,390
helping me however he
could. Often I'd drive

359
00:12:48,427 --> 00:12:49,999
back with a truck full of tools,

360
00:12:50,036 --> 00:12:51,443
and he'd help me unload.

361
00:12:51,480 --> 00:12:52,471
He'd chat with me in the evenings.

362
00:12:52,508 --> 00:12:54,092
Emotionally, I felt I truly had a friend,

363
00:12:54,129 --> 00:12:55,715
someone to speak Shanghainese
with. I was really happy.

364
00:12:56,289 --> 00:13:00,150
Once I came back with a truckload,
desperate for the bathroom.

365
00:13:00,456 --> 00:13:01,653
I went, and when I came out,

366
00:13:01,690 --> 00:13:03,048
he'd unloaded everything.

367
00:13:03,456 --> 00:13:06,428
I said, "Don't unload
that, I need it tomorrow."

368
00:13:06,465 --> 00:13:08,136
So we loaded it back up. Then I

369
00:13:08,173 --> 00:13:09,817
had a bite to eat and went home.

370
00:13:10,169 --> 00:13:12,343
After I got home, he
called me: "Big brother,"

371
00:13:12,380 --> 00:13:14,673
he's actually a year older,
but calls me big brother,

372
00:13:14,710 --> 00:13:16,915
"Big brother, could you lend me $20?

373
00:13:16,952 --> 00:13:19,963
I don't even have bus
fare for work tomorrow."

374
00:13:20,000 --> 00:13:21,085
I said, "Why didn't you say so earlier?"

375
00:13:21,474 --> 00:13:23,196
He said, "I couldn't bring myself to ask."

376
00:13:23,233 --> 00:13:24,556
OK. I was living on the West Side then.

377
00:13:24,593 --> 00:13:26,336
I drove all the way back and put

378
00:13:26,373 --> 00:13:28,898
$200 on his desk.

379
00:13:28,935 --> 00:13:30,292
He was out for a walk.

380
00:13:30,329 --> 00:13:32,137
When he came back and saw
it, he was really happy.

381
00:13:32,174 --> 00:13:33,615
A few days ago I told a friend,

382
00:13:33,652 --> 00:13:34,605
in all my chats with him,

383
00:13:34,642 --> 00:13:36,419
he's always borrowing a
bit here, a bit there,

384
00:13:36,456 --> 00:13:37,953
and I never say anything.
I just give it to him.

385
00:13:37,990 --> 00:13:39,446
Even my wife once said,

386
00:13:39,611 --> 00:13:42,157
"Our power bill was never
this high. Now it's so high,

387
00:13:43,389 --> 00:13:44,774
it's all him using it."

388
00:13:44,811 --> 00:13:47,141
I told my wife,

389
00:13:47,178 --> 00:13:48,782
"If we hired someone to
watch the warehouse,

390
00:13:48,819 --> 00:13:51,130
it'd cost more. This is a good deal."

391
00:13:51,491 --> 00:13:53,465
Really, it gave me peace of mind.

392
00:13:53,502 --> 00:13:54,728
We're still good friends now,

393
00:13:54,765 --> 00:13:56,306
whether or not he pays me back. I think

394
00:13:56,380 --> 00:13:59,471
you're helping so many
ordinary people in society,

395
00:13:59,508 --> 00:14:01,301
ordinary citizens.

396
00:14:01,338 --> 00:14:03,937
Your kindness is genuine,

397
00:14:03,974 --> 00:14:05,685
truly, just like the ocean.