While most people are still fast asleep in bed, a lady has already begun her job quietly amid the darkness and loneliness in the street.
Over the past 30 years or so, Mrs Wong, aged 58, has dedicated her life to running a newspaper stall. From the succession to her mother’s newspaper stall to running her own in the Electric Road of Tin Hau currently, Mrs Wong has learnt a lot in this field of business.
Every day before dawn, Mrs Wong collects and stacks the newspapers all by herself regardless of the lengthy hours it takes to complete the tasks. When the sky brightens, the newspaper stall is up and ready to go on business.
For many people, her job is a tough one.
Stacking newspapers is not easy and Mrs Wong is very skilful at this.
“If I had not liked the [newspaper] culture and enjoyed reading, I would not have worked persistently in all these years of hardship,” said Mrs Wong.
Mrs Wong sighed out her grief when she mentioned the newspapers stalls in Hong Kong had been forced to shut down one after another due to the availability of news on the Internet and free newspaper, as well as the intense competition from convenience stores such as 7-Eleven.
Having experienced the ups and downs in this business, Mrs Wong is now relieved to see her children are all grown up as her economic burden has greatly reduced.
Instead of worrying about the future, Mrs Wong decided to serve her old customers until she does not want to work anymore.
“I love my job wholeheartedly,” said Mrs Wong, with confidence and enthusiasm.
