Wong Kwok-zi: Chief of Surgery at Shuiwu Hospital
The chief of surgery at Shuiwu (thermos) Hospital, Wong Kwok-zi, has been repairing thermos flasks for more than thirty years. He talks to Cyril Leung about his fragile patients.
HK Magazine: What got you into this line of business?
Wong Kwok-zi: My father opened this store over 50 years ago, and I helped out at the store when I was growing up. My father passed it on to me about thirty years ago, and I have been fixing old-fashioned thermos flasks ever since.
HK: Where does this huge thermos at the front of your store come from?
WK: It belonged to my parents. See the little tap at the bottom? It used to pour out Chinese herbal teas, which my parents would offer to visiting friends, guests and neighbors. In the sixties, water was rationed in Hong Kong, and we had access to water for only four hours every four days. The thermos, which can carry about twenty gallons, was used to store water for all sorts of purposes, such as cooking and washing. The Chinese character on the top, gwan, means boiling hot, which of course is the motto of my store, and what my thermoses strive to accomplish—to retain the temperature of the liquids they store. The bottom character, wong, is my family name.
HK: How has the thermos design changed over the years?
WK: The outer surface used to be made of plastic, but contact with water caused it to expand and contract, which then caused the screws at the bottom to loosen, causing accidents. That’s why these days, thermos are made with stainless steel or iron sheaths.
HK: Who are your customers?
WK: Usually elderly people. Back in those days people bought goods with the expectation that they would be durable, so many bring thermoses to me that are over twenty years old. This is unlike the materialistic society we live in nowadays, where people change their cell phones very frequently, even if they still function perfectly well. A high-quality, locally produced thermos costs around $200 and can last for thirty years.
HK: Does your family support your work?
WK: I’m not married, so that’s not a problem. Besides, it’s nice to have a skill that can help others. Everyone who brings their thermos to me for repair work has some kind of story to share because it has been in their family for some time and they grew up with it. I have my extended family; my nephew bought me this bird’s nest tonic during Chinese New Year, which was nice of him.
HK: I see you’ve got a dictionary. What’s it for?
WK: I learned a little of English as a child, but there were not many opportunities to use and practice it. Nowadays Hong Kong has a free daily English newspaper that I like to read, and I use my dictionary to check out the meanings of words that I don’t understand. English and Chinese are important because they are global languages and are the basis of communication. I think teenagers in Hong Kong generally don’t speak English well, probably because they are afraid of making mistakes when they try speaking it. But there is no shame in being wrong. I’ll gladly talk to foreigners in Cantonese if they’re up for it.