"It's so nice to have money" (有錢真好) reads the calligraphy on the wall of Lee Jin-ming's (李錦銘) Tainan beef noodle shop. Like most of us, Lee has a dream. But his is a bit special -- to establish a university -- and after three decades of work and hundreds of thousands of bowls of beef noodles, Lee's vision is nearing completion.
Known to his friends as A-Ming, Lee has owned his noodle restaurant for 32 years. A-Ming Beef Noodle (
The noodle shop is no bigger than the average living room and has few decorations. The only thing adorning the walls is his single calligraphic sentiment about how it's nice to have money.
PHOTO: EMILY WU, TAIPEI TIMES
He should know. By his own estimate, Lee has saved some NT$800 million (US$23.8 million), mostly from making noodles, all of which will go towards accomplishing his dream of creating a university outside Tainan City.
"When you earn money, you should use it wisely and productively," Lee said. New cars, a new house, even new clothes are all things he considers extravagant. "Most people spend their savings so quickly that they lose track of it, but I have been working towards something more substantial," he said.
Lee did not start off wanting to build a university. Twenty years ago, when he married his wife, the two of them began thinking of a life goal. "To do something great" was their shared vision. Every night they would exchange ideas, and when Lee suggested building a university, his wife's first response was "impossible." But slowly she began to think optimistically. "If we have the willpower and stamina to work hard, we can make it happen."
Despite, or perhaps because of their goal, Lee and his wife have led a simple life. At age 14, Lee began making noodles. Waking at five in the morning to prepare for the day, the couple begin selling at around 11 o'clock, and in the afternoon, when the noodles are all gone, he closes the shop and walks across the alley to his "preparatory office" to sit, talk, and relax.
There, he lets himself sink into the couch after the day's work. With a Peace cigarette and a glass of ice water, he sits beside his wife. "This is a routine for us," he says.
"Little man, big vision" is how Lee describes himself and says that consistency and bravery are what has brought him close to achieving his goal. "Some tell me that it is impossible, but we [he and hissupporters] are close to making it happen," he said.
More importantly, Lee's story has motivated many others. Recently, a bus of small restaurant owners from Keelung visited Lee as they were inspired by what he has to say and show society. "Some cried, many thanked me," he said, "they thanked me for making them realize that they are capable of doing something great."
Two weekends ago, President Chen Shui-bian (
This year alone, more than 500 students from Tainan and around the island have visited Lee's noodle shop and volunteered. They helped with a variety of tasks from washing dishes to selling t-shirts to planting trees on the campus, a plot of land 30 minutes outside Tainan City that Lee bought years ago.
"It is because of this kind of support that I know I will succeed," he says. "As important as money is, however, it is not the main issue. I am more concerned about the heart of the people." He explains that every bowl of beef noodles he makes is prepared with his heart and says that it is the heart-felt support of Taiwanese here and abroad that will help him make his dream a reality.
Lee's hope is that in the future, the university's endowments will be donated by parents, alumni, and any person who cares about Taiwan. "The togetherness with which people work will be the driving force for my university to become world-class."
"The application has been approved and I have already received the license. Now we are almost ready to start," Lee says with confidence.
To speed up the process, he and his friends have been working creatively. Last Friday, they picked up t-shirts they had ordered and has started selling them for NT$300. On the front of the shirt are the words "The Awakening of Self-Consciousness" (自我意識覺醒), on the back, is his restaurant's logo and Lee's message to Taiwan, "Those who try might not make it, so we must try harder." (有人認真在做/ 都不一定做得到/ 咱們有得做/ 就更拼命做).
Despite his impending success, Lee has his share of detractors. Some say he has wild dreams, but he responds that the only difference between them is that he is willing to make it happen. "I am just a little man with a big vision," he says.
A-Ming Beef Noodle is located in Tainan on Jankang Rd., Sec. 2.
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