In those long ago days in the 1910's Sibu Foochows struggled to make a living out of the swamps given free by the Rajah. Many had died within the first ten years of the Foochow settlement. And Wong Nai Siong the pioneer who brought three batches of them had left the pioneers. Rev James Hoover had been sent to manage the settlement.
My grandfather had arrived as a teenager, with Wong Nai Siong. One of the qualification for joining the pioneers was a Methodist baptism certificate. Both grandfather and grandfather were baptised Methodist from Minqing.
With starry eyes and a pair of strong arms and a strong heart for Christianity great grandfather and grandfather left Minqing.
Soon Grandfather became a good follower of the Reverend and was often called to help with general work. The two forged a good friendship. A few years later, Reverend James Hoover introduced a young lady to him to be his bride. In 1909, they were married and my father was born a year later, warmly welcomed by Great grandfather Tiong King Kee and other grand uncles and aunties. Grandmother Chong, her brother Chong Jin Bok were overwhelmed too.
Life was not exactly easy according to the few stories my taciturn father would tell. His first cousin, Uncle Chong Chung Sing also said a few words about their childhood,when I went to the Methodist secondary school, where he was the accountant. It was a pity he did not have much time to tell me all the Chong side of the stories.
Grandmother Chong was a very alert and highly spirited lady, with good education. She sewed well too. She sewed cotton bags, from flour bags, for my father and his siblings to carry things . When every one had to walk in the 1910's, they needed some carry bags. The back packs were not invented yet then.
My father used to tell us how useful those Flour Bags were to him and his brothers. Everything went into them.
One of the stories my father liked to tell was how when food ran out in their home, Grandma Chong would ask him and Second Uncle to walk to Great Grandfather Chong's house to "borrow" some soy beans. That was a part of his childhood he could not forget easily.
Today most Fujian people would use soy beans to create different kinds of fancy food, side dishes, etc but in those days they were used as a major dish on the table, usually a soup.
Boiled soy beans and some salt could be all they had for a few days before cash was brought home, or when a relative brought some wild meat from the jungle to share. Chickens and ducks were saved for the festive seasons.
The boys were too young to go fishing or hunting then.
When my father was older he learned to trap fish in the rubber garden and go fishing in the streams. That brought extra food for the family and Grandma was happy with him. It brought a lot of smiles to his siblings too.
Fishing thus became a very important part of my father's life.
In later part of his life, he would lament that the smell of the soaking soy beans would remind him of his childhood poverty. It really broke his heart to remember and he would always try his best to order good restaurant food for his father in Sibu whenever he had the chance.
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