I went over to the garages today because it’s the day before New Year. I thought I should say “Hi” and wish them all a good year of the Monkey because their shops will be closed. I go, “Hey, Happy New Year” and Mun goes, “Ai! You can’t do that. It’s not good!”
“Sorry!” I cringe, “Why?”
“Because today is a por yut (bad day) and you can’t say all that until the New Year. Not even at midnight!! It’s not good luck.”
“Oh.”
“When do I say it?”
“When the New Year is here, not in the evening, when the sun comes out.”
“Ah. Sorry. Such a Gwiemui.”
“What are you doing for the New Year?”
“Hanging out with family. Going to the flower market this evening.”
“Can I come over and Bai Neng (Wish your family good a year?)”
“Ha Ha, so you can get some lai see. Can I come see yours? I don’t have that much family around.”
“Right. Let me come to yours first, I think we might get bigger laisee packets.”
“So when are you opening the shop?”
“On the sixth day of the year.”
“Good day?”
“Yes, everyone opens on the sixth day this year.”
I hear from the back, “Hey, Yan, Have you eaten?” It’s Fai. We haven’t spoken for a while. This means we are back into being good.
“Yeah. What about you?”
“Now.”
I go in and sitting there were two guys I haven’t seen before, but surely people who race or work in garages.
“Hey, I didn’t know you can’t wish someone a New Year yet.”
“Bad day!” Fai says.
“Are you opening the shop on the sixth too?”
“Nah, I have to open on the fifth, there is a car that needs fixing, so I shall come by on the forth to open.”
“Forth?”
“Fifth is the bad day, well not so good. The forth is a good day. So I come down just to open for a bit, to start the new year.”
“I see. Rather than the fifth.”
“Yeah, only if you believe in such things. Fourth better day, fifth bad day, sixth the best. But I have to work on the fifth. Come in on the forth. I figure why not. There is no need to try it out and not do it right?”
“Yeah. Don’t risk it.”
The guys talk. Lai’s car has to go in for check up. Wah’s car has to go in for check up. Someone else’s car has gone into the pound and won’t get it back for new years.
“I thought they were going to give it back.”
“Nope. Keeping it in.”
“Which is why I am not going out tonight. They are all meeting at one, this evening.” Says one of the people I haven’t seen before. He picks up a toy car and plays with it. “Man, I want to make sure my car goes through the new year.”
“One o’clock. Where are they going? Stay clear of Sheko.” Say the other guy.
“Those guys are crazy. A whole bunch of them. Kowloon I don’t know the roads real well. Hong Kong, most probably get taken in. I don’t need that shit. Stay home.”
“Maybe we can drive and stick fai chuns (Red good luck banners people put on their doors and fishing boats etc to celebrate the new year.) Up on the cars. And drive there. Give it to the cops. Stick it on their cars, “Hey, Sir, Good luck, Fat Choy, Peace!”
“Wo hei (together in peace), Ah Sir. Lets’ not shakes hands and be friends for the new year!”
Everyone laughs.
“Sure as hell gonna meet them tonight!”
Fai says, “How about going to the flower market. Walk around.”
Mun walks in, “where the fuck is the receipts? I have a place to run here. This is a pig sty! I tell you, you guys better clean it up before you go. This is not the community center!”
They other guys ignore him.
One says, “Hey, make you a sign that says, “Community Center and post it on the door.”
Mun waves me out of the way and open the drawer. In it is a box of money. They don’t have a cashier. He pulls it out, puts more in and closes the box and shuts the drawer. I realize that’s pretty amazing. He really trusts the people in that room including me. Any of us can just stick out hands in, open that box and takes the cash away. He doesn’t think twice about allowing me to sit right by.
Fai goes, “Fuck, I have so much to do with all those other guys cars. Don’t know how we got so lucky. All at once.”
So I go, “When they hook you in, do you have to pay for the removal?”
“And the car checking. And the pieces you replace. And a fine.”
“Is it really expensive?”
“Depends on each case. Like a broken license plate is about $250, $300.”
“Heard someone got $500 once.”
“I got an over all $1200 fine once, two years ago. I thought I was going to commit suicide.”
“So, you pay for the checking, you pay for the removal, and you pay for the pieces.”
“Yeah.”
“What happens to the pieces you take out for illegal modifications?”
“You swap. You find someone with the same car, with the original piece in, and you give them yours. You take it in to check and then once you pass the test, you put it back in.”
“Ah! I always wondered what happens to all the pieces.”
“So, really, the fine is okay. I get to keep the machinery in the long run, so all I lose is the money to mechanic, which is him.”
Fai smiles.
“So, Fai, really you hope all your friends get hooked huh?” I say,
“Well, not at once. It’s a lot of work. You have to track down the original, and someone who is willing to do that. Like it took me ages to find the original AE111 exhaust for ah Lai. Man. Lai doesn’t even want to put the shot gun back in. He’s going to let the other guy keep it. Just for simplicity sake. I think he took it to the wrong checking point. Some are more strict than others.”
They discuss the pros and cons of each inspection spot.
“Hey, wanna play the play station? $5 a piece.”
“That’s like giving you the money, five bucks if we play automatic.”
They guys get stuck in the game. Fai is losing by a long shot. “Say goodbye to your money, Fai,” I say.
He grunts.
I get up to go. “Hey.. New.. I will come back on the forth to wish you are new year then.”
“Yup,” he nods and loses the game, which in real life doesn’t happen much.
Yan Sham-Shackleton Online 