72 Tenants of Prosperity

The two brothers become enemies after their victory against the landlords. While they initially united to defend the 72 tenants from eviction, their rivalry stems from competition over Pinky, a woman both men had feelings for. Ha Kung won Pinky's heart, which created resentment in Shek Kin. This personal betrayal transforms their brotherhood into a decades-long feud that extends from the 1970s into 2010, affecting their families and business ventures.

The tension between the brothers over Pinky is hinted at during the victory celebration when Shek Kin's feelings become evident.

Pinky is the woman at the center of the original love triangle between Ha Kung and Shek Kin in the 1970s. She was forced into a marriage but was rescued by the united tenants during their resistance against the landlords. After being rescued, Pinky chose to marry Ha Kung, which created lasting resentment in Shek Kin. This personal choice becomes the catalyst that transforms their brotherhood into bitter rivalry, with the love triangle persisting even forty years later in 2010.

Pinky is rescued from a forced marriage during the tenant resistance, setting up her choice of Ha Kung.

After successfully defending the 72 tenants and defeating the landlord and landlady, Ha Kung and Shek Kin turn their energy toward business competition. What starts as a united front against a common enemy transforms into personal rivalry when Shek Kin's feelings for Pinky go unanswered. The brothers begin competing in various businesses, plastic flowers and stinky bean curd, using their victory energy against each other instead of together. This business feud becomes a proxy for their personal conflict, lasting forty years.

The victory celebration hints at brewing tension as Shek Kin watches Ha Kung with Pinky.

The acid attacks in 2010 serve as a terrifying catalyst that shocks Sai Yeung Choi Street. While the exact perpetrators are not detailed in the summary, the attacks create fear throughout the neighborhood but paradoxically unite the 72 tenants against a common threat. Rather than driving them apart, the attacks galvanize the community to solidarity, forcing Ha and Shek's families to set aside their business rivalries to protect their homes and livelihoods together.

The escalating tensions from rent hikes and cutthroat competition create an atmosphere of hostility.

In 2010, rents surge dramatically as landlords threaten to triple rents and shut down shops. This financial pressure directly threatens the livelihoods of all 72 tenants operating on Sai Yeung Choi Street. Facing the possibility of losing their homes and businesses, the tenants, despite their ongoing rivalries, band together to resist the rent hikes. The crisis echoes their original 1970s团结精神, recreating the unified stand they mounted against the landlords decades earlier.

The 1970s storyline establishes the precedent of tenants uniting against landlord threats.

In 2010, a new generation becomes entangled in the original rivalry. Ha Junior develops romantic interest in Shek's daughter, while Ha's kung fu-trained daughter becomes the object of pursuit by Shek's witty, ambitious son. These romantic entanglements mirror the original love triangle from the 1970s, but with reversed roles. The new relationships create both potential for reconciliation and fresh complications, as family loyalties clash with personal feelings.

The old love triangle between Ha, Pinky, and Shek resurfaces in 2010, setting the stage for new romantic conflicts.

The 1970s and 2010 storylines are connected through the unbroken rivalry between the Ha and Shek families, the surviving community of 72 tenants, and the same spirit of solidarity against landlord oppression. The original block where tenants united in the 1970s evolves into Sai Yeung Choi Street in Mongkok, where the descendants of the original tenants continue their businesses. The fundamental conflict, tenants versus greedy landlords, Ha family versus Shek family, persists across four decades, though the specific businesses change from plastic flowers to electronics.

The victory against landlords in the 1970s is won by the same 72 tenants who face new challenges in 2010.

Lolita is a promotional character played by Nancy Sit Ka-Yin who appears in the 2010 portion of the film. She represents the carnival-like, eccentric atmosphere of modern retail competition on Sai Yeung Choi Street. As shops use increasingly outrageous promotional tactics, including pseudo models and unusual services, Lolita embodies the playful, sometimes garish marketing spirit of the era. Her presence adds color to the bustling street scene and emphasizes the comedic tone of the film's contemporary setting.

The promotions escalate throughout the 2010 timeline, with Lolita appearing as the peak of colorful marketing.

San Gu is introduced as the hard-edged landlady in the 1970s who keeps the tenants in line with a firm hand. Initially aligned with the rapacious landlords threatening to evict the 72 tenants, she undergoes a transformation during the resistance. By the end of the 1970s storyline, she is described as part of the group that maintains order within the block, having switched sides after being defeated by the united tenants. Her evolution from authority figure to community member illustrates how the tenant resistance transforms even former adversaries.

San Gu's firm control over the block in the 1970s sets up her potential conversion to the tenants' side.

The stinky bean curd business is one of the competing ventures Ha Kung and Shek Kin pursue after their falling out. This humble food business symbolizes how their rivalry extends into every possible domain, they cannot coexist in business without competing. The choice of stinky bean curd, a distinctive local food, grounds the rivalry in authentic Hong Kong commerce. Their competition progresses from this traditional trade to modern electronics in 2010, showing how the feud adapts to changing times while maintaining its fundamental nature.

After their victory, the brothers immediately begin competing in various businesses, starting the pattern.