Well, well, is your back acting up again?
It's just like you to complain of aches when you work and...
gossip about others when you're not
Shall I ask Lan-jie to let you enjoy your retirement?
-I'm feeling fine! -Now, you said it
It's so dirty up there. Bring a pail of water and clean it
-It's so high up -Oh, really?
Hua-shen, you and I are around the same age
I'm still as nimble as ever but you look so tired and sorry all the time
Let me tell you. It's only a psychological barrier
Thinking you're old and pitiful, you hope to be given fewer chores
Get this clear! This is a factory, not some charitable organization!
People your age who are old, slow and lazy would have been fired long ago!
Zhen-jie, my mum's never been lazy. She's been working non-stop
Oh yeah? She's only made so few kueh dadah in an hour!
Mum's not feeling well today. Lan-jie is aware of it too
Bringing Lan-jie in to intimidate me, eh? Fine, go and complain to her!
I'll do the cleaning. I can do it
-Mum, she's obviously picking on you -It's only a simple cleaning job
Since your daughter can't bear to let you work, you should just go home
Why be so hard on yourself?
I'll do it!
Can you cope at all? You've not even completed your own work,
but here you are offering to help her?
You can forget about knocking off on time if you can't finish your work
And don't let me catch you skiving again or I'll give you the sack!
I'll do it. Caixia, I can manage. You get back to work
Mum, be careful
Speak for yourself!
We're all fellow colleagues. Don't carry things too far
Am I? Oh, I almost forgot
Besides taking every opportunity to lodge a complaint against me,
you just love to talk back to me
Fine! Hui has taken half the day off
You'll stay back to finish Hui's portion!
What! That'll take at least an hour. Isn't Kelian covering her?
I heard Hui asking Kelian to cover her work
Hey, I'm the supervisor here! You're to take my orders!
Trying to unload two-person's work on me?
Care to repeat that? Speak louder if you have the guts
Yes, I'm making you work OT without OT pay
You'll doing a two-person's job. So what?
Hua-shen, hurry! Kelian, you'll keep an eye on these two lazy bums
Until they finish their work, they can't knock off
Also, you're not to help them in any way
Your job is to keep an eye on mother and daughter
Report to me if you catch them skiving
-Are you OK, Mum? -Shall I take you to the doctor?
Are you still alive? Cut the act! Get up and get cracking
Stupid Fatso, how wicked of you
You jolly well know Hua-shen has rheumatism
Now that she's fallen down, you don't even show her any concern
Why should you get all worked up?
Hua-shen, did you suffer any bone fracture? Are you bleeding?
There's no need for her to see a doctor!
I can't be bothered with you! Hua-shen, let's go
I don't need a doctor. Let's not waste the money
Come on! The company has covered us under the NTUC Income MHS
You'll only need to pay ? at the clinic
A fall can be quite nasty for an elderly. Let's go
No way! Who's going to do the work if all of you take time off?
You can only see the doctor after work
You're crazy! Such things can't wait. Let's go
If you leave, I'll fire you!
Be my guest! Ignore her
Lion King, you just watch it!
-Mum, let them be -No way!
Take down the time they come back from the clinic
I'm going to dock their pay accordingly!
-Dad, I'm back -It's here! It's here!
-It's from the lawyer! -Why haven't you opened it?
Seeing it's from the lawyer representing FairPrice,
I lacked the guts to read it
What's more, I can't read English
Will your mum be taken to court,
slapped with a fine and sentenced to jail?
Keep this letter from your mum. She won't be able to take it
I don't want to go to jail! I'd be better off dead
Ying, we don't even know what the letter says
Her expression tells me it's bad news!
Let me get run over by a car. I don't wish to die in prison!
We'll engage a good lawyer. At most, you'll be slapped with a fine
That Du Zhengyu is a scheming rat! As if he'd let me off
Just let me die. It'll be so disgraceful if I make the headlines
Let me get run over by a car
Mum, Fairprice says the plastic bags are their property
They'll let the matter rest this time. They just ask that you stop stealing
-Really? -Read it yourself
There, I knew I'd be fine! I committed no murder or arson
I merely helped myself to their plastic bags
Mum, you've taken 10 rolls of their plastic bags in all
So you'll have to pay for the plastic bags
I still have to pay them?
What matters is they're letting you off this time
-Aren't you generous! -Not so loud. People are watching us
That Du Zhengyu is behind all this. If the opportunity arises...
You plan to create trouble again?
"Thank you. Let me buy you supper tonight"
I told you to stop biting ice cubes
You've swallowed it?
You didn't tell me I can't swallow ice cubes
I'm your dentist. Ice cubes are bad for the teeth
If you get rid of this bad habit, your teeth will stop aching
-Thanks -What about?
My mum's case
I just knew my pretty classmate doesn't buy me supper...
based on my charms alone
My mum fell sick over the case
I wrote a report to my boss, explaining the situation
Good thing the company only demanded she pay us
So help yourself to the food
You owe my boss a treat, not me
But I don't know your boss. You'll eat this on his behalf
I'm not used to girls buying me a meal. Let it be my treat
Really? I shan't stand on ceremony then
Give me another plate of chicken wings, please
Hey, I was only kidding
I believe people easily. Besides, I paid for the plastic bags
Now that I'm feeling poorer, I gladly take up your offer of a free meal
I must have been very hungry. You'll take the last piece
-No, you have it -I've taken enough
You'll have the last piece
Why aren't you eating it?
Let's share it
You love this part of the wing
How did you know?
I saw how you polished off the end part of the chicken wing
Either you hate to waste food or you simply love that part of the wing
I won't want to fight with you over it
Thanks
Pull over!
-You're dropping off here again? -My house is just in front. Thanks
Your mum is still angry with me?
-OK then -Bye
I almost forgot
I kept forgetting to return it to you. I've had it with me for a while
So that was how you looked like. You even had two plaits
You looked so adorable. You remind me of my daughter
You wish to be my father? Dream on!
I'm getting off. Bye
Morning! He Wei, morning
You're already late by 5 minutes. You'd better get cracking
Or that woman will tick you off again
Pregnant women walk slower. Besides, I was caught in a traffic congestion
It must be my greedy baby. I have such a ravenous appetite these days
He Wei, shall the three of us go for lunch together?
Sure!
-This is strange -What's wrong?
I just can't start my PC
Let me take a look
Wonder what's wrong with it. Let me get someone to fix it
Don't bother. There's nothing wrong with the computer
The bank has closed your computer account
As of today, you needn't report for work again
You've been fired
Annie has always been a good worker. Why are we still retrenching her?
Annie has worked for the bank for over 10 years
Can we write her a letter of referral?
No! We must never give her the reference
She's been retrenched based on her poor work performance
If we still write her a reference,
we'll only be doing the bank that employs her a disservice
Our ability to appraise our staff might also come under fire
I've gone through her leave application forms
She either took leave to tend to her kids or go for her personal checkups
She either turned up late at work or left early
The bank is not obligated to write her a reference
I share Keke's view
If you're not happy with the retrenchment benefits,
you may request for assistance from the Union
They wanted me to pack up and leave in 30 minutes
They even got a security guard to escort me out of the office
They're heartless!
That's the bank's policy
I wonder who will get hit in the next retrenchment exercise
It's all that woman's doing!
Keke was merely carrying out orders
We can't blame her totally
I'm really sorry. I can't help you much in this matter
Stop speaking up for that woman
She even said no to your request to write me a reference!
The economy isn't doing well and there are talks of bank mergers
It doesn't help that I keep stepping on her toes
What's there to worry about?
She'll get a taste of her own medicine one day
She wouldn't even let a pregnant woman off. Her turn will come!
Jason, what a surprise!
-Here for lunch? -Yes. I'm meeting Ruisheng here
He's just sitting behind you
Her boyfriend is around. Let's give it a break
So what?
Does he want to speak up for his girlfriend? Go ahead!
-He'll get an earful from me! -What happened?
Ruisheng's girlfriend Keke has given Annie the sack
Annie, feel free to come to me if you need any help
Thanks, Jason. Thank goodness I joined the Union
Or I'd be left high and dry after what that Fan Keke did to me!
A bad-tempered and wicked woman like her is capable of anything!
She even accused you of taking her boyfriend's handphone on purpose
Go and steal him from her! I'm sure you won't lose to her
Don't you agree, Jason?
A good guy like him shouldn't settle for a girl like Fan Keke
He should pick He Wei instead
Yes, yes
That's enough. Let's go
-But our food isn't here yet -Forget it. I'm not eating
He Wei, you may call me if Annie has any problems
We can talk it over a meal
Work has been hectic of late
But I'll be able to take leave to go on a holiday soon
You're still in the mood for holidays?
What's wrong?
Did your bank start its retrenchment exercise today?
How did you know?
I ran into He Wei and the rest at the food court today
You ran into her again?
Keke, I'm aware retrenchment is prevalent everywhere
But can't you show retrenched staff a bit more compassion?
If you don't handle it well,
it'll affect how the other staff view you
Did He Wei speak ill of me to you again?
-Stop being mistaken about her -Am I?
I'm deemed as the evil one in the bank
I take the brunt of their unhappiness over the retrenchment
To think you'd even side with her
She must have carried tales in front of you
I'm merely analyzing the situation for you
When the manager wanted you to prepare the appraisal report,
you should have known he wanted you to play the bad guy
Stop thinking that He Wei is setting herself up against you
I'd say you two have ganged up against me
Dare you say you didn't arrange to meet her at the food court?
Come on
Never mind if you don't console me for being the target of gossip
Annie deserved the sack. But you actually choose to believe He Wei
What else did that woman say to you?
Will you be more reasonable? Why must you keep implicating He Wei?
Enough! Zheng Ruisheng, stop bringing her up
I don't need you to criticize me further
Since He Wei has so many good points and does voluntary work like you,
go look her up!
I know you're under a lot of work stress
Let's plan for our next holiday destination
Where would you like to go?
I'm in no mood to go anywhere now. You may go with He Wei if you want
I asked you two in here to discuss the factory affairs
Take a seat
Lan-jie, here's this week's production report
Zhen-jie, Zhu-jie, we have to cut down on our production
Why?
As you know, our orders have gone down
Times are bad and Shijian has taken away many deals from us
Yes, yes. We should also cut down on expenses too
We should also lay off some staff
Take Hua-shen for example! She's old and she draws a high pay
She's a slow worker and often takes sick leave
Her daughter Caixia is still new on the job
She may be young but she's still raw. She should be retrenched too
We may also consider laying off...
Be they new or old workers, they've done nothing to warrant retrenchment
Exactly! Lan-jie, I share your sentiments
Hua-shen has been with the factory since it started
You're a person who treasures ties
You're crazy to ask Lan-jie to treasure old ties
Lan-jie has always been kind to the workers
She was nice to Shijian too, but look what happened!
Lan-jie, you can't be soft-hearted. We must bear in mind the economy
The workers won't stay grateful to you
We should axe the useless ones!
Are you the boss? Lan-jie isn't even talking about retrenchment here
Wake up your idea. The economy is faring badly
Do you want to see the factory close down?
Two of your staff have left. Can my mum and I join your team?
Fatty Zhen is too much! She makes me stay back to do two-person's jobs
My mum has been in poor health but she still makes her carry heavy stuff
You know what she's like
Just put up with her. Tell your mum not to slacken her pace
Why?
You'd do well to watch yourself. Don't clash with Fatso head-on
Let my mum join your team. I'll stay
You just don't get my point, do you?
Things are different now. Vacancies won't be filled anymore
This is just between you and me. Business has been poor
Staff may be retrenched
Lan-jie said that?
It was Fatty Zhen's idea
What is it now?
Oh dear! Kelian must have overheard our conversation
-She'll betray us -She's not that type of person
Why not? Fatty Zhen got her to spy on us. She's a spy all right!
Why else was she standing outside the door?
She'll tell on us!
Relax. I guarantee Kelian won't do that
You'd better go back to work or Fatty Zhen will say you're skiving again
Run along. Just put up with things
Can't you see I'm busy?
I can see that you're busy gossiping about others!
Pardon me?
I thought you were just coquettish,
but you're a wicked talebearer too!
That's enough, Fatso. How have I offended you?
Rather, I've offended the whole world
Everyone likes you but resents me!
I'll tell the whole world to do the reverse, OK?
Hold it! The whole factory now knows I brought up staff retrenchment
They now look upon as a sinner
You even goad my workers to join your team
What are you talking about?
I know. This is your plot to get rid of me so that you'll be the boss here
Show me some respect! I'm not as despicable as you think
I'm despicable? Have the guts to own up to what you said!
Lan-jie, good to see you! This woman is unreasonable
Lan-jie, only 4 of us know what transpired in the office
But this Spider Spirit goes round telling people staff will be laid off
She even wanted to poach my staff
-I did not! -You did!
Break it up. This is a critical time
You'll only fluster the people with the retrenchment talk
Both of you are supervisors. You're not being fair to Zhen
Lan-jie, I really didn't go round spreading it
No? Someone heard you loud and clear in the pantry!
Lan-jie, I was only...
All right. You should have been more discreet with your words
You'll only affect staff morale. Zhu, do be more discreet in future
Yuzhu-jie, I made these dumplings. Have one
Cut the act. I may just get poisoned
Yuzhu-jie! What's wrong?
Cut the act!
I'm Big Mouth Zhu. I goaded Caixia to join my team
I go round telling everyone the factory will be laying off staff
This way, I'll set the workers against your mum
Do be careful. I'm wicked too
Would you want to make friends with a wicked person like me?
What are you talking about?
Some things are better left unsaid
I don't betray people
But I won't stay friends with someone who betrays me
Are you saying I told on you? I didn't...
Are you saying I went to tell your mum myself?
I didn't. It's true...
Zhu-jie, you're usually very gracious
Give Kelian a chance to explain
Is there a need to? I just a ticking off from Lan-jie
Do you expect me to stay chirpy and say I brought it upon myself?
I told Caixia to keep what she heard to herself
Kelian was there too. She couldn't have missed that
Now that everyone knows about it, I take the brunt of the blame
I even assured Caixia you would never tell on us
To think you carried tales in front of Fatso
What else have you got to say?
I've always looked upon you as a good friend
You're such a disappointment!
I really didn't...!
Can't you say something else?
I really didn't...
If you want others to believe you, you've got to make yourself clear
If you just go on "I didn't", who would believe you?
Cheer up
She's my only friend
Everyone at the factory sees me as my mother's spy
No one will talk to me
Now, even she's misunderstood me
Come on, Zhu-jie just needs to let off steam. She'll get over it
In any case, I don't believe you're the sort who carries tales
She won't even eat my dumpling. I doubt she'll talk to me again
You made these dumplings? They must taste good!
I'll eat it. It's her loss
Smells good!
You OK?
It's simply delicious!
Why the sudden urge to come shopping with me?
You've got good taste. Help me choose a dress
-Is something up? -No. Let's look at the clothes
Why aren't you out with Ruisheng today?
I can't possibly split myself into two, can I? Aren't I with you now?
Why hasn't he called you today?
I'm not taking his calls, that's why
It's cute
It's mine
It'll turn out fine
Keke, I'm hungry. Let's go to the apple strudel shop nearby
-You want apple strudel? -Let's go!
But you hate the taste of cinnamon powder on the apple strudel
Besides, there's no apple strudel shop over here
What matters is you like it. Here we are!
So you had it all planned
I was doing someone a favour
You refused to take my calls or see me
So I could only turn to Xiangxiang for help
Let's apply for leave next month. We'll go on a trip together
I have to think about it. I may not be able to take leave
But you wanted to take a break
If I have such a sweet boyfriend,
I'll even quit my job to go on the trip with him
Are we still going for the apple strudel?
To be honest, I don't fancy the taste of the cinnamon powder
I don't suppose you want me to play the gooseberry either
See you!
You mentioned you'd like to visit Canada
See, I've got the air tickets
But I don't feel like going there now
I suppose you'll like this?
I'm sorry
-Girl, what's your name? -I'm Xiaojia
I'm 6 this year and am in K2 this year. I want to be a dentist one day
You're already reading up on teeth. I'm sure you'll be a dentist one day
-Why do you want to become a dentist? -I want to examine my dad's teeth
My dad often gets toothaches
He had his teeth extracted and the cotton gauze was soaked with blood
He'd then cry out in pain
When I become a dentist, I'll be able to check his teeth and...
tell him not to cry
Dad is an adult but still cries at the dentist's
It's terrible to have tooth decay, isn't it?
Xiaojia must take care of your teeth...
so that you can be a good dentist and help your dad
Here comes Dad!
It's you
So that was how you looked like. You even had two plaits
-You remind me of my daughter -You wish to be my father?
Dream on!
-Here you go -Thanks
Xiaojia, tuck in
Let's share it. You love this part of the wing
How did you know?
I saw how you polished off the end part of the chicken wing
Either you hate to waste food or you simply love that part of the wing
I won't want to fight with you over it
What's wrong?
Nothing
Auntie, isn't it delicious?
-Is it nice? -All right
-Really? -Yeah
Xiaojia, eat slowly. You've dirtied your face
-You... -Yes?
Nothing
Xiaojia, let me wipe it off for you
Shall I get you a cup of coffee?
No, thanks. I can't take too much coffee
-Xiaojia, you may have my share -Thank you, Auntie
-Why are you stopping? -Auntie lied to us about liking it
I didn't. It's just that I suddenly lost all interest in it
You only took a few bites. Shall I get you something else?
No, thanks. I don't have much of an appetite
-Let me give you a lift home -It's OK. I'll find my own way back
Bye
-Xiaojia, say bye to Auntie -Bye, Auntie
Bye, Xiaojia
Heard any gossip about me?
Would I hear anything? They flee at the sight of me
Useless girl! Couldn't you follow them?
There you go pinching my fruit again!
How else can I know if the fruit is fresh and good?
Times are bad. You people should be more courteous to your customers
-See that you don't lose customers! -You never fail to pinch my fruit
When times were good, I could still close one eye to it
But it's not easy to sell my fruit these days
No wonder people like to speak ill of you behind your back!
Stupid woman, you actually eavesdropped on me!
What's so great about your fruit? Keep them for yourself!
-How dare you throw my fruit! -I'm sorry
-But... -But what?
Keke wants to have mangoes
There are other fruit stalls around!
You can be so dumb! You're so inflexible
If I were your boss, I'd have fired you long ago
Keep a close eye on those staff
There will be a retrenchment. We must find an excuse to dismiss them
This way, we can save on retrenchment benefits to get a bigger bonus
Don't take more than 3 minutes to pee and 6 minutes to pass motion
Record the number of times you visit the loo
2 squares of toilet paper for peeing and 4 squares for passing motion
Those who break the rule will lose their OT benefits
To think our visits to the loo will be recorded!
This is too much!
And we can visit the loo only 3 times a day
Who'll pay for our medical expenses if our health suffers as a result?
-Hua-shen, how? -I visit the loo about 20 times a day
I won't be able to hold my bladder
We can't possible rush out of the toilet midway...
just to be within the time limits
Will you get diarrhoea all the time?
I know you people love to come to the toilet to skive and gossip
Fatso, you must be very idle. Why should our toilet visits bother you?
As if I cared. I'm doing this with their welfare at heart
This way, they'll talk less and produce more kueh
In case the factory decides to lay off staff, our dept won't be affected
Lan-jie isn't as heartless as you
Girls, you have nothing to worry about
Zhen-jie, my mum is old. Can she be exempted from this ruling?
One's age shouldn't be an excuse
Incontinence can be cured. You should go to a doctor
Old people all have weak bladders. You and I will grow old one day...
I'm doing all this in the interest of the factory
-Don't you curse me -As if I'd bother to
I'm only asking that you spare a thought for the older staff
Talk is cheap! You should translate your words into action
I'm doing this to secure their jobs
I think you're more idle than me
Instead of minding your own section,
you're meddling in the affairs of my section!
Make sure you people take record of your visits to the loo
I'll get Kelian to make spot checks
For each time you're caught,
I'll dock half a month's worth of OT benefits and so on!
-What are you doing here? -I need to use the toilet
-Go on! -They're still inside
What you just said will make them dislike me even more
They should be afraid of you and not the other way round
Watch out. The spy is here
I dare you to record the frequent toilet visits Fatso makes!
Since you enjoy this so much, you should be a toilet janitor
You're using the toilet now! Don't you forget to put that down!
Have you forgotten what I told you?
-Mum... -Get going!
But they don't want to sit with me
Stupid girl! You can always go and join them instead
Get going!
Stop drinking water. You may just top the chart for number of toilet visits
You'll lose your OT benefits then
Let's sit down
Sit
You only ordered vegetables
Here's a chicken wing for you
Let's eat
You people are too much!
Lion King, what's that about?
Cut the act. We're fellow workers. Don't be so mean
What are you referring to?
You've all known Kelian for some time
So it's all about Kelian!
I was Kelian's friend. But she betrayed me
Thanks to her, Lan-jie ticked me off when I went to her office
I was a fool to believe Kelian!
Kelian might not have been the culprit
Are you saying we have told Fatso about it?
You!
Lion King, are you interested in her? You can tell us
What's there to tell you?
Why else do you keep speaking up for Kelian? Right?
Don't you talk rubbish
Then why did you give her a chicken wing and speak so nicely to her?
You're not usually like that
When we were at the NTUC Club, you were buzzing around Kelian
You even offered her drinks and sang her a love song
I saw it all!
You're mistaken! I'm fine with you saying I like Kelian
But Kelian is a girl. Don't smear her reputation
There! Kelian's name never leaves your lips
Dare you deny you don't like her?
Mum, what is it?
Even if Kelian is left on the shelf, I'll let you have her!
-Perish the thought! -Mum, what are you talking about?
You're a toad lusting after swan's flesh!
You wish to marry Kelian? In your next life!
Mum...
What! Let's go! Don't let his eyes feast on you any longer!
Subtitled by A Han