"Everyone assumes overseas Chinese are rich, but you can tell everyone that we live in decrepit old buildings." This was the advice that Mrs. Fan gave to her son Fan Yan-ming when he and his Taiwan-bred girlfriend were talking about getting married.
「大家都以為華僑有錢，你可要照實告訴人家，咱們住的是老舊的大雜院」，在范延明和台灣長大的女友論及婚嫁時，范老太太特別這麼交待兒子。