One pen ma-The Old Meets the New

Clear Newspaper 3/15/2012
column: One pen Ma
writer: Steven Ma
translator: Tamaya

The New Meets the Old? 
新知會舊雨

Because of work, recently got in contact and also got to know many mainland friends; most of them are actors but there are also some behind the scenes competent personnels, all of whom have become my good friends.

Suddenly, I recollect my first time working in mainland situation.

That was in 1991. I worked for a Hong Kong chemical factory as a salesman. At the time, the company was just setting up its first factory in Dong Guan, and I was assigned to the managing director following him to the new factory location to take care of things there. To an inexperienced young person, this was undoubtedly a hard to come by opportunity.

Besides handling all small and big stuff concerning the factory, business entertainment activities were aplenty too. Social drinking was one given activity, and what's more, the liquor imbibed was white wine. Maybe because I was still young plus my liquor tolerance threshold was high, I was considerably sober after the social drinking. However, once inside the factory living quarters, tis’ bad! During that time, it was high summer and the factory was not air-conditioned. Just imagine, the body was all heated up after the drinks, and a 30 degrees Celsius over temperature hot summer night, that feeling was truly unbearable!

After so many years, I suddenly thought of my former colleagues, though separated we still keep in touch, just that we are now focusing in different fields. A strange thought: if the new and the old gathered together to imbibe some white wine, what would they talk about?