SINGAPORE: A local Reddit user took to the platform to express their delight upon receiving a red ang bao envelope, which, while it did not contain money, had a wholesome message inside that brought a lot of cheer.
In their post from earlier this week, u/Unfair-Bike attached a photo of the envelope, which was from OCBC, as well as the message inside, which reads, “You are doing good enough, even at times it doesn’t feel that way. Be grateful and enjoy the day.”
“I received it when the train was at Marsiling. A man in his 50s dropped a red packet on my lap; he was also giving it to some others. He appeared to have left Woodlands. Really caught me by surprise, it’s nice to see something wholesome on a mundane train ride,” the post author wrote.
Judging from the comments on the post, others have had the same experience.
“I got one from him a few weeks ago! I was at Woodlands too,” wrote one.
“In a world full of s****y people and pure filth, it’s so refreshing to see this,” chimed in another, while others remarked how people have been unkind both online and in real life.
“If someone gave me this, I will legit buy this man a meal,” a commenter added.
One familiar with the man responsible for the note wrote, “This guy is quite well known around the woodlands area, he does this quite often and has been doing it for a long time, he also goes around and puts these notes at HDB lift areas, nothing but positive vibes from him but people often get put off because they think there’s an ulterior motive.”
“I wonder what his story is behind this. But definitely nice to see someone spreading positive vibes!!” a Reddit user added.
A few others, however, said they found the incident off-putting, especially the part about putting the note in a red envelope.
As it turns out, Mr Ang Bao isn’t the only person who would encourage strangers.
When one wrote, “An uncle working at the old NTU KFC used to give out small cards of encouragement. Hope he’s still doing fine,” another was able to identify him right away.
“It’s the legendary Uncle Phillip! I’ve gotten one from him, too,” they answered.
“This reminds me of Uncle Phillip, who used to work at the NTU KFC. He would always write encouraging notes for students and stick cute stickers on them, and you’ll always get one from him when he takes your orders. Anyone else also received a note from Uncle Phillip before, kee chiu!” another shared. /TISG
Read also: ‘This restored my faith in people’: Singaporeans share the most wholesome acts of kindness they’ve witnessed
