Money Not Enough

This film (drama)Also known as钱不够用，is aSingaporeProducerwomen sex，At1998Released in year 。The dialogue language isMandarin, Cantonese, Hokkien，Current Douban rating7.1(For reference only)。

[Plot Summary] The Singaporean film "Money Not Enough" is set against the backdrop of the experiences of three fellow countrymen (Ah Qiang, Ah Hui, and Ah Huang) in Singapore. The story begins by describing the mid-life situations of these three men, who have little education. They struggled in Singapore during their youth, and by middle age, "Ah Qiang" is now a company employee, married with children, and owns his own house. In addition to working, he often borrows money to trade stocks and enjoys buying everyday goods in large quantities through installment payments. When he purchases an oversized LCD TV, he even receives a promotional family game console from the vendor (which serves as a setup for the movie). "Ah Hui" is a broker, frequently engaging in buying and selling businesses, and has borrowed money from loan sharks to do business; "Ah Huang," who is somewhat mentally challenged, can only work as a waiter in an outdoor restaurant, and has a habit of betting on horse races each week—not only spending his salary on gambling but also borrowing money from acquaintances (Ah Qiang and Ah Hui) to bet. These three middle-aged men often meet at the outdoor restaurant where Ah Huang works, discussing financial topics over drinks and feeling quite proud of their current accomplishments, while continuing to weave dreams of "making money work for them." Their "ambitions" (or "greed") grow increasingly larger, leading them to play escalating "money games" that exceed their risk control, eventually resulting in problems. Ah Qiang, due to his lack of English proficiency, runs into conflicts, fails to get promoted, and ultimately resigns in anger. He then loses money trading stocks and amasses a debt of 120,000 Singapore dollars (about 2.4 million New Taiwan dollars), facing financial institutions pursuing him, court property seizures, and even his wife leaving with their child. Ah Hui borrows 40,000 Singapore dollars (800,000 New Taiwan dollars) from loan sharks for real estate ventures, but his debt balloons to 50,000 Singapore dollars (1 million New Taiwan dollars), suffering violence from loan sharks demanding repayment. Ah Qiang and Ah Hui seek loans everywhere but cannot borrow enough to fill their financial gaps, even attempting to borrow from their fellow countryman Ah Huang (or to reclaim the money they lent him), only to discover that Ah Huang loses every time he bets on horse racing and has no savings for emergencies. When they find themselves out of options and facing despair, someone who refuses to lend money to Ah Qiang and Ah Hui offers a business idea along with the concept of a "membership system." This concept involves establishing a company that requires customers to pre-pay a sum (the so-called "membership fee") to immediately provide the owner with cash for emergencies. Later, customers can enjoy discounted prices when shopping at the store. Thus, Ah Qiang, Ah Hui, and Ah Huang start a car wash business together. Shortly after starting, Ah Huang's mother, who depended on him, falls ill with blood cancer, forcing Ah Huang to leave work to care for her in the hospital. Ah Hui, also pressured by loan sharks repeatedly coming to collect debts, is forced to flee to Johor Bahru, Malaysia, leaving only Ah Qiang to struggle to keep the car wash business afloat while dealing with collection pressure from financial institutions. Just when they seem to be at the end of their rope, a turnaround occurs. Ah Huang's mother passes away, and he receives condolences, leaving him with 10,000 Singapore dollars (200,000 New Taiwan dollars) after funeral expenses for financial turnover. Moreover, during Ah Huang's mother's funeral, Ah Hui sneaks back to Singapore to attend and encounters the loan sharks; during a chase and struggle, Singapore police arrive and arrest the loan sharks. It's revealed that Singaporean loan sharks employ similar intimidation tactics of spray-painting warnings at residences as those of underground money lenders in Taiwan and Hong Kong, but under Singapore law, spray-painting is a serious crime punishable by an eight-year prison sentence. Thus, the Singapore police arrest the loan shark, allowing Ah Hui to escape that debt. On the day of the family game that comes with the LCD TV purchase, Ah Qiang, Ah Hui, and Ah Huang head to Sentosa to participate, but the vendor insists that Ah Qiang's wife and daughter must also participate, refusing to let Ah Hui and Ah Huang take their place. Just then, Ah Qiang's wife and daughter surprisingly appear, and because the prize for the family game is an astonishing 100,000 Singapore dollars (2 million New Taiwan dollars), Ah Qiang and his family work hard to clear the challenges. Ah Qiang's wife even injures herself badly, bleeding profusely, but in order to win the high prize to repay debts, she perseveres. They ultimately win the highest prize due to their greater commitment compared to other participating families! Next, while washing cars, a white man drives up in a luxury car, speaking in English about needing a quick wash to get to the airport, offering to pay double for priority service. Ah Hui and Ah Huang can't understand English and just laugh foolishly, but Ah Qiang shows off his English skills that he has diligently practiced since leaving his job, managing to have a conversation with the white man. Not only does he successfully conduct this business, but he also earns the white man's approval through efficient work, and since the white man is a corporate supervisor, he decides to entrust Ah Qiang and his friends with the company's long-term car-washing business. With this big order, Ah Qiang and his friends become wealthy, even getting media interviews where Ah Hui lies, denying escaping to Malaysia to avoid debts and claiming he went to collect debts, which provided the funds for their current thriving business. After becoming wealthy, Ah Hui and Ah Huang indulge in extravagance, borrowing money from Ah Qiang before the end of each month. The story concludes with Ah Qiang's self-deprecating reflections on money.