Mother's childhood was idyllic. She didn't really have to do the house work as there were the poorer relatives staying with them. The relatives worked for my maternal grandfather. For free board and lodging the women helped with the housework. My maternal grandmother also lived the life of a tai tai.. She kept an eye on the workers and made sure there was always a pot of coffee for whoever wants it. Coffee flowed freely and anyone could help themselves to the pot. (My paternal grandmother used to comment : " I used to walk pass the shop. Huh, that family ate well and the lady of the house did no work - just show her pretty face in the shop.")
My maternal grandmother also came from a business family. In fact her family had business interest as far as Thailand and Singapore. There is a Chinese saying that "Wealth seldom stay in a family for more than 3 generations." Thus although the ancestors worked to build up the family fortune, by the time, it came to the 3rd generation, the children were indolent. They whiled away their time in song, wine and opium. In those days, it was fashionable for rich young men to take opium ( like our young people nowadays who frequent karoeke joints and take syabu.). My maternal grandmother's father was such a wastrel. His father gave him money to do business but the money was squandered away. (But my maternal great grandmother was a lovely lady. She was so sweet and gentle.) Wine and opium was his obsession and he died an early death. So by the time my maternal grandmother married my grandfather, it was only a facade of wealth. So my maternal grandfather took in his mother-in-law and her adopted son when he married my maternal grandmother.
"My father was such a caring man." mother used to recall. "On festivals, he would personally go to the kitchen to cook., outdoing the women folks. We only ate dishes, no rice. People commented on our lavish banquets. Father would purchase materials for our clothes. He established a routine each morning. Every morning we had to line up and take cod liver oil and then he would give us 2 cents before we went to school. He checked on our academic progress and ensured our physical well being. We felt so safe when he was around."
Mother used to play after school. She recalled an incident with a Japanese woman in the village. It was before the war. There was a Japanese family (husband and wife only) living in one of the shops. The husband was a photographer. Mum's teacher had told them of the Japanese atrocities in the Sino-Japanese war. That created a feeling of anger in the young girl's heart. She was only 9 years old. One day, the Japanese woman was standing outside the shop. Mum walked deliberately towards the woman, she cleared her throat and spat at the Japanese woman's feet!!. The Japanese woman screamed and gave chase. You can imagine how fast mum ran off. She hid between the sacks of rice in her father's shop!! She could hear the Japanese woman shouting and scolding away in Malay. Ha! Ha! Never could imagine my mum would do such a thing!!
Unfortunately their fortunes were about to change. 2nd World War brought much upheaval and their lives changed forever. She was in Standard 3 when the war came and stopped her schooling.
No comments:
Post a Comment