Peter Cheok

It is the first day of Chinese New Year, and while most people are up and about visiting relatives, Peter Cheok is still in bed. Having only slept at 6am, he will be up at noon, then head to his in-law's for lunch, and ending the day with his own family for dinner. The actual visiting only starts the next day.

The months leading up to each Chinese New Year are the busiest at his family's nursery business, Far East Flora, which was started by his father Danny Cheok in 1965. Being the scion cuts him no slack as he works "48 hours a day", he says. The crush begins as early as September, when the company starts to order their festive stock. When the plants arrive at the nursery after Christmas (yet another rush period), they have to be prepped. Staff have to be trained, extra staff hired, and sales and deliveries need to be handled.

The only respite is the few hours he gets for the family reunion dinner on Chinese New Year's Eve. After that it's back to the garden centre at Thomson Road.