Return to Singapore 1995

"Come on, let's jump together!"

Jiabeng means eating in Hokkien dialect. Hearing Atan's familiar Fujian dialect, Li Xiaofan felt particularly cordial. Most of the early Chinese immigrants in Singapore and Malaysia came from Fujian and Guangdong. Atan was a Fujianese from Penang.

The two of them came to the fish head rice noodle shop at the east entrance of the market and sat down.

"Uncle Qiu, please have a portion of fish head rice noodles and add a portion of fish fillets!" Li Xiaofan said to the boss, Uncle Qiu.

Uncle Qiu, who was so busy in the shop that he was sweating, said: "Wow, Xiao Li, what day is it today? It's the first time I see you adding ingredients!"

"Today is a big day for my life to start over!"

Uncle Qiu asked curiously: "Why did your life start again today?"

"Because I suddenly figured out many things in life today!"

"Haha, that's an epiphany! Okay, okay, I'll add more fish fillets for you today to celebrate your epiphany and start a new life! Only those who love to work hard will win!"

Qiu Bo is a new immigrant from Taiwan, and his fish head rice noodles are very famous. Qiu Bo's family uses fresh sea fish caught from the pier of Pulau Ubin near the village. They start making soup base in the early morning. The soup base is made of fresh sea fish bones, pork bones, ikan bilis and soybeans. Very fresh and tender.

After Li Xiaofan ordered, Uncle Qiu began to scald the noodles. He filled a small pot with the soup needed for the noodles, added tomatoes, shredded ginger, vegetables, evaporated milk, pickles and other ingredients. After cooking the soup base, he put down the cooked rice noodles. Add fried fish pieces, top with fish sauce, pepper and Shaoxing wine, and sprinkle with chopped green onions and crispy green onions to enhance the flavor. Finally, add tofu, yuba, seaweed, fish paste and other ingredients.

From the skin to the meat, and from the meat to the bones, it is full of fragrance, which is very mouth-watering and makes people unable to stop.

The soup is rich and sticky. The delicious and warm soup is paired with fine or thick rice noodles and sprinkled with white pepper. Oh my god, it’s so delicious!

Li Xiaofan thought about it carefully. During the past few years in Singapore, he worked and earned money basically 350 days a year, 365 days a year. Although it was hard work, it was also a carefree four years.

Atan took a sip of fish fillet soup and said:

"Brother Fan, there are some new Thai girls at Geylang Lane 16. Several friends have tried them. I heard they are very beautiful and live well. What do you think? Let's go and try them out on Saturday?"

The Geylang area in Singapore is a famous government-sanctioned red light district. Atan is a regular visitor there. He is familiar with the streets. When he talks about the girls in Geylang, his eyes shine and his saliva flies.

"Haha, forget it, let's talk about it next time..."

"Tch, you deal with me like this every time! By the way, Brother Fan, you have been in Singapore for almost a year, and you haven't slept with just one girl. Sometimes I feel like you are just a eunuch. Is that something you are no longer good at? ah?"

After Ah TAN and Li Xiaofan lived together for a long time, their spoken language would be mixed with each other's words.

"Damn, I'm normal! The reason why I'm not looking for girls for the time being is that the work is too tiring, and the girls nowadays are very realistic. For people like us who hold the lowest WP pass, the government won't We are allowed to marry local people. I am not interested in girls from Geylang..."

WP is a worker's pass issued by the Singapore Ministry of Labor, also called a labor pass locally. According to local law, WP pass holders are not allowed to marry Singapore local residents or permanent resident PR holders without approval from the Singapore Ministry of Labor.

"Stop being so prude, you must masturbate every day, right?"

"Go to hell!"

"Brother Fan, let me brainwash you, how about we talk about something exciting?"

"What stuff?"

"Prostitution knowledge! Brother Fan, although you are full of knowledge, you rarely play with girls in Singapore, so I am your master in this aspect of prostitution..."

Li Xiaofan checked the time and interrupted the intoxicated Atan: "The shuttle bus is coming soon. I'll listen to your story next time!"

"Okay, then I'll go to WC first!"

After Atan left, Li Xiaofan drank the sugar cane juice in his cup and looked at the lottery shop opposite in trance.

He was trying to remember something.

There was a group of people chatting around this small lottery shop. Most of them were middle-aged and elderly people. They were all in high spirits and chatting with each other.

Li Xiaofan knew that they should be talking about a gambling activity in Singapore that almost everyone on the island participates in - buying 10,000-word tickets.

The English word for 4D ticket is "4d", that is, gamblers fill in a set of 4-digit numbers at will, from 0000 to 9999. In the final draw, a group of first prizes, second, third, fourth and consolation prizes will be randomly generated. The winner will be paid proportionally. Because there are a total of 10,000 different number combinations, it is called "Wan Zi Ticket" in Chinese.

In Singapore, the 4D ticket is deeply loved by the people. When talking about the 4D ticket on the island, whether old or young, men or women, everyone is very excited and excited. There are often groups of three or four on the street, studying the first prize of the 400-word lottery. Everyone holds several pieces of information in their hands, such as the beginning and end, and the middle. The various diagrams are dizzying. I heard that some people get the right number, bet thousands at a time, and become multi-millionaires in an instant.

Some Singaporeans who are addicted to 10,000-word tickets will automatically "convert" them into a set of 10,000-word tickets when they see and think of something related to numbers (house numbers, ID numbers, phone numbers, birthdays, anniversaries, etc.) everywhere in their lives. The ticket number is then used to place bets. If you win, it is the so-called "real word" and it will definitely be a big deal.

In his previous life, Li Xiaofan remembered that when he first came to Singapore to work, the Singaporean and Malaysian co-workers and workshop leaders talked most about lottery tickets in their spare time. The Singaporean team leader in the workshop, Ade, had taken out dozens of yuan from his salary every month for ten consecutive years to bet on the last four digits of his work number, and finally won the second prize ten years later.

Li Xiaofan vaguely remembered that the first prize numbers of the lottery tickets drawn several times in his previous life were indeed related to recent events, but now he couldn't remember them all of a sudden...

Li Xiaofan was quietly planning the rest of his life.

Before his rebirth, he also loved reading online novels and had read too many rebirth articles. He didn't expect that he would really be reborn this time. If he had known earlier, he would at least memorize a few of the soaring stock K-line charts and welfare lottery numbers. However, he is an ordinary person after all, without the blessing of the system and the library of heaven in his mind. For him this time, the biggest and only golden finger is: rebirth!

Recalling the past twenty years of his life, he sorted out his thoughts and decided that there were three things he had to do:

The first was to take notes. He had to try to recall every little thing and clue before his rebirth, related to stocks, lottery tickets, lottery tickets, etc., and record them in a notebook to find opportunities to get rich.

The second was to study. In Singapore, only diplomas can change your life. He had to hurry up and register for the Singapore Institute of Technical Education ITE to study for the on-the-job electronic engineering certificate course taught entirely in English. In Singapore, learning English well and holding a professional diploma certificate recognized by the local community is the best way for a wage earner to get ahead. Mainland diplomas are basically not recognized here.

The third was to exercise. The body is the capital of the revolution. He had to start running and swimming. When he had time, he went to the NTUC club to participate in Taekwondo training. Overtime should be properly controlled, and physical exercise is essential...