★ A literary work that showcases the human touch of Hong Kong, it is also a book that can provoke deep thought and allow readers to feel the warmth of human relationships.
★ Centered around Uncle Xu’s letter-writing stall from the 1960s, a series of stories unfold, witnessing the historical changes in Hong Kong society and providing a unique historical and cultural perspective. By interviewing the customers of the letter-writing stall, the book reveals their individual legendary stories, adding a rich humanistic color and depth to the book.

While passing by the Yau Tsim Mong Jade Market, I decided to take a stroll and discovered the last remaining letter-writing stall and tax-reporting counter.

The letter-writing stall is located inside the jade market, with more than ten three-foot by four-foot stalls lined up in a row. One of the stall owners, a letter writer known as Uncle Xu, told me that business is not booming these days, but even without customers, there are always old neighbors and regular patrons who come to chat with him.

In the 1960s, Uncle Xu was introduced to the trade by a clerk from a law firm and started his stall in nearby Yunnan Lane to write letters for people. At that time, many people from Mainland China sought their services to write letters back home, which cost only two or three yuan per letter. In addition to writing family letters, during their peak, these stalls also wrote job application letters, tax reports, applied for telephones, water meters, public rental housing, and wrote couplets for the Spring Festival, among other things.

The bustling market is full of interesting characters, especially in the Yau Tsim Mong area and this jade market. After my visit, feeling unsatisfied, I began to interview the remaining customers of these letter-writing stalls, including pig farm owners, writers, and veteran lamp makers... uncovering one legendary story after another.

Zhou Shuping,

Graduated from the Chinese Department of Lingnan College, she has served as a teacher, Chief Editor at Yee Publishing, a columnist for the supplement of the Sing Tao Daily, and a book editor at Breakthrough Publishing House. Her works include prose, novels, and collections of interviews, with over a hundred publications. She won the Biennial Award for Children’s and Youth Literature at the 9th Hong Kong Publishing Biennial Awards for the book “Big Stalls, Pawnshops, and Herbal Tea Shops” and the Recommended Award for Children’s and Youth Literature at the 13th Hong Kong Publishing Biennial Awards for the book “The Things My Teacher Taught Me That Year”.