Return to Singapore 1995

Li Xiaofan reminded: "Do you still remember the last time we went to watch a movie at Lido Cinema on Orchard Road, and when we were eating ice cream on the street, we met a Singaporean couple by chance?"

"Oh, I think about it. The middle-aged man with a mustache looks very rich. The couple are carrying designer bags!" Liu Mengchen said.

"Well, they are the ones who want to invite me to have dinner at the famous Jumbo Seafood Restaurant on the East Coast on Saturday. Are you interested in joining them?"

"We're not very familiar with each other, are you sorry?" Guo Hanyue said.

"It doesn't matter. They are my friends in Singapore. Rich people, just like Mengchen said just now, don't eat for free! So, you guys think about it first. If you are interested in not working overtime, let's go together! I haven’t finalized it yet…”

"Okay! Let's think about it first and talk about it then!"

This "Shawshank Redemption" is also a wonderful blockbuster that Li Xiaofan likes very much and an inspirational work. After watching the film with the girls, when he went upstairs, the keynote words of the film's protagonist Andy kept lingering in his ears: As long as you have hope, there will always be hope!

The next morning while having breakfast in the factory cafeteria, Zhou Haitao, the former dormitory director of Dormitory 315, came over and sat next to him with a dinner plate and handed Li Xiaofan a letter: "Afan, here is a letter from you!"

Zhou Haitao is the only college student among the mainland employees who came to work at the Westwood Electronics Factory in Singapore from Li Xiaofan and others last year. He is currently a Level 2 technician in the QA Quality Assurance Department, with a basic salary of SGD 580. The real basic salary for Level 5 operators like Li Xiaofan and others from mainland China is only NT$450. With some subsidies, the total monthly salary is only NT$480.

Li Xiaofan took it and looked at it. It turned out to be a school opening notice from ITE Singapore, informing that school would officially start this Sunday morning.

"Brother Tao, thank you!"

Zhou Haitao took a bite of the fried chicken leg and said, "You guys moved out just like you said. Are you comfortable living outside?"

“Comfortable, very comfortable, air-conditioned, so nice to be alone!”

"Afan, I just can't understand! You are the worst level five operator and you only have a small basic salary. Recently I heard that you don't work overtime much and you even moved out and rented a house at your own expense. Where did you get the money? Huh? Is this basic salary enough for you?”

"The savings I saved from working overtime every day during the previous period are here. Recently, I have figured it out and want to enjoy life first!"

"Oh shit, Afan, you're so awesome, you figured it out so well!"

After the two chatted for a while, it was time for the monthly all-hands morning meeting at Ximu Electronics Factory.

Today is March 1. After breakfast on the first morning of every month, the factory will hold a monthly morning meeting for about half an hour in the restaurant, with all employees participating.

Ximu Electronics Factory does not have a luxurious large conference room that can accommodate all employees like state-owned enterprises in the mainland. All-employee meetings are usually held in the restaurant and are very brief.

Before the meeting started, the head of the HR department took a loudspeaker and informed everyone in the restaurant in Chinese and English that according to the department they belong to, everyone should gather quietly and the monthly morning meeting would begin soon.

After all the employees stood up, factory MD Inababe Saburo began to speak.

Saburo Inabe was sent by the group from Tokyo to Singapore at the end of last year to take charge of overall work. He is a short old man in his fifties with white hair. He has worked loyally at Nishiki Electronics Group for nearly thirty years. His English is better than Haneda's. Chun Ma is even worse, and the Singapore managers and office clerks of several factories with whom he usually communicates more can probably understand what he means.

But this old man also particularly likes to speak in English, likes to quote their Japanese idioms and stories, and tell some little allusions that seem to be full of profound meaning, Zen meaning and philosophy.

But his English was really difficult to understand, so most of the time he entertained himself during the monthly morning meetings. After he finished speaking, all the employees applauded as usual.

Today, Saburo Inabe, wearing a crisp factory uniform, came to the standing microphone in the center of the restaurant and prepared to speak.

Surprisingly today, he actually held up a chopstick in his hand.

There was a commotion downstairs, and a group of co-workers were talking about it: Oh shit, MD didn’t have time to have breakfast today, and he actually took a chopstick and went on stage!

The head of the HR department, holding a loudspeaker to maintain order, shouted loudly: "Please be quiet! Everyone, please be quiet!"

After everyone was quiet, Inabe Saburo raised his chopsticks and began to speak: "Today I'm going to tell a story about chopsticks and a pile of chopsticks!"

His Japanese English was so bad that the people below him could hardly understand what he was saying.

The Malaysian workers around Li Xiaofan chuckled and joked: "Does MD want to treat us to a feast..."

Then Saburo Inabe suddenly broke the chopsticks in his hand.

There was an uproar below: "Alama, does MD dislike the quality of the chopsticks in our restaurant?"

"Please be quiet! Everyone, please be quiet!"

The head of the HR department held up a loudspeaker and translated loudly in Chinese for everyone: "What MD means is that today he is going to tell you a story about one chopstick and a pair of chopsticks! A chopstick is easy to break..."

Now everyone understands a little bit.

Then, Saburo Inabe took out a pair of chopsticks from his trouser pocket and continued to speak in English with great devotion:

“Once upon a time, there were several brothers who often quarreled.One day, his father called them to the front, took out a chopstick, said: who can break this chopstick?Several brothers have folded, and no one is folding…”

The crowd still didn’t quite understand.

The head of the HR department continued to translate loudly for everyone with a loud speaker:

“Once upon a time, there were several brothers who often quarreled. One day, their father called them to his side, took out a pair of chopsticks, and said: Who of you can break this chopstick? Several brothers folded it, but no one could break it. The father took the chopsticks apart, gave each of them one, and asked them to fold it again. This time, they broke it as soon as they folded it. The father said: You see, a pair of chopsticks is so strong that it can’t be broken. One chopstick breaks easily. In the future, don’t quarrel anymore. Only when you unite can you be strong!”

The crowd finally understood.

Next, after Saburo Inabe quoted the chopstick story, he required all departments in each factory to work together in unity and solidarity to do a good job! It means that it is not enough for one department to do a good job, just like chopsticks that are easy to break. All departments must unite and condense into a pair of chopsticks to do a good job...

The story Saburo Inabe told is actually quite meaningful, but it was ruined by his poor Japanese English.

After he finished speaking, several factory executives around him applauded, and warm applause broke out in the restaurant. The first agenda of the morning meeting was finally over.

The last agenda was for MD Saburo Inabe to announce the list of the best employees of the month.

This is the part that the workers below are most concerned about!