Roses have thorns

A true story of my childhood friend, from rag to riches.

Those days it wasn't easy to be promoted to the form six (Pre U standard). We had to pass well in our Form Five Senior Cambridge before we could get a seat in form six. I just barely passed with a grade three result as I was never good in studying. What do you expect from me! After all by nature I was naughty till today. Right? Not my friend Chan who was poor and yet he scored excellent results, and the next year he went over to sit for his form six. After our form five, most of our classmates were already working but Chan was still pursuing his education. Two years later after Chan took his examination, while waiting for his result, the parents were unhappy that he had wasted too much time studying. They wanted him to work, so that he could support the brothers and sisters. Those days there was no part-time job, and getting an office job wasn't easy either. One day while he was walking home, he saw a big poster seeking for general workers. Out of desperation he walked over to the construction site, spoke to the site supervisor who immediately gave him a job as a casual worker. Though the work was tough, he was happy because he could bring home some money for his family.

Within weeks Chan became popular among his fellow workers. He was the most educated man there, who spoke many languages and dialects, especially English and he could read and write Chinese as well. Soon he was spotted by the big boss too. The boss himself was not an educated person, was amazed with Chan's academic qualities. Knowing his good command of English, the boss had to borrow his translation whenever he needed to see high ranking people. From a casual worker,  he rose to be the site supervisor. Later he became a sub contractor and less than two years he became a main contractor himself. He could rise so fast and rapid because he understood the entire construction industry. He could feel for the workers because he started right from the bottom like them. He could think like an engineer or an architect because he spoke their language. He was humble and prepared to work hard. Ten years later he migrated to America as a Millionaire. From reliable sources Chan is a multi billionaire now.

"Some people are always grumbling because roses have thorns: I am thankful that thorns have roses" - Alphonse Karr. Not Chan. Right?