Hua Hong Ice Factory : Income from Stone Grinder ot Stone Millstone

My great grandmother was a small feet woman who enjoyed making kuihs.

Each morning she would get her grand daughters, my aunts, when they were not in school to push the stone grinder to make rice batter.

Rice was not a scarce commodity for them even during the Japanese Occupation because the family was part of the Hua Hong Rice and Ice Factory. My great grandfather and grandfather co-owned the Hua Hong Rice and ice Mill with the three Wong brothers, who were nephews o my grandfather. Some where up the line in Minqing, there was a marriage between a Tiong and a Wong. This was how closely knitted marital relations were in those days. There was a great deal of respect between the two families.

Furthermore, the Hua Hong was fitted with machinery itroduced by the Rev Hoover and my Grandmother Chong was the one who read the manuals (in English) while my very skilful grandfather put all the western imported machinery together. This is one of our family's favourite story.

Great Grandmother was particularly good in making Gow tuiin gui and mee turn gui (both requiring finely ground fresh rice and good water) According to one of my cousins who is now in her 80's, rain water was not as tasty as the fresh river water in those days.

My great grandmother had once told my aunts that the best tasting water came from Mui Keh (Mui Creek in Mingqing) which helped make good soh mien and hoong ngang.

My great grandmother was a late arrival as she came to Sibu only in 1908 before my grandfather got married. My great grandfather was a widower when he brought his two sons to Sibu, together with Wong Nai Siong. When he had made enough money and set up his business he went back to Minqing to find a life partner who was frugal, soft spoken and hardworking. God blessed him with a good match and the whole family took her in with a great welcome. They were an extremely happy couple.

My great grandmother was from a good scholarly family so she was literate, and good in housekeeping. But she was really good in making kuihs and also die bian (Oyster Cakes)

My aunt remembers welling the well made kuihs to the employees in the Ice Factory in the afternoons and running home with lots of cash. She would cover her rattan basket with a piece of cotton cloth and walk to the factory and then out to the office near the jetty. And then the next she had to start all over again, to push the stone grinder and prepare rice batter. Sometimes she felt that her arms were coming off because it was a tiring and labourious chore.

In retropect my aunt said that this early exposure to selling kuih helped her become a good businessman's wife. Money was not easy to earn and one had to be careful with the cash and keep good accounts.

Today the stone grinder is with my mother, the First Daughter in law, passed to her by Great Grandmother as a gift for looking after her for the later part of her life.

Our aunts often said to us,"Remember how this Sueh Moh helped us make a lot of money."

"Every drop of the rice batter can be turned into cash."