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By Ray Lim Khang Yong (Malaysia) 文: 林康荣(马来西亚) There is a saying that two heads are better than one. In fact, the interaction between two persons can often lead to new ideas! During Lunar New Year in 2020, I was speaking to Sum Koon Theng, the retail manager and outlet head of the POPULAR Ipoh Station 18 outlet, about expanding POPULAR’s business while promoting the habit of reading to the children in rural areas. We decided to move beyond the usual format of our book fairs, and planned to take advantage of the relatively quiet period between February and March to implement our "new" book fairs in the rural areas near Ipoh. Teachers and Policemen Join the Action With just a phone call, the store managers of the various POPULAR outlets in Perak mobilised their staff immediately to assist in the preparation for the book fairs. I am truly grateful to the efforts of my fellow colleagues, and am grateful to be able to work and grow together with them! Our book fairs would also not be possible without the enthusiastic support of the principals and teachers, the police officers, and teachers from the tuition centres. Their assistance in sourcing for venues and publicity was vital for the smooth implementation of the book fairs, which were held in the auditoriums in Kampung Raja Chinese Primary School and the town of Ringlet in Cameron Highlands, Kampar’s Econsave supermarket, and the badminton hall of the 3rd Battalion of the General Operations Force at Bidor. In fact, we brought along our Kokko and May mascots, various interactive games like tangrams, Tetris, handmade clay and animal colouring cards. We also organised picture books reading sessions to make our book fairs interesting and meaningful, bringing the joy of reading to the children in these rural areas. Unfortunately, the implementation of the Movement Control Order in Malaysia due to the COVID-19 pandemic brought an abrupt end to our book fairs. Nevertheless, we are determined to continue spreading the love of reading to the children once the pandemic is over! (Translated by Shawn Pang) Our book fairs did not just sell books. 137 popularnews - 23