Back in Cambodia

5/31

This time, I returned not as the owner, but as a small shareholder, to take care of a few remaining matters and catch up with old colleagues. The new owner’s representative, Mr. Du, was kind enough to pick me up at the airport, and Mr Lu, who used to be my factory manager still treats me as if I were the boss. He even kept my old room for me to stay in at the factory, although the room is not as tidy as it used to be（laugh).

Walking into the factory, I greeted some supervisors and local leaders. It’s great to see everyone looking well. As soon As I heard the sound of sewing machines on the production floor, I could tell the factory was running smoothly. In this industry, you can often tell how well the factory is doing just from the atmosphere and the energy on the production floor.

Seeing everything well was a real relief and reassured me that I had made the right decision. Still, I remember feeling emotional when I signed the agreement to sell the factory. It has been an unforgettable journey – from designing the factory layout, recruiting staff, and starting with just a few production lines, to expanding into two factories and eventually reducing back to one.

Along the way, we went through strikes, the pandemic, good times and difficult times. I met some wonderful people and of course some bad guys too. After all those years, there will always be a special connection between me and the factory. Looking at it today, I feel it has found a good home.

During dinner with former staff and managers, some of them were a bit drunk. They came over, held my hand and said thanked me for treating them well over the years. However, I never saw it that way and I simply tried to put myself in their shoes and treat people with understanding and respect.

Although we rarely spent time together outside of work, we went through a lot together and built strong bonds along the way. I am truly grateful for their support and understanding over the years. We will probably have fewer and fewer opportunitie to meet up in the future. However, but I will look forward to our next reunion.

這次是以小小股東的身分來跟老幹部們聚聚也處理一下事情，其實有時也有點不好意思，對方的駐在這邊的代表杜總也對我很客氣來接我，然後閭總跟幹部們也還是待我像老闆一樣，留著我的房間讓我來住，雖然沒有以前整理的乾淨（大笑）。

走進工廠，跟幾個幹部還有本地老組長打打招呼，這次見到大家氣色都不錯，還有感受到車間的氣氛跟那個針車縫製的聲音就知道工廠有無賺錢，其實還是頗感欣慰，知道自己做了一個好的決定。當初要賣工廠的時候其實簽字那一刻還是有所感概，畢竟從建廠設計、招募、一兩條生產線開始，到兩個廠，又縮回一個廠，經歷過罷工、疫情，高峰以及低谷，遇到了一些好的人也遇到了一些不好的人，經營了10多年，是有感情在的，但目前看來是找到了一個好歸宿。

聚餐時有幾個老幹部都喝醉了，還會來握著我的手感謝我對他們很好，其實我並沒有覺得對他們特別的好，可能就是比較將心比心為他們著想，雖然私底下也沒什麼交集，但共事久了，也都有革命情感在，總之也很感謝他們一直以來的支持與理解，雖然見面應該只會越來越少，但期待下次再見！