My 4th Uncle , 7th Aunt and 8th Aunt were taken to live in Meradong, to be sheltered from the onslaught of the Japanese soldiers who had machine gunned the Hua Hong Ice Factory killing the chief mechanic. Hua Hong Ice Factory was just opposite the Japanese Headquarters and it was just too near the Occupation army for comfort. Besides Grandfather was a community leader with a large family and he had to protect them from any harm.
Grandfather took Great Grandmother and all the children to Meradong, the Mee Ann Sawmill for safety. He also built bomb shelters using rubber sheets and wooden logs just behind the sawmill.
Uncle Pan King was tasked to plant padi with some of the employees and as older children, already in their teens, 7th Aunt and 8th Aunt went to the padi farm, to cook for Uncle Pan King. The three siblings also brought a brood of ducks, the red faced type of Muscovy to rear. The padi farm was a little up river on the Meradong river and a small boat could take them to the farm. Grand Uncle Kung Eng was the boatman for the family. However he passed away not long after in 1944.
Grandfather had some swampy land which was good for the cultivation of rice. He had some workers and a rice milling machine which he could assemble for use. He had built a shed for the machine and many natives and Malays came to mill their grains for a small charge, usually in the form of one or two tins of milled rice. So, in a way the family was never short of rice as the family had land to cultivate as well as payment in kind from those who came to mill their grains.
The family padi land was away from the prying eyes of the Japanese soldiers along the Meradong river. Most Japanese official and gun boats travelled along the Rajang. The family enjoyed 3 crops of rice during the Japanese Occupation.
And according to 7th Aunt, by the time the padi was tall enough, each year of their cultivation, and starting to have grains, they returned to the big house to be with the rest of the family. During the waitig period the girls stayed at the main house or the Sawmill.
A small boat pushed by Grand Uncle Kung Eng, took them to the mouth of the Meradong, where the saw mill was sited. It was good to be reunited with the big family after several months of planting padi and looking after the ducks.
7th Aunt said that the family was grateful they could have duck soup for their diner upon their return.
And great grandmother was most happy to see the two girls.
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