| Director | Midi Z |
|---|
After working in Taiwan as a migrant construction worker, Shin-Hong decided to return to his hometown with his friend Ah-rong at Lashio, Myanmar for the Chinese New Year. A few days before the departure, Ah-rong died in a work accident, falling from a building at a construction site. Shin-Hong brought Ah-rong's ashes and condolence money from their compatriot workers back to their hometown in Myanmar.
Seen as a "returnee with honor," believed to have made a fortune in Taiwan, Shin-Hong was even invited to deliver a speech at a school's graduation ceremony, where he told a story to convey the message that “there is no free lunch.” He ended his speech with "soar high and fly far," a common blessing in Myanmar that encapsulates the longing of its people to strive and succeed in foreign lands. But Shin-Hong himself was already considering not going back to Taiwan.
Shin-Hong's long absence from his hometown created a subtle estrangement between him and the people there. During his stay, he paid visits to the families of Ah-rong and other workers. He also carefully checked the investment needed to start different kinds of businesses, while his hometown acquaintances still yearned to venture abroad for work with good pay just as his younger brother and a friend of his were heading to Malaysia for a job. After seeing his brother off, Shin-Hong was seen chopping wood on a piece of land with another young man.