09:00 – Overhearing the Lift Operator’s and Passengers’ Daily Conversations

 

Beep ——————————————

 

There are two manually-operated, folding-gate, and side-opening freight lifts in The William Industrial Building, with three operators responsible for the lifts from 7am to 7pm, working in shifts.

This kind of freight lift uses metal gates for their doors, and both the lift and each floor have their own gate. While the gates are open, a buzzer in the lift will make a ‘beep’ sound until the operator closes the gates. When the lift arrives on the ground floor, the operator can press a button outside of the lift to stop the beeping.

 

“Are you going upstairs?”

“Not yet…”

“I have asked, no, he said, um, if you…if this is your first time, you need at least two years.”

“Yes, yes.”

“But you can, um, if you do not want to pay in instalments, you can pay at once.”

“So…so I can pay at once and in cash?”

“Yes, pay in cash.”

“Does it mean…”

 

FatBoy is one of the operators, his friend who came to chit chat stopped their chatter, got into the lift and closed the gate.

 

Beep ——————————————

 

“Today is my birthday.”

“Oh, happy birthday. Um, wish you a long life”

 

(Silence, fan spinning)

 

“Cough, cough.”

 

Beep ——————————————

 

“Hey hello, hey hi, hey, hey, um are you waiting downstairs? Um, seventh floor, we are coming down, um…please wait downstairs, hey…”

 

(Ding)

 

Beep ——————————————

 

“You should bind them together with tape.”

 

(Silence, fan spinning)

 

“Okay, thank you.”

“They won’t fall if you bind them with tape.”

 

Beep ——————————————

 

“Old Wan!”

“Coming!”

 

(Song humming)

 

Beep ——————————————

 

“May I ask how to get to Block B? Is it here?”

“Yes.”

“Eleventh floor.”

“Come.”

“Thanks.”

 

Beep ——————————————

 

“Always buying…He’s always playing…”

“Where are you going?”

“Thirteenth.”

“You need to press the button.”

“Yes, press the button, have forgotten to press the button, thank you.”

 

(People got out of the lift)

 

“You could see it…none of them is polite. No greeting, not pressing any button but keep talking, (sigh) how impolite they are.”

 

Beep ——————————————

 

“Please let me in.”

“He’s going to the sixth floor, you to the fifth. You have been resting for almost a month, haven’t you?”

“Yes.”

“Doesn’t it mean you earn much less…here’s the fifth floor.”

“Okay, thank you!”

 

(People got out of the lift)

 

“Hey, going down?”

“Yes, thank you. Haven’t gotten off work?”

“Not that early, get off work…the ones beside have. It’s only 3pm.”

“Um, still have hours to go?”

“At least two hours…okay, bye bye.”

 

Beep ——————————————

 

“Sometimes in peak hours, you’re too busy to sit, that’s how it works. Yes… you keep going up and down, still, there are always people waiting for the lift, and the buttons seem to be on endlessly. It’s even tougher when only one lift is left in service. For each round trip between the ground and other floors, we might have to open and close the two gates eight times. On average, with so many passengers and goods, if there are a hundred people taking the round trip, we would need to pull the gates eight hundred times a day.” —

FatBoy told me so. “I’ve been working for around ten years.” William Industrial Building is the only place in San Po Kong Eight Streets still hiring operators for freight lifts, and FatBoy has already stayed there for ten years. Talking about the three Fai chun on the lift’s wall which say, ‘Wealth comes with Harmony’, ’Good Health’, and ‘Going up and down Safely’, FatBoy commented: “Well, they fit our needs. I make them solely for all the good fortune that everyone wishes to have.”

Remembering my past experiences in lifts, they are mostly quiet, perhaps with sounds of chains and the fan spinning. But in the William Industrial Building, the lifts are filled with daily conversations between workers, passengers, and the lift operators.

 

Bee-Beep Bee-Beep Bee-Beep Bee-Beep ——————————————

 

The repeated beeping is the signal of someone pressing the lift button upstairs. FatBoy gets into the lift, pulls the gates, and continues with his work.

 

09:00 – 偷聽揸(車立)人與乘客的日常（對）話

 

嗶 ——————————————

 

緯綸工業大廈有兩部拉閘貨(車立)，從早上7時到晚上7時分別由三位揸(車立)人輪更負責操作。

拉閘貨(車立)以鐵閘為門，(車立)與每個樓層各有一道閘，當閘被拉開，(車立)內的蜂鳴器會長響著「嗶」聲，直至揸(車立)人把(車立)門拉上。當到達G/F時，揸(車立)人會按(車立)外的按鍵以停止蜂鳴器的聲響。

 

「又上去阿？」

「未有..」

「我問咗喇，唔係阿，佢話，欸，如果你，如果你第一次呢，最起碼要兩年先可以。」

「係阿係阿。」

「但你可以呢，欸，如果唔供呢，就直接畀錢都得。」

「即係，即係直頭畀曬錢都得？」

「係阿，直接畀錢阿。」

「即係…」

 

其中一名揸(車立)人叫肥仔，原本走來找他聊天的朋友需要先把話題暫停，他走進貨(車立)，把閘拉上。

 

嗶 ——————————————

 

「我今日正日阿。」

「喔，生日快樂。唔，壽比南山阿。」

 

（一片沈默，風扇聲）

 

「咳咳。」

 

嗶 ——————————————

 

「喂你好，喂喂，喂，喂，欸你喺下面係咪？欸，7樓，我地依家落緊嚟，欸，你喺下面等我地，喂…」

 

（叮 ）

 

嗶 ——————————————

 

「你搵啲膠紙綁住佢阿嘛。」

 

（一片沈默，風扇聲）

 

「好，唔該曬。」

「你搵啲膠紙綁住佢咪唔會走喇。」

 

嗶 ——————————————

 

「老溫！」

「好！」

 

（哼歌聲）

 

嗶 ——————————————

 

「我想問B座係咪都喺依度上㗎？」

「係阿。」

「11樓。」

「上嚟啦。」

「唔該。」

 

嗶 ——————————————

 

「掛住買嘢…佢掛住玩阿…」

「幾多阿？」

「13吖。」

「撳(車立)先得㗎嘛。」

「係吖，撳(車立)阿，唔記得撳(車立)阿，thank you。」

 

（人們出(車立)）

 

「你見到成班…成班咁多個，無一個有禮貌。唔該又冇聲，入嚟又掛住講，又唔撳(車立)，唉，幾無禮貌阿啲人。」

 

嗶 ——————————————

 

「兜埋我吖。」

「佢係上6樓，你就上5樓。休咗成個月咁濟阿？」

「係阿。」

「咁咪搵少好多…到。」

「好，thank you!」

 

（人們出(車立)）

 

「喂，落阿？」

「係阿，唔該曬。未收阿？」

「邊有咁快脆阿，收工… 隔籬嗰個收咗喇。依家先係3點。」

「欸，咁咪有排？」

「仲要整兩個鐘… 起碼都。好，拜拜。」

 

嗶 ——————————————

 

「有時繁忙嗰頭呢，係咁㗎喇，想坐吓都唔得㗎。係阿，嗰頭上嗰頭落，嗰頭一郁機行兩三層咁上吓，佢又撳，咁你上到去，即時又要落返嚟。有時上面又係咁樣。得返一部(車立)咪多嘢做，咪辛苦啲。我哋上一次阿，喺地下咁上嚟一次阿，一來一回，拉依兩部閘要拉八次。平均一日嚟計呢，有咁多人上落，如果一百人上一次落一次，我哋就要拉八百次。——

肥仔對著我說。「做咗十年咁上下啦」， 新蒲崗八街裏只剩緯綸工業大廈有揸(車立)人負責操作貨(車立)，而肥仔在這個地方做了十年。談及(車立)內寫著「和氣生財」、「身壯力健」和「上落平安」的三個揮春，他又說：「啱用阿嘛依啲，我整都係為大家咋嘛，唔係為啲咩，個個都希望有依幾樣嘢㗎啦。」

回想過往大部分搭(車立)的經驗，(車立)內幾乎都很安靜，可能夾雜一些風扇或鐵鍊聲。但在緯綸，(車立)內盡是經常出入的送貨師傅或租客與揸(車立)人的日常對話。

在沒有人上落時，肥仔坐在大堂(車立)外的凳上，經常揮手，與坐客(車立)的熟人打無聲的招呼。

 

嗶嗶 嗶嗶 嗶嗶 嗶嗶 ——————————————

重複的嗶聲是有人在上層撳(車立)的提示，肥仔走進(車立)裏，拉上閘，繼續工作。

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:: Open 24 Hours — (Freight) Lift-ride in San Po Kong Eight Streets
24小時營業 — 在新蒲崗八街遊（貨）(車立) 河 ::
00:00 – Lifts as the Destination 以升降機為目的地
09:00 – Overhearing the Lift Operator’s and Passengers’ Daily Conversations
偷聽揸(車立)人與乘客的日常（對）話
15:15 – Sleepwalking with the Lifts’ Reverberation: Luk Hop Industrial Building
在六合工業大廈的(車立)聲迴響中夢遊
23:11 – To be or not to be: The ‘Not To Be Used As Passenger Lift’ Freight Lift
To be or not to be：「不可被用作乘客升降機」的斬頭門
24:00 – Murmur 念念