Chapter 52 "Iron houses" are all on the roof?

I have never studied the poor in Hong Kong. In the past, I was completely unaware that Hong Kong had a kind of "public housing" government behavior. This behavior is that the government considers "families who really need but cannot afford private housing" and provide them with cheap rental house.By the end of 2003, about 2.1 million people in Hong Kong lived in simple "public housing" managed by the "Hong Kong Housing Authority" and "Hong Kong Housing Society".Those stretches of "public housing" are called "housing estates".

In the first half of 2005, I just got a general understanding of the east, west, north, and south of Hong Kong, and then I began to think about finding friends and asking the locals to take me to see "public housing", but Hong Kong's "rich area" is the United States. The "Beverly Hills" in Hong Kong, even if it is not open, is still attractive to tourists; but the "poor area" is different, and it is also a "family scandal" in Hong Kong. Who would be willing to be such a "guide" for me? I had no choice but to ask the kind-hearted "Sister Bi" I mentioned earlier. After hearing my request, "Sister Bi" was taken aback for a moment and said, "It's okay, why do you go to Hong Kong to see the poor?"But after thinking about it for a while, I quickly showed sympathy, knowing that I am not a frivolous person who is "envious of others, laughing at others", knowing that I am going to visit the poor, as a reporter from the mainland, I want to know the real Hong Kong, so I agree, Promise to take me there.So one day she accompanied me to District 2 of "Ngau Tau Kok Lower Decoration" in Kowloon. There are 7 "public housing" in this district, built in 1967, and it is a standard "housing village".

I walked into the "housing estates" and found that the "public housing estates" looked like closed large factory buildings from the outside, but they were taller than the factory buildings, and generally had 20 floors smaller.Entering the "public housing" again, it feels like a "tube building" in Beijing, but the corridor is longer, wider, clean, and there is no window on both sides for some reason.The kind "Sister Bi" helped me find an old man she knew before we arrived in order to allow me to enter the "public housing" home to take a look. Until today, I have been living in a set of "medium-sized" rooms on the 16th floor, and "public housing" is generally only divided into three sizes: large, medium, and small because the "public housing" is uniformly built by the government: the large size is in the early 20 square meters; The medium size is 16.5 square meters; the small size is only about 10 square meters.According to the old man’s recollection, Hong Kong’s population expanded rapidly back then, and many people lacked houses to live in. Like his family, a wife, three pairs of children, and two generations were already a “family of 8”, and they were eligible to apply to the government for renting a “Chinese house”. No. ” room, the rent is about 480 yuan per month.

"Medium size? A family of 8? Just live in a house of 16.5 square meters? How can I live? I can't even fit the bed?" I didn't pretend to be surprised. The old man said: "Ah, let's take the upper and lower bunks, that would be good. Back then, many people had to wait in line for a long time!" I followed the old man into the house. His house is basically the same as it was back then. There is absolutely no double bed in the house, only a row of bunk beds stacked against the wall, and there is no sofa. The old small chairs are full of childlike atmosphere, and the "family portrait" of their family is still hung on the black and yellow walls. There are a lot of children surrounded by their parents.The old man is very optimistic. Although he can see that their family has had a hard time in the past, he has not complained until now. He just saw that I didn’t even have a decent place to sit in the house, so he kept saying sorry.I hurriedly thanked: "No need to sit, no need to sit, it would be great if I could come in and take a look." He was not polite, and took me to the balcony again, and said proudly: "Look, this balcony is less than 3 square meters. The rice is rebuilt by myself. The left side is the toilet. Of course, it is difficult for a person to turn around. The right side is the kitchen. Back then, our family washed vegetables, cooked meals, and dried clothes in such a narrow space... ..."

Leaving "Ngau Tau Kok Lower Village", I sighed with emotion that day and asked "Sister Bi", "Is this place the worst house for Hong Kong people?" "Sister Bi" shook her head and said in a drawn out voice, "No ——Yes”, “public housing” should be better, besides “public housing”, have you never heard of “wooden housing”, “tin housing” or even “cage housing” in Hong Kong?If you still want to see it, I will take you there again.As he spoke, he dragged me into a taxi and got off. We had arrived at Nanchang District in Sham Shui Po. "Sister Bi" said: "Okay, now you have come to the poorest place in Hong Kong, which is this area: Cheung Sha Wan, Yaliu Street, Guilin Street, Keelung Street, see for yourself, and see where the poor in Hong Kong live. What kind of place!" After finishing speaking, he added: "But if you still want to enter the building, we have to find someone else, otherwise you won't be welcome. The poor in Hong Kong don't live in shabby houses, but everyone has the right to privacy and dignity. .”

I remember that day very clearly. We later found a young man from the Nanchang District Residents and Business Association, and he led the way. The first building we entered was Keelung Street?Block A, 5th Floor, Changhao.That building was also a tall building in the shape of a matchbox, similar in appearance to the buildings on the entire street, with a mottled exterior, messy and jagged roofs, and the whole area looked old.These buildings, the young man told me, are not the government "public housing" you just saw, and many of them are privately developed commercial housing.In the past few decades, Hong Kong people could only afford such houses.But now these houses are basically rented out by homeowners. The area of ​​each house is slightly larger than that of "public housing", but it is only 30 to 40 square meters. It is then divided into several smaller rooms. The name of such a room is very vivid, it is called "bed room", do you understand "bed room"?As the name suggests, the size of the room can really only fit a bed.

"Bed room"?Apart from sleeping, where does that person do his activities during the day? We walked and said that we have arrived at Block A on the 5th floor. Sure enough, this building was not built by the government. The corridors are much narrower than those of "public housing". They look like ladders instead of corridors. It is impossible for two adults to go up and down side by side without turning sideways. Although the function has been strengthened, it always makes people feel funny when seeing it for the first time. The three of us lined up high and low to climb up. When we got to the third floor, I said, okay, don’t go. Anyway, I already know the appearance of the stairs. I went in to see the "bed room"?

The lad did as I was told, and a house opened up, apparently tenants, not owners.I went inside and saw the "bed room", and the "bed room" really lived up to its name. In a house, only the bed surface can be seen, but the ground cannot be seen.I asked: "How much is the monthly rent for a 'bed room' like this?" Immediately afterwards, I laughed to myself: How can this miniature "small house" in front of me be able to withstand my use of a "set"? "To describe?The young man also laughed, but he did not forget to answer me, saying: "800, did you not see the small advertisement hanging outside when you entered the building just now?" 800?" Seeing my surprised look, the young man must think that I am exaggerating. In Hong Kong, anyone who wants to rent a fully functional house can pay thousands of dollars a month!Then I added some comments and emotions in the subsequent explanation: "The 'bed room' is at least a decent house, but small. You mainlanders actually don't understand us in Hong Kong. Hong Kong society until today, the lives of many people, at least Housing, it’s still pretty bad.”

Leaving Block A, the young man asked me: Are you tired?If you are not tired, do you still want to go to the rooftop to see the "iron house"?I said of course I would, even though I was already very tired at the time, and at the same time I was more worried about the "Sister Bi" beside me. She is so old, let her follow me up the dark corridors that are one person wide?However, "Sister Bi" immediately said beside me: "Hey, what is climbing stairs? Hong Kong people are not climbing every day, and the people living in the 'iron houses' are all Hong Kong old people. On the rooftop, how can I go home without climbing the stairs?" I almost cried when I heard what "Sister Bi" said, I couldn't tell how grateful I was, or how sad I was suddenly involved.So panting, we climbed to the roof of a building again.

"Roof" means "rooftop" in Hong Kong. In the past, some real estate developers would sell the house on the highest floor of the building together with the "roof" if the buyer was willing to pay more when selling the property. I don’t know if this kind of house is legal or not. They were called “iron houses” later on, and they didn’t exist for a day or two. Even if it’s not legal, I want to appear in Hong Kong. I will turn one eye and close the other—no wonder I just arrived in Sham Shui Po, I looked up and saw the roofs of the buildings are all messy and jagged, it turns out that there are houses on them.

In 2005, during my first "visiting the poor" in Nanchang District, Sham Shui Po, I saw both the "bed room" and the "tin room".Although the "iron houses" on the roof are not the "iron houses" that I saw in the old Hong Kong in the old Hong Kong, but the conditions of this kind of "iron houses" are also very poor - the heights are different , with different shapes, the same thing is that it is all humid and hot in summer, and it is still humid in winter, but it is all cold inside - if the elderly who have lived there for a long time suffer from waist and leg pain, one can imagine how hard it must be at that time. suffer. Hong Kong has always been known as the "City of Dynamics" and "City of Vitality". In this modern international metropolis, there are countless feasting and luxury in the business district. However, in Sham Shui Po, many "iron houses" are still occupied by people. live.Although these people are in Hong Kong, and many of them have Hong Kong permanent resident ID cards, their "home" can only be on the "rooftop".Although those with better conditions can install air conditioners and TV sets in the "tin room", but when I saw it for the first time, I really got into it, and when I got in, one foot was in the sky and the other was on the ground, my body seemed to be going to the ground. Torn in half by itself...