It was a very interesting walk around Marudi when I chanced upon a shopkeeper laying out several dishes on a long table on the five foot way. She was a good cook, as she had several dishes on the table for her children who must have come home from strenous playing. It was school holidays and I was in Marudi for just a break.
The shopkeeper was Foochow and she was so polite as to invite me to sit down with her and her children. It is a true mark of Foochow courtesy extended to travellers. It is the traditional habit of foochows to provide a meal for people who walk a long distance from somewhere (and to another place).
(Photo taken 29th October, 2014, Five Foot Way Lunch, Kampong Cina)
In fact many old Foochow travellers in the olden days who asked for directions would often be offered tea and even a bowl of noodles. My maternal grandmother was very generous. Any one passing her house in Nang Chong and it was past lunch time, would be invited to have at least some rice with vegetable soup and some salted pork. Many people remembered her kindness and in her later years, they would pay for her bowl of fish balls or noodles in town if they met her.
This traditional Foochow hospitality is something I do have as a Foochow. Foochows who are Methodists practise the teachings of John Wesley and the teachings of Confucius, carry on this kind of love for their fellowmen.
"To be able under all circumstances to practice five things constitutes perfect virtue; these five things are gravity, generosity of soul, sincerity, earnestness, and kindness."
By the way, I did not eat a whole meal with the shopkeeper but I did taste her cabbage roll. She was very happy that I tried. I won't forget her kindness.
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