Hello ladies and gentlemen
This film is a joint production
of MandarinVision and Creamfilm
with help from industry-acclaimed Creamfilm Production Co.
We invited the industry's notoriously difficult Miss Yeh
and Mr. Chung to act as producers
I'm the director who saw it through to the end
A-Yao
Over the course of the film
I will from time to time
chime in with a few words
to share my own ideas
and explain the story
Please enjoy the film
I won't bother you for now
I'll appear again
when necessary
Motherfucker
What the fuck's that drumming?
The beat's all fucked up
Pigeon
You haven't even weighed it
Only 100?
This brick here
has thousands of bottles
and it's barely over NT5000
I drop more on the ground
than what you pick up
Come on
NT100
It'll be gone in one meal
Belly Button
My business used to be small
Now it's grown
Frankly
I don't deal in your tiny volumes anymore
If it wasn't that we're classmates
I wouldn't take this
One hundred's not enough?
One hundred twenty?
How about I give you one fifty?
Ma
Sorry I'm late
Are you feeling better?
Yes, still a bit dizzy
Ma, how about
I ask the nurse to get you another drip?
All right
All right?
Nurse
Could you please give my mother another IV drip?
It's almost 5 already
We can't hook up another IV
Please
Nurse
Obama
How much longer?
Just a bit longer
You think I'm playing in here?
It's hot as fuck
My underwear's soaked
Hot as hell
Your friend's here
Motherfucker
You only come when there's food?
No
I took my mom to the health center
Work's almost over
Start cleaning up
In this factory, everyone shows concern for a mother's welfare
It's a form of human considerateness
Pickle has temp jobs during the daytime
He works here as night watchman
He sweeps the factory before everyone leaves
Froggy, what are you doing?
Be careful
Froggy, can you be nice?
You're making me deaf
What now?
Not happy with work?
No, no, no
Why's the Buddha head like that?
The one yelling in front
is the factory boss, Kevin
The one grabbing ass in the back
is Congressman Gao and his assistant Valérie
Although Gao won't have many scenes
the story of his struggle
is worth our attention
Ten years ago
from street-level political organizer
he climbed to congressman
After his fifth consecutive election
the deputy speaker sent him a fine mahogany table
But ever since Valérie arrived
Congressman Gao's mahogany table
suddenly grew a new panel
It's mainly for the benefit of Valerie's work
When others conduct business on the computer
Valérie hides underneath
and operates Congressman Gao's joystick
This room's dark as pitch
How can we get customers like this?
My boss said it would cut costs
There's usually no one here
Everything depends on the room inside anyway
Young man, Make me some instant noodles
with egg
You still want that?
Thank you
Business is good today
It's getting by
One order of noodles
with one egg
Are you fucking kidding?
A grocery and game shop isn't enough
now we have to cook noodles too?
You think I can do this all by myself?
Belly Button loves crane games
It's hard to understand why a middle-aged man
would take an interest in them
I always wanted to ask Belly Button
why he likes crane games so much
Crane games are like therapy
How're you and Little Orchid doing?
Another guy stole her
Who's the culprit?
A young factory worker fresh from the army
So impressive
He's very tall
and has a car
Having a girlfriend's just a waste of money
For you
going home and humping the wall should be enough
Pickle
Coming
Stop yelling
Is your boss here?
He's out rubbing elbows
Motherfucker
He's always drinking and rubbing elbows
Can you work without rubbing elbows?
Does he pay you much then?
What were you doing just now?
Nah, I'm helping our boss clean that old Benz
He ought to drive the new one
Just write that old one off for me to sell
You see
Don't say I don't treat you well
I came here specially
to show you this beauty
Why's it sticky?
Goddamn
Just appreciate it
Don't fuss
Look
Damn good shots
That ass is soft and smooth
The photographer should've won the Nobel Prize
Fuck
Just chewing that underwear
would make life worth living
I can give you this pair to chew
You can chew it yourself
Your boss has got it good
Studying abroad
a beautiful wife
a good car
his whole family moved to America
That's life
Birth is eight-tenths of destiny
Even the richest
still eat only three meals a day
Fuck
Let's eat a fourth meal now
You make tea
Wait for me
I'll go fetch some good stuff
First of all, let's introduce
our impeccable
Commissioner of Culture
Let's have a round of applause
One of us
Next, let's introduce
the artist who studied in America
Chairman Kevin
As for myself
Everyone knows
I am the deputy speaker
Bill Small
Applause
Louder
More enthusiasm
Let me say
I usually charge big bills
But we're buddies
so for you, I Bill Small
See how moderate I am
Come
First of all, let's invite our brother
to sing a song
Warm yourselves up first
Let's welcome our bureau chief
and our artist
All right?
Let's give him a round of applause
Bamboo shoots, once harvested, stiffen quickly
without Li Hua Fan's magic, who moves mountain and sea
A girl in love should marry
Don't let her fall into harlotry
As the ripened rice field fears the typhoon
the girl fears her pregnancy discovered too soon
Left hand pulls dress over her swollen bulge
Right hands beckons customers to indulge
As the sugarcane is hard but full of juice
The tea shop girl is sweet but keeps aloof
Using thousands upon thousands of his coin
Right?
when he invites her to walk
she's too busy to join
It's really enough
I'm pissed off
The sun blazes over the land in June
She invites him to travel to Penghu
By planes, ferries, and automobiles
Luxurious seafood for three meals
Wax apple blossoms redden every tree
But on one, a fierce wasp can be seen
Ah
There's a car parked outside
A woman's standing next to it
This one
Don't worry about what's outside
She must be here to see your boss
There wasn't much today
Good thing I went early
or it would've been sold out
Why do you always bring cold curry?
You can't warm it with your lighter?
Be glad you can eat
You're so picky
Goddamn
This is broken
It's been broken for days
This curry has only carrots
Not a scrap of meat
If it's broken, you don't fix it?
If you're so great
then go find a new one for me
How can you eat without television?
What's good on TV?
This bit's frozen
Can't break it apart
We can just watch the news
All they do now
is show car dashcam videos and call it news
Pickle
Your boss' old car
that Benz
Is he still driving it?
Not in a long time
Does he have a dashcam set up?
He should
Take it out and have a look
See where he's been doing his good deeds
Don't snoop in people's stuff
My boss is very mean
To hell with that
When you finish, will you tell your boss
"Boss,"
"I took a look at your dashcam"
"I know the good deeds you've been doing"
Would you say that?
If you don't tell him, how will he know?
Go get it
Still pussying out?
Did your ass grow roots?
Come on
If he finds out
you can cut my head off and sit on it
What's there to see on a dashcam?
I can't tell if you're innocent or an idiot
Whoa
It got hard
It got hard after touching you
Really
Are you rock-hard?
Well then
you want it?
I want it
What do you want?
I want you to fuck me
Kevin had left the pond earlier that day with Gucci
to come to this mysterious place
He asked Gucci to do some liver maintenance
and prostate detoxification
During that time
the lady in the middle of the field
called, looking for Kevin
She kept calling and calling
until the sky grew dark
as Kevin's phone rang like a madman
You're so wet
You're so hard
So big
Is it very big?
It's big
I love you fucking me
Like this?
Yeah, go deeper
Call me Puta
Who's Puta?
I'm Puta
Puta
I'm your Puta
Puta
Come inside
I want you to come in me
I want to fuck you
Come inside
Miss Yeh
Behave yourself
you're already a grown woman
Shouldn't you be sleeping at this hour?
You want to fuck that old hag Yeh, or fuck me?
I want to fuck you
Then fuck my brains out
Louder
Then fuck my brains out
Fuck me
That's good
I love when you fuck me
So good
Oh, so good
Hello
Miss Yeh
Do you have business with Kevin baby this late?
Please pass the phone to your Kev
I have something important to say to him
You're hard to find
Is it that difficult for us to meet face to face?
Why don't you answer?
Speak
Don't think I don't know
You're up to some low-down bullshit
Kevin Huang
I'm giving you one last chance
Find time to meet me right now
or whatever happens after this
will be on your head
All right
Our old spot
That woman left
What'd you bring that for?
Didn't you say to get the dashcam?
You can't just get the memory card?
Why'd you pull the whole damn thing down?
How should I know what card?
You'd need a map to scratch your ass
Bring it here
For the normally timid Belly Button
it's only in Pickle's office
that he can speak boldly
His entire life
it's only in this cramped cell of a room
that he can find a little confidence
Here, this
It's called a memory card
It's so small
Fellow countrymen
What exactly is a dashboard camera?
It's a miracle of modern science
The mini-camera that defines this era
Mounted in the car
It records the view outside the windshield
If there's a traffic dispute
you can pull out the recording as evidence
After all, what the modern person considers is
where there are images
there is truth
The sounds recorded by the dashcam
are sounds within the car
So what we are about to hear
is the horseplay in Kevin's car
What grade are you in?
Junior this year
Junior
In college
I bet if we just played a little, you'd already be wet
Let me see
Do we need to go so fast?
We're still driving
Hold on a second
In modern society, time is money
Fuck
Talk about great timing
Hello
Hello, special assistant
Do you know this special assistant?
I don't
Let me inform you of the situation
Yes, I understand
I understand, special assistant
No problem
Because that's next quarter's funding
Yes
Your boss turns into a real pussy on the phone
Don't bad-mouth people like that
It's true
He usually acts all dignified
Special assistant, please inform the Congressman
Yes
Thank you special assistant
Good night, special assistant
Fuck
Always first in line for money
but ask for a favor, and he disappears
Your boss is good at acting
As soon as he hangs up, his mood flips
Where were we?
You haven't even asked my name yet
We're here
Oh, right
What's your name?
I'm Cindy
Cindy, huh
Cindy, what made you want to do this?
- Cindy - Yeah
Because I want to study abroad
Hello, welcome to the Forbidden City
Would you like a rest, or overnight stay?
Rest
For a three hour rest, there's 1280, 1680, 1980
1980, thank you
This place really isn't cheap
Three hours, 1980
It's highway robbery
Please have a relaxing time
Where do you want to go?
What's New York?
The New York in America
That woman standing in the harbor
holding a torch
wearing a shower cap
The driveway's so long
There's even Christmas lights
Look, the life of the rich
It's so colorful
We're here
Why'd they stop?
Aren't you smart
They arrived, what else would they do?
You want them to crash into a wall?
Fuck, they got out
What do we see now?
There's obviously nothing to see
You want the car to drive up to the bedroom?
You think they're shooting porn here?
See if there's anything else to watch
Fuck, it's so exciting
Your boss' name is Kevin
My name's Belly Button
What a difference
When I get rich
I'll have someone pick an English name for me
Don't be stupid
Want me to light a prayer candle for you?
When rich people make it big
it's 30% cheating
70% background
You
you've got nothing
Where are you from?
What's your background?
My background is
Pineapples
Bananas
Guavas
One's missing...
Wax apples
What's up with your boss?
Looks like he's on patrol
He keeps driving and driving
Maybe he ran out of tricks
I thought your boss was baller
But that's all he had
Searching through dashcam footage
is like finding a needle in a haystack
If you're lucky
you'll find horseplay right away
But most of the time
you'll just see a car patrol
Betting on dashcam footage
is like Taiwan's economy
There's good times and bad
When it's really bad
though you may watch till you drop
you'll end up with nothing
Fuck
Goddamn
Why's your boss back so early today?
It's almost 3
Damn, it's so late
All right, I'm going
Go, hurry
All right
Keep out of his business
What's going on?
Who attached the head?
I attached it
I was doing it last night till dawn
It'd take forever for you all to do it
What're you standing around for?
Hurry and finish the job
Fuck
You're
Are you standing there silent to scare people?
What are you doing here?
Nothing, just taking a walk around
Hold this for me
This man's name is Shao-Huai Chang
In this film, he's called Sugar Apple
In our film
he only has one line
Taking a walk
He's very busy every day
Busy taking a walk
He walks further than policemen patrol
Walks harder than the village chief works
But human relations are a funny thing
The village is full of people
but no matter where Sugar Apple's walked
the only friend he's made has been Belly Button
Pickle
The hood ornament on my Benz is bent, Can you fix it?
Okay
Okay, close enough
It's fine, are you praying to the ancestors now?
Pickle
Go to the Seven (7-11) at the intersection
Pick up a package for me
Boss, what package?
Fuck, Just say a package for Kevin Huang
They'll give it to you
Got it?
All right
"Savon"
According to the latest weather forecast
over the Philippines coastal region
a tropical depression has already formed
Peanut
I want to pick up a package
A package
What package?
Kevin Huang
the boss of Global
Never heard of him
My boss told me to pick it up at Savon
Pickle
This is Savon, not Seven (7-11)
Seven's the one on the left
The man appeared suspicious
and is suspected to be mentally unstable
Fuck, that's Belly Button
He got into a dispute with police
From the police video, it appears
Belly Button got arrested
he was carrying many unidentified items
attracting police attention
On grounds of safety
an officer questioned him
not expecting the man to attack
With the help of two officers, he was finally subdued
and brought into the station for questioning
Your vehicle has no license plate
Impound it
Impound it. You can return in our car
I'll drive your motorcycle back for you
Come to the station to chat
Chief, this is no good
What the hell are you doing?
Settle down, what's done is done
Dear audience members
there were no journalists at the scene
so footage for the TV news
would've been provided by police
We can provide you more objective footage
with the fewest edits possible
to let you understand how events unfolded
Unlike the police, our video is not shaky
Shooting films is our profession, after all
Any shaky cameraman
would've been sacked long ago
Listen
I'm citing obstruction of justice
to arrest you
Do you understand?
Moving on
you have the right
to remain silent
and refuse to answer any questions
You can appoint an attorney
to ensure your rights
If you are low income
lower-middle income
or aboriginal
the law must allow you to request an attorney
You can request an attorney
Understand?
Cuff him
Cuff him up
Take his hands
Son of a gun
Here
Take this
It's fine now, you can go
Listen,
next time we meet
talk to me
Don't get rowdy
Alright?
Otherwise I'm forced to do my duty
Work with me here
You can go
Take a lunchbox with you
Take one each
Thanks
Okay
Motherfucker
You call yourself a friend?
You saw me getting beaten and did nothing?
Sugar Apple isn't some long-haired
stinking vagrant
He grooms himself neatly each day
Everyone in the village knows him
But nobody knows where he came from
One day, three years ago
he suddenly appeared
settling down at an abandoned naval sentry post
Some say he used to be a sailor
Others say he went mad from a breakup
Still others say he killed a man
But others say they've seen luxury cars visiting him
Sugar Apple's a very mysterious guy
Even his sole friend, Belly Button
only knows that at night
he needs to hear the sound of waves to fall asleep
After Belly Button's motorcycle was impounded
the first thing he thought of
was borrowing Peanut's old motorcycle
Ever since he won a new one at the city hall's New Year's party
Peanut stopped riding
his old motorcycle
Since I still maintain it
if I go racing with this one
it's got more power than Taro's
Taro's motorcycle is electric
Is that right?
Yeah
A guy riding a pink motorcycle?
No wonder you can't get a girlfriend
What are you bullshitting about?
This movie's black and white
If you don't say it, no one will know
It seems like the car isn't moving
Nah
Your boss is full of tricks
Have some patience
He's fucking sleeping
My boss gets busy all day and all night
It saps his energy
Let's see what else is good to watch
Here
This is new
I want to say hi to your little friend
It's broad daylight
Yeah
You're not afraid of being seen?
Afraid of what?
The windows are so dark
What's up with your boss?
He sounds indifferent
You're in a hurry today
I want it
There are so many motorcycles
Hello
This girl's bold
Long time no see
Did you miss me?
Come
Let me kiss you
What's that sound?
Sucking the gear stick
How do you suck a gear stick?
It tastes good
Tastes so good
Let me touch your little sister
This girl's a good singer
Once she's got the microphone, she won't let go
Your little sister is so wet
Damn it
Don't get so damn close
Hurry up and get in
That's a good sound
He's driving a long way
Yeah
Your boss is impressive
Getting blown from mountain to seaside, and he's still hard
He must train his body
He's tough
It's true
It's easier to pick up chicks with a car
Nah, it depends what car
My boss drives a Benz
The gentle lady we're hearing now
was the lady in the field
who kept calling Kevin before, Miss Yeh
This scene took place quite a while ago
Kevin's feelings for Miss Yeh
have already faded
But I can understand Kevin
When a grown man
meets a woman of skill and assertiveness like Miss Yeh
no matter how devoid of feeling
he can't stop his prick from getting excited
Just from listening, you get hard
and thirsty
What else is there to see?
That was real incredible
Goddamn
I've seen this already
Let's just watch an old one
Man
Is your boss back yet?
Not yet
Well, it's hopeless then
Let's watch Cindy
You remember Cindy?
All right, let's watch a little
Your Cindy's here
What grade are you in?
Master, over here
This way, please
Here
Master
Buddha is not only an image of virtue, but also a reflective mirror
So that seeing Buddha's face is alike to chanting his name
Just as gazing at one's most respected master
clears the mind of wild thoughts
and brings forth a peaceful heart
Amitabha Buddha
This Buddha really is beautiful
It looks like the image of virtue
When I see this Buddha
as Buddha's teachings illuminate
all my mind is calmed down
It's great
Very beautiful
But one thing I find strange
those eyebrows don't seem to line up
Those cheeks
they seem
I don't know if it's the right or left, a bit crooked
And those closed eyes
is he thinking, or dozing off?
Most importantly
he's got to raise his chin up
You need vigor
to liberate all sentient beings
But right now he looks like
he's super depressed
Is that okay?
Amitabha Buddha
Thank you for your suggestions, Sister
Beautiful work, beautiful work
Global's artwork is world-famous
I put in a lot of effort this time
to convince Brother Kevin to take this job
I think only Brother Kevin's talent
could express the unique aura of Mt. Foshan
Amitabha Buddha
What Brother Kevin has made is art
When we say Buddha is
speaking of dignity
of fortune
of excellence
it's by judging the look of his entire body
If we consider our Buddha a work of art
then we might as well put him in a museum, Right?
Amitabha Buddha
Sorry
Sister
Does anyone call you fat?
Whether anyone calls you that
I don't think you're fat
Fatness and thinness
are subjective things
Just like whether Buddha's image is virtuous or not
is very subjective
Amitabha Buddha
Congressman Chen
We're talking about the image's virtue right now
Sorry, my name's Gao
Chen is the chief secretary
I don't care if you're Congressman Chen or Gao
Just like
I wouldn't care to talk about your relations with this lady
I wouldn't discuss it with others
I don't know your relationship
Amitabha Buddha
No, if Sister really feels that way
then we'll ask Brother Kevin to saw the Buddha's head off
Then we can fix it
All right?
We'll have Sister supervise the work
We'll work together to get the best result
Master
Brothers and Sisters
Amitabha Buddha
I want to tell everyone
while I was constructing the Buddha
I had a heart full of gratitude
From making the 3D model
to the construction itself
I always used a laser inclinometer to keep it level
This idea of symmetry or asymmetry
crookedness
it's impossible
I think Sister has a valid point
Let's saw off Buddha's head
and start anew
As for the Dharma Assembly
we can postpone it to next year to do it properly
Amitabha Buddha
Master
The Buddha issue
Is it satisfactory now?
Leave the professional work to the professionals
Let's put our energy into the next development
for Mt. Foshan Park
Amitabha Buddha
It's strange
After that "Amitabha Buddha"
the whole factory's mood and morale changed
Everyone suddenly became lively
Those who were sitting
are now standing
Those who were standing
are now climbing
Everyone's trying
just as hard as Kevin
even borrowing their strength from tomorrow
to be used up today
We've finally reached the middle of the movie
I want to mention an event here
Belly Button doesn't usually come here to collect recyclables
But for some reason he came today
as if pulled by fate
to meet a man who's lost all will
After meeting Belly Button
this man will disappear from this world
Belly Button is the last person he'll see
and the last person who will speak to him
What's wrong?
A guy like Belly Button, unacknowledged by society
and struggling to change his fortune
often meets people like him
whose own lives have met difficulty
They try to help each other out
But as the saying goes
How can a beggar keep a cat?
If you can't help yourself
how can you help others?
Ah
Brother
Is something wrong?
Of course there is
After Belly Button left this fellow
it began to rain
From their perspectives
whether it's rain or shine
there will always be problems
But they've no time to ponder life's problems
Because in their own lives
there's an endless stream of them
Society often speaks of justice
But in these people's lives
that word surely doesn't exist
Since it takes all they have to find their next meal
they have no energy to speak of such things
Pickle
You still came when it's raining?
Is your boss here?
Yeah
He's back
All right
Well?
Why's your boss back so early today?
He's drunk
They sent him back
That's perfect
We saw old stuff last time
Go fetch a new one today
No way
It's fine
No
Go on
Don't keep watching people's stuff
You're a real dork
Don't tell me you're gonna wake your boss up
and tell him
Boss
I'm gonna peek at your dashcam
Are you?
It's not right
It's fine, go
No way
It's raining so hard
and I came here specially for that
Right?
It's fine
What we hear now
with the American West cowboy flavor
is music by Sheng-Xiang Lin
made specially as a theme song for Chairman Kevin
The name of the song is Surfing With The Chairman
He said the way he drives
through tunnels, lights flashing
it feels as though
Chairman Kevin
is taking the audience along
to go surfing at the beach
But Chairman Kevin doesn't plan to visit the beach
Because where he wants to surf
is on Gucci's young body
If you would like to surf
please find time to go with friends
But remember, safety first
There's tunnels in the tunnel
Actually, this place
is the tunnel's connecting passage
The cars passing by go so fast
that nobody notices what's inside
Even if you took a shit inside
killed someone, or started a fire
it'd be hard for anyone to see
They're kissing
It got hard after touching you
You want it?
I want it
What do you want?
I want you to fuck me
She's so direct
You like fucking me?
I like it
Kevin has latched onto one idea
Do what others don't dare to do
Risk what others don't dare to risk
His life has been a payoff from those gambles
Call me Puta
What?
Call me Puta
What's Puta?
How should I know?
I'm Puta
Puta
Gucci is a mixed-race beauty
She's half South American
so it's hard for me to tell if it's Buddha or Puta
Buddha is English
Puta is Spanish for 'slut'
Judging from the current situation
I think she probably means 'slut'
Listen
This must be true love
Otherwise why would she be like that?
Giving all of herself to him
and moaning like that
I want you to come in me
I want to fuck you
Based on the current situation
there's no way your boss is wearing a condom
You're so smart
Miss Yeh
Behave yourself
you're already a grown woman
Who's Miss Yeh?
My boss' old flame
You want to fuck that old hag Yeh, or fuck me?
I want to fuck you
Then fuck my brains out
Louder
Then fuck my brains out
Fuck me
That's good
I love when you fuck me
This girl is really daring
Oh, so good
Hello
What the hell?
Every time it gets good, the phone rings
Be quiet
My boss is home
He keeps talking
Blah blah blah
Hello
It's nothing
She's pissed off
The girl got out of the car
I'm busy
I wouldn't stay either
Don't leave things hanging
Speak
He keeps blabbering on
Okay
Our old spot
He said the old spot
Right here
I'm already in my late forties
Kevin Huang
Ask your own conscience
We've been together so many years
Has there ever been a time you wanted me
that I wasn't there?
I let you stretch me like a yoga guru
Belly Button
What's yoga guru?
It means your boss does a lot of positions
I was pregnant
You didn't let me keep it
You wanted me to lose it
and I did
Because I thought
there's no love between you and your wife
She's been overseas so many years
One day you would divorce her
and marry me
Your boss is a remarkable guy
All the women love him
But it wasn't enough for you
You kept fooling around with women
Remarkable
You've never treated me seriously
My boss' old flame
sounds very frustrated
Want to break up?
Sure
Then pay my compensation
Before, I thought
your boss fooled with women every day
tasting exotic beauties
This girl's got feelings too
Nah, your boss is heartless
She fell so deeply for him
So you're not paying
Fine
Then should I call your wife to ask for it?
Or should I call
your cute chief secretary
and ask him?
You know that chief secretary?
He's my boss' secretary
Kevin Huang
While I wasn't home
you got nasty with some old geezer in my bed
You like that?
Tell me
is mine tighter?
Or is his old asshole tighter?
No
I bet this is how he screamed during sex
Kevin
What's that sound?
Weird
Why do we only hear your boss panting?
It's over?
There must be more
This
We haven't seen this yet
Isn't that here?
That's me
Stop watching
I said, stop watching
You always want to watch
Wasn't she from the other day?
standing in the field?
I'm
I'm heading out
Belly Button
Stay a little longer
Should we call the cops?
Did you forget your mother?
You want to lose your job?
Fuck
Don't you know cops and courts are run by the rich?
That night
the two of them sat, terrified
Sitting there like idiots
Sitting until sunrise
As soon as it was light
Belly Button and Pickle rushed downtown to find Brother Lin
Brother Lin is normally section manager at a security company
But his other identity
is serving as the medium at a temple
The gods possess his body
What you see now
is the act of possession
The gods use spirit writing to help the unfortunate
Basically, of those who come with questions
one type is the rich and powerful
who are afraid of losing it all
The other type is the poor and powerless
whose hearts need relief
What you see now
is the gods' spirit writing
The interpreter on the side
reads out what the gods are writing
The words are called Luan
They are the gods' message to believers
But today, the only Luan that Belly Button and Pickle received
was the gods telling them to be honest
respect one's parents
and be useful to one's country
Belly Button and Pickle
became more baffled, the more they saw
What you're about to see
is the complete Luan
Welcome
to the Homeland Safety Religious Center
Defend home and homeland
To exercise filial piety
is self-evident
Following the solar horoscope brings safety
Courage's blessing carries you through the world
Belly Button visits Peanut each day to pick up trash
As they talked
Peanut realized Belly Button and Pickle had met a bad spirit
and needed to cleanse their fortunes
The first place he thought of
was his uncle's Chiang Kai-shek temple
Uncle
These two encountered a bad spirit
and came to cleanse their fortunes
They didn't say what it was
but Lord Chiang
should be able to help
You two
This temple only appears barren
My uncle purposely doesn't decorate
to promote sheer simplicity
It also expresses Lord Chiang's
integrity, pure as driven snow
People pray to Lord Chiang?
Goddamn
Even Pigsy has worshippers
Listen
This temple
after it was built 30 years ago
kept failing at divination
No gods would come here
One day
When my uncle was napping
Lord Chiang came to him in a dream
and told my uncle
I've got the time
I'm available
That's why
my uncle tends the temple
It's not easy
What does 'tend' mean?
He serves the gods
Uncle
Want to help them cleanse their fortune?
These gods
sometimes they select certain people
Motherfucker
Don't know what he's up his own ass about
What's impressive about tending a lousy-ass temple?
Fuck
Makes me feel sick
Mr. Huang, My apologies
Sorry for making you come all this way
Don't say that
I asked you here
mainly to understand what happened with Miss Feng Ju Yeh
So
What happened to her?
Her family came to file a report
said she'd been missing almost a week
Now even her car's missing
I thought we'd ask a few of her friends
to come clarify the situation
When did you last speak on the phone?
I think she called me a week ago
How do you know her?
We're friends
Good friends?
I think so
What did you talk about on the phone that day?
Nothing much
Just some random stuff
What random stuff?
As friends, we'd just talk on the phone every once in a while
Oh, right
Last week she asked me about doing some investing
It was just talk
It never amounts to much
That was the only thing you talked about?
Yeah
Why do I feel like it wasn't the only thing?
What do you mean?
I looked at her call records
Miss Yeh called you
over one hundred times
Did she?
You should know better than anyone
You can't say because she called me
that I'm the one who has a problem
Mr. Huang
I never said you have a problem
A woman dials a man's phone over 100 times
what could possibly be so urgent?
Did she call 100 times to talk about investing?
I told you already
She called me to ask about investments
We also talked about some unimportant trivial things
That was all
I've been honest with you
What now?
Why are we bringing Chairman Kevin here now?
Deputy speaker, Sorry
Let me inform you of the situation
Our Chairman Kevin is an important figure in society
He's done so many good deeds
He has the heart of a Buddha
You insult him by bringing him here
I'm sorry
What now?
Shun
What the hell did you bring the chairman here for?
I invited Chairman Huang here to clarify Miss Yeh's situation
I'm practically treating him to a cup of tea
It's fine
Our Chairman Kevin contributes money and energy to society
You see
if you're uneducated
he'll give you money to get educated
If you've got a funeral but no coffin
he'll buy you a coffin
You're insulting him
He's a man who, if he says it, he'll do it
That's what a good person he is
You're insulting him
Shun
Is chairman fine now?
It's fine
You can go if you want
Do what the hell you want
Then what the hell were you talking about?
He didn't mean it like that
Listen
I'm talking to you
and you keep replying to the deputy commissioner
What are you trying to say?
Listen
if you fucked around like this out in society
the grass on your grave would already be this high
Sorry
Show a little respect
Shun
Chairman can leave now, right?
Do what the hell you want
Like I said
What are you trying to say?
Nah, he didn't mean it like that
Unbelievable
What kind of attitude is that?
Sorry, no offense
So can we go now?
Yes, thank you
Show some respect, I'm telling you
Learn how to live in a society
Sorry
Motherfucker
You
get ready to be grilled at next week's council meeting
Okay
Motherfucker
Unbelievable
Have a nice day, deputy speaker
Motherfucker
Sit down
Sit
How long have you worked for me?
Ten years
What did you do before you came here?
Temp jobs, here and there
Do I give enough salary?
It's enough
I haven't been in this room for years
The ceiling's leaking badly
Why didn't you tell me?
Is the A/C cool enough?
Haven't used it in a while
To be honest
I feel like you've been lazing around without much work
Sometimes when you're at work
you sleep
and I don't want to disturb you
Your trash-picking friend often comes here to chat
but I didn't complain
Pickle
Do I look like an idiot?
No
You think any shit you're up to here
I won't know about it?
You should know my personality
This is what I think
When dealing with human relations
if we're good, then we're good
if we're not good, we need mutual understanding
Have you seen me like this before?
You've really never seen me like this?
By nodding your head, do you mean
you have
or you haven't seen me like this?
I've worn this wig many years
I've worn it so long, I sometimes feel as if
it's my real hair
Now if I don't wear it for one day
I feel uneasy all over
How's your mother been lately?
Her health hasn't been great lately
If there's a problem at home, you have to tell me
I believe what humans want most
is peace and safety
That night, after Kevin left
Belly Button came looking for Pickle
But Belly Button kept standing outside, not daring to enter
Pickle had no choice but to accompany him
In the gloomy black night
under a light drizzle
the two stood there quietly
Pickle watched Belly Button stare wistfully at the scenery
his eyes filled with a faint longing
He wanted to comfort Belly Button
but couldn't find a single word
Belly Button also visited Sugar Apple afterwards
But that all happened in a dream
After Sugar Apple awoke, he couldn't sleep again
and went to a nearby swimming pool to bathe
Sugar Apple's bathing spot isn't fixed
Sometimes it's a swimming pool
Sometimes it's a lavatory
Tonight there's thunder and lightning
but Sugar Apple doesn't seem scared at all
He feels slightly different today
He has the feeling that Belly Button's gotten into trouble
That word on the sign with holes in it, is 'Visits'
All together, it reads 'Meal Visits'
They're specially ordered by prisoners' families
Because if they're too far or busy to visit
they can ask the foodservice
to send a meal in their name
Belly Button's been in jail before
After his granny passed away
the orphaned Belly Button
could no longer eat meal visits
But auntie still gave food once in a while
treating him like their own son
Besides meal visits
auntie and her husband also grew scallions
When there weren't enough hands
they'd ask their married daughter to come home and help out
Here, Button
Auntie just happened to have
some vegetables today
So nice
Somebody ordered a meal
and left over a chicken leg
I'll give it to you
Eat plenty
I wondered why there's even chicken today
After getting out of prison
Belly Button would come over to help
Auntie would also prepare meals for him
But today was particularly special
Auntie not only fried vegetables for him
she also prepared a chicken leg
Nobody knew that Belly Button didn't eat much
Other than at night
when he would snack on cold expired foods tossed from the supermarket
during the day, he only ate one meal
But the meal he's eating now
is Belly Button's last meal of the day
and also the last meal of his life
The following morning
Belly Button was found in a drainage ditch
The police found high blood alcohol in his body
meaning he was probably drunk and got in a car accident
But we usually hear about
drunk drivers killing people
Belly Button could be one of Taiwan's very few cases
of a drunk killed by a driver
Everyone in the village also knows
that Belly Button doesn't drink
Even if he wanted to drink
he couldn't afford enough to get drunk
After Sugar Apple left the scene
he biked around the entire morning
not knowing where he was biking to
only that he had to keep going and going
His heart was tangled in knots
Appearing over and over in his mind
was the figure of Belly Button
Finally he returned to his seaside villa
I think he was slowly realizing
Belly Button dying wasn't so bad
At least when he died
they drew the figure of a man
For a lonely drifter like him
if he died, no one would realize it for a long time
By then, his corpse would've already decomposed
At best, they could only draw a round puddle
Belly Button's death couldn't have been that simple
Pickle, his blood running cold
suddenly remembered that night
when Kevin said to him
What humans want most is peace and safety
Pickle felt that something was wrong
and worried, if anything happened to him
who would take care of his mother
The only person he could think of
was a lifelong liar
with no sense of family responsibility
his youngest uncle
Uncle
These two sponge gourds are for you
No need
You went to the trouble of growing them
you should sell them yourself
I grew these myself
for you to cook
You're giving them to me?
Yeah, you can cook them
All right
You only brought two?
Uncle
My mother...
I know your mother
Did you see something nasty recently?
You have to get this taken care of
How strong are your glasses?
Four hundred
Oh yeah? One side's two hundred, one side's three hundred
That's five hundred
That's bad for your health
Swap a pair
That's better
Swap it and take a look
With glasses, your sight should be crystal clear
Is it clear?
It's blurry
It's blurry?
This one's not right
Let me swap another pair for you
Try this pair
Uncle
It's about my mother...
I know about your mother
When your mother went food shopping, I met her
This pair, is it clear?
Yeah
Oh, right. You need to wear two pairs of glasses
One for good weather
one for bad weather
When the weather's clear, wear this pair
About my mother...
I know about your mother
Her health isn't well
I know about your mother
I met her at the health center
I know already
Try this pair on
Wear this pair in good weather
Do they work?
Yeah
Yeah?
Ah, my mother
I know about your mother
Two pairs is five hundred
Uncle
I don't think I have enough money on me
How much, how much do you have?
Only three hundred
That's all
Yeah
Get rid of this pair
Try that pair on
This pair's just three hundred for you then
My mother's over eighty years old
I know about your mother, I know
Don't just talk about your mother
From start to finish, Pickle didn't have a chance to talk
He even paid NT300
to buy this pair of glasses
The problem is, it was his original pair
Pickle didn't complain about his uncle's behavior
But treated this way by the only man he could ask
he felt his hopes inside fading
Destiny has a way of teasing people
That afternoon
Kevin asked Pickle to take Mother Pickle to the hospital for a check-up
He even arranged for a hospital stay
But after a long examination
they didn't find any cause
so she just stayed overnight and received IV support
Pickle felt very alarmed
that Kevin was doing this for him
He didn't know what Kevin's intentions were
He just felt like air was trapped in his chest
that couldn't find an exit
The sun was strong for those few days
Pickle, feeling ill at ease
decided to take care of the leaking roof
He went to the deputy speaker's service office
and found a discarded election banner
Displayed on the banner was Bill Small
"One vote, one devotion"
with a face promising civil duty
The deputy speaker held passion for justice and gorgeous women
and was first in line to protect citizens from harm
After spreading the banner
Pickle sat alone on the rooftop
and slowly came to a decision
to take a look at Belly Button's house
Nobody had ever gone into Belly Button's house
Even Sugar Apple sat outside when eating with Belly Button
Pickle must've been the first to step inside Belly Button's house
and without Belly Button's permission either
Sitting in Belly Button's UFO house
Pickle wondered, this guy who always used to bully him
where was he now?
Looking around the bed
it was all dolls that Belly Button had caught
and models cut out from magazines
Pickle only realized then
how little he really knew about Belly Button
I think that even though we live in a space age
and mankind could long ago ride ships to the moon
we'll never be able to explore the universe of others' hearts
That day
there were two big events in southern Taiwan
One was the Dharma Assembly to pray for the nation
The other was Belly Button's funeral
On the way to the gravesite
the sun was shining brightly
But the road
was flooded for no apparent reason
Pickle and the others stood hesitating on one side
But Belly Button had already reached the other side
as if to tell Pickle that escorting him this far was enough
The next step
he would walk slowly and alone
Peanut
There were really no other photos?
Find one yourself
It's a good thing he was arrested
It was on the news
so I could find screenshots online
or we'd be out of luck
Not a scrap of ID
I'm telling you
Good thing it existed
Nobody knew him anyway
Fuck you
What the hell did you say?
What?
What the fuck?
Fuck you
What the fuck?
What?
Come on
What the fuck
You wanna fight?
Let's fight
Fuck you
Fuck
Bring it on, motherfucker
Fuck you