River prawns were plentiful by the Rajang and my father loved throwing his cast net into the river when the tide was high. It was his evening hobby. He did not fish with a rod like other men working at Hua Hong. And my mother would wait patiently at home for him to bring something back and she was always hopeful.
Sometimes he caught a lot and he would always be ready to come home after a short while because he wanted to have the evening meal with every one. My grandfather would sometimes visit and we would all have a good meal of good food with Great Grandmother, Grandfather and whatever father caught, plus a few more dishes cooked up by mother.
As my father was a fairly tall man, the net he cast was good and it would always make a big circle in the water. He would slowly pull up the net and everyone would be watching with admiration.
Fishing in the river and catching fish or prawns was what Grandfather would do when he was younger.
Probably it made him think of his Minqing roots.
Probably he had caught a lot of fish in Mui Keh.
And when he looked at his first son and the grandson by his first son, he was probably very very proud of his success in Sibu, although it was probably a small matter to many people. Grandpa was a man who was full of gratitude to God for all the blessings he received.
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