"Given to a Rice Mill Owner"

My great grandfather adopted a toddler , probably around 1934.

Although this year she is 90 years old, she actually never knew her exact birthday. It happened so long ago, my generation would never know the real story. She was probably born 1930 and that was all she knew, from a birth certificate that was made to ascertain her birth. Here is a complicated story about her birth certificate.

While staying with my great grandparents at the Hua Hung Rice and Ice Mill in Pulau Kerto, she learned how to read and write. She loved watching my great grandfather read the pulses of the rice mill employees who were ill and any other patient who dropped by.  And then she marvelled at how great grandfather would use his brush to write a prescription for the unwell.

She told us that she remembered how the employees called great grand father a "doctor". or Loh Gung. These employees did get well without having to cross the river to see a real doctor in Lau King Howe Hospital. Hence they saved some money. At that time, the ability to save money was a great social value.

She also mentioned how meticulous my great grandfather was, how he carefully wrote the family genealogy each time a grand child was born. According to her, it was a thick and big book. Where did the book go to was a mystery in those days. But no one actually tried to find out. The whole Sarawak Tiong Clan of Sibu was slowly documenting the genealogy book.

She had wondered if her name was in the family book written by Great Grandfather.

Yew Ping was to be great grandfather's adopted daughter but my second uncle had said that since he only had two daughters he would like to have a third one to help 2nd Aunty with the household chores. Thus great grandfather allowed him to put Cousin Yew Ping  as his adopted daughter. By doing so Yew Ping became my "cousin" and therefore cousin to all my generation of the Tiong family.

After our great grand father passed away, she looked after great grandmother, who refused to let her go for a few more years before she went to Binatang to join Second Uncle and his family. Great grandmother loved her and kept her close to her. Yew Ping was the most obedient kind of daughter any one could wish for.

And not long after she went to Binatang to join second Uncle and Aunty, she was married off to a Mr. Lau of Mang Kwang, where she has been living since.

She was a very skilled cook, as my great grandmother was a very genteel lady, from a scholarly family in China. She taught Yew Ping how to make baos, wrap Changs, and cook some good Fujian dishes.

Her skill in making baos is well known. I would say her baos never fail.

This kind of housekeeping training gave Yew Ping a chance to become a very popular confinement lady after she got married. She worked hard for the new mothers and at the same time, she kept an eye on her own children who according to her " obediently grew up". She has always been a woman gifted with great understanding of human nature. She is kind and friendly to all.

Furthermore, she is very grateful to her parents in law who helped look after her children while she worked as a confinement lady for many new mothers in the 60's and 70's.

She never forgot the Christian teachings my great grandparets imparted to her - her children and grand children are also devout Methodists.

All of us are very grateful that she became our loving cousin.

How she was "adopted" by my great grandfather, or why she was given away, she would never know because she never met her biological parents. who must have the great need to give a baby daughter away. And they found a rice mill owner to give to and that was what they wanted : so that the baby would have least rice to eat.